BritishFilmandTelevision

The Top 5 Urban Myths and Misconceptions of British TV

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 20:02:00 -0400

I have seen a lot of posts recently on Youtube and blog sites that list various “facts” that aren’t true. Therefore, I thought we should do the same here at britishfilmandtelevisionreviews.

FIVE - Death to the Frosties Kid!

In 2006 a blonde child yelling “They’re gonna taste great!” beat The BBC Test Card’s world record for most people turning over channels simultaneously. Millions would switch off as this overplayed (well, it seemed overplayed on first viewing) and over-exaggerated advert bellowed in to our homes and annoyed the hell out of the nation. For once, Tony ‘the ever annoying’ Tiger wasn’t to blame. It was the previously mentioned brat, who’s sickening enthusiasm for a breakfast cereal and terrible rhyming skills with the word “Great” (man in a crate, brother on a date, pi-rate, etc…) that drove the population insane.

A few months later the rumor circulated on internet sites and school playgrounds that the child was (rightfully) bullied for his annoying TV appearances between Emmerdale and had (rightfully) committed suicide due to the harassment. Other rumors had circulated that irate TV viewers, had spotted the child and murdered him… *Insert ‘Cereal killer joke here*.

However after the rumor had caused slight concern, popular myth-busters Snopes, contacted Kellogg’s and received confirmation that the child was an actor who was alive and well living in South Africa. BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles also debunked the myth by calling the boy -identified only as Sven- live from his Breakfast show… The combination of this annoying twosome must have been unbearable.

FOUR - Doctor Who?

Doctor, who? indeed. A very common misconception is that the Doctor in Doctor Who is called, well, Doctor Who. Doctor Who is simply the name of the show and not the name of the mysterious Time Lord, who has only ever been referred to as “The Doctor” or “Doctor”. The underlying theme and plot of the show, is that nobody knows the identity of our heroic protagonist. It is not known what he is a doctor of, why we must not speak his real name, if he’s NHS or private- nothing.

However it is very easy to make the mistake that Doctor Who, is his indeed the characters name. For nearly 20 years The Doctor was credited at the end of every episode as Doctor Who and again credited with the name for the 2005 reboot, until David Tennant stepped in to the role. Being a fan of the show, Tennant insisted the character credit changed to ‘The Doctor’. This move won Tennant’s approval with the die-hard, scarf-wearing ‘Wholigans’. The show itself has also made some subtle and out-right obvious references to the title, with one script error in a late 1960’s acid-trip episode where the BT Tower in London accidentally demands that “Doctor Who is required” - I assumed a bill was owed. In the revamped series, specifically in the Matt Smith (11th Doctor) era, writer Steven Moffat seems so obsessed with referencing the title that it may as well be a full, 45 minute episode of the Doctor Who ‘Knock - Knock’ joke.

THREE - Everybody Mimed on Top of the Pops

Many believe that every performance on TOTP was mimed, however this is untrue. It’s true that the earlier days of what was once the UK’s most popular music show, the majority of the artists were forced to lip-sync and pretend to play instruments to a recording of their track. This was often due to the fact that many different genres were played throughout out one half-hour episode of the show, and although prerecorded, it would have been impossible to do so many set-ups in a small studio and in such a short amount of time.

After a while TOTP became a kind of televised Karaoke show, as singers were able to sing live to an instrumental of their track, however it seemed that most (mainly boy-bands) continued to lip-sync. Acording the Andi Peters (Yeah, he was the producer for a while- google it!) there was “no policy on lip-syncing” and it was up to the performer. As we moved in to the new millenium, it became possible for bands to play completely live- on a now broadcast live show. However by this point other channels were showing performances from festivals and there were twenty-billion music channels available on sky. Top of the Pops died a dignified death with original host Jimmy Saville appearing on the last show… Oh.

There are too many memorable examples of musicians having fun with the recorded ‘karaoke tracks’ and lip-syncing that including: The Gallagaher brothers swapping roles for ‘Roll With It’, Hendrix getting the wrong backing-track and this hilarious performance from Nirvana…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1khy9_E4h44

TWO - Twanging Balls of Rainbow

“We could hear you all banging away. Would you like to blow my pipe while I twang?”

We don’t remember it but we trick ourselves through repeated viewings on Youtube, that we watched this dirty episode of Rainbow as a child. You didn’t this episode which consists of innuendos and the cast “twanging their balls”, was actually a sketch written and performed especially for the Thames Television Christmas party. Thames Television made the show and similar to the BBC, when there was spare time on set, various stars from various shows would quickly film shot skits that would be shows for laughs at a self-congratulatory Christmas meal. The episode, along with other sketches from ‘Christmas tapes’ often made it on to Youtube and have been mistaken for genuine episodes. Although debunked, some of Rainbows content was often considered as a nod to the adults, there is even an episode named ‘making things dirty’. Some viewers were under the impression that the puppet characters came across, as if there was an underlying sexual tension between them. Zippy and George sometimes portrayed a married couple (Yes, they shared a bed) and Bungle was believed by many fans to be closet homosexual, something often referenced in adult sitcoms such as Two Pints of Larger and a Packet of Crisps where Bungle makes a flamboyant cameo. Leave the Bear be, I say!

ONE - Captain Plugwash

This one goes without saying… Which kid’s TV show had the characters Roger the Cabin Boy, Seaman Stains and Master Bates? None of them…

It’s an old one but the most popular. Yes, many still believe that popular 70’s children’s show Captain Pugwash featured characters with the previously mentioned names. Quite simply, it didn’t. So where did the myth come from? Although nobody is certain, the rumor got around when the Guardian and People’s Correspondent paper (the latter now defunct) issued articles highlighting their concern with the inclusion of these characters, who didn’t even exist. It all sounds like one big funny misunderstanding, however Captain Pugwash writer John Ryan successfully sued both newspapers for printing the headlines , for fear that it would forever give the show a bad name. Ironically, those made up names are what the show is probably most remembered for and many believe it was those rumors of innuendo names that lead to it’s continued popularity that resulted in the show being resurrected in 1997. I’m just surprised they never had a Rear-Admiral…

By Sam Cleere

ADELE’S JAMES BOND SKYFALL SONG It’s finally here!...

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 00:35:02 -0400

ADELE’S JAMES BOND SKYFALL SONG

It’s finally here! Here is the official song that will be accompanying the glossy titles of the new James Bond movie, Skyfall.

The 10’clock Bore Have you ever had an idea, that on paper...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:18:00 -0500

The 10’clock Bore

Have you ever had an idea, that on paper looked and sounded so good but in reality turned out to be just terrible? It happens a lot in life and it has happened just now on Channel Four with their satirical current affairs show, 10 O’Clock Live.

Now I may not have the right to judge this show as I didn’t watch much of the first series and only really watched the election night special. As mentioned this show, on paper sounds incredible. Really it does. 10 O’Clock live is supposed to be a satirical look at current affairs by a talented team of some of the cleverest, funny people on TV… and one woman who used to be in a some sort of punk version of B*Witched and now presents cool music festivals even though she’s pushing 40. So on this panel we have said, anarchic MILF Lauren Laverne, everybody’s favorite geek David Mitchell, possible child grooming mole Jimmy Carr and TV addict Charlie Brooker who is strangely getting younger with every television appearance he makes. So yeah, just what the country needs in these times of woe, a comedic way of looking at the news and with a dream team panel. It sounds like a great set up for a show- certainly for the Channel Four producers who allegedly dropped the USA’s Daily show for this program. However, I sat down to watch this weeks 1st episode of series 2, to find the whole thing fall flat on it’s arse live in front of the nation.

Now I know it might be harsh to judge the show on the first episode… but I’m going to. The whole thing was a mess from start to finish. First off, I think the main problem is that I don’t think the show knows who it’s target audience is. Is it young people? Students? “Lefties”? I have no idea. My main guess would have to be geeks who are bullied at school, because that’s who David Mitchell seems to be arguing a case for all the time. His rants come across like some crazy child’s final madcap youtube message, uploaded just before he shoots up his classmates at school. Mr. Mitchell is without a doubt the worst part of the show. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Mitchell but throughout the show he came across like the annoying kid at school who always started unnecessary debates with the teachers, which always resulted in the class going on for longer due to the child continually heckling the teacher and failing to outwit and outsmart them. Similar to a school child he also does that thing that kids do when they get real bollocking by the teacher, his eyes water up. Whenever somebody argue’s his opinion to the point he can’t retaliate (I’ve noticed this on other panel shows too) he seems to just stutter for a bit with misty eyes and resorts to repeating his original point using marginally different vocabulary. I also found it so incredibly stupid to have him doing a section with Alastair Campbell (who was as infuriatingly annoying as ever) and Clarke Carlisle on football, something that Mitchell is clearly not interested in. It’s obvious his preferred subject is politics so why let him of all people cover this section? Clarke Carlisle seemed to come on the show with some brilliant things to say however all the excellent points he raised were met with a snobbish grin from Mitchell that would prompt Campbell to annoyingly jump in half way through with a pathetic bit of “playful banter”. Carlisle and indeed Mitchell raised some interesting points about footballers being seen as role models however the discussion was completely lost with the childish, petty bickering between Mitchell and Campbell on weather football is a good sport or not. If you’re one of those people who can’t kick a ball and so instead take comfort in pretending anyone who can is an idiot, you would probably have enjoyed this section. The normal people out there however, whether sports fans or not, found the whole thing pathetic and most cringe-worthy.

Throughout the show Mitchell acted like something had crawled up his arse and died, with a chip on his shoulder he took all the discussions too seriously for a satirical comedy show. After a long and boring rant it took equally grumpy Charlie Brooker to break the tension by almost ‘breaking character’ for one moment to make a child like joke about bankers doing forfeits, just to remind everybody we’re actually watching a comedy show. I felt kind of bad for good old Charlton. His section of the show was essentially a live version of the rants he does in Newswipe and Screenwipe, however this did not work at all. Although the jokes were funny, Brooker was quite obviously nervous on live TV, you could see he was visibly shaking. I’m not criticizing him for this, I would be petrified, so I just wonder whether instead- his section could have been a seperate video package. Surely not all of it has to be live? His nerves caused him to rush and fumble his lines at times and his comedy timing suffered because of it (See the joke about the Queen and the Vajazzle) Either way his material was solid. I was also kind of confused to see at the end of the show when the presenters return to the table for one last debate, Brooker sit in silence and not say a word. Is he always like this in these parts of the show? If so I’m not sure live telly is for him, although I’m sure this was just a one off. And if live TV isn’t for him- who cares? The guy is satirical genius and doesn’t need this show.

So just when the show can’t get any worse it does… We’re told by Laverne that we are in fact going live to Russia and we get Jimmy Carr doing some sort of shit impression of what looks like a Nazi, Max Headroom and then he wrestles a bear and… well the less said about this bit the better. The skit was dreadful and looked like a scene from a student union’s bad comedy improv night. Jimmy Carr looked embarrassed, as did the audience, it was just embarrassing. Although funny at times, the usually witty Carr seemed to spend most the night like a child who’d had too much Haribo. He would come in with one liners that sounded like they had been stolen from Noel Fielding on Nevermind the Buzzcocks. Having said that though, these childish little jokes were funny and in most cases interrupted a boring Hitler-like rant from Mitchell, so I’m fine with that.

The only person who looked comfortable throughout the who show was Laverne. She held what was left of the show together and asked some interesting and balanced questions. Although I assume this is what she is primarily there for, she did her job well. She had her own section where she gave a balanced views over the fat cat bankers of England receiving their bonuses. This was the only part of the show where I actually heard something news related worth listening to and Laverne made a good argument. Having said that however I do question on how much of this research was done by Laverne herself, I would imagine very little. If i’m wrong about that however, I’m an idiot and I apologize.

I’m not going to give up on the show straight away, I’ll be watching next week. To sum-up, from what I have seen so far from this so called “current affairs” show, it did contained bits and bobs from the news this week, however 80% of it was not worth talking about. The format was terrible and they need to axe the naff sketches straight away. Mitchell needs a dog collar that electrocutes him every time he rambles on about something nobody cares about for too long. He could also try making a decent joke once in a while and not just wait for a guest to come on and offend them. Brooker needs his section completely re-worked. Jimmy Carr just needs to be the intelligent and witty man that he is because at the moment he comes across as the Neil from the Inbetweeners of the foursome. And Laverne, errm… well she can just wear some tighter clothes or something… show a bit more leg? I don’t know!

Seriously though it was a shame to see such a talented group of performers and a great idea fall flat on it’s arse. As I said the show is such a great format and I think that’s why I was so disappointing with the episode. Anyway as I said I’ll be watching next week either way and hopefully I’ll be glad I tuned in.

by Sam C.

P.S. A quick update! Here is an article I found in The Guardian after writing this review. The article is an interesting review of the previous series that recommends way’s to make the show better. Worth a read:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2012/feb/08/10-oclock-live-improve-the-show

British Film and Televison Reviews on Tumblr.

fuckyeahtalkies: Meet the lady who chose this year’s Oscar...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:44:13 -0500

fuckyeahtalkies:

Meet the lady who chose this year’s Oscar nominations.

You don't get to be a tumblr without crashing.: Sherlock Q&A with Mark Gatiss

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:17:07 -0500

You don't get to be a tumblr without crashing.: Sherlock Q&A with Mark Gatiss :

hmvofficial:

© BBC 2012

Co-creator, writer and star of BBC One’s hit show Sherlock, Mark Gatiss, talks to hmv about storylines, inspiration and the fate of the shows beloved star.

hmv: There’s been huge excitement and anticipation for the second series of Sherlock, it’s gathered…

Photo

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:57:06 -0500

What this man said...

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:23:36 -0500

profmoriarty:

The cinematography in Sherlock makes me feel insignificant as a human being.

Ben Whishaw is new “Q” in James Bond’s...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:14:00 -0500

Ben Whishaw is new “Q” in James Bond’s Skyfall

“Now pay attention 007…”

He’s back! On what will be the 10th anniversary of his last appearance on the big screen, the man solely responsible for James Bond’s high-tech weapons and gadgets is making his eagerly awaited return in Skyfall. It has been rumored that since rebooting the 007 franchise in 2006 with Casino Royale, Daniel Craig has been bugging the production team to bring back the character who was present in 19 of all the previous 22 films. As a character, Q only appeared briefly in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, but comes into his own in the film series and became extreamly popular with fans. The man stepping in to the role as MI6’s head of Q-Branch, now has a lot to live up to as people will fondly remember Llewelyn’s eccentric and well mannered portrayal of the character, who at times gave Bond a harder time than any cat stroking, world dominating lunatic. With 17 movies under his belt, Llewelyn really made the part his own, he sadly passed away in 1999 and was replaced in bond’s 20th adventure, Die Another Day, by comedy legend John Cleese. Although a dignified performance, Cleese was never going to replace the legacy of Q left by Llewelyn and this may have been the reason the character was not included in Casino or Solace. However, come next year (or so we have been told) 31 year old Ben Whishaw will resurrect a young Q, who we expect, like the rebooted series so far, will be a darker and more serious version of the character. Having said that there is nothing known thus far about Whishaw’s version of Q, or how big a role the character will play in the movie. Over the years Q’s appearances varied throughout the film series, at times he appeared only to introduce the latest gadgets you wish you had at home and sometimes he appeared almost as a side-kick to Bond. Either way when the ever eccentric Q appeared on the screen, you knew something exciting and imaginative was about to happen and I for one hope Whishaw’s Q brings that same excitement to Skyfall.

Empire Magazine's Top 100 British Movies

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 21:01:00 -0400

Empire Magazine's Top 100 British Movies :

Empire Magazine have made a list of the top (in their opinion) 100 British Movies of all time… Do you agree? Are they some what fickle in what the class as a “British Film”..? Read and let me know, feel free to comment with opinions.

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Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:20:07 -0400

Steven Gerrard follows in the footsteps of Eric Cantona as he...

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:04:00 -0400

Steven Gerrard follows in the footsteps of Eric Cantona as he makes his acting debut starring in Will, out on October the 21st… WHAT?!

Don’t panic Kop End, this isn’t Gerrard making a shock career change! (Sorry Everton fans) Steven Gerrard makes a cameo as himself in 2011 British movie, Will. The film that is set in 2005 during Liverpool’s European cup winning season, tells the story of a young orphan who travels across Europe to see his beloved team compete in the Champions League final in Istanbul. Written and directed by Ellen Perry (with Zack Anderson, Screenplay) the film starsDamian Lewis, Alice Krige and Brit Cinema legend Bob Hoskins.

A Personal Note: The Movie also stars Neil Fitzmaurice who is most famously known for starring in, writing and co-creating Peter Kay Phoenix Nights and may also be recognizable from the many characters he’s portrayed in various British TV comedies including villain Jeff from Peep Show. Fitzmaurice has appeared in a film based on Liverpool’s 2005 Champion’s League victory already and starred as their coach, Spaniard Rafa Benitez and I wonder if he will reprise his role for this feature…

The Essex Rebellion starts on the 28th of October 2011

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 23:18:59 -0400

The Essex Rebellion starts on the 28th of October 2011

"I’m here on Tumblr so “Let’s get out there and TWAT IT"

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:12:00 -0400

“I’m here on Tumblr so “Let’s get out there and TWAT IT””

- Lister, David. 3 Million years in the future