400th Episode of The Verge, The Verge Turns 3

If you haven’t heard of or seen The Verge before, it’s a show about video gaming on DSTV, channel 123 (Vuzu). It’s been running for nearly the past 3 years, since late 2008. Wednesday the 23rd of November, 2011 marks the 400th episode of this show.

Yes, 400 episodes of news; trailers; reviews; looking at Pippa and her various “interesting” hairstyles; changing timeslots; putting up with Mo (and more recently Thomas), and even the odd bit of the old mockery from Lala – odd coming from a show whose target audience happens to be gamers.

The 400th episode will have reviews on Rage, Battlefield 3, and will feature Pippa’s top 5 iPhone games.
December 1st marks the show’s 3rd birthday – but there likely won’t be an episode of either The Verge or PlayR on that night, seeing as Dec 1 is a Thursday, and neither show airs any episodes on a Thursday.

Source: The Verge

400th Episode of The Verge, The Verge Turns 3

KTV Going off the air at the end of March

I was going through my news feeds, like I usually do, the other night, and I came across something on the NAG Online forum that sort of shocked me.

Do you remember as a kid, coming home from school, and before you’d done anything else – boring stuff; taking a dump, getting out of uniform, eating, or doing homework – you’d plonk down in front of the TV, and tune in to KTV (or Kid’s TV, so I was told years ago), on MNET?

KTV is going off the air this year. First it was Animax (didn’t care - it came back better actually, as SonyMax) – now this.

I couldn’t believe it myself. Here we were in the 90’s as kids growing up, going to school -and we grew up with KTV. And somewhat amusingly the reason behind its demise is this:

''The kiddies block, KTV is falling away from 1 April,'' says Lani Lombard, M-Net's communications manager. ''The reason for that is that the M-Net and KTV audience have grown up,'' she says. The audience has moved. For subscribers who have DStv have moved to the 24 hour kids channels like Nickelodeon and all the other DStv kids channels. So there will still be some kids programming, but no longer a specific kids block.''

Summarised as follows: “The kids of today aren’t interested in KTV – they have the cartoon channels on DSTV to watch”.

Hell, the kids of today aren’t interested at all. From what I’ve heard, they’re too busy drinking, smoking, taking drugs, and boinking… at the age of 8. Where has the innocence in the world gone? I was twice that age before anything like that crossed my mind.

Anyway, KTV is said to be going off the air on Thursday 31 March. And it apparently won’t be rebranded or such, although likely will be replaced by something or other. Saturday, April 2nd is the last episode of the Power Edition. After that, KTV is no more.

Anyway, come on guys and gals, tune in to KTV for the last time and just savour the memories.

Good bye, old friend. Forever Young.

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Sources:

teeveetee.blogspot.com

KTV going off the air

KTV Going off the air at the end of March

300th Episode of The Verge Imminent

I was watching The Verge the other night, only to hear Pippa say that the 300th episode of the show is coming up next month, on Wednesday, the 8th of December 2010, to be exact.

And that’s not all! There’s a competition taking place to mark the momentous occasion too. It’s running from now until the 7th of December, the eve of the milestone episode – when ironically that other rubbish, The Ginx Files, will be airing. But to its credit at least there are new episodes and not repeats all the time.

So about this competition: the prize up for grabs is an Asus G-Series Laptop complete with 3D Vision – all valued at R17 000. All you have to do to win is post a photo of yourself, with something that includes the Asus logo, and the number 300, on the The Verge Facebook wall. So no real room for creativity, then.

You can also email the picture to theverge@dontlookdown.tv.

Source: The Verge

300th Episode of The Verge Imminent

Tonight: Chuck Norris’s World Combat League [TV]

First it was Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling which cropped up on SABC 3 earlier this year, and now we get to see the legendary Chuck Norris with his show, World Combat League.

It’s a full contact sport, where two teams, each consisting of five men and one woman, take on each other, with various disciplines included - basically like mixed martial arts like UFC, minus the cage.  The only thing out of bounds is, ironically, wrestling – seeing as it goes against the idea of a fast paced match.

The team who gains the most points wins.

The WCL was originally founded by Chuck Norris back in 2005, and the television series came about later. Season one was strictly an American affair it seems, but season two is said to be airing worldwide.

It’s destined to be a major hit here in SA, seeing as ETV in particular goes nuts over anything to do with wrestling, fighting, and Chuck Norris.

For those of you who are interested, Season One of World Combat League is available to own on DVD, along with the special edition, called “Greatest Knockouts and Knockdowns”.

Let the corny Chuck Norris jokes commence.

World Combat League debuts on ETV tonight, May 24, 2010, at 20:00.

Tonight: Chuck Norris’s World Combat League [TV]

Watch The Pacific, a Mini-Series, This Wednesday [TV]

Those of you who’ve got DStv have likely been tuning in to M-Net Action to see Band of Brothers on Tuesdays nights, which features two back to back episodes. That comes to an end this week, as the last two episodes are being shown.

Never fear though, because something interesting is coming on this week. It’s called The Pacific. It ran in the US only in March, and was co-produced by the now-famous duo of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who also collaborated on Band of Brothers, as well as Saving Private Ryan before that.

This time, instead of the European invasion, we’ll be seeing how things went on the pacific theatre – something not covered as much by films for sure, with some exceptions like Wind Talkers with Nicolas Cage, and The Thin Red Line.

The pacific theatre is interesting for this very reason because not many have explored it besides the History Channel. Games that have include Call of Duty: World at War, Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, Dirty Dozen 2: Pacific Theatre, and Battlefield 1942 and 1943. This number pales in comparison to how many have had you fighting in Normandy or some other place.

So for those of you wanting something to see some Asian battlegrounds and some tropical islands and so on, tune in to M-Net this Wednesday at 21:30 to see The Pacific. It’s a mini-series that will also run for ten episodes, just like Band of Brothers.

Watch The Pacific, a Mini-Series, This Wednesday [TV]

DSTV Competitor, Top TV, Starts Today

Worker’s Day [Labour Day]

Today marks the day that MultiChoice and DStv finally gets a competitor, in TopTV.
On Digital Media, which launched TopTV, a new pay-TV station, offers decoders, hardware installation, and channel bouquets at cheaper prices than MultiChoice [which some refer to as “MonoChoice” - until today anyway].

And of all people, Al Gore’s production company, Current TV, will supply content for TopTV.

“Competition forces organisations to re-think their business models. This is what makes the launch of TopTV so important for South Africa.”

I’ve read that TopTV is going to offer channels like Kerrang!, Discover Science, and Fox Movies – which DStv doesn’t, as far as I know, seeing as I have DStv.

MultiChoice has reacted to all this by dropping some of their bouquet prices as well – as low as R20 for the most basic setup. MultiChoice has denied that its doing this because of the TopTV threat, instead offering an explanation: it’s because of the 2010 World Cup, which starts in about forty days.

Jackie Rakitla, general manager at MultiChoice said:

“The improvement of our DStv offering is ongoing  and we always look for opportunities to improve our services. We want to give our subscribers more value and choice We would like to contribute to the experience [of the World Cup] by providing access to great sporting entertainment.”

Nice save.
Competition is good – don’t you think?

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Source: War erupts over pay-TV [Weekend Argus]

DSTV Competitor, Top TV, Starts Today

Red Faction TV Movie Coming, Possible TV Series to Follow

I’ve been playing the latest Red Faction offering, Guerrilla, for the past week or two, and enjoyed it so much I decided that this little piece of news was worth covering.

Reports say that THQ, the publisher of the Red Faction games, has made a deal with the SyFy channel to produce a two hour, direct to TV movie based on the Red Faction series of games. If this gets a lot of attention, it could mean a full on series.

SyFy Ventures senior VP Alan Seiffert:

"It is the kind of content that fits our genre. It is a great fit for a big Syfy Saturday movie, and if it really works, it is a great back-door pilot."

"Both 'Ghost Hunters' and 'Red Faction' are great examples of how we are absolutely committed to gaming, and it is going to be more than just taking the name, it is going to really be part of the overall experience.”

In addition to all this, it’s been said that SyFy will be involved with the next Red Faction game, possibly as a co-developer with SyFy Games, rumoured to be titled Red Faction 4.

Will we see this in SA? Seeing as Ghost Hunters airs on the M-Net Action channel on DSTV [Channel 106 – previously known as Action-X], Red Faction will likely show up on the same channel some time. I’m thinking that a Red Faction TV series could work. Then again, so could a Half-Life 2 one. They’re more similar than you think.

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Source: Broadcasting & Cable

Red Faction TV Movie Coming, Possible TV Series to Follow

Apocalypse Now Video Game Could be in the Works

Apocalypse Now is considered one of the best Vietnam War films ever made, along with others like Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. I find it quite odd that here in SA, Apocalypse Now isn’t shown on TV as often as the other two.

Now the movie might be getting some renewed interest, as Killspace Entertainment has registered two domains called “apocalypsenowgame.com”, and “warisnotagame.net.” This suggests obviously that a game based on the movie is in the works.

Killspace Entertainment's LinkedIn profile suggests that its working on two titles, one of which is a “licensed IP to be announced.” Wonder what the other one is then?

There are some concerns that a game based on this particular movie might not be such a good idea, as it isn’t as action-packed as some of the afore-mentioned titles. We all know a game based on a movie isn’t exactly a recipe for success. They should rather have taken inspiration from the movies as well as done research on the real war, and made their own.

But then again, it’s better than getting another World War II FPS in an over-saturated market, or another Modern Warfare…

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Source: Superannuation

Apocalypse Now Video Game Could be in the Works

Band of Brothers is Coming Back, Soldier!

I was so glad to see the other night on an advert for M-NET Action, which is channel 106 on DSTV, that the great series called Band of Brothers, is coming back next week, starting on the 6th of April.

If you haven’t yet watched it, Band of Brothers first aired years ago, back in 2001. I remember watching it on M-NET in 2003. The series is basically inspired by, and in some ways a continuation of, Saving Private Ryan, seeing as Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg were involved in the project, like they were in the Oscar-winning film before it, as was Dale Dye, acting as military consultant.

And Band of Brothers likely went on to influence some other World War II genre FPS titles just like SPR did- like some Medal of Honor titles [I’m thinking particularly Spearhead or Airborne], Brothers in Arms [definitely], and Call of Duty.

The series tells the tale of D-Day – but not like in Saving Private Ryan, where you witness the GIs storm the beaches of Normandy. This time it’s the paratroopers who land on the 5th of June, 1944; the night before.

The main star would be Dick Winters, played by Damian Lewis in likely his most famous role, firstly a Lieutenant, as the series starts with American paratroopers going through basic training in the States, then preparing for the operation while they’re in England, right across the channel from Nazi-occupied France. And from there we see them dropping into Normandy under the cover of night, and embarking on their mission to not only soften up the Germans from the inside while the ground troops are on the beaches, but to continue on to make another drop in Eindhoven, The Netherlands to take part in the disastrous Operation Market Garden, as well as march in to Berlin, Germany.

It delves into some personal issues along the way, and the relationships that unfold between Winters and the rest of the paratroopers in his company, as he is promoted to Captain just before this invasion. And on top of that, the real stars, the actual veterans who took place in the war, appear and tell interesting little stories about their experiences in the war, and how they’ve never been able to forget the horrors they saw so many years ago.

All in all, if you’re complaining about nothing to watch just lately, then do yourself a big favour, stop whining, and tune in to watch this great WWII experience.

Band of Brothers starts on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 on Channel 106 [M-NET Action], DSTV, at 20:00. Two back to back episodes [two hours] will play for at least the first week. There are ten episodes in the mini-series all in all.

Band of Brothers is Coming Back, Soldier!

Resurgence in Rickets in the U.K.: Games Blamed

I read this the other day and even talked about it to someone.

It’s been found that rickets, a disease chiefly caused by lack of Vitamin D, is making a comeback in the United Kingdom (England and other places for those of you who don’t know). It’s become increasingly common, and rickets was thought to have all but died out years ago.

Among the things that people do that can lead to rickets is lack of exercise, not getting out in the sun enough, and poor diet. And this can cause bow legs, cancer, and even diabetes.

Sitting inside all the time playing games and watching TV, surfing the internet. These are the things that doctors are saying are to blame. And they may be right. Remember kids, take a break every hour for at least fifteen minutes, go outside, eat your veggies, drink your milk and other stuff, you know. If you’re over 18, then dammit, you should know better by now.

Hell, where I am right now, I could never sit inside all day. It’s way too hot, so I go for a splash in the pool sometimes.

My dad has type 2 diabetes, and I reckon it’s in no small part due to his sitting around all day, and constant eating.

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Source: Industry Gamers

Resurgence in Rickets in the U.K.: Games Blamed

Apocalypse Then: AAA’s One Year Anniversary

That’s right. Today marks one year since AAA, this blog, was started. It was Saturday, the 24th of January, 2009.

I’m still trying to figure out what the hell it is. It’s like a blog about video games, entertainment, and other stuff that interests me. Basically anything to do with entertainment of the virtual sort has some place on here. I’m constantly coming up with new types of posts, and widgets and stuff to add to the blog, and some of them are just plain crazy – hence the term random madness (or magic), but they hopefully entertain and inform, or just get some sort of reaction from whoever comes across it.

Some of the information on here is news that’s going around, and original posts that have been taken out of my demented mind (like Keen Dreams). It’s just about putting what’s in my mind on the internet. I’ve started other blogs as well, and plan on starting more this year. I’ve joined Facebook, Twitter, and the game-less madness that is Digg, but AAA was my first blog on the internet, apart from my two HubPages profiles that have been up for a while. They were my part of my first presence on the internet, and they will celebrate their two year anniversaries later on in the year. As I’ve read time and time again: hubs are not blogs!

So, as for the next year and beyond, I hope to convey more of the latest big interesting news stories, rumours, and original stuff that somehow ties in with my love of video games, movies, music, TV, and more.

And if you don’t like, I’ve only got two words for ya!

/\\/ |\|\

Apocalypse Then: AAA’s One Year Anniversary

Carte Blanche Branching out This Month

I know that from looking on the internet, this news has been known for a while, but for  me, I only just noticed it the other day while watching TV, and an advert popped up about Carte Blanche. This wasn’t just the usual one though – this was advertising two new additions to the famed South African program, now over twenty years running.

Starting this month, January 2010, two spin-offs, Carte Blanche Medical and Carte Blanche Consumer, will make their debut, in addition to the original Carte Blanche which will still air on Sundays at 19:00. The other two, Carte Blanche Medical and Carte Blanche Consumer, will appear on the 18th (Monday) and the 21st (Thursday) at 19:00 on M-Net, respectively.

I always try and catch Carte Blanche if I can, because not only in a country, but a world, filled with corruption and apathy, at least it shows that some people are still good and willing to stand up for themselves and others.

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http://beta.mnet.co.za/carteblanche/

Carte Blanche Branching out This Month

Today’s TV Schedule Highlights, and AAA’s Choice - 15/12/09: Top Gear

Tuesday, 15th of December, 2009

This is a new feature where I run through all the highlights on local TV and Satellite. Some series will make an appearance here everyday, particularly on weekdays. And out of all these highlights, I will feature one as the AAA’s choice of the day. All programs are set out chronologically – as in the order according to the time they appear on TV.

So hopefully for those reading this, there will be less paging through TV guides and so on, which have become increasingly erroneous over the last year or so – particularly the Dish magazine.

While compiling this list, I referred to The Good Weekend, which comes with the Weekend Argus on Saturdays. Only the things that appeal to me or get a rating of at least two or three stars make it on the list.

Note that this is all for local South African TV and DSTV, not international stuff, like what’s showing in the US.

Highlights

Eagle Eye (M-NET at 11:00 AM; stars Shia LeBouef, Billy Bob Thornton)

Ninja Warrior (Animax – Channel 126 on DSTV at 6:15 PM; reruns)

The Simpsons (Vuzu- Channel 123 on DSTV at 6:30 PM; reruns of old series)

AAA’s Choice

Top Gear (BBC Entertainment - Channel 120 on DSTV at 6:30 PM; reruns of old series)

Top Gear originally aired from the late 70s to the early 2000s. From there, a new show which was meant to be the show’s successor, Fifth Gear, started up and quite a few people from the original went over, including Tiff Needell.

But, a year or two later, and Top Gear was revived in what they call “the new format”, or “second coming”, and the legendary, obnoxious, brash, and funny-as-hell Jeremy Clarkson was brought back on as he had been on the original show for more than ten years. James May ended up replacing another person named Jason Dawes from season 1, since James had also been on Top Gear since the late 90s. Richard Hammond was initially the new guy in the series.

Top Gear was brought back to life in 2002 and has since then gone on to be a big thing on TV – so much so that BBC couldn’t make up their minds whether to run it on BBC Entertainment or BBC Knowledge. Entertainment ended up winning the show back although it was on Knowledge for quite some time. The show is very popular in SA. Top Gear even makes a trip here every year or so.

Anyhow, if you like cars and comedy, then don’t miss this. Unfortunately these are old episodes from previous seasons, and the new season finished recently, but there are still a few gems and even some you might not have seen before, if you’re lucky.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (BBC Entertainment - Channel 120 on DSTV at 7:30 PM)

Big Bang Theory (SABC 3 at 7:30 PM)

WWE Afterburn (E-TV at 8:00 PM)

Special Assignment (SABC 3 at 8:30 PM)

Heroes (SABC 3 at 9:00 PM)

The Verge (Vuzu- Channel 123 on DSTV at 9:30 PM)

South Park (Vuzu- Channel 123 on DSTV at 10:00 PM; reruns of old series)

Supernatural (SABC 3 at 10:15 PM)

Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon (E-TV at 01:45 AM)

Today’s TV Schedule Highlights, and AAA’s Choice - 15/12/09: Top Gear

Today’s TV Schedule Highlights, and AAA’s Choice: Die Hard

Sunday, 13th of December, 2009

Highlights:

WWE Pay-Per-View: Survivor Series  (E-TV at 12:45 PM)

WWE Raw (E-TV at 5:00 PM)

Carte Blanche: Christmas Special (M-NET at 7:00 PM)

Demolition Man (SABC 1 at (8:00 PM; Stars Sylvester Stallone, Sandra Bullock, Wesley Snipes)

Quantum of Solace (M-Net at 8:00 PM; Stars Daniel Craig)

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Die Hard (E-TV at 8:00 PM; Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman)

( AAA’s Choice)

Locally, tonight on E-TV at 8:00 PM, they’re showing the first Die Hard. In my opinion this is the best in the series. I just watched Die Hard 4.0 (Live Free or Die Hard) the other night on DSTV, and although it’s not bad, I still like the first movie best.

Bruce Willis (when he still had a little hair) plays John McClane, an NYPD police officer who travels to Los Angeles, to the Nakatomi Plaza to visit his wife, who John finds has reverted to her maiden name, Genero, during their separation after marital difficulties.

While John is at the plaza, terrorists storm the building and take the employees ay a Christmas party hostage. The terrorists are led be Hans Gruber (brilliantly played by Alan Rickman). Cue John McClane who, without backup, takes on the terrorists.

It’s nail-biting, bloody fun, and the perfect holiday film, topped with a Christmas theme. But it’s not your typical Christmassy film, so if you’re tired of the usual slushy rubbish that shows at this time of year, then you’ll enjoy this for sure. Over twenty years later and this is still one of the best action films ever made.

Movie Rating: 4/5

 

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Pearl Harbor (SABC 1 at 10:00 PM; Stars: John Hartnett, Ben Affleck)

Bonnie And Clyde (SABC 3 at 10:00 PM; Stars: Warren Bearry, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman)

Sixteen Candles (E-TV at 10:40 PM; Stars John Cusack)

Death Defying Acts (M-Net at 10:55 PM; stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Guy Pierce)

Today’s TV Schedule Highlights, and AAA’s Choice: Die Hard

Twitter Account, Sh*t My Dad Says, To Become a TV Sitcom

There’s an account on twitter called Sh*t My Dad Says, and it’s full of tweets by a guy named Justin Halpern. The thing is that these tweets are actually sayings taken from his father, a cynical, bad tempered old man, who likes to make comments and jokes in a cutting, sarcastic way.

Think Blackadder except American, old, and bald.

Well, anyway, these tweets have become sitcom gold, as it’s been harvested for script ideas, and Justin Halpern will be the producer on the show, seeing as it is his twitter account. I can just imagine that although it’s a good idea on paper, it’ll likely star someone like Larry David, and end up just like Curb Your Enthusiasm or something. I love that show. Or else, if not Larry David, it will be someone like that old man from My Big Fat Greek Wedding/Life. There are several old guys who could play the role, if you think about it.

The account has over 843 705 followers, and yet, he's only following one. Figures, seeing as he's one of those Hollywood types. His previous attempt at the big time failed apparently, but this one seems to be getting a lot of attention.

Although I first read about this weeks ago, it’s all over the news now, with local newspapers covering it and not to mention copying other articles verbatim. That’s right Techno Times; you stole that article practically word for word from another newspaper.

My dad has expressed interest in this news piece though. In fact, for years I thought of coming up with a sitcom of my own involving my dad or at least the things he says seeing as he’s kind of the same. At one point I even made some audio stories about it when I was younger. They were funny as hell. Maybe sometime in the future I’ll upload them somewhere.

The other day for example, my dad was busy washing the dishes or something, and a dish slipped, and he uttered some profanities.
Then my brother walked in, and said, “Did someone call me?”

My father replied, “Not unless your name is ‘Jou f*ckin’ m*er!’”

You had to be there.

Perhaps I should start my own twitter account with stuff like this…

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Sh*t My Dad Says Becoming a Sitcom

Twitter Account, Sh*t My Dad Says, To Become a TV Sitcom