What Reallky Grinds My Gears

Clutter [kluht-er] – verb (with object): to fill or litter with things in a disorderly manner; verb (without object): to run in disorder; move with bustle and confusion. (British Dialect); noun: a disorderly heap or assemblage; litter.

YOU KNOW WHAT REALLY GRINDS MY GEARS? Those awful and distracting TV Clutters that you see on in the middle of your show.

I wish I could do it like Marge...

If you are familiar with The Simpsons, particularly with its Treehouse of Horror series during Halloween, here is a screenshot of the opening sequence of Treehouse of Horror XVIII where Marge Simpson has “massacred” all those TV clutters of FOX, starting with American Idol, FOX Football, COPS, House, 24, and Prison Break. If you ask me about those TV clutters here in the Philippines, I’ll tell you that “I wish I could do it the same, like Marge did.”

If you have FOX International Channels (FOX, STAR World, STAR Movies, FOX Crime, FX, National Geographic), you may have noticed that they have been hyping (all the way) the TV series N.C.I.S. season 7 premiere, which was shown on all F.I.C. channels (except for National Geographic Channels, and some STAR brand channels)… Almost every commercial break, they have been airing these commercials like we always need to be reminded!

But days before the premiere, they have done something worst.

Jesus, do we need to be reminded more of N.C.I.S.?! I wonder what is the motive of this multi-channel promotion of the N.C.I.S. but F.I.C…. Is it because people at FOX thinks that N.C.I.S. is the only good series they got, to compete with the Crime Scene Investigation (C.S.I.) series of AXN?

I disagree, there are some more good, and even great, series that can be seen on FOX… like Burn Notice, Flash Forward, and my personal favourite, Lie to Me. But for me, If you ask me what would I prefer between N.C.I.S. and C.S.I., I would choose the C.S.I.

Anyways, back to the graphics part… Before, FOX International Channels don’t put programme titles during the programme, just like any other cable channel, but now they do. What the hell? I know most cable providers in the Philippines are not yet Digital, like SkyCable in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Baguio, but do we really need to be reminded what programme are we watching all the way? There are also bumpers (before and after commercial breaks) that says what programme are we watching at the moment!

Maybe you can remind us once in a while, like Discovery Channel showing “supers” saying what programme is airing NOW then what programme we be airing NEXT. I’m ok with it.

Another thing, especially on the National Geographic Channel, aside from the Channel D.O.G. and the programme title… We have to endure these irritting side-advertisments, which is shown in the middle portion of the programme itself… IN THE MIDDLE PORTION!!!!

Case in Point… this picture:

Seriously, IN THE MIDDLE?!

If you put the side-announcement on the top portion, like AXN, ANIMAX, and Discovery does… I’m OK with it. If you put the side-announcement on the bottom part. like most terrestrial and some cable channels, I’m definitely OK with it… But put it in the Middle Portion, to the point that it obstruct the programme itself? THAT’S DEFINITELY A NO, NO.

I know that it is to attract viewers and to inform everyone about the programme… commercial reasons… But please do it in a “more nicer” where we could still enjoy the main programme and not get irritated with gaddamn on-screen graphics!

Disclaimer by the way, if you are one of those supporters of taking all channel graphics off, including the Channel D.O.G. (or the identifier), and be like BBC One and other UK channels… I’m not a part of your team, since Channel D.O.G.s can also be some kind of a Digital Watermark for those people who take of the programme, records them, and put them on YouTube. Without them, those people who take advantage of the channel’s copyrighted material will claim that it was their recording or creation, just like that person that is hiding in under the alias of “Liluts Gandanghari.”

Well that’s about everything I can say this irritating matter, but it’s still up to the networks to decide… especially that FOX International Channel is an International Network. But in the Case of Philippine TV, maybe I’ll talk about it next time…

And that’s what really grinds my gears.

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