Farewell Gerry Anderson
Sadly.the death of Gerry Anderson has been announced.
He will always be remembered for Thunderbirds. Although, Wikipedia doesn’t mention this, I remember seeing the first episode, Trapped in the Sky, in a prime Saturday evening slot and ITV billed it as Gerry Anderson’s first adult program. Only later did it settle into being a children’s program.
That first episode is one of the best pieces of British television. If it had a problem, it was that it set a standard that was impossible to attain consistently.
The X Factor Winner Is Not News
The BBC has been reporting who won X Factor last night.
This is not news and why do we clog up the airways with things like this?
Where’s the Tour de France
On a day, when we’re going to win France’s most prestigious sporting trophy, where is the action?
Radio 5 has some golf and you can only get fleeting bits between the adverts on ITV4.
The Black Prince, Henry V, Hawke, Cochrane, Nelson, Wellington and John Churchill will all be spinning in their graves. I suspect too,that even the French won’t be very pleased, as I think they’d prefer to see France shown at its best to Les Anglais and also as they’ve rather taken to our Bradley. Perhaps we can all take a leaf out of his book and learn to speak better French.
Tour de Force In The Tour de France
It has been fascinating watching Team SKY control the most difficult stage in the Tour de France today. As ever ITV’s coverage has been ruined by advertising breaks. At least there is a decent commentary onf BBC Radio 5 Live.
I suppose if Team SKY get some of their riders on the podium in Paris, we might get the Tour coverage on one of their channels.
Another Tax on the Poor
I’ve just been interrupted by an advert on ITV4, where I’m watching the cycling for something called the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Reading about it, it would appear it only promotes itself in Scotland, Wales and the North of England.
I don’t like lotteries, as they are only a tax on the poor and stupid.
Certainly, if you don’t watch ITV or buy tabloid newspapers, it would appear you don’t hear about it.
The Last Match on ITV
Tonight’s match is last one, that I’ll have to watch on ITV. Yippee!
But I’ll be listening to the match commentary on my laptop.
It’s certainly the best way to watch football with adverts.
I wonder what percentage do it this way or listen to a radio for the commentary?
Where Is The Africa Cup of Nations?
I’ve always enjoyed this football tournament, as I said here.
But this year it’s on Eurosport and the only way to see that is by using Sky. All you get is highlights on ITV4 and that’s not in my guide.
ITV Chooses the Wrong Film
Today on ITV3 at 12:55, you could have watched that glorious film, Carry on Cruising.
Isn’t it rather a bad choice considering the news at the moment? But then ITV doesn’t have a Taste and Tact Department.
What Is It With ITV And Football?
I’m just watching Peterborough against Sunderland on ITV. Watching being the key word, as the sound isn’t working properly.
But then ITV has form in providing crap football coverage!
The Americanisation of the FA Cup
I hope the idiot, who thought it would be a good idea to ask Budweiser to sponsor the FA Cup, has done the right thing and gone to repent for the rest of his life in a monastery in Nepal or on Mount Assos.
The FA Cup is a British institution and although, it has been sponsored for some time now, all of the sponsors, hsve either been British or come from countries, where football is the national game.
Budweiser is an American company and luckily I’ve never ever sampled any of its products. In fact as a coeliac, I can’t unless I want to be ill.
Just imagine what would happen if British Airways say, wanted to sponsor a major sporting event in the United States.
Yet again, the FA has shown that the fans don’t count.
One of the outcomes of this deal or perhaps the fact that the television rights have gone to ITV and ESPN, was that the BBC weren’t able to broadcast a radio commentary of the game this afternoon.
