[via Adfreak]
Germany-related stories
Microsoft's slide ad: real or fake?
I hardly ever get to see foreign TV commercials, so that's one of the good things about the web. This one is a Microsoft ad from Germany. There seems to be some question as to whether or not it's real or fake, but I'm strongly leaning towards fake.
The Office to be made into a movie...but not the version you think
You read it correctly. The Office is headed to the big screen. Except that it's not the American version. Nor is it the original British version. The German version, called Stromberg, is getting the movie treatment.It will be an interesting experiment. If it is successful, I wonder if we'll see other franchises of The Office hit the big screen? Gervais and Merchant wrapped up the storylines of the British version quite nicely in the final special, so I don't see that version hitting the theaters (but since no story ever truly ends, I could be proven wrong).
The stars of the NBC version, however, are currently movie stars in their own right (Yes, I am counting The Rocker) and could possibly carry a movie version. However, at this stage a movie version would just interfere with the television version (much like Steven Moffat said about Doctor Who) so I don't see a movie of the U.S. version anytime soon.
When reality and The Simpsons collide
I've been staying away from writing about The Simpsons the same way I stay away from the cookies I bought a few days ago: I promise myself to only have a couple, but then I figure one more won't hurt, and then I decide to eat another to make it an even number, and by the end I've eaten twenty cookies and written about The Simpsons just as much.
So yeah, we've been saturated with Simpsons stuff ever since the movie came out, but when I came across this article in Reuters, I could not, as a fan, keep my mouth shut and not tell other fans about it.
Continue reading When reality and The Simpsons collide
The Amazing Race All-Stars: "The Way You Look, Yeah"
(S11E09) I can't believe we're already down to five teams. This week, the teams flew a whopping 5,500 miles from Krakow, Poland to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. What is wrong with people that they don't yield people? It's a tool in the game to get ahead of the other teams. And then, teams that do get yielded are personally insulted!
This week, we saw a strong team break down, another strong team make a fatal mistake and a team that has been stumbling finally found its footing.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Continue reading The Amazing Race All-Stars: "The Way You Look, Yeah"
Nickelodeon to open Nickland in Germany
If you find yourself at Movie Park Germany in Bottrop-Kirchellen this April, be sure to check out the park's latest attraction, Nickland. An agreement through Nickelodeon gives the theme park intellectual property rights to characters from SpongeBob SquarePants, My Life As a Teenage Robot, Dora the Explorer; Danny Phantom, The Backyardigans and Jimmy Neutron. Costumed characters from the shows will be on hand to greet families, and, if Germany's theme parks are anything like America's, they'll also be punched and kicked by small children.
The Nickland section of the park will include seven new attractions, including Jimmy Neutron's Atomic Flyer and SpongeBob SquarePant's Splash Bash.
Popetown keeps offending - VIDEO
Popetown, an animated series banned by the BBC but later released on DVD in the UK, has gotten a lot of press, though none of it has to do with whether or not the show is any good. The controversy stems from the show's portrayal of the Vatican, including a Pope who jumps around on a pogo stick. Despite protest, the series has aired in Germany and other countries, and is now set to air in Lithuania, despite demands from the Bishop's Conference that it be banned.
Continue reading Popetown keeps offending - VIDEO
The Travel Channel is Drew Carey's bitch
Drew Carey is hosting a new show on The Travel Channel called Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures. The first episode aired last month (did anybody see it?). The hook for the show is that the comedian travels the world to teach us about international sports, beer and fight songs. It also looks like he gained back that weight he lost. After seeing a promo for the show, I went to the Travel Channel's fan website to learn more about it. I discovered links to video, blogs and photos but none of them actually feature Drew Carey. The blog is from one of the producers and the behind-the-scenes video is voiced and edited by a cameraman. WTF? Where's Drew? Phoning it in. That's where he is.
Star Trek memorabilia up for bid at Christie's
Hey, Trekkies! Did you spend all your money on the complete set of Star Trek DVDs? Time to get a bank loan because there's more stuff to buy. A lot more.CBS Paramount Studios is unloading its vault of Star Trek memorabilia for an auction at Christie's this fall. There will be something from every series and all 10 movies. More than 4,000 items will be up for bid, including big ticket numbers like a replica of Capt. Kirk's chair that was recreated for a Deep Space Nine episode called "Trials and Tribble-ations". It's expected to go for $10,000 to $15,000. And the actual miniature USS Enterprise used as a visual effect in the movie, Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, could fetch upwards of $25,000.
The collection goes on tour this week in Germany. It goes up for auction on October 5-7 at Christie's in New York.
Nothing is bigger than CSI: Miami. Nothing!
Although here in the U.S. it's topped by its older
sibling CSI, and a spattering of other shows such as American Idol, Desperate Housewives and
Grey's Anatomy (CSI:Miami's the 12th biggest show for U.S. viewers), around the world, CSI:
Miami is the most popular U.S.-based television show. The article over on CNN proclaiming CSI:
Miami's dominance doesn't go into too much detail about how they know it's the number one show, other than saying
that it's the most popular show on a German cable network. The irony that he has now found success on TV nearly a
decade and a half after he left the then most popular show to concentrate on movies is not lost on David Caruso.
"You say, well, you'll be on the show for another five years. I don't see it that way. I see it like, well, I
get a chance to do my job for as long as they let me on this show". I'm amazed by this because I find CSI: Miami to be the least enjoyable of the three CSIs. In fact, I watch the original religiously, CSI: NY every now and then, and actively avoid CSI: Miami. Worldwide though, I guess the middle child wins. What do you guys think? Is the world crazy?
Try getting this song out of your head
Someone paid $35,000 to be able to
play the same video over and over for one hour on VH1 Classic. What video? The 1984 classic, "99 Luftbalons"
by the German group Nena. Naturally.But why, you ask? It all has to do with a Hurricane Katrina fundraiser that VH1 is just wrapping up. With a $25 pledge to the Pay to Play fundraiser, donors could request a video. VH1 sent them an e-mail notifying them of when it would be played. But, for $35,000, donors could have their own portrait painted and choose from three decades' worth of videos to program on VH1 for one full hour. The one person who paid the $35,000 just chose one song. Whatever floats your boat, dude.
VH1 holds up its end of the bargain on Sunday, March 26th from 2 pm to 3 pm, when VH1 Classic will play the English and German versions of the video for "99 Luftballons" over and over.
Injured ABC journalists return to USA -- UPDATE
World News Tonight anchorman Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt arrived in the United States last night
and are being treated at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. ABC says it considered moving the men to a
private hospital but decided against it since the military doctors have experience treating victims of bombings. The
picture at the right is of soldiers loading Woodruff on transport that would take him to a C-17 military plane in
Germany. You can see from all the medical instruments, his injuries are very serious. Woodruff's family reports that he
was hit in the face and brain with shrapnel when the Iraqi military vehicle he and Vogt were riding in hit a roadside
bomb just outside Baghdad, Iraq over the weekend. Vogt, on the other hand, is reportedly in much better condition. He
was laughing and making jokes while at the hospital in Germany, whereas Woodruff could barely open his eyes.David Hasselhoff = Single Man
David Hasselhoff
announced today that he was divorcing his wife of 16 years. In other news, thousands of German women were hospitalized
due to fainting from excitement.
The former Baywatch and Knight Rider star and his wife Pamela Bach have cited irreconcilable differences, yet they've agreed to an "amicable settlement." The couple has two teenage daughters. Now as much of a parody of himself as Hasselhoff has become, it's still kind of sad to see a Hollywood marriage that actually lasted 16 years fall apart. Especially since there's kids in the picture. No details on the custody of the children were released.
Diana DeGarmo entertains troops
Diana DeGarmo, who is now 18 years old, rang in the New Year by entertaining American troops across the globe. The
American Idol runner-up's schedule had her performing for troops in seven countries, in seven days. Tonight is
her final performance, in Germany. She's also been to Qatar, Afghanistan, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Iraq, where
she spent the night in one of Saddam's many palaces. She's performing with comedian Reggie McFadden and country singer
Michael Peterson as part of the USO Tour. Her part of the show includes pulling troops up on stage to compete in an
impromptu-style dance contest and she wraps up each performance by singing America the Beautiful.
The Prisoner -- An early look
Sesame Street's 40th: Five funniest characters
Sesame Street's 40th: Five biggest controversies
