Archive for February, 2010
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
Films On The Big Screen Or The Small Screen?
I love going out to the cinema; from the big seats, dark room, massive screen to the popcorn and other members of the audience sharing in the experience. It is a great night out.
But with staying in being the new going out, how do we combat this? Films on TV are notorious for being a bit dull; by the time the films are on the small screen, they have been out for public release for some time (albeit at the cinema or on dvd, etc). This means everyone tends to know what they are about already – so where is the suspense, the drama, the unknown?
The advantage of films on TV is that they tend to be a comfort to us; the traditional showing of a Bond film at Easter, The Snowman being on over Christmas, that kind of thing. The timeless classics.
How many of the films going through the cinema in this day and age will still be as popular in 10 years time?
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Soaps Broadcasting Live
Over the last few years, a lot of the soaps have been going all out for the anniversary shows – either there 2000th episode or 50th year on the air – and the way to do in this day and age is live TV. Most recently, Eastenders used it’s 25th anniversary to broadcast live the killer of Archie Mitchel.
In a plot line that has taken months to develop, even the actors themselves didn’t know who had killed Archie. The producers carefully let a couple of clues slip out (most noticeably, the hairbrush at the Vic clue), but very, very few people thought it would be (look away now if you do not want to know!) Stacey Slater.
But is this method of broadcasting any better? I think yes. As good as the shows look when they are well rehearsed and taped, the thrill of knowing the actors could really fluff their lines is brilliant TV!
Monday, February 15th, 2010
TV is not bad for you!
I spent the weekend at my Mum’s, and was amazed at the amount of TV she watches these days. Once upon a time, she would go nuts at me and my siblings for organising our time around our favorite programs, but now this is what she does! Oh how the tables have turned!
The usual arguement we had from Mum was that “it will rot your brain”, etc etc. But apparently, that’s not true anymore (thanks for the info Mum!), and TV is actually very educational. I asked if this was the case when she was watching her soaps, and she said that although they weren’t directly educational, they helped her relax and was therefore good for her.
Well, I can’t disagree there Mum!
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Corrie’s Death Rate shocker!
The first ever episode of Coronation Street was broad-casted live on December 9th 1960. Since then, millions of viewers have regularly tuned in to see the trials and tribulations of the various cast members who have graced the beloved small screen that is Corrie. Over the last 5 decades, there has been 120 deaths on Corrie, with around 80 of them being premature (i.e. murdered, accident, suicide).
Now, this little statistic makes 66% of deaths in Corrie an unnatural one… So why do people live there?! I must admit, that in my small little town, very few people die, and I have yet to read about a muder, although we have had a few fatal car accidents.
So why do soaps have such a high mortality rate?
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Gail loses another one!
In ITV’s Corronation Strett, Gail Platt is famous for her lack of success with men: she is now up to marriage number 5! And in true soap style, none of them have ended happily (well, marriages just don’t end happily, do they?).
In marriage number one, Gail Potter became Gail Tilsley. They later divorced after her affair with Ian Latimer, amid Brian’s doubt that he was the father of Sarah-Lou. They later re-married (making this Gail’s second marriage), before Brian was tragically killed in a stabbing. Marriage number 3 was to toy-boy Martin, making her Gail Platt. In this marriage, it is Martin’s second affair that ends the marriage. Thrice bitten, but still not shy, Gail marries the psychopathic murderer Richard, making her Gail Hillman and onto her forth marriage. As viewers will know, this marriage was doomed from the start, as the clearly unhinged Richard plunged the whole family into a canal in a bid to end all of their lives.
And after all of this drama, normal people would think that Gail would give up on the idea of marriage, as she clearly has horrendous taste in men. But nope, man number 5, Joe McIntyre, has popped the question and got her to registry office on time. And now he is trying to fake his own death to get out of debt! And in real Corrie style, this plan is bound to backfire and catch Gail head-on.
Can Gail pick them or what?!