TELLY TALES
after three months of watching national tv (which consists of only 3 english channels- 1 of them is CNN ), i got cable tv last week. being the calculative (bordering cheapskate) person that i am, i took the cheapest package available in the market. it cost me about 80 bucks a month. and being the cheapest package available - there isn't enough channels for a good channel-surfing session. it's not that i didn't want to get a better package, it's just that i don't think i'll be watching that much tv with the my heavy workload and everything. plus, since there is a good possibility that i’ll be leaving after only one year, i should really save as much as i can while i'm here (oh btw - the electricity/water/gas bill just came - rm 320 for last month! madness!)
for 80 bucks, i got some channels which they have on astro (like star movies, star world and channel v) and a few more english channels (like uk-granada, reality tv, turner classic movies) barely value for money as compared to astro. but apart from these english channels, they throw in like 20 channels from the rest of the arab countries - kuwait tv, qatar tv, yemen tv, syria tv, bahrain tv, saudi tv (you get the idea). uae has its own channels as well. 4 out of the 7 emirates have their own tv stations (each emirate is like a small state - maybe the size of melaka or something). and usually when i do some arabic channel-flipping, chances are, one of these things would be showing:
1. a singing competition - they're just like malaysia! every station has its own talent search thingy going on and of course - you can vote by sms! i've watched a few of these shows, and i notice that when they sing arabic songs, they don't really move. i find this a bit ridiculous. they've got the humongous stage and all, but they barely move an inch when they sing! they'll be back-up dancers at the back dancing and twirling their heads off to the music, but the singer will stay put. the most that they do is raise their head up to their chest. that's it. that's the maximum. if they were in akademi fanntasia, they'd be voted off already for "tidak menggunakan keseluruhan pentas"
2. news - you know how eventful the middle east is.. so i guess that justifies the need for news for like EVERY hour
3. a talk show - the host will be a very pretty lady whose looks are flawless she could very well be mistaken for a mannequin. but she'll be over-accessorised, overdressed (leopard print clothes, apparently, are still IN on this side of the world) and a bit rough. enough said, you won't find your normala shamsudin here...
4. sports - which essentially consists of 3 types of sports only - horse racing, handball (yeah it's weird i know) and football. what a variety huh? .
5. a local drama – also, very similar to your run-off-the-mill rtm drama. except for (again) over-accessorised, overdressed actors and a lot more mascara.
and because of that, i’m just sticking to my good ole star world…
for 80 bucks, i got some channels which they have on astro (like star movies, star world and channel v) and a few more english channels (like uk-granada, reality tv, turner classic movies) barely value for money as compared to astro. but apart from these english channels, they throw in like 20 channels from the rest of the arab countries - kuwait tv, qatar tv, yemen tv, syria tv, bahrain tv, saudi tv (you get the idea). uae has its own channels as well. 4 out of the 7 emirates have their own tv stations (each emirate is like a small state - maybe the size of melaka or something). and usually when i do some arabic channel-flipping, chances are, one of these things would be showing:
1. a singing competition - they're just like malaysia! every station has its own talent search thingy going on and of course - you can vote by sms! i've watched a few of these shows, and i notice that when they sing arabic songs, they don't really move. i find this a bit ridiculous. they've got the humongous stage and all, but they barely move an inch when they sing! they'll be back-up dancers at the back dancing and twirling their heads off to the music, but the singer will stay put. the most that they do is raise their head up to their chest. that's it. that's the maximum. if they were in akademi fanntasia, they'd be voted off already for "tidak menggunakan keseluruhan pentas"
2. news - you know how eventful the middle east is.. so i guess that justifies the need for news for like EVERY hour
3. a talk show - the host will be a very pretty lady whose looks are flawless she could very well be mistaken for a mannequin. but she'll be over-accessorised, overdressed (leopard print clothes, apparently, are still IN on this side of the world) and a bit rough. enough said, you won't find your normala shamsudin here...
4. sports - which essentially consists of 3 types of sports only - horse racing, handball (yeah it's weird i know) and football. what a variety huh? .
5. a local drama – also, very similar to your run-off-the-mill rtm drama. except for (again) over-accessorised, overdressed actors and a lot more mascara.
and because of that, i’m just sticking to my good ole star world…
posted by aiskrem_potong at
10:46 PM
2 Comments:
Hey - LOL! Typical accountant! :-) Welcome to the club! Check this out...I'm even cheaper. I have cable and it's paid for in my rent and I put up with re runs of Ally Mcbeal, 24, and American news (CNN). Off course - the internet is a blessing. So can't complaint:-)
By
Maximus Leo, at May 12, 2006 7:28 PM
yeah.. thank GOD for the internet.
oh, but to me ally mcbeal is not so bad :}. i actually used to tape the show when i was in college (yeah i'm pathetic - i know)
By
aiskrem_potong, at May 18, 2006 7:09 PM
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