if you remember that period of cricket, which you should Len,then it is a very good watch, must admit I did have problems with the lookalikes but it is an interesting insight into what happened.
Totally underwhelmed by it. The actor playing Tony Greig was particularly poor.
You gonna make him grovel ? ;-)
Quote Very good memory MOG, was that the 1976 series vs the Windies, used to watch it on tv with the sound off, and listen to the wonderful Radio 3 commentary. Happy days.
Totally underwhelmed by it. The actor playing Tony Greig was particularly poor.
You gonna make him grovel ? ;-)
Quote Very good memory MOG, was that the 1976 series vs the Windies, used to watch it on tv with the sound off, and listen to the wonderful Radio 3 commentary. Happy days.
Also one of the hottest summers in memory.
Mistrollingin: Have you seen Fire in Babylon about the West Indies team from mid 70's thru 1980s?? Got a lot of the 76 series in it, included the impact of Greig's infamous remark . Essential viewing.
It reminded of Bodyline for the old codgers who remember that drama 30 odd years ago. So naff it was good in a macabre sort of way.
That said the bloke playing Kerry Packer is excellent and singlehandedly saves it in my view.
I'll probably watch the second and final episode
Agreed, I call this 'serious slapstick' .. it must be deliberately 'bad' because so much Australian TV and so many movies are so good .. if you see wor I mean
Haven't seen it yet but know I'll love it. I'm still fascinated but that era. I remember the whole story breaking during the Centenary Test in Melbourne. My favourite Kerry Packer story is the one when he was at a casino in Vegas and was getting irritated by some fat Yank at the roulette table who was losing but kept reminding everyone that he was worth $10m. Eventually at the end of his tether, Packer tapped him on the shoulder and said "So you're worth $10 million eh? I'll toss you for for it."
Haven't seen it yet but know I'll love it. I'm still fascinated but that era. I remember the whole story breaking during the Centenary Test in Melbourne. My favourite Kerry Packer story is the one when he was at a casino in Vegas and was getting irritated by some fat Yank at the roulette table who was losing but kept reminding everyone that he was worth $10m. Eventually at the end of his tether, Packer tapped him on the shoulder and said "So you're worth $10 million eh? I'll toss you for for it."
That is a genuinely true story, not the only time dear old Kerry did it either.
The Packers when they came to London always stayed @ the Savoy and rented an entire floor for a month. When not making deals they were out high stake gambling. The SAVOY staff loved them as they were huge tippers. For example their favourite chambermaid (this would be the late 1980s) was always tipped at least £3000 before they left, the tip size depending on the gambling profit/loss account. I am told that she used to pray for much Packer success at the London casino tables. Evidently Kerry and his son were seriously untidy so perhaps she truly earned her 3 grand plus.
There were some laughably poor moments and some terribly gratuitous elements like randomly putting a couple of Mohican-haired punks outside Lords to show it was London in 1977 but, perhaps against my better judgement, I quite enjoyed it and agreed that the Kerry Packer actor was terrific. I think you'd need to be of a certain age to enjoy it and luckily, I am!
I think he once tipped AU$300 to someone for getting him a tap water. Mixed opinions of him down under.
The best Kerry Packer story - and another true one - is that following his heart attack during a Polo game in Sydney in 1990 he was only saved by the fact that the ambulance that arrived for him happened to have a defibrillator on board - one of the very few in service in NSW at the time. He was technically dead for six minutes but they managed to bring him back to life.
As he was recovering in hospital he called the local head of Siemens (the manufacturers of the Defibrillators) and the NSW Minister for Health to his bedside and asked how much it would cost to put the defibrillators into every ambulance in NSW, the Siemens guy said it would probably cost about $20 million to fit out the entire ambulance fleet.
"Right," says Packer, "Call my office in the morning and tell them to send you a cheque for $10 million, this bloke here (the Health Minister) will pay the other half, won't you?"
Within a year every ambulance in the fleet had been fitted with what are still known locally as "Packer Whackers!"
I think he once tipped AU$300 to someone for getting him a tap water. Mixed opinions of him down under.
The best Kerry Packer story - and another true one - is that following his heart attack during a Polo game in Sydney in 1990 he was only saved by the fact that the ambulance that arrived for him happened to have a defibrillator on board - one of the very few in service in NSW at the time. He was technically dead for six minutes but they managed to bring him back to life.
As he was recovering in hospital he called the local head of Siemens (the manufacturers of the Defibrillators) and the NSW Minister for Health to his bedside and asked how much it would cost to put the defibrillators into every ambulance in NSW, the Siemens guy said it would probably cost about $20 million to fit out the entire ambulance fleet.
"Right," says Packer, "Call my office in the morning and tell them to send you a cheque for $10 million, this bloke here (the Health Minister) will pay the other half, won't you?"
Within a year every ambulance in the fleet had been fitted with what are still known locally as "Packer Whackers!"
Comments
at some point. Should be a very interesting watch.
;-)
MiserableoldgitMiserableoldgit Member
4:53PM
mistrollingin said:
Totally underwhelmed by it. The actor playing Tony Greig was particularly poor.
You gonna make him grovel ?
;-)
Quote
Very good memory MOG, was that the 1976 series vs the Windies, used to watch it on tv with the sound off, and listen to the wonderful Radio 3 commentary. Happy days.
Also one of the hottest summers in memory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_in_Babylon
It reminded me of Bodyline for the old codgers who remember that drama 30 odd years ago. So naff it was good in a macabre sort of way.
That said the bloke playing Kerry Packer is excellent and singlehandedly saves it in my view.
I'll probably watch the second and final episode
My favourite Kerry Packer story is the one when he was at a casino in Vegas and was getting irritated by some fat Yank at the roulette table who was losing but kept reminding everyone that he was worth $10m. Eventually at the end of his tether, Packer tapped him on the shoulder and said "So you're worth $10 million eh? I'll toss you for for it."
The SAVOY staff loved them as they were huge tippers. For example their favourite chambermaid (this would be the late 1980s) was always tipped at least £3000 before they left, the tip size depending on the gambling profit/loss account. I am told that she used to pray for much Packer success at the London casino tables. Evidently Kerry and his son were seriously untidy so perhaps she truly earned her 3 grand plus.
As he was recovering in hospital he called the local head of Siemens (the manufacturers of the Defibrillators) and the NSW Minister for Health to his bedside and asked how much it would cost to put the defibrillators into every ambulance in NSW, the Siemens guy said it would probably cost about $20 million to fit out the entire ambulance fleet.
"Right," says Packer, "Call my office in the morning and tell them to send you a cheque for $10 million, this bloke here (the Health Minister) will pay the other half, won't you?"
Within a year every ambulance in the fleet had been fitted with what are still known locally as "Packer Whackers!"