#1 ·
I saw this pop up on the news feeds somewhere, but it was so ridiculous I just had to share it here. Moral of the story: let's hope we get more coverage like this from PBS...
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FOX broadcasting Formula 1:
The whole show kicks off two hours before lights out, broadcasting live from a Ford Factory where they’ve gathered about two hundred kids (ages 10-13) in front of a massive screen. It’s basically just pure chaos—screaming, waving flags, throwing confetti, you name it. Total madness. Then, the poised Anja Alavanja appears, and we all sit through a two-minute highlight reel of the last race. After that, Dorijan announces an exclusive report from the hometown of the previous winner, but first, we have to endure a commercial break.
After twenty minutes, we’re back at the factory, and Dorijan introduces that exclusive segment from the winner's hometown again. Then comes ten minutes of promos for what FOX has coming up next month. Next up is a feature on some scruffy little guy with a nose ring (God, I can't even remember his name). He’s standing in a street in Springfield, USA, pointing down the road and saying the driver YX’s childhood home is just 200 meters away. In the next shot, he’s at a local farmer's market asking an old lady if she knew XY would win the last race. Then he asks if he used to buy cabbage from her when he was a kid, and if she sensed he was "special" even back then. This exact same routine repeats with the local butcher, the baker, the florist... Cut back to the Factory , where Alavanja says the atmosphere is electric, and right before the race starts, she introduces the FOX commentators: George and Škoro.
Škoro jokes that George used to drive Formula 1 cars without a helmet, which is why his hair fell out from the sheer speed, and George fires back that Škoro used to drive a horse-drawn buggy in the Midwest—"Yeah, well, you were one of them too," Škoro retorts, followed by a few more cheap shots. Then Vincent shows up with his trademark "best of all" grin, telling viewers they can still vote for their favorites via a text code, and the luckiest person will win a special prize from our sponsor—10 pounds of new Formula 1 flavored Coca-Cola ice cream. We get a 15-minute block of Coca-Cola commercials, followed by 20 minutes of AT&T or whatever they call themselves (since they handle the voting, they obviously need a bigger ad block than Coca-Cola just to show who's actually in charge). We cut back to the Factory , and Anja introduces guests who will give their expert analysis on how the race will go and who their favorites are. Eighteen minutes of commercials follow. The guests, naturally, are finalists from American Idol, along with some special guests who are finalists from a different version of Idol. Anja asks them for their predictions, and they all say the race will be wild and intense, while the crowd at the factory goes absolutely feral at every word from their idols. Once that wraps, Dorijan reminds us we can still vote for our favorites, leading into a roughly 30-minute commercial break. When we return, it's back to the Factory , and then Anja introduces a live feed from the track in Springfield, because there are only 60 minutes left until the start. The FOX crew is there, but first, a quick 14-minute commercial break. The team includes Chuck and his partner, plus a lucky winner from their show who won a trip to the race; they hand him a ticket (about 4x8 feet) and escort him to the grandstands (cut to the kids in the studio watching on the big screen and cheering hysterically). Vjeko is also at the track with a makeshift mixer, making a "penalty cocktail" for Chuck and his partner (depending on who lost, I guess). After the cocktail is finished, there's a 10-minute promo, followed by another 15 minutes of ads. Back to the Factory , where Dorijan announces a musical surprise. It’s Sasha Tin and Kedjo performing their new hit "Formula 1"... the crowd goes nuts. After the guys finish singing, George and Škoro comment that it's their best song yet, while Vincent reminds everyone that the CD is being given away during the breaks. Alavanja announces the warm-up lap is starting soon and cuts live to the track. Twenty minutes of commercials. We actually joined the broadcast just as the start happened because the commercials ran long. The cars are hitting the first corner, and we cut back to the studio to see the crowd cheering wildly. Another short commercial break (only 7 minutes), and we're back at the track with Škoro saying, "Whoa, George, think you could drive like that?" followed by more jokes... We miss the first few laps because we were busy watching the scrolling text with the voting numbers (which happens for the other laps and any potential third interruptions). After the text, more commercials and a 25-minute FOX promo, then we alternate between the race footage and performances from the American Idol finalists. Then a commercial break, back to the Factory , and finally a few laps of pure racing coverage with George and Škoro.
After that, Dorijan introduces Veke’s culinary travelogue from the land where they race, which we’ll catch in about 20 minutes. Cut to the crowd—fans cheering like crazy—while George and Škoro recap what went down during the break. "Man, George, did you see how he just blew past him?" though George admits he wasn't really paying close attention because he was too busy listening to Nora sing and noting how much she's improved as a vocalist... Alavanja announces we're hitting the home stretch of the race; the atmosphere at the factory is electric <cheering, shouting, flags, and confetti everywhere>, and we'll head back to the track right after the commercials. She tells viewers to hurry up with their voting since time is running out. After a 20-minute commercial break, we're back on track for the winner's circle—then a cut to the factory where Vincent says they're seizing the moment to announce our lucky winner, who just snagged 10 pounds of Coca-Cola ice cream. Following that, Saša Tin and Keđo perform their hit one more time, Dorijan reminds everyone that the CD comes free with a purchase of a candy bar, and Anja wraps up the broadcast by announcing that the fun continues at the GP-VIP party at that trendy XY cafe, with an exclusive report coming up on the next Red Carpet.
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FOX broadcasting Formula 1:
The whole show kicks off two hours before lights out, broadcasting live from a Ford Factory where they’ve gathered about two hundred kids (ages 10-13) in front of a massive screen. It’s basically just pure chaos—screaming, waving flags, throwing confetti, you name it. Total madness. Then, the poised Anja Alavanja appears, and we all sit through a two-minute highlight reel of the last race. After that, Dorijan announces an exclusive report from the hometown of the previous winner, but first, we have to endure a commercial break.
After twenty minutes, we’re back at the factory, and Dorijan introduces that exclusive segment from the winner's hometown again. Then comes ten minutes of promos for what FOX has coming up next month. Next up is a feature on some scruffy little guy with a nose ring (God, I can't even remember his name). He’s standing in a street in Springfield, USA, pointing down the road and saying the driver YX’s childhood home is just 200 meters away. In the next shot, he’s at a local farmer's market asking an old lady if she knew XY would win the last race. Then he asks if he used to buy cabbage from her when he was a kid, and if she sensed he was "special" even back then. This exact same routine repeats with the local butcher, the baker, the florist... Cut back to the Factory , where Alavanja says the atmosphere is electric, and right before the race starts, she introduces the FOX commentators: George and Škoro.
Škoro jokes that George used to drive Formula 1 cars without a helmet, which is why his hair fell out from the sheer speed, and George fires back that Škoro used to drive a horse-drawn buggy in the Midwest—"Yeah, well, you were one of them too," Škoro retorts, followed by a few more cheap shots. Then Vincent shows up with his trademark "best of all" grin, telling viewers they can still vote for their favorites via a text code, and the luckiest person will win a special prize from our sponsor—10 pounds of new Formula 1 flavored Coca-Cola ice cream. We get a 15-minute block of Coca-Cola commercials, followed by 20 minutes of AT&T or whatever they call themselves (since they handle the voting, they obviously need a bigger ad block than Coca-Cola just to show who's actually in charge). We cut back to the Factory , and Anja introduces guests who will give their expert analysis on how the race will go and who their favorites are. Eighteen minutes of commercials follow. The guests, naturally, are finalists from American Idol, along with some special guests who are finalists from a different version of Idol. Anja asks them for their predictions, and they all say the race will be wild and intense, while the crowd at the factory goes absolutely feral at every word from their idols. Once that wraps, Dorijan reminds us we can still vote for our favorites, leading into a roughly 30-minute commercial break. When we return, it's back to the Factory , and then Anja introduces a live feed from the track in Springfield, because there are only 60 minutes left until the start. The FOX crew is there, but first, a quick 14-minute commercial break. The team includes Chuck and his partner, plus a lucky winner from their show who won a trip to the race; they hand him a ticket (about 4x8 feet) and escort him to the grandstands (cut to the kids in the studio watching on the big screen and cheering hysterically). Vjeko is also at the track with a makeshift mixer, making a "penalty cocktail" for Chuck and his partner (depending on who lost, I guess). After the cocktail is finished, there's a 10-minute promo, followed by another 15 minutes of ads. Back to the Factory , where Dorijan announces a musical surprise. It’s Sasha Tin and Kedjo performing their new hit "Formula 1"... the crowd goes nuts. After the guys finish singing, George and Škoro comment that it's their best song yet, while Vincent reminds everyone that the CD is being given away during the breaks. Alavanja announces the warm-up lap is starting soon and cuts live to the track. Twenty minutes of commercials. We actually joined the broadcast just as the start happened because the commercials ran long. The cars are hitting the first corner, and we cut back to the studio to see the crowd cheering wildly. Another short commercial break (only 7 minutes), and we're back at the track with Škoro saying, "Whoa, George, think you could drive like that?" followed by more jokes... We miss the first few laps because we were busy watching the scrolling text with the voting numbers (which happens for the other laps and any potential third interruptions). After the text, more commercials and a 25-minute FOX promo, then we alternate between the race footage and performances from the American Idol finalists. Then a commercial break, back to the Factory , and finally a few laps of pure racing coverage with George and Škoro.
After that, Dorijan introduces Veke’s culinary travelogue from the land where they race, which we’ll catch in about 20 minutes. Cut to the crowd—fans cheering like crazy—while George and Škoro recap what went down during the break. "Man, George, did you see how he just blew past him?" though George admits he wasn't really paying close attention because he was too busy listening to Nora sing and noting how much she's improved as a vocalist... Alavanja announces we're hitting the home stretch of the race; the atmosphere at the factory is electric <cheering, shouting, flags, and confetti everywhere>, and we'll head back to the track right after the commercials. She tells viewers to hurry up with their voting since time is running out. After a 20-minute commercial break, we're back on track for the winner's circle—then a cut to the factory where Vincent says they're seizing the moment to announce our lucky winner, who just snagged 10 pounds of Coca-Cola ice cream. Following that, Saša Tin and Keđo perform their hit one more time, Dorijan reminds everyone that the CD comes free with a purchase of a candy bar, and Anja wraps up the broadcast by announcing that the fun continues at the GP-VIP party at that trendy XY cafe, with an exclusive report coming up on the next Red Carpet.
