Dr Who's Not so Special Christmas Special

Three Words to describe Dr Who - The End of Time Part 1
slow, padded, boring

Did anyone like me sit down after Christmas dinner with the family and a nice glass of wine looking forward to watching the Doctor Who Christmas Special on BBC1? Only I found myself falling asleep! No it wasn't the large dinner I had just eaten or the glass of wine that was putting me to sleep, it was the painstakingly slow plot of Dr Who - The End of Time!

It wasn't the acting that was poor, David Tennant and John Simm were brilliant and I'm sure the actual basic plot was good. I felt however that there was clear "padding" of the storyline, which let it down. I'm sure that the BBC could have easily fitted the whole plot into a single episode rather than stretching it out into 2. Although... they couldn't then ensure viewing figures when the second episode airs tonight.

In addition, what is it with keeping viewers in suspense for a whole week anyway? Even I have forgotten most of what happened in last week's episode! Oh wait... maybe it is so that the BBC can "pad" tonight's episode with a 5-10 min re-cap? If it can be summed up so easily why draw it out for a whole hour in the first place?!

Overall I'm not impressed. However, despite my whining and complaining I'll still be watching it tonight! Me fickle? :)

Francais s'il vous plait!

Do you know what is really annoying me on TV at the moment? The advert for Stella Artois !

The guy walks up to the bar (supposedly in France) and asks for a "Stella Artois four s'il vous plait." If they are going to have the dialogue in French, the least they can do is ask for a "Stella Artois quatre s'il vous plait"!

(The same goes for La nouvelle 4).

If you want to watch the ad click here

Big Brother 2009 - Can't Wait or Can't be Bothered?

So Big Brother is 10 years old! Was it really that long ago that reality TV took off? It would seem that these days you can't turn on the TV without finding one 'reality' show or another, ... Big Brother, Britain's Got Talent, X-Factor, Come Dine With Me... the list is endless. Are people really interested in watching 'ordinary' folk? It would appear so!

With Big Brother starting its 10th run this week, isn't everyone just a bit fed up with it? I know I am! Don't get me wrong, I couldn't miss an episode of Big Brother when it first started and for the first few years, but you can only see so much of the same thing!

When Big Brother started it was an original concept, unpredictable with real and ordinary people. However it now seems to be the same bunch of early 20 somethings, looking for fame no matter what it takes! You will also usually find 1 or 2 "older" contestants and 1 or 2 who have a different culture or beliefs (either in an attempt to cause controversy or attract a wider viewing audience I don't know which). Watch it on Thursday and then tell me if I'm wrong!

If you see the auditions of those chosen it is clear that the Big Brother chiefs choose people who will be controversial, clash with other housemates or cause a stir hoping their actions will increase ratings. It reminds me a bit of Wife Swap really, you always see a switch between a really strict family and a laid back family, or a workaholic and a housewife. Well let's face it, who would want to watch real-life, 'ordinary' people going about their daily life with no controversy? We watch the Soaps after all!

What also gets me is the pressure on people to watch these shows just to fit in at work/school. I know from experience that you can feel totally left out if you did not see 'what happened last night'!

We all remember the romance of Paul & Helen, what Stuart & Michelle did (or didn't do) under the table and of course Jade's anticis, but how much more of the same can we take and who actually remembers who won last year anyway?!