Dave repeats News Posted by Jonathan Capps on 17th October 2007, 09:51 As UKTVG2 launches onto the Freeview platform as ‘Dave’ (cos everybody knows a bloke called Dave, even if he’s fictional and lives in SPACE), it seems your average TV viewer is suddenly going to have a good deal more chances to watch Red Dwarf repeats. Starting tonight, in fact. Leaving the astonishingly shit name aside for the moment, Dave is turning out to be one of the best channels on Freeview, basically because UKTVG2 was pretty good to start with and nothing seems to have changed, so Red Dwarf is still a regular presence in the schedules. Dave repeats start tonight with Psirens, the first episode of Red Dwarf VI. It will be shown at 21:00 and 23:40, with the rest of the series presumably following the same (or similar) pattern. Dave offers a fairly decent summing up of the show here, although the usual WRONGNESS you find with things like this are present and correct. Tragically, you can also expect Dave continuity for these repeats to show up in the downloads section soon, too.
Why Dave as the name?…it’s odd. It will confuse people abit when you say “I’m just going to watch Dave for afew hours” or something like that.
> Why Dave as the name??it?s odd. It will confuse people abit when you say ?I?m just going to watch Dave for afew hours? or something like that. The general idea seems to be to give it an ‘everyman’ name that will apeal to the laddish audience they perceive to be their target. In reality, it’s just transparent, pigeon holing twattery of the highest order. And it doesn’t even sound like a channel. The little “Awight, Dave?” sound bite they have at the end of most of their presentation pretty much sums up the tone they’re going for. I mean, UKTV G2 was a terrible name and needed to be changed (whoever thought it was a bright idea to change from ‘UK’ to ‘UKTV’ needs to be killed, frankly) but this is just baffling.
The UK edition of ‘Whose Line…’ is also on Dave. I have been watching the US version on Five US (about the only decent thing on the channel) and I’m glad i’ll get to once again watch the UK original.
> The UK edition of ?Whose Line?? is also on Dave. I have been watching the US version on Five US (about the only decent thing on the channel) and I?m glad i?ll get to once again watch the UK original. God, yes, those repeats are brilliant. They’re from 1993, too, so I have these very distant memories of watching them before, but they’re mainly all fresh stuff. An absolutely fantastic show. With regards to Five US, though, surely House is decent, too?
And that episode of Nightmares and Dreamscapes were William Hurt was attacked by toy soldiers was pretty good. I don’t think there’s any decent shows on Five Life though.
The navbar on UKTV’s site looks really odd now. You may insert a load of jokes here about the other channels being given people’s names if you want. It’s horrible branding. As my darling bitch of a girlfriend says, she used to watch UKTV G2 – but now it’s rebranded as all blokey, she feels completely excluded… and frankly insulted. I don’t blame her in the slightest. So what, only men are supposed to like ths stuff the channel shows now?
The first thing that came to mind when I read this article was the column Dave Barry wrote about Phillip Morris test-marketing a brand of cigarettes called Dave, for the same reason (it being an everyman sort of name). The idea doesn’t sound any less silly the second time around; moreso, actually, because UKTV actually went through with it. :p And your darling girlfriend has a point. That’s pretty much the same reason I won’t ever eat a Yorkie bar now, because that whole “It’s not for girls” campaign was such a transparent attempt to goad more females into buying them, and I have no intention of giving them the satisfaction (not that I eat much candy anyway, but still). And those obnoxious Diamond Insurance commercials are just the other side of the same gender coin (graphics all in pink? *Please.* “Diamond is a girl’s best friend?” *Gag*. 0800 36 24 36?! Way to insult/exclude anyone who isn’t shaped like a Barbie doll). (Interestingly enough, I just came across an article that talks about that Yorkie ad not actually being done to goad females into eating more, but to get more male customers, because supposedly eating chocolate is girly, and men can only feel comfortable doing so if it’s sufficiently manly chocolate. Funny, it never even occured to me that campaign is really as insulting to men as it is to women.)
0800 36 24 36?! Way to insult/exclude anyone who isn?t shaped like a Barbie doll). I hadn’t noticed that! That’s shocking. Also, I thought AC/DC had already done that gag? (Interestingly enough, I just came across an article that talks about that Yorkie ad not actually being done to goad females into eating more, but to get more male customers, because supposedly eating chocolate is girly, and men can only feel comfortable doing so if it?s sufficiently manly chocolate. Funny, it never even occured to me that campaign is really as insulting to men as it is to women.) See also: Coke Zero. Because Diet Coke is obviously for girls, and so the sugar free version is for everyday blokes, with everyday problems, like girlfriends making five year plans. Which is a real thing that really happens, obviously.
The hilarious thing about Diet Coke is that for years and years, they pushed Diet Coke as for women. Hence the ads with topless men and women soaking their knickers. THEN, they realise that – shit, men are drinking it too these days! So they try and reposition the brand as being for everyone, with that FUCKING APPALLING tortoise campaign, which was neither clever, well made, funny, or had any point to it whatsoever. And then… they launch Coke Zero. For men. And so immediately go back to pushing Diet Coke for ladies again. In other words: one of the biggest companies in the world don’t know what the fuck they’re doing, with one of their major brands. All hilariously mishandled in pretty much every way. And God forbid you might want to decide between Diet Coke and Coke Zero on which taste you prefer. But that’s actually quite a difficult thing to get across. So they take the easy way out, and do it across pathetic gender lines.
My editor was very found of pointing out that only a moron would create ‘Coke Zero’ as competition to ‘Pepsi Max’. With that name you’re handing them the counter-campaign on a great big plate.
Working at, erm, a major cash and carry company, I used to talk to the Coke rep. The first one I dealt with was lovely for eight months… until I told him I was moving to Devon. Upon which news he told me that I’d like it down here because “everyone gets along better, and there’s less conflict, because there’s less foreigners”. Hmmm. But the second one was nice. And he told me that the famous I’d Like to Teach the World To Sing ad was a millstone around the current ad guys necks… because they knew they could never, EVER come up with anything as good. He also told me that nobody there was particularly convinced by the Diet Coke tortoise campaign – but they ran it, because they couldn’t think of anything better. One of the biggest companies in the world – and they couldn’t think of anything better… Coca-Cola did have one of my favourite ever slogans for anything ever, though: “Coca-Cola Is It”. It’s impossible to beat that one. Stripped down to the bare essentials – and just perfect.
THEN, they realise that – shit, men are drinking it too these days! So they try and reposition the brand as being for everyone, with that FUCKING APPALLING tortoise campaign, which was neither clever, well made, funny, or had any point to it whatsoever. To be fair, once they found out they had a product that appeals to everyone, SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE.
And whilst I’m on about Coke branding: a) See the lovely new Coke cans in America. Just beautiful. If only we’d get them over here! b) Coca-Cola It It, and You Can’t Beat The Feeling. I’ll never make a proper socialist.
To be fair, once they found out they had a product that appeals to everyone, SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE. I wouldn’t mind so much if they’d stuck with the non-gender-specific stuff. And preferably done something good. But no, they’ve gone straight back to the lazy aimed-at-women thing, now Coke Zero is on the scene…
Psirens is one of my least-favourite episodes. I just watched it with someone who’s never seen it and actually felt embarrassed (that’s usually only reserved for VII and VIII episodes). I don’t think I ever fully realised how crap some of the lines are – ‘whoever heard of a wormskin rug?’. Legion and Rimmerworld are also bordering on being stinkers IMO (despite them featuring a couple of the best gags in all of Dwarf, my pick being ‘or we could use the teleporter’)
Psirens is one of those episodes that seems a lot better in my head than when actually watching it. I love the production values, I love the new format of the show, and I like some of the jokes… but it’s not quite funny or interesting enough. Also, it’s too much of a rip of Polymorph. At least Emohawk is an official sequel – Psirens just looks a bit too much like running out of ideas. Along with Rimmerworld, the series suddenly looks a bit dodgy in that regard. I won’t hear a bad word against Legion, though. Apart from perhaps about the awful combined face effect. And actually, I think Rimmerworld is probably stronger than Psirens, purely for the jokes. (“Balls on standby, sir.”)
I wouldn’t watch any “random” episode with a friend who’s never seen Red Dwarf before, not anymore. The stories and characters just seem odd. You end up saying, “yeah you would have had to see it from the beginning. If you’d see the entire show, you’d love this particular episode!”. Then you go from series 5 or 6 back to series one and its charming retro look and that doesn’t work either anymore. I only ever show people “The End” anymore, works so much better. That being said, I don’t overly like Psirens (but don’t hate it either), love Legion AND Rimmerworld though. Rimmerworld is great, I don’t see why so many people think it’s weak. It’s got tiny worry balls and a classic escape plan line and Rimmer getting biblical names wrong and a shocking concubine and all that. Oh and it has Kit, Custer and Titan. Awesome.
> I wouldn?t watch any ?random? episode with a friend who?s never seen Red Dwarf before, not anymore. The stories and characters just seem odd I totally disagree! When Series II was being made, Rob and Doug asked that Series I NOT be repeated so newcomers wouldn’t be put off. So long as the characters are accessible and the jokes are funny, people will figure out the bits of context they need. That’s the point of episodic TV. Most of us who followed Red Dwarf through Series II to VI never saw The End until its home video release. Yet we never struggled, and the show’s popularity went up and up. Sure, we occasionally wondered how, exacty, Lister ended up alone, or how the Cat came to exist, but not enough to be a problem. Not to start a big debate, but I think The End is a weak ep anyway. People can be put off by low production values, but I also don’t think the show’s gelling at that stage, nor is the story representitve of a ‘regular’ Dwarf ep. The whole things has too many hurdles to get over for a present-day first-timer. With newcomers I’ll go for simple, undemanding, representitive eps that just plain work – things like Kryten, Marooned, Justice or Quarantine. That said, though I think Psirens is overall not a great ep, it’s a really, really good start episode for people. The first five minutes are specifically designed to re-introduce the show, and it works.
the famous I?d Like to Teach the World To Sing ad was a millstone around the current ad guys necks? because they knew they could never, EVER come up with anything as good. This is a pretty fucking good attempt, though.
>Rimmerworld is great, I don?t see why so many people think it?s weak. Can we please get married now? >Not to start a big debate, but I think The End is a weak ep anyway. And you, too, you big lug.
Oh, and as far as introducing newcomers, I’ve attempted the following: The End (but only if followed immediately by Future Echoes) The Inquisitor White Hole Of those, The Inquisitor seems to have worked the absolute best. It’s got a decent sci-fi plot, a good introduction to each character, a segment of action, and a lot of really, really funny stuff. White Hole didn’t go over well at all, but damned if I can figure out why.
> Oooh, I forgot about the GTA Coke ad! It?s bloody fantastic. I’d not see it before. It’s superb. Presumably it’s been hampered slightly by the game’s delayed release. Right now most casual viewers must see it as just ‘a videogame spoof’. Which’ll change when the game comes out to ‘that’s the thing little Eddie is always playing – the thing where characters keep saying mutherfucker’.
GTa and coke..odd mix, although that adverts at least 1000x better then those damn annoying Tomb Raider Lucozade adverts a while back. I usually use Quarantine when intorucing new people to Dwarf, don’t know why but people seem to like it, perhaps because it’s a man in a dress, something British people seem to be a lot more comfortable with than sci-fi.
the game?s delayed release. Which, GTA IV? I think it even predates the announcement of that, to be honest – it’s a year or more old. I think it’s more a general parody of those type of games, rather than being specifically GTA (although GTA is the most obvious example, of course). It is excellent, though. And I like the choice of song ;-)
> I think it?s more a general parody of those type of games, rather than being specifically GTA Oh, really? My mistake. I thought it was actually using the GTA IV game and characters, sanctioned by Rockstar. Probably not – what the fuck do I know. And yes, Bugsy Malone. Can’t go wrong.
> It?s horrible branding. As my darling bitch of a girlfriend says, she used to watch UKTV G2 – but now it?s rebranded as all blokey, she feels completely excluded? and frankly insulted. I don?t blame her in the slightest. So what, only men are supposed to like ths stuff the channel shows now? Hmm… see I couldn’t see how and then I figured how comfortable would I feel if it was flipped the other way. So I see her point. It is showing a lot of really great TV at the moment however and that’s the most important thing. I don’t think there’s any point over thinking it. It’s a gimmick name to attract attention.
There are funny moments in both Legion and Rimmerworld but along with Psirens and Emohawk the stories are pretty naff and, as has been said, scream of the Comedy Police running out of ideas. You have to thank the Christ Child for Gunmen which is like a shining beacon of pure unadulterated wonderfulness in the middle of what I believe is the only mediocre series of Dwarf (it’s certainly better than VII and VIII, don’t get me wrong) My picks for the first episode of Dwarf to show somebody would be – The End (duh) Future Echoes Better Than Life Backwards Holoship (very good one to watch with a ladyfriend – with any luck the idea of guilt-free constant sex will seep into her brain…)
Bizzarely the two people I’ve hooked on Red Dwarf were both at my house during a random viewing of ‘Thanks for the Memory’
> during a random viewing of ?Thanks for the Memory? Not a surprise. It’s my favourite episode of the early series’. Purely magnificent.
> Holoship (very good one to watch with a ladyfriend – with any luck the idea of guilt-free constant sex will seep into her brain?) * Preps series V dvd for the weekend *
I’d only ever start with “The End”. The reasons are: – Nothing ruins Red Dwarf’s humour more than me explaining that Lister is the last human alive, Cat has evolved from his pet cat and the “H” prick is dead. They’d better see that for themselves. – Nothing’s more fun than seeing someone go “WTF???!!!” on “Everybody’s dead, Dave.” – The End was the first episode *I* saw and it got *me* hooked. – Followed immediately by Future Echoes which is my favourite episode from series one. It’s crazy in a good, sci-fi way and it shows the direction Red Dwarf would later take. – I’m a consistency freak (sad, I know) and generally think you should watch stuff in THE RIGHT ORDER. and – Without background information, some storylines just seem silly.
> you must in a small minority All I can say is that it worked for me and certainly did for many of my friends so far – the only “geeky” friend I have that does NOT appreciate Red Dwarf is someone who saw “Back to Reality” as the very first episode. He didn’t get the point of it at all and now I can’t make him watch any more Red Dwarf since he’s determined to hate it. And – and you don’t have to believe me – I’m convinced that he’d feel very different about the whole programme if he’d see the early episodes, well, early.
I’ve gotta be honest it’s not ABSOLUTELY VITAL that you watch Series I (or indeed ‘The End’) first. I didn’t, but I have to admit some aspects of the later series I didn’t get. Since I saw it since the backend of Series III/IV starting, Holoship confused me, with the thing about them replacing Rimmer’s hologram. I never saw Rimmer as a dead guy… Harrison: No, I think i’m better off where I am… CAT: But you’re dead! That line confused the hell out of me, until I watched the earlier series back. Maybe I’m thick. yes, that’s it. I’m just thick.
> the only ?geeky? friend I have that does NOT appreciate Red Dwarf is someone who saw ?Back to Reality? as the very first episode. That’s not what we’re suggesting though. Back to Reality is a tough starter ep. Dimension Jump, for example, also relies on a strong sense of what’s gone before to work. But if he’d started with Kryten? No problem at all. I’ve known Buffy fans totally put off by Firefly ep one; and others bowled over by it cos they started with Our Mrs Reynolds.
>> I?m a consistency freak (sad, I know) and generally think you should watch stuff in THE RIGHT ORDER. But Red Dwarf is the most inconsistent show ever. Fair enough for coming at it from episode 1 onwards, but you must be in a small minority and it doesn’t seem to have done the rest of the fanbase any harm. The whole point of it being episodic TV is just that, so you can watch any episode or watch episodes in any order. Red Dwarf was never meant to have be a story arc. It just kind of develop one overtime.
>> It?s horrible branding. As my darling bitch of a girlfriend says, she used to watch UKTV G2 – but now it?s rebranded as all blokey, she feels completely excluded? and frankly insulted. I don?t blame her in the slightest. So what, only men are supposed to like ths stuff the channel shows now? >Hmm? see I couldn?t see how and then I figured how comfortable would I feel if it was flipped the other way. So I see her point. It is showing a lot of really great TV at the moment however and that?s the most important thing. I don?t think there?s any point over thinking it. It?s a gimmick name to attract attention. Frankly, I would *love* not to have to think about it, but I tried to watch RD the other day on there and the ‘Dave’ DOG worked me up into a frenzy of irritation. They may as well have a DOG saying ‘NOT 4 U’ or ‘FUCK OFF TO LIVING TV’. The fact that they’re showing great programmes is a massive slap in the face. I really want to hunt out the person who thought of this and hit them REALLY hard.
Was it a CGI dog… *runs away* No I do see your frustration. By over thinking, I was refering to their thinking (or lack of) behind the decision.
Dave could be referance to Trigger’s name for Rodney in ‘Only Fools’… Britains Best Sitcom. THAT makes more sense, since UKTV repeats ‘Only Fools’ like I breathe air…
What makes it funnier is the spoken slogan ‘alright Dave?’ said in a blokey voice that appears every so often. I just think it’s amusing. It’s not as though it’s called ‘Men & Motors’. It’s simply aimed more at men, but in a gimmicky way. Nothing wrong with it whatsoever! No matter what, shows like Top Gear and Question of Sport ARE aimed more at men, despite the many hundreds of thousands of women that watch them (if only in the background while they simultaneously flick through heat, paint their nails and text their friends whining about how their fiance is being a nob and not pulling his weight again. I’m dispelling the myth right now – women aren’t good at mult-tasking, they just can’t concentrate on anything at any given time. Fact…;). Face it, girls shouldn’t be watching Red Dwarf anyway. Sci-fi is for men and men only. Women only watch sci-fi because they have to or else their boyfriend/husband would be pissed off and maybe leave them. The same goes for action flicks (I know for a fact that my girlfriend only sat through Casino Royale because of Daniel Craig and his fucking buffness). I’ll be damned if I’m watching Miss Congeniality 2. Miss Congenianally 2 maybe…
> Face it, girls shouldn?t be watching Red Dwarf anyway. Sci-fi is for men and men only. Women only watch sci-fi because they have to or else their boyfriend/husband would be pissed off and maybe leave them. The same goes for action flicks Funny enough, in our little family it’s the other way round.
You know, sometimes, Monkey, you can be quite perceptive and thought-provoking. And other times… [etc]. Anyway, isn’t Living TV being rebranded as “Kimberly”?. No more “Dirty Dancing: The Time of Your Life” for me…
>I?ll be damned if I?m watching Miss Congeniality 2. Come to think of it, I don’t think I know anyone, male or female, who’d want to watch the Miss Congeniality flicks. I mean, a glance at the trailers was enough to convince me they were shit.
Arlene Rimmer B… / Fri, 2007-10-19 10:09 / new / # >>I?ll be damned if I?m watching Miss Congeniality 2. >Come to think of it, I don?t think I know anyone, male or female, who?d want to watch the Miss Congeniality flicks. I mean, a glance at the trailers was enough to convince me they were shit. I’m sorry to say I quite enjoy that film. I haven’t seen Miss Congeniality 2…not sure if I will…maybe I’ll rent it at some point.
Hang on Channel 12 was UKTV History. Now that’s Dave. Channel 19 was UK Bright Ideas. Now that’s UKTV History, but that’s not on all the time now (which is a bloody annoyance). The Radio Times (other listings magazines are available) says Channel 12 is still UKTV History and Channel 19 is Dave. I’m, confused. Dave does show QI and Top Gear though, as well as Red Dwarf. Which is a plus. “Some say his locker is covered in posters from Fascist Dictator Monthly and that he sews name labels on his ship-issue condoms. We just know him as Arnold Rimmer”.
I saw ‘Dave’ the other day whilst looking for something to watch, and was frankly very confused for almost a full minute. UKTV History remains the best thing on freeview. No matter how many times they show Planet Earth it never gets even a little boring.
Baz – do a full rescan of your Freeview box. Dave should be on 19, UK History on 12 (although that has had its’ hours cut to 6am-6pm, since it’s now on BI’s old space, timesharing with Virgin1 – which is why you’re seeing it that way around).
Dave has a ‘Nothing but Red Dwarf’ weekend starting this Saturday. So, that’ll be the same 4 episodes repeated late at night, then. They are using a cut down version of UKTV G2’s lovely trailer, though. In fact, it seems they are showing the first three episodes of Series IV on Saturday night (repeated once) and the next three on Sunday night. Hardly ‘nothing but Red Dwarf’, but there you go.
The UKTV navbar for me – http://mattl.co.uk/img/uktv-diaf.png – totally fucking messed up. Serves me right not not having proper Flash player installed, I guess. But then, you could argue using Flash for basic navigation is a bit silly. Also, http://www.killercoke.org/ – I’m not saying I don’t drink it occasionally, but I am weaning myself off it.
> Leaving the astonishingly shit name aside for the moment, Dave is turning out to be one of the best channels on Freeview If only we knew…
Noticed this – tried to post it elsewhere without success so I’ll put it here as well (?) http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2616/239/76/798285461/n798285461_6122714_7834945.jpg How long’s that H been there?
