5th Oct - 9th Oct 1998

Monday 5th October

Angry Hour

Whale Hunting

Premise : It's a tradition once a year for the Muta Indians(sp?) to go in search of a gray whale. They have been denied this birthright for 70 years, and want it back. Who's side are you on, the natives or the whales? Tommy's with the natives.

Evaluation : The best shows are usually those which directly question bog-standard stances in regards to contemporary issues. Because of the media, and organisations such as Green Peace, we are intimidated, mainly by images of cruelty and suffering, to take on the opinions of those who deliver these messages. We are having morals forced upon us, and are expected to take on these morals. It is important therefore that we make our own minds up about everything, and listen without prejudice to a coherent argument. When the show takes on a provocative standing on a delicate issue, deep down it's delivering some powerful stuff, and this instance was no exception. You can't help but question what is actually wrong about hunting one whale a year to maintain a people's cultural traditions. Very thought provoking, and of course it boiled up the obligatory indignation from the mammal rights brigade. A splendid hour, with an argument armed with faultless logic!

Classic Quote : Tommy to Bob from Belfast, "With such an absence of information, what makes you think that you have a right to an opinion?"

Interesting Points : Tommy once witnessed a gray whale trying to kill a man / The seas off the coast of West Scotland are swarming with whales / A centuries old hunting technique was to get close to the whale and one warrior would jump on the whale's back and spear the blow hole

Tuesday 6th October

Satanism

Premise : Tommy's considering becoming a Satanist, because of their central philosophy : The only way that you can ever get hurt, is if you put yourself in a position to be hurt, and choose to be hurt from what somebody has said or done. Equally, if you hurt somebody, it is because they've put themselves in a vulnerable position wherein you might hurt them, by choosing to do so, ergo they are to blame.

Evaluation : Another intelligent twist in the fabric of religious debate. Satanism, as explained, is a very logical, very healthy way of thought. Life, if nothing else, is all about defending yourself from various attacks, be they social, physical, or emotional. The ultimate defence, therefore, is the ability to shield yourself from assualt of any kind, and that's where this philosophy kicks in and operates at a rational level. Satanism is a fundemental psychological barrier, presented in an acceptable format, in this instance. It is always more than interesting to be a fly on the radio, when listening to an argument concerning conflicting religious beliefs, worships, and followings. This was brilliant and liberating stuff. A cracking hour, that sails alongside the best of the religious shows!

Classic Quote : Tommy to Ozkan from North London (sp?), "No, I am trying to show you, that you are a very muddled man, who doesn't know or understand anything, who hasn't got an inquiring mind, who hasn't got a shred of evidence, to back up an opinion, that was only given to him by somebody older and frightening, when you were very small. And I am free, I am liberated from that kind of nonsense. I am souring towards the sky - free, a free man, free as a bird."

Interesting Points : You don't have to worship the devil to be a satanist / Satinism is simply a word attached to a very healthy philosophy

4 Questions

Premise : Today we were blessed with 4 shows in one. Firstly in preparation for a radio documentary about scrap metal dealers, people who've had dealings with them in the past were asked to phone in and share their experiences / A question was asked for all the girls out there - how much would you charge for a full night? / Instead of issuing passports to children in order to keep tabs on them, the proposition was that each child is branded with their parents initials and date of birth / Due to extremely high funeral and burial costs, the alternative proposal was to bury people under the roads and pavements, freeing up all that cemetry land.

Evaluation : This was a very mixed hour, with some very mixed results, but as with most ingredients you blindly throw into the cake mix with various quantities, this cake did well not to leave a nasty after taste. The first part of this quadratical show regarding scrap metal dealers, wasn't really of major interest, and mainly served for research purposes for a proposed radio documentary. Thankfully, this did not consume the calls, or the listeners. The price for a full night with a lady on the other hand, obviously holds a great deal of interest - well for every hot blooded male. I don't see it working as a full hour though, so it was very satisfying to hear calls on the subject in a much compressed format.

The other 2 proposals were very practical and well thought out, particularly stronger was the proposal to have burials under the nations tarmac. This would have made a great hour on it's own, and seemed slightly wasted with the lack of air time given over to it. I particularly 'dug' the idea of temporary ground storage, so the relatives would have to time share! Branding babies was a clever suggestion, and you could see it being put into practice as such, but although a great idea, again I don't see it holding for an hours worth of discussion. All in all an assorted hour, with various levels of conversation and interest..

Classic Quote : Tommy to Lorraine in Wrexham (talking about babies), "If they do feel pain, then what are we doing circumcising baby boys?"

Interesting Points : Mandy from Camden would charge £500 - and amazingly that is her starting point!!! / Susie from London (a prostitute) said that they wouldn't charge anything less than £100 a night / A caller's son won some money on a horse that Tommy recommended. Shame that Tommy didn't have anything on it though.......! / Micro-chipping offered as alternative to branding, so was freeze branding using liquid nitrogen as they do with dairy cattle, applied with a normal branding iron on to their backsides / It was also suggested that babies be bar-coded

Wednesday 7th October

Literary Advice

Premise : It is a misconception that publishers are being bombarded by new authors. That, not being the case, Tommy invited listeners to pitch their ideas for prospective novels.

Evaluation : This was a very special interest hour, particularly useful for wannabe authors, but I believe for the average listener, it had little appeal. last caller, shopping list hillarious. That's not to say that it didn't have some nice touches. Credit must go to Tommy's handling of Jennifer from Liverpool who was pitching a rather complex and long synopsis based in France during the revolution. His solution was to fade her down and recite his shopping list, unbeknown to the poor woman who was still yacking on. Also, Tommy's tendency to be scribbling away in the background, intimating that he's stealing his callers best ideas - something they didn't pick up! Aside from those nice touches to the hour, there was nothing to particularly draw the listener to the radio this time round. Unfortunate, because this week had been cracking so far!

Classic Quote : Tommy to Lou in Southend <sarcastically> "I can't wait to see that in print. I'm going to nip down to Dilan's and reserve my copy now!"

Interesting Points : Tommy's published 6 books, and will write a novel when the time is right / A 'Y' in the title of the novel is suppose to help / The publishers are looking for books written in diary form, fact or fiction / Tommy played a part in bringing the book that Schindler's List was based upon, to Stephen Speilberg's attention.

IT Operators

Premise : A celebration of the army that is IT operators - decribed as 'the warriors of fortune'.

Evaluation : This was a very good hour, because it challenged the all too familiar cliche of computer experts being talentless nerds - although it was unsure whether ot not Tommy was taking the mick. Unfortunately, with that ground breaking premise, the shows first caller (Andy from Northampton) actually contradicted the whole hour by just being... well a talentless nerd! This was mirrored later by further callers.

Typical Conversation : Tommy, "Alan Good Afternoon!", Alan "Hello", Tommy "IT people, aren't they fantastic?", Alan "Hello!", Tommy "Yes", Alan "Yeah I think they're fantastic", <pause> Tommy "IT?", Alan "Yeah", Tommy "Really?", Alan "Yeah!"

Thursday 8th October

S & M

Premise : An open discussion concerning bondage!

Evaluation : Not a subject you would particularly welcome in mixed company, but one that curiosity gets the better of. A great hour trading in anecdotes and private stories concerning punishment erotica. Fiona from South London - an ex-inmate, observed an officer chasing a fellow inmate around the prison, leading to some important explanation, such as the popularity of Prisoner Cell Block H with young men. Then there was Tony from Essex, an man with experience in the area, so much so he is a professional, boasting over 300 women as his clientele. Altogether a solid hours worth of interesting offerings.... now where did I put those shackles?!?!

Classic Quote : Tommy to Tony - a professional bondage master, "You didn't get this down at the job centre, did you pal?"

Interesting Points : 8 out of 10 married couples have reportedly tried bondage / D & B stands for Domination and Bondage, later corrected by a listener as B & D / In the states there are bondage musicals

25 Years Of Commercial Radio Not scored, due to only hearing the first quarter

Premise : A celebration of commercial radio's silver aniversary, and how far should you sit from the television?

Evaluation : Radio is alive and punching, and stronger than it's ever been, with Talk Radio being the league leader. Although I wasn't able to here all of the show, what I did here was pretty interesting, along with the obligatory nutter Dennis ringing in to provide the entertainment.

Classic Quote : Tommy to Dennis, "You sound just like everybody's gran!"

Interesting Point : The official distance to sit away from the radio is one and a half times the distance of the diagonal measure

Friday 9th October

The Wonderful Hour

Saving Tips

Premise : Plenty of money saving tips for the elderly, including : leaving the shopping bag at home, checking phone boxes for 10p's, grow a beard, note down all phone calls to save money and help memory, and also note down all phone calls to save money and help memory.

Evaluation : Tommy became very passionate about this one, demonstarted in his thoroughly adrenalin pumping exchange with Tony in London, in which he just began an unprovoked verbal assassination.... wonderful stuff! It was equally a delight to hear a Mrs Matthews come on the radio incensed at the patronisation she chose to feel, even though she calmed down and her fire was put out during a calm conversation. Overall this was quite a constructive sensible hour, with a myriad of good ideas

Classic Quote : Tommy angry with Tony from London, "You're one of these people who justs spends all his life yacking. You've never had an original thought in your life, or if you have, you're unable to come up with one right now!"