Saturday 9 October 2010

X Factor (ITV1)

So, this week the seemingly decade long live shows began and there was a "big twist". That was that each judge could put an extra act in the show which was one of the lamest "twists" ever concieved. So along with the 12 acts mentioned last week we have...

Over 28's - Wagner
A foreign chap in his 40's (at least) who would be brilliant if his singing voice matched his eccentricity. As it is his singing voice is the polar opposite to his eccentricity so "shit" would be quite a complimentary description.

Boys - Paige
A young black chap who's barber could be Kid 'N' Play. I was surprised he didn't make the 3 last week.

Bands - Diva Fever
If you genetically spliced The Scissor Sisters and Jedward together this is what you would create. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds.

Girls - Trayc
As Gamu is being deported Cheryl couldn't put her back in so we got a different young black girl with nothing memorable about her except the retarded way she spells Tracy.

This weeks theme was number ones, but sadly no version of Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter.

Highlight - during Wagner's medley of Ricky Martin's She Bangs and the B52's Love Shack the director cut to a close up of one of the lady dancer's asses. I'm assuming she was supposed to be seductively rubbing her buttocks, but it instead she pulled her cheeks apart.

4 comments:

  1. 159 minutes! Insane. Plus another hour on the Sunday. Well worth it though - Saturday night TV gold. I also noticed the bum cheek oddness during Wagner's bit. I look forward to his take on Ride of the Valkyries.

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  2. Because Al rightly turfed us off his Social Network thread and I have absolutely no respect for The X Factor (a steaming pile of shit full of plastic arses and preening cocks - judges and contestants alike - that denigrates the music industry and besmirches the human race in general), I'm gonna bring our Aliens discussion here James.

    I follow your argument, but you won't be surprised to learn I don't agree with it entirely + I don't think everyone who saw Alien would either. I empathized with Ripley; didn't feel like she had "no life". In fact, I was on the edge of my seat during the last sequence, willing her to survive. I was also more drawn to the crew in Alien - they weren't deeply drawn but seemed to hint at more rounded characters than the marines in Aliens - the marines are fun, but quite cartoonish and for me, just as much fodder as the Alien crew.

    That said, if you asked me my favourite film from the series, it would definitely be Aliens. Overall, it just has the most going for it. It may be worth getting the anthology, re-evaluating 3 and 4 as you say - I could always bin em out if they're as bad as I remember them being!

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  3. We did go OTT on the Social Network thread, but weren't really any more off topic than the Hole 3D thread.

    Regarding "the Factor", there's always been preening pop nonsense and there always should be because there should always be variety. The fact it's one of the biggest things on TV is far more annoying.

    Now, back to Alien...
    I genuinely think part of my opinion with Alien was formed on my first ever viewing which was on ITV. It was really atmospheric, building the mood brilliantly, but once the Alien appeared I just wasn't invested in the characters. Then when Ripley is the last one left and escapes and destroys the Nostromo and I thought "well, that's all over" it cut to a fucking ad break so I knew the Alien was in the escape pod with her. Any tension created at the end was dissipated in that instance and that will always cloud my viewing of it. It means on repeat viewings I can never relive that. If I knew there was the head in the box at the end of Seven I'd never have had that feeling of "fuuuuuuuuuuuck" that elevated it to masterpiece and while I don't feel that the same I can relive it.

    The crew of the Nostromo as their characters are depicted:
    Tom Skerrit - captain, has a beard, um....
    John Hurt - John Hurt, an alien comes out of him, what other role doe she have? umm....
    Ian Holm - as blank as a machine, oh he is!
    Ripley - does nothing then runs, ummm....
    Veronica Cartright - winges, screams, annoys, um...
    Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton - working men, union activists. They are the two closest to rounded characters
    The Cat - perfectly captures the motivations of a cat. Brilliantly written and performed!

    That's all there is to them. The only depth Ripley shows is a survival instinct. Yaphet Kotto's character is the most human of them. I imagine if you saw it in '79 with no knowledge you would be expecting him to be the hero because of this and that's kinda clever, but again only once. As it is all it does is highlight the one dimensionness of the rest of the crew.

    Anyone else can chip in to this discussion if they want. I have plenty more I can say about Alien! :)

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  4. I suppose we could argue the toss about Alien till we're both blue in the face but I doubt either of us could alter the fact that I love the film - or that you think it's an emotional void!

    As for the X Factor (on topic here!), I'm all for variety in life, but I personally don't think the world would be a poorer place if this show - and vacuous pop in general - were to disappear in a puff of smoke. Besides the innate unlikeability of both judges and contestents, there's the awful music: at best, polished cover versions of songs I'd quite happily never listen to again. On the rare occasions where they pick something interesting to sing it usually ends up being a travesty. At the end of the series, we gain one or two more shoddy pop drones to clog up our airwaves who will inevitably have been played out by the time the next series of the X Factor starts.

    Just what is the attraction? Why is this one of the biggest things on TV? The very process of plastic pop manufacturing laid bare and people lap it up. *Sigh*

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