TV classics - Dream Team

IN OCTOBER 1997, Sky One and Hewland International came together to produce a football drama that no-one can live upto.  For ten years, viewers were gripped by ‘Dream Team,’ a series focusing on the events of a fictional club in the West Midlands, Harchester United.  For the first time ever, viewers got to see the makings of a football club and what really happens behind the cameras.  The show ended in June 2007, after 419 episodes full of murder, explosions, shootings, affairs, gambling addictions, pregnancy, battles for controls, match-fixing, bribery and murder trials.  Yep, Dream Team pretty much covered every base possible.  You wouldn’t want to be around this football club, because ten years of drama at Harchester United feels like the drama of an average family in their lifetime put together!

LOGO: HUFC emblem

     Dream Team began on Tuesday 15 October 1997, initially making two 30 minute episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.  The first series focused on the youth team, but for the following nine series, attention switched to the senior squad.  From series four (2000) onwards, the show moved into a successful one-hour Sunday evening slot.  At the height of its peak, Dream Team was Sky One’s most watched programme, with nearly two million (good figures) for a Sky show tuning into the series four finale, which culminated in the murder of unpopular chairman Prashant Dattani (Ramon Tinkram).

      The match action was used with permission from the FA Premier League and use of the Sky Sports archives, with a lot of the filming taking place at Millwall’s New Den ground.  The show proved the fronting ground for a lot of talented actors and actresses.  Jamie Lomas and Ricky Whittle became Hollyoaks icons, Rob Kazinsky likewise in EastEnders.  Duncan Pow is a hit with the Holby City fans, Stefan Dennis was the owner for a season in his break from playing evil Paul Robinson in Neighbours and Chucky Venice went into a similar show; Footballers Wives, after his Dream Team experience.  There were also a series of guest appearances from familiar football faces including Dennis Wise, Andy Gray, Harry Redknapp, Neil Warnock, Richard Keys and Alan Curbishley.

     The football might have been reality, but the off-field sagas that gripped the show were spectacular enough.  In series five, Harchester's first-team squad was travelling to the airport for the UEFA Cup final against AC Milan when it crashed off the M1.  Three first-team squad members were killed.  The following year, goalkeeper Jamie Parker (Jim Alexander) held the first-team hostage in 'The Siege,' in some of Dream Team's finest and grittiest scenes to be filmed.  After a tense stand-off with police, Parker was eventually gunned down to his death.

      The two most popular characters in the history of Dream Team were Lynda Block and Karl Fletcher.  Played by Alison King (now better known for playing Carla Connor in Coronation Street) and Terry Kiely, they were stalwarts in the show from its early beginnings.  Kiely’s character, Karl Fletcher was in the show from the first series and became instantly known for his ‘playboy’ lifestyle.  His character was a goal machine, helping Harchester to FA Cup success in 1998.  After an unhappy stint in Spain, playing for Real Mallorca, Fletch returned to Harchester and was accused of the murder of Dattani at the start of series five.  At the resulting trial, he was found guilty of his murder, before Lynda came clean at the last moment to reveal it was her who had struck the final blow.  Rather than be angry with her, Fletch and Lynda went onto have a steamy affair, but Sam Irving (Stefan Dennis) found out and called off the nuptials between him and Lynda at the altar.  With Lynda in jail, serving time for Dattani’s murder, Fletch went onto marry physiotherapist Abi O’Leary (Rachel Brady), and looked set to settle down at long last.  However, a crippling tax bill and a power struggle against manager Patrick Doyle (Shaun Scott) led to Fletch departing at the end of the sixth series for Saudi Arabia, in a bid to solve his money troubles.  He eventually divorced Abi, after she had a fling with French footballer Marcel Sabatier.  In series eight, Fletch returned to Harchester unexpectedly, but was struggling for fitness and was never deranged manager Don Barker’s favourite person.  In a showdown for supremacy, Barker murdered Fletcher in the changing room against a coat rail in the penultimate episode of series eight. 

     Lynda Block arrived in series two, as the wife of Chairman Jerry Block.  She got bored with Jerry quickly, and was soon having a sizzling affair with Latino player-manager Luis Amor Rodriguez (Martin Crunes) in one of Dream Team’s greatest ever storylines.  When Jerry’s dodgy dealings were exposed in series three, Lynda took over as chairwoman, but broke up with Luis when he went to play in Argentina for Boca Juniors.  So, Lynda continued her likings in Harchester managers, and went onto bed Ray Wyatt (Mark Moraghan), destroying his marriage.  However, series four was a power struggle for Lynda, with regular run-ins with the unpopular Dattani and a financial crisis that in the end saw her lose control of the club.  To compound matters, her affair with Ray was exposed to the press and sleazy local journalist Paul Hankin.  The resulting stress caused her to lose the baby she and Ray had been expecting.  In the final episode, Lynda’s patience finally snapped and she killed Dattani and ended up in jail at the end of the following series.  Series five was more of the same, with Lynda serving her time in prison after the breakup of her potential marriage to Sam Irving, as she was carrying on with Fletch.  She was released on a technicality three years later, on the day of Harchester’s darkest moment.

     The match-fixing scandal in the 2003-2004 campaign, caused by controversial chief executive Pilar Hernandez (Marem Hernandez) and bitter ex-player Stuart Naysmith (Terence Maynard) led to a chain of events which ultimately conspired to the death of the HUFC squad in Cardiff.  UEFA relegated Harchester United to the Coca Cola Championship and sweeping changes for the pre-season saw the feisty Don Barker (Jon Morrison) come in as the club’s new manager.  From the outset, Barker did things his own way and wouldn’t take any prisoners.  Clyde Connolly (Timothy Smith) couldn’t take it and jumped off the stadium after a Champions League match and Barker eventually lost his job over a sex scandal.  Having taken a position as West Ham’s director of football, Barker’s ultimate aim was to finish off Harchester.  He killed Fletch, revealed the secret of an affair between Ryan Naysmith (Ricky Whittle) and Chelsea Wright (Karen Ferrari) which drove nutty Viv Wright (Phillip Brodie) into a fit before the Championship playoff final.  After Harchester beat West Ham 1-0 to secure their place back in the Premiership, Barker wasn’t going to take it lying down.  So, he drove his cordoned off BMW, with petrol cans and Fletch’s body in the boot into the Harchester team coach.  The coach exploded, killing all but three of the first-team squad.

     Sadly, despite a new look and new characters, the glory days of Dream Team had come to an end.  Storylines either got boring or more sensationalised and in April 2006, it was decided that the show would be axed after a tenth and final series.  The tenth series focused on a storyline which evolved around the ‘Dragonslayer,’ a mysterious individual, exposing the secrets of the club.  The show bowed out with the offices of the Dragons Lair, Harchester’s ground going up in flames thanks to a dropped cigarette.  It was a disappointing conclusion, as no-one knew whether the ground exploded, killing thousands or Harchester won the Premier League title on the last day of the season.

     Dream Team certainly had its day and was quality football drama.  It has every right to be called a ‘TV Classic,’ especially if you liked the match action, attractive women and dramatic cliff-hangers.  Although a campaign for the ten series on DVD to be released has failed, the fictional legacy of Harchester United remains in the blood of many fans of the show.  There may be no revival, but the memories will remain forever.

More information on Harchester United can be found at http://www.harchester.net/ and http://www.harchester.tv/, where the latter continues the story where the TV drama ended for approximately another season and a half.

Sky revamps its entertainment offering

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

TUESDAY saw BSkyB perhaps undertake its biggest overhaul in television viewing since it launched the digital satellite era back in 1998.  It reshuffled its general entertainment division, following the takeover of the Virgin Media Television Group last summer.  It saw the launch of a new channel and new beginnings for old favourites but will viewers notice many changes.  The answer is not a simple one but the offerings from these channels should help make their minds up.

The centrepiece of these changes is a brand new channel, Sky Atlantic.  Sky has since the beginning of their life in 1989, been the leader in specialising in US shows, so the launch of a channel based on this gender was a certain no-brainer, it had to happen someday.  It will focus mainly on US dramas, mostly from the HBO library and repeats of classic ones.  The channel’s big hits are expected to come from the smash-hit new shows Boardwalk Empire and Blue Bloods.  The classics are expected to feature the likes of 24, Battlestar Galatica and the entire Star Trek collection, acquired from Virgin.  Another big-hitter to be on Atlantic is Mad Men, poached from BBC4.  Sky Atlantic will only be available on the Sky Digital platform.

A classic television channel meanwhile has been given a rebrand; Living officially joins the Sky family and becomes Sky Living.  Having in recent years moved away from lifestyle programmes in its original origins and become more of a hard-hitting female channel, there is expected to be not much chance at the station with shows like Next Top Model, both UK and US versions, Bedlam and Criminal Minds expected to remain.  Shows from Sky’s archive that fit the channel’s target audience will also be moved here whilst the channel’s big coup is expected to come later on in the year with the arrival of well-known, and nowadays controversial, figure.  Katie Price (a.k.a. Jordan) is moving over from ITV to continue her recent foray into making television programmes.

On the old favourites, there will also be a few tweaks but nothing major.  Sky1 will continue its showings of The Simpsons, House, Got To Dance, A League Of Their Own and much more whilst continuing to develop new original content and will also introduce a selection of shows from the former Bravo channel, which closed at the start of the year.  Sky2 will have no changes at all, remaining as a catch-up service to Sky1 whilst Sky3 continues to offer programmes targeted for Freeview viewers.  However, they will change its name to PickTV next month, which many will say is extremely stupid.

Finally Challenge also becomes part of Sky now and joins the Freeview platform, replacing the now defunct Channel One (formerly Virgin1).  It means for the first time, viewers will be able to watch classic episodes of their favourite gameshows like Gladiators, Catchphrase, The Crystal Maze and Takeshi’s Castle without having to pay a subscription.  Sky have yet to confirm if any changes will be ahead for the station like the possibility of adding the Sky prefix to the channel’s name or introducing any of Sky’s former and current gameshows to the channel.

Perhaps though the most intriguing move in this overhaul is the heavily marketed, ‘HD Swap’.  Viewers who have a Sky+ HD box will see their HD channels swap places in the EPG with their SD counterparts (e.g. Sky 1 HD will be on Channel 106 now on Sky+ HD, compared to remaining at 170 on SD boxes).  It is designed by Sky to get its customers to use more of their HD services.

There is no doubt that these changes will enhance the viewer’s choice and quite possibly change the way they perceive about Sky’s programme offering.  Tuesday’s events at Sky will perhaps rank as one of its biggest days in the corporation’s 22 year history.

Sky Sports Price Cut - But They Are Not Happy!

Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 have been deemed too expensive and have been asked to cut their prices by the media regulator, OFCOM.  However, Sky isn’t very happy with this forceful move by the regulator.

The chief executive of BSkyB, finds OFCOM’s findings as ‘extraordinary,’ and insisted that they want to ‘appeal against the decision via the courts.’  On the other hand, OFCOM has previously warned Sky about its prices, largely because Sky holds the majority of rights to key sporting events, such as The Ashes, the US Open Tennis and FA Premier League football.  They insist that today’s ruling will make Sky Sports more available now to nearly ten million new customers.

However, the regulator stopped short of price cuts in Sky’s varied selection of movie channels, which has angered some of BSkyB’s closest competitors, like BT and Virgin Media.  If a move is agreed to cut the price of Sky Sports to the normal customer, Sky will be allowed to bring some of their pay-TV channels like Sky1 to Freeview, which had been agreed over two years ago, until Virgin Media’s buyout of ntl: telewest.  The broadcaster now has six weeks to outline a template contract to other pay TV providers, with OFCOM set to make a final announcement before the World Cup finals this summer.

Sky is the largest operator in the pay-TV market at the moment, with nearly ten million subscribers.  Under the new proposal, OFCOM has suggested the Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 shall be made available for a price of £10.63 per subscriber, whereas the current subscriber would be paying £17.14, a reduction of over 10%.  This news comes after a three-year investigation, in which OFCOM has denied claims of foul play tactics and everywhere was done on a ‘fair and square basis.’ 

Virgin Media, BT and the normal or new subscriber are the main winners and Sky the losers, as they have already insisted of their intentions to appeal against the decision.  The bidding war involving pay-TV prices has certainly well and truly begun.

The Simpsons: 20 & Still Going Strong

This was posted on Thursday 22nd January at http://happydude88.livejournal.com/

Last Thursday, America’s favourite family, ‘The Simpsons’ celebrated its 20th anniversary. It seems like yesterday, when the yellow stars, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa & Maggie first appeared on the Tracey Ullman show, as a sketch in 1987. Fox turned it into a 30 minute cartoon from 1989 and it has been on UK screens since September 1990, thanks to Sky 1.

‘The Simpsons’ have had a rousing success including a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame and 25 Primetime Emmy Awards. Catchphrases like ‘D’oh!’ ‘Eat My Shorts’ and ‘Ay Carumba!’ are used regularly in today’s standardised UK language and despite the popularity of newer episodes waning in recent times, it has the memories to keep millions of fans talking for years to come.

In September 2009, Fox premiered the 21st season and there have been 451 episodes. Though it has been difficult to choose, here are brief summaries of my favourite 20 episodes: (In No Particular Order)

Whacking Day SEASON 4 1992
Springfield’s annual holiday, Whacking Day angers Lisa Simpson, who despises snakes being used as objects for whacking by the residents. Fortunately, she and Bart (expelled from Springfield Elementary) hatch a plan involving the late Barry White which saves the snakes and with some home truths, keeps everyone happy. Bart’s knowledge on the subject gets him back into school.

Mother Simpson SEASON 7 1995
In order to not work on a Saturday, Homer fakes his own death and eventually, Marge forces him to march down to the record database to straighten the situation out. It is here when he finds his mother Mona (played by Glenn Close), having previously been told she had died whilst at the movies. Soon, Lisa gets suspicious of Homer’s mum’s whereabouts and under intensive interrogation from the family, she reveals all. Mona reveals she had been on the run from the FBI and Mr. Burns for destroying his germ plant. Eventually, Burns catches up with her, but Mona, with help from Homer gets away from his clutches again, before saying an emotional goodbye to her son.

Homer’s Enemy SEASON 8 1997
A new employee at the Nuclear Power Plant, Frank Grimes takes immediate dislike to Homer’s ignorance and sloth at work. He quickly becomes Homer’s Enemy, but is amazed to see that everyone else doesn’t notice Homer’s slack attitude. Eventually, after Homer wins a Power Plant competition for kids, Grimes goes mad and goes on to be electrocuted. Classic episode!

Homer’s Triple Bypass SEASON 4 1992
The salty snacks catch up on Homer and following a stern telling-off from Mr. Burns at the Nuclear Powerplant, he suffers a heart attack. Later, it is revealed he needs urgent triple bypass surgery to stay alive. Finding the cheapest option possible, Homer has the surgery from Dr. Nick Riviera, who needs assistance from Lisa to make it a complete success

Secrets of a Successful Marriage SEASON 5 1994
Homer becomes a marriage counsellor teacher for an Adult Education Class, but needs to dip into his and Marge’s private marriage secrets to keep his class satisfied and intrigued with his lack of knowledge. After a hostile family dinner, witnessed by the class, Marge kicks Homer out. Homer begs for forgiveness from his wife, and once Moe tries and fails to woo Marge again, Homer & Marge agree to forgive and forget.

Brawl in the Family SEASON 13 2001
A game of Monopoly during an Acid Rain downpour in Springfield sees The Simpsons have a major brawl and they end up in jail. It is up to the Angel Gabriel to reconcile the family. However, his work is torn apart, when Homer & Ned’s Vegas Wives from (Viva Ned Flanders, Season 10) turn up and Homer confesses to the revelation. Kicked out by Marge, Homer gets ready to start a new life with Flickers, but Marge, Homer & the kids come up with a plan that get Flickers drunk and married to Grampa which saves the family and sees the Vegas wives run away back home.

Brother’s Little Helper SEASON 11 1999
After destroying the Fire Safety day with a destructive plan, Bart is pressurized by Marge & Homer to take a new drug, called ‘Focusyn’ to keep him concentrating. Bart takes a dramatic change in his behaviour, but is soon losing his mind, detecting that Major League Baseball is spying on him. After taking more drugs, Bart goes on a rampage through the town, which ends up with him blowing up the MLB satellite. Baseball ace Mark McGuire turns up and steals the information when Lenny discovers Bart had been telling the truth all along. Bart returns home, and is now prescribed on Ritalin.

Barting Over SEASON 14 2003
The 300th episode sees Bart find out he starred in commercials as a small baby. When he finds out that Homer spent all the money made, Bart wants emancipation from his family and leaves home. Bumping into skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, Bart settles down on the SkuTour, but Homer wants his son back and challenges Hawk to a skateboarding contest, which he wins. Bart returns home and Homer starts making commercials for Viagra Gel.

Bart the Daredevil SEASON 2 1991
After seeing Captain Lance Murdock produce a death-defying stunt at ‘Truckasaurus,’ Bart wants to follow in his footsteps. Despite Lisa and Homer’s reservations, Bart defies both and heads off to jump Springfield Gorge. Homer stops him in the nick of time, only to end up accidentally jump the gorge on Bart’s skateboard, with painful consequences….

Lisa on Ice SEASON 6 1995
Lisa looks set for her first ever F, after failing at sports. Suddenly, Apu spots her stopping Bart’s shots on a hockey rink and makes her the ice-hockey goalkeeper for the Kwik-E-Mart Gougers. Soon, Lisa becomes so good at the game; Bart is pushed out of the spotlight and starts a bitter rivalry with his sister. In a match between the Gougers and Bart’s hockey squad, coached by Chief Wiggum, Bart has a shot to win the match. However, he and Lisa put aside their differences and the game ends in a tie, leaving the crowd frustrated and in the mood to start a good old riot.

Lisa’s Wedding SEASON 6 1995
At a fortune-telling stand, Lisa is giving a vision of her future which sees her fall in love with British student, Hugh Parkfield. They get engaged and Hugh makes the trip to Springfield, to see Lisa’s family. As ever, Homer & Bart cause their usual mayhem which pushes Hugh to the limit. On the day of the wedding, he refuses to wear Homer’s cufflinks and tells Lisa he wants to cut off her family from their lives. Lisa is horrified and calls off the wedding. Back in real-time, she is told that the future cannot be changed, but try and act surprised.

Treehouse of Horror VI SEASON 7 1995
Undoubtedly, the best ever Halloween Special created. Tale no.1 sees Springfield being terrorised by advertising mascots and hoardings, which starts with Homer nicking the large donut off LardLad. Part 2 sees the grim story of Groundskeeper Willie getting revenge for his death, by attacking the children of Springfield in their sleep. When Bart & Lisa fall victim to the janitor, it’s up to Maggie to save the day. Finally, in effort to avoid a restless presentation from Patty & Selma, Homer escapes into the 3rd dimension and disappears into oblivion.

Three Gays of the Condo SEASON 14 2003
When Homer finds a postcard from Marge about a horrific night out from the early days of their relationship, he moves out in disgust of Marge’s resentment. Homer moves in with a couple of guys in an apartment together, who are ‘gay.’ Marge makes vain attempts to get back with Homer, who agrees to a date. However, he ends up arriving hours later, after drinking marquita with the lads. Homer returns home and is kissed by one of the guys. He runs away and then Moe poisons him with alcohol, eventually reuniting Homer with Marge.

24 Minutes SEASON 18 2007
In the style of American drama ’24,’ Marge attempts to make the perfect cake, to win a baking contest at Springfield Elementary school. Meanwhile, Dolph, Jimbo & Kearney plan to wreck the contest by releasing the ‘ultimate stinkbomb.’ The plan is eventually foiled in this well-written plot by Bart, Lisa & Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland.)

Marge on the Lam SEASON 5 1993
Upset by Homer’s lame excuse not to go to the ballet, Marge ends up going with neighbour, Ruth Powers and on a second excursion into town, end up on the run. Homer, on his own night out, bumps into Chief Wiggum and together, the pair chases Marge & Ruth all night, leaving under-qualified Lionel Hutz to look after Bart & Lisa. As the women head for a chasm, Homer makes one last plea to Marge, and they stop on the cliff-face, but Homer & Wiggum jump off it, fortunately landing in some solid waste.

The Old Man & the Lisa SEASON 8 1997
Poor investments leave Mr. Burns with no money, loses the Power Plant and his mansion home. After gentle persuasion, Lisa feels sorry for Burns, and introduces him into the world of recycling. A recycling plant is built, but Lisa is horrified when Burns pulls all aquatic life out of the sea, and turns it into goo. Lisa is sick and runs off, whilst Burns buys back his Power Plant and regains his fortune.

Wild Bart’s Can’t Be Broken SEASON 10 1999
When Homer, Carl, Lenny & Barney trash Springfield Elementary on a drunken rampage, Chief Wiggum blames the kids for the irresponsibility and places a curfew on kids. Furious, Bart, Lisa, Millhouse and co break the rule to see ‘The Bloodening’ at the Springfield Drive N Thru, but are arrested by Wiggum. The movie gives the kids inspiration to tell the adults secrets in revenge on the radio. It leads to a final showdown, which sees the old relatives join in and enforce a curfew regulation for anyone under 70!

Separate Vocations SEASON 3 1992
Following a Career Amplitude Test, Bart gets the passion to become a member of the Springfield Police Force. On the other side, Lisa’s future career comes out as a homemaker. She becomes disillusioned with life, and turns into a rebel at school, including stealing all the copies of the ‘Teacher’s Edition.’ The books are found by Principal Skinner and Bart following a random locker search. Bart, seeing what Lisa did, decides he doesn’t want to see his sister wreck her potential, to owns up to the crime and takes her punishment with good grace.

Mommie Beerest SEASON 16 2005
Moe’s is shut down after failing a health inspection, so Homer takes out a second mortgage in Marge’s name without consultation. Furious with her husband, Marge becomes the owner and helps re-open Moe’s and turn it into a bar. Homer’s jealousy nearly costs him his marriage, but on a plane for a weekend away, Moe reveals his feelings for Marge and is rejected, saving The Simpsons.

The Regina Monologues SEASON 15 2004
After making $3000 dollars from a brief museum opening, Bart treats the family for a vacation to London. The main objective is for Grampa to find an old love from World War I, but Homer causes havoc and gets arrested for crashing his Mini into the Queen. A deal is eventually compromised which means Homer can get away scot-free in exchange for Madonna to return to the States. This episode guest starred Tony Blair and Sir Ian McKellen.

The Simpsons success has seen a series of guests star appear. Leonard Nimoy, Stephen Hawking, Kelsey Grammar, Cyndi Lauper, Dolly Parton, Simon Cowell, Serena Williams, Tony Blair, Tony Hawk, Sir Elton John & Sir Paul McCartney just to name a few of many to have graced Springfield over the past two decades.

Worldwide, The Simpsons Movie made fortunes of money when it broke onto the big screen in the summer of 2007. Its reviews were mixed. A long-lasting storyline over 90 minutes didn’t quite fit in with the producers and creator, Matt Groening. However, its comedy element throughout meant it was still a quality piece of film material.

So, what is the next for The Simpsons? I certainly think that maybe the time has come to draw a line under the amount of time still being put into newer episodes, which don’t have the same charisma as the older classics. However, what can’t be denied is the legacy that the town of Springfield has left in our lives. The Simpsons have already become America’s longest family sitcom and they should be safe and secure in our TV schedules for many years to come.