Freeview Boxes : Classic or Dud?

I was watching the first episode of Lynda La Plante's Widows on Talking Pictures TV and this bizarre show presented by Mike Read came on afterwards:

https://www.heritagechart.co.uk/hc-tv-shows/heritage-chart-tv-show-ep19

it's (mostly) new tracks by old bands with ultra-cheap videos, and a strange interlude where they play a popular song from 1777 while three Mike Reads float around the screen playing banjos. (mostly because there's also stuff like a 2008 song by the late Robin Gibb about Alan 'Fluff' Freeman and Everlasting Love by Love Affair from 1968, I guess because it was in the Kenneth Branagh Belfast film last year?) Here's the most recent chart to give you a feel for it

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/600d7e223c156d341b5493e5/64d55626-cc75-4ece-b62a-415cf69b21e8/Heritage+Chart+-+Week+104+-+17+July+2022.jpg?format=1000w

I didn't know which thread to post it to, this one, Things that have to be Tim and Eric skits or The last famous person you were surprised to find out is still alive, but it's very strange. You can watch all the previous episodes on the website, the quality varies from actually alright to genuinely some of the worst stuff I've ever heard.

also learned that the woman who played Linda Perelli in Widows is now called Sara Farouk Ahmed and lives in Cairo teaching Egyptian dance

AH, yeah I saw the one where The Rubettes were playing their latest single.

A few bits in common with their first/biggest hit, but.

Veronica Mars starts from the beginning on itv2 from Tuesday morning

Amazing - was thinking of rewatching that

the jordan peele-related-somehow twilight zone reboot has started on Pick on monday nights. not sure of his involvement beyond being a rod serling for the 2020s but... hour long epiodes though...

enjoying veronica mars, even though i still have trouble telling the male teenagers apart.

Synth night on Sky Arts (ch11) tonight including TD documentary and I Dream OF Wires, that documentary on modular synths that i've still not seen. more tomorrow (including one focussed on women)

probably most have seen it, although i haven't, but excited to catch 'In A Lonely Place' on one of the Great Movies channels next thursday at 9pm.

Great movie

It's so good it could convert anyone to Cahiers auteurism, even if they're not called Noodle Vague. Hope it's the same print that Criterion had access to for their gorgeous looking blu-ray.

It’s a good one.

today on TPTV

British Rails Are Long and Fast (1969)

Intended as a sales tool for manufacturers, this short film details the production, installation and maintenance for long welded track in use on British Railways.

(i am learning a lot - 20 or 30 miles without a joint in the track, but that also means 20 or 30 miles without an expansion gap, hence the recent heat-related problems)

Great Movies has been showing rolling Christmas films since the beginning of September. I bet they think they're so funny and random. Cunts. Revoke their broadcast licence

yeah, i notice this every year (actually started last thursday)

they aren't even the good xmas movies...

at least ch5 leaves it until after halloween

There aren't enough good Christmas movies for 4 hours television, let alone 4 months

christmas carol (alistair sim version)
christmas carol (jean luc picard version)
christmas carol (kermit version)

Scrooged
Love & Peace
It's A Wonderful Life
Bad Santa

think that's it

Holiday Affair!

ppl also really rate Remember The Night but I've not seen, Indicator blu on the way

For those with London Live, "Nico, 1988" om tonight at 11pm. John Gordon Sinclair as her manager!

and my PVR caught Press Gang series 2 on That'sTV at, er, 3am this morning

Seems like a good time to be sleeping downstairs due to Covid in Da House. Last night I saw Fry & Laurie and Reggie Perrin.

(you all okay mike?)

Tonight at 8:

https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-2w6mzj/the-amazing-hattie-jacques-larger-than-life/

Koogs - I'm negative, C is positive, so keeping our distance. Thanks for asking :)

Phase IV on TPTV tonight, if you can't sleep.

stoked for the upcoming british transport films season on tptv

("stoked", do you see!?)

The London Nobody Knows on TPTV in the last couple of weeks. James Mason walks around various public toilets and london markets, watches people selling eels etc

For those with London Live, I forgot to mention "Cul-de-sac" was on last night but, worry not, it's on again tomorrow night. Tonight we have "Radio On", which I've never seen, followed by "Twisted Nerve", which I haven't seen since I was about 12.

Blaze (ch64) is shoing Blown Away from 10 on sunday, which is Sewing Bee / Pottery Throwdown / Wordwork Challenge but with (american) glass blowing. which sounds interesting. only it's 30 minute episodes and i'm not sure how that can possibly work.

blown away is good, it's like the anti bake off / throw down - strong American vibe, an emphasis on how hardcore it all is and most of the contestants are extremely lacking in modesty. there's only one challenge per episode, 30 mins is fine - bake off is too long imo.

i have been watching Forged In Fire (also on blaze, but recently picked up on 5 Select, ch56, 2 a night from 22:00) for years and that's the same or heavier given that the focus is bladed weapons of various kinds. is fascinating and i've learnt a lot.

(mostly how to kill ballistics dummies)

> Blown Away

lol at repeated mentions of 'glory hole'

maybe too fast for me though. would like to know the people more, and watch them work. and see the finished pieces in more detail than the fly-past the camera crew does. reminds me of the repeats of GBBO on Food Network where they've edited them down to an hour long and made them frenetic.

RADIO ON is overrated.

I've still not seen THE LONDON NOBODY KNOWS, but have read the book.

London is on again on Wednesday, 5 past midnight. and they have a catch-up service now, but it's patchy

worth watching for the people drinking meths outside a church

film noir season on sky arts from Sunday. 3 part documentary and accompanying films. first up seems to be The Glass Key which I'm not familiar with.

ooh thanks for that heads up!

Glass Key is a Chandler adaptation, prob less known due to not having a famous director and Alan Ladd instead of Bogey or Mitchum

Good tip, Koogs.

THE GLASS KEY is not by Raymond Chandler.

Sorry, Hammett! Got confused because Bogart is Sam Spade in Maltese Falcon but also Marlowe in Big Sleep.

I read The Maltese Falcon just recently and was struck by a) the extreme faithfulness of the Bogart/Huston film and b) that there are no other Sam Spade novels (just a couple of short stories).

Yeah, I read the audiobook of that and it did v much feel like listening to a radio version of the film.

Legend are showing The Twilight Zone (the original) from the beginning. times seem to be all over the shop though.

"Vanishing Point", Talking Pictures, 9.30pm tonight.

Watching a Twilight Zone on Legend and it feels...motion smoothed? Even though I have that turned off and no other channels are?

has been mentioned before, i think, but kenny everett video show is on channel 65 if you need blackface and cartoon breasts and Hot Gossip in the wrong aspect ratio at 12:30 of an afternoon.

bowie was on, smoking between lines, and chasing a man in a bowler hat and suspenders with a violin bow whilst trying to keep a straight face.