The Oscars 2012

Lights, Camera, Action.  Awards ceremonies are like Arsenal cup exits – you wait ages for one, and then a whole bundle come along together. Following hot on the heels of the Baftas, Grammys and the Brits, now come the Oscars. Get the popcorn in, put on your best Barry Norman voice, and most crucially of all, make sure you’ve had a punt on these long-shots. Best Director: The upset of the night could come in the award for the Best Director, with reclusive eccentric Terence Malick being talked up by those in the know. Highly regarded by Tinseltown beard-strokers, Malick’s price has tumbled in the last week down from 140 to the current 21 that is available on Betfair. Supporting... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 26th, 2012
(Posted in: Articles, Betting, Oggsblog, TV Shows)

Celebrity Big Brother Final 2012

Come back soon. No really…  Tomorrow night sees the end of Celebrity Big Brother 2012. Whilst this is normally an event worth celebrating, on this occasion the programme will actually be much missed, having been the usual rollercoaster of laughs, girls and tears, but this time with a dash of cunning and even menace at times. The win market is still wide open, with three conceivable victors, all of whom have been favourite at some stage over the past ten days. Much unfancied at the start, Frankie Cocozza  is now the justified favourite. Leaked X Factor results have revealed how incredibly popular he was on that show, despite his indiscretions and total inability to sing. Should those same voters have... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 26th, 2012
(Posted in: Articles, Oggsblog, TV Shows)

Sports Personality of Year 2011

Five Things To Watch For.  1.      Count out anyone who plays a high-profile sport: In the past five years, only Ryan Giggs has won playing a sport that would regularly feature on the back-page of a tabloid newspaper. For the record, the roll-call since 06 (omitting Giggsy) reads Zara Phillips (Eventing), Joe Calzaghe (Boxing), Chris Hoy (Cycling), and last year’s winner Tony McCoy (horse racing). Little surprise then that cycling’s Mark Cavendish is the 1.36 favourite on Betfair. 2.      Nobody English will win: The other noteworthy trend amongst recent winners has been the absence of an English winner. Calzaghe and Giggs are Welsh, Hoy is a Scot and AP McCoy from Northern Ireland. Could that work in the favour of... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
(Posted in: Articles, Oggsblog, TV Shows)

Christmas Number 1 2011 – Two to watch

Like most bad things these days, it is all Simon Cowell’s fault. Back in the day, the race for Christmas number one saw every big artist or band in the country spend months penning a potential classic, designed to nab the vaunted Number 1 Xmas slot. Who could forget the Pogues ‘Fairytale in New York’, Slade’s ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’, or erm, that great eponymous mid-90s hit ‘Mr Blobby.’ Yet with the dominance of the X Factor (whose winner has topped five of the last six Xmas charts,) serious bands are reluctant to issue a Christmas hit, given the inevitable humiliation which lies in wait. Hell – even joke bands like the Saturdays, don’t think it is worth their time. This... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
(Posted in: Articles, Oggsblog, TV Shows)

X Factor 2011 Update

Yep, Still Going. The fact that 3million or so fewer people appear to be watching the X Factor this year has been attributed to all manner of nonsense by media experts. A better version of Strictly is apparently luring away viewers (I hadn’t noticed), annoying new judges are sitting in the hotseats (because we all miss that Minogue woman) or even the relatively better November weather has meant more people are outside exercising on a Saturday night (!!!) The truth however, as so often in these cases, is simple. Perhaps people are just tired of the manipulation, the exaggeration, but above all, the repetition. Lazy producers resort to regurgitating old acts who were either popular or controversial, and hope we... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 29th, 2011
(Posted in: Articles, Oggsblog, TV Shows)

Strictly Come Dancing 2011 – Update

Der der der der der der der. Der der der der der.  It may not have been a vintage season of SCD, but due to the kicking it is giving the X Factor in the ratings, it is clearly the number 1 reality show in the UK right now. Curiously enough for an astronomer, Russell Grant didn’t see his exit coming – fired from a cannonball at Wembley over the weekend – a sentence no human being should ever really have to write. And with the joke act out, all we’re left with now are the serious entrants bar one. Grant’s farewell has left Anita Dobson as the odds-on favourite to go next week, down to 1.78 with Betfair. But... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Monday, November 21st, 2011
(Posted in: Articles, Oggsblog, TV Shows)

Miss World 2011

Or Calum Best’s to-do list as its more commonly known. Forget the Olympics, or her Maj’s jubilee, the big one is finally coming to London this weekend. Having hosted the first ever contest, Miss World returns to the UK, as Earls Court stages the 2011 competition. 60 years after launching this whole seedy affair, the UK has grabbed it back, and beautiful ladies will be convening on Earls Court this weekend, to parade around in front of some leering judges. Like boxing, it is fairly strange that Miss World is still allowed to take place, in today’s politically correct age. The BBC screened the first twenty contests, and ITV the next ten – a situation entirely unimaginable now. Yet over... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Friday, November 4th, 2011
(Posted in: Articles, Oggsblog, TV Shows)

5 Things to Watch Out For – X Factor 2011

Viewers fleeing faster than tyrants up a drainpole.   1.      Artificial controversies: Previously we have watched an illegal lass by the name of Gamu consigned to deportation/execution by Cheryl Cole, not to mention contestants pulling out due to a penchant for happy slapping (Emily Nakanda) or even being a bit nuts (Shirlena Johnson). This year, we had the bullying of a fairly sweet woman, Ceri Rees. Still, it’s a nice family show, hey kids. 2.      Artifical judging controversies: Cowell and co have realised that even the audience are too savvy these days to fall for too much of the above. So controversies amongst the judges are created instead; more believable as nobody would expect the show to turn on itself. Or would... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Monday, October 24th, 2011
(Posted in: Articles, Oggsblog, TV Shows)

Big Brother 2011

Yep – still going. So low-key has this season’s BB been, that even your average whale is struggling to find the correct frequency. Having shifted the series from its typical summer perch, to an autumnal berth, the producers have run into two major problems. Firstly, part of the whole programme’s attraction for male viewers was watching women parade around with garments that could at best be described as flimsy. The show’s removal from the summer schedules has in turn led to fewer clothes being removed, with this week’s episodes even seeing housemates put on extra-thick jumpers to keep warm. The second problem cannot be blamed on the climate, rather on the hazy thinking of Five’s schedulers. The new slot has... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Monday, October 17th, 2011
(Posted in: Articles, Oggsblog, TV Shows)