Am I the only one…
September 10, 2009 at 4:26 pm | In Television | Leave a Commentwho is really excited for American Idol since it’s been announced that Ellen is going to be the new judge?
It was a totally unexpected reaction for me. I never really had an opinion about Ellen, but I think she completely fill the gap left by Paula and will totally regenerate the show.
I can’t wait until the season starts! Roll on January!
Happy days are here again?
August 7, 2009 at 9:32 am | In Life, Television, Uncategorized | 1 CommentTags: BBC, economic downturn, recession, swine flu
Good news for all economy news watchers, the BBC graphic for the economic downturn has changed from a giant arrow point down to a giant arrow point slightly up. Okay, it’s not even at a full 45 degrees, but it is definitely starting to point upwards. Also, the BBC are no longer calling it an economic downturn, it’s now the “UK recession”. With RBS announcing small profits today certainly these are definitive signs that we are no longer in a economic downward spiral of doom.
In other good news, new cases of swine flu are down this week. We’re all no longer going to die!
Call off the four horseman of the Apocalypse, the end is not nigh!
What’s going on?
July 24, 2009 at 9:49 am | In Television | Leave a CommentTags: BBC, lauren laverne, The Culture Show
As loyal readers of this blog will know, one of my favorite activities is complaining about The Culture Show. However this week, I come not to dis The Culture Show but praise it.
This week’s episode was great. I loved the debate between Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo about music biopics. The was a great piece on Tony Wilson and Factory Records. Best of all, it was hosted by Tim Marlow not Lauren Laverne. Hur-rah! Finally a presenter that actually knows about culture. Please, BBC, keep this format. It was how The Culture Show should be.
Does watching TV count as an interest?
May 27, 2009 at 6:32 pm | In Life, Television | Leave a CommentTags: CV, Gossip Girl, Juliet, Lost, Mad Men
I have been updating my CV. According to “experts” employers just LOVE to see your hobbies and interests. I have two genuine interests to place on a CV: yoga and creative writing. I feel like I need a third in order to create balance.
I used to put “going to the theatre” down on my CV. I don’t feel like I can do this anymore. I am at the theatre more than ever before, but that’s for work. Although I see tons of plays, only rarely to I get to see a production in a non-professional capacity. It doesn’t seem right to use the theatre as an interest anymore.
I have been wracking my brain for a genuine interest to put as my third. I want a genuine interest in case I am asked about it in interviews. I don’t want to be forced to lie. In the end, I realized that the thing I do the most and what I really enjoy is watching TV.
I love TV as you probably can tell by this blog. I think about TV and my favorite shows a lot. The characters of Lost, Gossip Girl and Mad Men mean nearly as much to me as my best friends and family.
I bawled my eyes out when Juliet fell down the hole. I desperately hate the actor Patrick Fischler (Jimmy Barrett from Mad Men and Phil from Lost). He might be a nice guy, but I want to spit at him…twice. Once for what Jimmy did to Betty and once for Phil hitting Juliet. Last night I dreamt I was a new character on Gossip Girl. It’s been a long time since I woke up feeling that happy.
The thing is, you can’t put “watching TV” down on your CV. It makes you seem really lazy. While it’s okay to put “attending the theatre” because that sounds classy; “watching TV” makes you sound like a bit of a loser.
It’s horrible unfair. Fundamentally, the theatre and television provide the same entertainment principle. They are both a method of story-telling. While I have seen some awe-inspiring performances on the stage, nothing can touch my heart more than a well-acted and written television show. Likewise, although there is plenty of crap TV shows (Big Brother, anything off of BBC3 and all things with Chris Tarrant) there is a lot of crap theatre (things at the Royal Court, for example). My point being, TV should get more respect in the spectrum of the arts than in does, and it should be okay to admit to watching TV on your job application.
Has The Apprentice jumped the shark? Yes!
May 20, 2009 at 5:20 pm | In Television | Leave a CommentI have violent thoughts every time I watch it. I was momentarily happy when Phillip was fired, but then remembered that Ben and Deborah were still on it and they are even worse. I only watch it now out of a sense of duty; like it’s a job that I have to see finished. I don’t enjoy it.
Simon Schama: my new BFF?
May 20, 2009 at 5:14 pm | In Celebrities, Life, Television | Leave a CommentOkay, I admit have yet to meet Simon Schama, but he has definitely jumped to the top of my celebrities-I-want-to-be-friends with list. So far, this list also includes Jarvis Cocker.
Now Simon Schama is a brilliant television presenter and knows tons about art and history, but why do I want to be his friend? It all steams from an interview he gave in this week’s Radio Times. In the interview he is discussing his latest show for BBC4 on John Donne. John Donne is one of the few poets that I actually like, and Schama apparently adores him, so this was a positive start.
Then Schama revealed his was asked to participate in Strictly Come Dancing and seriously considered it but declined because it was too much of a time commitment. He also said that he would love to learn the tango. I love Strictly Come Dancing and would like to be a celebrity simple so I could appear on the show. Additionally, the dance I most want to learn is the tango.
Finally, the clincher in securing Simon Schama as my new celebrity BFF is the fact that he can’t do sudoku. I can’t either! I always thought of myself as a bit of a dunce because of it, but I feel so much better knowing that someone as mega-smart as Simon Schama can’t do them either.
I think this could be the basis of a beautiful friendship. There is so much we could do together: he could tell me important stuff about history and art and John Donne, we could have tango lessons and not do sudoku. Oh, what larks!
Happy Birtday, David!
April 17, 2009 at 10:42 am | In Celebrities, Television | Leave a CommentAs I am sure you are aware, the author of this blog has a huge crush on David Tennant (number 1 on my allowed list!). Tomorrow, April 18th, is this most yummy Time Lord’s birthday!
In honour of the day, here is just one of my favourite pics for everyone to enjoy.
Has The Apprentice Jumped the Shark?
April 17, 2009 at 10:26 am | In Television | Leave a CommentMaybe…although I will say the last episode was slightly more compelling, so far Season 5 has bored the pants off of me. It’s all starting to feel used and battered. The tasks are the same. Sir Alan’s quibbles lack conviction. (Who’s writing them? They’re terrible.) Margaret only opens her mouth now to moan, and even Nick has stopped looking confused and started to look jaded.
There doesn’t appear to be any stand out stars yet yet with series with the possible exception of Ben. He makes me feel sick in the stomach. You know someone is going to be an ass when they say, “Making money is better than sex.” Ben has shown that he truly is an ass and not even a funny ass, just an obnoxious ass. The rest of the contestants, for the most part, seem reasonably capable and reasonably intelligent just not very exciting.
No doubt, I will watch the rest of the series, and I genuinely hope it improves. However, they way it has been going, I don’t think I will care who wins and I doubt I will be tuning in for Season 6.
Starter for Ten
March 4, 2009 at 7:00 pm | In Television | Leave a CommentTags: gail trimble, university challenge
If I was Gail Trimble, I would be serious annoyed. Not only has her team been stripped of its title after she became the most successful University Challenge contestant ever, but a glance at yesterday’s front pages would indicate that it was her fault.
Ms. Trimble’s picture appeared on numerous front pages usually under a headline which read: “University Challenge Winner Disqualified”. Although she was the captain of the team, it wasn’t her fault. They were disqualified because another member of the team, Sam Kay, was no longer a student. His picture rarely appeared on the front pages.
To make matters worse, Ms. Trimble appeared to be suffer from a rather massive cold sore in some of the pictures. A nightmare scenario, I think you’ll agree.
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