European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 14, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse F r a x c e some americans need a daily dose of can to accompany a visit to the louvre someone turn on the television by Gail Pennington St. Louis Post dispatch for the last couple of weeks i be been roughing it in Paris. Great scenery great shopping great cheese a you can just imagine How glad i was to come Home. But besides diet Coke one thing i did miss was american television a which you May find hard to believe unless you be watched much television in a foreign country lately. A Zut you say a Why did you even need to turn on the television when you could have been out admiring the Eiffel Tower or searching for the Mona Lisa roughly the size of a postcard in the louvre somewhat larger than Liechtenstein ?. And sure i could have spent every minute of my vacation pondering the meaning of impressionism or the roots of the revolution or sitting in cafes drinking $6 glasses of bottled water. But television is my Job after All and someone who watches As much As i do can t just quit cold Turkey. Also nonstop sightseeing can be hard work. After a Long Day of tasting wine admiring Chateaux and converting francs to dollars never mind you can t afford it anyway sometimes you just need to collapse on the bed whimper and reach for the Remote control. Which was probably whimsically designed to turn the set off but rot on again. Don t get me started. I love Europe but Long As it is on Charm it definitely lags when it comes to creature comforts Tike showers air conditioning toilet paper and Remote controls ,. The Good news for the to dependent these Days is that most hotels in Paris in fact most hotels in France even the budget priced two Star establishments have Cable television. That Means six or eight channels generally either can International or the sky Channel from great Britain plus a couple of sports channels showing nonstop world cup during my visit and a music Channel either mtg or a european alternative. We also found a couple of movie channels one offering american and european films dubbed in German with French subtitles. But Nice As it was to follow the news from Home and hear English being spoken on can i wanted to find out what real French television was like. To help in my investigation i swiped the sunday to Magazine from the seeing the Eiffel Tower is Fine but what s a Day without tvs amps fils big newspaper be Figaro from a hotel lounge. Take note that while i speak some French and read it fairly Well i can understand almost nothing spoken. Rapid fire on television which made this project even More of an adventure a. Evidence from the three National channels subsidized by the government like Britain s bbl and shown. Throughout the country indicated entertainment. Programming heavy on bizarre game shows and dubbed american series. A a a 1. A the Channel tf1 begins it weekdays with Dorothy s before school club for kids followed by half an hour of Tele on the schedule Are soaps including 5anta Barbara and French versions of the. Game shows wheel of Fortune la roue de la Fortune and the Price 1$ right Lejuste prix. Afternoons include Les Feux d amour the fires of love which i was sorry not to be Able to catch. An hour of news and weather journal and a amp to does t come on until 8 . Other series Amer Caine on tf1 include arabesque a k a murder she wrote Hooker William Shatner s . Hooker and Les de sous de Palm Beach you know. It As Cable s silk stalkings. France 2 has Matt Houston and an american soap i could t recognize so old that the men wore big collared shirts and Bell Bottoms. The Channel s most intriguing offering however is the exceedingly strange Rien a Cirer translated by a native As i Don t give a dam which. Airs twice a Day. Here s what seems to be the premise a smug faced Host with Spiky hair and Little glasses welcomes a Well known guest who is then teased insulted and parodied by a panel of smart Alecks. At least that s the conclusion i came to after several viewings a Frenchman i consulted however had never heard of the show and when i described it he gasped Quot Ceri est Pas possible Quot just the reaction i be had to i site a few shows i be reviewed. France 3 shows Happy Days the talk show fran Ais is Vous Parley topic Quot crimes passion Les Quot and a cooking show la cuisine de Mousque Aires cooking of the musketeers a or maybe mouse Keeter which promised Quot sardines in Yum. A All three channels generally fill their prime time a which in t All that prime since no one in France eats dinner till 9 o clock or later with movies the big movie of the night generally does t Start until 10. Only the longest programs Are interrupted by commercials. Otherwise Quot promotions Quot air Between shows leading to Odd starting times like 9 07 and 12 38. In general though commercials Are relatively scarce and weren t that memorable except for a Nike spot featuring a soccer Ball rebounding from country to country. Early one morning barely awake i discovered the real Gem of French television. Airing every weekday rom 6 30 to 8 35 . On France 2, it s Tel Matin to morning today show so Low key it All boils Down to a two hour gallic a week i became a devotee viewer. After a Disney cute opening in which morning Staples cups. And toothbrushes tick by on clockworks Tel Matin. Plunges into the Early news for a Good two or three. Minutes a Only the top stories Here Folk then Quot presenter Quot William Ley Mergie French to his soul despite the Semi English name takes Over. Armed with a wry smile Reading glasses and no co. Host Ley Mergie keeps the show rolling through segments that take on such Tough topics As fresh produce. Cherries got 15 minutes the same Day the news was wrapped up by 6 3�?T2. He s joined by correspondents who vary from Day to Day a even the weather in Deus trois Soleil does t have a single Host although someone called Jean Louis a comfortingly goofy fellow in a Rugby shirt turned up twice during my viewing. Ley Mergie something of a Cross Between Walter Cronkite and David Letterman could be a Star in America. But nothing As laconically French As his show would Fly in a country where we eat our Low fat Yogurt in the car at 60 Mph. The inescapable conclusion television in France is that the French have real lives and thus no need for television. As Charles de Gaulle might have said if he had been a television Programmer Quot a nation that produces a cheese for every Day of the year is impossible to turn into Couch we ate More brie and foie gras drank More wine and watched less television would we really be As thin and Chic As Les francises while you Ponder that i la be buttering another croissant. Distributed by Scripps Howard news service july 14, 1334 stripes Magazine 7 7. V
