UK television premiere of DREDD

[Echidna]

I missed the "fist of Dredd" announcement but the shout-out to 2000 AD before the film was a nice touch. It took all my willpower not to watch the whole movie (I'm showing it to a friend next weekend) - it's one of those films - like Predator or The Thing - which are almost impossible to switch off.

[JudgeOiNK!]

I loved that introduction by Channel Four, though I'm not sure why people are surprised it wasn't cut (or thought it would be), it was on after the watershed - actually a good hour after it - and these days cuts rarely happen after 9pm, with films which are going to be shown after the watershed anyway being put on at a suitable time.  For example this couldn't have gone out right at 9pm, and after the watershed they'll just piss off adults if they start to fiddle.  Hope it got good ratings.

[Jock Savage]

I'm not sure why people are surprised it wasn't cut (or thought it would be), it was on after the watershed

Scenes are often trimmed or removed completely so the film is the right length to let the next show start on time. I thought the shot of Anderson getting on the bike at the very end was missing, but I was dozing on and off by that point.

[Dark Jimbo]

It took all my willpower not to watch the whole movie (I'm showing it to a friend next weekend) - it's one of those films - like Predator or The Thing - which are almost impossible to switch off.

Yeah, I forgot it was on, happened to channel-hop onto it half an hour in and before I knew it I'd watched right to the end! That was only my third or fourth viewing.

[Echidna]

Cutting enough violence to show it before the watershed while keeping the story intact would be tricky. I'd quite like to see a version censored for language though, with all the effing and blinding  replaced with stomms and drokks.

[sheridan]

Broadcasters have no way of knowing what you're watching on telly. Ratings are a best guess based on asking a few hundred folk what they watched last night, so feel free to catch up on that box set of documentaries about Czech political history instead.

Is this not more a hang-over from the analogue days?  I know that even before the digital switchover Sky were able to release very exact numbers of viewers using their digital boxes, I'd assume it's the same across the board these days?

Even though I've seen it and it'll have adverts I'll still be watching to show support - always a bit of an event when a favourite film comes on telly, adverts or not.

There is a panel of 5,000 people representing a cross-section of every type of broadcast (conventional terrestrial, freeview, digital, Sky, etc) who are broken down by age, gender, marital status, employment status, how many and who occupy the property.

When they operate their television what they watch is recorded (along with who is in the room with them while they're watching - they get paid for this in case you're wondering why anybody would bother to go to that much effort).  If it is being watched on playback then pauses and fast-forwards are also recorded.

It's a bit more complex than that - weighting, algorhythms, etc.

Source: girlfriend (who many of you have met) used to work for a media company and her job was to analyse this kind of data.

[Banners]

My 70-yr-old Father-in-Law stayed up and watched it as he knows I'm a fan, and whilst probably not in the target market, he was very complementary. Top man.

[JOE SOAP]

Scenes are often trimmed or removed completely so the film is the right length to let the next show start on time. I thought the shot of Anderson getting on the bike at the very end was missing, but I was dozing on and off by that point.

They usually just cut the credits first if it's running a bit long rather than scenes. Dredd's a short enough film so there's not much reason to trim it.





If it's the last shot you're talking about, rather than Anderson's walking shot, it's Dredd on the bike.

[JudgeOiNK!]

Yeah they speed up the credits these days but that's it.  You'll sometimes get a film starting at 8 and running past the watershed which may see some bits trimmed way after 9pm as it would've started out with a pre-9 audience (Skyfall last Christmas Eve being an example).  I still think films should be shown at a time that suits, end of, so no need for cutting.  But trimming can mean they can show them earlier for a larger audience unfortunately.

Knew with Dredd being at 10pm it wouldn't be cut, no matter the channel, but Channel 4 did a nice job of the intro too!

[COMMANDO FORCES]

One of my female work colleagues in the office told me that she caught a bit of it and said it was 'rubbish, the acting was terrible' and also 'there was a lot of people getting killed'
She said she was going to text me all that on the night, which was lucky for her, as it gave her an extra 24 hours of life!

[SuperSurfer]

I forgot Dredd was on tv and came across on C4+1 while channel surfing on my high tech (well it was when I bought it in 1996) cathode ray tube. I caught the last 20mins or so. 



Yes, it is time for a new tv but the picture quality is fantastic. Damn thing is too reliable.

[Jock Savage]

Same here - widescreen CRT bought in 1999 still does everything asked of it. I'll upgrade when SMART TVs actually work and are £200 from ASDA.

[SuperSurfer]

Same here - widescreen CRT bought in 1999 still does everything asked of it. I'll upgrade when SMART TVs actually work and are £200 from ASDA.

The image on flatscreen tvs look to me like lores oversharpened jpeg images. I am regularly mocked for that tv by some fellows I know, who seem to think that just because something is new it must be better and has to be purchased. All I am interested in is picture quality and that tv suits me fine at the moment.

[JamesC]

CRT TVs still have their uses. If you ever get rid of it make sure it goes to a retro gamer.

[Dandontdare]

whilst assembling my new comic shelves, my old portable CRT took a tumble and died - sad because it had a built in VCR  and now I have nothing to play all my old tapes on.