Why I Choose TV Choice (TV Choice)

Member Name: Glasgow Girl

Product:	TV Choice
Date:	06/09/01 (187 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap

Disadvantages: Beggers Can't Be Choosers

There are loads of “TV listings” magazines on the market – I’d like to tell you about my own personal favourite.

TV CHOICE


INSIDE COVER
Some High Street company or large retail chain will, most likely have taken the inside cover page for its latest big push, with the week in question
(1st - 7th September 2001)
having none other than Marks and Spencer promoting their Financial Services from this premium site.

CONTENTS
This has the usual 'header' giving the publishers details and, as is customary these days, their e-mail address.

Following on to this is the reason we all buy this magazine, or so we are led to believe, - ladies and gentlemen, -

The Listings Section.
This section of the column carries the now familiar term “listings” as its heading.

I say “now familiar” as what only appears to be a few short years ago, if you had said you were in the newsagents to buy
“a listings magazine” people would have looked at you most strangely, the term not being a common one in those dim and distant days.
Under this heading you can find the following usefull snippets of information:

LISTINGS

*Movie guide*
“this week’s films on BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV 1, C4 and C5 - plus satellite highlights”

Move to pages 14- 17 and you will find a double-page spread filled with all the film information you could possibly need to enable you to know whether, on say Tuesday night, you should stay in and watch one of the movies on Channel 5, wash you hair, give yourself a pedicure or write up a couple of dooyoo’s – just in case there’s a category been put up on site since your last visit.

(why anyone would want to doo something so banal as to give themselves a pedicure, when there’s a perfectly good way of passing an evening right at their fingertips, - is bey
ond me)

On the Tuesday night of the particular week I’m writing about, ther are in fact two rather good movies on Channel 5, -
but it’s all right –
they’ll never keep it up …
not Channel 5.

The movie review 'page' is divided into sections - one for each day of the week - which take it over on to the next two pages, finishing with a column
for satellite movies,
however, this section appears to be limited to those movies on Sky Movie Max and Sky Premier.

There is also a “Kids Choice” section, which again in the week in question, gives short descriptions of two Sky Premier movie presentations, Star Wars, - Episodes iv and v.

One interesting point I couldn’t quite work out a reason for and that is – the movies on Sky have a start time – but no finishing time … like I said, interesting …

In addition, to the title, the top heading shows the channel - with a note of the start and finishing times
(in both twelve and 24 hour format – for those who cannot figure out how to programme a video which operates on the 24 hour clock).

In addition, in TV Choice a neat little icon is added before the description of the movie showing whether the reviewers, Jon Gower and Phil Clough consider the movie to be suitable for family viewing.

Coming in the form of a ‘tick’, this little symbol is instantly recognisable, meaning that a glance at the page is all that is required to know if tonight’s movie is one you can let your little darlings watch or if you need to video it for viewing after they have retired for the night.

There then follows a short – but I have found – accurate rating of each and every movie to be shown on that channel on each individual night.

Each movie in the listing
(there’s that word again)
has a rating (one of my favourit
e words) which is shown at the foot of the description in the form of stars.

There is a strip along the foot of each page giving the interpretation of the ‘star’ rating system.

It reads as follows:
***** Don’t Miss
**** Excellent
*** Good
** Average
* Poor
The tick symbol = Suitable for Family Viewing
and a symbol showing
a sticky hand-print = For Kids.

As I said, the reviews in this TV magazine are normally spot-on.
However there have been instances where the rates were just a little out. ( IMHO)

Just last week,
“to Live and Die in LA”
was on late one night.
If I had not read all the amazing reviews this film and its star, Willem Dafoe have received over the years, I would have gone by the reviewers *THREE STAR* rating and possibly missed seeing it.
this movie was NOT GOOD –
it was/is absolutely fabulous.
( but then again, I lurv WD)

Next to the Movie guide, comes the
*Cinema release* (singular),
which in this instance is
‘A Knight’s Tale’ review.
In this instance the review takes up an amazing two inches in the corner of one of the film review pages.

Next on the ‘list’ comes
*Kids Choice*, which is as described earlier.

Then we have one of the major sections of this little mag, - taking up, in this instance – no less than forty pages, it is the:

TV and SATELLITE LISTINGS

“Your top guide to this week’s programmes”

To be frank, this is probably my second reason for chosing this particular magazine over all others.
That and its price (40p).

Starting on a Saturday (something that has always fascinated me – why start on a Saturday?) this little magazine packs more information - cleverly laid out and easy to read information at that – in between these forty pages than mos
t of the others can even dream about. There is a section for each day with, firstly, pages relating to what is on television for that day.

Reading from left to right, each double page spread has its first column dedicated to some of the more interesting programmes that are coming on at sometime on that day and a photo or two of the personalities we might see, if we tune in to them; there is then a set of programme columns, the pattern for which is repeated over each of the following television related pages.

First there is a column for BBC1, then BBC2, then ITV, Channel 4 and finally Channel 5. Each column has its own distinctive shade, with BBC1 being lilac, BBC2 pale green, ITV is pink and Channel 4- pale blue. Finally, Channel 5 is a pale yellow, with an orange top. All this might sound a little garish, but it work well and allows the eye to find the channel and time slot required with minimum effort.

One facility which this great magazine does not have and which I have noticed I other listings magazines (there are other listings magazines) is where each ‘time-slot’ is highlighted in a slightly different shade of lilac, green, blue or whatever. Then again, that magazine retails for a far higher price than this little treasure.
Another little gizmo which TV-Choice offers is what I call the ‘film-box’. This is a little text-box which surrounds a short description of the various movies that are on that night. Again, with just a glance, you can tell which movie to watch and which to avoid, as the box contains its own ratings, with the same ‘stars’ rating system as used in the movie guide.

One other ‘little niggle’ about this magazine (and most of the other listings magazines that I’ve seen) is that, after a certain time at night, usually around eleven/eleven-thirty, the listings ‘dry-up and there is only the barest mention of what is on and what it’s ab
out.

This must be soo frustrating for those who are insomniacs or who work into the small hours
(or who are too pissed from the pub)
to be able to read this 'stingy' piece of journalism.

If the amount of money the magazine is making is not enough to provide
*full* coverage of *all* programming,
then it should not be in business.

The amount of money paid out to gain notification of these programmes is,
or so I believe,
the same as for any other listings, -
why then not pas on to their readers the benefits of a *full listing*?

After each day’s television listings comes the pages of Satellite listings.

Just how good or bad these are, it’s not for me to say as I do not have access to any Satellite or Cable programmes.
I will have to leave that part of this magazine for each of you to judge for yourselves.

I can only give my opinion on things I believe I *know* about.

Back on the third page, the contents guide shows that the next section is that of;

FEATURES
Under this heading, during the week I refer to there were the following great sections …

*tv-choice this week*
Highlight on all channels
The magazine gives excellent coverage to some of the great things to be seen on TV this week, with little snippets on such programmes as John Hanna in Rebus, the Cleverest animals in the World, Gail Porter and “Masters of Combat”, a snippet on Ainsley Harriot’s new cookery programme. The nea=xtpage feature items on soaps, Maddona, Antiques Roadshow and a “comedy” called “Coupling”. (Mmmmm)

*This Morning*
This week, this section covered the new faces to be seen on what was “The Richard and Judy Show” and below that there was a short piece on Lilly Savage – bless her.

*Cover story*
This item featured a picture of someone called, “
;Zeena Moolla” ?
(oh – I see Coronation Street – Mmmm.) -
I don’t watch – so can’t comment !

*New Season*
Now, this was interesting. It talked about the return to our screens of the one-and-only Ross Kemp.
This time he’s back as a detective
(another one?)
and there were also mentions for a
“new cop double act”
in the form of one Michelle Collins
(these ex-Eastenders are getting everywhere these days)
and “Bob and Rose” about a gay man who falls for a young woman,
“…which leads to all sorts of comic complications.” (Mmmmmm)

*Kids zone*
This featured kids interest programmes such as a drama called “Out of the Ashes”
and a cartoon series called “Braceface”. – don’t blame me –
I didn’t think the thing up.

*Soap news*
A self-explanatory title gives all the low down on all your favourite soaps. It could be said that knowing what is going to happen in the soaps kinda spoils things a little – but it’s a priceless little section if you’re going to miss out on your favourite soap over the coming week.

*Competitions & puzzles*
If you’re thinking this little magazine might be the one for your household but have not, as yet been totally convinced, then listen up my friends. At the end of this little magazine is a single page which sometimes In think is worth buying the entire magazine for, even without the ‘listings’ sections.

The page I refer to is the ‘puzzles’ page. On the week I am writing about it had the “BIG puzzle”, Celebrity anagrams (just for fun) and a competition to win £500 in Dixons vouchers, with four luck winners standing to get their hands on a £500 voucher – all to themselves.
This is an excellent prize and one which not that many peo
ple will know about – giving those who better a fair chance of winning ….?

*Horoscopes*
*Choice letters*
These two sections share what is the final page of this little mag. They fit very nicely into the end of what is a super TV listings magazine and – even though I do not hold any belief in the horoscopes thing, I sometimes can’t help taking a look-see, - just in case …

The letters section is quite a good one, with £10 for the letter of the week and further prizes offered if you can correctly answer a single question and get you entry drawn from the assembled post.
This week the prize was the video of the film “Chocolat”.

One thing that does puzzle me is the erratic formatting of the print in the headings to each section.

I’ve tried as best I can to duplicate it here on these pages – but it fails me –
why can’t they stick to the accepted formula, that is to say -
titles with capital letters
and
sub-headings in lower case?

Overall, this little mag (64 pages) is excellent value - with any little niggles I might have on its content being somewhat eclipsed by its excellent value (40p).
GG

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