3 posts tagged “review”
So i discovered that there is only ONE show i still watch on free to air now. Even then I an using a home media centre to record it first so i don't have to watch the ads. And I'm only doing it to justify the $200 tuner card.
I either download the shows I watch, or I podcast or (netcast). I find that if I'm not with people I pretty much have to be either listeneing to music or to podcasts, and more and more podcasts are taking up more of my mind share.
I thought I'd just give a brief roundup of my favorite casts:
Buzz Out Loud - a "podcast of indeterminate length", BOL highlights some of the most intreaguing tech news storys every day. Notice the every day? That's why I love this show. Its hosted by three people, and if one of them is away, the other two always battle on. Its very easy to be endeared with Tom, Molly and Veronica, and the balance of ages, levels of experience and sexes makes this easy to recommend to anyone that spends a fair part of their day reading tech blogs.
Ze Frank - the show is possibly some of the finest comedy to be found anywhere. Ze is brilliant, and has got what is basically a video diary down to an amazing art. It has a vaugly Eddie Izzard feel about it, with a strong political undercurrent. Watching should be mandatory.
TWiT network - The Twit network is all about Leo. Leo Laporte has brought together the best In Tech and Tech related podcasts on the net, not to mention hosting and producing most of them himself. If you are at all into technology there's something here for you.
Revision 3 - There's something here for you. whoever you are. A cooking show? Beer drinking / news telling ? Photoshop tips? Hacking? Music that isn't MTV? Check them out, some of the best video casts available.
Its another HBO series, but interestingly it seems that it was planned to only go for the 10 or so episodes from the beginning. It starts as Caesar is finishing up is military campaigns in Gaul and ends with the famous senate scene, which I guess explains the 10 episode limit.
The series was picked up by Australia's Channel 9, which struck me as odd when I saw the ads. However after actual viewer complaints after the first episode it disappeared immediately. This isn't so much a indication of the shows quality, as Channel 9's audience.
Apparently People complained that the characters had unprnouncible names, and were entirly unlovable. Which, is actually true. That just didn't stop me from warming to them eventually or enjoing the show overall. In fact the only peoples I could pronounce by the end were either famous historical characters or had two syllable nick names like Pullo. Personally I remember faces anyway so it wasn't a 'thing' for me.
What is is full of however is Roman stereotypes. Blood sacrifices, lesbians, and some seriously odd ethics. This is whats so engaging about the show though, by the end you find you self judging the characters actions based on the rules of their time rather than ours, which is not a place I thought I could be led to in ten episodes.
The spin on the series is that, while it does follow Caesar's reign, it also follows the lives of two presumably non-historical roman centurions and their families. This is where things are interesting. I'm not going to ruin too much, however watch for Pullo giving sex advice, especially his teachings on keeping women happy.
If your in to history, Rome, Shakespearian drama or blood ( or lesbians), this is worth getting your hands on if you can. If your in Australia, you might be a little hard pressed, as even though channel 9 aren't going to air the show, they still own the broadcast rights. They're not going to give it up until they've had a few more attempts at airing it at an audience eagerly awaiting more getaway I'm sure.
Its would seem that I'm not alone in thinking this season of Lost has jumped a certain 'Aquatic Organism'.
I'm still watching it, I still want to know how its all going to end, but I'm a massive TV junkie, so i can see why the ratings have started to slip. I just dont have 'faith' that the show is actually going to come up with any decent answers any more. I fear it will do an X-Files, and just run until people stop watching it. It just seems the show was not built with that in mind.
I heard it summed up on This Week in Media (I think) when someone said that there's just no way a network is ever going to let a show as popular as lost end while the ratings are up, I mean why would you. Why would you? Long-tail.
Long Tail is one of those buzz words that is bouncing around now, that basically means if you've got the patience, you could get an even bigger audience by having fewer people come to the show every week, but over a much longer time. Itunes, dvd sales, these things mean that the value of the show does not die after the initial first run advertising has dried up. But no ones going to watch it later if the huge audience that watched it first time round complains about how it ended.
I've already warned people away from Carnivàle.
I just picked up the second series of L-word (say nothing) and they've done the same thing there. There Shane the ultimate Poligamist had this huge character changing event towards the end of the first series, and in the first episode of the second series they basically say 'I don't want to talk about it' and then she loves and leaves again.
I understand the economics of wanting to run with a successful show into the ground, but why not think long term, and start trying to value content in an of itself, rather than just as a vehicle for ads?
