Pop Buzz UK

I’m a big fan of The Apprentice, both the US and UK series actually. Donald Trump has his hairpiece, while Alan Sugar has a face more wrinkly than a bulldog’s backside.

The British version of the series which sees a collection of supposedly the best candidates in the country competing for a job with Sir Alan returned on Wednesday night, and it is already set to be an explosive year.

First we got to meet the sixteen new candidates, although some were so lacking in personality, I couldn’t tell you their name, where they were from, or what they contributed to the show.

They are all very good looking this year though, with the producers seeming to have started picking people as much for their dress sense and grooming as their business acumen.

The teams met Alan, and were then set their first task even before being shown the house they will be sharing for the next few months.

As is traditional, they were separated along gender lines to begin, although that will likely change in a few week’s time. The men called themselves Renaissance, while the ladies opted for Alpha.

The task was as simple as anything, at least in theory: The teams being given £600 worth of fresh fish and being told to sell them at a market for as much profit as possible.

Unfortunately, both teams went off half-cocked, with very little preparation meaning that pricing, and even labelling were all wrong.

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The Brit Awards took place tonight in Earls Court, London, and here we have all of the latest news, gossip, winners and losers.

The annual event was presented by the Osbourne clan, with Sharon and Kelly taking most of the stage time. Unfortunately, Sharon spent the whole evening looking and acting drunk, while Ozzy sat in the background shaking.

There was a particularly memorable moment when Vic Reeves came on to the stage to present the award for Best British Album. He was pissed as a fart, and so he and Sharon fought over who was going to announce the winner. That was about the only controversy on a night celebrating a year of great British music.

Most of the awards went the way I had expected, or at least secretly hoped for. The big winners of the night ended up being Take That, Arctic Monkeys, and Foo Fighters, who all walked away with two awards each.

Leona Lewis ended up as the biggest loser, as even though she managed to win The X Factor in 2006, she managed to lose in all four of the categories she was nominated in.

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The first, and probably last series of Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack came to an end last night, and no-one either watched or cared. Apart from me obviously, as I am addicted to the show, in whatever format it takes.

Celebrity Hijack was conceived to replace the normal unmissable Celebrity Big Brother. That was canned by nervous Channel 4 bosses after last year’s Shilpa Shetty and Jade Goody race row, which almost sparked an international incident.

Instead of celebrities entering, and living in the house as contestants, they now took the role of Big Brother over, and controlled the lives of 12 young and gifted people. The format worked, and I actually enjoyed tuning in every night, but it wasn’t unmissable, and was clearly lacking some drama.

John Loughton, current voluntary youth worker, and future politician ended up as the winner of the show and the £50,000 prize money. He got 54% of the vote, and it was a good result, with the nice guy winning, and someone who you know won’t piss the money up the wall.

If I’d have been a betting man, I would have put my money on Amy to win, but maybe that’s just because her smile makes her look angelic. How Emilia came second, I’ll never know, as although I quite liked her, the crowd didn’t, and she even got booed on her way out of the door.

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I was absolutely gutted when Iain Lee quit his brilliant show on LBC Radio, and changed my schedule due to him no longer being on air 6 days a week.

This all happened at the end of November, and no-one really knew when he would be back on radio.

Luckily, it didn’t take long for Virgin Radio to snap him up, although he only secured one show a week, that of the 10pm - 1am slot on Sunday nights.

I can fully understand why Virgin chose that slot for him, and only gave him one show a week, because it’s a music station, whereas Iain specialises in talk radio. The good thing is he’s gone from local radio to national radio, which is a definite step up.

Iain started on the 6th January, and has now done two shows on the station, both of which I have listened to. So far, I’m quite impressed, although it’s obvious Iain is going to take a bit of time to settle in, and get a feel for both the station, and time slot.

Agent Chris, Iain’s producer and sidekick on LBC has unfortunately gone, and it’s now Dave or Dayyyyve in the assistant’s chair. I actually quite like him, but it’s obvious he’s not used to speech based radio. The chemistry between the two is gradually getting better, and as long as it continues to improve, I think it could work.

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I’ve been following The X-Factor all series, right from the early auditions where we get to see the morons who think they can sing, but can’t even hit a note, get the chance to humiliate themselves on national television. Tonight was finally final time, and we were down to just three acts: Leon Jackson, Rhydian Roberts, and Same Difference.

They all performed three times, singing their favourite songs from the whole series, and they all gave good accounts of themselves, with hardly a bum note audible during the whole 2 hour show.

Rhydian had been the favourite, with the judges, fans, and even the bookies, since the live shows started and his exhibitionist style shone through, and raised him over the rest of the pack. But tonight just wasn’t his night and he lost out to Leon Jackson.

First out were Same Difference, which was the right result, because as good as they are, their fan base must have an average age of about 10, and have a limited musical knowledge which begins and ends with the hits from High School Musical.

So it came down to a straight (although I have my doubts about Rhydian) fight between Danni Minogue’s two acts. I’ve actually been a bit scathing of Dannii in the past, and even though her acts ended up finishing 1st and 2nd, I stand by my thoughts that she is an untalented lump of lard who lives in her sister’s shadow.

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WARNING: Contains Major Plot Spoilers…

My girlfriend and I went to see The Golden Compass last night and as fans of the book came away slightly disappointed, partly by the amount of changes made from the book, and partly by the fudged ending.

I previewed the film way back in June, when I was super excited about the prospect of seeing one of my favourite books ever be brought to life on the big screen. My review is slightly different…

The casting is pretty much spot on, with Nicole Kidman being perfect for Mrs Coulter, and Ian McKellen doing a fine job as Iorek Byrnison.

Some of the special effects are stunning, with the armoured bears particularly standing out. The whole Iorek part of the story, especially his fight to become king of Svalbard, was the highlight of the film for me, and stopped me walking out in disgust.

The daemons were also well realised, being exactly as I’d imagined them in the books. It must have taken some incredibly detailed work to get so many daemons on screen at one time.

Some of the alterations to the text I could understand, while some I could see no rhyme nor reason for. The ordering of the story is altered substantially, with Iorek becoming king BEFORE Lyra visits Bolvangor.

To people who haven’t read the book, this won’t matter a jot, and the film will probably leave them content. For fans of the book however, there are some glaring omissions, the biggest being the soppy ending.

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Sharon Osbourne supposedly quit her role as an X Factor judge on Saturday night’s live show after two of her three acts were voted in to the bottom duo and had to battle for survival.

At the time it made good TV, with Sharon storming off and seeming to decide she’d rather have nothing to do with the show than be responsible for getting rid of one of her own acts in the Under 25s Girls category.

But now it has become one big soap opera with multiple appearances on chat shows and a whole host of publicity for the show.

Kimberley Southwick and Alisha Bennett received the least amount of votes out of all twelve X Factor finalists on Saturday’s first live final show.

This meant they had to perform again, and then the four judges Sharon, Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh would have to decide individually which contestant they’d rather see come back and which would go home.

Sharon then had a hissy fit and declared to show presenter Dermot O’Leary “I’m out… gone!”

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Oh dear, what a week that was for English sport. First of all we had the England football team putting in a shocking display and losing to a controversial penalty against Russia. A result which may lead to us not reaching the Euro 2008 finals, and also manager Steve McClaren being fired from his job. You can read the full post about that here.

Then on Saturday, England played South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final in Paris, and lost 15-6. Okay, we weren’t expected to reach the latter stages of the competition in the first place but once we’d reached the final there was a massive amount of expectation on the team. In the end it came to nothing as South Africa just managed to pip us at the post, quite literally.

It had started so well, and looked like carrying on the same vein until England had a sure try unjustly disallowed. It looked perfectly good to me as Cueto sailed in and stuck the ball over the line.

The television match official watched replay after replay before deciding that his foot had narrowly gone in to touch before the ball was down.

I’ve since watched the replay numerous times myself and still think it was too close to call a definite out. Surely we should have had the benefit of the doubt given?

The Springboks took over from then on, and in the end easily beat our boys.

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It’s Adam and Shelley is a new sketch show which starts on BBC3 next Monday. I’ve been lucky enough to already watch the first two episodes on DVD, so here is a quick run-down of what to expect in the series.

First of all I should point out that I have a very silly sense of humour. You’ll already know this if you are a regular reader of Pop Buzz UK and have seen some of the videos I’ve put up over the last year. So this sort of sketch show appeals to me more than it might my Gran for instance. I don’t think she’d appreciate some of the humour which borders on adult at times.

Adam and Shelley Longworth are a brother and sister duo who have already appeared in shows independently but now put their heads together to produce an original sketch show in the mould of (but not copying) Little Britain. As soon as you see a clip from the show you’ll recognise Shelley from TittyBangBang, another innovative BBC3 show.

It’s Adam and Shelley follows the basic sketch show format of a combination of characters in different settings. Some of the characters work, and some don’t, and I found it a bit more hit and miss than both Little Britain and The Catherine Tate Show, which are two cult comedy shows which made the crossover to mainstream. For this reason I don’t know if it will repeat that success, but it’ll certainly have its fans who lap it up.

My favourite characters from the plethora on show here are the Goth twins Jake and Tilly. There’s something strangely funny about seeing a grown man and woman dressing up in the garb of the latest teenage trend, but they pull it off… just. The situations the pair get themselves in through daring and taunting each other are brilliantly conceived, and the characters will strike a chord with both kids and their parents.

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It’s over, yes that 12 weeks of blissful summer television viewing that was Big Brother 8 has come to an end. Thankfully I got the result I wanted on Friday night as Brian Belo (short for Bellend, at least in my head) emerged victorious from his 3 month long incarceration.

The bookies had twins Samanda (Sam & Amanda) as hot favourites to win the thing, but Brian beat those improbable odds and won through in the end with over 60% of the vote.

The final was great, with Davina wearing red for a change, maybe she’s now worn every black dress there is in the world. The format was the usual 2 parter, with 3 people being evicted in the first half and 3 in the second. The amount of time each evicted house mate had to be interviewed was disappointingly short, but apart from Carole and Ziggy, none of them had much to say anyway.

I’ve liked Brian ever since he entered the house, and desperately wanted him to win, especially over the pink twins. He’s the one house mate who has been on a journey this year, which seems to be the mark of a winner these days.

He entered the house emotionally stunted and well, not to be unkind but quite thick. While he’s still no Stephen Hawking, he does at least have a fair idea of who Shakespeare is now.

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Debating: Gun Crime in the UK after Rhys Jones Death

Reading: ‘The Afghan’ by Frederick Forsyth

Playing: ‘Wii Play’ for the Nintendo Wii (Now widely available)

Viewing: The new series of The X Factor, now in its 2nd week

Watching: The brilliant Bourne Ultimatum with Matt Damon

Listening: Sean Kingston even though he’s shit

Buying: Newton Faulkner’s début ‘Hand Built By Robots’

Searching: Controversial British Film ‘9 Songs’

Anticipating: The Blackpool Illuminations being switched on

Learning: Chickens can be diagnosed with depression

UK, British, Britain, Guns, Gun Crime, Rhys Jones, Frederick Forsyth, Wii Play, Nintendo Wii, X Factor, Bourne Ultimatum, Matt Damon, Sean Kingston, Newton Faulkner, 9 Songs, Blackpool

Unfortunately the bang wasn’t from a gun as Simon Cowell got shot by yet another disgruntled auditioning contestant. But it was a great first show to kick off the new series of The X Factor with.

As is the tried and tested format with these talent shows, the first few weeks are the funniest and often best, as we get to see a mixture of the best and worst of the first round of auditions. And this first show followed the plot completely.

First there was a new presenter in Dermot O’Leary to get used to, and he did a good job. It must be weird for him doing something on TV other than Big Brother, as he’s been the main man on ‘Big Brother’s Little Brother’ from the start. Although I would still prefer Ant & Dec to be the main presenters like they were for the original Pop Idol shows, Dermot is a step up from the awful Kate Thornton, who was inextricably given the role last year.

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Debating: The Protests about a 5th Runway at Heathrow Airport

Reading: ‘Next’ by Michael Crichton

Playing: Still the abysmal Transformers Game

Viewing: The start of the new X Factor series with Simon Cowell

Watching: Rush Hour 3 with Jackie Chan & Chris Tucker

Listening: The Cribs new single ‘Moving Pictures’

Buying: Mr Bean’s Holiday on DVD even though it sucks

Searching: For the latest news on Amy Winehouse

Anticipating: Going to see The Bourne Ultimatum at the cinema

Learning: The Rubik’s Cube can be done in 26 moves

Heathrow Airport, Runway, Protests, Climate Change, Michael Crichton, Transformers, X Factor, Simon Cowell, Leona Lewis, Rush Hour 3, Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, The Cribs, Amy Winehouse, Bourne Ultimatum, Rubiks Cube

I watched this television programme last night late on BBC3, which was a repeat from last Saturday. The first of a 2 part show, it’s a run-down of the 100 ‘Most Annoying Pop Moments… We hate To Love’, or at least someone’s idea of them. This first show gave the countdown from 100 to 50, with the usual discussion of each moment and the same old talking heads giving their opinion son them.

I enjoyed the show, but I have a couple of major problems with it, and this tired old format in general. First of all, some of the moments they chose were ludicrous, as in not annoying at all. The Zimmers doing a version of The Who’s ‘My Generation’ was listed, even though I found that great rather than annoying. Also, stuff like the Spice Girls getting back together, which was ridiculed and rounded on by the various celebrities and journos commenting. How is that annoying? It seemed like a lot of the moments were only included so as to be completely up to date, even though the moments themselves have fostered no annoyance from anyone.

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Last night, Channel 4 aired the 2nd of a 5 part TV programme looking at the lives of various youngsters who have emigrated to the UK. My New Home follows 3 children from different countries and ethnic backgrounds as they move to Britain. Over the next 5 years we will see how they have coped with their new lives, and how well they have integrated in to their newly adopted country.

The first kid is Imran, originally born and brought up in Pakistan, and now living in the UK with his mum and stepdad. Imran maybe has the most interesting story, especially in this current climate where many Westerners have a fear of Islam and Muslims. Imran is devoted to Islam, and Allah, and uses his religion as both a source of strength and salvation in his troubled first year in the UK. He feels like an outsider, and doesn’t feel he fits in to any social category. The English kids won’t play with him as he dresses in traditional Pakistani clothing, and can’t speak English, only Urdu. The other Asians in the area, British Muslims won’t hang around with him, as he’s not conforming to the Western culture as they have learnt to. He’s stuck somewhere in the middle.

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