Strange things were happening in London. Fake detectives arrested Englishmen and marched them off to be gazed upon and laughed at. Fake paper hangers entered the homes of Englishmen and gummed up the walls beyond recognition. A fake baby was bundled in the arms of a woman as she singled out a total stranger standing in a bus queue. "He," she cried, pointing at the stranger, "is the father of my child!"
What had happened to British dignity? Commercial television had been let loose in the land.
The biggest shocker was People Are Funny (originally a U.S. show), ostensibly put on to entertain...