Yeah, I was fairly certain he got the Awesomes to leave because as you said, his growing concern was clear-- I was thinking more the how.

Flash Forward? Wasn't that a Disney channel series with Ben Foster and Jewel Staite?

Yes! I loved that show!

The Brand-Ross fiasco:

Russell Brand is a comedian. His ex girlfriend Georgina Baillie(aged 22 or so) is a burlesque goth dancer who goes by the stage name Voluptua. She is also the granddaughter of 78 year old Andrew Sachs, aka Manuel in Fawlty Towers, and apparently she'd happened to mention this fact to Brand at some point while they were dating.

Brand appeared on Jonathon Ross's radio show, and they decided it would be hi-larious for Brand to phone up Sachs and boast about having fucked his granddaughter.

Thus they rang him up, and left these messages on his answer phone. (Highlights including: "He fucked your granddaughter!" "Andrew Sachs I did not do nothing with Georgina … oh no, I revealed I know her name! Oh no, it's a disaster! Abort, abort! Put the phone down, put the phone down, code red, code red! I'm sorry Mr Fawlty, I'm sorry. You're a waste of space! Oh no, Jonathan..." "If he is like most people of a certain age he has probably got a picture of his grandchildren when they were young and innocent right by the phone. So while he is listening to the message he is looking at a picture of her when she was about nine on a swing...")

Hilarious! Ho ho ho!

Now, it was a pre-recorded conversation, and they had the chance to ponder whether airing this on BBC radio really was a great idea, but evidently they decided it would make great entertainment. Sachs was contacted and apparently gave somewhat stupified permission for it (or maybe only some of it? I'm not sure?) to be aired.

At the time, it garnered only two complaints. However, once The Mail (arguably one of our most utterly loathsome rags) had printed an inflamatory article about it, people wrote in to the Beeb in their droves complaining vociferously about the crass insult to national treasure Andrew Sachs. Brand lost his job, Ross was suspended for several weeks without pay, the woman who was in charge of that part of BBC radio resigned, Joe Public made many "what do we pay our license fee for?!?!" noises.

It was a mighty shitstorm.

As far as I know, they have apologised to Andrew Sachs, but not to Georgina Baillie. (And of course those same people who were up in arms about the insult to National Treasure Andrew Sachs have thoroughly enjoyed ogling pictures of Georgina Baillie, tut-tutting about the fact that she dances with a troop called Satanic Sluts, and pretty much opined that she was asking for it m'lud, with her dirty antics. Especially when she had the nerve to speak up in public herself.)

I'm in two minds about this whole business: I don't want it to be the thin edge of a censorship wedge, where the BBC is frightened to take risks, and where entertainment has to be prissy and bland rather than dare to offend anyone's tender sensibilities. I really don't. On the other hand, I have very little patience for the kind of entitled, priveliged cruelty and rudeness that this exemplifies - and that is also epitomised, in a less crass way, by Anne Robinson's persona on The Weakest Link. I think that glorifying bullying and rudeness* is corrosive. I'm a fan of compassion and courtesy.

Anyway, the salacious disapproval which greeted the Brand-Ross affair is trying to transfer itself to the John Barrowman penis incident - or at least, the media are trying to stir up shock and outrage. I've been pleasantly surprised by how many people seem to think that this is a storm in a teacup, though.

(I mean, I don't think that flashing your knob is particularly hilarious either - I lost track of how (continued...)

( continues...) many drunken Scotsmen lifted their kilts and waved their willies around while I was at Uni - but I don't think it's unkind or even particularly offensive.)

• by which I do not mean bawdiness, but rather discourtesy and belittling behaviour.

I lost track of how many drunken Scotsmen lifted their kilts and waved their willies around while I was at Uni

Um, I think I would still be traumatized to this day over the above.

Reaper news:

This just in: Reaper has a return date!
A spokesperson for The CW confirms that the supernatural knee-slapper will join the net's schedule on Tuesday, March 17 at 9 p.m./ET following 90210. I'm told the show's entire 13-episode second season will air uninterrupted.

(I mean, I don't think that flashing your knob is particularly hilarious either - I lost track of how many drunken Scotsmen lifted their kilts and waved their willies around while I was at Uni - but I don't think it's unkind or even particularly offensive.)

Fay, you don't say it directly, but I think this hits on why I'm a lot less exercised about Barrowman's actions. There's no innocent third-party victim dragged into the situation. As opposed to Brand-Ross, where Baillie and possibly Sachs (depending on how much of an okay he gave) didn't have a say in the whole thing.

There's no innocent third-party victim dragged into the situation.

Exactly. Not even the freaking on-line viewers. Nobody saw except a couple of adults who more or less requested it.

MUFFIN BUFFALO!