27 posts tagged “tv”

Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/page/ite...

Awesome programme on the Gutenberg Press hosted by Stephen Fry

I watched the BBC 4 programme about the Gutenberg press last night. What a great example of television. It was fascinating for a few reasons:

• The subject matter. I knew very little about Gutenberg or his invention of the printing press, I just knew his name.
• The presenter. Stephen Fry makes an intelligent engaging TV presenter.
• Crazy experts. Some people were crazy enough to try and build a replica Gutenberg Press, including chiselling out a huge corkscrew thread, and making a piece of movable type from scratch. And it worked!
  

From Fame Academy to Carrie And David's Pop Shop

Woohoo.
Just heard Hugh Dennis interviewed (by Simon Mayo) and he said that they are filming a new series of Outnumbered next year. He also said that the conversations with the kids were unscripted, but the writers would talk to the kids before each scene (in secret!).

Jemaine:
They call me the hiphop-potamus
My lyrics are bottomless

[Big pause]

Another awesome episode. I laughed a lot.

Via YouTube, some Flight of the Conchords from episode 1!

I watched Flight Of The Conchords last night on BBC4. I didn't know too much about it, just that the trailers were funny. I was pleasantly surprised. I laughed a lot.

"Wannabe musicians Bret and Jemaine have left their native New Zealand to try to make it big in their adopted home of New York City"

After a few minutes into the show I was enjoying the dry humour of the kiwis and then it burst into song. Funny songs, with clever lyrics. Which took it to a new level, beyond a mere musically flavoured Office clone. Very cool. How often do you hear a song about a robot uprising killing all the humans on the BBC?

The official site is here.

The BBC site has clips, that give you a flavour, but don't really convey the whole feel because they don't include any songs.

I've been using the beta of the BBC iPlayer. It was promised to be a TV version of the fantastic Listen Again radio service. Unfortunately it's not as good.

Good points

• The quality is great. Watched full screen on a 1900x1200 screen with no blockiness or pixellation

• Even when exit the iPlayer a service, called KService, keeps running. This is the p2p service that uses your bandwidth whether you like it or not.
• Transfer time was slow. I have a low bandwidth connection but bittorrent seems to cope better than iPlayer.
• Low detail on transfer. No extra stats on speed or peers or anything you'd expect from a bittorrent client.
• Limited programmes available. No of the American shows (no Heroes) and some of the shows mysteriously weren't available despite being listed.
• The website is a horrible black design.
• Only works on Windows, using Internet Explorer and Media Player.
  
• All the DRM restrictions:

• You have to start downloading it within 7 days of it being broadcast.
• You have to start watching it within a month of downloading it.
• Once you've started watching it, it expires in a week.

What shows are you looking forward to in the new fall TV season?

• Heroes. Initially gave up after 3 episodes, then I had to watch it when everyone started saying it was brilliant. Ended up liking it. Hiro is awesome.
• Maybe The Bionic Woman. Although Michelle Ryan doing an American accent is weird.... cor blimey strike a light guvnor.
• Lost. Well, doesn't start until January, but LOST ROCKS! (Dude etc.)

Earth

I'm very sceptical about "Climate Change" and about ex-presidential candidates organising global concerts. And even if I did believe the hype, how much electricity did putting on those gigs use? And then what about all the TVs watching it? Duh.

Anyway, I watched some of it, because a free gig is a free gig. There were some good things, despite the stupidly short we're-not-a-festival sets (a bit like Radio roadshows where bands mime to one song).

Good things, in order (out of the stuff I saw):

1. The Foo Fighters. Awesome. No preaching, just rocking. Great music, good lyrics, brilliant charisma.
2. Damie Rice. He has a voice with more dynamics than anything dynamical.
3. Metallica playing some old stuff. Despite hating Lars Ulrich, because he is a twat, I enjoyed some Metallica metal.
4. Ricky Gervais and Chris Rock interviewed by Jonathan Ross. "I want this day to stop global warming the way that Live Aid stopped global hunger."
   

1. Madonna. "Jump up an down if you want to save the Earth."
   
2. Constant preaching messages scrolling across the backdrop. Fortunately the BBC camermen managed to avoid them most the time.
3. The Pussy Cat Dolls. I just dislike them. But like them more than Girls Aloud, so that's a plus.