Pigalina's Palace: Television

London Live

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 11:25:42 GMT

I am procrastinating again, from a work related task this time. Anyway London Live (aka the Album Chart Show) is on, Will Young is currently crapping up my TV screen. What has really compelled me to write though is presenter Joe Mace's Jools Holland voice. Is he putting it on or did they find a perfect sound-a-like in a bid to give what is really just Tops of the Pops with a new name some credibility? He is also dressed like someone off the fantastic Doctor in the House today. Gracious!

Why did they get rid of TOTP anyway? "Ooh the kids of today don't watch TV, it's all the Interweb." Well what's with this show then? And Later with Jools Holland is still going and making careers (see KT Tunstall for example).

Top of the Pops was essential Thursday night viewing for generations of British kids.

Anyhoo, I just felt I had to point out the voice. Watch for yourself.

Tags - None because Technorati is being poo.

Meerkat Manor

Sun, 23 Apr 2006 12:00:26 GMT

Meerkat Manor is a new show on TV2. It is dubbed a "soap opera with a difference". It stars the "Whiskers" family, a family of meerkats who live in the African desert. I was highly excited when I saw the ad, they are so cute (see for yourself):

We watched it today at my mum and dad's house. Oh the drama, I don't know if I can watch it next week. Mitch, a teeny baby meerkat was kidnapped by some older meerkats for fun. The poor little thing was left squeaking in the desert, alone and frightened. I was geting anxious, I was actually feeling a bit upset until his older brother Shakespeare picked him up in his mouth and took him home. Shakespeare rocks.

However, we were all extremely sad when Shakespeare got bitten twice by a snake. He had to limp home to his burrow, avoiding predatory birds and cowering under bushes. My sister asked if we could turn over at this point, not wishing to see Shakespeare die. So distressing.

I had decided not to watch again, to spare myself the upset. However, while I was looking for the above photo I saw on the Animal Planet website that SHAKESPEARE SURVIVES!

I am glad, because the show looks like it will be quite entertaining. It is funny to see the little meerkats nodding off when they are tired, being cheeky and doing odd little things that people do.

It is odd to note that the English, American and New Zealand versions all have different narrators. Why? I'm not going to refuse to watch because Sean "Samwise Gamgee" Astin is narrating. In fact I might be more inclined to watch (though only if he did his Samwise voice - "Po-tay-toes", "Mr Frodo!").

Meerkat Manor looks like it will be fun, though not for the very sensitive!

Tags - Meerkat Manor,Meerkat, Animal Planet, TV2, Shakespeare, Mitch, Television, TV, Tele, Telly,Sean Astin

When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Scientologist

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 05:03:02 GMT

I have just watched the South Park episode about the Scientologists. You will have heard about it, it is the one that Isaac Hayes, voice of chef, has supposedly quit over as he is a Scientologist. It is also the one that got Tom Cruise all riled because in the episode he locks himself in a closet and won't come out. (Please note that John Travolta also gets into the closet and won't come out, did he kick up a stink? No, that's because he is cool and not a horse toothed loser.)

The episode may look like a load of made up crap but it is honestly based on what Scientologists believe. Read the article on Wikipedia if you want to know more. It is hilarious. It also notes that L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology (and a science fiction writer by the way, though all that stuff about aliens and brain-washing in their beliefs may just give that away) said "If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion."

I took the Scientology personality test on their website, 200 vague questions such as "Do you smile a lot?" and "Do some noises 'set your teeth on edge'?". As you can see from the chart there is a lot of work to be done. In fact I look pretty terrible :( Am I suprised?

I was rather annoyed to see that Beck is now a Scientologist. Why jump on the bandwagon?

I know, I would be angry if people mocked my religion but at least I can back my beliefs up with explanations and evidence. "L. Ron said so" doesn't quite cut it.

Tags - South Park, Scientology, Tom Cruise, Isaac Hayes, Television, TV, Religion, John Travolta, L Ron Hubbard

South Park "Bloody Mary" Episode

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 04:32:58 GMT

Well, it has been shown and the sky did not fall. The South Park "Bloody Mary" episode has been creating a bit of an uproar here in New Zealand over the past week.

What is most amusing though is that hardly anyone would have known about it, or watched it, had the media not kicked up a big stink. The episode in question (I didn't watch it so am not fully clear of the details) apparently had a statue of the Virgin Mary that bled. The pope suggests the bleeding could be menstuation and then the statue spurts it everywhere. "Blasphemous" it was labelled, "revolting" commented our Prime Minister Helen Clark. (Her words were even noted in England, they are on the BBC website!) C4, in retaliation, had adverts running that said "The Bloody Mary Episode, tonight at 9.30pm". There were scenes of protesters outside the studio that was airing the episode as it was playing and we saw on the news an old, old man weeping. This old man had probably never even heard of South Park until this episode was blown out of proportion. On this note an old lady rang our store to complain about South Park and, as far as we could gather, try to get us to stop advertising on C4, (we don't anyway).

What did all this fuss get them? A sixfold increase in viewing that's what. If nobody had said anything only those who watch South Park normally would have seen the episode and only a small handful of those would have been offended. Now we have a large number of people in a tizz who could have had a peaceful, stress-free week.

Why, though, does nobody seem to mind that Jesus is parodied on nearly every episode of South Park? (He has his own chat show). Jesus, by the way, is far more important than Mary. This seems odd to me. Though it is Catholics and they are odd sometimes. They let Jesus wrestling Satan and various other bizarre antics slide every week yet Mary menstruating, like every other woman, is diabolical. (Granted she may have squirted it everywhere, but it is just red pixels).

Ah what a crazy world we live in. That poor old man will probably be horrified at the state of the world's youth for the rest of his days thanks to the furore over this.

Tags - South Park, Television, TV, Bloody Mary, Virgin Mary, New Zealand, C4, Helen Clark, Catholic, Jesus

Dumb-arses

Sun, 11 Sep 2005 03:58:28 GMT

People really will do anything for money. Yesterday, we were waiting for Rockstar INXS to finish (what a great show - I had taped it and didn't want to watch the end before the beginning), so we flicked over to Fear Factor.

I am usually pretty good when watching gore on TV, unless it is real-life medical things, but what I saw made me heave and just about vomit. I think the only reason I didn't was because we were about to eat so there was nothing to come out. It was a twin special and this, according to NBC.com Fear Factor Files is what they had to do:

"Twins will tear chunks of meat off of a cow jaw [with their mouths] and run through a 30ft trench filled [with offal] before transferring the meat into a grinder. they will then use the grinder to fill the glass to a certain level and then drink the fluid."

We quickly switched over but somehow, a few minutes later we flicked back to it and there was a woman on screen tearing a hunk of raw, greying, festering meat from a jaw bone with her teeth. Stupid idiots. If they had all refused to do the round they would have ALL gone through to the next one. I once saw an episode where they had to eat rotton, maggot-infested cheese. One guy ate it, through tears and snot and dry wretching. The others all refused and they all went through to the final because they needed a certain number of players.

It just shows that if you are going to go on reality TV shows you should know how they work before hand. It's like the people on Survivor who don't vote out one part of couples that form, of course they aren't going to vote against each other dumb arse they're going to turn on you!

I hope you can see this, I'm doing it as hard as I can

Mon, 15 Aug 2005 07:59:35 GMT

Aqua Teen Hunger Force is FANTASTIC! I must say a huge thank you to Nick and Jenny for telling us about it. We spent the whole of Saturday night watching Aqua Teen and it was time well spent. I also saw on IMDB.com that there is a movie planned for next year! I don't think New Zealand will get it though.

I highly recommend a good viewing session. 10/10