Spectacular finish

Perhaps he was right: there was nothing left to say.

Now that the round-the-clock telecast is over, there8217;s an emptiness inside that cricket cannot possibly fill. After watching Phelps, Bolt 038;Co. after the perfect muscularity and derring-do of Akhil, Vijender, Sushil, the cool precision of Abhinav8217;s markmanship, our cricketers look soft, pampered. Even those Indians who lost early or were badly beaten at the Olympics had a hunger about them. Watching India against Mendis which is what it8217;s been is to watch a team who, for too long, has supped at the high table. Doordarshan8217;s continuous coverage, much of it live, has allowed us to separate the lean and mean from the overfed. It8217;s shifted our attention away from cricket, and successfully challenged the one-game-nation theory. We8217;re ready to watch other sports: didn8217;t you see Baichung Bhutia lead India to victory in the AFC Challenge Cup?

There8217;s nothing complimentary to be said about the coverage, so let8217;s say nothing. Or leave it to the scarcity of ads during Doordarshan8217;s Olympic telecast to say it all. What could be more telling than news channels using Doordarshan8217;s footage and carrying more ads? The news channels being news channels analysed every footfall, every punchline from Vijender during his performances with the same detail and gravity they do the tumult in J038;K. And what could have been funnier than the News 24 anchor in a makeshift ring wearing boxing attire 8212; and spectacles!

What do you say when the axe falls on the Axe? Ho gayee chop, that8217;s what. The TV commercial for Axe Dark Temptation features a man spraying himself with the deodorant which magically transforms him into a walking chocolate, good enough to eat. Someone at I038;B found the chocolate left a bitter aftertaste and it8217;s been axed. How come fairness creams are allowed but not something dark?

Sanjay Nirupam looked unedified at being the first to depart from Bigg Boss8217;s house Colors, voted out by the other inhabitants. The lesson? In life as in politics, politicians don8217;t make good bedfellows. The departure of Jade Goody has diluted the show8217;s appeal by half. She was the flint that sparked controversies, curiosity and perked up the contestants. Now, we8217;re left with weepy Monica Bedi, chatterati Rahul Mahajan and assorted individuals, their attitude and conversation limp as their clothes. Sorta 8220;brain dead8221; like Shilpa Shetty said she was on Big Brother.

How to react to a TV show titled Stacked Star World about a bookstore that stars Pamela Anderson? That nobody8217;s looking at the fine print? That8217;s the books are just a booby trap? Okay, okay8230;

Nobody is laughing much at The Great Laughter Challenge either. Into its fourth year, the comic reality show is more pun and less fun than ever before. The contestants sound less amusing; the judges look less amused. They sit and grin like their mouths froze over midway; they say 8220;very good8221; to everyone. Veteran guffaw-gagster Navjot Singh Sidhu has Shatrughan Sinha as a fellow judge 8212;they don8217;t make the odd couple that Sidhu and Shekhar Suman did. Perhaps that8217;s the problem.

Watching CNN8217;s coverage of General Musharraf8217;s exit was a novel experience. The correspondent from Islamabad spoke for over three minutes with one brief interjection from the anchor. We8217;re used to anchors speaking for three minutes and the correspondent interjecting for three seconds.

shailaja.bajpaiexpressindia.com