For those who are weary of the steady diet of wimpy, wussified, politically-correct males who crawl onto television screens to beg for a few crumbs of respect, two notable examples of self-confident males can be found. One is found in the BBC program – shown on most PBS stations – “Doc Martin.” Martin is the doctor in a small English seacoast town.  He is a very independent, competent, and conscientious physician; a misanthrope who has little use for the male and female boobs with whom he must deal.  The other man is Mark Labbett, who is found on the Game Show Network’s new program “The Chase.” Labbett is a very self-confident individual who challenges his guests to trivia contests and wins. Known, on the show, as “The Beast,” he bests his opponents with little sympathy for their losses.

The Best of Butler Shaffer