Planet Earth

[TightEnd]

Sunday night for me follows a set routine.

 I drop the kids off back at their mum's ready for school the next morning and then watch the NFL for about 9 hours solid on Sky and Channel 5. Partly because I am a huge fan and partly because it is a regular source of income for me.

The mobile goes on silent, the fridge is far too well stocked and I am as happy as a very happy thing.

However I have a modern male failing. The programme has many advert breaks, its US telly after all, and so I constantly channel hop. It is one of the great delights of single life, no one is going to want to watch "Where the Heart is" on ITV whilst you want to get a glimpse of 6 different channels in a two minute ad break!   

However last night was different. At around 9.0pm I conducted my regular channel hop. On popped Channel 101


Planet Earth.

 In less than 30 seconds I was hooked and didn't change the channel til it ended. Wonderful photography, including overhead shots of families of Polar Bears and fantastic views of Penguin colonies and generally amazing stuff.

Of course Sir David Attenborough has spent his professional life being involved in such projects. Whilst I enjoy them, I wouldn't previously have made a point of watching it. Next time I will.

If you missed it, it is repeated on BBC2 tonight.

It is marvellous viewing.

[Ginger]

Really wanted to watch this and totally forgot it was on (thanks for the tip for tonight!) I got hooked on them after watching Blue planet (again, amazing photography) This one is all about 'ice worlds' if I remember rightly, which I would much rather watch than seeing another Lion ripping apart a poor Gazelle - I know it happens and it's part of nature, I just don't want to watch that!

[Sheriff Fatman]

Hmmm, my NFL experience last weekend was slightly different.  Being a glutton for punishment I watched the Eagles latest capitulation game on Sky's 'red-button' service, instead of the main game.  At every add break there's a musical interlude and some NFL footage shown.  More often than not this tended to be a montage of NFL cheerleaders doing their thing.  For some bizarre reason I found this strangely mesmerising!  In fact, I was more tempted to channel hop during the game itself, although in fairness it should have carried a warning certificate whenever the Eagles had the ball on offense.

Sheriff

[Pilf]

For those who have an interest in life on our planet, Planet Earth is Unmissable viewing.
The 1st half of the series was possibly the most interesting TV I have ever viewed.
Unfortunately due to our Planets delicately balanced Ecosystems there will never be a programme made on this scale or with this range of species, many of which will be extinct within our own life times.
Many viewers will have been moved with the image of the Polar Bear starving on the show last night. Is it too late to save this most amazing creature from full on extinction from the wild??  Probably, but it should at least make you think about your own personal effect on our environment and ways in which we as individuals can try to make a difference.
Eco-rant over.
The best Nature show that has ever been or will ever be made.

PS: My teams the 49ers also - Hence I don't watch much anymore.

[SuffolkPunch]

Planet Earth? Had you channel hopped once more to BBC2 at 9pm you would have seen an hour-long documentary covering 30 years of the genius that is Paul Weller. Now that WAS great viewing.

[TightEnd]

Planet Earth? Had you channel hopped once more to BBC2 at 9pm you would have seen an hour-long documentary covering 30 years of the genius that is Paul Weller. Now that WAS great viewing.

I watched him in concert on the Electric Proms at 11.20ish....terrific stuff.

[Graham C]

Planet Earth is great.  I'd love to go to the Artic and see the penguins and polarbears.

[Tonji]

Planet Earth? Had you channel hopped once more to BBC2 at 9pm you would have seen an hour-long documentary covering 30 years of the genius that is Paul Weller. Now that WAS great viewing.

I watched him in concert on the Electric Proms at 11.20ish....terrific stuff.

I watched the Weller, I'd forgotten what a fantastic songwriter he is, over 30 years... damn it reminded me I'm in my 40s (sigh).
I'll try & remember to catch Planet Earth tonight.

[booder]

Planet Earth? Had you channel hopped once more to BBC2 at 9pm you would have seen an hour-long documentary covering 30 years of the genius that is Paul Weller. Now that WAS great viewing.

 

[byronkincaid]

Partly because I am a huge fan and partly because it is a regular source of income for me.

I suppose it started as a sport you liked and then you realised you could make some money out of it? Is NFL the best sport to make +EV bets on or could you do the same on English football or similar? i met a pro sports better once who made most of his money betting on Aussie football, he studied the game and reckoned he knew it better than the bookmakers. I heard of another guy today who left work to bet on sports and he's having to sell his £500K house to pay off his losses.

ATM poker has to be the easiest way to earn a living gambling right? Probably won't be for ever of course.

[TightEnd]

Partly because I am a huge fan and partly because it is a regular source of income for me.

I suppose it started as a sport you liked and then you realised you could make some money out of it? Is NFL the best sport to make +EV bets on or could you do the same on English football or similar? i met a pro sports better once who made most of his money betting on Aussie football, he studied the game and reckoned he knew it better than the bookmakers. I heard of another guy today who left work to bet on sports and he's having to sell his £500K house to pay off his losses.

ATM poker has to be the easiest way to earn a living gambling right? Probably won't be for ever of course.

Leaving your last question aside as outside the scope of this thread!

I loved the sport, played it a bit and got obsessive about it. Soon I thought I knew as much about it as the experts, and certainly stood a chance relative to UK odds-makers. This was back in the old days, these days the odds tend to be priced off the Vegas sportsbooks

However a proliferation of betting mechanisms (betfair, spread betting firms, novelty bets) now mean that it is possible to find value on any given sunday.

I make a five figure sum each season...but do not except for very small stakes and a bit of fun do any betting on English sports.

eg Yesterday the 5-2 Denver Broncos are away at the 2-5 Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh are priced odds on because they are reigning superbowl champions and because they are at home. Yet Denver have the best defense in the league and ran the Colts close the week before.

The bookies simply got it wrong pricing the Bronocos at odds against (5/4..6/4 in places)

The Broncos led comfortably all game and were never threatened.

I now write a weekly NFL Column for a sports betting site and so far this year I am a 60% tipster on there. Anything approaching 65% across all the games is very good, as the potential for upsets in the league is high due to team parity   

[byronkincaid]

Thanks that's very interesting