HJ’s bowl of soup

It was probably rude of us not to have mentioned that HJTV, which had bullied its way past every other station in the country, is back on the air but not much has changed, if anything at all, based on what we have seen.

It is still being broadcast on STVS 72/21 though another local broadcaster would readily dispute its right to this, and interestingly enough, nothing was ever really said about what had happened to put a cork in HJTV’s lid just a few months into broadcasting.

Know how when people do not want to discuss things they usually brush it off by saying, “Talks are ongoing” or something similar that is just as brief. This was pretty much what anyone got when enquiring about what caused the blackout at HJTV. Of the little information that was eventually filtered out we learned that HJTV’s licence had to be reviewed.

So much for that stuff, HJTV is back and perhaps for good this time, but it just feels like they are feeding us the same bowl of soup. Now if it were German’s soup we would not be discussing this at all. Did someone say migraine or are we just feeling the effects of eight non-stop hours of HJTV?

The entertainment concept is refreshing and we are going to shout out HJTV for bringing us something different, but come on already, has programming being thrown out of the window? Or rather, has programming even been considered? Music videos, no matter how new and great they are, simply cannot be all HJTV offers us.

But while they are still figuring that out and we hope it will not be that long there are a few things we quite enjoy about the station. Take FACTS 2 for instance, a great reality show idea that was working for us and we have to admit that Sharda Eligon was our pick; the girl’s got talent.

And if there is one thing that HJTV should never cut from its current programming, it is entertainer Rawle’s Hitsville music hour, which was originally on radio but is now aired live every Thursday night – though we usually catch the re-broadcast episodes. Talk about television worth tuning into. This is one hour worth staying up for.

Rawle, based on the emails and calls he receives (this was revealed on air) would have a new topic for discussion every show. We were actually considering dropping him a few topics to see if they would fly with him but judging from the last few weeks, he is in really good hands.

“Why do people cheat?” Rawle asked last week, and the responses he got were classic stuff. As the telephone calls went through we fought off the sleep and by the time one caller said, “It depends on what you consider cheating,” we were wide awake because that was just a bit of what she had to say.

In case we did not make it clear, Rawle’s viewers, and not Rawle, are the real stars of this show, but it would not be the same without him. He wisecracks and sometimes even stumbles through the whole show, but it never fails to impress.

Hitsville is such a hit that we try not miss an episode, and prior to last week show there was a really good one on why older men date younger women – it just does not get any more interesting than that. With Sharma off the air and all, it is good to relax and watch a programme that is made for laughs. Thanks Rawle.  (thescene@stabroeknews.com)