Archive for the Television Category
Written on April 23, 2007 by Jen at Semantically driven
Filed Under: Television
At the beginning of the tumultuous Big Brother tonight two out of six potential housemates are being voted in and surprise surprise, the blonde one is in front at the beginning of the show to get in (if I’m reading the graph right). They’re all telling us what fun they will be in the house and they’ll test all the boundaries. Yes, we’ve heard it all before.
First revelation: the much anticipated relationship. Hayley and the Firefighter (Andrew) are a couple but the rest of the house doesn’t know that. The couple’s high-stakes mission is to keep their relationship a secret. If they succeed they get to remain in the house as a couple. But all the other housemates are given a secret mission to try and find out who the couple is within a week.
The two new housemates are Susannah (surprise surprise) and Zoran and they enter the house.
The plan for the remaining four housemates is for them to go into the white room and they’re all dressed in, you guessed it, white. Of the four, the person who can remain in the white room the longest gets a wildcard entry to become a housemate. Sounds a bit like the final challenge in Survivor. If they want to leave, they can, by pressing the big red button but that will be it. It sounds like a form of torture to me. There is nothing in the room except for four beds and a table and chairs, and the big red button and each other. What fun that will be.
Now for Mr X – Billy – who used to go out with Hayley (the same one with the secret boyfriend in the house). Billy came all the way back from Canada to do this, interrupting a round the world backpacking holiday. Silly fool him. He’s to go into the house and put pressure on Hayley’s and firefighter’s relationship. Oooh, you big meddler Big Brother.
With all this excitement on practically the first night, what else could possibly be in store for us?
Written on April 23, 2007 by Jen at Semantically driven
Filed Under: Television
Okay I’ll admit it. I’ve been watching Big Brother Australia ever since it started here in Australia seven years ago. I tried to admit last year that I didn’t watch it, but I’ll let you in on a secret. I did. I was fairly disinterested, but strangely compelled to watch it.
Last night I watched the introduction to the new housemates. As I watched the first 12 go in, it struck me how much things have changed since the first few seasons. This year more than ever the housemates are really ‘outgoing’ and looking to have ‘fun’ and they were all pretty much focussed on themselves. I guess they epitomise Generation Y. I’m a Generation X girl myself so don’t really fit the demographic of the housemates, and all or most of the viewers, so there is a generation gap in place.
And as usual they are all youngish and attractive. Even Gretel said, as she was introducing the girls, that ‘it’s another blonde one’. Is this how shallow an Australian audience is, to only want to watch attractive people on television? What about beauty on the inside?
The seemingly most down to earth one was Jamie the self professed nerd although he is still brimming with self-confidence while he’s ‘doing it for the nerds’.
As for the two relationships within the house? I haven’t done any reading around other websites for the rumours, but my pick is that two of the girls are sisters. I saw them sitting next to each other last night and their profiles were almost identical. One was Hayley (the one in the awful blue dress that reminded me too much of the 1980s) and I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the other one. She was blonde though. That’s right, they’re nearly all blonde.
No doubt I’ll watch more and get ridiculed for watching it by my friends, but I really don’t care.
Written on February 2, 2007 by Jen at Semantically driven
Filed Under: Television
I can see that for the next few months I’m going to be glued to the television a bit. This week alone two new series have started here, ‘24′ and ‘Heroes’. Next week ‘Desperate Housewives’ starts again. That’s three nights a week I’ll have shows on that I want to watch and I’d been cutting down quite a bit on my tv viewing. Oh well, it is ratings season and this won’t last.
On Tuesday night I was glued to the screen for two hours watching the ‘New Beginning’ of ‘24′. I must admit that I had lost interest in the last couple of series probably because it was all a bit same-same and there were a couple of really annoying characters – actually I’m thinking of daughter Kim and she was more at the beginning. Also the tv station – you know who you are channel 7 put it on at different times so I just forgot what time to tune in.
I watched ‘24′ again last night and at the end was informed that it would revert to one day a week at bloody 10.30 at night. It was on this week at 8.30. Channel 7 have probably just lost me to this show because I won’t be up at 10.30 watching it and I’ll probably forget to tape it. It shits me that if the ratings are down a tad then they’ll put a show on at a ridiculous time. Viewing numbers could pick up couldn’t they? Well they could have, but not any more because of the late timeslot. Read a ‘24′ recap over at BlogHer.
Failing that ‘Heroes’ has sucked me in. I already cannot wait for the next instalment. I really warmed to the Japanese guy who can teleport himself over the place. He was very enthusiastic and cute. I’m a bit unsure about the webcam stripper’s power, apart from killing people and waking up to not remember doing it, but I’m sure more will be revealed. Otherwise it has the archetypal everything about good and evil that makes a story riveting. And we’ve been given a taste of what the heroes are learning about their powers for. I can’t wait to see how the evil father of the girl who doesn’t get hurt reacts when he finds out about his daughter’s super power, if he doesn’t already know.
And will ‘Desperate Housewives’ pick itself up a bit from last season. The first season was great – quirky and interesting, but last season dragged a bit and I wasn’t as interested. I’ll give it a go though and see what happens.
Written on January 10, 2007 by Jen at Semantically driven
Filed Under: Television
I have a confession to make, although anyone who might be a regular reader of this blog could already know. I kinda like reality television. I watch Australian Big Brother and have done so since it started in 2001 – see I even know which year it began. Although it’s easy to remember because that’s the year JJ was born. In fact I was in hospital having him when it was on.
While it’s summer here we are subjected to the American reality tv to tide us over till our rating’s season starts in February. Therefore I am now watching Wife Swap. Obviously I don’t mind, otherwise I wouldn’t watch it. It is very formulaic each week in that they carefully match the new wife/mom with a family who has completely different values. For example, putting a black woman with a family who calls black people by the ‘N’ word.
The episode I watched this week, the Hodge/Kolpin family, had a woman from a hunting family – ‘kill it and grill it’ matched with the vegan family. Mind you the vegan family was so because the mother wanted it that way. The husband used to eat meat and obviously found it hard to say no.
The vegan mum getting matched with the hunting family was quite entertaining, particularly with the little snippets from the oldest boy Cody. He said about his new mom, ‘My new mom eats the sun. Creepy.’ Jackie, the vegan had a theory that each morning she would go and soak up some sun as she was sure it helped suppress her appetite so eventually she would never have to eat. She maintained this would help with world hunger one day. This theory did not hold up against questioning from her new family. Really, any person in their right mind would know that humans need food to survive. Cody summed it up, ‘She’s calm but crazy. She’s calm.’
Meanwhile over at the vegan household, the kill it and grill it mom brought in a stove to cook food (vegan mom thought cooked food was unhealthy), and other numerous changes, like furniture and a tv. Vegan mom had complete control over her husband. He went out to work 15 hours a day then when he came home he also got to make his own dinner as he was home too late to eat with the others and he also got to do housework. He obviously loved his wife to put up with all of this.
And that’s the good thing about Wife Swap. The families that enter into it are obviously unhappy with some aspect of their lives so after they swap with a family who has completely opposite values, they realise their life wasn’t so bad after all. In the interim the new mom has wrought changes that are usually for the good. These changes usually mean that families spend more time together as families and enjoy each other’s company and that has to be good.
Written on May 2, 2006 by Jen at Semantically driven
Filed Under: Television
The last couple of years I’ve posted a few thoughts about, and a few links to Big Brother Australia related material because I found it quite fascinating. I don’t really know why I’ve found it fascinating though and this fact has kept me going for five years of Big Brother.
I consider myself to be fairly intelligent, but surely intelligent people don’t watch a show that has 12 or so people living in close proximity to each other with no outside contact and only a ‘Big Brother’ to tell them what to do? Well I know I’m not the only person to be suckered in to this train wreck as myriad websites and news stories will confirm.
Not being able to go completely cold turkey, I tuned in to the first show last week about half way through and I must say I haven’t been able to become a devotee like I have in the past at all. I find the ‘characters’ to be very vanilla – just out of the box with no adjustments made to them yet.
What’s happened to ‘Reality Television’ where producers have only recruited 15 people who are all pretty much the same, that is they are all caucasian and they are all pretty good looking? Isn’t Reality Television supposed to reflect some form of societal reality? Not in the case of Big Brother Australia 2006.
While I’m at it, I don’t get how a ‘young hippie mother’ can have a boob job. I would have thought true hippies would go nowhere near having their boobs enlarged. This also (along with the fact her young daughter also had a boob job) is not sending any sort of positive message to young impressionable females out there who are already self-obsessed with their body image because they are inundated about body image via the media.
I guess I don’t fit the demographic Big Brother are aiming for. I’m guessing the demographic is 10-30 years old and keen mobile phone texters but what’s the casting saying to this demographic? Not anything postive that’s for sure. It’s saying that you should be young, gorgeous, extroverted and quite loud and if you aren’t these things then where do you fit?
I’ll be tuning out Big Brother team unless you bring in some interesting intruders. What’s happened to the people I can boo and hiss at like Dean and Hotdogs from 2005? What’s happened to the people I think I think are fairly real – Paul from 2004 and Tim from 2005? Admittedly it’s only a week into the show but I don’t hold out too much hope.
Even Gretel looks like she’s bored with the whole thing this year, or maybe it’s me projecting my bored feelings.
I suppose the hours potentially wasted watching Big Brother, I could put towards something a whole lot more useful.
Written on July 25, 2005 by Jen at Semantically driven
Filed Under: Television
Last year I tried to write down some of my observations of the Big Brother Australia series as I have been watching it since it began in 2001, and I sort of did that. This year I knew that time constraints would not permit to do a similar type thing again so I thought I would link to other articles that have been written which I did fairly religiously until a couple of weeks ago.
I’m putting a stop to that now as I just don’t really care to do it any more. I still watch Big Brother and am still sort of interested in it. I am glad that both Dean and Hotdogs were evicted and Rita was really annoying me and I didn’t have to live with her 24/7. She still doesn’t get it, but maybe all the interviews she undergoes in the coming days might make it sink in that she does talk tooooooo much and doesn’t listen enough.
See, old habits die hard. Here I am in the first paragraph saying I wasn’t that interested in Big Brother then in the second paragraph I start talking about it again. But, that’s it now.
It’s time to go……
Written on July 7, 2005 by Jen at Semantically driven
Filed Under: Television
It’s been a while since I posted any links about Big Brother. Amongst this lot are links about Uncut and how unsavoury it is for viewers. As was explained in a debate on Uncut a couple of weeks ago, it reflects what our society is like or what a section of our society is like and obviously people can’t hack this. I also fail to see why people can’t say no to their children watching a show like this, especially at this time. There’s talk of five year olds watching the show. WHY??? I get hives when there’s a gun on the news if I rarely happen to be watching it and my son’s in the same room.
Also the latest interesting thing for me on Big Brother is the rift between Tim and Dean. Go Tim – you rock. Dean, go jump off a rock, preferably a big one! Dean’s the one who seems to be worried about nominations and how he’s perceived amongst the housemates and the viewers.
Anyway, these links are from older to newer articles/stories. Sorry, some of these online newspapers require registration.
Big Brother Uncut furor
Intruders
And more links
