The music of Eurovision has long been criticised but the very basis on which much of the voting in the contest took place last week really had plunged the whole event to new depths. At least the camp and kitsch, pop and pap elements of it could be enjoyed. Now however the fragmentation of Eastern Europe and their membership to the EBU combined with the equal vote that each country receives has potentially skewed the voting. A certain amount of voting for neighbours is expected, but when each of Serbia's tiny neighbours awards its song 12 points in what's being called 'bloc voting' any hope that songs win on merit are thrown out the window.
I can't say I care that the UK faired so badly, but the top-of-the-blocs entries dominating the scoring largely didn't deserve to be there. Ukraine had a fair shot with its ultra-kitsch and glam offer but otherwise many of the songs that received so many points were largely forgettable. For what it's worth I did vote for an Eastern European country - Slovenia, with their sensational operatic singer - although it seems the Slovenians aren't quite moving in the right circles to garner the sort of support expressed towards Russia and others.
No, I'm afraid the Eurovision, for whatever it might have been worth has become a shell of the contest it once was. Let the best song win, whoever that may be, but when that most basic of requirements - that of merit - is so blatantly ditched in favour of neighbourly political bias it's time to call it a day.
Related articles:
MP demands Eurovision vote change (BBCi)
Tactical voting the low note as Serbia wins Eurovision contest (the Australian)
Sozialistische Nachbarschaftshilfe (Die Zeit)
On Eurovision Night, everybody needs good neighbours (The Times)
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
20070513
20070502
Cheese - junk food?
The government has classified cheese as junk food in relation to their campaign on childhood obesity and the restrictions that will be placed on advertising to children.
Yes, cheese is composed of a high percentage of fat, but cheese is a fine natural product in which a great amount of time, effort skill and indeed art is applied. Junk food indeed! Ofcom have shown themselves up as being culinary heathens on this issue. Cheese *can* be fattening of course, but it doesn't make it junk. To even put it on the same level as the likes of MacDonalds whose food is designed to contain all that is bad in order to create addiction seems quite incredibly really. Cheese is tasty and perhaps somewhat addictive through being a fine, natural product and long may it continue to satisfy us.
Jaffa Cakes and Marmite is also being classified as junk food. On these I hold less of an issue. Jaffa Cakes, well as the name implies are a manner of cake. Indeed it was once proven to authorities that they are cakes and not chocolate biscuits in order to avoid VAT I believe. Fair do's really. Marmite, well I have forever failed in seeing what is in the slightest bit attractive of this foul substance. Thus I have no qualms in limiting its advertising coverage!
Yes, cheese is composed of a high percentage of fat, but cheese is a fine natural product in which a great amount of time, effort skill and indeed art is applied. Junk food indeed! Ofcom have shown themselves up as being culinary heathens on this issue. Cheese *can* be fattening of course, but it doesn't make it junk. To even put it on the same level as the likes of MacDonalds whose food is designed to contain all that is bad in order to create addiction seems quite incredibly really. Cheese is tasty and perhaps somewhat addictive through being a fine, natural product and long may it continue to satisfy us.
Jaffa Cakes and Marmite is also being classified as junk food. On these I hold less of an issue. Jaffa Cakes, well as the name implies are a manner of cake. Indeed it was once proven to authorities that they are cakes and not chocolate biscuits in order to avoid VAT I believe. Fair do's really. Marmite, well I have forever failed in seeing what is in the slightest bit attractive of this foul substance. Thus I have no qualms in limiting its advertising coverage!
20070422
First big test for new news channels
Today's Presidential Election in France is the first big test for the new kids of the media block, namely France24 and Aljazeera. Both are planning considerable coverage for tonight's results and it'll provide a good benchmark for judging these new channels in comparison to the established outlets of BBC's News24, Sky News and CNN.
It is of course a chance for France24 to shine in particular as it's a major domestic event of which to provide in-depth coverage. The elections have already been receiving some considerable airtime as you'd expect, particularly on the discussion programmes, although we're often not too keen on these as the volume differentiation between the speaker and the translator is often insufficient and doesn't make for pleasant listening. We'll see how it pans out this evening.
Aljazeera in contrast focuses its news coverage on Asia and Africa but does have ample resources at its disposal, so it'll prove interesting to see what level of coverage and guests they're able to produce.
The more established outlets shouldn't be ignored either, as we'll see if they up the ante on their own election coverage to compete in particular with France24 which will be assumed to provide the most comprehensive of coverage, albeit with less experience than the competition.
The coverage is beginning now - 6pm UK Time - so tune in!
It is of course a chance for France24 to shine in particular as it's a major domestic event of which to provide in-depth coverage. The elections have already been receiving some considerable airtime as you'd expect, particularly on the discussion programmes, although we're often not too keen on these as the volume differentiation between the speaker and the translator is often insufficient and doesn't make for pleasant listening. We'll see how it pans out this evening.
Aljazeera in contrast focuses its news coverage on Asia and Africa but does have ample resources at its disposal, so it'll prove interesting to see what level of coverage and guests they're able to produce.
The more established outlets shouldn't be ignored either, as we'll see if they up the ante on their own election coverage to compete in particular with France24 which will be assumed to provide the most comprehensive of coverage, albeit with less experience than the competition.The coverage is beginning now - 6pm UK Time - so tune in!
20070330
Love in the time of Cylons
The series 3 finale of Battlestar Galactica aired in the US on Sunday. Although Sky is a few weeks behind in its episodes the wonders of the internet mean that within hours of each US episode airing it is available to fans around the world.
The story has progressed gradually over the three series. I caught some of the early episodes but thought it would be rather slow going, combined with the fact I did readily have access to them. However I've rejoined the story at the beginning of series 3 and have become completely hooked, to the extent that I've gone back to the first two series and am watching them through, as most add something to the overall plot arc.
Sci-fi is a funny thing. At the time of watching the various series on TV - in my case Star Trek: The Next Generation or Babylon 5 I've been rather hooked to them, but watching old episodes now doesn't do anything for me at all. Star Trek in particular seems terribly episodic and Utopian, where a minor modification to the sensor array or conduit can accomplish anything. In comparison BSG is dark and covers some deep areas such as religious beliefs, which the Guardian newspaper has likened to the two sides in the ongoing war on terror. The audience is kept in the dark almost as much as the crew on board BSG. The Cylons have a plan, but what is it? A little is discovered as the episodes progress but often more new questions are posed than are answered. Even with our insight into a Cylon Basestar, much still remains unclear and unanswered. There's no clear plot exposition going on here, and it keeps you clamouring for more in each episode.
The season 3 finale has proven to be a particular high point. The fleet seem on the point of discovering Earth but all manner of calamities take place leaving us with some major cliffhangers and loose ends in desperate need of explanation in series 4, due in early 2008.
------------Spoilers follow with regard to end of the series 3--------------
The fact that several crew members including the XO are hearing all along the watchtower is particularly confusing. Are they really Cylons as the Chief assumes, or could the ship be receiving radio signals from Earth which they are particularly in tune to? In any case it doesn't explain why they were all drawn to the same part of the ship at the same moment - although this did coincide with the jump and the power outage. The power outage is similarly unexplained and seems unlikely to be a piece of Cylon work (why haven't they used it already), although what else could it be? We know there are only 12 models of Cylons and it seems difficult to believe the four present could be four of the final five models.
The identity of the fifth, or possibly fourth and fifth, or is that first and second of the final five is also up for debate. The President is sharing dreams with the two other Cylons on board. Coincidence, or evidence she is a Cylon? And most monumental of all was the return of Starbuck at the end of the episode. She's back, in what seems to be a brand new MKII Viper and she claims to have been to Earth and will show the fleet the way. How is this possible when we saw her Viper destroyed by the gravity of a planet? One possibility is that she is one of the final five Cylons, or that she's residing in the subconscious of Lee Adama in a similar way to that of Number Six and Baltar. Or perhaps her role was greater all along, although this doesn't explain her return from the presumed dead. Was there really a Cylon Raider that she was pursuing? Did she eject and somehow was picked up? And perhaps most crucially of all will Starbuck play a role in preventing the fleet from being destroyed by four Cylon Basestars just a few clicks away?
Always more questions than answers, but it's turning out to be a superb series and on a completely different level to that of the original from the late 70s/early 80s. The new BSG is superior in every way.
The story has progressed gradually over the three series. I caught some of the early episodes but thought it would be rather slow going, combined with the fact I did readily have access to them. However I've rejoined the story at the beginning of series 3 and have become completely hooked, to the extent that I've gone back to the first two series and am watching them through, as most add something to the overall plot arc.
Sci-fi is a funny thing. At the time of watching the various series on TV - in my case Star Trek: The Next Generation or Babylon 5 I've been rather hooked to them, but watching old episodes now doesn't do anything for me at all. Star Trek in particular seems terribly episodic and Utopian, where a minor modification to the sensor array or conduit can accomplish anything. In comparison BSG is dark and covers some deep areas such as religious beliefs, which the Guardian newspaper has likened to the two sides in the ongoing war on terror. The audience is kept in the dark almost as much as the crew on board BSG. The Cylons have a plan, but what is it? A little is discovered as the episodes progress but often more new questions are posed than are answered. Even with our insight into a Cylon Basestar, much still remains unclear and unanswered. There's no clear plot exposition going on here, and it keeps you clamouring for more in each episode.
The season 3 finale has proven to be a particular high point. The fleet seem on the point of discovering Earth but all manner of calamities take place leaving us with some major cliffhangers and loose ends in desperate need of explanation in series 4, due in early 2008.
------------Spoilers follow with regard to end of the series 3--------------
The fact that several crew members including the XO are hearing all along the watchtower is particularly confusing. Are they really Cylons as the Chief assumes, or could the ship be receiving radio signals from Earth which they are particularly in tune to? In any case it doesn't explain why they were all drawn to the same part of the ship at the same moment - although this did coincide with the jump and the power outage. The power outage is similarly unexplained and seems unlikely to be a piece of Cylon work (why haven't they used it already), although what else could it be? We know there are only 12 models of Cylons and it seems difficult to believe the four present could be four of the final five models.
The identity of the fifth, or possibly fourth and fifth, or is that first and second of the final five is also up for debate. The President is sharing dreams with the two other Cylons on board. Coincidence, or evidence she is a Cylon? And most monumental of all was the return of Starbuck at the end of the episode. She's back, in what seems to be a brand new MKII Viper and she claims to have been to Earth and will show the fleet the way. How is this possible when we saw her Viper destroyed by the gravity of a planet? One possibility is that she is one of the final five Cylons, or that she's residing in the subconscious of Lee Adama in a similar way to that of Number Six and Baltar. Or perhaps her role was greater all along, although this doesn't explain her return from the presumed dead. Was there really a Cylon Raider that she was pursuing? Did she eject and somehow was picked up? And perhaps most crucially of all will Starbuck play a role in preventing the fleet from being destroyed by four Cylon Basestars just a few clicks away?
Always more questions than answers, but it's turning out to be a superb series and on a completely different level to that of the original from the late 70s/early 80s. The new BSG is superior in every way.
20070203
Superbowl Sunday is almost here
Well it's the first time since Channel 4 lost NFL in '98 that we've been able to get NFL regularly at home. Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday. Given that it was the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl in '86 it seems quite fitting that they're in the end game this year.
It took me a while to track down this old Channel 4 NFL ident. I'm sure TV Ark used to have a clip of it but since their archive is being worked on it's thanks to the TV Room for this still.
It took me a while to track down this old Channel 4 NFL ident. I'm sure TV Ark used to have a clip of it but since their archive is being worked on it's thanks to the TV Room for this still.20070118
Who cares ... you decide
Celebrity Big Brother has been in the media today for what it has to be said somewhat different reasons than normal, but at the end of the day it's all the same sort of celebrity orientated nonsense we could likely do without.
Is this all an issue? As a society we suffer from a huge grey area in free speech where we're on uncertain ground as to what is acceptable or not. What is a joke to one person becomes the gravest offence to another. It strikes me that what was said, I am admit I've only caught snippets through the news along the lines of the lady targeted having dirty hands, is borne through stereotypes. Guide books will warn you about personal hygiene in a great many countries; does this make them racist? More likely what is happening in the CBB house boils down to little more than back stabbing and bitchiness, drawing as it often does on the crudest of sources for ammunition.
My gut instinct is to leave it be. For one thing Jade and her kin are the type of ignorant loud-mouthed scumbags that are best ignored. They're incapable of furthering themselves through any intelligent means so I feel aggrieved that a moment's airtime on the news should be taken up with what they spout out. Or the other hand if it does go as far as the police we can but hope that it will lead to the removal of Jade from the media spotlight through a destruction of reputation. It would hardly be character assassination; after all what could you say to put such people down that is any worth than what they bring upon themselves through their own words and actions.
Either way we should be rid of it. I despise the cult of celebrity and the likes of Jade who is in the spotlight as no result of any iota of talent, achievement or indeed any positive aspect at all should be despised the most. However I shall be practising what I preach and not going anywhere near Channel 4 this evening. Ironically I have just renewed my contract with Carphone Warehouse who today pulled their sponsorship of CBB with immediate effect. I would like to claim the two events were linked but alas I can only endorse the action; not that it is necessarily against racism but against this generation of baseless fame that so craves media attention in the house. Let them be starved of this very attention. However quiet a news day it is there must surely be events in the world many times more deserving of coverage. But that rant will be saved for another day.
Is this all an issue? As a society we suffer from a huge grey area in free speech where we're on uncertain ground as to what is acceptable or not. What is a joke to one person becomes the gravest offence to another. It strikes me that what was said, I am admit I've only caught snippets through the news along the lines of the lady targeted having dirty hands, is borne through stereotypes. Guide books will warn you about personal hygiene in a great many countries; does this make them racist? More likely what is happening in the CBB house boils down to little more than back stabbing and bitchiness, drawing as it often does on the crudest of sources for ammunition.
My gut instinct is to leave it be. For one thing Jade and her kin are the type of ignorant loud-mouthed scumbags that are best ignored. They're incapable of furthering themselves through any intelligent means so I feel aggrieved that a moment's airtime on the news should be taken up with what they spout out. Or the other hand if it does go as far as the police we can but hope that it will lead to the removal of Jade from the media spotlight through a destruction of reputation. It would hardly be character assassination; after all what could you say to put such people down that is any worth than what they bring upon themselves through their own words and actions.
Either way we should be rid of it. I despise the cult of celebrity and the likes of Jade who is in the spotlight as no result of any iota of talent, achievement or indeed any positive aspect at all should be despised the most. However I shall be practising what I preach and not going anywhere near Channel 4 this evening. Ironically I have just renewed my contract with Carphone Warehouse who today pulled their sponsorship of CBB with immediate effect. I would like to claim the two events were linked but alas I can only endorse the action; not that it is necessarily against racism but against this generation of baseless fame that so craves media attention in the house. Let them be starved of this very attention. However quiet a news day it is there must surely be events in the world many times more deserving of coverage. But that rant will be saved for another day.
20061228
Auntie's questionable geography
Tragic news strikes us from Morecambe Bay again with the gas-rig bound helicopter ditching in the sea with we assume the loss on all on board. Television news reports are oddly timed at this time of year but the one I caught on the Beeb featured a particularly slap-dash looking map which would have been hilarious if it wasn't for the circumstances. Morecambe Bay was placed vaguely off the coast of Whitehaven and later migrating into the Solway Firth while Liverpool was now in Lancaster and poor Barrow was up around Stanraer. The BBC has plans to move some of their operations up North to Manchester. By the looks of things it's not a moment too soon.
20061225
The good Doctor
Another Christmas Day passes into memory. The pessimistic could say it's another Christmas over but at the very least Boxing Day should be counted as part of the season melee, and really anything within the reach of the Christmas Radio Times is fair game in my opinion.
During the past few days I've been trying to catch up with the Dr Who episodes I missed in order to be fully prepared for the Christmas special. As it turned out I didn't have time to watch the 2-part series finale prior to the special but there were fortunately so few references to what had passed in the previous episodes that my enjoyment was unspoiled.
Although the Christmas special was fine, I must say I'm no fan of Catherine Tate. I watched one or two shows from her own comedy series and I found it to lack staying power. Good comedy sketch shows will be creative and entertaining enough to allow the audience to enjoy the series in its entirely. The likes of Little Britain, although extreme and abrasive in parts accomplishes this with most people. The Catherine Tate show endured one viewing with some amusement but come the next episode and the characters, catch-phrases and jokes were already tired and I found myself channel hopping before the end.
The loud, annoying and very southern character that forms the basis for many of Tate's own characters and indeed her role in the Dr Who Christmas Special similarly could be endured - just - for a single episode. When the Doctor asked Tate's character if she'd like to join him on his interstellar travels I was shouting at the TV "oh for Christ sake, no!" Thank goodness for the sake of series three that she declined; undoubtedly the most appreciated moment of her appearance during this Christmas special.
Compared to the season two finale however, the Christmas special pales into mediocrity. The plot didn't feel particularly soundly thought through and the arch-enemy of the episode was similarly rather lack-lustre and something of a stereotype of poorer quality sci-fi than the current incarnation of Dr Who represents. The climax to season two in contrast was intense, filled with excitement and emotion throughout. It was the archetypal season end and it really went out with a bang, not least as it wrote out Billie Piper's character who has become an integral feature of the first two series. It'll be a hard act to follow for her replacement, of whom we saw a few glimpses at the end of the Christmas special.
Dr Who does seem to be on a roll now, however, and it seems difficult to imagine that the next series won't be just as big a hit as the last. The momentum is going; let's just hope that whatever characters emerge in the next series can hang around longer than has been the case so far. Ecclestone was a disgrace leaving after just the one series and as far as the Doctor's sidekicks have gone in the past I suspect two series for Piper isn't too respectable either. It's by no means just Dr Who that has been suffering from the BBC's inability to stick on to leading actors; Spooks lost more or less all its main character over the course of a season or so. I do wonder if this is purely a issue of remuneration as in the US stars are given massive contracts to stick with series for years and years. X-files more or less managed to keep its dynamic duo for the duration of its very considerable run whereas we've long since reached the point in Friends where we're wishing intently that the Daleks would cross the dimensions and see off the tired old characters with their equally weary comedic style. Personally I stopped laughing in series four, back when the Universe was young.
Thinking about the Daleks; it appears that they'll be making a showing one again next series. Considering they've been exterminated twice if not three times in the most accurate sense of that word they seem to have an amazing ability to make a comeback. If the Doctor was so certain of their destruction and it transpires there's still millions knocking around in miniature prisons, is he really so certain that he's the last Time Lord? There's probably a heap of them knocking around somewhere, keeping out of harms way or stuck because they've crash landed their Tardises and some thieving local has made off with their sonic screwdriver. It could all happen and while the plots aren't always explained in great depth there's something to be said about the considerable degree of uncertainty that surrounds the events of each episode. Far more enjoyable than the instantly scanable quantum singularities of Star Trek and its ilk. Dr Who is a series of the people; light on the physics, or at least characters willing to listen to the Doctor explain it, but lashings of broad appeal. I for one will not be grumbling about the licence fee for the foreseeable future.
During the past few days I've been trying to catch up with the Dr Who episodes I missed in order to be fully prepared for the Christmas special. As it turned out I didn't have time to watch the 2-part series finale prior to the special but there were fortunately so few references to what had passed in the previous episodes that my enjoyment was unspoiled.
Although the Christmas special was fine, I must say I'm no fan of Catherine Tate. I watched one or two shows from her own comedy series and I found it to lack staying power. Good comedy sketch shows will be creative and entertaining enough to allow the audience to enjoy the series in its entirely. The likes of Little Britain, although extreme and abrasive in parts accomplishes this with most people. The Catherine Tate show endured one viewing with some amusement but come the next episode and the characters, catch-phrases and jokes were already tired and I found myself channel hopping before the end.
The loud, annoying and very southern character that forms the basis for many of Tate's own characters and indeed her role in the Dr Who Christmas Special similarly could be endured - just - for a single episode. When the Doctor asked Tate's character if she'd like to join him on his interstellar travels I was shouting at the TV "oh for Christ sake, no!" Thank goodness for the sake of series three that she declined; undoubtedly the most appreciated moment of her appearance during this Christmas special.
Compared to the season two finale however, the Christmas special pales into mediocrity. The plot didn't feel particularly soundly thought through and the arch-enemy of the episode was similarly rather lack-lustre and something of a stereotype of poorer quality sci-fi than the current incarnation of Dr Who represents. The climax to season two in contrast was intense, filled with excitement and emotion throughout. It was the archetypal season end and it really went out with a bang, not least as it wrote out Billie Piper's character who has become an integral feature of the first two series. It'll be a hard act to follow for her replacement, of whom we saw a few glimpses at the end of the Christmas special.
Dr Who does seem to be on a roll now, however, and it seems difficult to imagine that the next series won't be just as big a hit as the last. The momentum is going; let's just hope that whatever characters emerge in the next series can hang around longer than has been the case so far. Ecclestone was a disgrace leaving after just the one series and as far as the Doctor's sidekicks have gone in the past I suspect two series for Piper isn't too respectable either. It's by no means just Dr Who that has been suffering from the BBC's inability to stick on to leading actors; Spooks lost more or less all its main character over the course of a season or so. I do wonder if this is purely a issue of remuneration as in the US stars are given massive contracts to stick with series for years and years. X-files more or less managed to keep its dynamic duo for the duration of its very considerable run whereas we've long since reached the point in Friends where we're wishing intently that the Daleks would cross the dimensions and see off the tired old characters with their equally weary comedic style. Personally I stopped laughing in series four, back when the Universe was young.
Thinking about the Daleks; it appears that they'll be making a showing one again next series. Considering they've been exterminated twice if not three times in the most accurate sense of that word they seem to have an amazing ability to make a comeback. If the Doctor was so certain of their destruction and it transpires there's still millions knocking around in miniature prisons, is he really so certain that he's the last Time Lord? There's probably a heap of them knocking around somewhere, keeping out of harms way or stuck because they've crash landed their Tardises and some thieving local has made off with their sonic screwdriver. It could all happen and while the plots aren't always explained in great depth there's something to be said about the considerable degree of uncertainty that surrounds the events of each episode. Far more enjoyable than the instantly scanable quantum singularities of Star Trek and its ilk. Dr Who is a series of the people; light on the physics, or at least characters willing to listen to the Doctor explain it, but lashings of broad appeal. I for one will not be grumbling about the licence fee for the foreseeable future.
20061213
The north wind shall blow and we shall have snow
...because once again the local TV transmitter has gone belly up by today's wind and rain. It's not atypical weather for this part of the world but every year without fail our televisions will be reduced to snow and white noise, normally just in time to interrupt festive television. It rubs salt in to the wound that in addition to having only 4 channels which are grainy at the best of times we seem to be subject to the whims of least reliable transmitter in the country. It fits rather nicely with the previous post though. I wonder if after Monday we'll even notice the fluctuations of bog standard terrestrial analogue.
Digital living in a rural land
It wasn't so long ago that all this talk of going digital was wholly ignored around here, being something limited to the high-density living rat-racers in the cities. Internet was dial-up and there was no expectation of receiving digital radio or TV within the foreseeable future, if at all. Times are changing, although the move to digital is often thwarted by the geography of the area. Internet is now broadband and digital television is available from one of the local transmitters although it's available very patchily. Similarly digital radio is available from certain locations but in most cases it's having make it over some distance to reach here, meaning that signal levels normally hover around the threshold level for usability. We've long since tolerated a rather ropey analogue signal but for not much longer. There remains little or no possibility of receiving Freeview for now and even when it commences from our local transmitter in a year or two the signal may still not be up to scratch. This has left us with no option but to look up to the Sky, or to SKY, to be more precise.
I'm pleased to have finally convinced my parents to go down the good-picture-quality, multi-channel route, as for long enough they've been picking through the best of what the four terrestrial channels have to offer (no channel 5 of course), which is often somewhat limited. Even free to air satellite will help. I'm a big fan of BBC 4 as a source of decent programming many evenings and when I had Freeview in London last year even the likes of Sky Travel would occasionally bestow should gems upon us: an old Whicker's World or Ewan McGregor's 'Long Way Round' series.
The situation is even better than that though. The free to air price is some £150 which covers the equipment, installation and FTA decoder card. However for the time being Sky are also offering the same plus 2 mixes (a mix is a collection of their subscription channels such as entertainment, documentaries etc.) for only £120, which comprises a £10 monthly subscription charge with gratis installation and equipment. This means that for a year at least we'll also be able to enjoy the likes of Sky One, UK Gold and for my father more documentaries than it would ever be possible to digest. Most important though is the fact that for the first time ever at this house, that's a good 10 years or so, we'll actually have a good television picture. Is this going digital so much as catching up to what most people have had for many years? Rural life indeed.
I'm pleased to have finally convinced my parents to go down the good-picture-quality, multi-channel route, as for long enough they've been picking through the best of what the four terrestrial channels have to offer (no channel 5 of course), which is often somewhat limited. Even free to air satellite will help. I'm a big fan of BBC 4 as a source of decent programming many evenings and when I had Freeview in London last year even the likes of Sky Travel would occasionally bestow should gems upon us: an old Whicker's World or Ewan McGregor's 'Long Way Round' series.
The situation is even better than that though. The free to air price is some £150 which covers the equipment, installation and FTA decoder card. However for the time being Sky are also offering the same plus 2 mixes (a mix is a collection of their subscription channels such as entertainment, documentaries etc.) for only £120, which comprises a £10 monthly subscription charge with gratis installation and equipment. This means that for a year at least we'll also be able to enjoy the likes of Sky One, UK Gold and for my father more documentaries than it would ever be possible to digest. Most important though is the fact that for the first time ever at this house, that's a good 10 years or so, we'll actually have a good television picture. Is this going digital so much as catching up to what most people have had for many years? Rural life indeed.
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