Big Brother 7
So here it is then - the last day of Big Brother 2007. Yawns. Oh dear and what a crushing bore it's all been. It's kind of obvious that after the intense controversies of recent years Endermol were either told or just decided to play it quiet this year. We had a few lame pointless gimmicks - the all girl housemates - the single male. then the pretense of giving away the prize money early. Then the half way house. So far so blah. But what big brother couldn't bring it's self to do was to be nice, or chose any people who had any real charm or intelligence.
So the last six whittled down to a pair of airheaded twins, a airheaded BB obsessed Basildon boy who claims not to know who Shakespeare is, a late 70s Greenham common style feminist matriarch who just spent all her time cooking and cleaning and crying if anyone either said a bad word against her or didn't do things exactly how she wanted them done, the soulless ex boyband member who's obviously spent their entire life coasting along on their good looks and never had to develop much of a genuine personality, a Georgie lad, a somewhat creepy middle-aged bloke who over compensates for his inadequacies with stuffed soft toys and a unnerving hysterical laugh over things that are completely unfunny.
I have no preference as to who should win. I don't think any of them deserve to - they're all each totally undeserving in their own way.
The other 'notable' characters - the gay Greek with just a soupcon of pretentiousness there. Overall he was ok. I quite liked him. Sort off.
The vile aggressive motormouth self-deluded Charley.
The 90s raver throw-back who could only speak in a limited set of catchphrases.
and some curly haired Irish bloke who was gay -apparently. Then there was some kilt wearing goth who looked vaguely interesting but was evicted within about five minutes.
My favourite was Leslie and she couldn't bear the house and the people and sensibly walked after the first week. When she was using phrases like 'post modern irony' you knew was wasn't going to last long amongst those other people.
There were a few other people but they were all so forgettable - I'm afraid that's what I've done. Forgotten them.
I've been saying year after year i won't watch it. But they have the unfair advantage that there's nothing else on TV to watch at this time of year - although there has been Heroes and Dexter to help this time around... that's why BB has usually been successful - it's the quiet time of year and that it must be startlingly cheap for them to make and fills up so much air time - what with the attendant satellite progs 'diary room uncut', BBLB, on the couch - actually it's truely scary how many TV hours this drivel takes up.
But it's all tired now. it's all too stage managed - the BB bullying tactics - the constant betrayal of trust (such as showing housemates diary room things and nominations etc. merely to generate tension.) They couldn't resist cheating the voting public again this year - when Carole got 42% of the public vote they engineered that Gerry would go in her stead. where he had got only got 25% of the vote. I'm not sure how BB managed to evade another public outcry on that one. I can only guess it has been because so few people have been watching it this year.
This year there hasn't been any one clear strong storyline emerging, no racist rowing, no gay boy making a fool out of himself over his unrequited lust for a straight go-go dancing pretty boy. no transsexual trying to keep her secret from the house but winning a sort of mass acceptance from the nation, no predatory bunny-boiling girl latching onto a pretty boy in order to have a story to sell to the tabloids after the show was finished, there hasn't been any change in the personalities of the people in there - they're all pretty much exactly as they were when they first entered the house. no growth, no changes, just the non-stop unendingly dreary meh-ness. They tried to make the love affair and break up of Ziggy and the Posh-a-wannabe a story - but the both of them are so shallow and wet - it just wasn't flying.
Apparently there isn't to be a Celebrity BB this year. The show does need a bit of a long rest now.
So the last six whittled down to a pair of airheaded twins, a airheaded BB obsessed Basildon boy who claims not to know who Shakespeare is, a late 70s Greenham common style feminist matriarch who just spent all her time cooking and cleaning and crying if anyone either said a bad word against her or didn't do things exactly how she wanted them done, the soulless ex boyband member who's obviously spent their entire life coasting along on their good looks and never had to develop much of a genuine personality, a Georgie lad, a somewhat creepy middle-aged bloke who over compensates for his inadequacies with stuffed soft toys and a unnerving hysterical laugh over things that are completely unfunny.
I have no preference as to who should win. I don't think any of them deserve to - they're all each totally undeserving in their own way.
The other 'notable' characters - the gay Greek with just a soupcon of pretentiousness there. Overall he was ok. I quite liked him. Sort off.
The vile aggressive motormouth self-deluded Charley.
The 90s raver throw-back who could only speak in a limited set of catchphrases.
and some curly haired Irish bloke who was gay -apparently. Then there was some kilt wearing goth who looked vaguely interesting but was evicted within about five minutes.
My favourite was Leslie and she couldn't bear the house and the people and sensibly walked after the first week. When she was using phrases like 'post modern irony' you knew was wasn't going to last long amongst those other people.
There were a few other people but they were all so forgettable - I'm afraid that's what I've done. Forgotten them.
I've been saying year after year i won't watch it. But they have the unfair advantage that there's nothing else on TV to watch at this time of year - although there has been Heroes and Dexter to help this time around... that's why BB has usually been successful - it's the quiet time of year and that it must be startlingly cheap for them to make and fills up so much air time - what with the attendant satellite progs 'diary room uncut', BBLB, on the couch - actually it's truely scary how many TV hours this drivel takes up.
But it's all tired now. it's all too stage managed - the BB bullying tactics - the constant betrayal of trust (such as showing housemates diary room things and nominations etc. merely to generate tension.) They couldn't resist cheating the voting public again this year - when Carole got 42% of the public vote they engineered that Gerry would go in her stead. where he had got only got 25% of the vote. I'm not sure how BB managed to evade another public outcry on that one. I can only guess it has been because so few people have been watching it this year.
This year there hasn't been any one clear strong storyline emerging, no racist rowing, no gay boy making a fool out of himself over his unrequited lust for a straight go-go dancing pretty boy. no transsexual trying to keep her secret from the house but winning a sort of mass acceptance from the nation, no predatory bunny-boiling girl latching onto a pretty boy in order to have a story to sell to the tabloids after the show was finished, there hasn't been any change in the personalities of the people in there - they're all pretty much exactly as they were when they first entered the house. no growth, no changes, just the non-stop unendingly dreary meh-ness. They tried to make the love affair and break up of Ziggy and the Posh-a-wannabe a story - but the both of them are so shallow and wet - it just wasn't flying.
Apparently there isn't to be a Celebrity BB this year. The show does need a bit of a long rest now.
Curiouser and curiouser
A fictitious company using the name of a character from an Ayn Rand novel is undertaking the dangerous demolition work on the Twin Towers site.
Makes me want to dust off all those conspiracy theories and take another look.
Links:
Warren Ellis' Sunday Hangover.
NY Times.
Makes me want to dust off all those conspiracy theories and take another look.
Links:
Warren Ellis' Sunday Hangover.
NY Times.
Guest starring Ann Chou
Homer's missing arm matched with Marge's missing boob and a headless Maggie - is all very disturbing.
Civil liberities
Are so precious - the State is now taking them away from us for safe keeping.
Award winning essay looks at the authoritarian state.
Award winning essay looks at the authoritarian state.
more Seagull news
Granny get your gun!
Cheeky.
The comments in these news article sections makes for some scary reading. There are so many nasty mean-spirited people out there.
Where seagulls don't dare. (Because cars are far more important than wildlife.)
Cheeky.
The comments in these news article sections makes for some scary reading. There are so many nasty mean-spirited people out there.
Where seagulls don't dare. (Because cars are far more important than wildlife.)
"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."
St. Francis of Assisi
Doctor Who to meet Agatha Christie
Oh hello. The Doctor meeting another famous writer for the next season. This after meeting Charles Dickens, then Shakespeare. This makes me wonder if this is going to turn out to be a series - if so he's got to meet Arthur Conan Doyle at some point. Then who else? William Blake maybe? Mary Shelley? Bram Stoker? Jules Verne? I seem to dimly remember he's already met a young H. G. Wells - in a rather rubbishy story (and it seems wrong that they should have written that H G Wells was inspired to write the Time Machine story after meeting the Doctor - when in real life it was the Doctor Who character which was *so* inspired by that novel. Hurmmphf.)
I'm still worrying about Catherine Tate being a full time companion - I re-watched the Christmas special when it was repeated not so long ago and wasn't so impressed by her acting really. When I originally saw the whole Xmas show for the first time I treated it as a piece of fun over-the-top pantomime and just let it all wash over me and enjoyed it immensely as a piece of light hearted fluff. (Especially the spectacle of seeing the TARDIS spinning down the highway in *that* high speed car chase - that was utterly marvelous.) The trouble is - it doesn't bear too much scrutiny - because it quickly starts falling apart. (Like hello? Who wears spats in this day and age? Can you even buy spats?) Tate is so famous now for her various comedy personas I'm fretting whether she's going to be able to show as much depth as the show now demands. Seriously, there's been so much variety shown in the various episodes over the past three seasons which will be massively spoilt if Catherine isn't up to the task. Fingers are crossed. (Please be good. Please be good. Oh please be very, very good. Oh Catherine - please confound my expectations with your unseen talents.)
I'm having to trust the creative staff on this one. sort of. Maybe. Um. Speaking as someone who was never as taken with Martha as the rest of the on-line outspoken Doctor Who fans seemed to be. (Stupid Billie Piper for not wanting to stay for just one more season. Gah. But then - that did mean we were spared the sight of Rose traveling the face of the planet Earth telling everyone she met about the Doctor. Or then - just maybe that would've been totally awesome?)
Who am I kidding though? I can't wait until next year - and this might prove to be a *big one* - in that it might be the last year of Russell T Davis producing the show. If that's true - it's also very likely to see Tennant handing in his key to the TARDIS and a brand new Doctor taking over...
Oh I can't wait. I can't wait.
BBC - Doctor Who - News - Whodunnit?
I'm still worrying about Catherine Tate being a full time companion - I re-watched the Christmas special when it was repeated not so long ago and wasn't so impressed by her acting really. When I originally saw the whole Xmas show for the first time I treated it as a piece of fun over-the-top pantomime and just let it all wash over me and enjoyed it immensely as a piece of light hearted fluff. (Especially the spectacle of seeing the TARDIS spinning down the highway in *that* high speed car chase - that was utterly marvelous.) The trouble is - it doesn't bear too much scrutiny - because it quickly starts falling apart. (Like hello? Who wears spats in this day and age? Can you even buy spats?) Tate is so famous now for her various comedy personas I'm fretting whether she's going to be able to show as much depth as the show now demands. Seriously, there's been so much variety shown in the various episodes over the past three seasons which will be massively spoilt if Catherine isn't up to the task. Fingers are crossed. (Please be good. Please be good. Oh please be very, very good. Oh Catherine - please confound my expectations with your unseen talents.)
I'm having to trust the creative staff on this one. sort of. Maybe. Um. Speaking as someone who was never as taken with Martha as the rest of the on-line outspoken Doctor Who fans seemed to be. (Stupid Billie Piper for not wanting to stay for just one more season. Gah. But then - that did mean we were spared the sight of Rose traveling the face of the planet Earth telling everyone she met about the Doctor. Or then - just maybe that would've been totally awesome?)
Who am I kidding though? I can't wait until next year - and this might prove to be a *big one* - in that it might be the last year of Russell T Davis producing the show. If that's true - it's also very likely to see Tennant handing in his key to the TARDIS and a brand new Doctor taking over...
Oh I can't wait. I can't wait.
BBC - Doctor Who - News - Whodunnit?
Ben Kingsley to star in Doctor Who?
hmmm? I know the rights to use the Dalek characters ran out last year - are they being re-negotiated? Will he be the end of season big bad? Is this a way of bringing back the entire Dalek race? Having the Doctor face off again Caan time after time would get tired really quickly. Wouldn't it be unfair to bring back the daleks and not the time lords?
Isn't it odd that the Doctor Who thing has been going for all these years and yet - there are so relatively few good recurring villains? Of course we haven't had a re-match with this universe's cybermen yet...
TV Scoop: Ben Kingsley to star in Doctor Who?
Isn't it odd that the Doctor Who thing has been going for all these years and yet - there are so relatively few good recurring villains? Of course we haven't had a re-match with this universe's cybermen yet...
TV Scoop: Ben Kingsley to star in Doctor Who?
[adult swim] | Shows - Saul of the Mole Men
After seeing the pilot on Adult Swim - I ended up looking up stuff about Sid and Marty Krofft (I dimly recollect HR Puf-n-stuff. I have warm fuzzy nostalgic feelings about it. That might have been the only show of theirs that got shown in the UK.)
then a few online snippets of Elektra-woman and Dyno girl. Then an episode of the Andy Milonakis show...
I'm worn out now.
[adult swim] | Shows - Saul of the Mole Men
Saul
then a few online snippets of Elektra-woman and Dyno girl. Then an episode of the Andy Milonakis show...
I'm worn out now.
[adult swim] | Shows - Saul of the Mole Men
Saul
Movio makes mockery of mobile TV
Oh hum.
Has DRM heh? It cripples everything.
Crave Talk: Movio makes mockery of mobile TV - Crave at CNET.co.uk
I've been having vague notions floating around my head recently about how the 'power of the people' on the internets is providing -for free -what people really want. For example - the bit torrents providing access to old nearly forgotten tv programs that the entertainment industry can't be asked to put out on tv, or finds too expensive to put out on DVD, or else when it does vastly over-charges for it. Then wonders why so few people end up buying it and then wrongly conclude it isn't worth their while because they're not selling enough.
(Here's an idea: when it comes to old tv programs and old ancient films why not team up with the newspapers and magazines and give them away as cover discs? That could be quite cool.)
The same for obscure music and ooh yeah - time shifting to catchup on those TV programmes you can manage to miss when you haven't got TiVo or Sky+
I know 4OD and the forthcoming BBCi player is a step in the right direction but still... th DRM and the wanting money for every last little thing.
I've have to revisit this idea later. I'm too tired to write any more at the moment...
Has DRM heh? It cripples everything.
Crave Talk: Movio makes mockery of mobile TV - Crave at CNET.co.uk
I've been having vague notions floating around my head recently about how the 'power of the people' on the internets is providing -for free -what people really want. For example - the bit torrents providing access to old nearly forgotten tv programs that the entertainment industry can't be asked to put out on tv, or finds too expensive to put out on DVD, or else when it does vastly over-charges for it. Then wonders why so few people end up buying it and then wrongly conclude it isn't worth their while because they're not selling enough.
(Here's an idea: when it comes to old tv programs and old ancient films why not team up with the newspapers and magazines and give them away as cover discs? That could be quite cool.)
The same for obscure music and ooh yeah - time shifting to catchup on those TV programmes you can manage to miss when you haven't got TiVo or Sky+
I know 4OD and the forthcoming BBCi player is a step in the right direction but still... th DRM and the wanting money for every last little thing.
I've have to revisit this idea later. I'm too tired to write any more at the moment...
Television is a turnoff for mobile users
I still really like the idea of teeny tiny mobile teevee - it's like one of the things they promised we'd have in the future (and it's supposed to be the future now dammit). But paying a subscription fee for postage stamp-sized teevee you're only going to bear to watch a few minutes at a time? No thank you.
Television is a turnoff for mobile users
Television is a turnoff for mobile users
Gulls in the news
Cruelty to a gull. £1,000 reward.
Isle of Man seagull sculpture.
Another seagull has to be rescued in Worthing - this happens every year. Can't help thinking they'd be better off taking the stupid netting down. But nah, apparently it's far better to bring the fire brigade out every year instead.
Sandwich stealing gulls.
Shoplifting gull nicks crisps! With video. They're not stupid.
Isle of Man seagull sculpture.
Another seagull has to be rescued in Worthing - this happens every year. Can't help thinking they'd be better off taking the stupid netting down. But nah, apparently it's far better to bring the fire brigade out every year instead.
Sandwich stealing gulls.
Shoplifting gull nicks crisps! With video. They're not stupid.
Who's afraid of…patio heaters?
The EST’s figures might sound shocking: patio heaters use the same amount of energy as driving for 167million miles. But then, when you consider that cars in Britain drive a total of 250 billion miles a year, you can see that patio heaters would represent just 0.07 per cent of the energy used by the cars, never mind all the other energy we use throughout the year.
Funny that. We're being told to not buy patio heaters (aren't they just a slightly more high tech and less dangerous version of old fashioned braziers anyway?) - turn off items on standby - use those expensive florescent light bulbs - but aside from the evil 4x4 owners - no one's mentioning motorcars. Oh, we still *need* them. Need them to get to and from work everyday - drive out to the giant out of town superstores - whatever. But drastically cutting down on our reliance on cars is pretty much the one thing would have the most beneficial impact - it might even help to get the obesity levels of a lot of people down. Heck - less cars would mean not having to have all these dodgy wars in the Middle East to ensure the oil keeps flowing. But it barely gets a mention. It's probably seen as too difficult and expensive to do the wholesale restructuring of just about everything that would entail. Despite the grim fact the oil is going to start running out very soon anyway and that we might as well get a head start on re-organizing things while we've still got the resources to do. But - nah, that's never gonna happen. The human race is wedded to the process of just lurching from one crisis after another -while reacting blindly...
Well locally - we even get the opposite where Stagecoach (my local homophobic and geriatric-disdaining bus company) has decided that the free bus pass system for the elderly is just too popular and is losing them money so they're cutting bus routes. (Thus proving my theory that greedy profiteering private companies are not the best thing to be providing what should be seen as a vital public service, and that we have a singularly rather gormless central government). Way to go to put even more cars on what are already overcrowded roads guys.
trot trot trot
Oh, what a pity, Charley has gone. (Blows snotty tears into cardigan sleeve.) Oh, how I shall miss her! How I long to hear her clacking football-rattle gob again. And watch her gurn at mirrors, beholding her own ferrety reflection.
But alas, she is gone! Off she did trot in her little cavewoman's outfit. Trot trot trot - blow kiss - trot trot trot - gurn for cameras - pull cavewoman skirt over ass cheeks - rearrange weave - trot trot trot - into Davina's arms. Her best mate Davina, who says she is unique.
This year's Big Brother might be the most boring ever (Endermol giving themselves a little rest after all those year on year scandals no doubt) but Grace Dent still delivers the goods.
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