And now for some answers… *EDIT* in OD

*EDIT*

Cos dumbarse here forgot to answer a question…

Right, let’s get this done.

little_chloella and *Moonglow* both wanted to know the same thing:

doctor who and ?

Treme. The second season started in the States on Sunday and I have now seen it. every bit as good as the first. And the music still kicks ass.

pierced_poet had a few as well:

If you could live in one TV universe which one would it be and why?

The firefly universe. I’d love to explore and visit all the planets.

Worst TV series ever?

Oh, God. There have been quite a few that have absolutely sucked. Just for sheer pointlessness and tedium, Lost.

If you had to (on pain of death) pick only one TV series to watch for the rest of your life, which one would it be?!

Easy. Doctor Who. Not just because I love the show, but because it’s been going for so fucking long, it’d take a while before I got bored.

Rodge chipped in with a couple:

What sort of tv do you do most of your watching on?

My 15.6 inch laptop screen. I don’t actually own a TV, so if there’s anything I’m desperate to watch when it’s broadcast, I’ll go round to a friends house (as I did with Doctor Who on Saturday and will be doing next week as well).

An oldie but a goodie – what happened to Tony Soprano?

I have absolutely no interest in what happend to any of the characters on one of the most absurdly overhyped and overpraised shows in my lifetime.

Now it’s the turn of Bitter__angel:
Also, did you catch the premiere of ‘game of thrones’?

Yup. Have now watched the first two episodes, and really, really enjoying it. Also, the opening titles are one of the best designed title sequences (for TV) I’ve seen in quite a long time.

what do you think happens to Tamara in caprice after being abandoned in V world??

I assume you meant Caprica? Not sure, cos I’ve still to watch the second half of the series. (I will get round to it sometime, I promise.)

Steven the Rill enquired:

How many episodes of a new show do you watch before you know whether or not you like it?

Honestly? I tend to give it 5-7. Why? Because there are a lot of shows where, had I judged based on episode one, I would have stopped watching. But turned out awesome. (The Wire and Treme are good examples).

And finally, Schwulerin had a few:

I remember on an old episode of the “Young Ones” Rik said something about a TV tax. Do you know what was he talking about?

Yup. That would be the TV license. Over here, if you watch or record television programmes as they’re being shown on TV you have to pay for a TV license which costs £145 (for a colour license, for a black and white license it’s £49.) You can get a discount if you are regestered blind or severely sight impared and if you are over 75, it’s free. This money funds the BBC, which is why they have no commercials (except for their own programmes and services) and why they are constantly kind of screwed. If you ever hear about the BBC being state funded, this would be why.

It’s mandatory to have a TV license (unless you meet the criteria for being exempt [as I do]). If you do not have a license and you are caught, you face a fine of up to £1000. They use detector vans (I’m not making this up) to try and catch people out and are notorious for sending them out when they expect a lot of people to be watching TV (like this coming Friday, for example). (Rather hilariously, when I was in halls of residence, they actually warned the university when they would be checking. We got plenty of notice to hide our tellies that week.)

Do you guys have subscriber service channels like HBO or Cinemax?

The best way to answer this one, in all honesty, is to simnply explain how TV is set up over here.

The basic level is terrestrial TV. In the old days, this was BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and five. Nowadays it also includes all digital services available through a set to digibox, or a TV with a built in digital tuner. This is the level that you get as soon as you buy a TV and set it up.

Next, you have cable or satellite TV. This is subscription and either means having a dish on the side of the house (if you are going through Sky) or is done using fiber optics (if it’s Virgin Media). With this option, you get even more channels (including BBC channels for other countries in the UK).

You can add subsctiption channels to your cable/satellite subscription as well. These are things like the Sky film channels and Sky Sports/ESPN. Some of these are availabe if you are a terrestrial digital viewer for a monthly fee, if your box/TV has the facilities for it.

Finally, there is sports pay per view/films on demand which are a one off payment. They tend to only be for cable/satellite viewers.

Everyone clear now?

Are there m/any foreign languages channels where you are?

There may be on Sky/Virgin Media, not really sure.

Someone once told me that European channels don’t interrupt shows with commercials. The ads are only played at the beginning and at the end. Is that true?

I’m not sure about other counrties, but not here in Britain. I’m fairly certain that the law calls for at least 15 minutes worth of ads every hour (except the BBC, of course). This has the effect of splitting shows up (half hour shows are halfed, hour long shows are quartered, etc) but there are exemptions. Sporting events are one such exemption, though they can find ways round it (football matches on commercial TV generally have an ad break just before the match, just after half time, just before the start of the second half and straight after the match). It also turns out that state occasions are completely exempt with ads being banned. Which must have really pissed off ITV when they found out that their coverage of Friday must be commercial free.

When you were growing up, how many TVs did you have in your house?

Generally, just the one in the living room. When my dad was home for the weekend, or when he was working close enough to live at home, we had his black and white TV in the dining room.

And that’s all. I return you to my normal nonsense in my next entry.

Will

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