Categories
TV

When I were a lad

I was noticing the other week that Isaac referred to some past golden age “when I were a lad”. I asked him if he knew where the expression came from. He didn’t. Where it comes from (at least in our house) is the Four Yorkshiremen sketch, which has been adopted by Monty Python, but in  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism Retrospectives TV

There’s at least a dozen ways to save our petrol

M was telling me about an ad from the 70s telling people to save petrol. I had absolutely no recollection of it, but sure enough, Mr Youtube had it… What a cracker! I couldn’t figure out why they made the cartoon people nude, but a comment suggested it was to grab people’s attention. Perhaps I  ... [More]

Categories
Home life TV

Still liking the new TV

So, the new Samsung TV is a couple of months old now. (The purchase / First impressions). I’m still liking it. The picture really is excellent, though occasionally when it’s windy it seems like the old antenna isn’t handling the digital picture well, so the odd digital glitch occurs. Might look at an antenna upgrade.  ... [More]

Categories
Doctor Who

The Late Show’s Doctor Who parody

I was looking for something else on Youtube, and as sometimes happens, got distracted by this instead: a Doctor Who parody from The (D-Gen) Late Show from 1993. For those who don’t follow such things, the real Brigadier, Nicholas Courtney, passed away last week.

Categories
News and events TV

Mr Rabbit vs Mr Riley

I don’t necessarily agree with Tony Abbott’s policies, but I don’t think what he said to the soldiers, taken in context, was unreasonable. Colonel Creighton says of the Digger’s death: “Was it tragic? Absolutely. But we’re all in the knowledge that all the stuff (firepower support) you see here and more was available on the  ... [More]

Categories
TV

Getting rid of old TVs

Seems like half of Melbourne has got a new flat screen TV or computer monitor, judging from the number of CRTs left around the streets. In my view, you shouldn’t just dump them on the nature strip. Assuming it’s working, ask around to see if a charity somewhere wants it. Or list it on Freecycle  ... [More]

Categories
music Retrospectives TV

Butterfly ball (Love is all)

My recollection is this clip used to pop up on the ABC when they had five minutes to fill. Nowadays they’d probably just run a bunch of promos and adverts for the ABC Shop. The song is actually called “Love Is All”, from The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast. I can’t make it along,  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism TV

Franco Cozzo

If you’re ever at Footscray Station on the footbridge (the one they’re going to have to knock down extend, even though they just built it), and you look towards the east, you’ll see something from a bygone era. You might just be able to make out the words “Franco Cozzo” on an off-white building in  ... [More]

Categories
Film TV

Grainy vs smooth

From the popup text of the comic reproduced below: We’re also stuck with blurry, juddery, slow-panning 24fps movies forever because (thanks to 60fps home video) people associate high framerates with camcorders and cheap sitcoms, and thus think good framerates look ‘fake’. The first DVD I played on my old Loewe TV when I got it  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism TV

New television?

I’ve been thinking for a while about updating my television (a 68cm Loewe CRT, non-widescreen, analogue) to a shiny new digital number. People who know more about this stuff than I suggested I look at Samsung’s offerings. I know I’ve had two Samsung computer monitors for years which haven’t missed a blip, so I took  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism TV

Online vs local

I find it a little difficult to accept the big retailers’ claims that ensuring GST is applied to mail order goods ordered online from overseas will make a big difference. GST is only 10%. Take for example the DVD of Edge of Darkness, which I mentioned the other day. Amazon UK price: 3.97 + 3.68  ... [More]

Categories
TV

Edge of Darkness

This month it’s 25 years since the landmark mini-series Edge of Darkness concluded its first screening. I’m guessing I saw it a year or two later, and it remains one of my most favourite pieces of television ever… in fact it probably sparked my interest in the late-80s and early-90s in British television drama, particularly  ... [More]