(Insert stupid Blog name here)

I watched the opening ceremonies last night. I think they were well done, and certainly not over the top like the Beijing ceremonies (although I did enjoy that). It's unfortunate that one of the pillars did not work properly at the very end--can you imagine being the poor torchbearer who just had to sit there while the other three lit their, uhrr, shafts? What a huge letdown! And since they did light a version outside, I don't even think the indoor one is going to be used again--I assume that stadium is going to be used for other events such as ice skating.

 

I agree about the ads, but that's what I've come to expect from network television. I was a little behind in the buffer so I was able to fast forward through many of them, fortunately. I also agree about the commentary--too much and just STFU already. It doesn't look like Time Warner added any Olympic-specific channels, which is too bad. I suppose they could have added some SD channels, but I'd rather watch it all in HD. I assume NBC will use some of their other channels for Olympics content, such as Universal HD, as they've done in the past.

 

I dated a French Canadian girl in the distant past--does that count?

 

..Al

Oooo...the double whammy. French AND Canadian. Hairy and crazy.

I probably shouldn't be laughing at that, but...

 

Funny thing about the U-Verse "multi-view" channel... they've yet to actually have anything running on all four channels at the same time. The most I've seen so far, is two. This isn't a limitation of U-Verse, but rather the inept coverage on NBC's part.

 

One really annoying thing about NBC's coverage though, is that despite us West Coasters finally being in the same time zone as the Olympics, they're still delaying broadcasting some daytime events until prime-time. Why not run them on one of the umpteen other NBC channels they have live, for those who would actually like to watch them when they happen?

 

During The Masters golf tournament last year, whoever covered that did a really cool thing. They not only had the network coverage, but they had several other live feeds that you could switch between at several key points in the course. So you could camp out on one channel and just watch the golfers come through, or switch to another location if nothing was happening, or watch the network coverage. Something like that for the Olympics would have been great.

 

Of course... we are talking about NBC here.

 

Two words: Jay Leno.

 

'nuff said.

One really annoying thing about NBC's coverage though, is that despite us West Coasters finally being in the same time zone as the Olympics, they're still delaying broadcasting some daytime events until prime-time. Why not run them on one of the umpteen other NBC channels they have live, for those who would actually like to watch them when they happen?

I said exactly the same thing.

 

However, I learned that you can see NBC's live video feed online.

However, I learned that you can see NBC's live video feed online.

That's good to know - thanks!

 

Another nail in the coffin for network TV.

 

Pass the hammer, please.

Well, so much for the Winter Olympics for another four years. But it was fun while it lasted.

 

The closing ceremonies tonight started off with them "fixing" the fourth leg of the cauldron which had malfunctioned during the opening ceremonies. That was pretty funny.

 

NBC's coverage though, in general, was terrible. The audio was awful. It sounded like they were using open microphones in the stadium, rather than direct mixes from the soundboard. They couldn't have just mixed in a little ambience instead? It was so echoey, I could hardly understand anything.

 

The camera work was pretty appalling, too. There were videos being projected on the screens near the top of the stadium, which we never got to see. Did someone not bother telling the camera crews about that?

 

On the plus side, William Shatner made an appearance, although he didn't read any poetry. Catherine O'Hara had the best entrance of the night, with a couple of curling sweepers leading her way in.

 

NBC cut out of the broadcast early, to put on some new dumb show they've been promoting. I switched channels. I guess they're coming back to it at 11:30. Maybe I'll tune in, but I don't like the idea of watching NBC at 11:30.