Brand ex

I was given a free portable DVD player last week at the launch of a new US show called Heroes (we were also given the first four eps of the series). And guess what - it doesn't work. I knew it was a ploy to get journos to come - well, you really couldn't drag most hacks to a Sci-Fi Channel launch, and I also knew it was too good to be true that any freebie DVD player would be a good one. When you see the word Matsui your heart sinks. It is of course Dixon's own make. Not Sony or Panasonic, but Dixons own.

Own brand stuff is always a disappointment. Except perhaps St Michael. Think of it: Happy Shopper, My Mum's, Canda, Winfield, Linea, Prova, Nisa, etc. Even the names are dull. Thankfully not many of these exist any longer.

Why is this? Is it because they simply weren't very attractive to shoppers? It's the same with supermarket own brand economy stuff. Needless to say, we don't buy it, but it looks like you'd have to be in the poorhouse to even consider it. Stark packaging with zero allure. You know it's going to be white gristly mince, heavy on the hydrogenated fats. A report has just pointed out that these own brand things aren't actually very good for you. Duh! I'm bilious just thinking about it.

Going back to the DVD player however, we did watch the first four episodes of Heroes (on a proper DVD player) and it's really very good. Most captivating. I recommend it. February on Sci-fi. If you can't be bothered with that, it's coming on BBC2 in the summer, I believe.