CiTV & Ministry of Mayhem thread

What they could do is try the cd:uk format out on a saturday evening, perhaps 5-6pm, and see how it works. And then they will be up to date with the charts (as they got it wrong this week!), and may be able to get more performers live in the studio.

Ministry of Mayhem could become a three hour show (like saturday mornings of old BBC), and perhaps followed by cd:uk hotshots at 12:30 before the news and on the ball at 1pm.

The thing about cd:uk now is that most of the artists dominating the charts of either reality stars, pop bands, or american artists.

And that's the problem, they either have to fill the show with girls aloud and westlife, or have videos and recorded performances.

What I don't like though is how much cd:uk is dominated by pre released performances. The artists use it to plug their songs rather than perform for the chart. Most probably why they dropped the numbers on graphics.

What they could do is to try and let artists use hotshots in a main slot to plug their songs, and therefore appear on cd:uk the week that they enter the charts. I wonder why they don't book artists to appear the week that they release their songs.

And I'd also try and get more people to sing live on cd:uk. TOTP pushes them a bit, and artists like westlife and girls aloud can perform live, but they don't. And then they fall into a routine of just miming.

The set and graphics could do with a make over, perhaps going back to the original look of a set that fits together, rather than stages on black. Bring back the old theme with the 'count down uk' in the title, or a remixed version with it in, and focus more on the charts.

Do you think they should bring in another presenter alongside cat if they were ever to move it, someone like Dermot O'Leary who works for blaze on recovered.

BTW When did Tizer stop sponsoring CD:UK, last time I watched CD:UK it was sponsored by Ribena! But the jingle at the start was always funny

I'm red, I'm red, I'm Tizer head
I'm fizzy fizzy fizzy, I'm off my head
Whether you're dressed or in the nuddy
I'm your cocker, your pal and your bestest buddy.

The Ribena stings don't seem to fit in with the programme.

Well Tizer did sponsor it for years so it was time for a change. Talking about sponsorship, the SM:TV Gold bumpers still say 'sponsors of SM:TV Live'.

Moving CD:UK to a teatime slot possibly may have been a good idea, but now with TOTP Saturday being a standalone programme they can't really move it.
I do hope this new Ministry show is good although its a hard act to follow the last ever SM:TV which promises to be unmissable. If it had followed a standard SM:TV with Des and the Rukare women viewers may have had lower expectations

I've just bought the Best of SM:TV live video off Amazon. I'd have bought the CHums one as well but unfortunatly it's out of stock.

I've noticed now that CITV aren't even showing most of the title sequences to programmes any more, in addition to never showing the end credits. In addiiton to that, if the show is in 4:3 then only 7/8ths of the programme is shown, the other 1/8th is cropped into widescreen oblivion. After watching The Angry Beavers, I saw more framing errors due to the cropping that I could care to count. Come on CITV, sort this aspect ratio crap out, show 4:3 as 4:3 and 16:9 as 16:9- it can't hurt to pillarbox or ratio switch. Widescreen is good- when it's made that way, but when it's cropped 4:3 it looks dreadful. When 4:3 is cropped is benefits no-one at all.

I preffered to when the weekend afternoon kids shows were going out with ITV1 branding- full opening & closing credits, and no cropping for 4:3 shows. I personally felt that the kids shows going out with ITV1 branding and announcers works quite well. It seems a bit stupid coming out of ITV1 prs for jsut 1 programme on a Satrday or sunday- even more so when the show is 4:3 and the pres is 16:9- like the 10 minute Angry Beavers cartoon a few weeks back. There as no point at all in that going out 16:9. If they really did have to use CITV pres, it would not have hurt for it to be in 4:3- there was no studio footage, just a couple of trailers.

I just hope this cropping lark stops ASAP- there is never any excuse for it. Analofue viewers are always given as the main reason for it (the fact sports coverage goes out 4:3 on analogue means they pillarbox the 4:3 stuff), so I hope the second analogue shut-down occurs, cropporama stops here and there (at least on full programmes, if not clips in programmes).

But the idea of them going to CiTV continuity is brand awareness. By putting the CiTV brand into odd places, people will notice it more. Its a shame that they muck about with the ratios and cutting of credits. But they have to because itv don't give them enough time to trail their brands. I actually think that they could miss out a few trailers, and save a bit on time.

Did anyone see today's MPAA. The last one, and an excellent episode to end on, one of the best of this series.

Shame that they don't do anything about the ratios, as they really could pillarbox (Watch BBC2's Sunday Home & garden- they manage it fine) evne if they can't ratio switch easily, as it is a bit messy. They should squash to 14:9 rather than crop- it would be virtually un-noticable and no picture would be lost. Still, Good to see The Angry Beavers back (but I aggree about the bad framing, especially the credits at the start of the episode). Just funny that this brings me back to SM:TV as the episodes shown today were the same ones shown on the first SM:TV (reminds me of the comments made watching the first episode as to what they were meant to be (I knew they were beavers but everyone else missed the opening titles) a bit like the show's "Pointy Squirrels" running gag).

Seems at present to be limited to the imported stuff - All Grown Up, Angry Beavers etc. Hasn't affected homegrown material - yet. Although I see the credit area seemed a bit wider today when it was squashed than it did on Monday, or was that just me?



That text at the end of the opening sequence was almost literally on the cropoff line wasn't it? Mind you it gets periously low on All Grown Up as well. Today's Beavers, it was pretty obvious that it had been cropped - other times it's not so.



Looks like it's the worst of two evils - 4:3 source and show widescreen in 14:9 or go 16:9 and crop everything. I fear it's all ITV understand.

I still think its being cropped somewhere else down the line as Central News and Weather is still 4:3, showing the sponsorship trailer 14:9.



If only, but I suppose they'll probably argue, come the day when widescreen TVs are mainstream, that most viewers want to fill it up with picture to get the most out of the telly. So they'll crop it to satisfy millions who'll have no idea or inkling about the entire issue. I mean look at all those people who insist on setting the thing up to stretch a 4:3 piccie and then wonder why everybody harps on about widescreen being the future when everybody on the telly looks short and fat.

I dunno, if they actually start explaining about pillarboxing and 4:3, like they did with letterboxing and widescreen they'll probabally be able to get it accepted as the norm, like letterboxing is now. Though as long as they continue to ratio switch for the forseeable future, only pillarboxing when neccecerry (on things like CBBC & CITV where it could be messy) there shouldn't be a problem. One of the advantages digital has that analogue can't,



Try watching That's So Raven then- that is incredibly tightly shot. That can look absolutly terrible at times. I feel even sorrier for viewers on digital 4:3 (who actually make up the majority of digital viewers) who lose all 4 sides of the picture.

In relation to the CITV ident featuring the ITV1 ident at the start. I notice that Scottish, Grampian and UTV avoid showing it by opting into the network feed a few seconds late. In the case of UTV that involves missing half the CITV ident and crashing directly from one of their own idents

They shouldn't have to do that though.

Indeed not. I was about to say that they wouldn't need to anymore when they get the new super-duper clean feed next year and then I remembered it's not going to make any difference on that score...

But then what do you expect Scottish, Grampian and UTV to do when the network feed is effectively trying to force the ITV1 logo into Scotland and Northern Ireland where its not welcome? They've no choice but to crash into it, although I suppose a clever fade into the latter part of the ident (past the ITV1 logo) would suffice...