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New Quiz shows - UK vs. US
Recently my wife and I have been watching the bits of UK television that don't make it to either PBS or BBC America -- quiz shows or as we call them 'game shows'.

Two in particular:

QI - hosted by Stephen Fry, this features celebrity guests answering incredibly arcane questions which they cannot possibly answer. They are awarded points if their answer is interesting and points are deducted if it's boring.

Mock the Week - Celebrity guests (once again) are quizzed on current events and politics both in the UK and abroad.

Now I realize that there are probably incredibly vile and stupid quiz shows in the UK as well (I believe "Millionaire" and "Weakest Link" are both imports, as well as several of the reality shows) but it struck me how shows like these two would NEVER be adapted to the US market since they assume a high level of knowledge and, to an extent education, on the part of the audience. This is in addition to both of them being screamingly funny.

So my question to the Brits (and Aussies and Kiwis as well) is - Do you really have more smart shows than we do or am I just cherry-picking?

Does the equating of education to social class have anything to do with it?

Tom Sinclair

Kaylee: Wash, tell me I'm pretty.
Wash: Were I unwed, I would take you in a manly fashion.
Kaylee: Because I'm pretty?
Wash: Because you're pretty.
- "Heart of Gold", Firefly
New Yes.
There's a small segment of US telly that's quite good - the fancy-pants drama (Sopranos, etc) but I must say that my experience of US telly is that it's wall-to-wall shit.

I've even gone off Scrubs, because they can't not do that annoying-as-fuck moral lesson crap.

[link|http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0423661/|Green Wing] is much better, anyway.

TBH, if you take The Sopranos and seasons 1 and 2 of the X-Files out of the equation, I can't think of anything that's emanated from the US in the past 10 years that I've really wanted to watch. (I never went for that early naughties sci-fi stuff)


Peter
[link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win]
[link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal]
[link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Home]
Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
[link|http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?pwhysall|A better terminal emulator]
[image|http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h262/pwhysall/Misc/saveus.png|0|Darwinia||]
New "The Simpsons"
New But that "emanated" more than ten years ago.
New Two of the best shows on TV:
Battlestar Galactica and Firefly. Newsday and Time agree as well (on Battlestar, at least).
Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
New I've been bored of Sci-fi since B5, pretty much
And both those shows bombed over here.

I watched an episode or two of Battlestar Galactica. It felt like a fancy-pants soap opera in space.


Peter
[link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win]
[link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal]
[link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Home]
Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
[link|http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?pwhysall|A better terminal emulator]
[image|http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h262/pwhysall/Misc/saveus.png|0|Darwinia||]
New You can't watch it that way.
You have to start with the mini series and watch them in order. They start at point A, and are headed towards point B, and the episodes happen in order between. It's not Star Trek where there's a New Planet every week where Kirk can get laid by interesting green alien women. In fact, the next season is the End. They get where they're going (or whatever), and the show is over.

Any show that devotes half of an entire season to explore exactly the nastiness of the whole "we're in a war, so anything goes including torture and absolute obedience is required" mindset, as a direct response to Abu Ghraib, is worth your time. BG takes a lot of risks with the writing and the plot, and they almost always win. There aren't too many shows out there that present the Bad Guys as Christians and the Good Guys as pagans. It's an exceedingly good mind twist as well -- you don't always know who the good and bad guys are, especially when you think you do. Smart and well-written.

BG isn't just a soap opera in space. It's better drama than you'll see on any other show, plus real physics (fighters are *inertial* and have attitude jets, even -- they don't use their "space wings" to swoop around in tight turns) and sciencey goodness.

Firefly was canceled over here by the numbnuts at Fox. It's the second best show I've ever watched after Battlestar. Granted, the show has very much an American mythos, so it might be something Brits just don't get. However, to me it's smart and funny and excellent characterization doin's.
Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Expand Edited by admin Sept. 19, 2007, 11:18:31 AM EDT
New Burn Notice
on USA. What more could you want...ex-spy, cool guns and Bruce Campbell.
Smile,
Amy
New I think someone's editing history...
I remember that debuting two or three years ago on Australian TV. Yet Wikipedia and IMDB says it only debuted a few months ago? The descriptions are even the same. Wierd. Very wierd.

Wade.


Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
 
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please



-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

· my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] ·

New Re he heallly?
Can you get the DVD of it there yet? Would love to buy it for my son. ;)

Smile,
Amy
New Never looked.
I know I watched it but it wasn't anything wonderful, which probably says more about my taste in TV than the quality of US TV. OTOH, if I'm right, then it may have tanked in the US, too, and the version this year is a re-imaging of the concept.

Yes, I know you're trying to have a lend of me. :-)

Wade.


Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
 
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please



-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

· my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] ·

New Tanked?
Au contraire, mon frere. It is still going as a mini-series. There is one episode left. Seems to be doing rather well, AFAICT. Understand, however, it *is* on cable, so not under the same pressure at network TV.

Also, my son wants to pursue a career in law enforcement. We kinda get into those kind of shows. Ya know, parent/child bonding ;)

As far as quality, it won't win any awards, but it is entertaining and is on the upper-end of intelligent. You can't be stupid and be a spy, n'est-ce pas? :-)
Smile,
Amy
New I meant the mysterious one I saw a few years ago.
Not the one showing now.

Wade.


Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
 
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please



-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

· my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] ·

New What?
I thought you said it was the same thing? I are cornfused.

Oh well. That's what happens when they recycle the titles for shows. :0)
Smile,
Amy
New I don't know!
Like I said - I'm sure there was a 'Burn Notice' airing on Aussie TV _several years ago_ with the same story-premise and the same setting. Yet it doesn't appear in the Usual Places! There's only references to the 07 show.

Wade.


Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
 
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please



-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

· my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] ·

New I misunderstood you
When you said "mysterious", I thought you meant that the show was of the "mystery" variety. You meant that it is mysterious in that you know you saw it, but can't prove it ever aired in Oz.

Sorry...brain disconnect.
Smile,
Amy
New Ignore him
Though most TV that comes from the US is shit, there has been some good stuff since Babylon 5, including sci-fi. This is from someone who refused to watch Star Wars episodes 2 and 3 because episode 1 was a hanging offence. I like the CSI series, the Law and Order series, Battlestar Galactica and Firefly. Never mention Enterprise.
Matthew Greet


Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?
- Mark Renton, Trainspotting.
New House and Rescue Me.
Madmen is pretty good too.
New House usually annoys me.
He's an interesting, quirky character. But I cannot believe that any hospital has a senior doctor and 2-3 underlings (residents? I haven't watched the show enough to know what they are) dedicate days or weeks to a single patient, call up any test they can think of, etc., etc. Most of the doctors I've come across have about 30 patients at a time and if you're in the hospital (even in the ICU) you're very lucky to see them for 2 minutes once a week.

I haven't seen "Rescue Me" or "Madmen".

Cheers,
Scott.
New If you listen to NPR...
...Then you'll know about [link|http://waitwait.npr.org|Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me...] and [link|http://www.notmuch.com/|Whad'Ya Know?]. Both are highbrow comedy/quiz shows that assume a certain level of intelligence from the audience.

Granted, it's not USian TV, but they both originate in the US (Chicago for the former and Madison, WI for the latter...)
-YendorMike

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, 1759 Historical Review of Pennsylvania
New Re: If you listen to NPR...
I've listened to WWDTM, but not WYK.

We do both listen to [link|http://www.saysyou.org/|Says You], a very funny quiz show where the contestants show their skill with wordplay.

I'd love to watch/listen to these kinds of shows more regularly but there isn't enough time in my week to do so. (Can't do it at work, either. My students might notice.)

My point is not that we don't have good, intelligent programming here in the States but that:

A. it's a lot less mainstream than it seems to be in the UK.
B. I'm wondering if it's a cultural thing.

Granted, you can't really tell all about a society from its popular culture.
Tom Sinclair

Kaylee: Wash, tell me I'm pretty.
Wash: Were I unwed, I would take you in a manly fashion.
Kaylee: Because I'm pretty?
Wash: Because you're pretty.
- "Heart of Gold", Firefly
New Hmmm...
[link|http://www.saysyou.org/secondary/stationslist.html#illinois|I can't get that] here in the Chicagoland Suburbs. No wonder I've never heard of it. Too bad, because that sounds like it's right up my alley...
-YendorMike

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, 1759 Historical Review of Pennsylvania
New Alternate sources
I think some of their stations stream live on the Web and episodes are available from [link|http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=RT_SEZU_999993&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes|Audible.com] , which is how we listen to it.

Might also be available from the ITMS, but I can't connect to them right now.

Tom Sinclair

Kaylee: Wash, tell me I'm pretty.
Wash: Were I unwed, I would take you in a manly fashion.
Kaylee: Because I'm pretty?
Wash: Because you're pretty.
- "Heart of Gold", Firefly
New Smart quiz shows are popular
You have, of course, heard of University Challange and Mastermind. QI, as well as University Challange, is intellectual and doesn't attract as many as populist shows but their audience sizes are respectable.

I wouldn't really call Mock the Week smart, just witty and satirical.

As for equating of education to social class, I can't see what you mean. Education is a major factor of social class and intellectualism and various quiz shows are aimed at various intellectual types and levels. So a correlation between social class and intellectual content of a watched quiz show is not surprising. But you must already know that.
Matthew Greet


Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?
- Mark Renton, Trainspotting.
New Re: Smart quiz shows are popular
I guess my original question was whether there was some distinct cultural difference that gives the UK a show like QI and the US a show like Deal or No Deal.

My other thought is that it might have to do with the government (via the BBC) producing so much of the content. Although if Washington was in charge of TV, we'd probably have the 24-hour 'Red Dawn' channel.


(Though "Mock the Week" is not in the same intelletual weight class as "QI", it still requires a grasp of current events and world politics that you don't see much over in these parts.)

Tom Sinclair

Kaylee: Wash, tell me I'm pretty.
Wash: Were I unwed, I would take you in a manly fashion.
Kaylee: Because I'm pretty?
Wash: Because you're pretty.
- "Heart of Gold", Firefly
New It's interesting what exports and why.
I believe I mentioned "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth-Grader?" which I saw when I was in the US. It was obviously an original, smart and actually entertaining gameshow - more obvious by the fact that it's sometimes referred to as "Mark Burnett's AYSTFG?". This tells me only a successful TV producer can get something this original on US TV.

I don't think a show like [link|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Einstein_Factor|The Einstien Factor] would be popular on US TV (partly there are no prizes), but the Brits might like it. OTOH, the US Survivor rates well here - yet when we tried to make one ourselves, it failed badly. Apparantly Australians don't have the sense of competitiveness necessary for the US format to work. Yet the Australian Celebrity Survivor worked... Hmm. For comparison, Big Brother rates well here: but it was invented by a European TV company not an American one, so that may help explain it. Plus we customise it considerably (but all BB franchisees do) and they put a lot of work into choosing the housemates.

Wade.


Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
 
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please



-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

· my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] ·

New Re: Australian TV

Is there an equivalent to the BBC or are all the production companies private?

Tom Sinclair

Kaylee: Wash, tell me I'm pretty.
Wash: Were I unwed, I would take you in a manly fashion.
Kaylee: Because I'm pretty?
Wash: Because you're pretty.
- "Heart of Gold", Firefly
New The former.
The [link|http://www.abc.net.au/Australian Broadcasting Corporation|http://www.abc.net.a...sting Corporation] is similar to the BBC, in that it is funded by the Government, but has a charter of independance and is seen as a service. One of the two major differences as I see it is that the BBC gets a lot of funding from the TV licensing, but Australia doesn't have that. The other is that the BBC was sole broadcaster for a long time, whereas the ABC had commercial stations (and later networks) alongside it from the beginning.

We also have a quasi-government broadcaster called SBS which was setup to provide TV programming for ethnic groups and was also funded by the government. However, some years ago, SBS began accepting advertising and whilst this gave them a lot more money for production, it also made them more commercial. They still have a lot of imported non-English content, but they have a lot of purely commercial stuff, too. Two of the best examples are Mythbusters and South Park, but they will also buy programs along similar commercial lines the other three networks wouldn't consider viable.

Both SBS and the ABC have in-house production for many things, but will contract out, too. The other networks do the same.

Wade.


Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
 
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please



-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

· my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] ·

New Anti-intellectualism and isolationism
The British value knowledge and education for its own sake more than the Americans. This doesn't stop the UK running low brow shows, such as its own version of Deal or No Deal or anything by the presenters known as Ant and Dec.

As for government programmes, the government has no control over programmes at all. It can change the governing board of the BBC and exert political pressure but it makes no decisions about programmes. Rather, the BBC considers itself independent but is fairly establishmentarian.

The funding of the BBC does influence its programming - it can afford to be more elitist and egalitarian. This discourages the commerical channels from producing too much mindless rubbish. Except for Sky.

As for current affairs, are you telling me that people don't read the newspapers, even heavily biased and innuendo-filled tabloids?
Matthew Greet


Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?
- Mark Renton, Trainspotting.
New Current affairs knowledge

I'm frequently stunned by how little knowledge my fellow Americans have about current affairs (and some of them are journalists). Newspapers and most TV news shows are heavily filtered and contribute to the problem

The thing that impressed me about 'Mock the Week' was that they showed a good grasp of affairs outside of the UK.
Tom Sinclair

Kaylee: Wash, tell me I'm pretty.
Wash: Were I unwed, I would take you in a manly fashion.
Kaylee: Because I'm pretty?
Wash: Because you're pretty.
- "Heart of Gold", Firefly
New I don't know how to answer that
I don't know how to answer that without calling the American populace a nation of idiots.
Matthew Greet


Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?
- Mark Renton, Trainspotting.
New I appreciate your discretion
Tom Sinclair

Kaylee: Wash, tell me I'm pretty.
Wash: Were I unwed, I would take you in a manly fashion.
Kaylee: Because I'm pretty?
Wash: Because you're pretty.
- "Heart of Gold", Firefly
New Better answer to that
Comment not necessary for this link:

[link|http://www.bi30.org/wordpress/2007/09/21/im-with-stupid-stupid-over-here-stupid-over-there-suddenly-were-surrounded-by-idiots/|I'm With Stupid]

Tom Sinclair

Kaylee: Wash, tell me I'm pretty.
Wash: Were I unwed, I would take you in a manly fashion.
Kaylee: Because I'm pretty?
Wash: Because you're pretty.
- "Heart of Gold", Firefly
New I was pondering something the other day...
considering how poorly funded our public schools are, and of course how this was affecting the students. I began to wonder if the rich leaders of this country were keeping the funding low to keep the low and middle classes stupid so we would accept the word of our leaders easier. I figured the rich send their children to private schools where they could get a proper education, and keep the chain of leadership among themselves.


Then of course I remembered our president, Bush, is rich... I guess that blew that theory!
~~~)-Steven----

Stapp's Ironical Paradox:
"The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle."

Col. John P. Stapp - Decelerator 'Test Pilot'
New You are right - in a way
He's part of the Skull and Bones Society. They pull/hold lots of strings when it comes to power in this country. I think you might be on to something (cue mysterious organ music)
Smile,
Amy
New Bush supports your theory
If education for the middle and working classes was comparable to private schools, Bush would have had competition with many more capable candidates and would have lost. The great thing about an anti-intellectual culture and entrenched elitism is that potential usurpers can even be wiped out by transparent lies.
Matthew Greet


Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?
- Mark Renton, Trainspotting.
New Only one flaw
it can't last forever.
Smile,
Amy
New Nothing lasts forever. What's your point?
Matthew Greet


Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?
- Mark Renton, Trainspotting.
New Sorry, should have been a tad more specific
o anal one (and I mean that with affection);-)

While it's true that the US is fraught with idiots, our intelligencia cannot allow our nation to wallow in stupor. Yes, we've seen decline for nearly a decade. Some would say even longer. But from where I sit, the feeling is that we've had enough. It's time for a change. So, when I said it doesn't last forever I meant that it can't last very long at all. Trying to dumb down a society won't work. It may have worked when there was less technology and less communication, but there's too much information available today. Besides, our economy depends upon an educated workforce. We can't afford to be stupid. (don't get me started on outsourcing, btw :-) )
Smile,
Amy
New Good point. Pity about the budget.
I have to agree. You can't base an economy on semi-literates spending money they can afford forever. Learning and entrepreneurship will have to be back on the agenda. However, education costs money in incentives, propaganda and lost taxes whilst not working and the federal budget is a disaster. Has to be done, as you say, so expect dramatic cuts in spending in everything but education.

An interesting side effect will be politicians telling the religious nutters to STFU and stay away from education boards. Might even see convoluted tax rules for churches so only the larger, more mainstream and saner, churches can avoid paying excessive tax.
Matthew Greet


Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?
- Mark Renton, Trainspotting.
New It could be worse
Have you seen some of the game shows that come outta Japan?

Now to be fair though, I haven't really watched Japanese television, just some clips that have made it to [link|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlAkOhH9eek|YouTube] and other sources.
~~~)-Steven----

Stapp's Ironical Paradox:
"The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle."

Col. John P. Stapp - Decelerator 'Test Pilot'
New The Japanese will make a game show out of *anything*.
[link|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeshi's_Castle|Takeshi's Castle] is a [I]tame[/I] one.

Wade.


Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
 
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please



-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

· my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] ·

     Quiz shows - UK vs. US - (tjsinclair) - (41)
         Yes. - (pwhysall) - (17)
             "The Simpsons" -NT - (Another Scott) - (1)
                 But that "emanated" more than ten years ago. -NT - (CRConrad)
             Two of the best shows on TV: - (admin) - (11)
                 I've been bored of Sci-fi since B5, pretty much - (pwhysall) - (1)
                     You can't watch it that way. - (admin)
                 Burn Notice - (imqwerky) - (8)
                     I think someone's editing history... - (static) - (7)
                         Re he heallly? - (imqwerky) - (6)
                             Never looked. - (static) - (5)
                                 Tanked? - (imqwerky) - (4)
                                     I meant the mysterious one I saw a few years ago. - (static) - (3)
                                         What? - (imqwerky) - (2)
                                             I don't know! - (static) - (1)
                                                 I misunderstood you - (imqwerky)
             Ignore him - (warmachine)
             House and Rescue Me. - (crazy) - (1)
                 House usually annoys me. - (Another Scott)
         If you listen to NPR... - (Yendor) - (3)
             Re: If you listen to NPR... - (tjsinclair) - (2)
                 Hmmm... - (Yendor) - (1)
                     Alternate sources - (tjsinclair)
         Smart quiz shows are popular - (warmachine) - (16)
             Re: Smart quiz shows are popular - (tjsinclair) - (15)
                 It's interesting what exports and why. - (static) - (2)
                     Re: Australian TV - (tjsinclair) - (1)
                         The former. - (static)
                 Anti-intellectualism and isolationism - (warmachine) - (11)
                     Current affairs knowledge - (tjsinclair) - (10)
                         I don't know how to answer that - (warmachine) - (9)
                             I appreciate your discretion -NT - (tjsinclair)
                             Better answer to that - (tjsinclair) - (7)
                                 I was pondering something the other day... - (Steven A S) - (6)
                                     You are right - in a way - (imqwerky)
                                     Bush supports your theory - (warmachine) - (4)
                                         Only one flaw - (imqwerky) - (3)
                                             Nothing lasts forever. What's your point? -NT - (warmachine) - (2)
                                                 Sorry, should have been a tad more specific - (imqwerky) - (1)
                                                     Good point. Pity about the budget. - (warmachine)
         It could be worse - (Steven A S) - (1)
             The Japanese will make a game show out of *anything*. - (static)

All you need is the GRR Memorial Secret Decoder Ring, and the translation is easy!
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