OT: olympic opening ceremony

[crownjewelwl]

Anybody watching? Having Wiggo ring the bell was a nice touch but otherwise unbearable...

[Louis]

Anybody watching? Having Wiggo ring the bell was a nice touch but otherwise unbearable...

Not a fan of British culture and pop music?

[handsomerob]

It is like watching a train wreck.

I have to say that there would be no quarter for a U.S. color guard that was that sloppy.

[LegendRider]

You can't help but be impressed with the planning, logistics, technology and effort that goes into an Olympic opening ceremony. That having been said, I'm watching but not "feeling" much.

[handsomerob]

You can't help but be impressed with the planning, logistics, technology and effort that goes into an Olympic opening ceremony. That having been said, I'm watching but not "feeling" much.

So far it I can't get past the "holy &$€¥ what a colossal waste of money" thoughts I am having.

Does this make anyone want to go to London any more than they did yesterday?

Why have the queen there if she can't muster anything more than a look splitting indifference and disdain?

[67-59]

I've never understood the point.

It's like -- "let's have this great sporting event...but first, a Broadway musical."

[rice rocket]

So far it I can't get past the "holy &$€¥ what a colossal waste of money" thoughts I am having.

Did you miss the 2008 Olympics? :)


Apparently the guy who directed this (Danny Boyle) also directed Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting.

[crownjewelwl]

Not a fan of British culture and pop music?

I like British culture and pop music as much as the next guy but come on...

Danny Boyle went a little nutty...texting bubbles??

At least in Beijing, the sheer scale was a spectacle to behold...

[echelon_john]

And SHALLOW GRAVE. Watch it if you haven't.

Did you miss the 2008 Olympics? :)


Apparently the guy who directed this (Danny Boyle) also directed Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting.

[Dave B]

I am watching it with my 7 year old, wife, and 4 month old son. Couldn't be happier. Answering the 7 year od's questions and listening to her oh and aww.

Perspective gentlemen...it is a spectacle, don't over think it.


However, Matt Lauer and whomever the woman is talking made it worse. Those two morons are examples why people think we Americans are ignorant.

[handsomerob]

I think they should have ended with Eclipse.

It was a spectacle though. Lighting was great... All the people stuff was pretty uninspiring.

[gianni]

My god.... killing me; the only positive was the 15 soundbite with david b. ziggy stardust and queen, otherwise ........painfull!

[Ken Robb]

I stuck it out for an hour. Just because something is big and expensive doesn't mean it's worthwhile.

[fjaws]

Athletes all carrying smart phones looked tacky IMO.

[gianni]

I take it all back! The boat trip with becks, torch and on the river was worth it...OKay time to chill.

Can't wait until the RR tomorrow sans radios.

[boxerboxer]

Why have the queen there if she can't muster anything more than a look splitting indifference and disdain?

Did you miss the part where she entered the stadium on a mother effin' parachute? Yes, I understand that was a stunt double but she was very cool to go along with it. :)

[Climb01742]

i thought the first bit ending with the rise of the industrial revolution was cool and thought, hey, maybe they won't do any of those stupid musical numbers.

oops. not so much.

once the singing and dancing started, my interest ended.

[echelon_john]

What struck me was that they did a good job of expressing diversity, from the makeup of the cast to the folks in wheelchairs and the deaf children's choir. I actually thought that was pretty moving, and couldn't help thinking that we didn't see those elements of society represented in the Beijing opening ceremony.

Considering England's class system and issues with race, I thought this was a big positive.

[zap]

I channel surfed.....I did catch Bean Man.......the show was.........................NBC made it worse.

[Climb01742]

What struck me was that they did a good job of expressing diversity, from the makeup of the cast to the folks in wheelchairs and the deaf children's choir. I actually thought that was pretty moving

agree. the one bit of music that moved me was the children's choir singing 'god save the queen'. their faces were amazing. and the queen almost smiled.

[Fishbike]

It was good to see a focus -- for the most part -- on human beings instead of amorphous, psychedelic, blob creatures with wings and any other number of beastomorphic doodads.

[oldpotatoe]

My god.... killing me; the only positive was the 15 soundbite with david b. ziggy stardust and queen, otherwise ........painfull!

then turn....it.....off.........geeezus, it's an opening ceremony. watch somethin else, you aren't paying for it.

I enjoyed it also.

[dd74]

My opening ceremony was a bottle of Newcastle.

[rugbysecondrow]

I liked it, not as flamboyant or fun as the Chinese but that was one hell of a ceremony.

I think it is cool seeing all the athletes walk out. They worked so hard for so many years, to see them on this international stage is just cool.

[djg]

Not a fan of British culture and pop music?

Not anymore.

I'm a big fan, or at least I think I am -- apart from the language and legal tradition, there's plenty of British lit and music and film that grabs me, and I've got English and Scots pals, and would love to go back to England for another visit. Heck, I like some Danny Boyle movies and, to be fair, the whole project of an Olympics opening ceremony show has gotta be something of an . ... erm . . . challenge.

But it was unwatchable. I made myself watch a pretty good chunk of the dance thing, like Malcolm McDowell's character in A Clockwork Orange (McDowell -- Brit, Kubrick -- American, Burgess -- Brit; a special relationship), only self-inflicted, but in the end I had to flip the switch. I'm not sure whether the voice-over narrative hurt or helped -- on the one hand, it seemed awful; on the other, without it, I'd have had no idea what the heck they were up to.

[cfox]

I liked it. No point comparing it to the Chinese. No one does a big State spectacle like totalitarians. Slave labor and unlimited eminent domain make it a lot easier to put on a big show.

[zennmotion]

It's London, it's their show, I didn't get it, whatever. I did watch the athlete's parade, wish I'd turned the sound off, Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira either are idiots or their notes made them sound like talking heads. They couldn't even be coached to pronounce a good number of the country names properly? It's the olympics opening ceremony fercryinoutloud, this should be a low bar expectation. And many of their inane comments (notes?) were outright insulting. "Winston Churchill once called Uganda the pearl of Africa... he never met Idi Amin!" The quote was from a painful (for Uganda) time of colonized land grabbing (by the UK!) and resource stealing. And Lauer's one reference to the country is a painful reminder of a dead megalomaniac that the US/Europe kept in power because he was convenient? And there were others about other countries just as bad. If you can't say anything positive during the presentation then STFU-- surely some intern could have googled something interesting and relevant (to the olympic games) for every country for the parade commentary. Congratulations Matt and Meredith, an amazing demonstration of American ignorance and arrogance, at times insulting, NBC should apologize.

[malcolm]

I really didn't like it that much either, some moments were cool, seeing the athletes walk out smart phones or not is inspiring, it's a moment of their life.
I don't recall ever seeing an opening ceremony so egocentric, I could be wrong because honestly I don't remember that much about any of them, but I don't remember a history lesson. I'm looking more for pure entertainment and awe or better yet introduce the athletes, have some fireworks. feed some people with the left over money and get down to the competition.

[maxdog]

I am watching it with my 7 year old, wife, and 4 month old son. Couldn't be happier. Answering the 7 year od's questions and listening to her oh and aww.

Perspective gentlemen...it is a spectacle, don't over think it.


However, Matt Lauer and whomever the woman is talking made it worse. Those two morons are examples why people think we Americans are ignorant.


Well put.

[bozman]

I thought it was just ok. For the love of God can we put Paul McCartney out to pasture. If he has to crow through Hey Jude one more time the queen should push him out of the heli.

[Chance]

Could not make it through without falling asleep. Being up since 3:55 am did not help. Just not my thing.

[mcteague]

I almost never watch opening ceremonies but somehow did this year. Sure glad as I would never have believed what an acid trip it was. This has got to be one of the weirdest things I have ever seen.

And, they started in a strange, linear, historical way and then dropped all that after WWI and all hell broke loose. Mary Poppins army fighting a giant Voldemort??? You have got to be baked to come up with this. Cannot believe it all got approved. The was one major :confused: moment after another. So glad I did not miss it!

Tim

[Marcusaurelius]

I liked it. It was interesting. Kenneth Branagh was great.

[Fixed]

I liked it .we Americans can learn a a lot from our more cultured cousins
IMHO
Cheers

[Tom]

I was going to post a sarcastic ironic reply about how it stank but I realized I probably couldn't phrase it well enough for people to get the joke.

I thought it was brilliant. You're not going to out spectacle the Chinese opening and don't even try to out carnival Rio's upcoming show, so reveal Britain and celebrate humanity. Celebrating literature and health care and rock and roll... you gotta love it.

[Dave B]

I love British humor. Rowan Atkinson was just great!