Bill Gates steps down next week from Microsoft, and the BBC has done a facinating documentary with exclusive interview footage with Bill Gates on how he made his money.
It's utterly fascinating. Staff talk about how Bill argues and shouts at programmers, the ruthless drive to succeed and how marriage to Melinda French in 1994 made him switch focus to philanthrophy. You can see clearly from the interviews how driven he is. But it was also charming how well he gets on with his family. His father is on the board of his charitable foundation and has been from the start and clearly there has never been angst between Gates père and fils.
I definitely recommend watching this. You can do so by clicking on the BBC iPlayer.
Monday, 23 June 2008
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Margaret Thatcher - The Long Walk to Finchley
This was a 90 minute BBC Four drama about the young Margaret Thatcher before she became an MP.
It was hard to get into this drama to start with because the actress playing Mrs Thatcher (Andrea Riseborough) didn't resemble her, and neither did the men playing Dennie Thatcher or Ted Heath. I suppose Mrs Thatcher is such a familiar face, it is difficult for anyone to play her, and this is made more difficult by the fact that we have mostly seen her as a mature woman and find it hard to imagine her young.
However, gradually as you get into the piece, Andrea Riseborough seems more Thatcher-like (especially in the second half), with her voice, bird-like walk and habit of putting her head to one side captured perfectly.
I enjoyed this drama, and felt increasingly sorry for poor Dennis Thatcher as the piece wore on. The theme of the story is that he loves her more than she loves him, mainly because she is so consumed with politics, she hasn't room for anyone or anything else.
The press made quite a bit of the licence taken in scenes between Thatcher and Heath, with some saying that this drama portrayed Thatcher hitting on Heath as a young woman, which Heath recoils from. I interpreted it more that Heath was repelled by how passionate and ambitious she was, and may have mis-interpreted what happened. Judge for yourself by viewing the drama on the iPlayer. But there is no doubt that that particular scene is entirely fiction (though it spices the drama up nicely).
It was hard to get into this drama to start with because the actress playing Mrs Thatcher (Andrea Riseborough) didn't resemble her, and neither did the men playing Dennie Thatcher or Ted Heath. I suppose Mrs Thatcher is such a familiar face, it is difficult for anyone to play her, and this is made more difficult by the fact that we have mostly seen her as a mature woman and find it hard to imagine her young.
However, gradually as you get into the piece, Andrea Riseborough seems more Thatcher-like (especially in the second half), with her voice, bird-like walk and habit of putting her head to one side captured perfectly.
I enjoyed this drama, and felt increasingly sorry for poor Dennis Thatcher as the piece wore on. The theme of the story is that he loves her more than she loves him, mainly because she is so consumed with politics, she hasn't room for anyone or anything else.
The press made quite a bit of the licence taken in scenes between Thatcher and Heath, with some saying that this drama portrayed Thatcher hitting on Heath as a young woman, which Heath recoils from. I interpreted it more that Heath was repelled by how passionate and ambitious she was, and may have mis-interpreted what happened. Judge for yourself by viewing the drama on the iPlayer. But there is no doubt that that particular scene is entirely fiction (though it spices the drama up nicely).
Thursday, 12 June 2008
The Apprentice UK - You're Hired!
So Lee McQueen won. Not a huge surprise really. Alex and Helene were dreadful in their task (though they came up with a nice perfume bottle).
Once it was clear that it was between Lee and Claire, it was certain that Lee would get it. As predicted in my previous post, when it comes to hiring, Sir Alan stays away from "brash" women. Previous brash women like Saira Khan, The Badger and Kristina Grimes all came a cropper. Now Claire is added to the list.
Message to the female contestants of the next series - don't be "brash".
I'm quite happy with Lee as winner - he's performed well as leader, and seems to handle women well. When he was team leader with Sara and Lucinda, they both did well - probably the only time Lucinda was good as a team member (though she was great as a team leader). It's a great thing when men know how to handle women employees without patronising them or upsetting them.
Once it was clear that it was between Lee and Claire, it was certain that Lee would get it. As predicted in my previous post, when it comes to hiring, Sir Alan stays away from "brash" women. Previous brash women like Saira Khan, The Badger and Kristina Grimes all came a cropper. Now Claire is added to the list.
Message to the female contestants of the next series - don't be "brash".
I'm quite happy with Lee as winner - he's performed well as leader, and seems to handle women well. When he was team leader with Sara and Lucinda, they both did well - probably the only time Lucinda was good as a team member (though she was great as a team leader). It's a great thing when men know how to handle women employees without patronising them or upsetting them.
Monday, 9 June 2008
The Apprentice - Why I Fired Them
The Apprentice - Why I Fired Them was a look back over the series by Sir Alan Sugar, explaining his reasons for firing the people he did through the series.
One surprise - he admitted that he got it wrong with Michael Sophocoles and should have fired him earlier! And the reason he hadn't fired him was because Michael reminded him of himself as a young man, and it took weeks and weeks to get through to Sir Alan that Michael wasn't anything like him and had no talent at all.
I think this is the key to the firings - unlike the viewer who is judging mainly on the tasks (and sometimes the evidence accumulated over many tasks), Sir Alan also goes by whether he personally likes the candidate or not. If he likes you, you get chances even when you don't deserve them. If he doesn't like you for some reason - and therefore can't imagine giving you a job - he takes the first opportunity he can to get rid of you. No second chances for Shazia, Sara or Raef.
The only person he admitted to regretting firing was Lucinda. He acknowledged that she was very intelligent and if she could settle down would run a division for him incredibly well. But he doubted she would ever settle.
The final is on Wednesday, and we have four finalists. From the comments Sir Alan made in this penultimate show, I think it's between Alex and Lee, with Alex having the edge. Of the four I personally think Claire is the best - but Sir Alan has a history of rejecting "brash" women - he even labelled gentle Sara as "brash" in this series. Saira Khan, The Badger, and Kristina Grimes all fell at the final hurdle in previous series because of their brashness.
Of the three previous winners of this programme, only one, Simon Ambrose appears to be still working for Sir Alan.
One surprise - he admitted that he got it wrong with Michael Sophocoles and should have fired him earlier! And the reason he hadn't fired him was because Michael reminded him of himself as a young man, and it took weeks and weeks to get through to Sir Alan that Michael wasn't anything like him and had no talent at all.
I think this is the key to the firings - unlike the viewer who is judging mainly on the tasks (and sometimes the evidence accumulated over many tasks), Sir Alan also goes by whether he personally likes the candidate or not. If he likes you, you get chances even when you don't deserve them. If he doesn't like you for some reason - and therefore can't imagine giving you a job - he takes the first opportunity he can to get rid of you. No second chances for Shazia, Sara or Raef.
The only person he admitted to regretting firing was Lucinda. He acknowledged that she was very intelligent and if she could settle down would run a division for him incredibly well. But he doubted she would ever settle.
The final is on Wednesday, and we have four finalists. From the comments Sir Alan made in this penultimate show, I think it's between Alex and Lee, with Alex having the edge. Of the four I personally think Claire is the best - but Sir Alan has a history of rejecting "brash" women - he even labelled gentle Sara as "brash" in this series. Saira Khan, The Badger, and Kristina Grimes all fell at the final hurdle in previous series because of their brashness.
Of the three previous winners of this programme, only one, Simon Ambrose appears to be still working for Sir Alan.
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Secret Diary of a Call Girl
The Secret Diary of a Call Girl, being screened on ITV2, is a series based on the blog and then best-selling book of a prostitute who called herself Belle de Jour (a reference to the famous 1967 movie about a call-girl starring Catherine Deneuve).
The ITV series stars Billie Piper, who manages to glam up the call-girl profession. Some of the episodes are a little seedy, but they are soft-focus risque. Belle de Jour started her blog in 2003 and quickly built up a huge on-line following, with astute publishers offering to publish her writing in a book form.
You can read the blog here. I understand that much of what is in the book isn't in the blog and vice versa. For an idea of her writing style see the early archives circa 2003 (she stopped doing call-girl work when her books became successful). Despite her subject matter, her writing is good, and the blog is a lot more interesting than the TV series. Belle de Jour has also managed to do what few other bloggers have, which is to keep her identity secret, despite success.
If you wish to watch the ITV series online, click here.
Thursday, 5 June 2008
The Apprentice UK - Episode Eleven
This was the interview episode.
Lucinda Ledgerwood got fired - because she was "too zany" for Sir Alan. Fair enough. She's clearly very talented, especially when she's in charge, and she's decent, but she is definitely not your stereotype businesswoman. And you could see how she would drive Sir Alan mad if she worked with him.
The interviews were eye-opening. Alex came across as dull - but when drilled down showed he had entrepreneurial instincts. Helene seemed to talk mainly about her childhood as the daughter of two alcoholics.
And poor Lee came a cropper - CV full of spelling mistakes and a fib about his higher education. Oh Lee! Why didn't you get a friend to proof-read for you? And why fib on the CV? I can only surmise that when he sent the CV in, he was one of 10,000 hopefuls and he didn't actually think he'd make it this far.
Sir Alan didn't fire him - which was generous. In fact apart from Lucinda, he couldn't make up his mind about the other four. I thought Helene should have gone. She's been weak throughout the contest and was weak in the interview.
I originally thought Lee might win the task. I now think it's between Claire and Alex. Sir Alan clearly has a soft spot for Claire - but in the past he's passed over all the loud-mouth candidates - The Badger, Saira etc. When he actually hires he goes for someone with the opposite personality type to himself. Therefore I think Alex might win this.
The "You're Fired" follow-up program was great. Lucinda was wearing a beautiful dress and they had a comedian on who was actually coming up with some great one-liners as the show progressed. If you missed it all, you can view it on the BBC iPlayer (link in the sidebar).
Lucinda Ledgerwood got fired - because she was "too zany" for Sir Alan. Fair enough. She's clearly very talented, especially when she's in charge, and she's decent, but she is definitely not your stereotype businesswoman. And you could see how she would drive Sir Alan mad if she worked with him.
The interviews were eye-opening. Alex came across as dull - but when drilled down showed he had entrepreneurial instincts. Helene seemed to talk mainly about her childhood as the daughter of two alcoholics.
And poor Lee came a cropper - CV full of spelling mistakes and a fib about his higher education. Oh Lee! Why didn't you get a friend to proof-read for you? And why fib on the CV? I can only surmise that when he sent the CV in, he was one of 10,000 hopefuls and he didn't actually think he'd make it this far.
Sir Alan didn't fire him - which was generous. In fact apart from Lucinda, he couldn't make up his mind about the other four. I thought Helene should have gone. She's been weak throughout the contest and was weak in the interview.
I originally thought Lee might win the task. I now think it's between Claire and Alex. Sir Alan clearly has a soft spot for Claire - but in the past he's passed over all the loud-mouth candidates - The Badger, Saira etc. When he actually hires he goes for someone with the opposite personality type to himself. Therefore I think Alex might win this.
The "You're Fired" follow-up program was great. Lucinda was wearing a beautiful dress and they had a comedian on who was actually coming up with some great one-liners as the show progressed. If you missed it all, you can view it on the BBC iPlayer (link in the sidebar).
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Best of ITV
ITV have put some of their best loved shows online to view via their player. You can choose from a whole host of series such as the 1980's classic Brideshead Revisited, or teh 1990's series Cold Feet.
Here's a list of shows you might want to watch again. Once you've clicked through to the website, simply click on the episode you want to watch and the show will start playing on the player on the right of your screen:
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
Brideshead Revisited
Cold Feet
Joe 90
The Jewel in the Crown
Here's a list of shows you might want to watch again. Once you've clicked through to the website, simply click on the episode you want to watch and the show will start playing on the player on the right of your screen:
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
Brideshead Revisited
Cold Feet
Joe 90
The Jewel in the Crown
Pushing Daisies Missing Episode Now Online
Fans of Pushing Daisies, screened on ITV, will be aware that though ITV bought all nine episodes, they only broadcast eight of them.
The missing episode - which was episode two - is now available online on the ITV catchup service. You can see it by clicking here. It's available for viewing for another 24 days.
The missing episode - which was episode two - is now available online on the ITV catchup service. You can see it by clicking here. It's available for viewing for another 24 days.
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