Evening all!
Lately I've been discussing quite serious subjects on the blog but
today I thought I'd lighten the mood and what better way to do that than with
TV talk!
I'm the typical TV watcher if I'm honest; I don't have many shows
that I stick to watching religiously, however there are a couple that I do make
more of an effort to watch or catch up on than others. Examples of such shows
include: The Apprentice, American Horror Story and Bake Off. There was a time
when Bake Off and Dr Foster were on with a slight 10-minute overlap where I
found myself in a dilemma; I had to choose which to watch over the other! The
regulars in the audience will already know, I dubbed these Tuesday's "TV Gold" and they were! For 2 hours, I and
most of the nation were caught up in TV bliss: first I was salivating over the
delicious bakes in GBBO, then it was straight over BBC for the nail-biting, edge
of your seat drama from Dr Foster. As Bake Off and Dr Foster ended, the golden
Tuesday’s ended also leaving me lost with what to watch next.
American Horror Story had not long started their next series, Cult
so I found solace from my Tuesday blues in this series. I’ve been following AHS
since 'The Murder House' and I was immediately hooked. From
amazing complex characters, to the dark twisted story lines and themes, the
series always likes to question and explore human nature and just what it means
to be fearful or scared. AHS Cult is arguably a series that solely explores society in the
time around the Presidential election and indeed the reaction everyone had as
Trump was elected as President. Unless you were living under a rock this time
last year, you’d already have got a taste of the bitterness America had
over the result. Many conspiracy theories, programmes, satirical series and
characters have emerged around the world since, and all of them trying to make
sense of what had happened and what the future may bring. With the
election having been somewhat of a popularity contest with a war of words and
who can sabotage who in the big Presidential race, it was no surprise that AHS
decided to explore these themes and use the concept of a cult to frame the
series. Like when I watched Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, I was left shocked
several times at the twists and turns of the plot and just how far into society
and the human psyche they explored. While I don’t want this series to end, I’m
looking forward to what twists the final episode will bring. The next episode
is on Fox at 10pm
tomorrow!
From a horror story to a business story now and this year’s Apprentice!
Ok that was a bad one but you try and link AHS to The Apprentice seamlessly. This
year’s series has been a bit “meh” if I’m being completely honest but
nonetheless, I’m still watching even if it is out of duty more than anything. I
like watching each year to see the newest job lot of complete wazzocks, whose
heads are fully shoved up their own arse thinking that they are all God’s gift
to the business world. In previous series I’ve been left in hysterics with all
the candidates’ questionable business decisions. A prime example of such is
Series 7’s Susan who asked the most stupid question I think I’ve ever heard,
“Are the French very fond of their children?” I agree with what Karen said at
the time, you don’t even have to have been to France to know whether they love
their children or not! I’d like to say the candidates have got better since
then but I’m afraid they haven’t. Instead of asking dumb questions, they still
again and again make dumb choices.
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| credit: Radio Times |
Last week’s task saw the candidates
scrambling all about London collecting items to mark Lord Sugar’s seventieth
birthday. Some of the items weren’t exactly common and well-known items so they
had to do some research themselves. However, instead of using the phone's
they’d been given to make calls to local businesses and their sub-team, they
wandered about back and forth struggling to figure out what the item was they
were meant to get!! I was shouting at the TV, “USE YOUR PHONE!!” It was then
that I realised that maybe their internet was cut off, but still, isn’t
business meant to be about having initiative and working effectively to get the
job done? Google is the biggest search engine in the world, using this resource
would’ve freed up more time that could’ve been used to, you know, get the items
in time? Maybe it’s just me…
As for the task itself, it epitomises what has
become more off-putting about the show: Lord Sugar’s ego. I don’t dispute
that fact he’s worked hard at his craft to get where he is now, and I don’t
doubt his business acumen, but his ego I think has got a little too big and it
shows every week. From cheesy one liners, to I’m-the-greatest style puns such
as “forget about Brexit, I’m the one who decides who’s going to remain and
who’s going to leave.” sometimes it can get a bit tiresome and in fact, it’s
getting to the point where I can almost sense the next dodgy pun coming. It’s
also got to a point now much like the other reality shows, where being the most
controversial person will get you further. But despite all this, I still watch
every week just to see how badly the candidates muck up the next challenge.
This week, the candidates had the task of producing and undertaking a tour of
Bruges. This proved to be even more of a muddle than even I thought as one team
mislead their tourists advertising a segway tour; a tour which only actually
involved 15 mins of the tour on a segway. The other team took misleading
their tourists quite literally as Charles and Anisa led their tourists on a
wild goose chase trying to find Bruges biggest tourist hot-spots (well a
hospital entrance specifically). While it's always humorous to see the new
contestants every year, this year I’m not quite sure a winner is standing out
for me yet. 12 candidates are still remaining so maybe as the series goes
forward, someone will emerge worthy of that 250,000 investment, but until then
I’m going to sit back and enjoy the candidates squirm. Catch the next episode on BBC1 Wednesday at 9pm.
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| credit: The Telegraph |
From one popular BBC show to another now: Blue Planet. David Attenborough
undoubtedly has a presence and a way with nature documentaries unlike any other.
You’ve got to admit, you’ve sported a David Attenborough voice to narrate your friend’s
slightly odd habits more than just a few times! He’s seen as a legend amongst
millions of people, and those millions watched in awe when his new series, Blue Planet 2 started
late last month. The vivid colours, the awe-inspiring camera shots and angles,
and of course the soothing and knowledgeable narration of Attenborough all came
together to give us all a nice warm welcome back into the Attenborough brand of nature
documentaries we all know and love. It’s proper comforting Sunday night TV. As
if the documentary itself wasn’t spectacular enough, the “Into the Blue” segment after
reveals a whole new level of research and commitment. The lengths the crew go
to get that shot is astounding and
the results; surfing dolphins riding the tumultuous waves for example, are absolutely incredible.
The best thing though about watching this series so far is the variety of
species that are brought to light; species that many wouldn’t have even heard
of if it wasn’t for the documentary. Attenborough’s narration introduces new
creatures like we’re meeting new friends and adds interesting and quirky facts
which make you watch them in amazement and want to know more. The recent episode explored the deep
ocean; a place that despite looking baron, is a home to a plethora of life,
more life than on land. Meeting all these new creatures and looking around this
mysterious and vast oceanic expanse was fantastic. The series so far has proved
a huge hit and I certainly cannot wait to catch the next installment! See the next episode at 8pm on Sunday, BBC1
That’s all for this week guys, I’ll be back on Monday. Have a great
weekend!
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