Friday, May 28, 2010

Semi #1 - Review

Eurovision returns for 2010! After the long wait (boy we've gotten used to mid-May Euros) we finally get to see the Norwegian show. Three great hosts - not sure if we needed them all - but Norwegian Josh Thomas was great (esp. in the Stankovic wig), Norwegian Fuzzy was stunning in a blue gown and the old gal who won in 1956 held it together. The set was great - although there were a few too many shots down through the chandelier for our money... we want to see the unfortunates!

The best acts of the night were Albania (how did her odds get to three figures?!) and Belgium (the intimacy of a bloke with his guitar was really profound). We nearly took the roof off when they were belatedly announced as progressing. Some of the weaker songs of the night made it through - which was a tribute to neighbourhood voting. Greece!! Seriously... that will remain a mystery for the ages. How awful was Greece? And it's gotten through. If Eurovision ever made sense it would cease to exist.

The EDU tips were pretty good - 7 of our 10 tips got through. We got Albania, Russia, Serbia, Iceland, Moldova, Belgium and Bosnia - and that really reflects very different opinions among the Editors - no one of us had all of those in our Top 10.

We were disappointed (but not surprised) that clever, indey Estonia did not get through. We were surprised (but rationalised it as a Balkan backlash against plagarism) that Slovakia missed out. And finally, most of us felt vindicated that the crazy Editor picked Finland - though to be fair they deserved a slot more than some of the night's performers.

On the SBS coverage-front: Sam Peng continues to be informative, funny and observant. He also avoids trying to sound like a wanker or being self-obsessed. Care to wonder what we think of his co-host?

What EDU learnt from Julia Zamiro at Semi #1. It's pronounced 'Ouswoo' and the possessive for Moldova is apparently Moldavian. Also... the booth next door was Bosnia's and the guy flapping wings behind the Maltese singer wore make-up. Riveting stuff. We also liked how she totally missed the self-reference in Belgium's song, even after Sam pointed it out.

BTW - SBS pointed viewers to their website on about six occassions - where you can vote for your favourite. That website's front page included reviews of both Semi Finals (with qualifying nations mentioned) prior to the show being broadcast. Way to direct viewers to spoilers, guys!!

So the news black-out continues for another two days... What a week! We had to avoid finding our the result for Survivor from the US, the conclusion of 'Lost' and the Semi Finals' results. Sunday evening will be such a relief. Thank Gawd the World Cup is live.

No comments: