Author Topic: The Olympics-on-telly thread  (Read 12678 times)

Rob S

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #50 on: 10 August, 2008, 11:07:43 am »
Oh bum...we've lost a bronze in the archery contest to the French of all people!! >:(

Valiant

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Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #51 on: 10 August, 2008, 06:08:57 pm »
Sharon Davies = Bobfoc
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Tiger

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #52 on: 11 August, 2008, 02:20:16 pm »
Sharon Davies = Bobfoc

What is that then? Does it stand for Botoxed Or Badly Facelifted Original Crumpet?

Valiant

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Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #53 on: 11 August, 2008, 02:23:58 pm »
Body off baywatch, face off crimewatch.
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Charlotte

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Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #54 on: 11 August, 2008, 02:33:09 pm »
Not as scary as Fatima Whitbread

Imagine her getting you in headlock

*little moment*
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Wascally Weasel

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Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #55 on: 11 August, 2008, 02:42:59 pm »
Oh bum...we've lost a bronze in the archery contest to the French of all people!! >:(

Worst result since the all-comers England final in 1066....

/cloak

microphonie

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Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #56 on: 11 August, 2008, 06:27:24 pm »
Oh bum...we've lost a bronze in the archery contest to the French of all people!! >:(

Worst result since the all-comers England final in 1066....

/cloak

The stadium announcer made some reference to Agincourt just before the start of the contest too...
Bingo! That's what I am, a saviour.
A sort of cocky version of Jesus.

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #57 on: 11 August, 2008, 06:39:26 pm »
Oh bum...we've lost a bronze in the archery contest to the French of all people!! >:(

Worst result since the all-comers England final in 1066....

/cloak

The stadium announcer made some reference to Agincourt just before the start of the contest too...

Tactful ::-)

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #58 on: 12 August, 2008, 03:23:43 pm »
Oh bum...we've lost a bronze in the archery contest to the French of all people!! >:(

Worst result since the all-comers England final in 1066....

/cloak

The stadium announcer made some reference to Agincourt just before the start of the contest too...

Who's showing off their fingers now then, eh?!  :P
Frenchie - Train à Grande Vitesse

Chris S

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #59 on: 12 August, 2008, 03:25:45 pm »
Appearances are everything it would seem:

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | China Olympic ceremony star mimed

Wouldn't want the country to look bad on TV would we?  ::-)

Kathy

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #60 on: 12 August, 2008, 03:29:12 pm »
Appearances are everything it would seem:

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | China Olympic ceremony star mimed

Wouldn't want the country to look bad on TV would we?  ::-)

Y'know, next thing we'll find out is that some of those performers weren't really flying, but had wires attached! ::-)

It's a performance. What does it matter if they got a pretty girl to lip-synch to an ugly singer?

Chris S

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #61 on: 12 August, 2008, 03:33:42 pm »
Appearances are everything it would seem:

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | China Olympic ceremony star mimed

Wouldn't want the country to look bad on TV would we?  ::-)

Y'know, next thing we'll find out is that some of those performers weren't really flying, but had wires attached! ::-)

It's a performance. What does it matter if they got a pretty girl to lip-synch to an ugly singer?

Because of the stated reasons:

"The reason for this is that we must put our country's interest first," he added.

"The girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expression and the great feeling she can give to people."



Typical communism. Some people are more equal than others apparently.

Julian

  • samoture
Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #62 on: 12 August, 2008, 03:37:11 pm »
That sounds pretty harsh, but do you think we might have lost something in translation?  Chinese idiom doesn't always translate effectively into English...

Kathy

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #63 on: 12 August, 2008, 03:50:28 pm »
I don't think it is harsh though. The opening ceremony was all about appearance - the girls carrying the signs with country's names on weren't chosen just because they could carry a placard, but because they could do so whilst looking beautiful and with a smile on their face. Similarly all the cheerleaders conformed to a modern ideal of "beauty". There may well have been people out there who could have done the dancing/cheering routines better but were ugly as sin and fat to boot, but we're not complaining about China not letting them perform, are we?

It's entertainment. It's not real. Julia Robert's head was superimposed onto a model's body for the posters for Pretty Woman. Patricia Quinn lip-synched to Richard O' Brian's voice for Science Fiction Double Feature. Big name stars use body doubles for close-ups to their hands and feet because the big-name-stars' extremities don't hold up under scrutiny.

Typical communism. Some people are more equal than others apparently.

Y'know, the first time I read this, I thought you'd said "typical consumerism," and I agreed wholeheartedly, because that's what it's all about. Consumerism. Selling an image. It's nothing to do with communism - we do it just as much in the west too.

One child had the perfect voice, and one had the perfect face, so what's unethical with combining the two to make the perfect performance?

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #64 on: 12 August, 2008, 03:59:42 pm »
If it truly was as bad as they thought it was in China, then the state wouldn't allow information like that to get out. Instead the producers are telling everyone how they did it, what parts are CGI and what parts are mimed etc, and the designer of the stadium is constantly blogging about how bad the olympics are etc.

It's a different culture, dubbing is something standard in Chinese TV/entertainment, there are so many dialects and regional differences, loads of people get dubbed, and no one cares. You never hear the voices of a lot of actors/actresses.

Audrey Hepburn didn't sing in My Fair Lady...

Chris S

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #65 on: 12 August, 2008, 04:04:04 pm »
I guess it just didn't seem very genuine. Perhaps I'm being naive  ::-).

Tell you what - why don't we let all the competitors take performance enhancing drugs so that they can be something they're not too?

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #66 on: 12 August, 2008, 04:13:36 pm »
If they had a strict rule regarding only pretty people being allowed to appear, they really fouled up on Sarah Brightman.

Did it really make any difference to anyone whether or not the little girl sang? Instead it's now being taken as another example of the evils of the Chinese state.


clarion

  • Tyke
Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #67 on: 12 August, 2008, 05:10:50 pm »
Oh man, I bet someone'll tell me Natalie Wood mimed all the songs in West Side Story! ::-)
Getting there...

Rob S

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #68 on: 12 August, 2008, 06:37:42 pm »
I wasn't surprised the girl was miming as she didn't appear to be using a microphone in her hand or on her dress...but I did think it was at least her own voice she was miming to.

I was initially quite impressed with the way the fireworks were exploding just infront of the plane or helicopter as it flew towards the stadium....then I twigged they were footprint shaped....then I noticed that once they'd reached their peak in the sky they seemed to freeze in the air at which point I didn't know whether this was a BBC graphic introduction to the Games or part of the opening ceremony.

Still it now solves the problem we had trying to do anything like as good a job of the ceremony in 2012....why spend thousands or millions on LEDS and wiring to make a shimmering Lisa Simpson give head whilst floating 100ft above the audience  when you can simply CGI the whole thing...and instead of bussing in loads of volunteers to make the venues look busy just CGI them too for "convenience and theatrical effects".

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #69 on: 12 August, 2008, 09:10:53 pm »
it's not the telly but some great photos of george W on the guardian 

Jezza

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #70 on: 13 August, 2008, 08:30:10 am »
I don't think it is harsh though. The opening ceremony was all about appearance - the girls carrying the signs with country's names on weren't chosen just because they could carry a placard, but because they could do so whilst looking beautiful and with a smile on their face. Similarly all the cheerleaders conformed to a modern ideal of "beauty". There may well have been people out there who could have done the dancing/cheering routines better but were ugly as sin and fat to boot, but we're not complaining about China not letting them perform, are we?

It's entertainment. It's not real. Julia Robert's head was superimposed onto a model's body for the posters for Pretty Woman. Patricia Quinn lip-synched to Richard O' Brian's voice for Science Fiction Double Feature. Big name stars use body doubles for close-ups to their hands and feet because the big-name-stars' extremities don't hold up under scrutiny.

Typical communism. Some people are more equal than others apparently.

Y'know, the first time I read this, I thought you'd said "typical consumerism," and I agreed wholeheartedly, because that's what it's all about. Consumerism. Selling an image. It's nothing to do with communism - we do it just as much in the west too.

One child had the perfect voice, and one had the perfect face, so what's unethical with combining the two to make the perfect performance?


Quote from: geraldc
Did it really make any difference to anyone whether or not the little girl sang? Instead it's now being taken as another example of the evils of the Chinese state.

I agree 100%.

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #71 on: 13 August, 2008, 08:49:57 am »
it's not the telly but some great photos of george W on the guardian 


 ;D
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Wowbagger

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Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #72 on: 13 August, 2008, 08:58:46 am »
it's not the telly but some great photos of george W on the guardian 


 ;D

Very good.

What a shame it was just a camera shooting Bush with Kissinger.
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Chris S

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #73 on: 13 August, 2008, 07:22:39 pm »
I'm rapidly becoming addicted to watching the rowing. We're quite good at it aren't we? I was very distracted from working this morning!

Now then. The swimming. Why are so many World Records tumbling? Are they all on EPO?

I hope that Michael Phelps isn't doing the dope thing - it would be nice to think he's just a genetic aberration that might never be repeated.

Re: The Olympics-on-telly thread
« Reply #74 on: 13 August, 2008, 07:32:29 pm »
Now then. The swimming. Why are so many World Records tumbling?

There's a piece by Sarah Hardcastle on the Beeb's site that offers a a few suggestions:

BBC SPORT | Olympics 2008 blog

In summary, it's a combination of swimwear tech, the design of the pool at the Water cube, and how swimmers aim to peak at maybe just one specific event in a given year.

"He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Freidrich Neitzsche