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TV

Incorrect assumptions

You know when you have some of the information, and the brain tries to fill in the blanks? Many times I seemed to be watching Lateline, and a report from Norman Hermant would come on, often from Iraq or elsewhere in the Middle East. He works for the ABC, but has an American accent. For  ... [More]

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Consumerism TV

Televisions

I would love a new TV, but can’t afford it. That is, the cost/benefit ratio isn’t there to replace my 68cm Loewe CRT television just yet. So while I’d love to get a high-definition flat screen with digital tuner, the prices will have to drop a bit more before that becomes viable, especially with the  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism Food'n'drink Home life TV

Brief things and followups

Star Trek TNG — We started watching them all about a year ago, and are so far up to season 6. I wonder if in remastering for DVD, they changed the framing of some shots — it’s surprising how often we spot a boom mike in shot. (Reminds me: Must watch the “Car Pool” interview  ... [More]

Categories
Doctor Who TV

Almost sci-fi pictures

There was a bloke on the train covering his eyes. A picture of him could be captioned: Don’t blink! But it would be wrong to publish such a photo without his permission. Instead I give you this, found in a street in Footscray. Let’s hope it’s bigger on the inside. And it was nice to  ... [More]

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News and events TV

TV news

Superb! Charlie Brooker on what makes a generic TV news report: (via Mumbrella)

Categories
TV

ABC: wall-to-wall kids shows

An opinion piece in The Age yesterday comments about the introduction of kids’ channel ABC3. What I can’t figure out is why, about the same time ABC3 has started up, ABC2 has dropped most of its non-kids programming on weekends during the daytime (eg before 6pm) and replaced it with more kids’ programmes. Compare for  ... [More]

Categories
TV

Red Dwarf – they thought it was an arts programme

Red Dwarf – once upon a time, the ABC thought it belonged on the Sunday afternoon arts show.

Categories
TV

Two more thoughts on Hey Hey

The Jackson Jive The controversy over this skit, which involved five men blacking up (and one “whiting” up) to portray the Jackson 5, rages on. I don’t think it’s as simple as some are making out. Those offended (especially the Americans and Brits) should bear in mind that “blackface” has no history in Australia, and  ... [More]

Categories
TV

Hey Hey

When we tuned into the first Hey Hey special last Wednesday, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It’s been ten years since the show ended, which seems like a long time, but most of the regulars from back then are still around. I first watched Hey Hey when I was a kid, when it  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism TV

Exchange rate

I’m not going to claim I’m a currency expert, but I think Channel 10 put the decimal point in the wrong place, as I’m pretty sure an Australian Dollar is worth more than US 8 cents.

Categories
Clothes Doctor Who

Doctor Who goes mainstream

You know a TV show has gone mainstream when you see a t-shirt for it in the window of Target (as well as having its DVDs advertised on phone boxes).

Categories
Geek TV

Digital TV: SD vs HD

I’ve been looking at Topfield PVRs. Looks like one can get a dual-tuner standard definition (SD) model for about $300-350 (retail), whereas it’s about $750 for a high definition (HD) one. You can also get a single-tuner HD model for about $399, but sometimes I want to be able to record multiple programmes at once.  ... [More]