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A place to discuss what's on TV that might be of interest to others. (exc. Top Gear, F1, for example - which have threads of their own)
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Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 17 Nov 12 at 21:08
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Anyone else watched
999: What's Your Emergency?
www.channel4.com/programmes/999-whats-your-emergency
Since no one appears to have commented before, is it a case of "Nuff said" ?
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Anyone else watched
999: What's Your Emergency?
www.channel4.com/programmes/999-whats-your-emergency
Since no one appears to have commented before, is it a case of "Nuff said" ?
Actually I find most of the 'fly on the wall' cop programmes a bit irritating with some trying to sensationalise or belittle the subjects but this one is well put together and shows it as it is.
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>> Anyone else watched
>> 999: What's Your Emergency?
>> www.channel4.com/programmes/999-whats-your-emergency
>>
>> Since no one appears to have commented before, is it a case of "Nuff said"
>> ?
>>
>> Actually I find most of the 'fly on the wall' cop programmes a bit irritating
>> with some trying to sensationalise or belittle the subjects but this one is well put
>> together and shows it as it is.
>>
I was going to comment, as I caught some of it the other night, but here goes now.......
Some of the persons shown made a good argument for eugenic selection/cleansing.
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We watched it here last night. Even Mrs RP was laughing (she doesn't like Cop docs) at the humour the cops showed towards the punters - there were some priceless comments. There were some real insights into social problems that only "plebs" could have. Politicians have no idea what their ignorant tinkering is doing to people both as regards professionals and "service users"
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This 'comedy' came on just as I was going to go on 'tinterweb after the news and as SWM was watching it, I gave it a go. One of two funny bits but the thing which annoyed me was the constant use of little snatches of canned laughter.
They seemed to be exactly the same as those I heard on a Miranda show a while ago. Laughter for a pre-determined number of seconds with a sudden cut-off. If you were sad enough to listen carefully, it sounded like they were repeating the same laughter clip from a collection of half a dozen.
This sort of thing really puts me off these programmes...I don't need prompting over what I deem to be funny of not.
Ted
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Agree about the canned laughter. Early episodes of MASH. No laughs. Later ones - laughs and they were much the worse for it.
Mind you, as a kid, I loved Scooby Doo when it first came out in 1969, and that had a laughtrack. And at 7 I didn't know about "canned laughter", and kept trying to work out if the audience was somehow seeing the cartoon on a big screen or something. Ah, innocence.
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If I remember correctly MASH has a laughter track in the US, but special permission was obtained to show it in the UK first with a reduced track and later with none.
It was a big deal at the time.
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I probably saw them out of order, and saw some in the States. But I do think the same episode is funnier without a laughtrack, yes.
I'm always intrigued by the laugh tracks on something truly awful, like, ok, why not, Dick Emery, or Last of the Summer Wine.
If they are genuine then there really are people in this world who can (or did) get enough enjoyment from a entirely feeble sketch or minor aside to literally shriek with laughter. I only wish I were so easily amused.
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It was never broadcast with the canned laughter on the BBC as far as I recall - I remember the discussion when it was going out. Good series though but they kicked the backside out of it - it lasted longer than the Korean war IIRC.
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Citizen Khan is not funny, it needs canned laughter to inform us there was a funny moment.
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Daughter (to Mr Khan): Have you ever Googled yourself?
Mr Khan: Once, when I put my pyjama bottoms on back to front.
:)
Last edited by: Focus on Tue 25 Sep 12 at 16:26
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I haven't looked at it. The title alone - not bad actually, the play on Citizen Kane - tells me it's a tired old formula sitcom with a slightly new Asian angle. Got to be dire, although I am easily amused and no doubt there is an occasional joke that would make me smile.
Intrusive, irritating canned laughter is characteristic of that sort of carp.
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Watched half an episode, but not enough to keep my attention any longer
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"How We Won the War
Season 1 Episode 6 of 10
The Home Counties Jules Hudson learns how some residents of the Home Counties contributed to the war effort, and discovers a range of experimental weapons invented by an organisation known as Churchill's Toyshop. He also finds out about domestic propaganda and puts a troop of Girl Guides through a few Second World War tests"
No idea how good it will be. Tonight includes Winston Churchill's Toy Shop, based in Whitchurch, Bucks just up tjhe road from here.
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I was surprised they didn't mention more of the 'funny stuff' that went on around Bedford. Common knowledge there was more than one radio station broadcasting to Germany and some of the office buildings had direct links to Bletchley........
Probably no more than what was going on all over the country at the time.
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Am I alone in enjoying X-Factor?
I realise its contrived, that pretty much everything is scripted. But without it I would not have heard the likes of Jahmene or Ella Henderson.
Now they may not be the best talent in the world, but they are worth listening to.
Also, when I become a pop star as a result of my performance in a boy band, I’m going to model myself on Gary Barlow who is pretty much everything I hope I would be.
I think we sneer at this stuff too much.
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>> Am I alone in enjoying X-Factor?
No :)
Quite impressed with the singing from the first live show, and even more impressed by the lack of daft outfits. No real 'joke' acts - even Rylan can sing a bit, although he should have gone last night IMO (and in Louie's opinion too, at least initially).
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Strictly has started, no time for X Factor. I am in love with Gerry Hall, tho she does look a little plain without her slap on, the sexy drawl more than makes up for it.
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>>Strictly has started, no time for X Factor.
Same here. Having taped Friday's episode, we had wall to wall Strictly on Saturday night.
Wonderful!
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Watched both!
And Merlin got off to a good start as well. I think I mentioned last year that I prefer Merlin to Dr Who these days - the latter has got a bit to 'clever' for its own good IMO. I like Merlin's more straightforward story telling, and it's got a big enough budget to pay for some decent CGI.
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>> Strictly has started
What did you think of Tess in that dress on Friday night? Very odd.
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>> >> Strictly has started
>>
>> What did you think of Tess in that dress on Friday night? Very odd.
>>
I only watch the first 5 minutes to see the dresses..
Gives me ideas of what I should wear :-)
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Did anyone else enjoy the ELO/Jeff Lynne night on BBC 4 (TV) last Friday? I did. Jeff shuns the limelight and rarely gives interviews, to quote Eric Idle on the night: "he's a shy pfd", so it was all the rarer.
Child-ferrying duties the next day prevented me from staying up all night to watch the whole lot, but what I did see was good (once you had made allowance for the mutual back-scratching that is the norm in the entertainment 'industry')
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Missed that - I'll catch it on iPlayer.
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Seen it before, twice in fact. Once on the BBC and I was at the original concert at Wembley Arena. It was awesome.
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>> I did. Jeff shuns the limelight and rarely gives interviews, to quote Eric Idle on the
>> night: "he's a shy pfd", so it was all the rarer.
Last Wednesday night's appearance on The One Show:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFexdd_-tL8
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Still got a proper Brummie accent...
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Story of Squeeze basically. Might be a repeat?
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Watched it, prompted Nicole and I to buy two tickets for Squeeze on tour at Guildford in November!
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Very good programme - we were meant to be going as well.
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>> I was thinking of you :)
Get a room.
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>> >> I was thinking of you :)
>>
>> Get a room.
Calm down - I was just remembering that Rob had expressed a liking for the band in the past :)
Haven't seen the documentary yet (recorded), although I did catch some of the 1982(?) concert that was on after the Paul Carrack programme. They did do some cracking songs, and not bad performers either.
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We were meant to be seeing them in Manchester for some reason Mrs RP hadn't booked the seats - having spoken to her this morning looks like we're booking tickets for Guildford as well !
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It was flagged as a "new" production btw.
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Booked for Guilford. Link it to visit family before Christmas...
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Reading? Guildford? They dont even sound similar!
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Kinda the same place though. Full of southerners etc anyway. Disproportionate incidence of Tofu, Volvos and lesbians no doubt.
:-)
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Guildford people consider reading people "Northerners"
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People in Guildford can't read? So much for all those school fees eh?
:-)
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>> People in Guildford can't read? So much for all those school fees eh?
Oh they can read ok, thats why they wont go further north than the M3.
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>> Kinda the same place though. Full of southerners etc anyway. Disproportionate incidence of Tofu, Volvos
>> and lesbians no doubt.
You'll have to come shopping with me in Asda next time you're down here Humph :)
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What, you mean the tofu eating, Volvo driving lesbians have tattoos in Reading then?
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>> What, you mean the tofu eating, Volvo driving lesbians have tattoos in Reading then?
Guildford has free thinking lesbians, Reading has butch dykes.
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You see Z has been shopping in Asda.
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Guiford was an early option, but the decision involved my BiL and Reading is closer to where they live and usefully its on a Saturday night so we can do a runner from here the day before without having to take a day off work.
Last edited by: R.P. on Sat 13 Oct 12 at 16:23
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Should link this to the going deaf post, just come back from a front row against the crush barrier Squeeze concert.
Superb, utterly superb. Glenn Tilbrook has lost none of the power and the same haunting cry of anguish from his voice, and his lead guitar is brilliant.
As a bonus Paul Heaton (Beautiful South) did a good stint warming up the crowd with a band he has put together.
Great night out.
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My wife was commenting about his voice having lasted well when we listened to the R2 live broadcast last week - off to Reading to see the Squeeze next weekend - leaving work early to get there ! (note exciting lifestyle I now lead)
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>> off to Reading to see the Squeeze next weekend - leaving work early to get there ! (note exciting lifestyle I now lead)
Beverley sisters next?
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Zero and RP....the car4play oldest swingers in town:)
It'll be Chas & Dave next.
Pat
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The good thing about chas and dave is, you can listen to the first song, then eff off down the pub knowing you have listened to their entire repertoire of musical skills.
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Oh and as part of the "Pop up Tour" they are doing, on the last song they marched off down the steps, through the crowd, and did a last number next to the "pop up shop" in the foyer.
Its quite funny really in one way, here is a premier 70's / 80s band - now late middle aged, doing a tour to an audience, equally late middle aged, all slightly overweight, unfit, bad eyes, impaired hearing, all bopping around and singing. Its less a concert, more a mid life crisis party, and as such its much more fun.
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Saw the Stranglers last year.
They were still great, and a concert is so much more civilised these days with even a bar in the theatre to drink while listening.
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Starts tonight - cracking acting from Mr Lewis, good plotting and script-writing - what more could you wish for ?
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It started last week didn't it. Tonight is episode two I think (called Beirut is Back). Watch last week's on 4oD first.
www.channel4.com/programmes/homeland/episode-guide/series-2/episode-1
(called The Smile)
Lewis has apparently signed for another 5 series....
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sun 14 Oct 12 at 20:44
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Pooh - missed it...! Catch up tomorrow on BT Vision hopefully
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It's on the 4oD website now. But you'd need a TV/media player of accessing it or watch on the MacBook (connected to the TV?).
I'd record episode 2 tonight (on 10pm on Channel 4+1) and watch episode 2 on catchup TV or whatever BT call it.
It's as good as last series so far. I've watched the first 3 episodes.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sun 14 Oct 12 at 21:05
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Should read ... first 2 episodes. I don't think 3 is on in USA until tonight??
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Easy to connect the MacBook to the telly - have an adapter for the purpose. Thanks.
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Got 23 days to watch Episode 1...!
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It's almost certainly on torrents, via eztv.it
Yes - just checked: series 02 episode 03 has just been listed. Good to go!
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Not so much the acts, but the backdrop/set. You know the one where they have sort of star field framed by blue borders - does anyone else get a sort of 3D effect where the borders appear to stand out from the background?
I've seen this before and it always involves blue - is it a known physical effect?
Last edited by: Focus on Tue 16 Oct 12 at 10:44
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Does the backdrop actually exist? More often then not its just blue or green backdrop seen by the audience, and the rest is done electronically for the TV audience.
Its called chroma keying
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I think it's real - you can see it in some of the photos here:
xfactor.itv.com/2012/photos/liveperformances/see_the-results-show-in-pics-tears-trials-and-tribulations_item_300107.htm
eg. the one with Dermot in the middle, boy band to left and good singer to right
Last edited by: Focus on Tue 16 Oct 12 at 11:02
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They could be still taken from the TV feed. I do it all the time for my home made vids.
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If you are trying to convince me it actually exists, you are still failing. We need someone who was there.
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Not trying to convince you - just trying to provide enough evidence so you (or someone) can say definitively and explain the effect I see, although nobody else seems to have noticed it. Probably my eyes (again) :)
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I've been paying attention and am satisfied most (if not all) of the images you see on the big screens during the programme are 'real'. Because:
- you can see partial reflections in the shiny stage surface beneath the screens
- sometimes on closeups you can see individual 'pixels' in the screens and it's clear that the image is being displayed on those pixels (you have to see it really)
Also, don't those chroma-key effects only work if the camera is in a fixed position, or at best follows carefully controlled (programmed) movements synchronised with movement of the projected image? The X factor cameras appear to move around quite freely.
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>> if the camera is in a fixed position
Actually not neccessary.
The camera in question, which may be on a boom, or on wires, or whatever, has a considerable number of little cameras on front, back, bottom, sides and top.
Throughout the green studio (usually cloth, sometimes paint, are little discs on the walls, floor and ceiling. These little discs look like circular barcodes. In fact, they are.
The small cameras constantly read the barcodes.
Consequently the computers always know where the camera is, where its aiming, and how its moving to allow objects to be inserted, perspectives to be maintained and things like lighting to be hidden. It also allows it to vary the images as it moves around.
It also allows it to control what reflections would be seen in what generated objects.
On one of my first days they told me that I would never believe anything I ever saw on television again. They were right.
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Ok, points taken. However, the closeups alone I think convince me it's not an effect, although I'll have another good look on Saturday.
You've been watching it Mark - you think it is an effect?
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No, I don't. But then, I never spot how a magician does his trick either.
I will look carefully at the weekend.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 8 Nov 12 at 23:05
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Don't know if you saw it, but I'm even more convinced now they've got several unfeasibly large screens displaying actual pictures rather than just slabs of blue/green.
The only time I wasn't 100% certain was a long-ish distance shot with the screens showing the judges' heads - they looked different somehow to the other images.
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I saw it, and studied it.
Whilst I saw nothing to indicate that it was trickery, neither did I see anything to say it wasn't. I saw nothing that couldn't be done either way. AFAIK, of course.
X-Factor has previously used lasers, and that may be what it is.
There's only two ways we'll find out for sure; find someone who was there or find someone involved in making it. I know none of the first, I've dropped an e-mail to a guy who may be part of the second.
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>> I've dropped an e-mail to a guy who may be part of the second.
Why am I not surprised :)
I've not been watching The Xtra Factor follow-up programmes - they might give some clue eg. it's possible that if they are using trickery they turn it off at the end of the main programme. (Only useful if it's filmed in the main studio of course, but from what little I've seen of it in the past they do.)
Last edited by: Focusless on Mon 12 Nov 12 at 14:46
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Again, this isn't actually about the content, but its presentation.
Have you noticed that whenever the scene moves downstairs to the servants' quarters/kitchens etc., the camera starts jerking around? What we call the 'wobbly camera' effect, as originally used on yoof TV programmes in the 80s IIRC.
I guess they're trying to suggest that life for the servants is more 'real', and it's no different to the way background music is used. But once you've noticed it, for me it's just irritating - I imagine the camera operator going on a course so he knows just how much wobble to use to give the 'gritty realism' effect, as opposed to the 'doesn't know how to operate the Steadicam' effect :)
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Running up and down the stairs has made him breathless.
But dont worry, there is a war on, sacrifices have to be made m'lord.
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At least they don't switch to black and white, or do what TV news tend to do for archive clips - show them in the wrong aspect ratio.
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Archive film in modern programmes? Bah. Wrong aspect ratio. Sound added on. Nineteen Twenties film illustrating Eighteen Twenties events.
Irritating.
As to wobbly cameras - watch a BBC documentary from the eighties or earlier. See how the camera stays still? On one subject? Lets the man finish his sentence? Time to think?
None of those are true today. Oh, he's talking but it might be Hard to Understand, so let's zoom in to his nostril, lose the focus, tip the camera on its side, blur it, throw in a strident chord and mutter "explosive secret" in the commentary, and no scene must last more than three seconds.
I say again. Bah.
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>> Sound added on.
Like when they show the goals from 2nd division football matches - the sound of 50,000 fans cheering, when you can see there are about 50 in the stands.
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Or the film is from 1907, and the people in it are "talking" in a low murmur. Sorry, no sound in films just yet, lads.
Those foley artists have a lot to answer for.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Thu 18 Oct 12 at 12:24
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Indeed. It's good to have a thread where the things that matter are discussed.
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Classic BBC sit-com. Slightly off the wall, but not as daft as some on their main channels. All episodes on iPlayer. I don't get a lot of the modern take on sit-coms, but this was genuinely funny.
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Nigel Farage is on tonight and is also on Question Time on the 15th. November.
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He came across as far more natural than many a politician - self deprecating and laughing heartily at himself, won't vote for his party though
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He's on Question Time now (BBC1), plenty of applause.
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I thought Nigel was very good on QT last night. He made his points well and received a decent measure of support from the audience.
He also irritated the smug Dimbleby, which is a result in itself!
The LibDem lady was completely wet and utterly useless: the Tory was surprisingly firm: Harriet Harman had one good argument about the Jordanian terrorist and the advertising fellow was coherent, as one would expect from a spinner.
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>> I thought Nigel was very good on QT last night. He made his points well
>> and received a decent measure of support from the audience
You would have thought he was good if he was wearing a ronald mcdonald uniform. He was, in fact simply stupid, with a single one track train of thought (Everything, simply everything is the fault of Europe) and made to look a right prick when he went on and on, wrongly as it happens, about the European court keeping abul Q in the UK.
Clearly you saw a different programme to me, public support for him was average at best.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 16 Nov 12 at 08:41
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>> Clearly you saw a different programme to me, public support for him was average at
>> best.
Clearly !
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You would have thought he was good if he was wearing a ronald mcdonald uniform.
>> He was, in fact simply stupid, with a single one track train of thought (Everything,
>> simply everything is the fault of Europe) and made to look a right prick when
>> he went on and on, wrongly as it happens, about the European court keeping abul
>> Q in the UK.
>> Clearly you saw a different programme to me, public support for him was average at
>> best.
So "we" can count on your vote then.
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Nige always gives a good account of himself and shoots from the hip (he makes I larf, it's that face!)
I liked his point about the corporations (such a Amazon & Starbucks) avoiding paying tax in England by choosing the cheapest jurisdiction, which in their case is Ireland.
I didn't like him defending the zionist state and sympathising with the zionists, I wouldn't vote for any party that sympathises with the zionists.
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Just a reminder that the Fairport Convention documentary and 'Songs of Sandy Denny' concert are on BBC4 tonight, starting at 10pm.
'Queens of British Pop' on at 9pm - Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, Marianne Faithfull, Suzi Quatro, Siouxsie Sioux & Kate Bush are mentioned in the freeview info.
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Yep, I'm recording Sandy and I'll watch Fairport tomorrow on the iPlayer.
My recorder is DVD you see and will only record 120 mins, I did try some dual layer things once upon a time but my LG DRT 389H wasn't having it, such is life!
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999: What's Your Emergency? - John H
