i enjoyed Thank You for Smoking, a good balance of the mock and doc. and not drenched with witticism, which can get irritating. one thing that did bug was Katie Holmes. Tom Cruise had to ruin everything about her for me, I miss those Dawson's Creek days and her toothy, crinkly smile. Now, she's Mrs. Femme Bot. Sadness.

djes-- i, too, watch Gossip Girl! Oy!! I promised myself I wouldn't after I publicly scorned the promo clip, deeming it too salacious and saccharine--another show today's youth culture doesn't need! But gees! I find myself downloading the latest episodes and pausing scenes to drool over their ridiculously expensive outfits. Go Nate and Jenny!

The thing with Gossip Girl is that it's this addicting mix of Mean Girls, Cruel Intentions, and Sex and the City. I used to be a major beeyatch in junior high and high school, so when Mean Girls came out on DVD and a bunch of us were watching the movie....well, outcries of....

1. "OMG, that's so YOU."
2. "Dude, did you, like, help write the script?"
3. "Seriously, did you ghost write the screenplay?"

...ensued. Normally, it'd be a compliment but when people think you're Regina George? Not so fantastic. Yes, I'm reformed but oh...it sucks how your past self can sock you right in the face, especially when you're trying to start fresh with new friends. Wow, how self-absorbed IS this comment!

Okay, so to anyone who's watched Mean Girls, whose character did you all relate to? Boys, Men please feel free to relate 'cause I know it's more than just a handful of you all that like this movie! (Believe me, your excuses of "oh, uh, some girl left that DVD here, i don't even know what that is!" does not work.)

AFAIK the plan in the UK is simply to add the PCs in a statistically-representative selection of households who are regular VOD users to the contingent whose home sets are already wired up the the monitoring system. Any other approach would be hard to fit into the methods used to project the data from the measurements of traditional viewing, so I imagine it would be the same in other countries.

In fact though, the current nature of VOD technology would mean that much more accurate "ratings" of this viewing sector would possible. Each viewer has an individual "session" on the broadcaster's streaming server. Those sessions could be counted at source (as they clearly are being according to that article) and where the user has to login to connect, user data could be linked to them, which advertisers would love.

On the question of ratings influencing the length and plotting of dramas after they've actually started to air, if I've understood other Korean media sources correctly (which I may well not have done), then Insoon is Pretty was actually shot in its entirety by an independent production company, then auctioned in the can to the broadcasters, ending up with KBS. Which would mean that in the case of that drama, there could be no significant last minute changes as a consequence of ratings, though of course there's always scope for changes in the editing suite.

I have a really hard time finishing books these days and can't say I have finished one in years. Anyway, I just picked up Stephenie Meyer's Twilight and it's nice so far. We'll see how it goes.

Aww, merriwether, you thought McFadyen ruined Mr. Darcy? I loved that movie and everyone in it... I especially loved the Elizabeth/Darcy interaction in the Pemberley backyard.

thanks so much! i couldnt find the last episode but thanks 2 ur post now i have finally finished goong s!

I don't think you're the only one who would be reading chick lit novels in secret... Can I just say Meg Cabot writes some pretty cute stuff? Even if you can scent the ending right from the beginning of the book.

I watched Death at a Funeral the other day and it was pretty bloody fantastic. Hilarious British comedy is the best. Matthew McFadyen, I kind of forgive you for ruining Mr Darcy because you were so good in Death at a Funeral.

Hey awesome! We can edit comments, never noticed that function.

they'll be factoring in viewership from online VOD to the ratings?

A very recent article analyzing the drama's ratings with VOD:
http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/news/shellview.htm?linkid=4&articleid=20071116151626257b6&newssetid=1352

i loved his voice in Coffee Prince, have yet to watch White Tower...