The Directors Chair

When two Australian girls aged just 10 and 12 found themselves trapped in a storm drain last month, they must have been understandably frightened. But does that explain their bizarre decision to update their Facebook status to ask for help rather than call emergency services?

Fireman Glenn Benham didn’t think so, telling ABC News he was baffled why the girls should turn to social networking rather than dial Aussie emergency services number 000.

“If they were able to access Facebook from their mobile phones, they could have called 000,” said Benham. “The point being they could have called us directly and we could have got there quicker than relying on someone being online and replying to them and eventually having to call us via 000 anyway.”

Idiots.

This is too good not to share. Awesome. I wish I had the patience!!

Source: www.legomatrix.com

I wasn’t looking forward to this episode, the title alone was enough to put me off. It makes it sound like a Thanksgiving special and I just didn’t think it was a good move.

As the title suggests the Heroes are celebrating Thanksgiving. Noah invites Sandra, her new fellow and Claire over to dinner but brings a date himself, that woman who used to fancy him back at Primatech but had to wipe him from her brain because it was “better this way”. There is awkwardness at the table and more so when Claire decides she’s going to quit college.

She ends up slicing her arm in front of Sandra’s new man who then faints. Noah invites Gretchen over and Claire feels happier but not after Noah tells Claire how dangerous Samuel is and that is all has something to do with the compass. Claire steals this compass and her and Gretchen go off on an adventure.

Angela joins Peter and Nathan in Peter’s apartment that is very badly lit for dinner. They question her about what they know about Sylar and Angela confirms everything. At the end of dinner Peter turns to Nathan who says it isn’t him and Sylar appears. He pins Angela and Peter down as he enjoys the pie before going to chop off Angela’s head.

But Nathan’s memories are still inside Sylars head and he is fighting to save his mother. He then morphs back to Nathan who flies off out the window.

Hiro has returned the tape to Samuel who watches it with glee, learning how he can become the most powerful man on Earth. The tattoo woman demands Hiro take her back to find out what really happened to Joseph. They watch as he tells Samuel he’s arranged for him to be put in a facility (presumably he isn’t talking about the facility at Primatech which burnt down many months ago now right?) but Samuel goes crazy and throws a rock into his brothers throat killing him.

Back at the carnival and Samuel tells there is a traitor in their midst, one that killed Joseph. He is about to single out the chap who runs fast and who sliced Noah but Hiro stops time and saves him.

The episode didn’t let me down, it was pretty rubbish. Just as it looked like Sylar was back, he wasn’t. Zachary can’t be happy with this surely? Not now he’s a big actor? And I’m getting sick and tired of Hiro “I want Charley, where is she?” – well go back in time to before Samuel took her and bloody protect her you fool!!

I just read this over at MSN News (what a reputable source I hear you cry!) about Jesus. I’m not a religious man but I thought I’d re-post this story because it says Jesus may have come to the UK and visited…Glastonbury! That’s a T-Shirt in itself right there surely?

A new film suggests Jesus may have come to Britain, as described in the hymn Jerusalem, its director said.

The legend claims Jesus visited several places in the West Country, such as the Roseland peninsula and Glastonbury, with his uncle, Joseph of Arimathaea.

“If somebody was wanting to learn about the spirituality and thinking not just of the Jews but also the classical and Greek world he would have to come to Britain, which was the centre of learning at the time. But there is nothing specific by way of archaeological finds; Jesus’s shoe has not turned up.”

Source: MSN News

I was really excited by the prospect of FlashForward. I eagerly awaited its premier and the first couple of episodes I thought, yes, this has legs. But the past four weeks of the show have just been dire. I’ve been confused as to what direction they’re trying to take and the relationships between characters is nigh on non-existent. This saddens me.

The show features one of my all time favourite actors in Dominic Monaghan who hasn’t featured nearly enough as I’d like him to, which is a shame but I shall use this to cling onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, the show can turn things around.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, FlashForward has shut down production, the show hasn’t been cancelled however, they are merely taking a break for a while but have enough episodes stored in the bank so there shouldn’t be a big gap like there was that one time during the writers strike for Lost.

This break comes at a time when ratings for the show hit an all time low, so rumours that the show is facing the chop of course are going to circulate. The question is, how can FlashForward save itself?

I personally think there is too much confusion in the writing style. They show a FlashForward then they go off into several different character tangents and you sort of lose focus. I think the show could benefit from a Lost style structure where each week they focus on one person’s FlashForward or at least a part of it, like the clues on the Mosaic board, and build on that. Keeping a centralised theme.

As shown it appears the FlashForwards are man-made and thus the future that is being written is coming true because the characters are letting it. Then we see characters thought dead turn up and characters alive in their FlashForward suddenly killed. It’s no wonder people are turning off, this stuff is confusing.

The show needs to turn things around and do it quickly. The characters need addressing, giving more sense of purpose. It’s all well and good saying they’ll work out their problems in the end and it’ll all become clear but if we don’t develop any feelings for these characters now we’re not going to care about them come the end of the season.

So FlashForward, if you get a chance to carry on production, look at making episodes simpler, still keep the mystery and intrigue but try to remain focused throughout. Less of the crazy soundtrack over needless action sequences and plenty more of Mr. Monaghan please.

I shall continue to tune in but I’m not getting attached, not only is the show not letting me, but if it does go the way of the chopping block, I don’t want to miss it.

But this doesn’t mean it’s cancelled folks!

FlashForward is taking a step back. Sources confirm to me exclusively that ABC has temporarily shut down production on the rookie drama. The move comes a month after the departure of co-showrunner, Marc Guggenheim, and less than a week after FlashForward hit a new ratings low. An Alphabet spokesperson confirms the shutdown, but is quick to note that the show’s schedule was designed to accommodate such breaks. “They started production early so that they could have the luxury to do this,” says the rep. “They want to maintain the high quality of the show, and this gives the writers the opportunity to do so.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Finally my dream has come true. Wheatus are going to be in Rock Band!

Months (if not years) ago I wrote to Harmonix to ask them to get my favourite band in my favourite game. I heard nothing. So I created a thread in their forums and emailed again. Still nothing.

Then today I read this article over at Darlington’s blog. Can you believe what it said?

BBB: guitar hero: As a real guitarist I am afraid to play it, lest it detract from my actual shredding skills which are formidable….but we have just finished a Teenage Dirtbag version for Rockband next year so take that

Totally awesome. I’d like to think I had a small part in all of this but I probably didn’t.

Rock!

I’m sorry I’ve not mentioned much about Heroes these past few weeks, I think I’ve missed three all told. But nevermind, these can be summed up in one easy post.

Heroes has failed once again.

Firstly Hiro went back in time to save Charley, he succeeded and they were about to embark on a life of happiness together when Samuel showed up and kidnapped her so he could use Hiro to go back eight weeks and stop Mohinder from destroying a video reel of Samuels birth in Coyote Sands.

When Hiro gets the film he also saves Mohinder who refuses to remain hidden for eight weeks so Hiro takes him to a mental institution where he is locked away. Samuel still doesn’t give Hiro Charley, just yet.

Matt fears for his sanity now Sylar has taken over his mind. The two battle to see who is stronger mentally to control Matt’s body. This has been a great storyline, really exploring addiction and the power of the mind. This culminated in a fantastic scene where Matt held Sylar hostage and made him write that he was going to kill everyone in the cafe on a napkin. When Sylar walks out, unknowing what he wrote he is confronted by police. Matt then makes it look like he’s going for a gun and the police take him down in a hail of bullets. Killing Matt but also Sylar. I thought this was amazing.

The “real” Sylar morphs back into Nathan who then escapes to find Peter. The Haitian gives Peter a clue and he and Nathan go to a storage locker where Nathan’s real body is being kept. They are confused and go to find Matt who is in critical condition in a hospital. Just totally shitting all over the brilliance of the Matt/Sylar story. Peter brings Matt back to life and there is a show down, Matt touches Nathan/Sylar and the Sylar in Matt’s head vanishes. Nathan and Peter escape and wonder what the hell has happened.

Tracey wants ot join the carnival but having trouble controlling her power. Claire helps her. Gretchen leaves college after being attacked and Claire is sad.

Samuel learns that Mohinder knows about his real ability, how if he can get enough people around him with powers he can become almighty.

That’s pretty much it and a real shame. Heroes got the lowest viewing rate ever recently, lower than shows that have already been cancelled, could this be the end for the show?

I’ve been in my new job about two weeks now, it’s fine, it’s a job, I like it, I like the people. I don’t like having to listen to Heart FM.

I was flabberghasted when I found myself hearing the same songs over and over and over again on the station that’s tagline is “more music variety”. After another day of hearing LeAnne Rimes I decided a letter had to be sent.

Heart FM has the tagline “more music variety”, well since I started working in this office that plays this station I have to say you are victim of false advertising.

Every day, EVERY DAY, you play the same songs over and over again. Let me guess what’s lined up next, ‘Can’t Fight The Moonlight’?

It’s not just your three hours, it’s every hour of the day playing the same things over and over again. Maroon 5, Cheryl Cole, Michael Jackson, JLS.

Please, for goodness sake, play something differnet! Give us more music variety for the love of God!

I didn’t expect a reply. But I got one.

Neil

Many Thanks for your recent enquiry via the Heart website.

I’m sorry that you feel that Heart isn’t the station for you and that our music policy leaves you feeling cold.

We do use More Music Variety as a positioning statement for the station but as it doesn’t appear in any paid-for adverts we are certainly not guilty of false advertising.

With regard to our music policy it’s certainly true that Cheryl Cole and JLS are artists that feature heavily on the station at the moment. However, a few weeks ago, neither of them was on the station at all; JLS hadn’t released a single and Cheryl Cole had never released any solo work. In time, their material will be played less and less and different artists will feature with their own work. Currently, JLS are the biggest-selling group in the country and Cheryl’s part of the most-watched TV show. It is unsurprising that we choose to play them on a regular basis.

We also play Michael Jackson a number of times a day. In part, this is down to an increased interest in his work since his unfortunate passing earlier this year. However, for a station playing pop music from the 70s, 80s, 90s and now – it is to be expected that an artist that has spanned all of those decades and is responsible for some of the most critically-acclaimed and best-selling music ever will be featured heavily.

I would disagree that Leanne Rimes and Maroon 5 are on “over and over again”. A look over the logs for the last week shows that the Leanne Rimes track you mention has been played 9 times. That’s 9 times in 168 hours – or around once every 19 hours. The figure for Maroon 5 is even less with just 8 plays in the last 7 days.

All of our music is tested heavily before going to air. We know our audience and we know what they want to hear. They like to be able to sing-a-long to music they already know and love. We are not a station that breaks new music and make no claims to be. The fact that your office as a whole chooses to listen to Heart shows that we have a broad appeal that works for many people. It is impossible to programme a radio station that would appeal to everyone’s taste. Many stations in the West Midlands have different music policies to ours. None of them have as many listeners.

Kind Regards
John Collins

Thank you John for your words of concern however I can’t believe that you don’t think playing a song 9 times in 168 hours on a station that supposedly offers “more music variety”, not to mention that you’ve just claimed to play songs from FOUR DECADES, is excessive. Is LeAnne Rimes really what Heart FM listeners enjoy? Sure, once a week maybe, but twice daily? Come on.

I will formulate a reply because I feel that John Collins has missed the point, I also feel that he wrote this reply in spite thinking I never expected anything and now I have something I’ll shut up. Not that easy dude.

Oh, and we’ve switched to Radio One in the office now. Heart FM Fail.

In some tragic news (that is actually old news but since I’m hearing it for the first time it’s still news), the beautiful Elizabeth Mitchell’s character from Lost is “toast”.

During the explosive season finale of Lost last season, Elizabeth Mitchell’s character, well, exploded. Or did she? After all, in the Lost universe, falling hundreds of feet down a massive well and then being mere inches away from a hydrogen bomb when it explodes could either mean the character got blown to smithereens or that they’ll just wake up the next morning with a piercing headache and a severe urge to pop some Dharma-brand acetaminophen. Well, in the case of Juliet, executive producer Damon Lindelof confirms in this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly (not yet online) that the female half of Sawliet is, indeed, toast. “The decision to kill Juliet was absolutely brutal,” he said, before adding that “[Carlton Cuse and I] have to really love you to give you a finale death.” Don’t shed too many tears for Juliet, though: As we told you back in June, Juliet is set to appear in “an unspecified number of episodes” during the sixth and final season of the show.

Source: Docartz