In fact, every actor in Scotland who has ever lived has at one time appeared in Taggart.
Which makes what I'm about to confess slightly painful and may see me run out of the country - I haven't seen an episode of Taggart since the mid-80s.
It was one of those programmes that my parents forced me to watch, and was therefore instantly dropped from my consciousness when I left home over 20 years ago. I've managed to avoid it ever since.
So a "celebrity endorsement" for a climate change event from an actor from Taggart in the newspaper yesterday left me scratching my head and wondering who the hell he was, and whether celebrity endorsement actually works.
Quite clearly it does, otherwise companies and political parties wouldn't keep wheeling out "stars" to say how much they've always loved a particular fragrance or how they've always cried at the plight of lesbian pandas.
How sincere they are is left to the reader or viewer to decide. Certainly, not knowing who John Michie is had no bearing on whether I read the article yesterday or not. But having his name attached may have caused some readers to look at a report on climate change that they would otherwise have glossed over.
I doubt I'll be attracting any big names, or even z-listers, to endorse my wee blog, though. Even if they have been in Taggart.
12 comments:
Do you know which Green Party member appeared in The Bill?
Scottish? I've no idea. I know Robin's acting career finished long before The Bill arrived on the scene
This was the actor who was pro SNP, then changed to Labour at the Glasgow East Westminster by-election only to now go Green for this Holyrood one.
It is a bit like Iain Rankin's endorsement of Gordon Brown and Labour during the last Westminster G Election. Coincidentally he was just launching a new book.
Coincidence, aye?
Just to be clear, John Michie hasn't endorsed the Greens, he fronted a charity announcement.
In saying that, floating voters do exist. When it comes to my first vote, I'm a floater myself! "Celebrities" aren't immune, and should be allowed to change their mind about political parties.
Accepted, but I am very guarded about "celebrity political endorsements" on the basis that why would I want someone to my political thinking for me. It is like exoecting a "royal" family to produce wise rulers in perpetuity or the offspring of a shareholding family of cpmpanies to be able to continue the success of their forebears. Genetically illogical.
I am not a member of the SNP but am broadly in harmony with what they want to do, what they have done and where they want to go. They are, by and large, free of the murkier stench of the Westminster party politics which de-serves the populace to the enrichment and benefit of the "party" and their own sea boots.
The Debating Chamber of Holyrood was build in an arc to differentiate from the Punch and Judy style of confrontational politics of Westminster. This was, of course, a mensongeous con, for the voting system was designed to permit the three unionist London parties a monopoly on power by way of a permutation of alliances agin the SNP. The SNP have striven to play it pretty straight and all praise to them.
The fact that they have a crusading political philosophy has permitted them to allow a higher class of politician, relatively untainted by the Westminster corpse of corruption. They also seem to have a higher average IQ.
Rant over
Carry on. Pip Pip!
Not wishing to interrupt Scottish rants I return to my original question and SD's reply on which I am going to be a tease.....
The answer is the subject of a trick quiz question - "who was the first fictional police constable to be shot on UK TV?"
The power of twitter has defeated your devious questioning!
http://twitter.com/#!/setindarkness/status/57576845884923904
(In all honesty, I've never heard of him, but what a fantastic name!)
That url should have been
http://bit.ly/gk08a5
Now I know your Twitter name....
and the name given on the account.
Both of which you can find in the "about" section of this blog!
Weggis
George Dixon of Dock Green?
Come to think of it, it might have been on fillum, "The Blue Lamp."
It may have been redone on the TV series though.
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