American TV dramas vs Foot afflictions

GOOD THING: AMERICAN TV DRAMAS
I'm not going to make sweeping generalisations here, because I'm aware that we in the UK usually get the cream of the television shows produced by the US - and lord knows even some of that is a travesty. However, when it comes to high quality prime-time programmes, the BBC is left trailing in the wake of shows that have crossed the Atlantic - and ITV doesn't even make the starting grid. American drama series are big-budget and have high production-values, but this isn't what seals their success - the fact is, lots are incredibly well-written and well-acted. The X Files and The West Wing are two of my all-time favourites, but over the past few years I've also been hooked on The Shield, House, Desperate Housewives and Without a Trace. And now we have Big Love, which looks likely to join those hallowed ranks. Can you imagine the British equivalents? You could have a pair of Secret Service agents investigating UFO-sightings in the wilds of Cumbria, a series about the goings-on in 10 Downing Street (everyone would be much less witty and attractive, of course), or the darkly funny lives of a group of yummy mummies who live on the same street in Surrey. Mmmm, actually, I think I'll put a pitch together for Channel Five....

BAD THING: FOOT AFFLICTIONS

I'm not sure how anyone can have a foot fetish. I don't have any particular aversion to feet, but from those that I've observed, they're really not very attractive - and what's more, they are vulnerable to all kinds of painful and/or unsightly afflictions. To start with there are bunions, and I do have a chip on my shoulder about this, because I've been unlucky enough to inherit this charming condition from my mum. I used to laugh at her oddly-shaped feet and nobbly big-toe joint - until I started to develop the same problem. So far it's just the one foot, but hey, I'm only in my mid-twenties, so there's plenty of time for the other foot to catch up. Apart from being painful, they make it virtually impossible to wear either formal shoes (too uncomfortable) or sandals (who wants to see feet worthy of The Elephant Man?) If it's not bunions it's more transitory problems like veruccas or athlete's foot, and I've had the misfortune to have both. The veruccas I had a few years ago were incredibly stubborn, and after trying every over-the-counter and doctor-presribed treatment, I had to resort to virtually gouging the little bastards out of my foot. Satisfactory result, though. Blisters are also really, really unpleasant, and there are some types of footwear that are almost guaranteed to cause them. Those footwear are, of course, the ones you wear for activities where you really don't want painful feet - e.g. walking boots, football boots/running shoes. I think that by the time I'm middle-aged I will probably have collected the complete set of foot complaints - bring on the corns, warts and calluses!