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#248503 - 04/02/2005 14:53 Nathan Barley
g_attrill
old hand

Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
Those who are fans of TvGoHome might like to know a new comedy series penned by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris starts on Channel 4 (UK) on 11th Feb. Luckily (for Daily Mail journos everywhere) it is not called C**t but just "Nathan Barley".

Nathan's website is live at: http://www.trashbat.co.ck/ ("www dot trash bat dot co dot cock")

A compendium of Nathan Barley listings is here - NB: Not safe for work!

An review here has some class quotes:

Quote:
Nathan, who describes himself as a "self-facilitating media node", has a mobile phone that functions both as a camera and a miniature set of "MP3 turntables" allowing him to mix ringtones ("It's been out for three weeks in Japan; where's yours?"), drinks coffee at Grind Zero, Dutch wine at the Nailgun Arms and eats at the pretentious gastropub Regime, where beer is served in gourds and the food is autocratically chosen for you by a sensor that "assesses the electrolytes in your finger".


Gareth

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#248504 - 04/02/2005 16:17 Re: Nathan Barley [Re: g_attrill]
andym
carpal tunnel

Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
Just watched the trailers.... I don't know what it is, but I like it. I've already set the mythbox to record it.
_________________________
Cheers,

Andy M

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#248505 - 06/03/2005 11:08 Re: Nathan Barley [Re: g_attrill]
andym
carpal tunnel

Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
So what do you think of it then? I've seen 4 episodes now and I'm really enjoying it although I understand it's got a bit a pounding in reviews. I'm not sure wether you're supposed to hate Nathan because I think he's great.
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Cheers,

Andy M

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#248506 - 06/03/2005 12:49 Re: Nathan Barley [Re: andym]
g_attrill
old hand

Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
Quote:
So what do you think of it then? I've seen 4 episodes now and I'm really enjoying it although I understand it's got a bit a pounding in reviews. I'm not sure wether you're supposed to hate Nathan because I think he's great.

It's ok, not really really great but definately watchable. It doesn't have the polished feel of comedy that I usually like - some scenes seemed a bit pointless and some stuff ran too short, some too long and at times the camera work was that fashionable zoomy jiggly effect which I find a bit off-putting.

Also to be honest Nathan isn't quite as dislikeable as the TVGoHome columns portrayed him - so far he has been pretty annoying but not quite as bad as I thought. Perhaps he will get worse!

One thing I didn't spot which I was looking out for - a "Weekend on Sunday" magazine with the cover story "Nicky Campbell: The Curse of My Brilliance".

Gareth

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#248507 - 06/03/2005 12:59 Re: Nathan Barley [Re: andym]
g_attrill
old hand

Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
Here's an interesting comment:

http://www.warwickboar.co.uk/static/comments/?article=1265
Quote:
...I did my work experience on the set of 'Nathan Barley' and saw Chris Morris work with the actors and improvise through scenes. Reading the first few versions of the scripts at the time, I thought 'NB' had the potential to be something absolutely amazing because it was such an acutely observed, intelligent biting satire (just as Charlie Brooker's original 'Cunt' section of TV Go Home was). However, let me assure you that somewhere in between rehersal and screening something went badly wrong. Now 'NB' is a lazy, shoddily edited series that limps from poorly executed gag to gag. All the rich texture of Nathan's world, and the world of Hoxton (or in the series 'Hosegate') that he inhabits which Morris created so vividly in production has been obliterrated and watered down into an innoffensive, over simplified half-hour biteful when, if Morris had been allowed, he could have filled an hour each week with a satire show so cutting that it would force even Idiot Central to question their vapid, puerile existence.

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#248508 - 06/03/2005 14:47 Re: Nathan Barley [Re: g_attrill]
andym
carpal tunnel

Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
Wow, I bet she won't be doing work experience with that production company again. It seems a real shame that we're seeing a watered down version of what it could've been. Even though it seems Chris Morris' influence has been weakened you could can still recognise his writing style in a lot of the dialogue.

My Jam and Brass Eye DVDs are some of my favourite titles.
_________________________
Cheers,

Andy M

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#248509 - 07/03/2005 08:14 Re: Nathan Barley [Re: andym]
SteveH
new poster

Registered: 06/07/2003
Posts: 19
Loc: Manchester, UK
I did think that I'd been missing the point with Nathan Barley. Nice to know I'm not the only one.

I reakon the shaky camera work is meant to be part of the show. Helps to give it that fly-on-the-wall feel. Either that or they just couldn't afford a tripod with a decent fluid head.

I must confess to laughing at the 'cat incident' on Friday, then feeling rather guilty. Poor Elizabeth.

S
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There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

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#248510 - 07/03/2005 11:27 Re: Nathan Barley [Re: SteveH]
andym
carpal tunnel

Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
Yes, the cat bit did crack me up, this coming from a cat owner too. It was just the fact the cat didn't seem to have noticed.
_________________________
Cheers,

Andy M

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#248511 - 07/03/2005 22:22 Re: Nathan Barley [Re: SteveH]
g_attrill
old hand

Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
One gem I have missed most of is Look Around You. This is a spoof of Tomorrow's World type programmes and the laugh ratio was very high for me, especially in the smaller aspects - eg. captions that appear but are swapped (male presenter's name against the female), disappear and then reappear corrected.

The website above is a good taster of the programme, complete with a flash game by Rob Manuel of b3ta.

Gareth

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#248512 - 18/03/2005 20:47 Re: Nathan Barley [Re: g_attrill]
andym
carpal tunnel

Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
Well that was a proper Chris Morris ending. They've definitley left the ending nice and open for the next series.
_________________________
Cheers,

Andy M

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