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I haven't heard of either, but I'll see what I can find on YouTube. Thanks for the heads-up, honeykid.

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"The dog is the god of frolic." ~ Beecher

"Exit, pursued by a bear." ~

Is Total Wipeout just It's A Knockout with misplaced ego? Some of the contestants on it seem to be w@nkers of colossal proportions.

It has to be said that Amanda Byram is a bit better looking than Stuart Hall.

I remember once asking Paddy Kielty (he borrowed Voyagers from us for charidee work on occasion - really nice bloke, surprisingly) if she was as nice as she seems. I think they'd split up by then so his answer was not the one I imagined.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

No. It's A Knockout was superb entertainment and it was the only time that Stuart Hall's voice hasn't sounded out of place. Total Wipeout, on the other hand, is a horrible version of something that the Japanese do very well.

Over the last week or so, I've seen a few episodes of the American version of TW and it's much, much better. No Richard Hammond (so it's one up before it even starts) better obstacles, varied obstacles, less 'safety equiptment (can you imagine the Japanese doing this? They'd add danger, not eliminate it) and, obviously, any over enthusiasm usually comes across as 'just being American' rather than desperately trying to impose themselves or elude at having a 'personality'.

so i'm just finishing up Buffy Season 5. i've got the final episode to go, which my boyfriend and i will be watching tomorrow. hm. so far this build up has been lame, and i'm not sure what the next season will bring, either. i really enjoyed Buffy Season 1-4, but Season 5 has been weak; and i heard 6 isn't much better. i'm pretty attached to the characters, though, and want to continue the entire series in order to catch those few and far amazing episodes in between.

Personally I loved season 5, but I'd advise you to stick with it because season 6 is dark. Really dark. That's the reason many don't like it, but it actually has some very strong episodes, as well as Once More With Feeling the muscial episode, which the success and love for is the reason/to blame for musical episodes in other series over the back end of the decade.

the thing is, my boyfriend, who has already watched Buffy, predicted i would hate Season 6 when i voiced my annoyance at Willow's character development as of this season. so i can only assume her being a witch is going to be part of the main story next season.

however, i have been looking forward to the musical episode since the beginning.

the one good thing about Season 5 was i really liked Glory as a villain - and i really enjoy Anya as a main character, too.

but i don't really care for any scene involving Willow and Tara. Willow was really lovely in Seasons 1-3, but i don't care for her as much now. i miss her and Oz!

another thing i dislike about Season 5 is Spike's whole "trying to find a soul" thing. i prefer him much more when he's evil, much like evil Angel. though at least he isn't all emo the way good Angel was. guh.

though i wasn't crazy about the whole Adam thing in Season 4, the final episode - where the first slayer comes into the scooby gangs dreams and tries to kill them - was really amazing. i've pretty much loved all the episode dream sequences - the dream sequences with Faith and Buffy in seasons 3 and 4 were really well-done, too.

the best episode this season was probably The Body (Joyce's death). some intense, amazing, television right there.

Was It's a Knockout really superb? I mean, I loved it when I was a kid but I also loved Dick Turpin and Swap Shop.

I'd previously always immediately switched Total Wipeout off when it came on but some strange fascination gripped me yesterday. It had the same car crash feeling as that short-lived Robert Kilroy-Silk gameshow, (and I get hives just typing the name) Shafted.

Apologies for comparing the lovely Amanda to Stuart Hall, though. She's clearly Eddie Waring.

That's a fair point. Though I will say that any time I've ever seen clips of it, it's always made me laugh. I even managed to struggle through a few of the Sky versions, with Frank Bruno 'commentating' on the action. He was much like Stuart Hall, actually, in that hearing him laugh to the point of losing it made you laugh all the more.

Besides, people in giant ogre costumes, tripping over their own feet will always, always be funny.

*And, yes, I am one of those people who watch You've Been Framed and laugh all the way though... Except when they put bloody animals on. They're just not funny unless they're running into a glass door. Then they're hysterical. *

Ah.

As someone who's walked into both a glass door and a lamppost, Beadle (RIP, I suppose) and his ilk never raised much of a smile. Any time I've caught You've Been Framed it seems like 90% of the clips are very badly staged.

There's gotta be easier ways to make £250 than pushing your kid into a swimming pool. Sending off your unused gold for a fraction of its worth in a handy pre-paid envelope, for example.

Me neither. Things like Game For A Laugh, Candid Camera, whatever the Geordie midgets do, etc I have no time for as it doesn't amuse me at all. However, small children being hit in the face with a ball will never, ever, stop being funny.

Anyone in the UK with the ability to receive BBC Four. Do keep an eye out for Charlie Brooker's Newswipe this week. I thought it was really funny, especially the reporting of, or about, Islam4UK.

Looking forward to next week's episode about the coverage of Haiti. I'll be able to see what I've 'been missing'.

Does anyone else watch Being Human? It's all filmed within a few miles radius of our house in Bristol so it feels comfy to us, but the story's great too. On the second series now, 9pm BBC3 Sundays.

I watch Being Human, though I've still got the last two episodes to watch.

good isn't it? getting very dark now in that last ep on Sunday.

currently in the middle of Buffy season 6. so far it isn't too bad. i'm glad to see Willow and Tara get a story line instead of aimless scenes holding hands whilst chanting spells!

I'm currently wathing The Wire. I'm on Season 3, episode 3 and I can't put this series down. I spend all my free time watching. It is that good.

About half-way through

Taxi: Season 1

Some really hilarious stuff, and kind more of a dramedy than I expected.

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Taxi was a great show, CQ. One of the best.

It also starred this lady.

Yes, I'm enjoying the direction it appears to be going so far. I think I'm still and episode or two behind (can't remember if I'm on episode 2 or 3) but it's certainly a lot darker than the first series, which makes sense as, otherwise, it'd have been more of the same (which would've been fine, but not a progression) or morphed into a kind of British Buffy (which would've been bad and a waste of this opportunity.) So, yes, I'm quite excited by what could be ahead and hope that it goes from strength to strength.

BTW, did anyone here watch Harper's Island last year? What did you think? I loved it.

Apart from 'the usual', I'd like to mention an excellent episode of Newswipe tonight (the best of the series and, with only one more to go, probably the best of the whole series.) Dan Stanhope has been brilliant the last two episodes, though as he's pretty much said exactly what I've thought for the last 10-15 years, that's not really a surprise.

Also, a very interesting Storyville the other night, "The Most Dangerous Man In America", one of the nominees for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar.

http://video.tiscali.it/canali/truveo/3523956947.html