Greg Dixon: C4 and History to the rescue

My, but you can become such a terrible moaner if you watch a lot of television. Lying on the couch, with the remote and a pleasing selection of salty snacks at your elbow, you're at liberty to shout, cry or mumble under your breath all kinds of things you would never say in public - well, not if you're sane.

And so I do. I whine, moan, grouse, gripe, lament ... I have to say I'm a champion living-room grumbler. Could do it for the country if need be.

Even snide comments such as, "Talking to the TV again are we?" don't put me off.

And there is so much on television to make you want to poke needles in your eyes.

Why, in God's name, is it necessary for newsreaders to prattle on incessantly with the most banal ad libs before and after the sportsreader and the weather woman do their jobs?

And why must news stories always have to be peppered with cliche and heaving with puns?

And why do the ads seem to play at exactly the same time on all channels?

And why, oh why, can I never find anything I want to watch on any channel after 8.30 on a Thursday?

Yes, I do go on. But this week I decided to focus on the half of the glass that is full.

So here, without even a tiny bit of a bitch, are three things I enjoyed very much over the past seven days.

C4's cover of the Big Day Out: Now this was educational telly for me. As Marge Simpson once said, "Music is none of my business." I tend to agree, though mostly these days I'm forced to agree because I couldn't spot Scribe in the street if there was money in it.

But for those too old, too lazy or too poor to get to Ericsson Stadium last Friday, the C4 crew brought the damned sweaty thing into our lounges with verve and a funnybone. It wasn't quite like being there, but it did offer a nifty primer on what the young people are up to.

A highlight came during an interview with The Hives, with C4 host Jaquie Brown telling singer Howlin Pelle Almqvist she was imagining him having sex.

The History Channel: Sky's Channel 53 should be visited regularly for its documentary value.

The re-screening of Ken Burns' epic and deeply moving The Civil War (following the channel's screening of his equally excellent The West) should be made compulsory viewing for all makers of fatuous, ill-researched New Zealand documentaries

Also highly recommended is the I, Caesar series.

Explorers: I've said it before and I will unabashedly say it again - this is a terrific piece of local television.

It deserves repeating, even so soon after its first appearance.

If the Charter is responsible for it, well frame the damn thing and make it the founding document of New Zealand television. A delicate and highly entertaining mix of history, travelogue and scenery. More please.

Right, got that out my system. Let the moaning recommence.