Is Nasri on his way to Highbury?

As we head into the weekend, I thought that I’d follow up yesterday’s post about transfer speculation with a little bit of, ahem, transfer speculation. The story that has been rumbling in just about all the newspapers and websites this week is regarding the signing of Samir Nasri, who if the patter around town is to be believed, is on the brink of signing for Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.

Five days ago, Wenger was quoted as saying that the transfer, ‘is likely to happen’, and since then an ominous silence has fallen around the issue, as fans clamour for the pomp and excitement of a signing ceremony.

In many ways, Nasri is the perfect Arsenal signing. Young, French, a good passer and likely to increase in value – the player has even been dubbed the ‘next Zidane’, in the press’ usual untidy attempt at pigeonholing.

So, as we leave the office on a Friday afternoon wondering what to do to fill up our weekends, it might be worth making a little bet with one of your colleagues as to whether Monsieur Nasri will be enrolling for English classes at the Highbury Institute for Languages.

In the meantime, Nasri is still enjoying the rather sunnier weather in the south of France where he plays with his current club Marseille. With no announcements expected until he has signed the final documents and passed a medical, it looks as if Arsenal fans will have to test their patience over the next few days, having to make do with this little video clip.

Arsenal fans can find out the latest about Samir Nasri’s protracted transfer to Arsenal by watching the Arsenal television channel which is available on Sky Sports and the Setanta Sports channel. For more information, click here.

Tags: Digital TV, Virgin by Peter Moore
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Director: Andrew Adamson Cast: Georgie Henley & Skandar Keynes

Here’s a task for you; locate any Brit you can around the age of twenty five and enquire as to whether they remember the BBC Chronicles of Narnia series that ran at the end of the 1980s. Eyes will brighten, grins will appear and on occasion you might just be able to spot a tear forming.

The reason for this of course is that this particular series was a milestone of our youth, a paragon of programming that has rarely been repeated. In my rather rose-tinted memory, the cast of characters was formidable: the foppish, wide-eyed Pevensie children, the benevolent faun Mr Tumnus and the alarming, cool as ice, White Witch.

These memories have flooded back to my mind sparked by the release of the forthcoming film, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. It is the second time around for the fantasy franchise headed by the director Andrew Adamson who is doubtless trying to rekindle the successes of Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings in the past few years.

Potentially it is another two hours’ worth of witty dialogue, unexpected victories and archetypal heroes and villains. The Chronicles of Narnia is set to become one of those wonderful cinematic feasts that leave you exiting the cinema wondering whereabouts you can purchase a wooden shield from.

Is it going to be better than the BBC series that is burned so deeply into my memory? Probably, because looking back in the cool rational air of 2008, you have to admit that the acting was a little wooden and the effects did leave a little to be desired. I never noticed it at the time though…

The first instalment in the Chronicles of Narnia franchise, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was released in 2005 and has been available for viewing on Sky Movies. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is released nationally today.

However for those of you who wish to reminisce about the good old days, you can watch the inset video.

Tags: Digital TV, Films, Programmes, Sky by Peter Moore
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Football, football, football…

It is about this time of year when football fans retreat from the terraces in mourning for the end of another season. Wives, girlfriends and sympathisers are at pains to point out that the European Championship are on the brink of starting, that in less than a month there will be chatter of pre-season and that in any case it is a good opportunity to talk about something else anyway.

So what is it that football fans actually do then, during this briefest of gaps in their annual calendar? Landscape the garden? Paint the bathroom? Visit the relatives in Yorkshire?

Not in the least. Unfortunately for their long suffering intimates, football fans much like leopards find it difficult to shrug off their spots. Filling the vacuum is that wonderful pastime of fans and commentators alike – speculation.

Ronaldinho to Manchester City? Barry to Liverpool? Pele returning for Preston? Chelsea to spend seventy million? Speculation like this whirs around offices, homes and public houses across the country, causing excitement, consternation and despair in equal measure.

An anxious Arsenal fan sitting opposite me is worrying himself with the latest developments, as the top European teams peck away at Wenger’s young squad with the appetite of a gluttonous vulture; meanwhile Manchester United supporters simmer with quiet anger about reports that Christiano Ronaldo is about to be carted off to Madrid – leading to their manager Alex Ferguson bringing up references to General Franco.

Inventive titles have been dreamt up by editors about the country: rumour mills, transfer talk, transfer sagas. And throughout May, June and July each of these will be whizzing in top gear.

End of the football season, yes. But there is no escape from the action.

To keep up to date with all of the latest digital sports coverage, then Sky Sports News is one of the flagship sporting news providers and is available on most digital networks.

Tags: Digital TV, Sky by Peter Moore
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Apparently most Americans don’t know that award winning actor Hugh Laurie, currently starring in a new series of House M.D., is English. His accent is so good that they instantly assume he has the right to bear arms and shoot trespassers like the rest of them. We in England however, tend to sit in front of our TVs, mouths half open, in a state of semi-crazed incredulity thinking “Bertie Wooster, its Bertie bloody Wooster!”

Not content with getting Hollywood to rewrite our history, or dragging us into foreign adventures that ensure we will never win the Eurovision Song contest again, they take one of our most beloved public school geeks, give him a stubble a spray tan and a new accent, and suddenly he’s attractive. Oh the absolute cheek of it! Unsurprisingly Hugh is sticking to his new American look, as evidenced by his recent appearance with Keanu Reeves in Street Kings, where he plays US cop Captain Biggs.

But we in the UK should feel cheated, because we all know that Hugh Laurie belongs in a blazer and tie, sat in front of a bowl of treacle, and saying “rather!” whilst getting smacked around the head by Rowan Atkinson. Really, it’s about time this country stood up for itself.

Hugh Laurie can be seen as Dr. Gregory House in the Fox series House M.D. and frequent repeats of Blackadder, A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster are aired on UKTV Gold and other digital comedy channels.

Tags: Digital TV, Programmes, Sky by John Hillman
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Every hour, every day

Ever since the US military spoke about the “CNN effect” during the first Gulf War we have become increasingly attached to 24 hour rolling news.

Whether you are a 24 hour-a-day TV news junkie or just someone who skims across the internet before leaving work, the fact is our information gathering has changed forever.

Advanced technology means that the days of the nation all sitting down together at 6 o’clock to watch the same news programme is over; something that says a lot about how society has changed since we were all kids.

But does the increased choice of sources actually improve the quality of news content that comes our way?

Unfortunately the rush to be the first to get the story on their news platforms usually means that the days of assiduous fact checking and journalistic reflection have been subordinated to the war for ratings; journalists are finding themselves under increasing pressure to deliver the goods at high speed.

On the other hand you can argue that the plurality of information sources has increased the flow of information around the world to places that were previously denied access to news, Burma and China being a good case in point.

Ultimately, although having lots of choice can expose us to hearsay and speculation, it also makes our ability to decipher the truth more sophisticated, and that has to be a positive factor.

Tags: BBC, Digital TV, Programmes, Sky by John Hillman
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Winners and losers

So, what exactly do Steven Gerrard, James Bond, Ross Kemp, Winston Churchill, Ellen Page and the Gladiators have in common? Well the answer is quite simple: they are all featured on Sky’s Heroes season of programming.

This season has been running for some time now and it is indicative of Sky’s latest decision to organise its programming into various different seasons. The ‘Heroes’ season includes a wave of programming across a number of different Sky channels.

The biography channel is featuring a number of British national heroes; Sky Sports is concentrating upon dramatic sporting finale and the movies channel is focussing on films telling stories of personal bravery and courage.

The ‘Heroes’ season is slated to be followed by other genre lead series of programmes. Sky have already promised that in the future there will be series of Westerns, animations, films from the 60s and musicals to follow the end of the ‘Heroes’ one at the end of May.

To find out more information about Sky’s specific scheduling, you can visit their website to browse up to date listings and timetables.

Tags: BBC, Digital TV, Programmes, Sky, Switchover by Peter Moore
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Unforgettable

Sky One is indulging in something of a game show orgy. First controller Richard Woolfe commissioned a remake of the nineties popular hit Gladiators and now he’s thrown a fresh fistful of money at a live-audience show called Don’t Forget the Lyrics.

Hosted by ex-Eastender and lively raconteur Shane Richie, the format of the show is formulaic and sparkles with humour as audience members attempt to sing the lyrics of a favourite song without cues, to varying levels of success.

‘Think you know all the words to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody?’ Sky One challenges on the promotional advertising. ‘Would you be able to keep on singing once the music has stopped?’ the carrot dangling in front of the range of contestants is a £250,000 for those who think they can.

The format smacks heavily of the erstwhile favourite, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? With the contestants beginning with a relatively simple pop song for £500, and progressing steadily to more and more difficult recollections as the money on offer rises. In the meantime, Shane Richie is guaranteed to be poking, prodding, encouraging and mocking in equal measure.

Don’t Forget the Lyrics is available on Sky One, through a number of different digital service providers.

Tags: Programmes, Sky by Peter Moore
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It’s about to kick off

Where will you be at 6 pm on Saturday the 7^th June? Like most self-respecting football fans I expect that you will be settling down to watch Switzerland v Czech Republic, Euro 2008’s first match.

But where to watch it is another matter , Big-Screens planned for Birmingham, Liverpool, Hull, Leeds, Rotherham, Bradford, Derby and Swindon are no-longer going ahead.

This is thanks to the trouble caused by some Rangers supporters after the recent UEFA Cup final in Manchester city centre, apparently local councils have decided it just isn’t worth the risk anymore.

So if you want atmosphere but can’t make it to Austria or Switzerland this summer, it looks like sports bars are going to be the best place to catch the games.

It is actually worth looking around for a good place to catch the action, I have found out that my local pub is selling limited entry tickets; the price includes a guaranteed armchair, Big screen, Burger and chips and a pint – all for £10.

Alternatively it might be time to splash out on a new Plasma TV get the barbeque on and invite the neighbourhood round. Why not put some posters up where you live: “Wanted EU nationals that might actually have something to celebrate this summer to add atmosphere to my party”.

Tags: Digital TV, Programmes, Sky by John Hillman
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