Olympic Opening Ceremony

[goldenfooler]

I feel bad for the people having to be in a line for 3 hrs and missing the whole cermony.

[Apache Warrior]

The US won Silver in Men's Team Archery. The Italians got Gold.
What ever happened to the vaunted English Longbow Men?
Apache

[goldenfooler]

The US won Silver in Men's Team Archery. The Italians got Gold.
What ever happened to the vaunted English Longbow Men?
Apache

They are wimps and use bows with sights ect.
Why don't they just use the Wii?

[juneau]

They are wimps and use bows with sights ect.
Why don't they just use the Wii?

Imagine if using the Wii became an Olympic sport?

Did anybody get lost during the opening ceremony btw? Or did you understand all the elements of the 'Brief history of the UK display'.

That only part that still shocks me was Becks being allowed to drive that speedboat lol. He can barely pronounce words, nevermind drive a speedboat containing the Olympic torch lol. Must have been an insurance night mare.

edit: reading quite a lot of backlash over NBC's coverage. Was it really that poor?

If you had the chance to watch it live (online) with commentators that knew what they were talking about and knew when to shut up you might have enjoyed it. NBC ruined it. They cut it to the point that it no longer made sense. If you take a film or show and just make random cuts then it will also be boring and make no sense. NBC thinks that the American people are not bright enough to understand the ceremony so they cut and 'commentated' it to the point of no return.

Comment i found.

The more comments i read the more i get the impression that the majority of US folk really hated the opening.

This was the most lame and unprepared opening show for an olympics that has ever been done! My gosh, move on already from the failed imperialism and get into the reality that most of the world doesn't give a hoot about your harry potter, Mr. Bean and James Bond. It is an Olympics opening show, get it? It is generally speaking about sports and the show should not be done with too much of a cultural slant. Especially if the culture is as boring and plain as the English culture. I wish they had watched the video recording of the show in Beijing or ANY of the opening ceremonies does in the US. I felt awfully bad for the commentators, they had nowhere to hide! London this sucked big time....at least you can take cover under the real things, sports and hope that people forget this major faux pas.

And then us on the defensive lol.

From what I see, most of you americans didn't like it... 'The only good bit was the fireworks' I read... Well that sums your nation up. A stupid, foolish, commercial culture. You don't realise what the historic people and events in this ceremony has given your country. You would not be as powerful now without it.

[Caddys83]

I learn something new today. I never knew Independent Olympic Athletes exist

[JohnyRico]

I learn something new today. I never knew Independent Olympic Athletes exist

Those 3 seemed to be having more fun than anybody else in the stadium.

I wouldn't say I loved or hated the opening. I see where the earlier posts were calling the stadium Hobbiton but I liked that part OK. The transition through the eras was quite labor intensive so I understand why it seemed to drag on and on. The little group of guys in the top hats that seemed to be the 1%'ers got annoying after awhile.

I especially liked the brief moments when the music broke into back to back pieces from David Bowie and then Queen during the teenage house party bit. I kept wondering when they would break out Pink Floyd and it got saved til the very end. Having the home team come in to Heros by Bowie was a nice touch.

[goldenfooler]

I am watching the replays on the optimum webpage.. no annoying announcers. Some commericals.

Choose what you want. Even see it live if you want. Sadly they don't have an app for the windows phones and I can't watch at work. They blocked the site.

[Rand{CLR}]

The majority of American commentary from the citizenry indicates no, we didn't like it. Many Americans didn't understand it. More just don't care about history--especially non-American history. NBC's cuts were poor, and we only found out today they cut to a taped interview with Phelps when the ceremonies focused on the memorial bit to the tube bombings.

Comments such as "now there are smokestacks rising in the Shire" sum up what most Americans thought. Those of us who knew more history about the isles got more of it and appreciated it.

Keep this in mind too--a lot of viewers were expected a one-up on Beijing. They didn't recognize or appreciate that Beijing's ceremonies cannot be duplicated and it was never London's intent to do so.

-Rand

P.S. You can tell that one commenter on the defensive that without us you'd be speaking German now, so let's call it more or less even.

[juneau]

The thing that keeps going over and over in my mind is that it would appear most of the haters loved the Beijing opening, however if you said 'China' to them most would probably go 'Urgh Communists' 'poor quality products' etc lol.

I've just been reading about the items that were cut from the show to make it shorter. These included Dr Who and Monty Python. I can't believe they cut MP.

[Apache Warrior]

I can't believe they cut MP.

Tell me about it.
Apache

[Skud]

I could not believe how many times they cut away to commercials.
Apache

Half the ceremony was like a cell phone commercial to capture the "younger generation", and then they lost them with Mr. Bean, lol.

[Rand{CLR}]

I didn't even though MP was cut. I thought I may have looked down at my book and missed it.

-Rand

[Minerva]

I've just been reading about the items that were cut from the show to make it shorter. These included Dr Who and Monty Python. I can't believe they cut MP.

we were also wondering about MP....

[K PhaNTOM]

I think they had to cut through all the Monty Python stuff that wasn't funny and it would have taken too long. That was the longest series with the least amount of laughs

[JohnyRico]

At least there was a John Cleese commercial. Can't remember what he was selling so maybe not so effective.