# Olympics Closing Ceremony Watch-along thread (UK) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295 "2012-08-12T20:04:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/141 "2012-08-13T12:07:03Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > I know, I was watching the NBC one. It wasn’t cut SHORT, though stuff was obviously left out. Just…changed the channel when it was over, so don’t know what crappy show anyone on the east coast is going to stay up until 2 on a Sunday to watch. O.o **Taomist** , _in the Eastern Time Zone_ NBC started the closing ceremony at 8:20EDT, interrupted at 11, resumed at midnight. Evidently \*in the West \*they did otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/142 "2012-08-13T12:27:01Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I think George Michael was the only one who got two songs. Spice Girls got two. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/143 "2012-08-13T13:55:12Z")
I’ve got to wonder about the Monty Python sketch. I was expecting them to re-write that line to take out “piece of shit.” It seems a little inapproriate to be swearing during an Olympic ceremony. Also, I’ve got to wonder if they included that skit as a tacit admission that hosting the Olympics is huge, expensive pain in the ass. 😉 My favorite part, hands down, was the Pet Shop Boys, dressed like…whatever, riding on rickshaws pulled by guys wearing traffic cones. It was so hilariously surreal, I would pay good money to hear the reasoning that went into that bit. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/144 "2012-08-13T15:01:16Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > My favorite part, hands down, was the Pet Shop Boys, dressed like…whatever, riding on rickshaws pulled by guys wearing traffic cones. It was so hilariously surreal, I would pay good money to hear the reasoning that went into that bit. They’re the Pet Shop Boys. That’s the sort of thing they do. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/145 "2012-08-13T15:34:30Z")
Well I stopped watching before the Spice girls and Monty Python. Did MP dedicate the song to McKayla? ---
**Author:** ![osme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/df788c/32.png) [@osme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/osme)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/146 "2012-08-13T15:57:11Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Timothy Spall as Churchill! > > What’s with the paper-covered vehicles? > > Stomp, how cool! “Newspaper taxis appear on the shore” from the Beatles’ “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.” ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/147 "2012-08-13T16:40:07Z")
> [@osme](#): > > “Newspaper taxis appear on the shore” from the Beatles’ “Lucy > In The Sky With Diamonds.” Thanks for the reminder. I hadn’t made that association. Just scanning through the BBC coverage, I see that in addition to Ray Davies and the Kate Bush number being deleted from NBC’s broadcast, they also didn’t show the awarding of the medals to the marathon runners. No Americans, so who cares, right? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/148 "2012-08-13T17:03:45Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Thanks for the reminder. I hadn’t made that association. > > Just scanning through the BBC coverage, I see that in addition to Ray Davies and the Kate Bush number being deleted from NBC’s broadcast, they also didn’t show the awarding of the medals to the marathon runners. No Americans, so who cares, right? They showed very few medal ceremonies at all. NBC really did a very poor job of covering the Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![Future\_Londonite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Future\_Londonite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_Londonite)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/149 "2012-08-13T21:45:12Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The band’s called Elbow, the guy’s called, err, Guy Garvey. Pretty popular British band, and called upon to sing the Official Song. The official song was that travesty that Muse performed later on. Elbow just sang two of their hits but dragged one of them out hoping they’d finish by the time all the athletes came in…alas they had to resort to re-playing the backing-tape for the previous artists. The gymnasts are a group called ‘Spellbound’ who ‘Britains got Talent’ two or three years ago ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/150 "2012-08-13T21:46:12Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Uh, why doesn’t Liam Gallagher raise his microphone, instead of hunching down? That looked really weird. Usually artists will adjust the mic themselves when it’s at the wrong height like it was here, but maybe he thinks he’s too big to have to do that or maybe there is some union rule in London that artists can’t touch the sound equipment. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/151 "2012-08-13T21:57:53Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > **Taomist** , _in the Eastern Time Zone_ NBC started the closing ceremony at 8:20EDT, interrupted at 11, resumed at midnight. Evidently \*in the West \*they did otherwise. Nope, that’s what they did here on the West Coast, too. Ceremony ended at 11:00, new show was on until 11:20, then news, then more Olympics at midnight. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/152 "2012-08-13T22:29:51Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Nope, that’s what they did here on the West Coast, too. Ceremony ended at 11:00, new show was on until 11:20, then news, then more Olympics at midnight. If that’s the case, then I have no idea what he meant by this: > [@Taomist](#): > > so don’t know what crappy show anyone on the east coast is going to stay up until 2 on a Sunday to watch. O.o ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/153 "2012-08-13T23:21:57Z")
I’m guessing he thought they were broadcasting it live to all the time zones. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/154 "2012-08-13T23:32:28Z")
i find it a bit daft to start a program at 7pm eastern as nbc did and then not show the entire program. when they didn’t start the closing ceremony at 7, i went to watching something else, tuning in at 15 minute intervals to see if they were starting. i couldn’t believe they weren’t showing it. finally about 8:30 they started. an hour and a half later. unbelievable!!! i was a bit miffed they cut things out i was looking forward to seeing. i turned it off when they went to that show. really?!? splitting up the closing ceremony?!? just daft. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/155 "2012-08-14T08:39:37Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > That looked really weird. Usually artists will adjust the mic themselves when it’s at the wrong height like it was here, but maybe he thinks he’s too big to have to do that or maybe there is some union rule in London that artists can’t touch the sound equipment. Nah, that’s how he likes to do it, he has always hunched over his microphone. Nothing more than an affectation. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/156 "2012-08-14T08:44:10Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I’ve got to wonder about the Monty Python sketch. I was expecting them to re-write that line to take out “piece of shit.” It seems a little inapproriate to be swearing during an Olympic ceremony. Maybe that’s what they would do in the US, but the whole point of Monty Python is that it’s irreverent, edgy, slightly disrespectful of expected behaviour. There would have been a enormous outcry in the UK if they had bleeped the words or rewritten it. That song, and Monty Python, hold a significant place in our theatrical culture. Cultural differences, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295/157 "2012-08-14T09:36:17Z")
FFS, beyond the actual competitions, the Olympic organisation is a bogus, self-aggrandising pitiless parasite of a franchise jumping from continent to continent preying on taxpayers and innocents. A bigger bunch of \*unts it’s difficult to imagine - “respect” isn’t a word that comes immediately to mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympics-closing-ceremony-watch-along-thread-uk/631295.md?page=7)