television – Page 8 – University & Unicorns

19 October 2007

Only Seven Years Too Late.

Well I say seven years too late, but it’s never too late to enjoy a good television series is it? I have over the last few nights been watching a re-run of Queer As Folk on More 4 and really enjoyed it. I have been watching the current run of Doctor Who and don’t usually like the Russell T Davies written episodes of “The Doctor”, but he wrote an absolute gem with QAF. I really, really liked it, and whilst looking for info on Craig Kelly (pictured left), I found out a piece of info that for me was quite a wow factor (as it usually seems so rare). We share a birthday, and not normally what I get on the odd occasion which is someone sharing the day and month with me, but Mr Kelly shares year as well! Yes, we are both old!

Anyway, just wanted to say before crawling into bed.

17 January 2007

Iiiitttttt’s Wooollllffffiiiieeeee!

After 14 years of trying, Martin “Wolfie” Adams won the BDO Lakeside World Darts Championship 2007. Congratulations to Wolfie and his wife Sharon. He won the final of a best of 13 sets, 7-6, after his opponent Phil “Nixy” Nixon was down 6-0 in the match. Yes! Wolfie only had one set to win and then Nixy put on a monumental comeback performance. Not really helped by Wolfie becoming very untidy with his “finishes”. Nixy clawed his way back to make it 6-6. In a way Wolfie really didn’t deserve to win it as Nixy made such a fightback. Nixy had been trying for 20 years just to get TO the World Darts Championship and it was his very first success at getting through to playing. He was at odds of 150/1 to win the championship – and for a time it looked like a lot of people were going to be making some tidy sums of money. He would have been the bookies best friend.

But finally, Wolfie came through and won the deciding set without the need to go into a tie-break situation. His wife Sharon was in pieces. She has wanted this for him for so long. She lives every dart. She was an emotional wreck when they went into the deciding set and had to leave the viewing area because she just couldn’t take it anymore! I get the feeling that although Wolfie won, he might be in the doghouse for turning Sharon into a plate of jelly! lol

(Martin “Woflie” Adams with the trophy for the winner of Lakeside Darts Championship 2007.)

11 January 2007

Typical Me.

I accept my “Person of the Year” from Time Magazine for my blogging, and then proceed NOT to blog for three weeks. Although I at least have the excuse of it being the Xmas/New Year period.

It was a quiet one, hence me having time to actually WRITE an entry for December 26! We stayed home and just had a nice dinner here. I felt bad as Em had had the opportunity to buy me a couple of little surprise presents. I wasn’t able to get her anything. Not even a card.

New Year’s Eve again was quiet. I had a few Bailey’s with a hint of caramel drinks. Em actually managed to stay up after midnight (just), which was a feat for her! We saw a bit of the London fireworks on TV (and saw a bit of Sydney’s earlier on in the day) and watched the rest of Jool’s Hootenanny. I went to bed around 1am. Then listened to the radio for a while. I couldn’t sleep and so at around 3am made a request for a song via text. I was still awake at 4.15am to hear my name being read out, so that was cool.

After the New Year, it was just a count down to the Embassy World Darts which has been on TV since Saturday. I just SSOOO love the “walk-on’s” of the players. Sorry, but there is NOTHING on YouTube, I’ll have to try and get something up myself. My favourite player is Martin “Wolfie” Adams. The announcer/MC, Martin Fitzmaurice announces Wolfie’s arrival by calling out “Iiiitttt’s Wooolllllllffffiiiieeee!!!”…and creepy-like music plays, with a howling wolf, which Wolfie mimes to. Then Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like The Wolf” starts to play. It’s just brilliant!

(Ted “The Count” Hankey)

(Martin “Wolfie” Adams)

No New Year’s resolutions. What’s the point? Maybe one (although not officially given) is that I will really rope in spending this year – it won’t really be hard, as we have next to nowt anyway.

Well, that’s me for now.

20 December 2006

Five days and counting!

I am SSSOOO not prepared for it this year. Not so much in the sense of being ill-prepared re: decorations, present-buying, card-sending, etc (having said that, I have a sad selection of decorations out – a fluffy Santa fibre optic with advent calendar that I keep forgetting to change the date on, a anamatronic dog that sings the first chorus of Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody, and a 1 foot fibre optic Xmas tree – haven’t really bought or sent any presents – haven’t sent out any Xmas cards), but being ill-prepared as in I am just not mentally prepared for the Xmas period.

I keep trying to get into the spirit, but this year I just want it to go away! There’s nothing to celebrate really. We’re stone broke, our car’s gone to pot, and I just don’t feel in the mood for “seasonal cheer”.

This is quite funny. They have been showing this ad for the last week or so, and it just cracks me up EVERY time! The best advertising campaign I’ve ever seen a charity do.

There is such a lovely sentiment behind it too. There was a catalogue that was delivered to our place at the end of their summer with a whole load of “Oxfamunwrapped” gift ideas in it. I thought it was brilliant. Especially the idea of instead getting wedding gifts if you were getting married, having all your wedding guests buy stuff from an Oxfam wedding list. Some things like a whole classroom or a whole village market could be bought with the proceeds.

[viddler id=51b95e49&w=437&h=370]

Well, as predicted by many pundits, Leona won X Factor on Saturday night. Her single gets released today and will no doubt be No. 1 for Xmas. Unbelievably she was in the final with Ray, which meant Simon Cowell had two acts competing in the final. Before anything else, it meant Simon had already won! Her single is a cover of Kelly Clarkson’s A Moment Like This. I think they could have given her an original song! Seems a bit of a cop out to give her a cover.

Here’s her performance of the song on the final of X Factor.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/i8rg1kreNtk]

15 December 2006

It’s the silly season.

I’m a not-avid follower of the snooker. Sometimes I watch, other times not. I’ve not really been keeping up-to-date with the latest competition, but couldn’t help but hear what happened in Ronnie O’ Sullivan’s match with Stephen Hendry. Hendry was up 4-1 in frames and Ronnie was trailing in the sixth frame by 20 odd points. It was his pot, he failed to pot a red and just left the table, went over to Hendry, shaked his hand and left the hall! He’d conceded defeat just 5 frames into a 17 frame match?!

Strange.

Speaking of strange…but DEAD funny! Em and I got onto the subject of an ad that was on TV here until last year. It’s for a product called Crusha, a flavouring you add to milk to make a “milkshake”. It looks like it’s made of radioactive material when you see it in the bottle – and I must admit I’ve never bought the stuff, but the ad is a hoot!! I HAD to go and try and find it on youtube. Amazingly it was there! lol

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR7RYKPJBdo]

Add milk, or we’ll Crusha!
Another festive treat for you. Here is the Baarmy Army sheep singing Jingle Bells!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/iMMExZnK0Z8]

8 December 2006

‘Tis The Season…

To be sad maybe? Sad as in “I have no life!”

I really do look forward to this time of year, although heaven knows why! I live thousands of miles away from my immediate family. My partner is not exactly in what you would describe as a “close-knit” family. We have LESS than no money (we exist primarily on credit cards). I could go on, but I’ll only depress myself. Does the Christmas period account for more suicides than any other time of the year? If it does, I can well understand why. Despite all that…I’m STILL looking forward to it!! I’m a freak, I know!

OK, here is why: The Pros…

Lovely food! I like to spoil me and Em at this time of year. Usually that would mean some M&S food as well, but probably not this time. What it will mean is roast dinners, chestnuts (the best nuts on the planet), deserts, alcohol and lots of warmth.

Presents…when you can afford them. We don’t really do gifts for each other much these days, but rather splash out on a big joint gift. Last year it was a Freeview box with recordable hard drive of 40gb. This year it has been jumping up to a 26″ LCD TV. But I still love getting little personal gifts.

Christmas TV. A chance to see all your favourite old movies and lots of Xmas specials. It’s a dead time for Australian TV, but absolutely prime in the UK. I suppose it’s the weather that makes it that way.

The chance of snow at Xmas!

New Year…an excuse to p!ss up! And have lots of prayers that the New Year will be a better one for all.

The Embassy World Darts in the New Year!!! I LOVE IT! It’s like WWF, but darts! I love the “walk-on’s”, they are brilliant! My two favourites are Ted Hankey, who dresses up as Dracula (he has a darts nickname – The Count), cape and all, with spooky music and sounds playing (he even has the receding hairline – but not a widow’s peak, it’s too far gone) and he picks out plastic bats from under his cape and throws them into the crowd – it’s pure pantomime!!! My other fave is Martin “Wolfie” Adams. He comes out to Duran Duran’s Hungry Like The Wolf and howls and the crowd howls back!! I assume he’s called Wolfie ‘cos he has a lot of facial hair?!

The cons…

We feel compelled to buy presents.

We have to worry about decorations. Normally I’m the first to put them up, but I haven’t got a tree up yet. I’d love a fibre optic tree, but money dictates.

You can’t really be with the ones you love…or you are forced to spend time with family…depending on which side you look at it. I haven’t had a Christmas with my family for 8 years now.

There’s probably actually TOO much to watch on TV.

No snow and just horrible, cold, wet weather.

Running out of some kind of foodstuff and having to go to the supermarket on Xmas eve! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh

Sending cards by snail mail.

For those of you getting into the spirit, here are my two fave Christmas songs….

[youtube=http://youtu.be/P8Ozdqzjigg]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/DiXjbI3kRus]

4 December 2006

Out!

SANITY PREVAILED!

The MacDonald Brothers are out of the X Factor!!! Yay!!!

30 November 2006

Tittybangbang2!

I LOVE Tittybangbang. Everyone loves stuff like Little Britain and the rest, but I really love this show.

I loved 3 non-blondes when it was on and never thought that BBC3 would have anything on that would top it, but I adored the first series of Tittybangbang! And now a new series just started 3 weeks ago and I am loving it. My absolute favourite character is the Italian maid dust-bustin’! The very first show was brilliant. They had her singing Nut Bush City Limits in a crude Tina Turner stylie. Just the whole “Don’t look at me! Don’t look at me nut-bushin’ and dust-bustin’! I’m really shy!” is great.

I’m going to try and get the clip of it, but in the mean time here is some 3 non-blondes to enjoy.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/eHsx15AykUw]

I am finally getting into the new Killers album. Took me long enough. I’ve had a copy of it since September!!! It’s really good. I SSOOO fell in love with Hot Fuss that I am not quite as impressed with Sam’s Town yet, but there are certain songs that I do love so far. I love Read My Mind and Bones for starters…it’s very quickly growing on me!

Here’s Read My Mind (taken Later…with Jools Holland)

[youtube=http://youtu.be/4E8jy94j1HE]

And here’s Bones

[youtube=http://youtu.be/4Ot4sQoCJDY]

19 November 2006

British “Reality” TV, Saturday night feast.

OK…

So we were “spoilt” for choice tonight. We had X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing (aka Dancing With The Stars in other areas of the world) and I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!

You can’t watch everything in one night, so I plumbed for X Factor (which I’ve only been watching since the final 12 acts were chosen) and Celeb. Strictly Come Dancing I can watch in highlights form tomorrow night (as I would never waste my money to vote anyway, not on any of them).

Am I the only person out there that agrees with Simon Cowell about the MacDonald Brothers?? I mean, seriously! There is just no contest between them and the other acts! If it’s all to do with Scottish votes then all I can say is WAKE UP SCOTLAND! If it’s patriotism influencing votes, you (Scotland) had a great act in Nikkita, why waste your votes on the MacDonald’s? Tonight they performed one of my pet hate songs…Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet. It was abominable! So then they survive the public vote by SO MUCH they’re not even in the bottom two! I was astounded! The bottom two were Eton Rd and Robert. And then, despite of the two, Eton Rd giving the weaker performance, they survive and we say goodbye to Robert! It must be bloody rigged for the MacDonald’s to carry on surviving week after week. Just so all of you out there in blog-land can see what I’m talking about, here’s the MacDonald Brothers performance for you to endure.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/q4v93_2iBRY]

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I finally got the bush-tucker trial I had been waiting for with the arrival of an extra celeb to join the others’ in the jungle, Dean Gaffney. A rather sad person at any other time. Has been actor that was in Eastenders for a number of years, that would turn up in the odd celebrity reality programme like The Club, with Samatha Fox. So I didn’t really hold out much hope, but give him his dues, he stuck to the task at hand, and probably managed to surpass Paul Burrell’s BTT on pure entertainment value! Here is a highlight package of Dean Gaffney’s trial. If you are squeamish, take heed, there is a bit of retching to be endured.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/iZsk_vch434]

Dean Gaffney’s Bush Tucker Trial

They are all going nuts in there man. The only sane ones seem to be Matt Willis and Myleene Klass. Jan Leeming is just about the most annoying moaner ever to be put in there. Still, until she’s booted out, she’ll be put through more BTT’s so there you go. Tonight’s one that Jason and Phina had to do was back to lameness. Jan’s one that we’ll see tomorrow sounds promising, if she even starts it! Tell you what, I wouldn’t want to be bitten by a bunch of angry snakes, non-venomous or otherwise!

15 November 2006

I’m a celebrity (are you?), get me out of here!

OK, I’m not a TOTAL reality TV junkie, but I do find myself falling for “celebrity” each year. Mostly because I find Ant & Dec’s presentation so entertaining. It is a bit of a Z-list fest this year though. Here’s the rundown.

OK:

Most “famous” celeb – David Gest, freakazoid ex-hubby of Liza Minnelli.
A bit down hill from here – Jason Donovan, Oz ex-neighbours/pop star.
Matt Willis, ex-Busted star, now solo pop artist (recent stint in re-hab).
Myleene Klass, former Hear’Say (first winners of UK Pop Stars) member, classical muscian and TV presenter.
Lauren Booth, journalist and more famous for being the half-sister of Cherie Blair and hence Tony’s sister-in-law. That’s a bit of a clutch at the “celeb” straw…but it only gets worse.
Faith Brown, some 70’s female impressionist that has not been on TV since, well, since long before I moved to the UK.
Phina Oruche, some X-list celeb, pretending to be famous for doing a bit of acting, recently seen on The Bill (for about 2 episodes).
Toby Anstis, former children’s TV presenter, now radio DJ…nope, I’d never heard of him either.
Jan Leeming, an ex-news presenter, long before I moved here seemingly.
Scott Henshall, some fashion designer that probably IS remotely famous in the right circles…possibly.

I have to say, I only am familiar with the first 4 on the list, and only vaguely remembered Phina Oruche because I was watching The Bill around the time she was in it, but it was only on seeing her did I know who she was. I didn’t know by name alone.

Having said that, it still should be good to watch, I hope. Although so far the bush-tucker trails have been lame. Jan Leeming did the first which was going down a long pit and piercing covers over holes in the pit and having to put her hands into the holes to retrieve stars. She got 3, but dropped 1, so was only declared to have 2 (each star equals an evening meal for the camp). The next trail was David Gest’s. He had to get into a tank, which was slowly going to be filled with water, and all manner of creatures, whilst he had to get 10 monkey wrenches to fit 10 different sized bolts. Each would open to let in water, creepies and would give you access to a star. He was quite good. Wasn’t overtly scared and got 6 stars. The last one was Scott Henshall’s. It was called “Jungle Boogie” I think. Anyway, a pair of giant plastic pants that you had to be dropped into, then you had to dance to songs whilst all different kind of creepy-crawlies were put into the pants. He had to last out for 4 songs. He lasted ONE. Granted the song did go on for about 3 minutes and he had to dance non-stop so he was getting pretty tired ‘cos he was basically jogging. But they only dropped mealworms and crickets into the pants and he gave up after getting only 1 star.

The next trial is lame too. A heights thing which is gonna have both Jan Leeming and Scott Henshall together. The camp is gonna get pretty hungry!!! I hope the trails improve though. The scarier the better I say!