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Grant McDougall

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:54:17 +1300

Doh! The above post was supposed to be in the "Have You Met Thingy?" thread.

Grant McDougall

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:52:16 +1300

I'm superb at remembering people's names and faces. I can bump into someone I haven't seen in years and not only remember their name, but also details about their interests, etc

The only thing I am crap at remembering is jokes. I hear loads of good ones and am rubbish…

Sacha

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:17:55 +1300

it kinda hits its stride at Ep4

Thanks for the tip, Peter – I'll hang in there.

JohnAmiria

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:29:32 +1300

On that point, where are all the NZ promoters?
Australia has for some time now been enjoying an endless supply of quality acts that no one here is piggy backing on.

Most of the NZ promoters are now really just front offices for the Aussies, working on percentage deals, or…

jon_knox

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:07:19 +1300

I saw Neil for the first time earlier in the year. I hope he does a couple from his acoustic set in addtion to some more of the traditional BDO fare.

Big-Ups to Jose for that interview with the dude from Black Books last year. That interview is one that…

Jose Barbosa

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:22:03 +1300

Frontline however, now that's gold standard.

Amen. From the stories I've heard regarding TV current affairs jornos and how they go about their business it's not satire, but a very good documentary.

Snelly Boy

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:54:33 +1300

Bad news Russell, MGMT are touring Aussie in Dec. Can't see them turning around to come back a month later to do the BDO tour.

On that point, where are all the NZ promoters?

Australia has for some time now been enjoying an endless supply of quality acts that no…

PeterC

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:19:39 +1300

Hi Russell et al. thanks for the kind words, and the criticisms.

Particularly interesting to note people picking up on the political maneuvering over the comedy ratio, which – while not exactly deliberate – is definitely the case, at least for the first 2 eps. I'm glad it worked for…

Kyle Matthews

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:11:49 +1300

I like the quote in the Herald article:

Family Party candidate Richard Lewis, a former frontline policeman, said: "It's a sad day when a long-time servant of the people gets treated like that at a public meeting."

My first reaction was "is he talking about George Hawkins, or about the…

Hadyn Green

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:59:22 +1300

"Is this what they mean by the Church Militant?"

You can't go around doing things like that to politicians!

I hope they threw the book at him!

Craig Ranapia

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:52:24 +1300

And how do you poke fun at politicians, when out in the surreal world you've got George Hawkins getting (literally) Bible-bashed at Manurewa Baptist?

I'm a terrible human being, but over breakfast I choked on my coffee when the better half said "Is this what they mean by the Church Militant?"…

Hadyn Green

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:44:48 +1300

Dennis Plant is a stupid right-wing bigot whose talents exist in direct inverse proportion to his ego. OK, you've got a type — so what?

Well it's still early in the season. You can't break type every episode.

It sounds like the perfect premise for political satire (note I have…

Sacha

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:38:28 +1300

Jose, sorry to mischaracterise your position by association. Craig, I agree political satire is very hard to do, and I respect anyone who tries. Just wish this were more.. well.. funny.

Craig Ranapia

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:37:01 +1300

Oh, and here's something the writer of The Pretender could learn from Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Some of the best episodes of Yes, Minister were when the central trio broke type and Jim Hacker turned out to be not quite so gormless after all, even on occasion leaving Sir…

Craig Ranapia

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:24:49 +1300

I agree with Jose and Craig – mildly interesting but sure aint funny.

And to be fair, political satire is damn hard to do well. I've been watching The Games on TVNZ6, and Yes, (Prime) Minister is still the gold standard. You can enjoy both shows without knowing a damn…

Jose Barbosa

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:05:36 +1300

I think it's more than mildly interesting. It's just that the wheeling and dealing part of it, particularly in the second episode, is much better than the attempts at comedy.

Russell Brown

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:04:59 +1300

It mentioned a piece by the Herald's John Drinnan on blogs that said you were on message with Labour and that you'd probably get offered a place on the Labour list for next election

It was Drinnan filling space in particularly witless way.

The phrase "on message" has implications to…

Sacha

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:59:03 +1300

I agree with Jose and Craig – mildly interesting but sure aint funny.

Craig Ranapia

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:17:35 +1300

Now I see that the Pretender is full of Quaxing, I understand it's late night slot.

I'm sorry to be in the minority on this (because I'm gagging for a good political satire), but The Pretender is... meh.

I've nothing against a good seasoning of vulgar Anglo-Saxon (otherwise I wouldn't…

Craig Ranapia

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:10:31 +1300

It mentioned a piece by the Herald's John Drinnan on blogs that said you were on message with Labour and that you'd probably get offered a place on the Labour list for next election

*sigh* And hasn't Drinnan also said more than once that David Farrar is a National Party…

Jose Barbosa

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:34:25 +1300

I liked all the political entanglements and counter dealing in The Pretender, all that was quite gripping and really well done.

But I can't say I found it funny. I laughed twice while watching the two episodes and both of those occurred while Joel Tolbeck was on screen.

Russell Brown

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 18:18:57 +1300

i assume you mean Simian Mobile Disco?

Er, yeah. I think I was channelling LCD Soundsystem from last year when I typed that ...

But, apart from that, what you say sounds most encouraging.

Bevan Shortridge

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 17:27:10 +1300

Speaking of made up MPs (the Pretender), dunno if you caught Sunday's Mediawatch, Russell, but you were namechecked a couple of times in that regard. It mentioned a piece by the Herald's John Drinnan on blogs that said you were on message with Labour and that you'd probably get offered…

stephen walker

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 16:11:22 +1300

Simian Mobile Sound System

i assume you mean Simian Mobile Disco?

if so, these people (???) followed Underworld at an all-night gig in Tokyo (well, Makuhari) last November.

(Oblivion Ball: Underworld, The Orb, Simian Mobile Disco, 120 Days, Andrew Weatherall)

all i can say is...be there...in the correct state of…

Peter Darlington

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 15:34:07 +1300

('I'm your doctor/one you need/have some coke/have some weed... I'm your pusherman...')

I miss Curtis, of all the performers in all the stadiums in all the world, why did a lighting rig have to fall on his head?

*glares at Bono*

Hadyn Green

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 15:24:21 +1300

Hadyn, MySky.

When the magic MySky fairies come round and give me MySky for free, that's when I'll use it. (I suppose I could finally build myself that PVR I always keep putting off)

MyyyyyyySkyyyyy...

Though it is a compelling argument...

Now I see that the Pretender is full of…

Danielle

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 15:15:17 +1300

But why is all the good stuff on so late?

Hadyn, MySky. MyyyyyyySkyyyyy...

('I'm your doctor/one you need/have some coke/have some weed... I'm your pusherman...')

Rachel Prosser

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 15:06:51 +1300

oooh, all those asterisks made the formatting look interesting. Not intended on my part

Rachel Prosser

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 15:05:43 +1300

I listened in to the Pretender while doing some work. But the other two people in the room, who were watching it decided to channel hop after being distracted and irritated by the inordinate amount of Quaxing (if I use that term correctly).

In other words: no fg sentence was…

Hadyn Green

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 11:09:23 +1300

the new series of The Pretender is tremendous.

But why is all the good stuff on so late? I know I can internet it later but still...

Gareth Ward

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 10:28:25 +1300

And are MGMT and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. yet to come?

They can't. I'm out the country on Jan 19th so THEY JUST CAN'T OK!!!

barnaclebarnes

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 10:26:15 +1300

And And All Tomorrow's Parties is coming to Australia. Would be nice to catch that.

Public Address

Tue, 30 Sept 2008 10:26:15 +1300

Discussion from blog post.