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, 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.
iPlayer Pick: Taking the Flak
My iPlayer Pick is a show that is now almost half way through its seven week run, I’m talking about a new BBC Two sitcom – Taking the Flak – a look at what happens when the big boys of the BBC come into a previously uninteresting country after civil war breaks out.
Taking the Flak follows the story of Harry (Bruce Mackinnon), a stringer in a relatively un-interesting small African country as he thinks he’s about to get his big break when teh big boys appear from London.
The big boys include Jane thomason (Doon Mackichan) and David Bradburn/John Simpson (Martin Jarvis) and a rolling string of cameramen. You also get a look at the slightly weird news desk/news editor back in London calling for the story he needs and passing the pitch from the Karibu (the small African country) team on to the almight six, ten and as a last resort News 24 – clearly shot before the re-brand.
It isn’t bad and improves considerably by Episode three – anyone interested in news, news presentation and news production will have a special soft spot for this show as it is almost completely filmed in that style.
It ISN’T Drop the Dead Donkey (of which I’ve started re-watching on DVD for the fourth time) but it is a good series, well worth the seven half hour investments you’ll make.
Here is episode three.
But there is another show I’m really into at the moment that goes out at the same time as Taking the Flak – Getting On. It’s on BBC Four, is set on an old people’s ward in a hospital, is pretty much grey all over and features performances by Jo Brand and Joanna Canlan as Nurse Kim Wilde and Sister Flixter respectively. It also includes Dr Pippa Moore played by Vicki Pepperdine.
It was filmed in HD, is available in HD and I REALLY hope it comes back for another series. It’s also available on series link on the iPlayer so you can still go back and catch the whole thing – as is Taking the Flak.
There are only three parts, it is mainly ad-libbed and was directed by the ever brilliant Peter Capaldi. There is a real feel of The Thick of It in the series – but different, darker and strangely addictive. In fact of the two this is the better show but Taking the Flak is an easier watch and a simpler laugh.
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The next big geeky cult
The latest round of television commissioners seem to be geeks or at least after the geek pound anyway. Just look at the type of shows getting commissioned – they all seem to have ‘capturing the fanboy market’ in mind.
The latest one of those was actually commissioned in response to the massive demand from the ‘fanboy’ cult following the pilot show (February 2008) managed to develop.
The pilot for Being Human was broadcast on BBC Three as part of their pilot drama series – basically it involved a range of one-off dramas being shown prime time on BBC Three in the hope that at least one would bit with the audience.
And a drama following the day to day lives of a ghost, a vampire and a werewolf was the one that bit hardest. To be honest I’m not surprised – the pilot left things open for what could be a great cult series.
And the BBC have just launched the first trailer for the new series (still ‘coming soon’ but if the trailer is out ‘soon’ could be anytime within the next two weeks.
There are also three back story videos published on the Being Human BBC Blog. The one for George (the werewolf) looks back at how he became a werewolf shot from the perspect of an American tourists video camera.
Then there is Mitchell – something of an Angel like nice vampire that doesn’t like sucking on the blood of the innocent. The video is shot piece looking at a moment where he lets a ‘victim’ walk away – I guess it is meant to be something of a turning point.
And finally the ghost – in the form of Annie. This is another video camera perspective – this time shot by the male half of a couple that moved into ‘Annies House’ – the one Mitchel and George move into in the pilot (and I’m assuming the series proper).
It basically starts with them all happy about moving in (with hints at ghostlyness) and then gradually moves more towards them being completely freaked out and leaving.
There are a couple of cast changes since the pilot with Annie now being played byy Lenora Crichlow, rather than Andrea Riseborough and Mitchell will now be played by Aidan Turner instead of Guy Flanagan.
Of the three principle characters the role of George is the only one to remain the same as the pilot with Russell Tovey staying in place.
Russell may bring in a couple of Doctor Who fans (although I imagine a number of them will instantly warm to this being in a similar genre) after playing Midshipman Alonso Frame in Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned back in 2007.
He was also on many a shortlist to take the role of The Doctor himself until it was announced that Matt Smith had got the part.
Either way – this (and Oz and James Drink to Britain) is one of my must watch shows of 2009 well the first few months of it at least.
Kids show themes
OK so in a fit of Friday afternoon boredom we spent a good hour in the office playing old childrens show theme tunes over our headphones at full volume and playing ‘guess the theme’.
Some are easier than others.
This one EVERYBODY got:
And of course a fair few people got this one as well (although it should be Hero turtles not Ninja):
Don’t forget the powers of grey skull
And of course my favourite show of all my childhood:
Something my kids still watch today:
It all started with more grown up dramas (well sort of) and much more local ones:
Nobody got this one:
And this one EVERYONE got – played out after a moustache discussion:
And a bit of magnum PI
But my baby tells me this is what is needed:
My five year old asked for this:
And my eight year old insisted on this:
BBC on itunes but not here
With the launch of Top Gear on iTunes in the USA – but not here in the UK I thought I’d take a look at what was on iTunes there but not here.
Although it isn’t ‘really’ Top Gear on the iTunes store in the USA – it is in the sense that it includes Jeremy, James, Richard and the Stig – that it has the Top Gear name and that parts of it did appear on BBC Two originally.
But it isn’t in the sense that it is the cut down (for adverts and non-relevant news content) version for BBC America – that also has different music in certain parts to the original.
So first lets look at all the shows from BBC Worldwide on iTunes here in the UK:
Gavin and Stacey
The Mighty Boosh
Life on Mars
Spooks
Ashes to Ashes
I’m Alan Partridge
The Catherine Tate Show
Little Britain
The Young Ones
Planet Earth
Torchwood
Hotel Babylon
Saxondale
The Planets
Spooks Code 9
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
The League of Gentlemen
Nighty Night
Massive
Dr Terrible’s House of Horrible
New Tricks
Beautiful People
Mutual Friends
Robin Hood
The Keith Barret Show
Michael Palin’s New Europe
I Am Not an Animal
Teletubbies
The Wrong Door
The Secret Show
Merlin
Now we’ll look at the BBC America shows on iTunes in the USA:
Top Gear
Little Britain
Torchwood
Robin Hood
Primeval (not in UK)
Skins (Channel 4 in the UK)
Doctor Who
Gavin and Stacey
Doctor Who: Classic Series
How clearly there isn’t nearly as much there as there is on the UK version – but BBC America is one network whereas BBC Worldwide has four networks plus a massive archive to draw on.
But its interesting that the American version has Top Gear and the new/old versions of Doctor Who available for download.
We have none of those on the UK version of the iTunes store.
I guess the main reason is one of rights and I imagine that’s also the reason more shows haven’t been added to the American store.
After all – surely you’d want as bigger stock as possible as the only real cost (I’m assuming) is rights and that would be covered by any download sales.
Actually lets look at costs. Some things are pretty fair – a series of Little Britain will cost you £9.99 or £1.89 per episode.
In the US store it is $11.94 for the series (six episodes) or $1.99 per episode.
At the current exchange rate that would be £7.28 for the series or £1.21 per episode.
For anyone interested Top Gear series 10 (9 episodes) is currently on the US store for $14.99 (or $1.99 per episode).
Oh and why is Bonekickers listed under ITV – are the BBC that ashamed of it (I actually thought it was pretty good).
Me in Spooks
Well not exactly Spooks but the new spin-off series set in the future and on BBC Three, Spooks Code 9. We’ll actually not that either – a really funky internet app that puts you in your own short movie.
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Writing reviews of TV
Do you read reviews of television shows before/after they’ve been on air? Either to find out what they’re going to be like or whether others agreed with you? Do you go to the pros or the enthusiasts?
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Too much of a good thing?
I keep all my digital data on an external hard drive – that’s movies, photos, music, writing – everything. Or at least I did until it died last week.
Kryten is on Twitter
I’m like most people who use Twitter – I have a love hate relationship with it. My divide falls along the lines of loving how easy it makes spouting bollocks and I hate how addictive it can get.
The other thing I hate is how often it seems to not be working, how for what seemed like several generations of time, it wouldn’t let me check responses or look at older posts.
I hate the stupid whale.
But there is more to love – especially now I’ve discovered Ping.fm that automatically lets me post the same comment to Pounce, Jaiku, Twitter, Facebook and others.
What I also love is that more people are suddenly discovering Twitter – people both famous and funny, not famous and funny and just plain dull but worthy.
The latest discovery – I say discovery but that’s only because I’ve just found him – is Robert Llewellyn – his posts have been pretty much about the mundanity of his life so far.
It’s not just his life though – it’s HIS LIFE – it’s about the projects he is currently working on and gives you an insight into the behind the scenes of a British geek icon.
This guy played a robot in the greatest sci-fi comedy in televisual history.
It’s KRYTEN and he’s on Twitter – how cool is that. It’s so tough to contain my childhood fanboyness – I was in the fan club, I obsessed over this series as a teenager – it was a big part of my teen years.
Fortunately I don’t obsess like that any more – ok so I might have every book by each of the three Top Gear presenters, I might have print outs of all their columns, I might have every Top Gear DVD released, I might have every Clarkson, Hammond and May DVD (TG related or not) and I might have it all organised alphabetically – but thats just a normal geek obsession.
I have a similar one, although not as extreme for Doctor Who – the toys are for my children – honest!
Robert Llewellyn has always been a cutting edge British celeb – he was at the forefront of online video before it became fashionable, he had a website and posted content before blogs and podcasts were an essential part of modern broadcast.
So it makes sense he is on Twitter. The question is who will be the next celebrity British geek to take the plunge – I’m thinking it will be Dave Gorman or Danny Wallace and would be first in line to follow Stephen Fry or Ricky Gervais.
In fact if Fry or Gervais ever sign up you could probably say goodbye to Twitter but it would be worth it for the five posts they’d get out before it dropped dead.
Now Robert only had 76 followers at the time of posting – he deserves more – he’s a legend. So go follow him at twitter.com/bobbyllew.
Oh and it looks like he’s a Twit fan – he follows both Twit Live and Leo Laporte so if by some small miracle Leo ever reads this – get Robert on the show as he would be amazing.