Other TV programmes you like or loathe

Watched 'I'm a celeb' last night. Heard Stefanie Powers say she's a veggie. IS SHE MAD? How can a veggie go on this show? - she'll be eating Kanagroo wotsits before you can say 'Quorn Burger' Once the GBP catch on she'll get all the challenges involving eating nasty stuff

As a veggie I really don't understand why she's doing this. Have there been veggies on here before?

It'll all end in tears

vonee21 wrote:Watched 'I'm a celeb' last night. Heard Stefanie Powers say she's a veggie. IS SHE MAD? How can a veggie go on this show? - she'll be eating Kanagroo wotsits before you can say 'Quorn Burger' Once the GBP catch on she'll get all the challenges involving eating nasty stuff

As a veggie I really don't understand why she's doing this. Have there been veggies on here before?

It'll all end in tears

Love IACGMOOH & im going to back Fatima she is warm natured
& supportive to others. Interesting to see only one so called babe
on the show this year! Mark to vain, Chrissie being reunited with
her teeth classic tv!

That was my first thought about Stephanie- there's not too many veggie options in these eating trials.

Of course if she is a real veggie, she won't want to hurt any of these nasty bugs/insects that she gets cooped up with either!

Can see the GBP getting stuck in here. Brings back memories of the 'persecution' of Dr Gillian!

lualen wrote:That was my first thought about Stephanie- there's not too many veggie options in these eating trials.

Of course if she is a real veggie, she won't want to hurt any of these nasty bugs/insects that she gets cooped up with either!

Can see the GBP getting stuck in here. Brings back memories of the 'persecution' of Dr Gillian!

Omg Gillilan! Who could ever faint on order as she did! There
has been vegatarians Timmy Mallet to name one & he did eat
insects etc as part of a challenge!
Stephanie will be picked a lot if she wails a lot! Think Freddie will
be a walker! Also note more mature people in IACGMOOH this
year too. Is this a new trend by tv? Heaven help DOI this year

Sax

Heard on 5 news a little while ago that Freddie is in hospital after a trial (obviously the one he was picked for last night) so we will no doubt get all the details later.

Maya53 wrote:Well have just watched the 2nd part of Martin Scorcese's film about George Harrison and am in tears. Big part of my life, the first band I ever saw live - aged 13, climbed out my bedrom window to go cos my parents forbade be. Was grounded for a monh but it was worth every minute. Have a painting on my wall of them, done by an unknown painter, bought it an anuction, also have the programme signed by all four - I tell my som it is his inheritance - now watching the story of the Beatles. Fantastic tele, and brings back my youth in a way not other genre does.

The filim also had a profound affect on me. I have always vaguely thought that George was my favourite Beatle without knowing very much about him except that which was well publicised. Although I thought both parts of the film were rather long it was worth perservering with for the insight that it gave - some of the unseen footage was fascinating and also finding out about how he got on with Lennon and McCartney, it kind of threw a different perspective on things. He also seemed such an interesting person on so many different levels. Someone I would have liked to have met.

I've just caught up with IAC (so much good telly on at the moment!) and I'm very disappointed in Stefanie Powers. She's cold and ill mannered. By contrast, Fatima is full of warmth and kindness. I like her the best.

Rumours are Freddie might not return, which would be a huge shame. He was shaping up to be a great campmate. He was awesome on the trial!

Sid wrote:I've just caught up with IAC (so much good telly on at the moment!) and I'm very disappointed in Stefanie Powers. She's cold and ill mannered. By contrast, Fatima is full of warmth and kindness. I like her the best.

Rumours are Freddie might not return, which would be a huge shame. He was shaping up to be a great campmate. He was awesome on the trial!

I'm not really a fan of Freddie (tho he was very funny once-upon-a-time) but it will be a shame if he doesn't come back. I want to see how those who really don't know anything about him - the young ones, Steffie react to his total lunacy He is barking mad and will do anything, as witnessed in the Trial So I'm hoping he is back if only for a while.

I must admit, vonee, I don't know much about the guy either! He does seem totally nuts

Sid wrote:I must admit, vonee, I don't know much about the guy either! He does seem totally nuts

He was very popular once, own TV show. Did comedy sketches, impressions and so on. One that sticks in my head is an impression he did of Mick Jagger. Just cracked me up. You had to be there.... And not a hamster in sight..

Lucielle wrote:Anyone watching The X-Factor?
Janet Devlin - don't understand her appeal.
Think Misha will win. Don't particularly like her, but there's no getting away from the fact she has natural talent and bags of confidence.
Would like C raig to win, he has a unique voice.

Well C raig was voted out last night. The judges were split between him and Amelia Lily (the replacement for Frankie Cocozza) and it went to public vote. Not a surprise, esp. as Bryan Adams (great artist though he is) said he thought she would win the comp. Not a very nice thing to say in front of the other contestants. I wonder who prompted him to say that - actually it was the host, whom, no doubt, is told what to say.

It's time a female won anyway and, as luck would have it, there are 3 female and 1 all-female group left in the comp and just the one male now. Luckily again, because C raig sounded so much like last year's winner.

X-Factor update (if anyone is interested )
Oh dear, Janet forgot her words again - must be nerves. Likewise, as she stands rigidly and no personality shines forth, makes me wonder if she's ever going to make a professional singer. She is the only one left with a distinctive voice - although it's too tinny for my liking. On that basis, it should be goodbye.

OMG - what enemy within (the wardrobe department) is dressing Misha B? To put a (let's be honest) plump girl in a pair of patterned leggings must be the fashion faux pas of the series. Her songs weren't up to much either.

Little Mix sang emotionally and Marcus with his rendition of Lately did well.

Amelia Lily shouted her way through two songs, but she has the confidence, personality and likeability of a budding pop star - and she's only 17. But who will get the chop?

Janet got the chop. I felt sorry for her, she's really timid and she's got the most beautiful red hair, but the result was right. The choice was between her and Misha B, who got all the judges' votes. It's the semi-finals next week (thank goodness)and I cannot predict who'll win. It's such a roller-coaster depending upon the song choice, and has the winner a future anyway. Having said that I shall be watching Matt Cardle on TV tonight.

Just caught up with last week' s HIGNFY and, it's official, I'm in love. In the guise of Matthew Crawley in Downton, he comes across as staid and rather cold but his real self is very different. Devastatingly attractive, great sense of humour, educated, intelligent, well-spoken...iow the perfect man. Be still my beating heart

Totally agree Lucielle

Dan Stevens was indeed excellent as the host I missed it Friday but
caught the extended version on Sunday night so 45 minutes of him.

Lucielle wrote:Just caught up with last week' s HIGNFY and, it's official, I'm in love. In the guise of Matthew Crawley in Downton, he comes across as staid and rather cold but his real self is very different. Devastatingly attractive, great sense of humour, educated, intelligent, well-spoken...iow the perfect man. Be still my beating heart

Oh Lucillle I so agree, absolutely fab! Though I love him in Downtown as well. Looking forward to that Xmas special as well.

And now for something completely different.... for those who are following my weekly reports on who has got the X-Factor or not, this is what happened yesterday:

Misha B went out - it was the leggings that did it.

I've decided Amelia Lily hasn't enough vocal range, she either shouts or she shouts. Gary Barlow agrees.

Marcus had one good song and one mediocre song so the jury's out fttb (for the time being).

Little Mix - Gary said they should have a lead vocalist and, although they disagreed, if he said it, it must be right, because he is

Oh yes, and guess what, they're going to Wemberley for the final next week.

Well, there you go... Amelia Lily, I mean. So it's out of Marcus and Little Mix. Marcus's voice is a combination of Stevie Wonder and Jackie Wilson but I wonder if it's good enough for a winner. Little Mix make a very good sound between them and, someone said, there's room for a girl band out there. It looks then that Little Mix has the edge on Marcus. We'll know by tonight.

Little Mix it is then. Singing twice their new single, instantly forgettable, I'm afraid. Now I've said that it'll be a massive Christmas No. 1, no doubt.

If the X-Factor comes back next year, they really have to do something about the stuffing between the songs because, when it's not being repetitive and boring, it's downright tedious. Whilst doing that, they should also cut down on the adverts, shown between Dermot O'Leary's sentences. Better still, why not scrap it altogether and put another kind of talent show on ? I'm in favour of giving unknowns a start in showbiz, there is a wealth of talent out there, but this one surely has had its day ?

vonee21 wrote:Anyone watching Frozen Planet? Excellent stuff from Sir David as usual. Gorgeous photography and lots of beautiful animals. And there are some really weird creatures under the ice.

I’m surprised that the Beeb didn’t say at the time that the footage of the polar bear cubs with their mother was filmed in a Dutch animal park and not in the Arctic as I, along with the rest of the viewing public, assumed. The Beeb has defended this by saying that this is “standard practice” for natural history shows. Is it? If so, then it is bad standard practice, imo.

Anyone see Dan Stevens on That Sunday Night Show (ITV)? He was amiable and funny until the arrival of Sarah Burge (the woman who’s spent £500,000 on plastic surgery) and the question arose as to whether she had given a £6000 voucher to her 7 year old daughter for a boob job – then his disapproval was very apparent. He asked the question several times and it all got uncomfortable - a bit reminiscent of Jeremy Paxman’s question to Michael Howard that he asked many times without getting a direct answer. I like that! It shows he's not just a pretty face.

And then there was Brian Cox! How lovely is he! On the JR show on Friday and now the front cover of Radio Times - he's everywhere atm and I'm not complaining.

In case you are reading the book, below are comments on Birdsong.

In my circles, atm, there are just two discussion points: Birdsong and War Horse. Listening to the comments, War Horse is something I shan’t be seeing. I cannot bear to see these beautiful animals hurt, so why put myself through it – wearing blinkers, you could say.

If I had not known the story and therefore not been comparing it to the book, I would probably have enjoyed the TV adaptation of Birdsong more. Even so, I cannot say that it lacked quality.

Most of the characters were, visually, as I imagined, with the exception of Stephen, who I expected to be better looking, ie not quite so effeminate and more forceful, after all, he did have the ladies after him. The only time he showed any strength of character was when defending Isabelle and an instant or two in the trenches.

I also felt the longing between Stephen and Isabelle didn’t build up sufficiently and therefore the first passionate encounter was quite a shocker – an unnecessary shocker.

Dialogue was down to a minimum, so it was hard to formulate ideas about personalities, instead relying on shots of faces and at whom they were gazing; without knowing the story I may have been wondering what they were thinking about. In that regard I’m wondering if the director relied on the fact that viewers would know the story. But I would have liked more expression, both visually and verbally, especially in the trenches, although the horror of what the men endured was quite apparent.

Having said, in my review of the book, that flitting between different times was not noticeable, in the adaptation the flittings were frequent, running alongside each other, which actually worked well as it kept the interest sustained.

I felt it all had a dreamy quality about it, as if it wasn't real. It may have been deliberately depicted like that because in the final part, these scenes will be reflected upon - if you get my drift.

I’m looking forward to Sunday, if only to find out how they are going to deal with the rest of the story and will we find out why it is entitled Birdsong?

The TV adaptation of Birdsong was not entirely faithful to the novel, having missed out a large chunk which, imo, was a mistake. I’m sure they could have made it a three-parter and included the events of 1978-9. For me that piece rounded everything off nicely, without it, dare I say, it was just another war story – albeit a powerful one. So powerful, I actually felt exhausted when it was over. It was very good television and I hope there’ll be more like it. I also hope next time the dialogue will be clearer as it sounded muffled in places to me but, as I said before, I knew the story so it wasn’t that much of an issue. The reason it's called Birdsong was not conveyed, unless I missed something. It would be good to know what others thought.

Lucielle, I have now finished the book and watched the adaptation. I'm so glad I read the book first as I think the link between past and present (well,1978!) and the way it comes full circle closes it beautifully. That said, if you are just going to tell a war story, that bit is extraneous.
I have to say
I found the TV version very gripping (watched both parts back to back) but the passion between Isabelle and Stephen was not built up enough. In the book it reminded me a bit of that old A level favourite The Go Between where the heat is a metaphor for what is what is happening. And did I miss something, I'm not sure I remembered reading Stephen saying he didn't want children (hence why Isabelle left him?). I'm willing to stand corrected on that, but I hadn't picked it up if so.
I thought the relationship between Firebrace and Stephen was well depicted, although generally I agree with you Lucielle that characters weren't developed enough.
As for the title, I don't think there was as much reference to the birds as there is in the book, but at the end as it all fades away the birds songs are clearly heard. Although in the introduction to the novel the author states that the title refers to natural life going on despite what humans do, I think that, like the ending of Blackadder Goes Forth where it cuts to the poppies, the reference to the natural world automatically leads you to think of hope and rebirth. And when you consider the ending of the novel as opposed to the the TV version, this even more so.

By the by, I wonder why they chose to do this now instead of in a couple of years during the centenary, when there will no doubt be loads of WW1 programmes?

allsewnonbyhand wrote:And did I miss something, I'm not sure I remembered reading Stephen saying he didn't want children (hence why Isabelle left him?). I'm willing to stand corrected on that, but I hadn't picked it up if so.

It’s quite a long time in book terms since I read it but I believe Stephen Wraysford did mention he didn’t want children, although I can’t be certain, perhaps someone else can remember. I thought the main reason Isabelle went back to her husband were his children, and (knowing she was pregnant) her sister, although the adaptation didn't develop these characters enough for us to appreciate the bond. Because of that, therefore, perhaps the TV version concentrated on the "not wanting children" aspect.

allsewnonbyhand wrote:As for the title, I don't think there was as much reference to the birds as there is in the book, but at the end as it all fades away the birds songs are clearly heard. Although in the introduction to the novel the author states that the title refers to natural life going on despite what humans do, I think that, like the ending of Blackadder Goes Forth where it cuts to the poppies, the reference to the natural world automatically leads you to think of hope and rebirth. And when you consider the ending of the novel as opposed to the the TV version, this even more so.

That's right, although I did think the title also had reference to the canaries that they put into the tunnels to see if there was air. If the birds died, so would they.