QI
6x04 Fight or Flight (extended edition)
What's the point in watching the Friday night broadcast when there's an extended one on the next day that's also available on iPlayer? (Well, it was extended on the iPlayer on the telly.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Sunday, 18 January 2009
Articles
Having a lot of work to do in a very short space of time (12,000 words by next Friday) means one thing: lots of time procrastinating. And the easiest way to procrastinate is reading things on the Internet. So a whole load of articles today -- and these are just the most interesting.
Though, first, some very sad news...
TV presenter Tony Hart dies at 83
(from BBC News)
Who didn't watch at least one Tony Hart-fronted show in their time? (Well, the very young, the elderly, and foreigners, but still.) The BBC have a full obituary here.
On to other news... (Stay tuned til the end for all the juicy goodness.)
Jericho feature in the pipeline by Sarah Rollo
(from Digital Spy)
Aiming to follow the Firefly / Serenity model, I wager. While Jericho's fanbase is dedicated, I doubt it's quite as dedicated as Firefly's was. But we shall see. If it even gets made, that is.
Legal downloads swamped by piracy
(from BBC News)
While legal downloads have increased -- "a 25% rise since last year with downloads now accounting for a fifth of all recorded music sales" -- they're still swamped by the illegal (more relevant to consumers, "free") kind -- "95% of music downloaded online is illegal". To bung some basic maths on that, almost 80% of all music acquired is acquired illegally!
The pre-owned gaming debate by Liam Martin
(from Digital Spy)
I'm not much of a gamer any more, but this is nonetheless an interesting feature on the impact of the sales of pre-owned games on the industry. Occasionally written like a poor student essay ("So far, both sides of the business spectrum have been examined, but what about the consumers?"), it still has some interesting quotes and things to say -- basically, buying pre-owned feels good for the consumer, but it could kill the industry.
And be sure to look here for all today's TV news.
Though, first, some very sad news...
TV presenter Tony Hart dies at 83
(from BBC News)
Who didn't watch at least one Tony Hart-fronted show in their time? (Well, the very young, the elderly, and foreigners, but still.) The BBC have a full obituary here.
On to other news... (Stay tuned til the end for all the juicy goodness.)
Jericho feature in the pipeline by Sarah Rollo
(from Digital Spy)
Aiming to follow the Firefly / Serenity model, I wager. While Jericho's fanbase is dedicated, I doubt it's quite as dedicated as Firefly's was. But we shall see. If it even gets made, that is.
Legal downloads swamped by piracy
(from BBC News)
While legal downloads have increased -- "a 25% rise since last year with downloads now accounting for a fifth of all recorded music sales" -- they're still swamped by the illegal (more relevant to consumers, "free") kind -- "95% of music downloaded online is illegal". To bung some basic maths on that, almost 80% of all music acquired is acquired illegally!
The pre-owned gaming debate by Liam Martin
(from Digital Spy)
I'm not much of a gamer any more, but this is nonetheless an interesting feature on the impact of the sales of pre-owned games on the industry. Occasionally written like a poor student essay ("So far, both sides of the business spectrum have been examined, but what about the consumers?"), it still has some interesting quotes and things to say -- basically, buying pre-owned feels good for the consumer, but it could kill the industry.
And be sure to look here for all today's TV news.
Articles: TV news
Heroes 'will start from scratch'
(from BBC News)
"Heroes is returning to its roots in a bid to turn round falling audience figures in the US. Creator Tim Kring said series four will start "pretty much from scratch", after fans criticised a lack of direction in the second and third series." But then, remember what Kring said before the start of the third season? So I'll believe it when I see it.
ITV's Demons drops to 4.2m by Neil Wilkes
(from Digital Spy)
"ITV1's fantasy drama Demons lost another 650,000 viewers last night (Saturday), according to early figures. The third episode pulled in 4.18m... The audience is down almost 1.6m on that for the first episode." Oh dear oh dear. No second series then, I'm guessing.
(On an only-vaguelly-connected note, I love how Digital Spy's staff seem to work every day of the week! Either they have no life, or really love their job. Says the man who updates his blog every day. Hey, at least mine's a hobby.)
Jones feels Gavin & Stacey pressure by Alex Fletcher
(from Digital Spy)
Mostly interesting is something I hadn't yet heard: Gavin & Stacey is definitely getting a third series! Hurrah!
Laurie: Accent caused UK House flop by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
"Hugh Laurie has claimed that his American accent is the reason for House's failure in the UK." For one, it's not really a "failure", is it? If it were a failure it wouldn't still be on a Freeview channel in a primetime slot. And to be honest, I rather suspect it has more to do with it being on Five. Five's ratings may've gone up in the past few years, but back when House started it was still before all this "everyone must have digital TV" stuff that's going on now and Five wasn't available everywhere (far from it!) Plus that there's a huge discrepancy between US and UK viewing figures anyway, and I expect he sees both, making the UK ones look teeny-tiny by comparison.
New Argumental on Dave in March by James Welsh
(from Digital Spy)
Hurray!
That's all.
Ross will not apologise for prank again
and
Jonathan Ross plans new Sachs apology
by Daniel Kilkelly (from Digital Spy)
Don't you just love it when there's a pair of stories like that? I guess we'll have to wait til Friday night to find out which is true, though the latter sounds more convincing.
The pair of stories also have an interesting line in establishing Ross' true thoughts about the affair and the BBC: "Being suspended hit Jonathan hard -- but he says, 'I have learnt my lesson'", and "Jonathan feels let down by some aspects of the BBC... It was a pre-recorded segment and he expected those who needed to check and follow through to do so. He was aware of the potential pitfalls and alerted other people at the BBC before it went out."
Ryan tipped as new Who assistant by Daniel Kilkelly
(from Digital Spy)
I'll believe it when I see it, considering the source; but, considering her recent recurring role in Merlin, her previous appearance in a Moffat production (Jekyll), and that she (supposedly) auditioned when Rose left, it's not at all implausible. She'd certainly be better than Lily bloody Allen. She's probably older than the new Doctor though, isn't she? But then, so's almost everyone they might consider, so...
(from BBC News)
"Heroes is returning to its roots in a bid to turn round falling audience figures in the US. Creator Tim Kring said series four will start "pretty much from scratch", after fans criticised a lack of direction in the second and third series." But then, remember what Kring said before the start of the third season? So I'll believe it when I see it.
ITV's Demons drops to 4.2m by Neil Wilkes
(from Digital Spy)
"ITV1's fantasy drama Demons lost another 650,000 viewers last night (Saturday), according to early figures. The third episode pulled in 4.18m... The audience is down almost 1.6m on that for the first episode." Oh dear oh dear. No second series then, I'm guessing.
(On an only-vaguelly-connected note, I love how Digital Spy's staff seem to work every day of the week! Either they have no life, or really love their job. Says the man who updates his blog every day. Hey, at least mine's a hobby.)
Jones feels Gavin & Stacey pressure by Alex Fletcher
(from Digital Spy)
Mostly interesting is something I hadn't yet heard: Gavin & Stacey is definitely getting a third series! Hurrah!
Laurie: Accent caused UK House flop by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
"Hugh Laurie has claimed that his American accent is the reason for House's failure in the UK." For one, it's not really a "failure", is it? If it were a failure it wouldn't still be on a Freeview channel in a primetime slot. And to be honest, I rather suspect it has more to do with it being on Five. Five's ratings may've gone up in the past few years, but back when House started it was still before all this "everyone must have digital TV" stuff that's going on now and Five wasn't available everywhere (far from it!) Plus that there's a huge discrepancy between US and UK viewing figures anyway, and I expect he sees both, making the UK ones look teeny-tiny by comparison.
New Argumental on Dave in March by James Welsh
(from Digital Spy)
Hurray!
That's all.
Ross will not apologise for prank again
and
Jonathan Ross plans new Sachs apology
by Daniel Kilkelly (from Digital Spy)
Don't you just love it when there's a pair of stories like that? I guess we'll have to wait til Friday night to find out which is true, though the latter sounds more convincing.
The pair of stories also have an interesting line in establishing Ross' true thoughts about the affair and the BBC: "Being suspended hit Jonathan hard -- but he says, 'I have learnt my lesson'", and "Jonathan feels let down by some aspects of the BBC... It was a pre-recorded segment and he expected those who needed to check and follow through to do so. He was aware of the potential pitfalls and alerted other people at the BBC before it went out."
Ryan tipped as new Who assistant by Daniel Kilkelly
(from Digital Spy)
I'll believe it when I see it, considering the source; but, considering her recent recurring role in Merlin, her previous appearance in a Moffat production (Jekyll), and that she (supposedly) auditioned when Rose left, it's not at all implausible. She'd certainly be better than Lily bloody Allen. She's probably older than the new Doctor though, isn't she? But then, so's almost everyone they might consider, so...
Websites
comparethemeerkat.com
Have you seen those annoying ads on the telly? (If not, check it out here.) Despite the high level of irritation they provoke I couldn't resist checking out the site, just to see what, if anything, was there.
Of course, it's mainly an excuse to get you to visit comparethemarket.com -- which I made a point of not doing -- and if you're on there long enough it'll even warn you that it will auto-forward you to the real site, unless you're really interested in comparing meerkats. This side of thing filters through to every element -- take the FAQ, for example: while trying to be amusing, as if really part of a meerkat-comparing site, it's also (unsurprisingly) all about how good the main site is.
And behind all this, you genuinely can search for and compare meerkats. My God is it an over-developed ad tool! They're silly meerkats, of course -- they can scubadive, or fly helicopters, or come from locations as diverse as New York, Rio, and Western-super-Mare -- but some of it's actually mildly amusing... very mildly...
On the other hand, I'd've been more annoyed if you couldn't compare any meerkats, so it's good really... mildly good...
Have you seen those annoying ads on the telly? (If not, check it out here.) Despite the high level of irritation they provoke I couldn't resist checking out the site, just to see what, if anything, was there.
Of course, it's mainly an excuse to get you to visit comparethemarket.com -- which I made a point of not doing -- and if you're on there long enough it'll even warn you that it will auto-forward you to the real site, unless you're really interested in comparing meerkats. This side of thing filters through to every element -- take the FAQ, for example: while trying to be amusing, as if really part of a meerkat-comparing site, it's also (unsurprisingly) all about how good the main site is.
And behind all this, you genuinely can search for and compare meerkats. My God is it an over-developed ad tool! They're silly meerkats, of course -- they can scubadive, or fly helicopters, or come from locations as diverse as New York, Rio, and Western-super-Mare -- but some of it's actually mildly amusing... very mildly...
On the other hand, I'd've been more annoyed if you couldn't compare any meerkats, so it's good really... mildly good...
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