Category: Link Page 22 of 54

I Arrive Late For The Party Once Again, But Here’s Your Ticket To The Screening Room

On 23/04/2009

In Link, Pictures, Review, TV, Uncategorized

I recently watched the entire run of Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, the short-lived comedy-drama from Aaron ‘West Wing‘ Sorkin.

It got very mixed reviews and limited ratings, and kind of limped to the end of its first and only season, and wasn’t renewed. In comparison with the not-entirely-dissimilar 30 Rock, it’s a lot more worthy and less funny, but I enjoyed it; there are signs of changes of direction and tone as the end drew nigh, presumably as they tried to find new ways to draw viewers in.

In my (frankly pretty worthless) opinion, there were two fundamental problems with the show:

1. It kind of assumes that the audience has an enormous familiarity with, and affection for, Saturday Night Live. As a limey, my exposure to it has been very limited, but I’m aware of it and some of its history. So it didn’t trouble me, but I can imagine that audiences of pretty much any nation who are unaware, or actively unfond of, SNL might well be put off.

2. Whilst The West Wing deals with heavy-duty stuff like kidnappings and war and terrorism, Studio 60 is rather hobbled from the start by the fact that, for all the on-screen depiction of concern and hard work, it is ultimately ‘only about a TV show’. I’m not denigrating TV as a medium, but I think the show has an uphill struggle to make some of the plotlines seem as important to the viewer as they appear to be to the characters. This is slightly echoed by the way a lot of the in-show comedy bits aren’t gutbustingly funny, despite the way the in-studio audience may be reacting. There’s a slight mismatch between the way you’re told to react to an item, and the way you may actually react.

For all this, though, I think there was a lot to like about Studio 60, and Matthew Perry did a pretty good job of making me forget he’d been in that other TV programme.

Anyway, I mentioned a Screening Room up above, and by that I mean a new-ish feature on Amazon (UK version) whereby you can watch entire TV shows – including, yes, the pilot episode of Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip – for free.

The Screening Room is located here. Keep your feet off the chairs, if you don’t mind. Night vision technology may be utilised to ensure compliance.

The Last Time I Saw Someone All Over BBC Continuing Drama Like This, It Was Slater Week

By John

On 21/04/2009

In BBC, Link, London, TV, Uncategorized, Writing

In amongst a crowd of rowdy hooligans in a pub the other day (yes, they were writers), I met Paul Campbell. Paul seemed a friendly chap, and he’s also rather prolific and successful on the writing front.

How successful, you ask? Well, tonight on BBC1, he has not one, but two programmes being shown with his name in the Written By credit – and what’s more, they’re straight after each other, making for a full 90 minutes of prime-time schedule that’s sprung from his words.

Crikey.

If we’re going to split hairs, though, there will be one of those questionable 90-second ‘news updates’ between the two programmes, but I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if Paul finds some way to work himself into the events of the day, as he was muttering darkly about streaking across Parliament Square to ensure the news coverage.

Oh, all right, I made that last bit up; but if you are watching TV in Blighty tonight, why not have a look at one of (or even both of) the programmes Paul’s written? He wrote tonight’s EastEnders (7.30pm) and Holby City (8pm).

As I say, he’s a thoroughly friendly chap, and it’s always good to see the decent sorts doing well, innit?

As Volume Often Trumps Reason, Emotion Can Overwhelm Diction

By John

On 20/04/2009

In Fish In A Barrel, Link, Music, Pictures, TV, Uncategorized

When I was a long-haired lout of a student (as opposed to my current long-haired fop status), the Cocteau Twins were very popular amongst the NUS/NME fraternity.

I don’t know if you remember the group, but they were – like the Thompson Twins – comprised of more than two members, and were not twins. Anyway, one of the things which made them rather distinctive was the way that singer Elizabeth Frazer would sings lyrics in a fashion which made them almost impossible to understand; like a radio tuning in and out, there were flashes of clarity, when you could make out several words in a line (sometimes even consecutive words), but a lot of the time it was as if she was speaking in tongues.

It was, nonetheless, quite effective, and it was certainly pretty popular. I was reminded of this style of singing the other day when I heard, on the radio, the Leona Lewis cover version of the Snow Patrol song Run, where the vocal performance seems to waver in and out of coherence.

For instance, I know that the chorus goes pretty much like this:

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I’ll be right beside you dear

But when Leona sings it, and blurs one word into another and then on into another, I hear something more like:

Liar, Liar
Andy you have my toys
Evey nifoo cannar ear mavoy
Arby rarby sardoo dear

…It’s probably just my contrary and snarky streak that hears it that way, of course, but on the other hand it could mean that we should dismiss 80s-style synth-pop as the next big thing, and look to glossolalia as the way of the future.

If so, it’s probably for the best that Smash Hits is no longer a going concern, as it would have been a nightmare trying to reproduce songwords, especially in these days of Spellcheck.

Speaking of things religious and music-related, is it just me, or does the genuine group The Priests look alarmingly like a storyline from Father Ted?

Ironically It’s Probably More Articulately Written Than The Initial Allegations

By John

On 18/04/2009

In Film, Link, Uncategorized

I haven’t seen this sort of response before, so I thought I’d draw it to your attention: Scarlett Johansson responds to recent press allegations about her weight loss.

Hmm, I’ve been posting a lot of links this week, haven’t I ? Still, it probably comes as a nice break from my usual nonsense.

Appropriate Really, Given The High Regard In Which People Hold The Wire

By John

On 17/04/2009

In BBC, Link, TV, Uncategorized

As well as the scripts for three episodes, The Wire Bible is now available online.

(I’m as yet un-evangelical about the programme, having only seen a handful of episodes; by the way, BBC, if you’re going to put a show on every night, how about putting it on at the same time so people who don’t have Sky+ [people who might have, for example, got a freeview box in line with the BBC’s suggestions that people get ready for the digital switchover] can watch it? Just a thought.)

He’s Only A ‘Mad Scientist’ Insofar As He Gets Angry When People Make Unsubstantiated Claims Or Use Pseudo-Scientific Talk. And Who Can Blame Him?

By John

On 16/04/2009

In Books, Link, Personal, Pictures, TV, Uncategorized, venting

There’s an idiot of my acquaintance who claims to be able to heal people by waving his hands around them whilst they stand up.

He tried it on me once, and confidently told me that I had some back pain, which I told him was not the case, and cheerfully asked him why he’d missed the fact I had a blinding near-migraine headache which was rendering me half-blind in one eye. Hmph. He also claims to be able to heal people over the phone, so he doesn’t even need to be in the same place as them. I don’t know if he’s genuinely deluded or lying to extract money from the unwary, but I think that on any reasonable assessment of, y’know, facts, it’s pretty clear what he’s saying isn’t true.

Mind you, I wouldn’t want you to think that I’m equating belief in such matters with idiocy – he’s an idiot in many other regards, but as that rather strays into personal stuff I needn’t share here, I won’t go into any more details; suffice to say people who know me well, and of some of the events of the past five years, will know who I’m talking about.

Anyway, as hot is matched by cold and day is twinned with night, so such idiocy is balanced by intelligence; nature, they say, abhors a vacuum, and I guess it also dislikes a prevalence of empty brains, for there are people in the world who are very happily married to the accumulation of knowledge through verifiable experimentation and the accretion of provable facts.

Such a person is Ben Goldacre.

Ben – and I’ll call him that so he doesn’t sound like a Bond villain – writes on the subject of Bad Science in various newspapers and his blog of that title, and is frequently a clear voice of sense in an area which is all too often (and, it seems, all too easily) rendered indistinct and vague by all sorts of new-agey woo-woo. If you haven’t visited his blog before, I recommend a look.

And it’s because of a recent update to his blog that I’m posting; some time ago, Ben suggested it wasn’t right that vitamin-pill entrepreneur Matthias Rath was taking out adverts denouncing the use of AIDS drugs in South Africa, and promoting his vitamin pills at the same time. Mr Rath took umbrage with this, and sued Ben and the paper that his comments were published in, claiming libel. The case went on for over twelve months, until Mr Rath withdrew the case – but by this time the costs involved in fighting the action were around half a million pounds. Steps are being taken to recover this money, but in the meantime, the removal of the legal action means that Ben’s free to add his chapter on Rath to his book – also called Bad Science – but in order to get the information ‘out there’ to as many people as possible, he’s also put the entire chapter on the web.

You can find it as a PDF here or, if you don’t have Adobe Reader, it’s available as an MS Word document here.

I’m ashamed to admit that, whilst I’ve always enjoyed his blog and print work (and he came over well on some TV consumer-thing I saw him in the other week), I don’t yet own a copy of Ben’s book. Methinks I should set about remedying that…

Free Doctor Who Episode On iTunes

By John

On 14/04/2009

In Link, TV, Uncategorized

You need to have an iTunes account and be over 13 years old, but if that applies to you and you’d like to download a free copy of the episode Last Of The Time Lords, then click here.

Offer ends on Monday 20th April, and is something to do with the Radio Times, I think. I have to say, you don’t get that quality of freebie with TV Quick.

On The Bus, With A Student Pass

By John

On 14/04/2009

In Link, TV, Twins, Uncategorized

Perhaps it’s the fact that they’re both would-be lotharios, but I feel that Jay of The Inbetweeners (played by James Buckley) looks rather like a young version of Jack from On The Buses, as played by Bob Grant.

Just me, then? Ah well.

Anyway, The Inbetweeners is a horribly accurate depiction of male teenagers, and very funny as a result. Have a look at it by following the link above – all the episodes are, I think, free to download or stream from Channel 4’s 4OnDemand service, so you can see if you like it for nought pee.

Twin Peaks Season Three: The Comic

By John

On 12/04/2009

In Link, Pictures, TV, Uncategorized

I keep threatening to explain why I love Twin Peaks above almost all other TV, but never seem to get round to it. And this, you’ll be unsurprised to read, is another of those occasions.

However, for those of you who’ve watched the show, there’s an interesting item to be found here. It’s an interview with Matt Haley, who was lined up to be the artist on a comic continuation of the story. Yes, I know, I’d never heard of it either, but it’s an interesting tale of a nearly-was, and from the look of Matt’s art (an example of which is attached to this post), he would have been a good choice of artist.

So, worth clicking on that link, I’d say. And one day, I promise, I’ll post about why I consider Twin Peaks to be so good, and important. Maybe I should make it a whole series of posts, in fact.

Oh yes, the world is holding its breath as it waits for my ill-informed comments about a long-cancelled TV show, no question about that.

With This Scent, You Too Can Woo Suspiciously Humanoid Females Of Various Alien Species. As Kirk Might Say, “…Oh My”.

By John

On 11/04/2009

In Film, Fish In A Barrel, Link, Pictures, TV, Uncategorized

So then, join me in being slightly bemused by the forthcoming Star Trek fragrances.

Pictured are the two aimed at men, Tiberius, which will enable you to shout the word “Khan” with startling passion, and – more amusingly to my mind – Red Shirt, because (and I quote) “Tomorrow may never come”. For the ladies, and not pictured (but you can find out more about it at the link), there’s a fragrance named after a Vulcan mating ritual, which I can only hope is a bit more alluring than it sounds.

Still, as one who frequents comic shops and other purveyors of TV and Film merchandise, it’s nice to see someone’s – well, if not necessarily conceding that some hardcore Trek fans can be a bit on the whiffy side, at least addressing the possibility. And in a collectible fashion, no less.

Forget warp drives, that’s what I call progress.