Radiation: All this, and Lucy too
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Agreed about Outrageous Fortune. I thought it was robbed at the TV Awards. Still, it got the $$ for more showsso that's all that matters (I though The Strip probably had another season left in it when it was canned), and for reasons unknown never watch any of the Insider's Guide series.
Something that's always bothered me about Outrageous Fortune though. Why such a lame, generic, meaningless title? It's like it came from one of those 2-word Hollywood action 'nothing' movie title generators (Hard Target, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Collateral Damage etc). Or that the Wests were initially the Fortunes, but had their name changed late in the pre-production piece but someone forgot to update the title.
My poor wife can never remember what the show is called ("You know, that Westie show that we like").
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I haven't been watching much of Outrageous Fortune this season because it's on opposite my future husband Jon Stewart, but although I have never thought he was hot before, apart from when he was Avril-murdering-to-The-Chills, I have to say that Shane Cortese on his knees in front of Loretta was pretty much as hot as NZ television has ever got.
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I have to say that Shane Cortese on his knees in front of Loretta was pretty much as hot as NZ television has ever got.
OMG, you obviously also didn't see the sex scene between Ant Starr and Mrs Havoc, which was not so much graphic as so intimate I was nearly embarrassed.
Something that's always bothered me about Outrageous Fortune though. Why such a lame, generic, meaningless title?
I quote: "To be or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep"
... etcEp titles are also Shakespearean. A sad indictment of our education system, frankly.
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OMG, you obviously also didn't see the sex scene between Ant Starr and Mrs Havoc, which was not so much graphic as so intimate I was nearly embarrassed.
If it's the one I'm thinking of, I thought it was sweet.
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Ep titles are also Shakespearean. A sad indictment of our education system, frankly.
Well, it's coming up 20 years since my last high-school english lesson. :-( Of course, being of danish heritage, I guess I should be able to recite Hamlet backwards.
At any rate, I still think the title of the show could be a little more meaningful to average punter...
If it's the one I'm thinking of, I thought it was sweet.
Mikey was rung up by Robyn Malcolm on b breakfast the next day offering consolation. Poor Mikey made the best of it, right up until Rockpig appeared at the studio door replicating Van's moves.
Fantastic radio.
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I take it we're not talking about the one where Grandpa walks in and Van squeaks "Not the teeth!!!"?
There was a movie called Outrageous Fortune in the 80s. It had Bette Midler and Shelley Long in it, and it was very silly. However, it did relate a bit better to the title because the main characters were wannabe actors with a Shakespearian bent. Whereas it's hard to see either a link between the NZ tv show and Hamlet's soliloquy, or to Shakespeare in general. Except that Shakes did some pretty good interfamily dramas, and Jethro's just now getting all Hamletty on Judd and Cheryl.
BSG is the best thing not on television, IMHO. They'll have no audience left if they wait till next year to screen the next season - I saw it for rent down at the video shop recently. It's continuing with its eerie applicability to real life - the troops on Galactica let off steam in the boxing ring, while in Fiji the army and civilian authorities face off in a rugby match.
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Something that's always bothered me about Outrageous Fortune though.
Shakespeare aside, it always reminds me of the 1987 Bette Midler/Shelley Long "comedy" of the same name.
But having said that, I've never actually got around to watching an episode of Outrageous Fortune, so I haven't had the chance to develop new associations with the name. Oh, perhaps Santa will bring me season one on DVD, etc.
P.S. Fiona, thanks for the bra link.
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Typographically speaking, was this the inspiration for the show's text treatment? (And right off topic, were Dobbo from Sports Tonight and Gromit from Wallace & Gromit separated at birth?)
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Ep titles are also Shakespearean. A sad indictment of our education system, frankly.
And what about all those kids who don't recognise the episode titles of Desperate Housewives as Sondheim song titles? Harumph...
Frakking heck, season two of Battlestar Galactica is soo good and you should all go out and buy it immediately, because TV3 says that it might not screen it until late next year. Yes. By then, season three will be out in a box set of course.
Though, to be fair, I imagine whoever does the scheduling at Three must have smoke pouring out their ears trying to figure out where to put BSG. Scifi is for kids, therefore 7.30 on Saturday is the perfect slot - until you realise you're starting with a military coup gone spectacularly bad, the very strongly implied rape of a pregnant supporting character is a critical turning point around the midseason mark and then things get really dark. :)
So, after the watersead on a weeknight? Frak... weren't you paying attention. Science fiction is for kids, while grown-ups prefer doctors, police procedurals and increasingly surreal 'reality' shows.
Oy and vey...
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Oh, and could the genius who put the surprisingly watchable American version of The Office up against Scrubs please give themselves a good kicking? Here's a dirty little secret: I tape more programs than I'll ever watch, unless I have another screaming meltdown and don't leave the house for a month.
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And if you're at the right Whitcoulls (Lambton Quay, I'm looking at you) you can find season 2 of BSG for $50.
There are Outrageous Fortune ep titles?
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So, after the watersead on a weeknight? Frak... weren't you paying attention. Science fiction is for kids, while grown-ups prefer doctors, police procedurals and increasingly surreal 'reality' shows.
We've been downloading and watching 'Torchwood', the adult Doctor Who spin-off. It's sort of uneven and all over the place, but eminently watchable.
There's shagging in every episode, predatory lesbian aliens, the lot - Russell T. Davies appears to be having some fun.
I suspect Prime will find a spot for it. Their evening schedules are a bit looser, and Karen Bieleski is a closet fangirl.
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Ah, if you want sci-fi geek heaven there's three hours of Star Trek on Sunday from 11-ish until 2 - Original Series, Next Generation and Deep Space Nine - which is my favourite Trek show, and roundly despised by purist Trekkies, for the darker, more ambiguous tone of the storytelling and characterisation. (BSG executive producer Ronald Moore was on the staff of DS9, and it's interesting in a geeky kind of way to compare and contrast BSG with a show that dirtied up Gene Rodenberry's shiny happy utopia. Moore certainly seems to have a masochistic appetite for angrying up the blood of already unstable geeks.)
Hooray for Prime, even though it's taking me a long time to warm up to Stargate: Atalntis. Now, if TVNZ isn't interested in screening the gloriously twisted Life On Mars - because us stupid plebs apparently don't have the attention span to handle quirky multi-episode British dramas on Sunday evening any more -, how about passing it on to Prime? Or is this abother case where you might as well get used to seeing the best drama out there on DVD - and sorry for getting ranty, but why the fuck have I had to buy myself Alan Bennett's Complete Talking Heads on disc? If this isn't right up the alley of the One demographic, what the hell is?
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Finally, Entourage! I've been raving about this show since we got the first series on DVD last year. If yuo get hooked, both season one and two are already out locally on DVD. Bonus feature on season two DVD - meet the real entourage, Mark Wahlbergs mates, including Mark W interviewing Kevin Dillon, who is sitting next to the real Johnny Drama. Worth every cent. If you like the rooftop golf the boys indulge in, go check out their HBO website, and play the game online...
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A friend asked me what I thought of Torchwood and I realised that after watching seven episodes, I still don't know. I think I like it...
Prime is the only channel playing anything in 'family viewing' time that I'm happy with our family viewing. Dr Who, then Stargate Atlantis with its fabulous fan service. We're also big Top Gear fans. Now, if TV2 would only shift Brainiac from 5:30 to 7:30 I'd be really happy. Every kid should be watching that.
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There's shagging in every episode, predatory lesbian aliens, the lot - Russell T. Davies appears to be having some fun.
And Welsh cannibals. I tell you, the country is an evil place.
Meanwhile, for all the The Wire fans, Slate has a comprehensive interview with David Simon. The next season will be asking why we aren't paying attention to the dire state of affairs explored in the earlier seasons - so it will be looking at the demise of journalism. Sounds interesting.
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Actually, while we're on the subject, I'm betting one of you can tell me, what's that building you keep seeing from the air in Torchwood that looks like a big trilobite?
I do wonder what they're doing for Welsh sex tourism...
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Okay, about that 'Outrageous Fortune' name and the episode titles. Here, as far as the failing memories of Ms Rachel Lang and myself can make out, is the story...
The working title for the series was 'White Trash', but that got ditched pretty early on and 'Outrageous Fortune' was plucked from thin air because, I guess, of the word 'outrageous' - something that implied a certain boldness to the story-telling.
This, of course, was a working title that would inevitably change before we went into production. So a great search took place and a great many names were canvassed. 'West'. '16 West' (after the state highway). 'Straight Up' (too gay). 'Honour Among Thieves'...
I have a memo in front of me now with about fifty suggestions on it - 'Nefarious' anyone? 'They Know Where You Live'? 'The Family Way'? Or, my personal fave, 'Not The Sopranos'?
Naturally, inevitably, after a lot of time was spent in discussion (and alcoholic bribes were offered as inspiration) everyone suddenly decided that 'Outrageous Fortune' would do just fine and it joined the illustrious ranks of working-titles-that-become-actual-titles. ('Shortland Street' is a working title, by the way - any suggestions?)
(NB: very rarely was the film of the same name mentioned in these discussions - even though it is undoubtedly Shelley Long's finest work outside 'Cheers'.)
As to the episode titles? They're all from 'Hamlet'. We started giving the episodes titles on the front page of the script because writers like to waste time giving names to things when they should be writing. Also it's quite fun to search 'Hamlet' and find those few words that kinda encapsulate the feel of the episode.
The episode titles were never meant to be seen (they don't appear at the beginning of each episode), so they started to get sillier and sillier - Ep.10 from Series 1 is the particularly lyrical "The Fat Weed That Roots Itself". (So called because Pascalle was rooting an up-himself TV celebrity.)
Then they put them on the cover of the Series 1 DVD and now in the billings for Series 2, so our little time-wasting game rather got outed. I don't know if this is a sad indictment of our education system or of our television writers who like to dick around when they should be delivering their scripts on time.
So there we go.
Oh, by the way, 'Life On Mars' is an absolutely cracking little series - a joy to watch.
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Oh, by the way, 'Life On Mars' is an absolutely cracking little series - a joy to watch.
Damn right. Can't wait for series 2 to hit the wires. Interestingly, creator Matthew Graham says it will be the last: "We decided that Sam's journey should have a finite life span and a clear-cut ending and we feel that we have now reached that point after two series."
Excellent. If only the creators of Lost had been allowed to make the same decision.
Also: David E. Kelley is writing and producing a pilot for an American version. Not so sure about that.
But, James, you must tell us this: what exactly were the script directions for Van and Aurora's intimate moment? Or was Ant Starr just improvising?
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Emma Hart wrote:
Actually, while we're on the subject, I'm betting one of you can tell me, what's that building you keep seeing from the air in Torchwood that looks like a big trilobite?I reply:
Probably shouldn't say the s-word around here :), but it's probably the Millennium Stadium with the retractable roof closed unless there's another big-arse building that looks like a trilobite in Cardiff. (And I know that because I'm a sad, sad geek...) -
NB: very rarely was the film of the same name mentioned in these discussions - even though it is undoubtedly Shelley Long's finest work outside 'Cheers'.)
Oh come on, how could it be better than Troop Beverly Hills?
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Russell, I take it you refer to what I now term the 'finger lickin' good' scene. For the record - and because I am taking so much heat for this one scene - the stage directions are as follows....
At the top of the page it reads:
"VAN and AURORA are in bed."
Then there is a page of dialogue, largely about Snow White and dwarves.
At the bottom of the page it reads:
"And they stay in bed doing naughty things to each other."
And that is it. Innocent, playful fun turned into something altogether different through a conspiracy of actors and director.
It was, by the way, the first OF scene ever to be sent to the censor for checking. Their response was simply that if you can't see anything, then it's not a problem. And good for them, I say.
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"It was, by the way, the first OF scene ever to be sent to the censor for checking."
How odd. The censor has nothing to do with broadcast television.
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And that is it. Innocent, playful fun turned into something altogether different through a conspiracy of actors and director.
But it was still innocent and playful. Just perhaps a little more ... educational.
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By 'censor' I mean whoever people at networks take things to when they think 'whoa, are we allowed to put this shit on air'? For all I know it could be the receptionist or that guy who walks around all day with a piece of paper in his hand and no-one really knows what he does.
Someone took it to someone else and they said it was okay, that's all I know - I just write the stuff.
Educational? Indeed, I know one parent who wasn't quite prepared for having that level of education foisted upon his kids. We told him that's why they put warnings on the front of shows like this.
Still, it's nice we can give a little something back to the education system.
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