Tuesday 27 January 2009

Advertising

In a post about adverts I pledge NOT to refer to anything created by a particular brand of chocolate. You know the one...I just don't care.

What I do this is pure genius in its total lack of irony is the 'finallyfast.com ad I caught whilst watching 'Police Interceptors' (deserves an entry - might do one soon) tonight. It appeared towards 10pm in one of the breaks and it came across like something 'The Onion' might put together. An American lad sat at his computer wishing it would go faster. The sound, the lighting, every aspect of it so archaic you wouldn't think the types of computers people were using had even been made in this decade...or even in the last decade.

It was like watching any spoof commercial: corny American accents and wide smiles straight into the camera. It's ridiculous, and it stays ridiculous as every person, sat at every desk, with every computer (little white laptops or normal) sighs and frowns about their slow computers until suddenly FINALLY FAST DOT COM shows them the way to better performing computers. A quick-talking voice-over goes through the FACTS, speeding through his script over techno music which I thought I'd only ever get to hear on sex-text adverts. The graphics are disgusting a...it should be a joke within a tv show, not something someone paid to have appear in between actual programes (albeit police interceptors and crisis point on channel 5's digital titbit).

It does everything to a formula scrapped in the eighties and I love it, I love it most for the kid at the end: "Hey, my computer's fast...finally! Finallfast.com"

In fact...watch it:


Thursday 22 January 2009

Still Here

I promise, I still watch TV, but it seems to be concentrated in to the soap hour (two hours?) of early evenings and followed by however many episodes of 'Friends' E4 cares to throw at me.


It's not that I don't want to watch the Great British Food Fight - I did try but I got bored of Heston and all this talk of having good food at 'Little Chef', the whole premise just didn't sit well with me, IT'S A SERVICE STATION. People will stop by when they want food and that is the nearest place...surely?

I watched latest Oz and James scenario, bit of ale, bit of Yorkshire wine, a caravan, complaining, drunken train journeys, all fine.

BUT what has been really great is 'Plus One' that bizarre new comedy about some bloke's ex-girlfriend going out with Duncan from Blue. The best part is that, in the first episode when the dumped bloke was dreaming up a James Bond scenario he referred to Duncan as 'Fromblue' as though it were his last name. That was a wonderful litttle insert.

Generally it's brilliant for it's poor loser generally unheroic hero who gets himself into all sorts of scrapes and situations in order to find himself a date for the big Fromblue wedding. He tries to run a charity race but fails miserably at cheating, getting his shoes stolen and being accused of being a peadophile. Then, after his troubles, he is almost celebrated for raising the most money (the bulk of which he donated himself) and Fromblue goes ahead and trumps him again. Damn you Blue.

It's hilarious and ridiculous in the way the Inbetweeners was only this time it's straight to Friday night Channel 4....nice.

And if that wasn't all, Skins is back! I don't care about the new 90210 because I've got Bristol rich kids whose immorality is never disguised by 'issues', or at least, any issues are easily ignored as we watch SEX, DRUGS, ROCK N ROLL, FIRE, EXPLOSIONS, FRIGHTENED TEACHERS, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!! I was a bit wary of leaving the old cast behind, one of them now a Slumdog Millionaire and another probably not, having peaked with 'About a Boy', but the episode was as fast-paced and engaging as ever. Always ridiculous, the assembly scene in school was rather irritating but then I suppose it has to be. Enfield made a good appearance and I hope we see more high-end comedy parents. That's the other trouble with a new cast, you've got to bring in new parents and they've got a lot to compete with. Series 2 really saw them get their screen time, Enfield lead the way for Josie Lawrence and others who I've forgotten but definitely love. Not to mention Danny Dyer beind in series 1, nice one Danny.

I'm a bit miffed as to why the teachers had to change as well and why the hell that woman ever did become a post-16 educator if she's so timid. Pandora is obviously the star, she's kind of like a character Katy Brand might have created, young and loose in a whole other show...you see, I can watch ITV sometimes.

My main love affair has been slightly off-telly though still valid due to the triple bills on Channel 5 over the Christmas period: 30 Rock - I was a bit late with this one, my sister made me watch it on the plane to Japan but I'm glad she did. It's fantastic and though when described is frighteningly derivative of the classic Larry Sanders Show, and yes, there are episodes which draw on similar themes (product placement for one) but it also marks an ode as Rip Torn makes his occasional appearance as the big GE Capital boss.

Alec Baldwin is nothing but genius from start to finish, his 'making-of' info-mercial video being a personal highlight; but even the one-liners - "never go with a hippy to a second location" being my new motto for life. Tin Fey is nothing but wonderful and when I watched 'Mean Girls' recently I got extra excited, which is hard to do when watching 'Mean Girls' because it is cinematic gold.

Tracey is at his best when his entourage are around and Frank definitely gets some of the best lines. His droopy face is enough of a picture though.

In so many ways I simply cannot fault this show, each character so perfectly formed and of course Tin Fey's Liz Lemon does hold it together so well. I love the fact that she's a loser and references Star Wars constantly and eats too much takeaway - in fact - eats too much. She wins as my hero for all the things Jack might want to change about her. I also love their friendship, it's such an endearing and heartfelt one, beneath the comedy I genuinely feel the love....

Oh TV, so good to me.

Plus the new Specsavers advert with the pairs of eyes working out....BRILLIANT!