You might have already heard about Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s employee training videos for Microsoft. What you might not know is that Trey Parker and Matt Stone have also done some corporate videos. You can see their effort for Universal Studios over on Google Video. It guest-stars Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Demi Moore and Sylvester Stallone among others (it’s an old video), so is worth watching for the nostalgia value alone.
Month: September 2006
Stargate SG-1: The one good thing about the 200th episode
Okay, it was on a fortnight ago, but I thought I’d bring it up now, anyway. Stargate SG-1 recently celebrated its 200th episode. The plot was pretty much a retread of its 100th episode, but instead of a fake TV show based on the Stargate programme, the show brought back Willie Garson (Stanford from Sex and the City) to mess around with ideas for a fake Stargate movie instead.
Writing it down like that actually makes it sound like it had more plot than it had, since it was really just an excuse for the show’s producers to take the piss out of Stargate, other sci-fi shows and movies. It had all been done before and much better by that 100th episode I mentioned earlier, as well as (of all things) the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys episode Yes, Virginia, There is a Hercules, in which the cast played very unflattering versions of the show’s own production team (with Bruce Campbell playing an hilarious version of Rob Tapert, his real-life lifelong friend).
So I won’t dwell on it too long, except to mention that Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver himself) made a welcome return appearance as Jack O’Neill, although most of the time as a puppet.
And there was also this rather good parody of Farscape, a series that starred Ben Browder and Claudia Black, who are both now stars of Stargate SG-1. Anything that mocks Farscape (or as we know it in our house, “The Silly Show”) has to be good as far as I’m concerned.
Just as a little background, Vala (Claudia Black) is busy suggesting ideas for films that she claims are based on her life, but are actually things she’s seen on the tele.
The Family Jones cast for Doctor Who
There’s a big family planned for new assistant Martha Jones on Doctor Who. Details over at the Beeb.
Steven Seagal and band are coming to town
Brace yourself. Steven Seagal and his band Thunderbox are playing Camden Underground on September 21st.
Tickets are £20 each, so get those credit cards ready now.
In Televisual this month…
The latest issue of Televisual has just fallen into my mailbox. It’s a monthly, but there are a few nuggets of info that are relatively interesting:
- Simon Amstell, ex-presenter of Popworld and soon to be the permanent host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, is going to one of the writers of a new E4 show called Skins. Starring Kidulthood and About a Boy star Nicholas Hoult, it centres on a group of 17-year-old friends as they “drop pills, pass exams, have sex, manage their parents, interface with their teachers and push boundaries”. Very E4.
- 57% of independent production companies reckon the Beeb is the worst broadcaster to work for because of bureaucracy, being “too large and confused”, “rigid and slow” and for having “too much middle management”. However, it was also voted the most improving network by 43%. Channel 4 was voted the best with 29% of votes, with Five close behind on 25%.
- My old boss, Televisual‘s publisher James Bennett, has bought the mag from Centaur! It’s been with Centaur for 24 years, so that’s big news. It’s probably going to be of interest to about 0.01% of this blog’s readers, though. All the same, best of luck to James, Jake, Tim, Poz, Jon and Charlotte in the exciting and scary world of self-employment.