Blazing Minds » television

The BBC’s “Public Enemies” and The Real World of Probation

stephwoo286 — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:23:33 +0000

If it weren’t for soapland’s usual season of doom and gloom, you’d be able to look at BBC Drama “Public Enemies” as the official end of the festivities. With the presents opened, the crackers pulled, and the tree taken to the dump, British people can get back to the business of feeling really bad about international relations, the financial state of the Europe Union and the ever increasing catalogue of ‘austerity measures’.

“Public Enemies” is a drama about a probation officer, Paula Radnor (played by Anna Friel), suspended from her job when an ex-murder kills again on her watch. Upon her return, she has to supervise Eddie Mottram (Daniel Mays), who has been released after serving ten years for the murder of his girlfriend. Even beyond this fact, Eddie is a difficult character who resents his old friends, the accommodation he is assigned and the public in general. Yet, he desperately wants a second chance and has passed his risk assessments: and should he do anything out of line, he’ll be back in prison.

An Overdue Drama?

It’s a drama that is hard-hitting and far from uplifting, but its existence is positive on several levels. Firstly, because it’s a gripping series of events and well worth a watch. Secondly because even despite the cuts, the BBC is still able to put out precisely this kind of sophisticated drama (it was actually commissioned back in November 2010). And finally, because this original idea will raise the profile of the British probation service and provoke not just debate and discussion, but awareness of the profession.

Not to say that the drama is a great recruitment propaganda tool: you’d be forgiven for thinking that Probation service jobs are something of a thankless task. “Public Enemies” obviously focuses on the extreme cases for the sake of heightened drama: people convicted of assault, theft and drugs offenses are commonly handled by probation officers.

Paula’s initial suspension readily reminds us of other recent cases in the social services where people lose their jobs and become vilified in the media when the finger of blame “must” point at someone. But being a probation officer isn’t thankless, so much as it is simply obscure. And whilst the casual drama viewer may see a profession they could never see themselves in, a few more people who’re looking for a challenging career may well have been alerted to the profession thanks to the drama.

Life After Life In Prison

Our entertainment is frequently about heroes: more prominent, high risk / high stress jobs on TV aren’t difficult to name (basically all of the Emergency Services). Audiences (supposedly) want to see the policeman and the legal team who put away the murderer for ‘life’, not the person who deals with the murderer once the sentence is spent. And whilst Paula is hardly ‘heroic’, the drama sympathises her with and remains thankful that the profession exists.

The series was created with special attention paid to realism. Writing in the Guardian, the assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, Harry Fletcher, revealed that he was consulted on the script, apparently advising against an earlier version of the script where the Probation Officer was involved in a sexual relationship with an offender. Other details were also studied, including how sentencing is decided, typical parole conditions and how liaisons with the victims of the original crime are undertaken.

Nonetheless, the London Probation service has some interesting insight into ways in which dramatic licence was different from reality. Many cite workload as a major difference, and the degree of contact outside of work by the offender is far from realistic. The fact that the offender was able to secure work quickly, interacting with the public and with female colleagues was important for the narrative, but completely contrary to how someone convicted of the murder of their partner would actually be employed.

Sussex and Surrey Probation hope that the service will benefit greatly from the new exposure the drama has brought. If you are interested in a career in the British National probation service, please click the link.

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The BBC’s “Public Enemies” and The Real World of Probation is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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The Definitive Playlist for Music from the Amazing Show Monkey Dust!

Karen — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:12:28 +0000

Ok everyone! This could possibly be the final update to this post, so lets get on with it

Now I’ve always been a fan of the TV show Monkey Dust that used to be on BBC Three some years ago with it’s quirky characters and amazing music, this is the show that introduced me to the wonderful musical talents of Goldfrapp and Boards of Canada!

So since having a trusty iPod I’ve been collecting the tracks that have been on the several series that the show ran over and when I originally typed this post I had 22 tracks, now at my most recent count I have 56 tracks that were used over the three series on Monkey Dust, yes that many!

And now I’m calling on fans of the series and the music to help me out, if you know of any tracks that are not listed below that have been used in the Monkey Dust episodes, then please let me know so that I can complete my collection on my iTunes playlist, so here is my current updated list, thanks everyone

That’s Not Really Funny – Eels

Lovely Head – Goldfrapp

Reach – S Club 7

6 Underground – Sneaker Pimps

Somebody Hurt You – A Girl Called Eddy

Child Psychology – Black Box Recorder

Elemental – Robin Guthrie

A Place In the Wilderness – Roger Eno

The Weekend Starts Here – Fatboy Slim

Carmina Burana: O Fortuna – Carl Orff

Dual Tone – Small World

Hayling – FC Kahuna

It’s Only the End of the World – Black Box Recorder

Radian – Air

Fast Food Song – Fast Food Rockers

Deer Stop – Goldfrapp

One and Only Love – Kiki Dee

Melissa Juice – Boards of Canada

Freefall – Robin Guthrie

As You Fall – Bent

Incredible (What I Meant to Say) – Darius

Come – Eddie Warner

Colour Me – Dot Allison

Up Town Top Ranking – Black Box Recorder

I Begin to Wonder – Dannii Minogue

Utopia – Goldfrapp

Your Love Means Everything – Faultline

Hymne à l’Amour – Jeff Buckley & Gary Lucas

Turquoise Hexagon Sun – Boards Of Canada

Your Lucky Day In Hell – Eels

The Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba – English Chamber Orchestra, Nigel Kennedy & Paul Barritt

Pilots – Goldfrapp

Crossing the Line – Robin Guthrie

Biological – AIR

Open The Light – Boards Of Canada

All I Think About Is You – Harry Nilsson

(Dancing) On a Saturday Night – Barry Blue

Sunrise – Pulp

It’s You – PJ Harvey

I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll – Britney Spears

Hooray Hooray (It’s A Cheeky Holiday) – Cheeky Girls

Message Personnel – Dot Allison

Hated Sunday – Black Box Recorder

Horse Tears – Goldfrapp

Pele – Arakatuba & The Ballistic Brothers

Think Twice – The Detroit Experiment

It’s Raining Men – The Weather Girls

No Good Advice – Girls Aloud

Adore – I:Cube

Offshore (Original) – Chicane

Satisfaction – Benny Benassi Presents The Biz

Early – Chicane

Place de la Concorde – Fila Brazillia

Imperial – Robin Guthrie

Up With People – Lambchop

This Love – Craig Armstrong featuring Liz Fraser

World of Shit – Eels

Still Trying to get hold of….

My Doreen – Bob Hewerdine and Darden Smith

Dirty Weekend – Jim Blake (Cheeze)

Sanson Ki Mala Pey – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Party

La Sonadora – Son Para Ti

No Man’s Land (from Sweeney The Movie OST)

Rehab Messiah – Ilya

Click here to view the embedded video.

So there you have it, my list on the Music from Monkey Dust so far, so if you do know any that I’ve missed and you are 110% they were in the show, then please let me know…

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The Definitive Playlist for Music from the Amazing Show Monkey Dust! is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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First Stargate Universe Now Eureka Is Cancelled

Karen — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:20:31 +0000

You may remember sometime back when I posted about the TV show Stargate Universe being cancelled! Well the channel Syfy are not only happy with cancelling that show and Sanctuary, they have now also cancelled Eureka (also known as A Town Called Eureka).

Don’t Get Rid Of Our SciFi

It was announced back in August 2010 that the show had been selected for a fifth series and 13 episodes, but it has recently been announced (on August the 8th) that Eureka would not get a sixth series and would be cancelled after series five of the show. But an extra episode of series five would be produced to give Eureka a “proper” ending.

Statement released from Syfy on the cancellation of Eureka

“After painstaking consideration, we have had to make the difficult business decision to not order a season six of Eureka. But Eureka is not over yet. There is a new holiday episode this December and 12 stellar episodes set to debut next year, marking its fifth season and six memorable years on Syfy. The 2012 episodes are some of the best we’ve seen, and will bring this great series to a satisfying end. We are very grateful to Bruce Miller and Jaime Paglia, their team of incredible writers, and an amazing cast and crew who have consistently delivered a series we continue to be very proud of. We thank the fans for their support of this show and know they will enjoy its final season in 2012.”

Now I’m not really sure what’s going on in the minds of those over at @Syfy but it certainly seems that the channel is slowing moving on to showing re-runs of old shows such as Buffy and even showing BAMMA! Why!

BAMMA! What The Hell Is Bamma, Is It SciFi?

Simple answer NO! It’s mixed martial arts (MMA) and what this has to do with SciFi is really beyond me! Surely a channel that was originally for SciFi should be for that genre, put the boxing, wrestling or whatever it is somewhere else!

Do we really care for this MMA rubbish here in the UK, personally I don’t think so, surely we watch the channel for SciFi rather than BAMMA!!!

Saving Eureka and Other SciFi Shows

If you read the Stargate article here on my blog you will have seen the links to several pages on Facebook that are in support of keeping our favourite shows and now a new page has recently been set, aptly called Save Eureka. While I’m typing this out the page already has nearly 7,000 likes in support of the show, my recommendation is get on over there and join the cause to keep the show alive.

Isn’t It Different In The UK Compared To The USA Syfy?

Well a little, but it seems that our American cousins are even worse off! While checking out the schedules for both UK and USA Syfy I noticed that where as we get repeats of Angel, Smallvile, Sanctuary (Series 1) , some SciFi or horror movies and the odd new series such as Warehouse 13.

The USA Syfy seems to be GhostHunters (all day) and loads of re-runs. Now I’m probably going to be told differently, but is this all you guys get on Syfy?

I thought we had it bad, you guys get a right raw deal!

Can We Trust Syfy To Keep Shows?

Quite frankly I would have to say no!

It seems to go the way of getting fans for a show that is Scifi based and then say, “Thanks for your time and your support for the show, now we are going to cancel it and take the money made and put it in to live MMA events and re-runs”

So why don’t you come and join me and the thousands of others on Facebook that are supporting our favourite shows and show those big wigs that we want them to stay, stop by Save Eureka, Save Stargate, Save Stargate Universe and SyFail!

Related articles

Eureka CANCELED! (lukewilliamss.wordpress.com)

Say goodbye to the little town that could: Syfy cancels Eureka [Eureka] (io9.com)

Syfy Orders One More Episode of ‘Eureka’ – The Series Finale (screenrant.com)

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First Stargate Universe Now Eureka Is Cancelled is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

If you enjoy reading my blog, then please support me with a donation and Follow @BlazingMinds on Twitter

Are Spoilers Actually Good For Us?

stephwoo286 — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:17:08 +0000

Because researchers are committed to spoiling any and all manifestations of fun, new research has come to light suggesting that knowing how a story ends may not actually damage our enjoyment of it. One of three versions of several short stories, (two with a paragraph that revealed essential plot details and a third unaltered version) were given to the participants. The results showed that people who had had the story spoilt for them rated the stories higher.

So not only are spoilers apparently not harmful, they’re actually better for your enjoyment? This is precisely the opposite of what most people feel about hearing plot details before they’re revealed to them. Drop a spoiler in polite conversation and you expect to see someone boil with rage and hit you square in the chin. They’ll at least put two hands over their ears and drown out your spiteful words with an enthusiastic chorus of ‘La-La-La-La’s. So, is there something to this, or are these researchers simply too used to spoiling their conclusions because they’re forced to write abstracts ?

Why Spoilers May Not Ruin Experiences

A close friend of mine is immune to spoilers. Quite how she manages this is beyond me: personally, knowing exactly where a plot is heading ruins the fun. Reading a list of spoilers in preparation for this article would have been like having my parents tell me the contents of each and every present under the tree, if I hadn’t already heard most of them elsewhere. That in itself is significant: spoilers do have a certain pull to them. But so do black holes. And when I’ve read about a twist, my interest in a plot becomes inevitably stretched.

The argument in the research is that the brain finds it easier to process stories when you know what they’re building towards, and it’s certainly true that revisiting something you’ve learnt the conclusion can be a rewarding experience in itself. The Sixth Sense is a fantastic example of this, as you can see how the script works around the facts established at its conclusion. Information concealed from the audience can sometimes be central to understanding a character’s motivations, making it difficult to empathise with them.

So there is definitely a case for self-spoiling to bring your audience up to speed. In fact, some of my favourite shows and movies are self-spoilers. An observant geek can see Leela’s parents in Futurama two seasons before their identity is revealed. And the affecting animated wartime drama Grave of the Fireflies opens with the words ‘September 21, 1945… that was the night I died.’ The former would have been irritating if it were more obvious, but very few people ever figured this out ahead of time. The later is enhanced by the revelation: the tone of the film is sufficiently tragic that the death of its protagonists were certain from the beginning, so why continue to patronise the audience? And then there’s the fact that you can only once see something for the first time. All those people who obsess over Star Wars movies seem to do pretty well out of revisiting the films periodically.

Why They Probably Do

To me though, spoilers are more often than not completely unwelcome. In the UK, our soaps (Coronation Street, Eastenders et al) are infamously spoilt by their publicity departments. Gossip magazines here often contain the play by play of the week’s forthcoming plot and photographs teasing big story events (particularly around the Christmas/New Year misery corridor when viewing numbers are highest) are printed in the tabloids.

But whilst this proves that many live with spoilers comfortably, soap operas are hardly ambassadors for intelligent entertainment. Soap operas fill similar needs to reality shows: they’re enjoyable through their inevitability and familiarity. To assume that viewers who don’t read Emmerdale spoilers don’t know exactly what is going to happen ahead of time would be false.

Another example: the entire Star Wars prequel trilogy. Yes, the trilogy had multiple problems, but it seems to me that the biggest problem with them was that we never really wanted everything shown on screen. Everything from the Galactic council, to the force and, of course, Anakin Skywalker’s fall from grace was played it exactly as we knew it would be. Worse still, if you watch the Star Wars films chronologically, the mystery surrounding Darth Vader’s identity simply doesn’t exist. Though, let’s be honest, it’s pretty hard to go into watching The Empire Strikes Back not knowing that particular nugget of information!

Concealing some piece of information from your audience can be a clever technique. In many cases, it’s a twist on which the whole interest of the work depends on. The researcher’s findings are interesting, but I doubt they’d stand up to the mob-rage that most of us are capable of when someone gives away the ending. What do you think?

Steph Wood is a blogger and copywriter working for Claims4Negligence, a legal company who can handle your Car accident claim or claim for Medical Negligence, among other services

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Are Spoilers Actually Good For Us? is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

If you enjoy reading my blog, then please support me with a donation and Follow @BlazingMinds on Twitter

A Master Class in Advertising: Jedward Adverts

Andy Monty — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 07:13:34 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

The title of this post should make you shudder in disbelief, but whether you love them, or most likely hate them, you can’t deny these crazy little Irishmen have a certain charisma about them, the likes of which we are not exposed to very often.

They hit our screens on X-Factor, where their instantly recognisable hair pieces and personalities divided the country in a ‘marmite’ like fashion.

Here are the adverts that they have been selling themselves towards, the indecision between self mockery or stone cold seriousness is partly the reason they can be so intriguing to watch.

Glade Shake’n’Vac

Just like a plaster, quick rip and its all over, except you have three more interesting adverts to watch. Why Shake’n’Vac chose to revitalise themselves in the public image with Jedward is beyond logical.

Click here to view the embedded video.

TravelSuperMarket

By far the most widely viewed advert due to the push on national TV by TravelSuperMarket with resident advert comedian Omid Djalili, the video included a slight squabble over how much they paid for the hotel. I don’t believe these two have it in them to go out and book a hotel independently, leaving me to dispute the authenticity of this ad. If they were to look for luxury holidays, no doubt they would book a twin suite together…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Red Nose Day

Finally using their powers for the greater good, they put a lot of effort into the Red Nose Day 2011, a British charity helping children and families in the UK, Africa and across the world. This video actually got a few laughs when played on the big screen in the office.

Click here to view the embedded video.

DragonQuest

There’s such a thing as hitting the nail on the head when trying to appeal to a specific market, and them clever guys at Nintendo were quick to snap up the twins for a campaign aimed at increasing the interest from the younger generations, a tactic they had already realised to be extremely successful.

Click here to view the embedded video.

When considering the success of the twins, if you look at the figures, there is no doubt that they have been doing something right by netting a whopping £2.85 million in the year after seeing them finish sixth on X-Factor. They had the hunger for fame and popularity and showed this in their work ethic, they were extremely active, performing gigs, personal appearances on TV shows, endorsements for products and advertising campaigns, examples seen above.

Like it or not, these whippersnappers have been spreading them about the place with some degree of success. Whilst the majority of the country is yet to embrace the Jedward twins, their following is growing at an exponential rate.

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A Master Class in Advertising: Jedward Adverts is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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Why Are We Obsessed With Time Travel?

stephwoo286 — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:04:27 +0000

What is it with films and televisions shows travelling backwards and forwards in time? No matter how vaguely science fiction or fantasy-themed our favourite shows, they often have time travelling themes lying below the surface (for better or worse). Here are just some of the not especially great reasons for the Time Travel theme:

Padding Out The Show

Some of our favourite time travelling epics actually use time-travel as a device simply to generate content. This is especially true of those franchises that just run and run. Doctor Who springs instantly to mind: at the beginning, its use of historical and science fiction settings was only really an excuse to show educational programming with a dramatic skew. As the audience showed themselves receptive to the Science-Fiction theme, the ability to pick absolutely any time period kept Doctor Who fresh. Sick of visiting Romans? Visit the Egyptians. Sick of the Daleks? Create a new villain, add a hundred years or a billion miles and visit whatever creature you fancy creating.

Star Trek has always been a particularly guilty party. Across the six main series’ about 45 of the episodes included time travel. True, the franchise had about 703 Episodes, but the number doesn’t include those episodes that used the ‘holodeck’ device to visit historical settings. And then there’s the eleven films, four of which feature time travel (and to be fair, three of them are the most refreshing things the franchise has ever done).

Nevertheless, time travel is often an imperfect device. Lest we forget, it’s the main plot point in disney’s cynical budget production Cinderella III. Time travel starts looking ugly when overused: Futurama probably went back and forth one time too many with straight to DVD movie Bender’s Big Score, offering extra detail on things we’d all forgotten to care about. We all knew New York was destroyed at some point. Now we know why. Will we ever know why we know why?

Regret

Some of our earliest examples of time travel in entertainment actually play on a quite noble theme. Dickens’ A Christmas Carol may not involve wormholes, or complex time machines, but the visions of the past and future that the three spirits show Ebenezer Scrooge have a greater emotional impact than cold science. Through them, Scrooge is reminded of the joy that Christmas once brought him, allowed him a glimpse of people’s low opinions of him, and showed a future in which he dies unappreciated.

One of the main reasons for our love of time-travel then, is that it allows us to rewrite all our regrets. It’s a Wonderful Life plays with this when suicidal George claims to regret his birth, and is shown just how his absence would have effected everybody. Whereas A Christmas Carol changes a bad man into a good man, It’s a Wonderful Life shows how regret can be misplaced, because George is already a deeply good man who has earned the love of his friends and family.

Regret is a natural part of the magic of film-making, as is recalling the past and wondering what we would have done differently. Audiences react well to this type of time travel because it engages them directly, and makes them think about the actions they’ve taken in their own lives.

A Fish Out Of Water

The truth about the past is that it’s pretty much hilarious. Everything from the way people dressed to the hack and slash way they cured major illnesses deserves a good belly laugh, despite the fact that people at the time would have found amputation funny. Many films have specifically tried to play with this by sending someone from the modern day to the past (The Back to the Future series was always the best example, strangely always having little to do with ‘the future’). Or sending someone from the past to the present (The sixties nostalgia of Austin Powers was a good opportunity to laugh at mini-skirts and psychedelic as well as the spy movie genre). Or even sending people from the future to the present (Star Trek IV famously played on having a Russian crew-member Chekov walking around asking Cold War era Los Angeles where their ‘Nuclear Wessels’ were).

In this way, time travel is no different a device to having Bill Murray bemused by the culture of Tokyo in Lost in Translation (though this is perhaps an unfortunate example, since Tokyo has often been considered a futuristic city). And this is no coincidence: ultimately, film has always been about revisiting the past, taking a long look at the present, and dreaming of the future.

I guess time machines are everywhere in TV and film, because TV and film are actually both time machines. So over to you guys: what are your favourite time travel shows and movies?

Always on time, Steph Wood is a copywriter and blogger for The Watch Department, a UK-based Designer Watches stockist selling Ladies and Mens Watches.

Related articles

Time Travel or Something Didn’t Happen = 0 (shsolutions.wordpress.com)

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Why Are We Obsessed With Time Travel? is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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Save Stargate Universe Facebook Page Just Keeps Growing

Karen — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 06:46:51 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Now if you have read my blog and been paying attention to what’s been going on, you will remember the post I published about how @Syfy had decided to end the superb series Stargate Universe and that fans were trying to do their part in bringing back the show, now when I originally posted the article the Save Stargate Universe Facebook page had 26,549 fans joining together to help save the show and now, while typing out this post the Facebook page has 51,179 fans.

It’s In The Numbers!

This all goes to show that fans of the show are still not happy and are still protesting about the show being cancelled, but the count still needs to be increased and hopefully buy bringing you this update on the situation of a good show being put down in its prime and showing you that the numbers are indeed climbing, then hopefully the bosses of the studios etc will start to listen to the fans of the show and bring it back on our screens.

Why Try To Bring It Back!

Simple put, the show was just stating to make its way in the Stargate franchise, yes it may have been slow to start, but towards the end the show was developing its characters more and we were all starting to get to know their ways, which all helped to you feeling for the show and the situations that the characters were put in.

There seems to be too many “cop” shows on TV these days as well as those dreadful celebrity shows where they have a failing career and just want to back in the limelight again.

With the Stargate franchise, we are taken on a journey with our imagination, giving us a chance to get away from everyday life and travel to places we could never even comprehend going. So having a show like this is not only a joy to watch, it’s a chance to just forget our mundane lives for a little while.

Keep Doing Your Part To Save Stargate Universe

We all need to keep doing our part to save the show and by creating posts like this one and spreading the word, we can hopefully get more fans to come round to joining the Save Stargate Universe Facebook page as well as tweeting links to fellow bloggers posts on the situation of Stargate being cancelled.

Fact or Fake Interview with Craig Engler of SYFY about the cancellation of SGU

Click here to view the embedded video.

So, if you haven’t already, please stop by the Save Stargate Universe Facebook page and become a fan to help the cause as well as stopping by The Plan: Save Stargate Universe for ideas on how you can spread the word and help get the show back.

Related articles

By Cancelling Stargate: Universe SyFy Cancelled The Entire Stargate Franchise (cinemablend.com)

Syfy Cancels Stargate Universe (cinemablend.com)

Will SciFi Series Stargate Universe Be Saved By Facebook Fans? (slappybear.co.uk)

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Save Stargate Universe Facebook Page Just Keeps Growing is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

If you enjoy reading my blog, then please support me with a donation and Follow @BlazingMinds on Twitter

Need to Escape to Adventure and Romance? Then Univision Novelas is the Thing for You.

Guest Author — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 08:30:10 +0000

Univision novelas offer viewers a chance to step outside their everyday lives and experience exciting, romantic and even frightening adventures in exotic surroundings. These emotionally charged limited-run television programs are the perfect guilty pleasures with dashing heroes, wicked villains and beautiful damsels in distress. While they share some common characteristics with miniseries events and soap operas, novelas are truly special event programming with sweeping storylines and larger-than-life characters that capture the imagination of viewers around the world.

Telenovelas were originated in Brazil, Mexico and Cuba at nearly the same time; launched in 1950, the first Brazilian telenovela was called Sua Vida Me Pertence and featured the first on-screen kiss on Brazilian television. Cuban television soon followed suit with Senderos de Amor in 1951, along with the Mexican telenovela Angeles de la Calle. Traditionally, telenovelas are performed in Spanish or Portuguese and originate in Mexico and Central and South America. While telenovelas typically have a longer run than miniseries events, they are designed to have a specific end date; this distinguishes them from soap operas, which typically continue for an indefinite period of time.

Image by pedrosimoes7 via flickr

Since their first arrival on the airwaves, telenovelas have consistently gained in popularity around the world and are seen in far distant locales including the following countries:

Russia

China

Japan

Malaysia

Israel

Western Europe

A few novelas have been designed specifically to appeal to a global market; the first and best known of these was presented by Mexican television in 1979 and was called Los Ricos Tambien Lloran. It found widespread popularity in Russia, the United States, and China and paved the way for the telenovela to become an international phenomenon.

Some of the most popular novelas 2010 brought to the small screen included Eva Luna, Mujeres Asesinas 3, Triunfo del Amor and India. 2011 is expected to offer even more thrilling entertainment options for Univision viewers. Telenovelas are produced to suit a number of different demographics and personal tastes; thrillers, romances, and mysteries tend to be the most popular varieties. Some telenovelas are specifically aimed at an adult audience and may incorporate themes and references to current events and important social issues, while others are designed to provide an uplifting message to younger viewers.

One of the most convenient ways to stay current on the latest celebrity gossip and exclusive photos and videos related to Univision novelas is by visiting sites like the Univision website, which serve as a comprehensive source for information on these thrilling stories. Many of these sites offer viewers a number of convenient ways to catch up on their favorite stars and shows both online and on the go on their mobile phones. Ultimately, they are offering viewers the chance to experience passionate, exciting new worlds while remaining safe and sound at home.

Jessica writes about a wide variety of topics. She especially enjoys writing about television. You can learn more about Univision novelas at www.novelasyseries.univision.com

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Need to Escape to Adventure and Romance? Then Univision Novelas is the Thing for You. is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

If you enjoy reading my blog, then please support me with a donation and Follow @BlazingMinds on Twitter

Rise From Your Grave! Do Resurrected Shows Come Back As Altered Beasts?

stephwoo286 — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:35:50 +0000

When Nathan Fillon recently said that with $300 million in Canadian lottery money he’d happily purchase the rights to Joss Whedon’s early noughties Sci-Fi epic Firefly, the fanbase leapt into action, organising a campaign to get him the rights. It was an offhand comment and one that demanded an immediate capitulation on Fillon’s part. This week, the campaign was called off and the Firefly revival was no more.

But is it for better or worse? It seems to me that when we get beloved shows back, they never quite turn out exactly how we remember them. They’ll change channels and format, and they may even just change everything as part of the package deal to get back on the air. Here’s a few case studies for reasons why if Firefly came back nine years on, nerd-nirvana may not quite be reached.

Futurama

Fox are pretty good at cancelling great shows. They’re also pretty likely to resurrect them if the DVD sales continue generating revenue. So depending on your view, they’re either our just and fair TV overlords, or they’re just completely oblivious to both quality and demand. In 2002-2003, Fox visibly treated both Futurama and Family Guy as if they’d been bitten by them, desperately trying to shake them off, beating them against the wall of incoherent time slot and mis-timed broadcast orders. Family Guy bears mentioning, but as an exception to the rule here: it has only become more like itself as time has worn on.

Futurama on the other hand was resurrected with less immediacy, and not entirely satisfactorily. Stretched into four feature length productions, the show translated poorly to straight to video releases. The films wasted too much time on reminding us why characters were supposed to be hilarious, rather than giving them anything funny to say. Their stories were both over-sentimental and over-complex, full of indulgent pseudo-scientific explanation and meaningless guest appearances.

Inevitably, the direct to video releases proved that a great deal of good will remained, and a new television series was commissioned. The end result was positive, with standout episodes like ‘The Duh-Vinci Code’ and ‘A Clockwork Origin’ getting the balance of zany science fiction and comedy as right as they’ve ever been (and the superb ‘The Late Phillip J Fry’ being 20 minutes of fantastic television). But the show seems a lot less assured now. Stretching its legs on Comedy Central, a decade after its debut, it seems obliged to chase the raunchy, far more offensive humour of Family Guy and South Park when it really doesn’t have to be. It is also attempting to mimic South Park’s satire, attacking tired targets like Apple and celebrities who will be unknowns by the time the DVD is released (one episode features both the ‘eyePhone’ and Susan ‘Boil’).

Red Dwarf

The creators will often appear trying to convince themselves that this show has been constantly in production since the late 80s, but Red Dwarf has a chameleon-like history and many years of inactivity. The show has been balancing science fiction, comedy and drama with hit and miss regularity, changing a little after its fifth series and drastically after is second, sixth, seventh and eighth. The most recent resurrection is reminiscent of the millennial Blackadder Back And Forth: the main reason it doesn’t work is that, even if the writing was still snappy (it isn’t), the cast are now about two decades too old to carry it.

Doctor Who

Doctor Who pretty much wrote the book on TV retooling and resurrection by having a character who reincarnates every time the star wants to (or has to) leave. The show was axed during the Doctor’s seventh incarnation in 1989, but it remained a powerful brand in the BBC archives, shifting everything from VHS to Bathroom Accessories. This made it a ripe candidate for resurrection: In 2005 they got it right. In 1996, they got it wrong.

The 2005 Russell T Davis resurrection of Doctor Who was massively successful, sensitive to what the modern audience want from science fiction (emotional connection, light humour and un-patronising storylines). It sometimes went a little too far on these points (Huw Edwards bleating ‘The Olympic Dream… Is Dead!’ is enough to make anyone sit upright in the middle of the night and vomit on bed clothes), but for all its flaws it was still watchable. The move to self-contained 45-minute episode format was also very successful, and the last series was so good that even in polite conversation, I’d admit to having seen it.

The 1996 TV special on the other hand, struggled with the old problems of taking a British show to the United States. Of all the actors to have ever played the Doctor, Paul McGann is surely the most exciting prospect. Yet, even his characterisation was wounded by trying to make him a ‘half-human’ Mr Spock type. On the bright side, Doctor Who proves that any truly good show can learn from mistakes like this.

Firefly

And let’s not forget that Firefly itself was already brought back from the brink in movie form. Many fans loved Serenity, but with the end of the franchise in sight there’s a mood of finality to the piece (including, but not limited to, some main character deaths). Whilst it would be possible to springboard off Serenity’s ending for a new series, considering what similar time off the air did to all the series above, should they even bother?

So, over to you in the comments below. Should shows come back when they’ve been away for so long? And should these shows have come back?

Steph Wood is a copywriter and blogger currently writing content for Splash Direct, providers of Toilets and other Bathroom fixtures and fittings.

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Rise From Your Grave! Do Resurrected Shows Come Back As Altered Beasts? is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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It’s The Return Of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Karen — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 07:22:28 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

So ITV in their wisdom have decided to bombard us yet again with a show that may be popular with the celebrity hungry public, but not with me…

That’s right “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here” is back on our TVs as of the 14th November, a show where celebrities who have either got a failing career or need to be even more in the public eye, decide they are going to spend time in an Australian jungle doing things that no other “sane” person would even attempt to do.

Before anyone asks, yes I have watched the show and I still think that’s it’s a complete waste of time and money!

I dare say that those “celebrities” and I say that loosely are looking forward to spending time with the comforts they are used to, but the question often arises of, why?

As I mentioned earlier, most of them have usually been out of the limelight for a while and this is a chance for them to get back in the public eye, but to me, I just see the fiasco as completely pointless, not only have we just been put through the pain and suffering of the The X Factor, but now we have to have our TV schedule littered with this dribble. What next the return of Britain’s Got Talent, oh that’s back spring 2011!!!

Ok, I’m steeping on the toes of those that love the The X Factor and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here, but come on isn’t it time that TV stations have something fresh and interesting on, and not a bunch on wannabes and has beens prancing around the TV making complete idiots of themselves, obviously not!

So this is the way that TV is going, celebrity everything, just because something has been popular and has a following, doesn’t mean that we all love it, so I’m preparing myself for breakfast shows with “did you see I’m A Celebrity last night?” and “Here’s the latest from the camp” and so on and so forth. Yes it’s on lots, but please, please stop ramming it down our throats everyone 20 minutes!

I have posted before on my blog about these celebrity shows and how much they annoy me, but hey this is the Monday Moan and I have every right to whinge, it’s my blog!

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It’s The Return Of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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3D TV Is It As Good As They Say It Is?

Karen — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 07:02:20 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

It certainly seems to be the buzz at the moment and 3D TV is something that has got everyone talking, but not just about the fact that 3D is now in the home, but also the cost of 3D TVs and if they are actually worth your hard-earned cash!

So what’s all the fuss about, we’ve seen 3D before and it was awful, sitting there with those cardboard glasses on and trying to make your friends believe you when you say “Oh wow, it’s coming out right at me”. But lets face it, the old 3D using those daft red and green glasses was a bit of a waste of time and it really didn’t look that good.

Now with the new 3D that most of us have experienced in the cinema, it wasn’t going to take long before 3D started appearing in our homes.

But are these 3D TVs any good?

Well to be honest, hell yeah! I’m an avid fan of 3D movies in the cinema and after checking out a lot of these 3D TVs I was really quite surprised that they are almost the same as what I’ve seen in the cinema, ok the screen isn’t as big, but the quality of these 3D TVs is awesome.

The other day I was in Comet, just having a look around and they have 3D TVs with active glasses to and Monsters vs Aliens playing on Blu Ray, it was indeed the same as the cinema.

Now the problem I see with this new technology is the price, a good 3D TV will cost around £1000, al very well if your swimming in money, but everybody else, it’s a bit of a no no, also, you will have to fork out for a Blu-Ray player to play your 3D films on, so more money there to fork out and so far there aren’t really that many 3D movies available on Blu-Ray.

But what about SkyHD 3D?

Now that’s another kettle of fish Not only will sky want to charge you for the normal Sky channels, the HD channels, the ability to record programs, then they’ll also charge you for the 3D channel, yes I said channel! So you could be paying out over £60 a month just for the benefit of a 3D channel on Sky.

So is it worth buying a 3D TV?

In my humble point of view I would say no, yes they are brilliant, yes the movies look amazing, but the one thing that puts me off is the overall cost of a new viewing experience, give it a year or so and you will find 3D TV dropping in price and by then, even more movies will, hopefully, be available on Blu-Ray for us to watch. Since Blu-Ray was launch way back in 2003 prices of those have dropped, so my advice is wait!

Like anything that is new, it’s going to be costly, just give it time, I can quite honestly see a £1400 3D TV in a years time costing around £700-£800 pound, so don’t try to out do everyone else, save your pennies. I know I am

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3D TV Is It As Good As They Say It Is? is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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Sky HD this, Sky HD that, AAARRRGGHHHH!

Karen — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:47:26 +0000

This was going to be my Monday Moan for next week, but I just had to get it off my chest..

It’s gotten to the point now that when I open up the monthly magazine from Sky I dread reading it, specially with their blatant self promotion of Sky+ HD, I come on there is only so much people can take!

Here are just a few of the examples:

Watching Lie to Me in high definition on Sky1 HD gives you chance to play detective yourself. With sharper detail, you’ll be able to spot every twitch and flicker of a suspect’s face

Come on you can see that on a normal TV anyway!

Better Betty! – With a sharper detail of high definition you don’t just watch Betty in action, you feel like you’re there. The fashion is more fabulous, the laughs louder, the tragedy more tear-jerking.

Laughs Louder!!! Hmmmm…

And that’s how it goes throughout the magazine every month it’s the same, yes I know they are trying to plug the system, which incidently costs you another £9+ per month, but come on, do we have to have the feeblest of comments.

What next “With Sky+ HD you can feel every fart from a horses arse in glorious HD when vets get their arms stuck up a cows bum!”

Personally I’ve seen Sky HD and though it’s good I wouldn’t sell my granny for it….

So please Sky stop blatantly over plugging it, it’s just so annoying!!!

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Sky HD this, Sky HD that, AAARRRGGHHHH! is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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So what do you prefer, 70s or 80s music?

Karen — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 07:16:15 +0000

After watching Ashes to Ashes on the BBC last night and been a fan of the previous show Life on Mars, I thought I would post about what decade people preferred. Ok I know it’s a short post but what the heck, I’m just nosey

A lot of people usually say the 80s for their love of music, but what do you prefer the 70s or 80s?

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So what do you prefer, 70s or 80s music? is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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Monday Moan – The Golden Globes

Karen — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:27:06 +0000

OK, so what could I possible have to moan about with the Golden Globes, well, to put it simple quite a lot

First of all the speeches, I mean come on! Kate Winslett spent three minutes gushing away and saying

“I’m so sorry Anne, Meryl, Kristin – oh God, who’s the other one… Angelina!”

Honestly aren’t they in the business to get these awards and every year the speeches just get longer and longer and longer and… well you get the point!

And then you get prats like Sacha Baron Cohen who was booed after these idiotic words:

“This recession is affecting everyone, even celebrities,” he told the star-studded audience. “Victoria Beckham hasn’t eaten for three weeks. Charlie Sheen has been forced to have sex without paying for it. It’s true.

“And even Madonna has had to get rid of one of her personal assistants. Our thoughts go out to you Guy Ritchie.”

I mean come on it’s not even funny and then there is Ricky Gervais, now I know I’m going to step on a few toes here by saying he’s not even funny (pause for screams of how dare you)

Ricky Gervais did raise a laugh from the audience, in my point of view it was a mercy laugh, for saying,

“I’m not even nominated, which detracts from the credibility of any awards ceremony.”

and referring to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who vote for the awards, he said:

“That was a waste of a campaign.” and “That’s the last time I have sex with 300 middle-aged journalists. It was horrible.”

Is that funny, I don’t think so.

The award that I really think is deserved, and I know many that will agree and many that won’t, is Heath Ledger for the Posthumous winner of the Best Supporting Actor.

But I suppose at the end of the day, what do these awards prove, well to put it simply that celebrities are there to annoy us (specially Ricky Gervais) and entertain us, this is what the awards do while we are watching or reading about them, so a job well done

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Monday Moan – The Golden Globes is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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Matt Smith is the New Doctor Who!

Karen — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:33:35 +0000

Well it was announced earlier tonight that the new Doctor Who will be Matt Smith, who I hear you shout, well let’s see shall we.

Matt Smith is in fact the youngest doctor out of all eleven at the age of 26, but don’t get too excited just yet as we won’t actually see him until Spring 2010, David Tennant still has four hour long specials to complete before handing of the key to the TARDIS!

Matt Smith is not a new comer and has started in several programs already these include “Secret Diary of a Call Girl”, “The Shadow in the North” both starting with Billie Piper (Rose Tyler) and in the programs “The Street” and “Party Animals”

Acording to the Steven Moffet who takes over Doctor Who as executive producer from Russel T Davies “The Doctor is a very special part, and it takes a very special actor to play him. You need to be old and young at the same time, a boffin and an action hero, a cheeky schoolboy and the wise old man of the universe.

“As soon as Matt walked through the door, and blew us away with a bold and brand new take on the Time Lord, we knew we had our man.

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Matt Smith is the New Doctor Who! is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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