BBC forgets its public service remit

This news is about two weeks late, but better late than never, eh? Ever felt that as a license fee payer you don't feel like BBC has your best interest? Well Windows Phone users do. For more than two years, Lawrence Gripper, a developer at Microsoft, has developed and maintained the brilliant none-commercial BBC News third party application. His dedication to bring us the service BBC themselves refuses to provide against their very own charter, should be applauded.

Not according to BBC that is. Allegedly, someone at the Beeb has got their knickers in the twist and decided to come down hard on the app. Perhaps it is because the app is so good (in many ways, even better than BBC's own mediocre official offerings on iOS and Android), they felt embarrassed, maybe. This resulted in the developer being forced to de-list the app from the Marketplace. If you haven't downloaded it yet, tough luck. You will just have to get your news from BBC's rather rubbish mobile site.

According to the developer, the app has been downloaded by over half a million users - a staggering number for a platform that many has insisted is dead. You would think that with such a high demand for a quality BBC News app, Aunty themselves would develop their very own app, or at the very least, turn a blind eye on Mr. Gripper's work. Well you don't need me to tell you how many feels about BBC's own policy towards mobile platform neutrality (*cough* there isn't).

If you are a license fee payer like I am, and feel that the BBC has been most unjust in the way they are treating Windows Phone users, please feel free to send them a polite complaint, perhaps also reminding them that not everyone worships the House of Cupertino and Margaret Thatcher. In any case, the moment we move home, we think our license fee is better spent on something a bit more worthwhile, like Netflix.

My Netflix Christmas

A belated Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. This past Christmas holiday we discovered Netflix. To be honest, I've never been a fan of streaming services, but for only £5.99 a month, we were able to escape the dreadful fodder put out by the terrestrial television services.

The film catalogue isn't expansive, but it was still enough to get us through, but what we did find awesome was the number of TV series on it that we use to catch up. As someone who could never get past the second season of Lost, this allowed me to catch up. In fact I might just finally be able to get through the entire series after all. Newer series are missing, but big hitters like Dexter, 24, Californication, Weeds and Firefly are all on it. Also, old classics like MacGyver and Knight Rider, which will surely win us old timers.

Netflix for Windows Phone

Rather surprisingly, despite the low price, there were a number of newer films on the service as well. The Woman in Black, Warrior and the ridiculously stylish Drive appeared to be popular films on Netflix. Still, it's primary strength appears to be a mixture of quality rather than quantity. You wouldn't find big new blockbusters on Netflix, but combined with Amazon's LoveFilm, the two services together do make an effective argument against the monopoly that is Sky.

Sony Xperia Ad is Powered by Tiny Robots

Were there any doubt that Sony would once again triumph when it comes to creative TV ads? Hardly. It seems that Sony has proven once again that when it comes to commercials at least, they know a thing or two. A couple of days ago I blogged about Sony's teaser of their new Imaginative TV ad for the Xperia NXT range.

For the new stop motion animated ad, Sony seek out a young kid and turned his imagination into an inspiration. It tells the story of small Iron Giant-inspired robots who work tirelessly inside each Xperia handset in order to bring it to life. It is a creative ad, lovable in fact and one of the best I have seen this year yet. Check it out below.

Sony Mobile's little Android campaign

Adverts? Who likes them eh? But I have always been a fan of good adverts that passes off as an art form. Take Fallon's excellent Sony Bravia 'Playdoh' or Walkman 'Project Music' advert for example. Remove any reference to Sony and these ads could have easily been submitted to Cannes' short film Palme d'Or award for consideration, or indeed any film. Adverts do not need scream buy me in order to be imaginative, it just need to be memorable. Why else do you think Cadbury's 'Gorilla' and the incredible and legendary 'Eyebrow' adverts, both which had nothing to do with chocolates, were so well received?

Now that Sony Ericsson has been bought by Sony, it is time to see what Sony Mobile can do. I have high expectations for Sony's new NXT device range but a good phone can only do so much by itself (even Apple has to rely on massive advertising campaign to promote their wares). Sony Mobile along with ad agency McCann Erickson, has recruited Wes Anderson of Fantastic Mr. Fox to direct a new stop-motion animation campaign. The TV ad will premier on the evening of Saturday 24 March, but they have released a teaser to explain their creation, which will tell the story of their little robot (Android, geddit?), through 37 handcrafted cyborgs.

Captain Power!

Does anyone remember this series of light gun toys made by Mattel for the TV series Captain Power? Well here I was sitting minding my own business during lunch when for no reason at all, I started remembering what toys I had when I was a kid. I wanted to tweet about it, but thought that perhaps a blog post is more fitting for such a great toy. You kids don't know what you are missing.

I remember me and my younger brother getting this from a toy store in the big city when we were seven or eight. The game is played on a TV and your controller is the PowerJet XT-7 - yes, the motherfucking jets from the TV series. These light gun games were the early pioneers to more sophisticated light guns controllers like the Nintendo Zapper and eventually, boring video game controllers like the Wii, Kinect, Move and whatever.

The PowerJet toys comes with several VHS that you play on a TV. Each tape contains two scenes of live action sequences (hmm, Jessica Steen) spliced with animated missions (it was like Wing Commander - which came after it, but even more awesome). You play by holding each controller jet and firing at pink targets on the TV. Occasionally enemies will fire back in the form of epileptic bright yellow flashes, in which case you retract your ship to avoid being 'shot at'.

Some people cheat by covering the sensors, but we did not (or weren't clever enough to exploit the loop hole, I can't remember). The controller jets actually keep the score of targets you shoot down. Get shot too many times and the cockpit ejects! How awesome was that?

But what actually made Captain Power so much more awesome than your average light gun game was how interactive it was, if you had more than one controller jet. Your entire surrounding immediately becomes part of your game. Both me and my brother had the PowerJet XT-7 (white jet) and the enemy Phantom Striker (black jet), which we tend to blast around running around the house and shooting each other. It was pretty intense. We also had the Interlocker which was also interactive, and the none-interactive Trans-Field Communication Station.

Those were the good times of interactive gaming. I am a video games person, but if there is anything I would do, I would do it to have another go at these classic toys. I hope my parents haven't threw them away or else it is time for me to hit eBay for some vintage Captain Power goodness.

Captain Power ad via

Discovery Channel "Alone in the Wild"

Yesterday I attended the press launch of a new Discovery Channel series Alone in the Wild at the swish One Marylebone London, a venue that serves great canapes I should add. The six-part series will follow eight celebrities surviving in the wild. Sounds familiar? Well it should - this is the sort of reality TV isn't new.
Except it sort of is.

With Alone in the Wild, each participants are left completely alone. And when Discovery Channel meant alone, they don't mean fake alone like the Bear Grylls's Man vs Wild series where he often misleads viewers into thinking he is alone stranded on an island when in fact he has a whole camera crew with him and retires to a 'basecamp' every so often. No, in Alone in the Wild, Discovery Channel stresses that each of the personalities were left completely alone with their own camera equipments to film themselves.

Six episodes will be shown from 5 October:

Episode 1: Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff, the former captain to England's Cricket team, who was left alone in Botswana. Here he encountered a herd of elephants and received a nocurnal visit that terrified him.

Episode 2: Jason Gardiner, judge of Dancing on Ice and Strictly Dance Fever, was also left to fend on for himself on Belize for six nights. No luck catching fishes, he almost gave up after three days but a rainbow soon changed his mind.

Episode 3: Comedian Joe Pasquale, who is no stranger to the wild. He was winner of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here after all. In this series, Joe was sent to a wet Guyana where he lost three toenails and vowed not to kill anything with a face.

Episode 4: Amy Williams, the first British Winter Olympics individual gold medalist in 30 years, was paired up with Tanya Streeter, a world record holder in free diving (at a depth of 160 metres), were also sent to Botswana where they spent three days in separate camps.

Episode 5: Two tough guys were paired up at Guyana. Donal Macintyre, an investigagive journalists, and Chris Ryan, a retired SAS who once walked nearly 200 miles to escape Iraq in 1991. One had a lucky escape from a tree.

Episode 6: Aron Ralston, a mountain climber and the subject of Danny Boyle's well received 127 Hours film. In 2003 Aron was forced to amputate his right arm with a dull knife in order to free himself from a boulder. He was left marooned on Belize, a deserted island, for... you guessed it - 127 hours. Homesick, he starts to dwell on the 127 hours he spent trapped in Utah and even began to talk to coconuts.

I don't know about you, but I am really looking forward to watching Aron Ralston doing his best Tom Hank's impression.

Finally, here is a sneak preview to the series.

Many thanks to David for the invite.

Nokia Big Screen with Nokia N8 and Wii Remote

Nokia Beta Labs today announced the availability of Nokia Big Screen for Symbian^3 devices with HDMI-out (currently only the Nokia N8 supports this, with the E7 not due out for a couple of weeks).

Symbian^3 with HDMI-out ports already allow users to watch videos, pictures and play music on their HD telly, but the mobile orientated UI is far from suitable for media consumption. With Nokia Big Screen, the application presents the user with a UI that is designed from the ground up to take advantage of a large HD screen (up to 720p). The phone's screen will double as a remote, with a layout similar to a TV remote. But even then that isn't ideal.

In comes the Wii remote (and other Bluetooth enabled devices like keyboard). In the case of Nintendo's waggle device, just activate the Wiimote's Bluetooth pairing mode by pressing the red button at the back (or press the 1+2 buttons which I forgot...). The buttons works as they should: A for select, B for back and the Home key takes you right back to the front.

It isn't perfect though, but then this is merely a proof of concept app by their Beta Labs department. I would like to see bigger fonts, as well as support for folder/sorting support (what's with Nokia and their refusal to support folders with picture viewing apps?) and proper 720p support (images are still displayed at what I believe is VGA resolution).

Curling is shit and so is BBC's Winter Olympics coverage

Dear BBC,

Short rant: Your Winter Olympics coverage has been dreadful. Utter crap.

Long rant: Why bother with the freeview 'press the red button' 301 channel, when you are just going to broadcast curling on both BBC2 and that channel? I understand that there are people who have a hard-on for boring sports, but seriously, why broadcast the same fucking live event on two channels? It makes zero sense.

Why not use one of the other channel broadcast highlights from other events? Also, of all sports, why dedicate so much time and money on curling - easily the most boring 'sport' about people cleaning the floor? Why is curling taking precedence on the Beeb over other classic winter Olympic sports like ski jumping and figure skating?

Also, we do not need BBC presenters in expensive jackets to tell us how the snow is over there. We have eyes and we can see. Oh wait, we can't. Because all you show is bloody curling.

Much regards,

TV License Tax Payer

Battlestar Galactica Blu-ray review

This review is about the product itself, and not the Battlestar Galactica series. If you are reading this, chances are you like Battlestar Galactica enough to be considering purchasing the Limited Edition Blu-ray boxset so I am sure you would rather not hear another Battlestar Galactica fanboy pouring praises on his blog.

Picture quality is brilliant when played back on my PS3. The 1080p transfer is fantastic and I am delighted to finally be able to watch my favourite Sci-Fi series in HD. There is a real problem with noise, but I attribute that to the limitation set by the digital cameras used to film the. There are also film scratches and grains (probably intentional) that can be seen from time to time though that is not a Blu-ray limitation but more about Universal not archiving one of their better investment properly.

Audio is available in the form of 5.1 DTS-HD.

The series comes in a tin box. Not very practical, but the Cylon on the front is pretty. It is actually taller than a DVD case, so you would not be able to store them in purposed built DVD shelves.

But here's the real (physical) problem - the discs are stored in multiple red plastic holders that are itself stored inside cardboard sleeves. Removing the discs from the sleeves can be difficult as they are too tight. In fact I had to damage one of the sleeves in order to gain access to the discs. So be prepared to destroy your limited edition boxset if you want to watch it. If Universal had any sense they will send out replacement disc cases - as there are plenty of space inside the tin case to keep proper sized Blu-ray cases.

The first season here is actually the American version, and not the UK version with the more superior opening music, so that is another thing to keep in mind - but to me it is only a minor issue. If there is one upside to the package, it is that the discs are region free making importing and exporting a breeze.

The biggest issue I had with the 'Complete Series' boxset however is the lack of 'The Plan', the final TV movie in the Battlestar Galactica series. Sure, it aired after the final episode was aired, but is still pretty much the same series - it shares the same cast for one and the same production company and storyline. So I am pretty peeved that my Battlestar Galactica 'The Complete Series' isn't actually complete and that I have to pay more to get it actually complete. I suspect Universal will re-release another ‘Ultimate Complete’ version. Gullible consumers will probably gobble it up, but I'll resist.

+ brilliant series
+ great picture quality
+ region free
- silly packaging
- pretty pricey

Channel 4 in 3D fail

Today I was reminded on why 3D glasses belongs in the past. It gives you a migraine. The contents are mainly rubbish (good 2D programmes would not resort to such gimmicks in the first place). And finally because of the nature of stereoscopic 3D glasses, they are not in technicolour, so why bother?

Then again we have Channel 4 to thank a lot. They decided to use Darren Brown as a proponent to 3D, introducing rubbish magic by rubbish magicians (is it any wonder why they need the 3D gimmick). The none 3D contents were converted to 3D - which is not how it is meant to work.

All Channel 4 succeeded today was highlighting how 3D (at least the stereoscopy variant) fails and belongs in the past. I rather watch David Copperfield in glorious high definition 2D than this crap. Channel 4, you did well with Dispatches tonight, but enough with this 3D pile of shit.

Cheap HDTVs for that new PS3 of yours

Bought that cheap PS3 Slim from Sainsbury's? Well you will need a new LCD HDTV to go with that won't you? Here are some great stuff that dropped inside my mailbox today. It's like the January sales have started early this year!

Toshiba Regza 32AV615DB 32" 720p with Freeview £289.99
Samsung LE32B450C4 32" 720p with Freeview £309.99
LG 32LH2000 32" 720p with Freeview £328.94
Toshiba Regza 32RV635DB 32" 1080p with Freeview £349.99
Sony Bravia KDL32S5500U 32" 720p with Freeview & 3 years warranty £369.99
LG 32LH3000 32" 1080p with Freeview £379.99
Panasonic TX-L32X10 32" 720p with Freeview £398.99
Toshiba Regza 42AV635DB 40" 1080p with Freeview £479.00

All of the tellies above, apart from the Sony, comes with one year manufacturers warranty. You can always purchase additional warranties but my advice is: don't bother. Sales of Goods Act will cover items up to six years provided you do not abuse your goods. Also make sure the retailer (in this case Amazon) does not fob you off to the manufacturer. As the seller/retailer, it is their responsibility to make good to their customers.

Dexter episode 1 season 4 spoilers

Some spoilers from the first episode of season four of Dexter:

Keith Carradine is back, and he knows more than he lets on. I am sure Lundy's business in Miami isn't only to do with the Lithgow's character. Dexter better be careful there.

John Lithgow on the other hand really stole the first episode, despite only appearing for a couple of minutes. The fact that a kill of his is shown within minutes of the new season highlights the importance of the new villain. Hell, the Trinity killer may actually rival the Ice Truck Killer as Dexter's most feared ba(re)d-ass antagonist.

Angel is now boning LaGuerta over Gianna. What a waste of season 3 side-story it seems.

It seems that the writers are keen on Quinn being the new Doakes. Desmond Harrington still can't act though. Personally I hope Dexter off'ed him, and whatever happened to the sub-plot between he and Yuki?

And finally Dexter himself is very tired. I mean very very tired. It seems he isn't able to juggle the life of raising a kid and killing people without getting overtly exhausted, which I thought was kinda silly considering his new super human powers in season two. The cliffhanger at the end of the episode was brilliant though.

Torchwood is amazingly bland

Sorry to the fans, but I just had to say it. I know plenty of people love this series. But after watching the final one and the half episodes of "Children of Earth", or whatever it's called (which I forced myself too, because you know everyone's talking about it and I had to know what the fuss is all about), I can honestly say without any doubt that, much like ITV's Primeval (which takes the award for worst ever TV series) until it got cancelled (finally), Torchwood is terrible. In my opinion of course.

I just found it lacking in script, acting, characterisation, dramatisation and even special effects. None of the characters are remotely likeable and the dialogues are pretty much made of cheese. The kid who died in the end is a none-story deus ex machina aimed to make the episode even 'grittier', but instead it came out as sort of funny, and I laughed. Also isn't Torchwood supposed to be some kind of covert scientific intelligence community? Why are they seemingly run by a bunch of incompetent idiots? Just lazy television throughout, one that isn't as 'edgy' or 'adult' as critics seems to paint it to be. If I were to be very honest, these two days of Torchwood actually makes the final seasons of The X-Files seem Emmy Award-winning like.

So yeah, Torchwood is pretty much overrated tosh. I am glad I didn't buy into the stupid hype.

Farrah Fawcett & Michael Jackson

One was a beauty queen, another a talented pop singer (albeit a bit of a wacko). Both will be hugely missed.

Thinking of renting some old Charlie Angels DVDs this weekend and digging out my Michael Jackson records. Love him or hate him, there is no denying he made great music that appealed to the masses. Jesus, still can't believe it.

Battlestar Galactica Season 4 OST cover art and track list

One thing you can almost from every Battlestar Galactica fans to agree upon is the brilliant score by Bear McCreary. My personal favourite is season three's soundtrack, but rest assured all three soundtracks are worth buying and listening to.

Bear McCreary has finally confirmed that the two-disc season four/finale soundtrack will be released next month on 21 July. According to Bear, the second disc will include virtually every second of the "Daybreak" score and almost all tracks will be "nice and long", with one in excess of 15 minutes!

DISC 1:

1. Gaeta’s Lament “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner”
2. The Signal “Revelations”
3. Resurrection Hub “The Hub”
4. The Cult of Baltar “He That Believeth in Me” and “Escape Velocity”
5. Farewell Apollo “Six of One”
6. Roslin Escapes “Blood on the Scales”
7. Among the Ruins “Sometimes a Great Notion”
8. Laura Runs “A Disquiet Follows My Soul”
9. Cally Descends “The Ties That Bind”
10. Funeral Pyre “Sometimes a Great Notion”
11. Roslin and Adama Reunited “The Hub”
12. Gaeta’s Lament (Instrumental) “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner”
13. Elegy “Someone to Watch Over Me”
14. The Alliance “Revelations”
15. Blood on the Scales “The Oath” and “Blood on the Scales”
16. Grand Old Lady “Islanded in a Stream of Stars”
17. Kara Remembers “Someone to Watch Over Me”
18. Boomer Takes Hera “Someone to Watch Over Me”
19. Dreilide Thrace Sonata No. 1 “Someone to Watch Over Me”
20. Diaspora Oratorio “Revelations”

DISC 2 "DAYBREAK":

1. Caprica City, Before the Fall
2. Laura’s Baptism
3. Adama in the Memorial Hallway
4. The Line
5. Assault on the Colony
Featuring Raya Yarbrough, vocals
6. Baltar’s Sermon
7. Kara’s Coordinates
8. Earth
9. Goodbye Sam
10. The Heart of the Sun
Contains “Theme from Battlestar Galactica”
by Stu Phillips and Glen A. Larson
11. Starbuck Disappears
12. So Much Life
13. An Easterly View
14. The Passage of Time

You can pre-order the epic season four soundtrack now from Amazon.com or Amazon UK

Michael Schumacher is the Stig

As revealed by Top Gear. Not convinced at all that he is the real. Likely merely a guest Stig sourced by the Beeb purely to drive that expensive Ferrari, or actually sent by Ferrari themselves. Really, there is no longer a proper Stig, merely guest drivers.

Still, it was a fun episode. Was rooting for the train to win.

Futurama to return in 2010!

Finally! Some good news for fans of Futurama! US cable TV network Comedy Central has ordered 26 new episodes of Futurama. Airing will begin in 2010. Cancelled by Fox back in 2003, the recent four specials has proven popular enough to have caught the executives at Comedy Central. While I personally found the specials (particularly the final two) to be a huge disappointment, I can't wait for the series to start airing!

Source: BBC News

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles cancelled

Can't say I am surprised. It is such a shame as the series had potential, but the writers screwed up badly by introducing too many standalone episodes and mini-arcs like Jessie and Derek. Such a wasted opportunity really. Season two did pick up in the end, but only through the final two episodes which does nothing to conclude the Weaver/Turk-arc.

And yes, Sarah Connor wearing a turtle neck is still wrong.

Total Wipeout is totally rubbish

Today was the first time I watch an episode of BBC Takeshi's Castle rip-off Total Wipeout. You would think that something ripping off the Japanese obstacle course classic series would be funny, but it isn't even close. The show was unfunny, takes itself too seriously and the cringe worthy 'witty' lines quipped by the idiot contestants made it barely watchable. Richard Hammond's commentary was also unnaturally dreadful. He sounded boring, which I am not surprised considering the shit editing.

Rubbish.

Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak part two (spoilers)

I'll be lying if I said I haven't shed a tear. Such is the greatness of the Battlestar Galactica (2004) franchise and its profound effects it has on me. Sure, it is just television, but boy was it great television. Nothing comes close to BSG.

Like the previous episode (the first part of "Daybreak"), the finale is intertwined with flashbacks of main characters. Not an awful decision I have to admit, but I did have my doubts about the air time. Some previous plot holes were plugged, and it is nice seeing Tory getting her comeuppance. The CGIs were actually underwhelming actually. I do hope they fix those in the DVD or Blu-Ray release - especially those old school Centurions.



Best part of the finale? Too many to list. It had that good feel ending, where everyone finally settled down (even Helo!) but also some emotional moments. The scene where Adama realises that Roslin was dead was just heart wrenching to watch. It would be daylight robbery if Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnel does not win any awards for this finale. Oh, and Cavil going "frak", then blasting his head off was also memorable.

I do have a little beef with the way it ended. I do not buy Apollo's reasoning that the only way of ending the cycle of violence is through the total abandonment of technology. To me that is just too cheesy and unrealistic. First they had no proof that Cavil's forces were totally wiped out, and second, no matter how sincere people are, they would not just abandon their comfort (at least forever).

Still, I love the finale, and I love BSG even more. It wasn't the greatest ending (nothing will ever come close to beating Six Feet Under's finale), but at least it tied up some loose ends, even if it took some pretty uneven writing to do so.

8/10