View Full Version : What did we all think of the Olympics opening ceremony?
Apart from missing the first 15 minutes due to our host having the TV on Sky News instead of BBC1, I thought it was pretty good overall.
I thought Mr Bean was excellent.
Having Paul McCartney at the end singing a great old Beatles song grated on me a little, especially as someone messed the sound up a little. I was also slightly confused by the main musical part and what was supposed to be happening.
Laugh of the night must go to Her Majesty the Queen who, when the camera went over to see what she was doing, was seen to be looking down picking her fingers!
Your thoughts please.
:)
Of course! I completely forgot the very odd internet/phone/dating type thing. I didn't have th foggiest what was going on then.
I hate the olympics and all major sport events etc!
But the 1st 1/2 hour was Brilliant! Awesome! Fantastic!
Then it all went downhill, lots of silly dancing etc, but the first section with the village turning into industrial britain with the chimneys rising was very good.
Mr Speirs
28-07-12, 06:45 AM
Thought it was brilliant. Rowan was the highlight for me!
Artic Monkeys and Paul McCartney to end it was confusing! Why did the artic monkeys play an 8 year old song.
I jokingly predicted to my best mate that the queen would light the torch by skydiving into the arena! I got half of it right!
kellyjo
28-07-12, 07:11 AM
I was subjected to it because my 10 year old son was mesmerised by it. The industrial revolution part was very impressive and I thought the cauldron was quite inspiring but other than that I was joining the queen picking my fingers!! :p
missyburd
28-07-12, 07:19 AM
Oh, was there an opening ceremony? I appear to have missed it. Oh my, a calamity indeed. It's ok though, cos every bugger on Facebook is talking about it, turns out I didn't need to watch it after all ;)
I found it a bit weird, they seemed to spend so much time focusing on the Victorian era. Got bored after half an hour and went and watched some CSI:Miami in bed with the missus.
Spank86
28-07-12, 07:40 AM
I was surprised to enjoy it.
dizzyblonde
28-07-12, 07:48 AM
I didn't want to watch it, but found it absolutely brilliant, from an artistic point if view. Wasn't too sure about the modern music cafuffle, very confusing to.watch.....although the pogo punks was fab.
Sadly the only Z I got to with the teams was in the back of my eyelids, shame to miss the lighting up part......and I really aren't bothered about McCartney, they wheel him and hey Jude out too often, gets boring!
Sid Squid
28-07-12, 07:50 AM
I though it was absolutely spectacular.
metalangel
28-07-12, 08:31 AM
I got home from work just as the chimneys rose out of the ground, and was perplexed why there were still dancing peasants and Victorians while WW1 soldiers expressed remembrance and West Indian immigrants arrived after World War 2, escorted by Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band!
Poor Rowan Atkinson, so clever and talented yet all he'll ever be known for outside Britain is Mr sodding Bean. Plus, the misconceptions are now cemented in the minds of the world: you really can take a London taxi into Buckingham Palace to see the Queen (and, as per Sickipedia, James Bond is now a documentary).
Then you had the dancing NHS celebration (what... the... hell...) a celebration of the greatest children's literature villain ever (Voldemort???) and then to cap it off that meandering and pointless 'young people singing and dancing to pop music' bit that went on far too long as they retired into the attic to knock boots.
A hopeless muddled mish-mash of popular culture, stereotypes and Dizzie Rascal.
Celebration of life in Britain? What, no strikes, chavs, drunken slags fighting on Saturday night, call centres?
Jayneflakes
28-07-12, 08:45 AM
Celebration of life in Britain? What, no strikes, chavs, drunken slags fighting on Saturday night, call centres?
Now had it been this, I might have watched it! :nomore:
Yes I know, I am a miserable Kill Joy. :smt019
Sir Trev
28-07-12, 08:56 AM
Was on daughter's taxi duty (yet again) so missed it.
MisterTommyH
28-07-12, 08:57 AM
It was brilliant - right through from Jerusalem at the beginning to the torch at the end.
Kalessin
28-07-12, 09:02 AM
I found it easy to be cynical in the run up to the ceremony, with all the talk in the press of geese and fake clouds, it was easy to imagine that the whole thing would be cringingly embarrassing.
In fact, I felt the whole show was a masterpiece of choreography and theatre. There were a few moments that didn't add much, if anything to the event, but you can't please or include everybody.
Certainly, I could have done without Mr Bean. Even the less-funny-than-the-others first series of Blackadder was far more entertaining. But Rowan Atkinson is an undeniable talent, and something to celebrate; even if it had to be on the rest of the world's terms.
So, despite my misgivings, I thought the whole thing was fantastic. It actually made me proud to be British, and yes, even proud of the NHS.
appollo1
28-07-12, 09:47 AM
i sat up to watch it all and have to admit i was sat their thinking how confusing it was and wondering what people around the world would be thinking.
best bits
the cauldron, a fantastic bit of engineering
Camera focusing in on the Queen picking her nails and the commentator saying she was enjoying herself!!
Daniel Craig going into Buck palace and the Queen showing she has a sense of humour "Mr Bond"
worst bits
David Beckham with his smug grin on the speedboat pretending he is James Bond
The confusion of the history of the UK rolling into each presentation.
The absolute worse part was Paul McArtney at the end. He was crap. Yes many years ago he was a fantastic singer but he proved at the Queens Jubilee Concert that he cannot sing live.
I thought it was great except for Sir Paul dragging on too long.
Kalessin
28-07-12, 10:55 AM
I thought Paul McCartney was infinitely better than at the Jubilee Concert, where he undoubtedly sucked. His voice seemed much stronger (after the initial glitch with the sound), and he hit the notes and got the crowd engaged.
tigersaw
28-07-12, 11:25 AM
Thought it was brilliant, most impressed by the sheer engineering of the whole stage more than the content.
Mr Bean was totally cringeworthy and sir PMC was awful as almost were the artic monkeys.
The Cauldron was amazing, wondered why all the teams were carrying a bucket with them.
Almost brought a tear to see Muhammad Ali, great the old guy is hanging in there.
Thought it was pretty awesome, hats off to Mr Boyle. The men's cycling went past ours earlier which was cool, everyone was having a good time.....even the coppers on their bikes were having a laugh high-fiving the crowd along the way.
Kalessin
28-07-12, 11:40 AM
Almost brought a tear to see Muhammad Ali, great the old guy is hanging in there.
It was so sad. I understand that they wanted to pay tribute to him, and he probably said yes when he was having a good day, but he just didn't seem as though he was even in there. The worst thing was his carer obviously saying, "Wave, Muhammad. Wave," over and over at him and getting no response. Then she tried to get him to leave and he wouldn't budge... it was heartbreaking. I was just thinking, "For god's sake get the camera off him, we don't want to seem him fall down."
Oh, was there an opening ceremony? I appear to have missed it. Oh my, a calamity indeed. It's ok though, cos every bugger on Facebook is talking about it, turns out I didn't need to watch it after all ;)
You use facebook and still critcise the ceremony? ;)
A few bits and pieces were maybe not quite perfect, but as a LIVE spectacular show it was brilliantly conceived and staggeringly well executed. So completely different to Beijing, and so quirky, excellent. All in all, I think it pretty much summed up what we are about, especially being able to not take things too seriously and laugh at ourselves. Great fun all through.
The history thread was mixed and matched, but so what? If you asked people in the street whether IKB came before or after WW1 I bet a lot wouldn't know anyway. I thought the point was that all that history still lives on today, so mixing it all up isn't so wrong.
I thought the humour was well measured, the whole world knows Mr.Bean so why not make full use of him? To put it into a fine orchestral piece but still not spoiling the musical performance was super. Good on HM for joining in the spirit too.
I loved the casting of the olympic ring, brilliant effects of a foundry.
Paul McC...............put him out to grass someone.
All in all, loved it.
Poor old Mc C got off on a bad foot because the sound crew fracked up .
Its was pretty good I thought.
Mr Bean and Mr bond best of British .
The lighting of the Flam was excellent from pasing it on from the boat right up till it became the cauldron.
Spank86
28-07-12, 01:26 PM
A few things did jar though.
Where was britpop in the musical medley? No oasis, blur, or any of the other 90s greats.
And Muhammad Ali represents all that's good about the Olympics... What, racism?
Littlepeahead
28-07-12, 07:27 PM
I missed most of it but circled the Olympic park on the way home from Soho and it looked cool all lit up. Plus I've never had such empty London roads. McCartney should retire now.
missyburd
28-07-12, 09:41 PM
You use facebook and still critcise the ceremony? ;)
I don't believe I made any direct criticisms of the ceremony itself ;)
I will be catching up with it on iplayer, it is a piece of history after all, just tell me which bits I can skip :p
The athletes coming out, although some of their costumes are mindblowing.
DarrenSV650S
28-07-12, 09:52 PM
Watching it on iplayer just now. Why is there a french guy announcing everything before the english commentator comes on?
It's the language of the games apparently and it happens every time.
DarrenSV650S
28-07-12, 09:58 PM
hmm weird. You'd think they could mute him lol. I've never watched it before
I must have missed something.... What Olympics?
:0) Loved the Opening... Well done Danny Boil :)
DarrenSV650S
28-07-12, 11:56 PM
Bond, bean and some of the music bits were ace! The rest was a bit meh. Glad I could skip the walking on bits
I thought it was an incredibly well conceived and engineered piece of theatre, the fabrication and raising of the rings was the highlight for me.
The worst bit was that there was no option to mute the inane drivel that the commentators (especially Trevor Nelson - WTF???) were spouting.
metalangel
29-07-12, 11:21 AM
The worst bit was that there was no option to mute the inane drivel that the commentators (especially Trevor Nelson - WTF???) were spouting.
I want that option for every single event the BBC covers. They need to just SHUT UP and let us see what's happening.
MisterTommyH
29-07-12, 01:57 PM
I want that option for every single event the BBC covers. They need to just SHUT UP and let us see what's happening.:rant:
Poor / mis-informed commentary is starting to annoy me, and it's only day 2.
Yesterday they were mis-pronouncing names of very well known cyclists in the road race - I'm sure Chris Bordman must have wanted to tell the other chap to shut up.
Today the Canoe chap is missing penalties all over the place. "two penalties in quick succession there" - no the first ones have been there from the start..... just because you're just seen them doesn't mean they're new!
It's like when they had Jonathan Ledgard on the F1.
Thank god I'm back at work tomorrow and will only be able to follow by the app and the nightly review.
- End of rant (but it is what they're paid to do)!
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