[UK] The Great British programme discussion: Piers Morgan Memorial Pier

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > [UK] The Great British programme discussion: Piers Morgan Memorial Pier

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Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

c0burn posted:

Spooks series 9 starts on Monday

Get in!
Might be the last though

# ¿ Sep 14, 2010 14:07

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 20:49

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

ibroxmassive posted:

Every one of his meals does it, his ingredients list is usually;

Olive Oil
Chilli

Actual food

Yeah he puts it in everything.
Then after he is done, he drizzles some more of it over the top.

# ¿ Nov 9, 2010 14:47

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

FreakyZoid posted:

If you're a fan of his, read his Tricks of the Mind book, if you haven't already. It explains some of the tricks he does, in very loose terms.

He also explains in it that all of his tricks are a combination of traditional magic (ie misdirection, sleight of hand, mechanics, etc) and the auto-suggestion, cold reading, etc. he is famous for. The extra layer to the trick is that because he presents it all as being the same thing, the audience never knows what percentage is done in each way.

Reminds me I need to book tickets for this year's tour.

edit: ^^^^ This is how I thought that trick was done as well.

Indeed. I'm a huge fan and have seen all of his shows live. He does a lot of traditional magic tricks but redresses them in his style, then mixes in all the mentalist stuff. In fact a lot of the "obvious" mentalist stuff is in its self a double bluff to reinforce the fact that he is some mental dude, but the actual trick is just a simple card trick.

A good example is the previous tour (not the one that was on last night) where he does a thing where he "stops" his heart and walks across broken glass. Both of these are pretty standard stage magician tricks, but the way he combines them together and dresses them up is all part of the fun

# ¿ Jan 8, 2011 14:20

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

MyChemicalImbalance posted:

Enigma was amazing live, the girl who got the coin in the show I was at was about 4 seats down my row. Her whole family seemed pretty freaked out, and she seemed pretty shaken herself after the show. No idea how he did it, but he roped everyone in.

Agreed. At the live Enigma I went to a guy sitting directly in front of me was one of the people on the side at the spirit cabinet ( I so nearly got the frisbee

)
On the way out I was walking directly behind him and his friends all the way to the car park and they were talking about it all the way there. If he does use stooges for that stuff (which I don't think he does) then he and the rest of the people with him stayed in character for a long time

reality_groove posted:

I really enjoyed Penn and Teller's show, although it's a shame they don't explain how the tricks are done, you have to kind of believe that they know what they're talking about. I made me wish for the glory days of BREAKING THE MAGICIANS CODE: MAGICS GREATEST SECRETS FINALLY REVEALED WITH THE MASKED MAGICIAN AND SKINNER FROM XFILES. That man had the sexiest assistants.

That seems to be on ITV4 quite a lot.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2011 20:11

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

honeymustard posted:

Me too. Anyone know how the bloke did the squeeze inbetween the boxes and how Penn and Teller did the saw in half trick at the end? I assume they're basically the same.

False bottom to the case with a fabric black top that gets pulled over the legs - it looks thinner than it really is, then fake feet on sticks that he is wobbling about. You can actually see his legs are making the base uneven when the camera spins round and over.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2011 16:12

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Uncertain Frog posted:

I quite liked it, the main thing it suffers from is a constant comparison with Whose Line is it Anyway. For instance why did he read out what everyone was when it should have been for the audience only, and why were there so many of them? Also the US version of Whose Line spoiled us because Drew would get out from behind his desk and join in.

The improv song round was a good idea but why get in an outside performer who had rehersed it? It would have been far funnier to have one of them get up and try to do it on the spot.

On the plus side it did make me laugh a few times, with some tightening and ditching of rounds it could be really good, the topdown bit WAS hilarious but needed to be one scene somehow, Greg Davies is always great and also I've never seen Laura Solon before but she was adorable

Laura Solon is really good, she is all about doing wierd accents and oddball characters. You should check out her radio 4 show - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Solon:_Talking_and_Not_Talking

# ¿ Jan 16, 2011 10:28

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Ratjaculation posted:

Wonders of the Universe

March 6th, 9PM BBC 2.

Hell yeah!
Just got Wonders of the Solar System on BluRay - so much :aaaaa:

so much

# ¿ Jan 31, 2011 14:14

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Daimo posted:

Tried the 10'oclock show lastnight and got halfway before bed. Heres what I thought

-Jimmy Carr can't read a loving autocue to save his life.

-I thought the phrase "Look this is very serious people I had to evacuate all my houses. I had to do it. Lol." was such a hilarious quote from 50 cent that I went looking for it. Turns out he actually said: "Look this is very serious people I had to evacuate all my hoe's from LA, Hawaii and Japan. I had to do it. Lol.". Fair enough you wanted to make a joke about the guys low moral fibre but flat out lying? Come on.

The qoute they read out on 10 o Clock live was the hoes one you must have misheard.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2011 12:00

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Lurchibles posted:

I think the beginning of Season 8 was some of the funniest stuff (with the prison and things, "Krytie TV" was hilarious), but I've spoken with other fans and they completely disagree with me. So yeah, different people have different tastes!

Did anyone check out the finale of Waking the Dead? That was some great British TV!

Waking the dead was excellent

# ¿ Apr 13, 2011 10:44

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

NaDy posted:

It really is brilliant. At first I was unsure about it because it seems like quite an obscure concept to base a panel show on, but it's great. David Mitchell plays off really well with Lee Mack, and I always like trying to work out for myself whether people are telling the truth or not. It's a really clever game, when the right guests are on there are a lot of double bluffs and it's full of wit.

And Angus Deyton was the original host

# ¿ May 23, 2011 13:22

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

A good summary of Geordie Shore

http://www.sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/geordie-shore-doing-for-newcastle-what-borat-did-for-kazakhstan/

# ¿ May 25, 2011 17:19

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Brown Moses posted:

I saw this on their Wikipedia article:

That is glorious

# ¿ May 26, 2011 13:23

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Kin posted:

Well, that's the first series of Luther marathoned. I missed the first 15 minutes or so of the new episode, does it synch up with what happened at the end of the last one?

I mean it ended with Luthor and the other 2 just standing over the bent coppers body. Did the first 15 minutes pick up immediately after that or did it not really address exactly what happened in the aftermath?

Why marathon the first season and then not watch all of the first episode of the new season. Couldn't you have just waited an hour and watched it on iplayer?
Not having a go or anything, it just seems odd to me.

# ¿ Jun 16, 2011 13:04

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

It's really wierd that Mock the Week ended it's current run a week before all this stuff kicked off too.
It's like they waited for all the topical shows to end before starting

# ¿ Jul 16, 2011 14:47

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad posted:

Spooks is dead; http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/aug/11/bbc-spooks-axed

Not at the hands of the BBC, but at the hands of Kudos. Part of the Shine Group. Who are owned by News Corporation.

Boo

They have also said the next series of Hustle will be the last too.
Still 10 series is a good innings, and they get to go out properly. This series of Spooks is only 6 episodes though

# ¿ Aug 11, 2011 19:48

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

God Piers Morgan is a total dick.
Was flicking through the channels last night and he was "interviewing" Barbara Windsor.

Morgan: "So the carry on Films were obviously brilliant for your career..."
camera cuts to Windsor shaking her head
Windsor: "no they destroyed my career. I couldn't work in TV or film for nearly 30 years"
Morgan actually carries on on the previous tack about her career being great for a few beats before he understands what she just said, then is totally stumped about what to say next, then just jumps to his next pre prepared question as though the last exchange never took place.

There is also this: http://twitter.com/!/pennjillette/status/103501623313182720

# ¿ Aug 19, 2011 11:13

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

LE0N posted:

Oh so we get another series of rubbish ye' olde shite like Downton Abbey and series 6545 of Spooks but niche and emerging tv shows are dealt yet another blow, like this...

way to shoot yourself in the foot itv. *sigh* At least celebrity juice is ok.

I can't tell if you are being serious or not. If you are being serious :psyboom:

- these "reality" shows that follow some vacuous wanna be famous person are a waste of space. Emerging TV shows my arse.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2011 19:16

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

I haven't watched it since mid season 2 (apart from a few bits with Emilia Fox :fap:

) , but do they still have the tired thing of Merlin having to hide being a wizard from everyone?

# ¿ Oct 9, 2011 16:50

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Strom Cuzewon posted:

The room I was in went absolutely wild when he appeared. Except for the one Spooks novice who loudly declared "who the hell is that? What's going on?"

I think Ruth's death was a bit crap though, felt like an afterthought. If they'd had it occur during the plane crisis it would have felt like a better part of the episode. Sasha's journey from hating the evil mother who betrayed him to avenging her death on the people only slightly connected to it felt a bit strange though.

Was the wall at the end every dead Spook? I only recognised a few of the names, and Tariq was noticeably absent. I still miss Danny and Zoe. Season 3 was such a bloodbath, never seen anything quite like it.

As far as I can tell it had the name of every dead character (including Tariq). Some were a bit hard to spot because of the light background, but I actually rewound it and found everyone

# ¿ Oct 24, 2011 13:21

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Jonnty posted:

If we're deviating onto radio then I'm obliged to mention The 99p Challenge, the king of modern radio panel games.

It's not really that modern - they haven't made it since 2004

# ¿ Oct 30, 2011 16:48

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Crankit posted:

Slightly similar to the News Quiz, except it's not panel based, is the Now Show, which is Punt & Dennis looking at current events, it's not on at the moment I think it's a seasonal show. I've never really understood UK TV/Radio schedules.

Don't they normally just alternate News Quiz/Now Show in series of 8-10 episodes on Fridays? I think they time it to have breaks for other stuff when Parliament is out.

# ¿ Oct 31, 2011 14:00

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Jimbola posted:

I'm guessing Lovefilm will be gold only as well. Any trip reports on it yet?

Lovefilm will probably be just like it is on the PS3 - you have to be an existing subscriber to Lovefilm to access the content.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2011 16:55

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

FreakyZoid posted:

Is it limited to certain films for free and having to pay for other stuff, even though I already pay them to subscribe, like the rest of Lovefilm's stupid online service?

They only have a limited amount of stuff for free as part of your package due to licensing agreements with the film companies.
If you could watch anything at any time for just the price of the subscription then it would cost a LOT more.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2011 18:35

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

FreakyZoid posted:

Yeah, I've been enjoying it. Light humour, likable characters, nice locations, mysteries you're given enough clues to work out for yourself. It's pretty much perfect sunday night TV.

I even like that it does the "gather everyone in to a room for the big reveal" trope.

I like it too. Good to see Cat from Red Dwarf on telly again

# ¿ Dec 7, 2011 13:40

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Brown Moses posted:

Sad day for British TV, tonight begins the last series of TV Burp, and only 8 episodes.

I stopped watching TV Burp a couple of years back - started becoming too over reliant on gimmick characters like the knitted thing and the fake fat woman from Eastenders.

The best thing about Netflix UK is that it has kicked Lovefilm into getting more content in their on demand line up.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2012 23:44

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Silent Witness is back :dance:

Emilia Fox :swoon:

# ¿ Apr 3, 2012 18:54

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

lazyjane posted:

Not a British show but the co-producers name on the credits of 'Once Upon a Time' always makes me laugh.

Brain Wankum.

Poor bloke

Heh, I noticed him too

# ¿ Apr 18, 2012 10:20

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

hairrorist posted:

What other dramas with serialized story arcs are recommended? I loved the Shadow Line, first few seasons of Hustle, Survivors both the old and the new, Luther, and Inside Men (which MORE PEOPLE need to watch!). I have an excruciatingly boring day job that I cannot tolerate without a movie or a TV show going to occupy my mind while I mindlessly work. This means I end up watching a ridiculous amount of TV, since movies aren't long enough, and serialized TV stories with good production and writing are really what I need. Any suggestions?

I watched the first episode of the Black Mirror, but thought the plot was utterly moronic. Does it get better?

Spooks.

# ¿ May 1, 2012 13:42

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

SeanBeansShako posted:

They could have at least have thought up a less horrible name. If it was ITV or Channel 4 I wouldn't have been bothered but this is BBC stuff.

After this discussion I had to look up the term as I had never heard it used before the programme.
What is offensive about it?

# ¿ May 2, 2012 13:35

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Junkenstein posted:

Anyone watching Hunted? Didn't realise it was starting tonight.

Yeah quite enjoyed it. The main character has something that bugs me though -she has this continuous pout thing going on when she is herself. It went away when she was pretending to be an american to infiltrate the bad guys.

# ¿ Oct 6, 2012 11:52

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Pesky Splinter posted:

I've just seen the trailer (I'd only seen the announcement previously), and yeah it's really not looking that great.

I saw a thing about this on the BBC news, an interview with the guys making it. Apparently BBC had first refusal on the series, but they wanted to commision a pilot first. The creators refused stating that the pilot already exists as a box set DVD (the original series). Yeah because 25 years ago with a different cast and crew they made something special, if you call the new thing the same it will be great by default.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2013 23:56

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

sex pervert posted:

Mark Williams has the lead role in a truly ridiculous (even by the standards of BBC daytime TV dramas) murder mystery drama shown after Doctors. It's called Father Brown. Williams' nasal Brummie voice just did not fit the priest character at all. His gimmick is that he has an old, squeaky bike.

Anyway, the plot was just so incredibly ridiculous and convoluted that it actually made me laugh. Well worth a watch if you've a day to kill and are tired of fiddling with yourself.

edit: It'll probably help if you have a joint whilst watching.

Based on a bunch of books. They've been adapted a bunch of times
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Brown

# ¿ Jan 23, 2013 22:19

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

MrHat posted:

But then DVR is then even easier than On Demand or live watching.
Tell the Sky+ or Tivio that you always want to watch Spooks and then you'll be able to catch up no matter if you forget to watch it for a a month or longer.

Some of the newer freeview boxes have DVR functionality that can handle things like season passes so even if you don't have Sky or Virgin you can still do that.

There are loads of freeview boxes with PVR functionality. Pretty much any new one will have series link.
http://www.freeview.co.uk/Freeview-Plus/Freeview-Plus-Products/Freeview-HD

# ¿ Feb 5, 2013 00:20

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

goatface posted:

An hour-long Monthly Wipe would probably work. Enough time to let stories develop, let media spirals do their up and down, develop ideas and get everything down pat.

Nobody seems to like monthly series though, so it would never work.

Sky at Night worked OK for a short while

# ¿ Nov 8, 2013 06:48

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

BizarroAzrael posted:

Oh, I thought Ecigs were legit, do they not work in some way? I understand they have nicotine, so are they still dangerous?

Nicotine is not dangerous, it is just addictive. Its all the burning poo poo in normal smokes that causes all the damage.

# ¿ Jan 15, 2014 14:12

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

VogeGandire posted:

Seriously, if your whole deal is magic, stop crash-cutting EVERYTHING, because it just makes it look like you're editing tricks in.

Plus surely magicians are supposed to be entertaining and charismatic? I know Dynamo is talented but christ, have a bit of showmanship.

As well as all the crash cuts, who ever is filming it has no idea how to film the "magic" stuff as they invariably give away the "trick", most often with Dynamo using a stooge.
The one where he changes the name on the dollar bill, the camera angle clearly shows him switching it for another bill and the close up shot shows the piece of paper stuck on it that he pulls off to reveal the other name.

The one where he "changes" at tattoo, again the close up shot clearly shows the make up on the stooge (in this one notice that 2 other people say they have tattoos they don't like which he ignores before he walks over to the stooge). Same with the moving the tan line one.

The camera people often focus too much on looking at the crowd to catch their reactions and often catch the helper in the background swapping stuff about, slipping things in peoples pockets etc whilst they are distracted by Dynamo.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2014 07:46

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

stickyfngrdboy posted:

Dynamo once did this thing where he appeared a hundred yards away in like a second and I wondered how he did it, I mean he was in front of loads of people one second and the next he was over the street or something. And one he did on a farm where he suddenly magicked himself through a metal gate behind the cover of a picnic rug. Idk how he did those ones. TV trickery, is my guess. I notice for the close-up/hand stuff he always wears a gigantic jacket (xl is gigantic on him he is tiny fyi) which is probably a clue when he makes things 'disappear'.

'where could it be?!' he asks while making wavy magic arms. 'in your coat' you could probably reply.

David Blaine, in his newest thing that was on channel 4 recently, just stabs himself in the arm or hand with a metal spike , in front of famous celebrities like Will and Jayden Smith and Ricky Gervais. It's very realistic. Tedious, though. Very tedious.

When he appears hundreds of yards away, it's actually a dude in the same clothes as him, Dynamo has literally just hidden somewhere nearby. Notice you never see a close up of the "teleported" guy.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2014 03:48

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Captain Mediocre posted:

Radio is where all the good stuff is for topical news. The Now Show and The News Quiz are both pretty great, but I can't imagine they would be anything but terrible if you tried to do them on TV.

I used to love the News Quiz - driving home from work, 6:30 comedy half hour on radio 4, excellent. I just can't stand the current regulars - Sandi Toksvig, Jeremy Hardy and some other bloke who is on it all the time are a bunch of smug twats.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2014 16:46

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

ookiimarukochan posted:

Hugo Rifkind? Because he's more or less the anti-Jeremy Hardy surely?

No idea who that is

Just had to look up the guy I meant - Francis Wheen

# ¿ Feb 21, 2014 09:54

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 20:49

Mr Beens: Dec 2, 2006

Boskins

# ¿ Apr 30, 2014 15:58

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > [UK] The Great British programme discussion: Piers Morgan Memorial Pier

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