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Posts tagged ‘Television’

18
Jun
seesaw

SeeSaw gets premium comedy shows

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of SeeSaw. All opinions are 100% mine. I would not take a sponsorship opportunity unless I genuinely believe in the product and have written about it before without sponsorship.

Where can you find South Park, Only Fools and Horses, The IT Crowd, The Thick of It, Summer Heights High, Man To Man, Lab Rats and many more great comedies all in one place? Read moreRead more

18
Jun
topgear

Is embarrassing parents TG video viral?

Not long ago in my first Top Gear series 15 preview post I included a video of some very embarrassing parents shouting about Top Gear as they passed the presenter in their car on the motorway.

The Top Gear presenters were driving cars turned into caravans – something we’ll see in the new series – starting June 27th. Read moreRead more

12
Feb

SeeSaw TV on demand now in CI and Isle of Man

I wrote a blog post two weeks ago about SeeSaw, the new television on demand service – mainly for archive content.

This service, currently in a limited invite only beta, is born out of the ashes of the rejected Project Kangaroo – planned by BBC, ITV & C4 but rejected by the BBC Trust.

When I first got my invite I was very excited by it, but I was instantly confronted by a message telling me it wasn’t available in the Channel Islands (well I think it said my location).

This was down to rights reasons, they didn’t have permission from the various rights holders (even though all the same shows were available through 4OD and Demand five for the islands) to make it available in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man – independent territories that have to be negotiated separately.

Then I got a message this morning to tell me that they’ve now managed to negotiate rights to make their shows available to the islands – which was a nice thing to read after a day flying to and from London.

It said: “We’re pleased to let you know that we’ve recently acquired the rights to show programmes in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

“You should now be able to join in the fun and watch your favourite programmes on SeeSaw.”

Which more than made my day and – I’ve tried it and it works brilliantly. This puts SeeSaw, even though it is still in invite only beta – well ahead of all the rest as it is the ONLY multi-network service available in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

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14
Jan

Random ideas for the evolution and survival of Top Gear

After an article in the Daily Mail this morning (since removed) randomly suggesting a Top Gear movie involving the lads going around the world in 80 cars.

It looks like this was taken from a suggestion originally posted in an ‘ideas for Top Gear’ thread on Digital Spy a while ago – but the idea is interesting.

I’m not saying a Top Gear movie would be the best of ideas of all time but there is more that could be done with the format.

Especially as it might be useful/interesting for Top Gear to do a Doctor Who/Torchwood and cut things back for a year.

The DW team took a year off from a normal series of the show and instead had a number of bigger budget specials.

Top Gear could do a similar thing – take 2011 off (I’m sure a lot of planning/work/money is already invested in 15/16 for this year) and instead of two series which is about 14 episodes – have four specials.

One could go out around Easter, one in the summer, one around October and another at Christmas – I’m sure a Christmas Day Top Gear special would do well.

Then, with car news, information and ideas brimming from a year of having to come up with fewer ideas – the lads could start again properly with series 17 in 2012.

In fact I think they’d do well taking the same approach as other BBC shows and maybe having one 8 episode series a year (maybe running from May) and then a special around Christmas.

I love Top Gear and there has been some great stuff over the years but spreading the money and ideas over fewer episodes I think would help keep it going for longer.

15
Dec

How I managed to avoid the X-Factor

I’m writing this post listening to a Spotify Playlist I created specifically for blogging (it inspires me to actually write instead of thinking about writing) and praising myself for having avoided the X-Factor and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here this year.

And I don’t mean just avoid watching it – I mean avoid it almost completely (with the exception of the odd photo of the stupid haired jedtwins thing) – I’ve not seen a single episode or video clip, I’ve not heard a song by or seen performance from ANY of the two shows.

But to achieve this I’ve had to pretty much avoid all of the main television networks, all television news, YouTube, shop windows, electronics shops and more – I’ve even had to avoid looking at the plasma on the wall in the BBC Jersey newsroom.

I haven’t watched a single show on ITV, the television at home has not been set to the channel once in the last few months and I only watch shows on the BBC or Channel 4 recorded through Sky+ or through iPlayer/4OD.

This isn’t so much because I’ve got a moral objection to the show – talent shows have been around for decades – more than I know I’ll get sucked into the crap and hate myself for it afterwards.

However, I have now heard the winner singing his version of the Miley Cyrus song, The Climb (heard not watched) – so I could comment with a tiny bit of knowledge and …. It’s rubbish.

He sounds like a poorer version of Gareth Gates, he has no feeling or emotion invested in the song and just dies.

I’m not a massive Miley fan but as I have a 9 year old Hannah Montana obsessed daughter I do know her music well (was dragged to see the film) and at least she has an interesting twang to her voice, a unique element and a bit of passion – the X-Factor one is just rubbish.

I can’t bring myself to come up with anything more creative than that because his voice and interpretation doesn’t deserve anything more creative.

Yes it will probably go to number one this week and so be Christmas number one (hopefully Rage Against the Machine will be at number two) but that doesn’t mean it isn’t rubbish – it’s just another item of merchandising that the fans of the television drama that is X-Factor have brought to support and show alliegence to their favourite show.

I’ve got no problem with that at all, in the same way that I’ve got no problem with the charts being manipulated by Facebook fans – the charts are meaningless and have been for a long time.

What matters is the songs/artists my friends suggest – the songs I discover myself through hours of scouring Spotify (like tonight) and the playlists I find hidden around the blogosphere.

Than and the charts in iTunes around specific genres. But that hasn’t stopped me getting the Rage Against the Machine song or listening to the rubbish X-Factor song.

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5
Dec

Christmas telly on the BBC has a bit for one and some for all

I promise I won’t write about Christmas and nothing else as we move from December towards the moment of the year where we can all get away with eating to much, trying to look pleased at crap presents and watching television.

I’ve written a little bit about food, in a way that works with the premise of this blog – by talking about a new BBC site dedicated to Christmas food.

Now I’m going to talk about the mass of brilliance (and some of the chaff) that will be shown across the BBC television network in the last two weeks of the year.

If I can find anything worth pointing out I’ll cover the other channels in a post next week – but for now here is Aunties festive delights.

In one line I’ve noticed there’s some seriously brilliant looking new drama, a combination of old favourite and newly charming comedy, cartoons, Shakespeare and a few instanced of David Tenant.

In the last two weeks of 2009 the BBC will be showing a mythical beast played by Robbie Coltrane, the end of all time with David Tennant and Catherine Tate‘s Nan taking on Charles Dickens Christmas spectacle.

Nan will be visited by a number of Christmas spirits

Nan will be visited by a number of Christmas spirits

But that’s not all, I’m nowhere near done yet – in addition we’ve got Victoria Wood with a mid-life christmas filled sketch show, boys dancing, a bit of costume drama and the usual mass of Christmas specials.

For the Christmas specials there will be Gavin and Stacey, Outnumbered, Eastenders, My Family and more. Add opera, Steve Coogan, dancing and even more costume drama.

Even CBBC and Cbeebies are in on the whole Christmas special series with David Tenant reading a bedtime story, Justin from Gigglebiz as a panto dame introduced by Chris Evans and a story about children finding a glass bottle on CBBC.

There are a couple of Casualty specials, the day of the Triffids, Top of the Pops at Christmas AND New Year, more toys from James May, Three Men in a Boat going to Ireland and yet more costume drama.

In detail

So lets look into what’s coming up in a bit more detail – starting with the kids stuff.

But first here is a video that will tell you a lot more than I can hope to – even though I’m still going to give it a go.

Back to the mass of text.

For those of you without pre-school children, Cbeebies bedtime stories is basically famous people coming into the Cbeebies studio and reading a book at the end of the day in the ‘Bedtime Hour’.

The Christmas one will see David Tennant read a book about a Bear Cub who leaves his parents to go exploring on Christmas eve. In fact the soon to be former Doctor Who star will read a total of five books during the festive season.

Moving back a bit to CBBC and their Christmas highlights include a drama called ‘Ingeniuous’ that baiscally tells the story of 11 year old Sally and friends who find a magical genie in an old bottle.

And the CBBC sketch show, I’m Sorry I’ve Got No HEad, featuring Marcus Brigstocke, David Armand and Mel Giedroyc among others doing stupid things to make kids laugh.

A little bit more Grown Up

BBC Three is going all dance mad on the run up to Christmas with ‘Balletboys’, a new version of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring making the 100th anniversary of the Ballet Russes – dance groups from all styles across the UK coming together..

There’s a film combining documentary and peformance form the Balletboys – Michael Nunn and William Trevitt.

And, something they’ve been trailing heavily – the final of Move Like Michael Jackson where dance acts get the chance to show their skills as they attempt to give some of Michael Jacksons dance moves a go.

Shakespeare and more

Patrick Stewart in the RSC production of Hamlet

Patrick Stewart in the RSC production of Hamlet

BBC Two will be showing The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Hamlet starring David Tennant.

However, it isn’t a straight filming of the stage show – this is a recreation of the stage production for television but with the same cast and crew as the stage show.

If you’ve watched the preview above you’ll see that this looks set to be something spectacular with both David Tenant AND Patrick Stewart.

High profile stuff

On BBC One there are some pretty big high profile dramas and they’re not all old fashioned costume dramas either.

There’s a couple of Casualty Christmas specials which are always good for a cry or two, there is of course the costume stuff in the form of Cranford but there’s also a new version of Day of the Triffids.

Day of the Triffids and Who

Starring Dougray Scott, Joely Richardson, Brian Cox, Vanessa Redgrave, Eddie Izzard and Jazon Priestly.

This new version of a classic will see Dougray Scott as Bill Masen and his team of survivors attempt to battle back the horror of the Triffids in their rapidly breading push to consume a newly blinded humanity.

There are two episodes of Doctor Who on Christmas Day and New Years Day that see the 11th Doctor under David Tenant make his final journey and come into contact with his psychotic nemesis.

There is John Simm, David Tenant, Bernard Cribbins, Catherin Tate, Timothy Dalton, June Whitfield and more than a few Ood.

The Gruffalo

Eastenders goes all melodramatic for Christmas as usual Gavin and Stacey will probably be pretty funny as they enjoy a holiday on the beach in Essex and what will be the real highlight in my house – The Gruffalo.

It may well have at one time been the construct of a scared mouses over active imagination but that creature from the deep dark wood with his terrible claws and terrible jaws is much loved in the Morrison household.

The the BBC is bringing the magical tale of the mouse and his nut to BBC One for Christmas complete with voices from Robbie Coltrane, James Corden, Helena Bonham Carter and many more.

There will be costumes aplenty in Cranford and other dramas

There will be costumes aplenty in Cranford and other dramas

In fact here is the breakdown of who will be playing who in this most wonderful of children’s tales.

The Gruffalo himself will be played by the giant Robbie Coltrane, Mouse by James Corden, Mother Squirrel by Helena Bonham Carter and Owl by John Hurt.

But that’s not all Tom WIlkinson will be playing the charming Fox and Rob Brydon gets to play the cold hearted eating machine that is Snake. Glorious.

Comedy Christmas specials and drama

Back to normailty (or as close to normality as Christmas gets) and we’ve got Holby City, impressions from Culshaw and Stephenson the end of the series for Merlin another Christmas special for the Harper Family in My Family (set in 2039).

There’s a Christmas special for one of my favourite comedies of recent years – Outnumbered, more from The Royle Family, a series finale for Spooks  a bit of Strictly and yet more costume drama.

The costume drama in question though is ‘The Turn of the Screw’ a ghost tale starring Michelle Dockery and Sue Johnston – adapted from Henry James’s novel of the same name by Sandy Welcch who also adapted Emma and Jane Eyre.

And of course a Christmas classic that, in my opinion should be all year round – Top of the Pops – presented by Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates.

It was filmed at Television Centre, featuring performances from the biggest stars of the year and the all important Christmas Number 1.

Not that Christmas number one is particularly important given that it will either go to a charity record or the bloody X-Factor).

So there you go, Christmas television highlights from the BBC (might put them all in to a Google calendar if I get time) for the last two weeks of the year.

And to finish here is an attempt by me to write the worst piece of not particularly poetic verse I can to some up some of the stuff in the post.

Who goes for two as the Master returns
Coltrane gets tusks in the Gruffalo
As Nan does Dickens in Christmas never heard
Justin from Beebies plays a butch bird

My Family is in the future
Outnumbered watch a play
The Royle Family goes on a trip
Then Gavin and Stacey play away

Eastenders make you scream as cheer disappears
Casulaty and Holby have the cues of Christmas fear
Culshaw plays the parts as costumes get worn
Christmas on the BBC, something for one and all

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11
Nov

Desert Island Discs goes digital but I have ideas

Most of the BBC’s radio and television output is available on the iPlayer for at least seven days after broadcast – some of the TV is even available for download.

The iPlayer team are now introducing a number of other features like linking to a specific point and chapters – next up I’d love to see comments and ratings.

But one of the shows missing from iPlayer, a major part of the BBC Radio 4 output is Desert Island Discs – as a format there is so much you could do with it online.

But there has always been a rights issue around it as it was created in a pre-digital era by someone obviously not under a BBC staff contract.

However that problem seems to be solved with an announcement on the BBC Radio 4 blog that not only will DDI be available on the iPlayer but will also eventually be a podcast and there will be some cool web features surrounding it.

The suggestion on the original Radio 4 blog post said: “we have plans to make the website an all-singing, all-dancing affair – encouraging people to compare their choices with the choices of castaways, looking at the most selected tracks etc.”

Which all sounds brilliant – but I hope it amounts to more than just a list of people that have been on the show with details of the songs the songs and selection – that is great content but not ‘all singing and all dancing’.

You can see an example of this approach in place on the pre-March 2009 Desert Island Discs BBC site.

That information still exists, it’s just that now you go to the /programme site for that edition of DID – which means that in theory this info exists in a data form somewhere.

So what I’d like to see is a cool web app – let me sign in with my BBC iD account, let me enter my choices (songs, book, luxury item) and then match me to the closest DID guest.

In fact this could be expanded to match me with other DID users with the data posted to my BBC iD profile page along with my iPlayer viewing et al.

And finally – on the new DID site, as well as this cool matching app, how about linking the song titles to Spotify so they can be listened to again while splitting out the music and making the interview portion available for ever.

If a link straight to spotify isn’t possible (for legal/impartial reasons) why not create a version of the Buyer’s Guide (currently being trialled with The Archers Audiobooks) and have a page for every song (tied to /music) with details of all legal online sources for that song including last.fm and Spotify.

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10
Nov

Give the grown-ups a go

Every year Blue Peter runs some form of Doctor Who related competition or another – whether it be to design an alien for Peter Kay to dress up as in an actual episode or to re-design the TARDIS interior.

In fact that is the most recent competition from the age old children‘s magazine show – a competition to design a new look for Matt Smith‘s TARDIS – at least one that will appear in an episode of the new Doctor Who.

The Blue Peter team provided all the info you need including a template, Do’s and Dont’s, a couple of example designs and even a video.

They tell the children (or the Dad’s doing the work anyway) to use the template, include notes on features, use any method you like and to use things from around the house in the design.

This is all very interesting in a number of ways – firstly it means there will be more than one console design in the new series as this only appears in one episode and more importantly – it means we’ll HAVE a new console/TARDIS design.

But the kicker here for me though is the age groups it is open to, the age groups these things are ALWAYS open to. There are three groups (and I have a child in each) the 6 and 7s, the 8, 9 and 10s and finally the 11s and 12s.

But what about the 20-30s, the 30-40s and up? What about those of us that aren’t children but still love Doctor Who, that would love to have a design used in Doctor Who – where is the competition for Grown-Ups to have a go?

I’m writing this now for two reasons 1) I’ve just realised that The Waters of Mars is on this Sunday and the competition closes on Thursday.

I’ve been very good this year and have managed to avoid more or less ALL spoilers for The Waters on Mars to the point that I didn’t realise it was on until I read a tweet.

Still – Sunday is going to be GOOOD.

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22
Sep

Two months to Top Gear in HD

BBC 2′s flagship entertainment based programming featuring a bit of motoring and three childish middle aged men, Top Gear, will return in just under two months and will be in HD!

I’ve resisted calling it a motoring show as it has moved away from that over the last few years, becoming a more generic entertainment show that has motoring at the heart but focuses heavily on the entertaining fringe.

Anyway, BBC HD boss, Danielle Nagler has confirmed in a BBC Internet Blog post that the shows 14th series will air on the BBC HD Channel from November 15th.

She said: “Yes, after several hundred emails from you as to why you feel Top Gear needs to make the journey from the SD to the HD world, I can confirm that the team is now working with HD cameras on the new series.”

In the past this would mean I’d need to get myself a shiny new HD tv to enjoy the series but I’m not ready to give up on my old trusty CRT 100hz flat front television yet.

However, we now live in an iPlayer world and I’ll be able to download Top Gear in 3.2 Mbps MPEG 4, 1280 x 720 , 25 frames/sec or, as I’ll be getting 8mb/second up and 650kb/s down from October – stream it.

Or there are ‘other ways‘ for those outside the UK who don’t have the luxury of iPlayer.

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