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[TheLeen]

No, afraid not… didn’t even know there was a German version, what’s it called? I might or might not know it…

German television is generally shite. There are very very few programmes and telly films that are watchable. Off the top of my head I can name… not a single one actually. But I’m sure they’re out there somewhere.

Why did you think I hop around all the British telly websites ;)

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Normal in Germany? I wouldn’t know about that, I don’t usually watch German programmes (for obvious reasons) but it seems odd to me as well. They could’ve ditched it right after the first episode. Ratings got better, but only very slightly so, for the second episode.

I suppose it really was all the poor reviews on the internet on top of that.

Guilty.

:\

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Show cancelled as of yesterday. After the second episode, that is. Somewhat sad, I really wanted to see all six.

The second episode was on last Friday, but with the holiday and all that I had it taped and have yet to find out how to play the thing, I’ll probably get to watch it this weekend.

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I’d love to, just let me know when you’re ready.

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Oh, the acting was just as bad as the comedic timing. The latter may be down to the director? In the end it was just poor anyway.

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I heard that basic Japanese grammar isn’t so difficult, also it has a lot of short words and consequent pronounciation rules. If not for the different writing as well, I think it wouldn’t be all that hard to learn.

It’s all down to your motivation, I tend to start with a language and then stop again when the time comes that you really REALLY have to revise a lot of vocaulary. Boo.

( …. If I were to choose any language to learn now, I must say I would find Japanese a bit of a boring choice (what’s up with the Japan fetish currently going on?!) Of the Asian languages, how about Malayan or Vietnamese, or Korean (just because reading/writing Korean letters is immense fun). If I had more time, I’d focus on Finnish and Icelandic though, with a little Kiswahili on the side ;) or with a LOT of time, Hindi. Because (in my humble opinion) those are a lot friendlier to the ear than any far-east Asian languages. …. )

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I’ll check my VHS cases at home if I don’t forget. But I inherited them, so any leaflets may have been thrown away. Been a while since I last watched so anything’s possible.

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> God, I wish I was doing Standard Nerds now!

Get back on it John! I’ll help you out! I’m an IT Crowd addict!

> assure us we?re not missing much.

You aren’t. Even if it looks a BIT like a show that actually somewhat likable, they’ve messed up too many things. First and foremost, the actors are no comedians. And the script is shit. It’s just not funny. I’ve read about three dozen (or more) reviews and blog entries about “Das iTeam” now and *not a single one* was positive. At the official Sat1 (tv channel) board, there’s only hate going on. The show had the lowest viewer rating of all shows that night (and I reckon the other ones were shit too, alas don’t get the amount of hate that iTeam does). I have read a total of ONE individual forum posting at a random discussion board that said “I don’t know the original, but this was actually okay.”

Believe me, there’s not much to like. :(

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Nope, not mine. Love it, though. It should have included many more scenes. Like, the entire episode. Yes.

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Because I can’t get enough of it:

Video comparison @ youtube

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Oh by the way:

Online mag netzeitung.de says in their iTeam review‘s “see also”:

> “ganymede.tv” compares “IT Crowd” und “iTeam” (engl.)

*g*

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Additional. Just saw the telly release of this episode and something sensational happened – all the missing middle scenes are back in! Amazing. Now the plot makes remote sense. They’re decently done (as in: not totally terrible) as well. Also, and I hadn’t noticed this before, the picture of Bornholm behind his desk is moving in the last “hello computer” scene. As an added bonus, during the credits in the end there were some snapshots of Tom and Gabriel with Kiki and Vicky (which seem to have enjoyed the fair a good deal more than Brandy and Chrystal).
This certainly doesn’t save the show – but well, at least one of the major holes fixed…

[TheLeen]

O_O

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> now updated to approximately the same year we?re in now!

Can I use this as a slogan when I own a business?

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Excellent :D

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Do you do requests?

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> Also: why does this topic rate a ?read more? link on the main page, and the other forum threads don?t?

Been asking myself the same! :x

*Outing*

I started to like the Douglas character after I’d realised who he reminds me of very, very, very much.

Zaphod Beeblebrox O_O

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I wish it were true though :)

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I didn’t say that Malta gets it first. I said I can’t see it till February, UNLESS it’s on in Malta, then I WOULD watch it next week.

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German release date is Febrauray 21st… really, that’s even later than usual! I have to wait :(

(Unless it’s on in Malta, then I’d watch it next week!)

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Happy new year and all that. *yawn*

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Read it again a few weeks ago and the story seems way too short.

I’m all for a bridge movie, there’s more than enough stuff there, what with the White Council and the Necromancer and all that.

Here’s just one example list from thehobbit-movie.com. Not what I’d prefer but it shows how much they have to choose from. There are others over at theonering.net etc.:

For the first film ‘The Hobbit’

• Opening: The histoy of Dragons, Melkor and Sauron.
• Smaug the Dragon descends on Erebor (the Lonely Mountain) and expels the dwarves. Thror escapes with Thrain II and Thorin II. (There is a possible link between the Necromancer and Smaug)
• While traveling to Erebor, Thrain II (now Dwarf King) is captured and imprisoned by the “Necromancer” in Dol Guldur (fortress in Mirkwood); the last of the Seven Rings of Power belonging to the Dwarves is taken from him.
• Gandalf enters Dol Guldur, and confirms his suspicion that the “Necromancer” is Sauron. He learns that Sauron is gathering the Rings and seeking the One Ring. Gandalf also finds Thrain and receives the key of Erebor from him. Thrain dies.
• The White Council meets and Gandalf presses for an attack on Dol Guldur. Saruman overrules him and begins to discreetly search for the Ring near the Gladden Fields, where it was lost by Isildur, and later ‘found’ by Gollum.
• Gandalf returns to the Shire. Renews his friendship with Old Took.This will also nicely show the connection between Took and Baggins families. Gandalf sets off fireworks, entertains kids, sends some hobbits on adventures…[Credit to Mithrandir]
• The White Tree of Gondor dies and is left standing. No seedling can be found.
• Bilbo Baggins is born.
• Aragorn II, descendant of Aranarth first Chieftain of the D?nedains, is born. His mother calls him Estel (“hope”) and sends him to live with Elrond.
• Thorin Oakenshield and Gandalf visit Bilbo in the Shire. Bilbo joins the Dwarves’ quest to retake the treasures of Erebor. Among his many adventures, Bilbo meets Gollum and finds the One Ring.
• Bard of Esgaroth slays Smaug the dragon with the aid of Bilbo. The Battle of the Five Armies?Men, Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, and Eagles? is fought over Smaug’s treasure. Thorin Oakenshield dies in battle, and Dain of the Iron Hills becomes King under the mountain. .
• Bilbo returns to the Shire and begins to write his memoirs, the first volume of the Red Book.

For the second film:

• Opening: The arrival of the Wizards to Middle Earth. [Credit to Lenitas]
• The White Council meets again and Saruman, hoping to keep Sauron from finding the One Ring, agrees to attack Dol Guldur. Sauron abandons Dol Guldur. (Possible Big Battle scene to get the movie off to a good start)
• Sauron returns to Mordor.
• Bard rebuilds Dale and becomes King. Gollum leaves the Mountains and begins his search for his “precious”.
• Balin leads a company of Dwarves from Erebor to Moria, in an attempt to reoccupy it.
• Sauron openly declares his presence and gathers his forces and sends three Nazg?l to hold Dol Guldur. Gollum heads toward Mordor in his search.
• Elrond reveals to his ward “Estel” his true name and heritage at his coming of age and presents him with the greatest heirloom of Arnor, the shards of the ancient sword Narsil and the Ring of Barahir.
• Arwen, returning from Lorien, meets Aragorn in the woods. They fall in love, but Aragorn leaves to prove his worthiness as a suitor to Elrond.
• Last meeting of the White Council. Saruman claims to have discovered that the One Ring has rolled down the Anduin to the Sea. He begins to keep agents in Bree and the Shire, fortifies Isengard and sets spies on Gandalf.
• Gandalf and Aragorn meet and become friends.
• Aragorn as Thorongil serves both the king of Rohan and the Steward of Gondor, and protects the land of Eriador from the minions of Sauron.
• Frodo Baggins is born.
• Birth of Boromir son of Denethor II, steward of Gondor.
• Aragorn enters Lorien and meets Arwen again. He gives her the ring of Barahir (Note: In the film version of LOTR, he still has the ring. Instead, it seems that Arwen gives him her pendant, Evenstar. [Thanks to Grey Pilgrim for catching this]), and they promise to marry.
• Frodo Baggins loses both of his parents in a boating accident and is adopted by Bilbo.
• Gollum reaches the confines Mordor. He is tortured, interrogated, and eventually “escapes.” He then becomes acquainted with the great spider Shelob.
• Theoden becomes King of Rohan. Saruman begins using his influence to weaken Th?oden.
• Balin is slain in Moria, and the colony destroyed.
• Aragorn finally tracks Gollum down in the Dead Marshes, and brings him as a captive to the elven King Thranduil’s halls in Mirkwood.
• Gilraen, Aragorn II’s mother passes away at the age of 100 years
• Saruman risks using one of the seeing stones and is unknowingly enslaved to the will of Sauron.
• Then comes Bilbo’s 111th birthday party.

[TheLeen]

It would depend on whether someone said “There’s too much shouting going on in The IT Crowd” or “Katherine Parkinson’s way of shouting is getting on my nerves”.

[TheLeen]

Denholm shouts *all the time* and people *love* him.

Roy does a good deal of shouting as well.

I like the shouting. There’s a German saying: The IT Crowd “has pepper” ;) The original version anyway. No pepper in the German version :(

[TheLeen]

Well, try and watch the German version and you’ll find that without the shouting… it just doesn’t work.

Okay, it doesn’t work for many reasons. But that’s one of them. Everyone seems so tired and uninspired. Not even the girl with the shoe seems passionate.

But like I said, I didn’t mind the “over the top” Jen in the first place; on the contrary, I was a bit sad that they toned her down for the second series.

[TheLeen]

At this point, no one knows for certain, but the majority of nerds seems to think that it is impossible to split the Hobbit into two full feature length films and that it would in many ways make more sense to have one Hobbit movie and another movie tying The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings together, based on Tolkien’s background material, Silmarillion and so forth. Some people were sure to have read something officiallish on this somewhere but no one can find the link.

All we *know* is that it’s been decided to make two movies.

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Haha, I got the episode 2 bit wrong, too.

He’s wearing the Kimono in the merger scene, not war scene. :x

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Oh, sure, take it. Already said to Phil, I’d be honoured.

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Thanks!
This must be the longest text I wrote since uni. Probably G&T’s bad influence.

It’d be nice to read a full review of the American pilot. But then, I could watch that one myself. But you can’t really watch the German thing, harr harr. But believe me, it’s for the best.

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Yes.

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Re-reading it now, the review sounds too tame.

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Well, all the best to you two!

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> Didn?t stop me getting the expanded editions, though, and, strangely it dragged less on the rewatching.

That’s because they mostly edited (what I thought were) key elements out for the theatrical versions, but left all the running-across-country scenes in…

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And so they produced enough material for 6 movies! But all the better.

> But I make no bones about my love the LOTR films. The tone and progression totally pulled me in – and I found the books unreadable.

Andrew, you’re officially my soulmate on this matter

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Good point.

But then, PJ will be producing and maybe writing, not directing (he says he is too busy with other commitments). Maybe in that light this is good news?

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I’ve just seen the extended versions of all three of them in one go last Sunday. If something’s entertaining, I don’t mind there being A LOT of it.

I hope there are going to be long versions of the two new movies as well, and TONS of documentary to watch… :D

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To be honest, I’d already stopped believing this was ever going to happen. I’m quite, quite happy.

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> The whole ?Death? scene is a bit ridiculous. Kneeing Death in the balls?

So what? I always thought it was a nice way to (temporarily… for now…) end the show on a quote of the second episode ever… as Lister in Future Echoes said if the Reaper was going to come for him he was going to rip his nipples off…

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That’s quite fantastic. It almost beats Nimoy’s Hobbit song. I just ordered the CD.

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Parallel universe makes me laugh a LOT each time, no matter how obvious. Hehe.

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What? They seem to see WOMEN the same way that Arnold and Dave see MEN… and vice versa…

Or how about an example, I really don’t get what you mean…

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“They’re fans, they’re collectors, they’ll buy *anything*. Oh, there’s an idea, this will be fun, let’s see how many dumbos order this thing here for their living room wall… tee hee hee hee hee hee”, I reckon.

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“This seems to be a bit underdeveloped in the episode itself. Arlene is sometimes more brash than Rimmer?but still uses a lot of his seduction techniques and appears awkward talking to him.
Also, Lister?s female equivalent seems almost identical to him.”

I think this ^ is exactly what “sexual attitudes are opposite too” means.

Once when I saw Parallel Universe I asked myself, if everything’s opposite, how come Arlene hits on Arnold and he doesn’t on her? But then I thought, he probably WOULD have if they’d all met up on the “male Holly Red Dwarf”. Or something.

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> ?A brilliant plan sir, with just two minor flaws??

Yeah, I use that one as well.

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I googled it too, but found no review for you. :x

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Well, I do eat curries a lot. And I quote red Dwarf all the time but no one gets it (Germany…) and same with Father Ted really.

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Oh man, and I wanted to go and see it some time next year. Please, someone tell me that it’s great.

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Can I take a picture of your manhole?

… no, that doesn’t work for me tbh…

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I don’t think the telegraph pole photos are very interesting. Now my collection of sewer lid photos from around the world…

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Did in facebook…

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