The BBC has kicked off an interesting project to track a shipping container as it travels around the world.
‘The Box’ (I can already hear Orbital) has been sprayed in BBC livery, and fitted with a GPS tracker. TV, Radio and Online content will be produced to track the container, which will be fed into the global supply and used for normal cargo.
BBC correspondents stationed globally will be used to report as the container moves around, building up an interesting picture of the land and sea covered by our goods. This appeals to my inner geek – and also sparks a lot of interest in globalisation.
You can track the box at the BBC minisite dedicated to the project, and there is even a photo competition attached to the project.
I think that the hype for series 5 of Lost is starting very early…
The first trailer is on the air – House Season 5 is back in September! (thats House – Series 5 for us Englishers)
I’ll be in the US in September – maybe I’ll catch the premier!
The song on the trailer is called – Love me Dead by Ludo btw (that’ll catch a few searches for sure!) – let me know if you like the tune, or know where to get a download. (here is a link to the Youtube)
Lyrics after the jump…
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Some Friday fun! Leslie Feist appears on Sesame Street…fantastic stuff. Done in a similar style to her original video.
1,2,3,4 Penguins that were by the door
I love counting, counting to the number 4
Look at this fella on the left, his name is Howie Mandel – and he’s unfortunately become an object of hatred for me this week. Its probably not his fault, he’s probably a likeable and affable kind of guy. He probably took the job he is most well known for because the money was cool and that’s generally OK – but to me he is charge of a show that has turned a quiz concept from something simple & good into a truly hateful version.
The telephone may give you the clue…
Howie Mandel is the host of the US version of ‘Deal or No Deal’
I have a soft spot for simple quiz shows – I like Mastermind, and University Challenge – where knowledge is pitted against knowledge. I like Countdown where the aim is beat someone with your puzzle solving capability. And I like Deal or No Deal, which is really just a lucky dip – followed by 21 brave decisions.
But that, apparently isn’t good enough in the US – they’ve turned Deal or No Deal into some kind of crazed spectacle. There are 26 briefcases now, with amounts up to a million dollars. They aren’t held by future contestants like in the UK (with their strange sense of community and solidarity) – but by a dazzling array of silicon enhanced models in identical low cut-dresses, flashing their cosmetically perfect teeth and getting in on Howies jokes. They have side bets from the banker – like in Thursdays episode where the banker supplied chicken-wings (delivered by Hooters models) and encouraged the contestants entourage to eat as many as possible for charity – and an increase in the bids for the box.
I even watched an episode some time ago where they changed the content of the briefcases and had 6 opportunities to win the one million bucks – I mean WTF! Why do that? Why make it more complexed – is it not just exciting enough as it is, one person against luck and bravery?
Worst of all – there is no mystery or suspense in the game – it rattles along at typical 200mph US quiz show pace, no eerie music, no cryptic systems with Noel getting his cosmic orders set up, no family pictures (it seems in the US they just fly everyone the contestant knows to Hollywood anyway) and worst of all NO SOUL!
So – Howie, I know you are a nice dude with star quality and all – but you are the front man for the biggest fuck up of a quiz show I have ever seen – your bosses at the TV company have managed to suck ALL of the goodness out of Deal or No Deal.
The BBC’s ‘White’ season, has so far been absolutely excellent. At the weekend, I watched ‘Last Orders’ – the story of a working mans club on the outskirts of Bradford suffering the demise of the modern age, and ‘Rivers of Blood’ which was a dissection of Enoch Powells’ infamous speech and its aftermath.
But tonight’s offering was the best so far – ‘White Girl’ told the story of a young girl from a completely dysfunctional and violent family, who finds refuge in a local mosque and with her quietly Islamic neighbours. I’m sure that many will decry it as a piece of anti-white propaganda, but I found it a touching story of how anything can be a comfort in times of real trouble.
The climactic scene of the play was beautiful – when Leahs’ mother finally understands why her daughter has become so engulfed in the peace of Islam and what she must do to reunite the more functional parts of her family. Well acted, nicely written and directed.
‘White Girl’ can still be seen on iplayer (for 7 days from this post)
I was a bit worried about watching Messiah last night, I really was not sure if anyone could take over from the marvelous Ken Stott – but Marc Warren (who I hated in Hustle, but really liked in Doctor Who) is playing it really well, as the dark, brooding and haunted DCI Joseph Walker.
There are plenty of sub-plots in the mix, affairs, past history (interesting involving suicide bombers and trips to the holy land) and the shadow of a previous DCI hanging over everyone.
The original Messiah formula is, thankfully, in tact, a scary serial killer has tied the Iqbal family up and arranged them nicely at the family table, after stabbing them all to death. Two nice Jewish girls have been hung and dressed in mens clothing and a Catholic mother has been murdered brutally in her car, none of the episodes very pretty. Considering the killer appears to be working through the worlds religions, thoughts have immediately turned to religious fruitcakes. And so, the local old testament bible troubler has been hauled in for questioning (of course – he is weird, but not a killer) and managed to tell the investigating team the theme that links all the murders…so now they’ll be off looking for someone severely troubled by the thought of impending Armageddon.
I’m pleased to see Messiah back on the TV, these are the drama that seem to work really well for the BBC – cops, mystery and slightly edgy themes tend to mix well with that fast editing, interesting camera work that the Beeb are fascinated with.
Part two tonight – I’ll be enjoying that via the magic of Sky Plus (it’s a busy night for the hard drive)
The Wonderland series started on BBC2 last night, a sequence of documentaries that will focus on the lives of interesting people. Yesterdays episode followed one of my favourite comedy legends, Sir Norman Wisdom and his family dealing with his life as he approaches his mid nineties.
You can watch the programme here on the wonderful BBC iPlayer, and find Normans official web page here.
Clearly Norman was a handful, both for his existing carer and his family, who at times seemed impatient with his antics. Physically fit, but becoming forgetful, we saw him creating problems (but still getting laughs) at his house in the Isle of Man and then at the family houses in Sussex. Finally, his son and daughter made the difficult (but ultimately) rewarding decision to put him in a home on his beloved Isle of Man. It was here that he found the best solution, a permanent audience that he could act up to.
It was a thoughtful and touching story, that made me a bit angry in places as his family made those decisions, but seeing the energy and life in a comedy legend was really poignant. It was fantastic seeing him comfortable in his old peoples home, making his peers laugh and clap like so many times before.
Due to some crazy scheduling on Sunday evening there were three programmes we wanted to watch all starting in the same hour. The Sky + box is only ever going to be good enough to handle two of these, so we had to forsake one of them.
Louis Theroux Behind Bars was the loser in the game (or maybe I was the loser, because I really wanted to see this one), and so I thought I would check out the marvellous BBC iPlayer to watch again.
What a great innovation, the BBC puts all its programmes for the past 7 days online for on-demand viewing. You can log onto the site and surf through their channel guide or pick a highlight listed. I was able to watch Louis Theroux in full screen glory, great quality with good sound.
There are some drawbacks – it doesn’t work if you are outside the UK, which I guess is for copyright/legal issues, its a massive shame because I’d love to use this when I’m travelling and I want to see programmes quickly. I guess there are ways round this, but I’d love to find a way that someone could register and still get access whilst out of the country – this would make it an essential business tool.
Well done beeb – thats what I like to see my license fee being spent on.
Oh – and the programme? Excellent TV – Louis Theroux (I am a massive fan – so any review would be biased) goes inside St Quentin jail in the US and interviews inmates and guards…brilliant stuff – you can watch it just by clicking here.
Big Brother 8 is barely a week old, and despite the fact its crammed full of cackling, bitchy girls, it has so far taken the same line as the previous events. Tears about hair straightners, cooking duties and who said what to who – introducing a single bloke into 11 women has predictably generated enough bitching to start a minor global conflict, and so it goes - those are the rules of BB, and this years group are no exception.
Also just as predictably (bearing in mind the storm in the celebrity version this year) – we’ve had our first forced removal from the house, when one of the 11 dizzy bints (Emily) said something racist and Channel 4 protected themselves (much like they should have done a few months back. Anyway – we’re down to 10 girlies already!
Only 12 more weeks to go people…
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