Bruno, Arlene and the gang from Torchwood

Bruno… should I go see what all the fuss is about?

So that pesky Sacha Baron Cohen is back, and again creating a stir with his newest film Bruno. Like Borat, Bruno is based on one of his old characters from The Ali G show. And also like Borat the reviews for the film are mixed. Metacritic gave the film a pretty average 55 scoring, but over on Rotten Tomatoes, the film recieved a much better 70% fresh rating, leaving me wondering whether I should part with my hard earn cash to see it in the cinema or wait for the DVD release…

Arlene replaced by Alisha Dixon?

The idiots over at the Beeb have decided to replace Arlene Philips with pop wannabe and one time winner of Strictly Come Dancing Alesha Dixon. Personally I don’t see what qualifies Dixon to judge dancing, but I will guess it is probably the same thing that qualified Cheryl Cole to judge singing.

Some commentators are saying the Beeb are trying to attract a “younger” audience, but I don’t think Alesha Dixon is hip with the kids, but who am I to judge saying things like “hip with the kids”.

Personally though I would prefer to have kept Arlene (who is one of the sexiest pensioners in the country) and dumped that annoying Craig.

Torchwood… Catch it while you can!

For those of you who failed to watch this weeks epic 5 part Torchwoodseries, Children of Earth, I can’t urge you enough to jump over to the BBC website and watch it on the iPlayer. It was a truly fantastic, fun piece of television. Admittedly a bit far-fetched, but it is science-fiction after all!

T in the Park

And finally those of you not brave enough to battle the elements to get to Scotland, can pop over to the BBC website and get your fill of everything you have missed this weekend from the T in the Park music festival… The Beeb have done a good job of bringing you enough stuff from the festival that you can fool your friends into thinking you were there!

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Strictly mistake ‘unforgivable’

The BBC has said it was “unforgivable” that the controversial outcome of Saturday’s Strictly Come Dancing semi-final had not been foreseen.

BBC head of entertainment production Jon Beazley told BBC Breakfast “exceptional circumstances” had caused the scoring anomaly.

Almost 1,800 people complained after all three celebrities were put through to the final.

Unhappy viewers will be offered refunds if they request it.

Continue reading>>>BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Strictly mistake ‘unforgivable’.

STRICTLY COME DANCING… I feel cheated!

Saturday night I felt cheated watching Strictly Come Dancing… and not for the first time on this series.

What happened was this; Rachel Stevens and Lisa Snowden ended up tied in the scoring on 75 points each, while Tom Chambers lagged behind somewhat. This resulted in Rachel and Lisa gaining three points each while Tom gained only one point This meant of course that Tom could not be saved by the viewers votes; so the producers decided to suspend voting, and declare that all three contestants would return for the final… fair? No it was not!

Why should Tom be spared the dance-off and inevitably going out of the show? After all it was the judges during the John Sergeant affair that claimed; “this is a dance competition, not a popularity contest!”

Yet they made the decision, and Tom gets another week to practice and prepare for a final that he should not even be appearing in! And once again I feel cheated, and not because I felt Tom would have been removed from the running last night. I feel cheated because the producers have also decided to carry the voting totals over from this week, which means Tom may have a head start over the other contestants, and could therefore win a competition he should not even be in! Or to be fair on Tom who may have won the dance off, he is could be put at a disadvantage because of the carried over votes. Perhaps all the viewers who voted realised that Tom could not be saved and just voted for their favourite between Rachel and Lisa. This would result in the two girls having an unfair advantage in the voting before the show even begins.

So how could they fix this?

Easy… Have the dancers perform twice and have a dance-off after the first dance next week. Eliminate one of them before the second dance, and then have re-open the voting from fresh to determine the winner.

Something tells me that will not happen though… leaving me feeling CHEATED AGAIN!

For those of you though who feel you have been financially cheated voting to save someone who the producers decided to save anyhow, you can claim your money back from the BBC.

The addictiveness of Rachel…

OK I vowed not to watch, I vowed to sticky by and support John Sergeant for being forced from the show by the judges bully tactics. However, living with three girls in the house means that Strictly Come Dancing will at some point appear on my television screen. I tried though, I tried not to look, but then I glanced at the screen when my eldest daughter asked; “mummy, wouldn’t she be cold in that dress?”

 

She was referring to the lovely Lisa Snowden, who was wearing a very short dress for her salsa… but then when you are a six foot woman with legs that seem to never end, everything would be a bit short. And that was it, one glance at the lovely Lisa, and I was hooked. Caught like a fish on a line and those lovely Strictly dresses were the bait.

 

Then something remarkable happened. Rachel Stevens came out and danced. Again she looked gorgeous, and I became entranced, but not by her beauty which is unquestionable, I became entranced by her dancing. She is remarkable… and I am still in shock! Never before have I looked at dance as something of such beauty and grace. I have always admired the athletic qualities of dance, but never have I experienced the beauty, the grace, the art of dance, but Rachel Stevens has opened my eyes, and if she does not win, then I will be in shock!

 

When I see Rachel dance, it is like watching the little ballerina in my daughters music box. She moves with such precision it is like she is mechanical. And even though the judges still find fault with her performances, her beauty masks any imperfections from my eyes.

 

So I am going out on a limb now, and predicting that Rachel Stevens will be the 2008 Strictly Come Dancing winner… and if she is not I will boycott next years show!… that is unless my daughters get me hooked again!

The BBC’s Christmas Line-up

Coniferous trees around the world are getting worried, kiddies are getting excited and we are all getting poorer – it must mean Christmas upon us.

The holiday television schedule for me has always been pretty much a microcosm of the entire holiday experience. It comes with lots of hype and pretty packaging, but when you tear it open, many of the presents that looked most appealing turn out just to be a bit daft! Still year after year I get excited, and year after year I hope that this year will be better than the last… which is why I am still kind of excited by some of the programs coming this Christmas to the BBC.

Highlights of the BBC Christmas schedule include:

 

New episodes of some of your favourites including:

• Gavin and Stacey
  
• Doctor Who
  
• The Royle Family
  
• Strictly Come Dancing
  
• My Family
  
• Top Gear
  
• Lead Balloon
  

As well Christmas will see the return of Top of the Pops for a couple of Christmas specials, and Alan
Davies will be reprising his role in Jonathan Creek.

In addition there is some new drama coming to the Beeb in the form of The 39 Steps starring Rupert Penry Jones, which looks promising.

Film fans should be happy on the BBC with their choice of films, but there is nothing really in their seasonal line-up that anyone who owns a DVD player has probably not already seen.

The biggest highlight for me though has to be the return of Wallace and Gromit to the small screen in a new animated special A Matter of Loaf and Death, which for me will be the one show I absolutely will not miss!

More information about these programmes and others will be reported as soon as I gather it…

What I learned from the BBC

Ahh television, a wonderful tool for entertainment, enlightenment and education. If one puts their mind to it, then one can learn some very valuable lessons just by watching.

Take the John Sergeant affair on Strictly Come Dancing  for example. The BBC have taught us, and the many children who watch the show… IF YOU BULLY SOMEBODY ENOUGH, YOU CAN GET WHAT YOU WANT!

Additionally the BBC have also taught me another very valuable lesson; license payers are only cash cows, our opinions do not matter!

Comment: the public has spoken – and been roundly ignored – Times Online

So the people have spoken . . . and they have been roundly ignored. Conspiracy theorists will never accept that John Sergeant’s shock decision to quit Strictly Come Dancing was made simply because this humble political oracle believes winning the series would be “a joke too far”.

The judges could not contain their fury that viewers consistently chose to save the flat-footed broadcaster, who last Saturday came bottom of the score table for the third week in a row with dance partner Kristina Rihanoff.

Reports were already spreading that, faced with a revolt from Arlene Phillips and co, the voting system would be overhauled in next year’s series, to prevent the public substituting their preferences for those of the experts.

Faced with a viewer rebellion, Jay Hunt, the BBC One boss, wisely volunteered to explain the withdrawal in person to the media. She is under the impression that the corporation is producing a show to educate the nation in ballroom technique. Ten million viewers, on the other hand, enjoy seeing well-known faces falling on their backsides, making a mockery of the “pundits”.

Naturally, Sergeant and Kristina will appear one more time on Saturday night for a farewell foxtrot. The furore will no doubt lure viewers away from The X Factor. Because it’s really all about ratings, isn’t it?

via Comment: the public has spoken – and been roundly ignored – Times Online