TELEVISION PROGRAMME REVIEW

1. David Spade’s ‘Game of Thrones’

review is the best we’ve seen yet
Fandom is an odd thing. Often times, the people who claim to love something more than
anyone else are the exact same folks who can’t help but nitpick and dwell on the most
trivial of things. For these fans, complaining is something of a badge of honor, and it’s a
dynamic we see time and time again across sports, the tech realm, and of course, TV.

With that said, the final season of Game of Thrones has been nothing short of
controversial. As you’ve likely heard by now, many of the most ardent Game of
Thrones fans have been beyond disappointed with the eighth and final season of the
acclaimed show. Underscoring the complete lunacy of the show’s more extreme fans,
there’s even been a petition — which now has more than 1 million signatures — calling
on HBO to remake the final season.

It’s easy to get swept up with all the negativity surrounding the show, which is why we
wanted to highlight what may very well be the funniest Game of Thrones review we’ve
seen yet.

The video below comes to us from David Spade and is a review of The Bells, the fifth
and penultimate episode of the season and the entire series. Spade is an admitted GOT
rookie, which of course only serves to make his commentary all the more hilarious. That
notwithstanding, his mini-review does incorporate a few of the more common
complaints we’ve seen raised by some of the show’s more hardcore fans.

Spade comes out firing, and addresses the show’s ridiculously long credits.

“First of all, high five for me for getting through the credits,” Spade says right off the bat.
“How long are the credits? Good God. You sit through that every time?”

Spade’s observations with respect to Daenerys destroying everything in sight is also

worth highlighting.

And Khaleesi, I mean… Toward the end, she really lost her marbles. The fight was
over. It looked like they were winning. They called a truce, I think, with the bells.
And then, here comes the dragon again.
2.KASAUTII ZINDAGI KAY 2
Its hard to admit, but I will. I am watching Kasautii Zindagi Kay 2. And when I wanted to read about it
online I found a bunch of articles pre-launch but less post-launch. So 3 months or so in I want to
discuss with you how is it going? Well am still watching, and while I could blame it entirely on nothing
else catching my interest, it’s not entirely true.

So here goes the number game..

The hero. Parth Samthaan as Anurag Basu has grown on me. So much so that I even watched his
previous show on MTV Kaise Ye Yaariyan and developed a major crush on college angsty privileged
lead singer Manik Malhotra +100

Parth’s English is reasonably good. So someone who speaks naturally in an Ekta Kapoor serial! +25
(at the very least)

But he spends a whole lot of time talking about “feelings” for his “friend” Prerna Sharma. At this day
and age not knowing ek larka larki, specially in an Indian television show, dost nahi reh sakte -10
Now “friend” in question herself, Prerna played by a shrieking Erika Fernandez -20
But no denying she also speaks good English +15 (just because am softer on the guys)

And she looks gorgeous in the Sangeet dress +20 (I used to find her beautiful in Kuch Kang
Pyar ke Aise Bhi)
Sangeet reminds me of the whole lovely lovers chase with floating flour (that’s right not flower) in the
kitchen +5

And the songs which there are huge numbers of. Like seriously, every scene does not need its own
random Hindi movie song -30

In the original Kasauti the title song and its million variations, plus ajeeb dastaan hai yeh added not
detracted from the story. -5 (because these random songs are really irritating)
+5 (they made a Kasauti remake complete with the red flying dupatta!!)

Kasauti Zindagi Kay 2 has a couple of beautiful songs from The Unbroken web series & Jilebi movie.
+20 (Khwab de do ya sath de do, Tukdo mein tum the, Pal)
L oud songs
reminded me of the louder dressing styles of Nive di and Mohini Basu -15
Let’s not forget their ugly huge bindis -5 (you probably can’t forget even if you tried really hard)

In an interview, Subhaavi Choksey who plays Mohini actually voiced her worry about the overboard
look but thought it worked out well in the end. For being able to at least spot the flaw +1
For speaking good English, and lots of it. Trust me its like her every other dialogue is in English +4

So what’s the most Indian thing in the show? Komolika’s lehengas..err..ghagaras…err skirt -20

But am going to fight the world on this and say I like the new Komolika. Hina Khan in Yeh Rishta Kya
Kehelata Hai was probably as bored playing Akshara as we were watching. The poor girl deserves
some fun, and what’s better than some nekka +13 (for girl power & trying a different role)
Now the storyline is definitely not trying to be different. Already 1 guy plotted murder & bigamy, 1 girl
is pregnant before marriage & tried to commit suicide -

For today’s episode the original ajeeb dastaan hai yeh is playing and a blushing Anurag is gradually
accepting the “feeling” +5 (we need shubh things to happen before serial gods kill all chances of
happy romance)
Sangeet reminds me of the whole lovely lovers chase with floating flour (that’s right not flower) in the
kitchen +5

And the songs which there are huge numbers of. Like seriously, every scene does not need its own
random Hindi movie song -30
Book Review - Don't Stop Me Now by Colleen
Coleman - Fab Firsts - Blog Tour

Fab Firsts is my new regular Sunday feature, that is going to be

highlighting books that are firsts. When interviewing authors, it will be
about their first book, as well as other firsts in their lives. When
reviewing books for this feature, there will be a mix of debuts, first
books in a series, the first time I read an author, and possibly other
firsts depending on what I can think of!

If you are an author wanting to take part in Fab Firsts then please do
email on gilbster at gmail dot com and I'll whizz the questions over to
you.

I hope you enjoy this look at a variety of hopefully fabulous firsts,

while making some sort of dent in my review and paperback TBRs
which are my current main focus!

This is a debut novel from Colleen Coleman that was published on

Wednesday.
 Title: Don't Stop Me Now
Author: Colleen Coleman
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: 22nd March 2017
Rating: 5 Stars

A hilarious feel good read about finding your feet when life
pulls the rug out from under you.

Poppy Bloom planned to finish her PhD and walk straight into a
job at her university. But here she is, unemployed,
unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend, and living back at
her mum’s in her vampire-themed childhood bedroom.

Not exactly what she was hoping for.

But when Poppy sets her mind to something, nothing can stand
in her way. She scores herself an internship at the hottest radio
station in town, joins a netball team, and renews her friendship
with her oldest friend Leanne. Spending time with Leanne’s
gorgeous twin Tom is just a bonus…

But life has a way of tripping you up when you least expect it,
and Poppy soon has to decide where her priorities lie… With
new friends, a new career and a new romance, can Poppy keep
everyone happy, or is everything about to tumble down around
her?

Inspiring and entertaining, Don't Stop Me Now shows that even

if you life isn't really going according to your plan that has been
set in stone for you, that fate really knows what its doing, in
giving you a push in another direction.

Take Poppy Bloom for example, she has been working towards a
fellowship at Banbridge for the last 10 years of the life. She now
has her PHD when the university decides it will take a different
tact this year. Not only throwing Poppy's life into turmoil, but
also destroying her relationship with her boyfriend and best
friend too.

In the weeks that follow, Poppy makes some big changes in her
life and finds what is arguably her true calling, and I loved
watching every step of the journey. She also embraces a
childhood friend, plays Netball for the first time in years, and
generally her life is slotting into place...but she is still convinced
she wants her old dreams.

There is a scene involving a job centre that has to be mentioned,

the careers facilitator seemed to far less qualified for any job
than Poppy, and some of the suggestions and questions the
computer came up with were hilarious. As was the discussion
about her being a doctor!

There are very many other comic moments in this story, and
others that generally just brought a smile to my face. I absolutely
loved her old friend Leanne, and the Netball team, what a fab
group of girls, and is it wrong to be jealous that they get to play at
an Olympic venue, despite being fictional characters, when the
best I ever did with Netball was the club for people that couldn't
get into the main squad!

Don't Stop Me Now kept me enthralled while I was on a long

train journey, and I found it to be a fairly quick and easy read. I
am very eager to see what else this talented author will write.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bookouture for this copy

of the book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
About the author

Colleen Coleman is an Irish-Canadian novelist. She is the winner

of the much-coveted Novelicious Undiscovered People’s Choice
Award launched to find the next ‘chick-lit star’. She spent over
ten years working as a teacher of English and Philosophy before
finally taking a deep breath, scrunching her eyes shut, putting
her pen to paper and vowing not to lift it again until she wrote
the words The End. As a result, her first novel was born. Colleen
lives between London, Ireland and Cyprus with her very patient
husband and very, very chatty twin daughters. Don’t Stop Me
Now is her first book and will be released in March.

‘
FILM REVIEW

PM NareNdra Modi’ trailer is

more about Modi the CM

With barely a month away for the first phase of the General elections, the
trailer of PM Narendra Modi was released on Wednesday and has
already garnered over two million views on Youtube.
The two-minute-and-35-second trailer of PM Narendra Modi begins with
fleeting images of the run-up to the 2014 elections, a biased television
anchor planning a prime time show on “the end of Narendra Modi” and
the chaiwala jibe, followed by the introduction of Narendra Modi as the
Prime Minister.
Vivek Oberoi has the herculean task of playing Narendra Modi, a mass
leader and most of all a familiar face. The prosthetics or make-up do
little to make Oberoi look like Modi but he does impress as the young
Narendra who informs his mother about taking up sanyas, wanders in
the Himalayas and joins the RSS shakha.

Much of the trailer is dedicated to Narendra Modi the Gujarat Chief

Minister - from how he handles the terror attack on Akshardham temple
to him inviting Ratan Tata to set up the Nano factory in Sanand.
There is also reference to Indira Gandhi and the Emergency that shows a
‘turbanated’ Narendra Modi courting arrest. Prime Minister Narendra
Modi appears in the last moments to “warn Pakistan of revenge.”
In the trailer dominated by Oberoi, the National Flag makes several
appearances. Boman Irani plays Ratan Tata and Manoj Joshi plays Amit
 Shah. There is also a lavish usage of ‘Hindustan,’ unlike conventional
Bollywood movies that refer to India as ‘Bharat’.
The movie directed by Omung Kumar, known for biopics on Mary Kom
and Sarabjit Singh, will be released on April 5 in Hindi, Tamil, and
Telugu.
A poster of the film starring Vivek Oberoi as Narendra Modi | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

With barely a month away for the first phase of the General elections, the
trailer of PM Narendra Modi was released on Wednesday and has already
garnered over two million views on Youtube.
The two-minute-and-35-second trailer of PM Narendra Modi begins with
fleeting images of the run-up to the 2014 elections, a biased television anchor
planning a prime time show on “the end of Narendra Modi” and
the chaiwala jibe, followed by the introduction of Narendra Modi as the
Prime Minister.
Vivek Oberoi has the herculean task of playing Narendra Modi, a mass leader
and most of all a familiar face. The prosthetics or make-up do little to make
Oberoi look like Modi but he does impress as the young Narendra who
informs his mother about taking up sanyas, wanders in the Himalayas and
joins the RSS shakha.
Much of the trailer is dedicated to Narendra Modi the Gujarat Chief Minister
- from how he handles the terror attack on Akshardham temple to him
inviting Ratan Tata to set up the Nano factory in Sanand.
There is also reference to Indira Gandhi and the Emergency that shows a
‘turbanated’ Narendra Modi courting arrest. Prime Minister Narendra Modi
appears in the last moments to “warn Pakistan of revenge.”
In the trailer dominated by Oberoi, the National Flag makes several
appearances. Boman Irani plays Ratan Tata and Manoj Joshi plays Amit
Shah. There is also a lavish usage of ‘Hindustan,’ unlike conventional
Bollywood movies that refer to India as ‘Bharat’.
The movie directed by Omung Kumar, known for biopics on Mary Kom
and Sa rabjit Singh, will be released on April 5 in Hindi, Tamil, and
Telugu.
 2. STUDENT OF THE YEAR 2 MOVIE REVIEW

STORY: A small town boy Rohan Sehgal (Tiger Shroff), madly in love
with his childhood sweetheart Mridula (Tara Sutaria), follows her to
city’s top college. But this new term brings friends, foes and cut-throat
competition along with heartbreak. Will he bounce back and beat the
odds to become the Student of the Year?

REVIEW: Pretty young things in designer wear, dapper dudes with

rippling muscles, scorching hot-wheels and a colourful campus buzzing
with all sorts of extra-curricular activities - Welcome to the class of
2019 at Dehradun’s most upscale college Saint Teresa. It's a place
where all things are pretty and glossed over. Film’s leading man (Tiger
Shroff) fits right into the scheme of things when he secures an
admission with a sports quota. He comes from a lesser privileged
college, where students don't have the luxury of fancy cars and
fashionable clothes. But his many talents start becoming a cause of
concern for the current poster boy of Saint Teresa, Manav Mehra
(Aditya Seal). Add to that, Manav's sister Shreya (Ananya), the college
brat, who thinks of herself as no less than a princess, is all set to take
on Rohan and embarrass him at every given opportunity. This sets the
stage for a testosterone led confrontation of one-upmanship that
involves love, ladies and competitiveness. Much of the story revolves
around the four main characters, who fall in and out of love without
much ado. There’s no heartbreak too deep that can shatter them, or a
punch so strong that it can break them. The narrative stays sweet,
simple and along predictable lines.

Tiger Shroff pretty much carries the film on his well-toned shoulders,
and his sweet boy charm works for the part. His strengths are
showcased with skill and attention – whether he is dancing like a
dream, running on the tracks (the camera accentuating his muscles and
sinew in close-ups), playing kabaddi or flipping in the air and landing
with a blow.

While film’s leading ladies Tara and Ananya are glammed up to the T
and flaunt the best designer wear that money can buy, their roles
aren’t tailored to perfection. Especially, Tara’s character doesn't seem
well-etched out. While her screen presence is impressive, her
performance is average. Thankfully, for Ananya, her character gets a
definite curve and a convincing backstory that works in her favour. Her
performance gradually grows on you, especially in some of her meet
cute scenes with Tiger. Ditto, for the film’s anti-hero Aditya Seal. He
pulls off his part well, looking every bit the classy, rich spoilt brat.

While there was far more scope for comedy, some of the best laugh-
out-loud moments come from Tiger’s gang of friends. Among them,
Harsh Beniwal leaves a lasting impression with his wisecracks and
comic timing.

Director Punit Malhotra ensures that a lot of drama and action remain
out of the classroom, with focus on sports, dance and romance, not
that the new age campus kids will complain. However, the chemistry
between Tiger and the two debutantes doesn't quite warm your heart.
And while it comes seven years after SOTY, the writing doesn’t seem to
have come of age.

Music is quite average, unlike the previous SOTY, which had songs like
Radha and the Disco song that could probably feature on your playlist,
even today. The edit could have been crisper. With the story at hand,
the film could have had a shorter runtime. While the first half is spent
in setting the tone of the film, second half gets a tad more exciting
when the drama and action unfold. The film does make you nostalgic
about Mansoor Khan's 1992 hit Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, of course, this
one is a modern-day snazzier version.

Overall, SOTY 2 doesn’t have that Ishq wala love, but there is ample
dosti, high school drama and cool stuff to keep you going. It's always
fun rooting for the underdog and you'll find yourself doing that here,
too. There's not much to fuss over, but for the young campus
generation, it's a fun and breezy watch. With enough lessons in styling
and fashion (out of syllabus, of course).
SCRIPT WRITING FOR RADIO NEWS

Creating radio new scripts is definitely a different process than writing for television or print. In
radio, you must be able to catch the listeners’ attention immediately. Depending on the station
and the element of the feed, radio news scripts range from 30 to 90 seconds.

As a radio announcer, you will need to be creative and on point to get valuable news information
out to your listeners. The choice of words and their delivery are both important aspects of the
radio news writing process.

Keep Scripts Short

Short and simple should always be the procedure when creating clear, informative radio news
scripts. The news clip should have concise sentences. You will want to be aware of how the
words sound as you put the sentences together.

Consider these tips when creating radio news content.

Create short and simple sentences.

Use everyday language. You want your listeners to understand the content. Words containing
multiple syllables will make the script more complex. The news broadcaster does not have the
time to repeat a sentence to get the point across to the listener. When words are hard to
pronounce or too long, the broadcaster will lose the audience’s attention.

Create significant points to deliver the news story across to the audience.

Keep personal opinions out of the segment. You are writing radio news scripts not participating
in opinion panels.

Keep your personal emotions out of the written news scripts. The process may be difficult at
times. Some news pieces are filled with emotional events. As radio journalists, you must report
the news in the most unbiased, thoughtful way possible.

You need to write the script to share the truth about an event. You do not want to provide false or
biased information that may lead a listener away from the truth.
Read your content out loud. The process will help you evaluate the written script.

Setting up the News Audio

Radio news scripts will be used as part of the setup process for the news section of a broadcast.
Having a summary ready to introduce the upcoming news session will help grab the audience’s
attention.

Preparing for the audio is an important factor in creating radio news scripts.

Consider the summary as a tease to the upcoming news segment. You just want to provide the
audience with enough information to keep them engaged.

If possible, avoid using the same words in the summary as in the script.

If using music in the background, you will want the volume of the music to be lower than your
voice. The audience needs to hear the news without any distractions. The music should not
contain lyrics.

Writing radio news scripts can be an exciting and thought-provoking process. The news around
the world is always changing at a rapid rate. Providing unbiased radio news scripts will keep you
engaged in the writing process.
SCRIPT WRITING FOR TELEVISION NEWS

When working in television, especially television news, it is very important to have

quality writing. The information needs to be concise, to the point and yet
informative without any sort of opinion interjected into it.

This can make it difficult, especially for individuals just starting off in the industry.
If you are looking to improve your writing techniques and hope to produce written
content for news organizations, you need to understand how to write television
news scripts. While you are going to learn about this through the help of a college
education in broadcasting, you can always start practicing right away.

Read it Out Loud

It is amazing how different something sounds when you read it out loud. There are
some forms of text that work better as reading material, while others work best
when spoken. You need to make sure everything flows perfectly. In order to do
this, you need to read everything you write out loud. Eventually you’ll find what
words sound odd, what flows better and what to avoid in the future.

Cut Out Passive Text

When presenting television news scripts, everything needs to either be current or
taking place in the future. Never write in a passive voice. You want to have an
active voice, regardless of what you are writing about. You need to cut out words
like “was” from your vocabulary. Don’t say, “John Doe was murdered by Joe
Smith.” Speak it as if it is happening right now. It’s “Joe Smith murdered John
Doe.” It might feel a bit awkward removing those kinds of words from your
writing, but it does become easier and easier the more you practice it.

Connect it to the People

No matter the news story, people need to care about it. If it doesn’t connect to
them, they are not going to care. That might sound bad, but if viewers or listeners
do not have any kind of emotional connection to it, they are going to tune out,
change the channel or walk away from the television set. For TV stations, that
means fewer viewers and fewer advertising dollars, which means fewer jobs and
you out on the street! It is amazing how everything comes down to connecting to
people – there are many other important elements to a news broadcast, but
connecting to the viewers is most important.

There are times the content might not have a readily available connection to
viewers. Maybe there is an electrical outage on some corner. That alone isn’t going
to really interest people. However, if you tell them it is delaying traffic by 30
minutes and may take them longer to drive to work, it instantly affects them, just
by incorporating that small line into it. The increase in seed costs means consumers
are going to pay more in the grocery store. A strike by bus workers may mean
employees have no way to make it to their jobs. Everything can be connected to
viewers, you just need to figure out how and write it in.

Simplify Numbers
When writing for a newspaper, you are going to provide specific numbers and
information. However, a viewer’s ears cannot handle a large series of numbers at
once. It is less likely to make an impact. So, when writing television news scripts,
instead of saying the company lost $8,765,192 over the course of the year, simply
state the company lost $8.7 million. It drives home the same point to the viewer.