Weird and interesting TV facts

[maulkin]

I didn't realise that Degrassi, Babar or Fraggle Rock were Canadian. We had them in the UK too!

[Lord Punctual]

I forgot all about the Swiss Family Robinson!

*drowns in memories*

*recovers*

When I was a kid, I used to try to get my conch shell to make that trumpeting noise with extremely limited success. Ah for a simpler time...

You didn't happen to ever get "The Littlest Hobo," did you? (I guess one could call that our Lassie.) I haven't heard of Klondike... does it involve gold?

[Mervi]

Due South! It's one of my favourite tv shows ever. Oh, and I actually count the X-files as a Canadian show too, at least for the first 5 seasons that were filmed in and around Vancouver.

[Nuytsia]

Don't feel bad. I have trouble telling American and Canadian accents apart, and I'm Canadian.
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I must admit, I'm really surprised to hear that Canadian television is shown in Australia. I mean, the CBC always claims that our programs are shown all around the world, but I just thought that was one of those things that they say to make us feel important, like "Santa Claus is Canadian" and "Spelling colour with a U makes us seem cultured."

There's a comedy show they just started showing here called something like We Can Be Heroes and another one called Summer Heights High that seem to be Australian in origin. Are they?

Arthur's a Canadian show? Neat.

Phew I feel better about the accents now!
Hey we busted another myth for you! First school of the air, now this. And spelling colour with a U IS totally cultured!
I LOVED we can be heroes! Watch it! Again, I'm really not sure how it would work for someone who's not Australian, but ...... I'm usually wrong to worry about that. Summer Heights High was good too, but I liked the other one better personally. Some hilarious moments in both. In fact I can't think of any better Australian made TV comedy for a hell of a long time.

Stargate is also Canadian? Whoa! It's not my fav show, but my boyfriend watches it and I don't mind if it's on. It's got the guy playing Khal Drogo in HBO's Game of Thrones! Not sure how he'll be as KD but we shall see.

Oh and YES I think we did used to get 'the littlest hobo'!!! It hasn't been on for ages though - maybe they lost the tapes?

[Farseer]

I haven't heard of Klondike... does it involve gold?

Sure does ! I think there is a more modern game that goes by the same name (for younger kids, involving an actual gold pan and even marbles, I think) but the one I used to play was a boardgame similar to Monopoly. Just found one on eBay...how about that?!
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/VINTAGE-RARE-KLON...d=ViewItem&pt=AU_Toys_Hobbies_Vintage_Antique_Toys&hash=item1c12919e4b
(I don't even know how to create a proper link thingy in the forum let alone help with the wiki!)

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I've lost interest in cricket these days, BUT I'm Soooooooo looking forward to the World Cup (go us!!!!!!)

Yes, go us ..I am not at all a fan of soccer but even I sat up and watched all of our games during the last World Cup (the one in which we were robbed!), and can't wait for our next chance at it!

You don't get any TV when it rains!?? I am going to sound like a doofus here, but do you get TV from a transmitter via the regular method ?

If there's drama with the TV/video/DVD or reception, tuning or other such things in our house, it is most often up to me to fix it, which I do with little trouble, BUT I wouldn't have a clue what I'd be talking about with regard to the actual process of transmitting and receiving so I'm not even going to try and respond to your question...let's just be doofuses together!

We have a rural satelitte dish and a black box...how they work in the whole scheme of things is beyond me, but I would expect that it would be similar to how other satelitte television works eg Austar (which we don't get but could if we wanted to)? Then again, I don't know anyone with Austar or Foxtel who have a problem with rainy weather so I'm probably way off the mark! Someone jump in and enlighten us both, if you know!

[Lord Punctual]

We also have trouble with our satellite dish when it rains. Of course, I'm nearly certain that it's a different satellite. In our case, it's because we're at the far northern range of our satellite - meaning, we have to point our dish nearly at the horizon in order to get a signal. So, it doesn't take much for clouds, rain, fog, trees, etc to get in the way. (And we have all of those things in great amounts.) Oh well - as long as the internet works. (We just became eligible for high speed internet last autumn, which was awesome after years of dialup.

On an unrelated note, I misspelled satellite and my spell checker wanted to change it to "Israelite." "We have trouble with our Israelite when it rains."

[Farseer]

I didn't realise that Degrassi, Babar or Fraggle Rock were Canadian. We had them in the UK too!

Oh, what a list I could make if I started on all of the fantastic British shows we've had airing here, maulkin...'Minder', 'The Goodies'...sigh, yes, the good ol' days before commercial television!

[Nuytsia]

Yes, go us ..I am not at all a fan of soccer but even I sat up and watched all of our games during the last World Cup (the one in which we were robbed!), and can't wait for our next chance at it!

Yeah world cup! It was great when it was in South Korea with the time zones!!! But it'll be another sleep deprivation session this time I think..... I wouldn't call myself a real fan of soccer, but it's about the only sport I do like watching.

We have a rural satelitte dish and a black box... I don't know anyone with Austar or Foxtel who have a problem with rainy weather so I'm probably way off the mark!

Hehe well I'm not sure what the black box is, but I guess it's how the satellite signal is converted to one the TV understands? I must admit I was wondering if you got TV from a radio transmitted but thought it unlikely there'd be one close enough for you. BUT then I thought hmmmm would things like ABC and other free TV be sent via satellite? I guess so! Maybe you get more problems when it rains than other people because the satellite is further from you? Maybe it sits over more populated areas?
WE get a slight drop in signal for our (digital) TV when it rains but not enough to actually affect reception. (the only way I can tell is that the % signal says less than usual). We get signal from a normal transmitter of course (you can see it from here on the mountain!)
However we DO get a slight problem when it rains really heavily with our internet and VOIP phone - we have microwave internet (as we don't have a landline actually - we didn't bother cos no broadband in our area and no sign of when we will ever get it).

We just became eligible for high speed internet last autumn, which was awesome after years of dialup.

Wow now you've busted a myth for me! (Sort of) I thought Australia was like the crappest in the civilised world for internet speed. Then again, I'm not sure how remote the place you live is compared to the place I live. When you say high speed internet you mean via landline?

[Nuytsia]

On a completely different topic - this isn't so much a weird TV fact as a question.
I was watching an episode of this show 'Psychoville' and there's this bit where they play a sound effect that I'M SURE is from a computer game but it's so generic (and probably didn't originate in that computer game) that I can't for the life of me think where I heard it.
If you've seen the show or if you find yourself for some bizarre reason watching it then they play it when Prince Charming comes on stage in the production of Snow White. As soon as I heard it I was ooooooooooooooh what IS that from? SO familiar. I suspect it was something like the sound when your character levels in maybe Everquest or something. Hmmm maybe I can find out on good old internet.

Update: ok it isn't the levelling sound from EQ - of course there IS a website where you can listen to the sounds of levelling in various online games! http://www.dorkclub.com/ding/ Hehehehe I spent a few minutes there checking them out ...... memmmmoriesssss.....

Ooooh another thing happening in my world ITS RAINING! Don't stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are literally this close to running out of water.

[Lord Punctual]

DSL, I believe, is the internet we now have. (The kind that comes in through a phone line, but it's a separate phone line from the one for our phones.) Wireless internet also became available a little while ago here, but because of topographical issues it doesn't work well at my house. (I'm equidistant between the towers for two rival companies, so their signals kind of mutually block each other out.)

I think we have pretty much the worst cell phone/internet/etc reception in the commonwealth. (I'm including parts of Africa.) I actually live only 16 km from a reasonably large town, and I don't get cable TV or cell phone reception.