Does anyone remember this CITV childrens program? I was out of it's target audience when it first ran between 1996 - 2001 but it's stuck in my mind. For those not up with '90s kids tv it was about a small boy who, with the aid of a magic pocket watch, could stop time. At first he used it to do easy things like not be late for school then he started doing crazy stuff like leaning a ladder against birds in flight, cllimbing up said ladder and plucking said bird out of the sky. I had a check of the wikipedia page and it is mental:
Philosophical application
Bernard's Watch is also a theoretical concept used to investigate the logical constraints on the idea of an omniscient prototype. The theme central to this implies that a man in possession of 'Bernard's Watch' is capable of anything (provided that he demonstrates a sufficient level of tenacity in the pursuit of his goals) and would thus investigate the ideas incurred by such an entity's interaction with reality.
A practical application of 'Bernard's Watch' would place an onus on the investigation of the nature of self-gratification by utilising various meta-ethical disciplines. What would a human being choose to do, and why? A popular theory is that behaviour would be subject to a number of discriminant phases.
Conjecture abounds as to whether or not the watch that Bernard has in his possession is merely symbolic. This theory expounds that Bernard possesses no watch, and that time is not being stopped at all. What Bernard actually possesses is the mind of a genius, and what appears to be the cessation of time is actually a device used by the show's makers that allows the viewer to follow Bernard's extraordinarily fast train of thought.
However, this would not make sense as he is seen to stop time and then get to places far away, without time moving.
I think they could adapt this into a killer Dr Who episode where the Dr has to catch errant child with the power to stop time.
Anyway talk about Bernard's Watch or just about how cool / dangerous it would be if you had the power to stop time.
― acrobat, Monday, 25 June 2007 13:23 (eighteen years ago)
"Although it may seem marvellous, Bernard's watch has strict rules. Bernard is not allowed to commit crimes using the watch and cannot use it to be greedy."
I'm not sure it pub quiz pwnage counts as a crime, it might be considered greedy if the prize was large.
― acrobat, Monday, 25 June 2007 13:36 (eighteen years ago)
David Peachey, the little boy playing Bernard, is now 20 years old and goes to my university (He studies medicine at Sheffield). I had an amusing chat with him while crashing the medics bar crawl, I was dressed as Arthur Dent and he as a giant bottle of Stella. How times change....
― JTS, Monday, 25 June 2007 15:43 (eighteen years ago)
did he volunteer the information that it was he who played bernard or were you already in the know?
― acrobat, Wednesday, 27 June 2007 10:13 (eighteen years ago)