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Demisemicenturian 
"Four ever European"
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 Posted - 01/16/2007 : 09:36:24
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| I recently saw the first series of Peep Show for the first time. I can definitely imagine that some people would find it completely pointless, but I thought it was really good. |
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thefoxboy 
"Four your eyes only."
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Posted - 01/16/2007 : 10:30:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
I reckon Blackadder is the funniest comedy series ever. 
Never seen an episode.  |
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Conan The Westy
"Father, Faithful Friend, Fwiffer"
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Posted - 01/16/2007 : 10:40:23
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| I've got Seasons 2 & 3 on DVD... I can arrange a viewing if you wish. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/16/2007 : 10:49:48
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Evidence of Blackadder's greatness is that, like The Office and One Foot in the Grave, it is able to have a moment where all comedy is dropped.
Blackadder Back & Forth is terrible though, like The Black Adder. I saw it at the Millennium Dome on New Year's Eve 2000. Still, it was no worse than any of the zones.  When I was adding that here, I came across Blackadder: The Cavalier Years, which I had never previously heard of. I wonder whether it's in the box set... |
Edited by - Demisemicenturian on 01/16/2007 10:51:34 |
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Airbolt 
"teil mann, teil maschine"
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Posted - 01/16/2007 : 16:31:59
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Footnote for Chocolatelady and all Coupling (UK) fans - Steven Moffatt's earlier series " Joking Apart " is available on DVD on a very small Label. In fact the label was created solely to put out this programme , such is the cult following. He couldn't get the BBC to release the rights and they wouldn't put it out on their own label
Although it partly resembles Seinfeld ( Uses a stand up routine as a frame ) it's really a precursor to Coupling in style ( Farcical Situations mixed in with modern sexual mores ). Although a messy Divorce doesnt sound like rich comedy material ( Moffatt had just had one and was writing for therapy! ) the leads just cannot stop digging a deeper hole. The lead is Robert Bathurst who some may know from Cold Feet
Anyhow the Guy that runs the label is very friendly and if farce is your thing you could do worse. http://www.replay-shop.co.uk/ ( i'm not on commission  ) |
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Shiv 
"What a Wonderful World"
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Posted - 01/16/2007 : 21:57:26
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quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
quote:
Originally posted by Shiv
...I have Irish heritage...
You must be a Siobhan then, right?
Smartarse!
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Shiv
"What a Wonderful World"
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Posted - 01/16/2007 : 22:10:31
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
quote:
Originally posted by Ali
Not the first series, surely.
I have to agree with you on that - the first series of Blackadder wasn't that good. From the second one on, it was far better.
The first series was a bit hit and miss, but it was also different to the rest, because Baldrick was the clever one and Blackadder was stupid. I think I liked that better, but can see why they wouldn't have got much distance out of it. 'I have a cunning plan, m'lord'
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Downtown 
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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Posted - 01/16/2007 : 22:11:22
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If I may borrow from several of the topics being discussed in this thread to come up with something that's sorta on-topic but not really...
Is it customary in Europe for the response to be so angry and vicious when a star athlete chooses not to re-sign with his current team upon becoming a free agent? I've seen more Red Sox than I can count go over the our most-hated rivals the Yankees, and I've never seen a response like what Beckham is getting. Real Madrid is benching him? The owner is calling him names and saying he just wants to be a movie star, and insisting he's washed up as a player anyway? All this because he didn't turn down $250,000,000, which only a fool would say no to? And what's this nonsense about the team feeling the reporter that the owner said those things to shouldn't have printed it?
I'm also curious why certain European soccer leagues seem to give out contracts that allow players to negotiate with their NEXT team while still under contract with their old team, which would be unheard of over here as "tampering." |
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Airbolt
"teil mann, teil maschine"
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Posted - 01/16/2007 : 23:34:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
If I may borrow from several of the topics being discussed in this thread to come up with something that's sorta on-topic but not really...
Is it customary in Europe for the response to be so angry and vicious when a star athlete chooses not to re-sign with his current team upon becoming a free agent? I've seen more Red Sox than I can count go over the our most-hated rivals the Yankees, and I've never seen a response like what Beckham is getting. Real Madrid is benching him? The owner is calling him names and saying he just wants to be a movie star, and insisting he's washed up as a player anyway? All this because he didn't turn down $250,000,000, which only a fool would say no to? And what's this nonsense about the team feeling the reporter that the owner said those things to shouldn't have printed it?
I'm also curious why certain European soccer leagues seem to give out contracts that allow players to negotiate with their NEXT team while still under contract with their old team, which would be unheard of over here as "tampering."
Beckham wasn't getting many games under the present Real Madrid Coach. Spanish Clubs are very political and yesterdays " Galactico " is todays Bench Warmer. Beckham's face hadnt fitted for a while and there were two other massive factors. He resigned as Captain of England and it was widely accepted that he did not figure in the National Team in future. Plus Victoria Beckham has always hankered after the LA Life ( altho even she has given up "singing" ).
It is more the exception than the rule for a Coach to act in this fashion. It seems a little childish to be honest.
As regards your second point , there is something in European Football/Soccer called the " Bosman Ruling" . Theres a fairly long explanation of it here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosman_ruling -
The effects have been to greatly enhance the power of the player and decrease the power of the Club. |
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Airbolt
"teil mann, teil maschine"
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Posted - 01/16/2007 : 23:40:26
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| Oops Double post |
Edited by - Airbolt on 01/16/2007 23:53:10 |
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bife
"Winners never quit ... fwfr ... "
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Posted - 01/17/2007 : 00:08:26
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Although I think the Beckham situation doesn't apply (as airbolt says, he wasnt getting playing time and really had to leave), how and when a player leaves is a very emotive subject in european, or at least in english, football.
It isn't so much that a player leaves - we know players wont be around forever and there are many ex-Arsenal players whose names are sung and who are still revered when they return to Highbury (oops!) our ground with their new teams.
It is more the way the departure is managed and where the player elects to go. As fans, we all believe the players love the club as much as we do. It usually isn't true, of course, but when you are forking out a small fortune to see them play every week you want to believe it. So when a player quits to move to your arch-rivals, he knows he will be a parriah forever at his original club. And rightly so!
And that is how legends are made in English football. There are better players in the world than Ian Wright. Honestly - far better players. But he will be a legend at Arsenal forever, because of the way he played 'for the club'. You could see it. He eventually left Arsenal as a player, moving across London to West Ham. When he played for West Ham against us, we chanted his name, and told him how much we loved him. He was one of us.
When he retired, he moved into match analysis for Sky Sports. Other fans detest him for it, but he can't help himself - he can't contain his emotions and can barely talk whenever Arsenal are involved (and he isn't exactly articulate to begin with).
On the other hand, a player who leaves, complaining about the club he was with, moving to a rival, or acting like the money and the fame are more important than the game, will be treated somewhat differently.
We recently sold a left-back by the name of Ashley Cole to Chelsea. He is a more gifted player than Wright was, he is easily the best left-back in England, and he had been at arsenal since a kid. We would have understood a transfer to Chelsea, but he conducted and orchestrated his transfer over a period of 12 months, complained about the club and critisized other Arsenal players from the moment he left. Even before he left, we wanted to see our reserve team players in his position. They weren't as good, we were less likely to win, but we didn't want him in our team anymore. He wasn't playing for us anymore. He will never enjoy a pleasant trip back back to Arsenal.
Loyalty is a hugely imprtant concept in English sport. |
Edited by - bife on 01/17/2007 00:13:43 |
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Shiv
"What a Wonderful World"
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Posted - 01/17/2007 : 00:17:24
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quote:
Beckham wasn't getting many games under the present Real Madrid Coach. Spanish Clubs are very political and yesterdays " Galactico " is todays Bench Warmer. Beckham's face hadnt fitted for a while and there were two other massive factors. He resigned as Captain of England and it was widely accepted that he did not figure in the National Team in future. Plus Victoria Beckham has always hankered after the LA Life ( altho even she has given up "singing" ).
[size=2][/size=2 There must be something going on with Beckham. Remember, he was ousted from Manchester United by Alex Ferguson when he was still England captain and playing good soccer. As for his missus. "Singing" indeed  Perhaps the RM coach wasn't happy with a player being married to a crap pop singer who looks like a stick insect (meooow).
I have a great email I'd like to share with people called 'A Matter of Perspective' about the Zidane head-butting incident in the World Cup. It's a serious of animated .gif pictures, but I don't have the techno savvy to either take that series of images out of the email or to attach the email here. Can it be done?
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 01/17/2007 : 01:47:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Shiv
quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
quote:
Originally posted by Shiv
...I have Irish heritage...
You must be a Siobhan then, right?
Smartarse!
It was an easy one.  My sister and cousin have that name, and have both been nicknamed "Shiv" at some stage in their lives.  |
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w22dheartlivie
"Kitty Lover"
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Posted - 01/17/2007 : 04:16:21
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While I can't speak as eloquently nor as authoritatively about American sports teams and players, much of what you saying about team/town loyalty rings true to me. I live in Indiana, now home of the Colts football team. A few years ago when the Colts moved from Baltimore (all sorts of silliness regarding private ownership of clubs and the best corporate sponsorship and stadiums, yada yada), there certainly were hard feelings for quite a long time. Now with them playing in the AFC Conference Championships on the road to the Superbowl, the partisanship will truly come forth (despite the fact that the other team, New England Patriots, is at present a 3 point favorite).
It is true that team loyalty doesn't seem quite as pervasive and persistent in the US for football. I'm not sure what the ratio of teams to population is in the UK. I would think that has something to do with it. When there's no other team for 500 miles, it's a bit easier to be a hometown team fanatic.
But it must be said that there have been cases of fan extremists. When Michael Jordan retired from bassaball** the first time, Chicago was practically in mourning. Granted, they had just come off a 3 year streak as NBA Champions. Then he went to play some baseball. That wasn't as successful as he'd have liked so he went back to bassaball once more. Viola!!! Three-peat again. It was hard, even for a casual fan like myself, to see him retire the final time. Most everybody liked Mike. Then without taking a position on the actual case itself, a lot fans seemed quite relieved to see Kobe Bryant out of the courtroom and back on the court for the LA Lakers. Feelings were divided on that though. Feelings were also mixed about the Indianapolis Pacer player Reggie Miller. People seemed to either love Reggie, or hate him. He evoked strong reactions though, by his own admission, he wasn't the best bassaball player in the family. He said his sister Cheryl was. Personally, I agreed.
I think as a rule, however, a small majority of fans in the US are fickle. No matter what teams are in the playoffs and finals of a given sport - mostly the big 3 (football, baseball, and bassaball) - the fans/and viewers pick a team for the duration and support it, even if it is the hometown teams rival.
**Bassaball: in reality, basketball. Bassaball became my name for it some 30 odd years ago when Cheech & Chong had a song called Bassaball Jones. It stuck with me, much as "da foosball" stuck after Adam sandler's The Waterboy. |
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Airbolt
"teil mann, teil maschine"
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Posted - 01/17/2007 : 12:16:31
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As Wildhartlivie points out , US Teams can move to another City . In England this happened for the first time ever only a few years ago .
The uproar was massive with the fans and the media.
Actually it reads like a film script. Wimbledon FC were a football team ( soccer ) in England and were very small potatoes . Then they starting moving up the Leagues and started winning the highest honours against all odds and with a small but fanatical fanbase ( a little like that Charlie Sheen Baseball film whose name escapes me )They were not particularly nice to look at and used a lot of hard men ( including Vinnie Jones ! ).
Then the financial troubles started and eventually the owner proposed a move to the Town of Milton Keynes , about 50 miles north of London ( famous for it's US style Grid pattern of streets except all intersections have roundabouts! )
The team became the MK DONS and are doing ok. However , the point is that fanatical Wimbledon fans clubbed togeether and MADE THEIR OWN TEAM! It is called Wimbledon AFC and they had to start all overagain at the lowest point of the league . Talk about fan power.
Fans of Manchester United FC did something similar when they heard of Malcolm Glazers takeover and called their team " Real MAnchester" or something similar |
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How much British/U.S. culture confounds MERPs?
