Festeron Reviews

The Body in Question (1978– )

Brilliant history of medicine for the interested layman.

[10/10 · 16 February 2007]

It has been years since I've seen any of the episodes of Jonathan Miller's "The Body in Question", yet my memory of this series fondly lingers.

It's an examination of our changing knowledge of medicine over the ages. Miller takes us around the world, and explains in clear language just what went on. His sense of humour is sharp and ever-present, and is in the same vein as his "Beyond the Fringe" days.

Particularly interesting is a segment in the first episode, in which Miller walks the streets of London asking questions such as "How big is your heart?" "Where is your spleen?" "How would you die if your pancreas stopped working?".

Miller later (?) released a companion book. I'm waiting anxiously for this series to be released on DVD.

Don Adams' Screen Test (1975)

I was only 16, but I remember this show...

[15 August 1999]

In two 15-minute segments, Don Adams would direct the re-creation of a classic film moment using contestants/would-be actors. The making of the re-enactment was the comic part, even if the scene itself was not.

I remember them recreating Marlon Brando in "On the Waterfront" and the beach kiss in "From Here to Eternity".

Hysterically funny? No, but I remember that we made a point to watch it each week (in the pre-VCR days, don't you know?)