ok, forget the toys-r-us, dfs or coca cola adverts (and even the dodgy snow on itv nightscreen) - its now *officially* christmas, the lovely festive music on ceefax began tonight. the perfect accompaniment to a glass or two of sherry in-front of a warm radiator as you wind down after a hard days work and shopping with the world flashing before you.
i guess it could be the last time bbc 2 treat us to our yule tide melodies, so make the most of it.
and nice to see a couple of nice closes on the trot on bbc two, atleast the annos at bbc two are in the festive spirit.
I was gonna talk about this on TV Ark, but as there is a thread started here, why not continue it.
I have never been able to bring myself to listen to the whole Xmas tunes CD before, so last year on NYE I was surprised when my mate phoned me up and started ranting about Ceefax playing techno. I could never work out what he was on about till tonight, when all of a sudden there came a Ceefax Xmas techno tune! I'll have to tape it tomorrow night if I can, as I collect Ceefax tunes, especially the more diverse ones.
They have actually been playing the music between 5 and 6 am anyway, it's just been tones at closedown the past couple of nights tho. Last nights closedown was a nice cock-up with that Red Dwarf DVD still comming up instead of the Ceefax intro. Looks like the CA had a few already last night!
BTW, on analogue, the pages tonight started in the wrong aspect ratio, although God knows what ratio it was. The page had been stretched beyond the action safe margins at the left and the right. I've seen them experiment with this in the past, but never to such a degree as you can't read the text! Gone back to normal now though.
Last nights closedown was a nice cock-up with that Red Dwarf DVD still comming up instead of the Ceefax intro. Looks like the CA had a few already last night!
I feel obliged to point out that the continuity announcer doesn't have anything to do with what you see on screen ... and in fact s/he probably wasn't even there at the time you're referring to. There are other, behind-the-scenes, people responsible for such things.
True, I'm thinking about the old days again, when the CA did have the controls most of the time, and you could hear all the fader clunking during the announcements.
I've heard 2 Xmas techno tunes on Ceefax now! We must be on another CD now, as it's gone 74 mins a while ago.
Yeah there's been a great selection of annos at closedown since the Christmas idents were introduced (all three idents have been played out over the past three nights) with a great name check of the team on Sunday night! And who said the Learning Zone was continuing over Christmas?!!
Well according to DigiGuide, The Learning Zone isn't scheduled at all on BBC2 for w/c 3rd January, so late night Ceefax may well continue throughout that week. The following week w/c 10th January I think The Learning Zone will be returning with a new look and a new schedule from 2am most nights instead of 12.30am making way for new ideas and probably late night movies to fill the gap, I wouldn't be surprised to see Ceefax fitting in this new schedule somewhere though.
I bought a newspaper with a pull - out of the television schedules for the Christmas period. Unsurprisingly most of the ' programmes ' are the usual offerings for this time of year.
Isn' t it odd that the real meaning of Christmas is sacrificed just for the sake of boosting ' ratings ' for these TV companies ? I notice the usual drivel about the Beckhams and something about Pop Idol or whatever it is.
Why can't companies screen programmes that educate our children as to what the real purpose of christmas is - namely the sacrifice made on the cross by our Lord Jesus Christ. Why do we never hear about some of the unsung heroes of yesteryear such as the Three Wise Men? Surely a reconstructed documentary would be both insightful and enjoyable concerning these three remarkable men. Others could also be commemorated in such a way. It would be better if the whole schedule for 25 December was given over completely to cover programmes about Jesus and his birth. For example there could be programmes looking at Bethlehem and how it has changed since Jesus' birth both economically and socially as well as aesthetically. Jesus' life history and the history of his family would also make stimulating viewing. I just hope the TV companies are reading this.
Why can't companies screen programmes that educate our children as to what the real purpose of christmas is - namely the sacrifice made on the cross by our Lord Jesus Christ.
And there was me thinking that was Easter.
Quote:
Why do we never hear about some of the unsung heroes of yesteryear such as the Three Wise Men? Surely a reconstructed documentary would be both insightful and enjoyable concerning these three remarkable men. Others could also be commemorated in such a way. It would be better if the whole schedule for 25 December was given over completely to cover programmes about Jesus and his birth. For example there could be programmes looking at Bethlehem and how it has changed since Jesus' birth both economically and socially as well as aesthetically. Jesus' life history and the history of his family would also make stimulating viewing. I just hope the TV companies are reading this.
Your schedule is seriously lacking.
For starters, where are the programmes about the economic status of shepherds and the deprivations they suffer. And I am amazed that you found no room in your schedule for the "Angels: How Many Really Can Dance on the Head of a Pin? Christmas Special". What about "Was Herod Really a Child Murderer?"
We could have a pretend news bulletin, News 24 breaking into Only Fools and Horses on Christmas day annoucing that a baby has been born to a Virgin, and Peter Snow could use some sort of graphic to illustrate how this could have happend.
Then, Martin Bashier could do an interview with the 2 wise men... to find out more about frankenstien and mervin's gold.
I'd need to see Mary and Joseph the carpenter on a Trisha christmas special -- there are some secrets I feel ought to come out, "Holy Spirit: Paternity Tests" etc. The whole thing isn't washing with me, we need answers.
