It’s a week before the first phase of digital switchover happens in South Devon, and even with the high publicity campaigns in the region over the past year there still seems to be a fair few people who havn’t even converted their main television set to Freeview yet. The majority of people I know do seem to atleast know when its happening, and that they’ll have to do something to keep recieving television after the second switchover in a few weeks, but the main reason why some people are holding off, and the main question which people keep asking seems to be – why?

Many people don’t seem to either fully understand, or want to except the reasons why digital switchover is happening, and seem content with their existing four channel lineup. (Channel 5 cannot be recieved with Analogue in South Devon). The fact of the matter is, is that the world moves on, and whether you like it or not, at some stage you have to embrace change, and that time has come. I’m sure there were waves of people saying exactly the same thing when colour replaced black and white, but given the choice these days, those same people would more than likely choose colour over black and white without blinking.

So what’s so wrong with changing to digital? Switchover has been a long time coming, and set top boxes have come down considerably in price over the past couple years, so there’s no real excuse. Even people on certain benefits are entitled to a free set top box and installation from the government. There’s even the incentive that most people overlook, which is that everyone currently spends over £100 on a TV Licence, no matter if you have analogue or Freeview, you both pay the same, even though on analogue you recieve just 2 services from the BBC, whereas on Freeview you get 7 channels, and loads of digital radio stations.

The numbers; according to DigitalUK, currently 74% of the country can recieve Freeview, but the government need to make that avaliable to everyone (or as many as possible), and that can’t be done unless digital switchover happens across the country. We can’t stand back and watch the world move on while we don’t, just because of a few people who don’t think its needed, and arn’t willing to spend £30 on a box.

So if you’re one of these people who are still umming and arring, stop living in the past and upgrade, cause guess what, most people don’t want to live and use a system which was designed over 50 years ago.

Now I know 24 is a high action TV Show, but there’s been quite a few big goofs in the past, and this week’s amazing two parter wasn’t without fault! Yes, that is a member of the crew standing in the corner of the shot as this lady gets pushed to the ground!

Season 7, Episode 12

Following on from my earlier post of an interview with Sabrina Lloyd, another old gem from the abc1uk archives is this interview with American actress and comedian Sherri Shepherd (Less Than Perfect, Everybody Loves Raymond).

Interview conducted 17 Oct 06  

1. What was your inspiration to become an actress?
Since I was 4 years old, I’ve always loved making people laugh. I always played “imaginary” games with my sister growing up. I would read romance novels and fantasize about being carried away by a pirate. It was boring being 11 years old, so I would always pretend to be someone else. Even in high school, I use to tell everyone that I was Swedish (complete with an accent)!!!

2. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Hanging out with my 18 month old son. It seems that since I’ve had a baby, the words “spare time” have no meaning!!! There’s always diapers to be changed. I still go out and perform standup. And I’ve now started taking salsa classes, because I have these fantasies of being lifted up in the air by Mario Lopez (on ‘Dancing with the Stars’).

3. abc1 is a UK digital channel, have you ever visited the UK before, and if not would you ever like too?
I’ve never visited the UK, and yes, I would love to. I have fans on MySpace that are from the UK.

4. How did you feel when you landed the part of Ramona Platt in Less Than Perfect?
Ecstatic… Thrilled… Jumping for joy!!! And then they told me I’d be working with Andy Dick, and I said “what the (*&$(!!!” But for the last four years, it has been absolutely wonderful working with Dicky, as we affectionately call Andy, and my other castmates. I’ve formed some lifelong friendships. As a matter of fact, we’re all getting together this weekend for some karaoke.

5. Was there any part of the character of Ramona which resembled you in real life?
The mothering and nurturing part of Ramona is all Sherri!!! Everyone in the cast always came to me for some extra hugs and a shoulder to lean on.

6. What was it like working with Andy Dick, who you had a lot of screen time with on the show?
See Answer to Question #4!!! At first I was terrified. I’d heard so much about Andy, but the first day we got on the set, Andy says to me “I don’t know how much power I have, but I’m going to see if they’ll let us come in at 11 a.m. (we had to report on the set at 9:00 a.m.), so that we can sleep later” that comment right there, had me cracking up. And Andy has kept me laughing for the last 4 years. We’re very close. Sometimes when I get out of a comedy club at midnight, I’ll go to Andy’s place and just sit on the couch with him. He’s like my little brother.

Now working with him was a blast, because Andy never does anything the same way. So he’d say something that wasn’t in the script, and I’d have a very difficult time keeping the laughter from bursting forth. We always would get into trouble, because the camera people would have to do the most “takes” with Andy & I.

7. On screen there seemed to be chemistry between all of the cast members from Less Than Perfect, was it like that offset as well?
Wow… see Answer to Question #4 :O) Yes it was awesome the chemistry that we shared from Day #1. You don’t find that with a lot of shows. We always hung out together. We had many karaoke parties, skating parties, and Andy loved taking us all out to eat at some kind of crazy health food restaurants (he’s a health food nut). We genuinely loved coming to work each and every day. Will Sasso and Zachary Levi always kept us laughing with their antics, Andrea Parker loved coming in and hugging everyone, you could always find Sara lounging around and Andy… well Andy is Andy!

8. While filming Less Than Perfect were there any memorable bloopers or moments that you can remember?
There was a scene where Andy’s character (Owen) and Andrea’s character (Lydia) had to kiss each other at the office Christmas party. Andy was sick with a really bad cold, and Andrea didn’t want to even be around him. So after every kiss, the cameras would stop rolling and Andrea would take a swig of listerine and spit it out. Of course, Andy kept saying that the kiss wasn’t “quite right”, so Andrea ended up kissing him more than 7 times. She was not happy.

Someone always would lock the doors on the set, so that whenever Sara’s character (Claude) had to enter or exit, she’d bump into the door. She was so into character, that it would throw her everytime. We’d always crack up.

I would always forget my lines, so Ramona would be saying something and then go completely blank… the cast always teased me because of this.

And Ramona was always hiding something inside of her shirt… problem is… is that her boobies were so big, the prop would get lost and Andy would always go diving inside my bra to find it!

9. What was your reaction when abc announced the cancelation of the series?
I was sad that a beautiful show was ending. I was heartbroken that I wouldn’t be seeing my friends everyday. I have grown to love Ramona and was sad that I would no longer be able to portray this crazy girl who really loved her friends.

10. Do you have any plans for the future?
Wow… I just completed a pilot for my own talk show. I’ve just completed a pilot starring Patricia Heaton and Jenny McCarthy, and if that doesn’t go… I’ve always got a baby to burp and some diapers to change!

One from the archives now – an interview which I organised with the American actress Sabrina Lloyd, (who starred in Sports Night and Numb3rs) back in June 2006 for the unofficial website abc1uk.co.uk for the channel abc1 (both sadly now defunct!).

Since the TV channel closed and the website ended along with it, this has been lost from the world, stored on my hard drive. But now I’m re-publishing the interview here to give it a fresh breath of air, and atleast some people will be able to still see and read it!

This interview was first published at abc1uk.co.uk in June 2006
Interviewer: Lloyd England

Interview with Sabrina Lloyd

1. What first inspired you to become an actress?
I started in community theater when i was a young girl. it was my mom’s idea. i had a lot of energy and she was trying to find an outlet for it.

2. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Have you ever travelled to the UK before?
Traveling is one of my great passions and something i do a lot of. yes, i have been there. i loved it.

3. While filming Sports Night was there any memorable bloopers and moments that you can remember?
It’s been so long now, i don’t remember too much.

4. You fitted the role of Natalie perfectly, was there anything about the character that resembles you?
Yes, there is a lot of me in natalie but i think she might be more fun to have at a party.

5. On screen there seemed to be a chemistry between all of the cast members from Sports Night was it like that off set as well?
I think there was tremendous respect between all of us. we worked hard and we loved our job.

6. If Sports Night had carried on further than the 2 seasons that were made would you have wanted to continue?
Oh yes. i would have loved too.

7. …and would you ever consider doing a Sports Night reunion to conclude the story if one was ever written?
I think i am too old to play natalie now.

8. Do you keep in contact with the other cast members from Sports Night?
I don’t. Life moves in different directions.

9. In your opinion should Aaron Sorkin have continued writing Sports Night or do you think it was better to leave it where it was?
I wish he would have continued, but only he knows whether it was the right time to leave. if he had told his story and was done, then i guess it was the right time.

10. Is Sports Night the type of show that you would watch if you had any free time?
Yes.

11. How do you think Aaron Sorkin’s new show, Studio 60, which like Sports Night is based around the behind-the-scenes look of a television show, will compare with Sports Night?
I don’t know but i am sure it will be great.

12. Over your career has there been one thing that you have enjoyed doing the most?
Every job has it’s own journey. some have been great. sports night was one. dopamine, a film i did, was another. that was just an amazing experience for me.

13. What was it like recording your latest movie, Universal Signs, with it being a modern silent film, shot primarily in black and white? How different was it than other shows and movies you have starred in?
It was a challenge and very hard and wonderful. i loved it. i loved learning sign language. i worked on that for 3 months prior to filming.

14. Since Universal Signs is now in post production, have you got anything else on the horizon?
I am working on a film this summer with melissa leo and david strathairn. it’s called racing daylight.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to chat to us at ABC1 UK, and we wish you all the best for the future.
Thank you!

So a little over three months since me and Myles spotted an episode of The Bill being filmed with Louisa Lytton & John Bowler near our flat, the episode finally aired on TV a few nights ago, and after close expection lo and behold, there was me! Driving past the pet shop which was the main focal point of the episode!

My five seconds of fame, shown here in a screencap from the episode.