BBC Documentary Ice Stars Airing again UK | Page 5 | Golden Skate

BBC Documentary Ice Stars Airing again UK

bravesirrobin

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Sep 12, 2014
The TV production crew were back at Nottingham last Saturday. I spoke to them and they said that they will be doing another series.
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
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The TV production crew were back at Nottingham last Saturday. I spoke to them and they said that they will be doing another series.

Yay!!!! :cheer: That is great to hear!!!



As with recent weeks, most of the studio stuff was about the dancing programme that is shown on Fridays. However, directly before they aired Episode 9, Karim Zeroual and Dodge The Dog (who I think is Hacker’s brother) received a (pre-recorded) video call from some of the stars of the series. Namely:

Charlie (Ice Hockey player)
Adriano (Ice Dancer)
Ella (Ice Dancer)
Kloe (Singles Skater)
Ellie (Ice Dancer)
Josh (Ice Dancer)

Of course, Josh B wasn’t able to do this because he is away doing his Junior Grand Prix assignments.

Each of the skaters introduced themselves, and then Kloe said “Coming up today in ‘Ice Stars’: You finally get to see us perform in the gala”. And then everybody shouted “So don’t miss it!”, and they dispersed to do different tricks on the ice.

It was actually quite funny, because the two ice dance couples went off and did their thing, and Kloe did a very impressive Bielmann into a sit spin, and all poor Charlie could do was go round and round in a small circle at the front!

Episode 9 – Superhero Spinners

Now, the format of the episode was slightly different this week. Yes, we had three strands as usual. But, whereas we had a definite Ladies Singles Skating strand and a definite Speed Skating strand, the other strand (which was introduced at the start as an Ice Dance strand) was actually a sort of a catch-all strand about preparations for the Gala.

And it was this Gala strand that we came to first. So, we started with Kloe talking to us about having to remember everything, and then we saw a clip of Solomon being coached by Josh B.

The next bit was really funny. It had the choreographer for the gala, Croatian coach Tamara Glad, going through the plans with the Singles Skating coach, Armenian skater Gurgen Vardanjan. And it was obvious from the outset that Gurgen was bored witless and just wanted to be anywhere but there! But Tamara was getting all excited about everything, and about showing him stuff!

Cut to a piece where Kloe is rehearsing her routine with a coach we hadn’t seen in the series before, Jerana. I just looked her up, and she is actually Jerana Ipakjan, a Hungarian who has coached alongside Gurgen for a long number of years. And suddenly something I had noticed when I watched the programme straight through the first time made sense. There was one point where Jerana was shouting over to Kloe and I thought “that didn’t sound like English”. Well, now I know why! (Well, it makes more sense 2 Hungarians speaking to each other in their native language!)

Back to Gurgen and Tamara, and they are now talking about more practical things. Specifically, how to get 180 onto the ice at once! And they are talking away, and suddenly Tamara goes “Oh my…”, starts laughing and points seemingly towards the camera. And the cameraman turns round, and there behind him is somebody dressed up as a kangaroo! Apparently, they had been having great difficulty finding a kangaroo costume. She then started getting the poor guy wearing the costume to jump up and down to see if he could move properly. And she was laughing the whole time!

Next to Adriano and Ella, and they are having a lesson on lifts. Coach Woody explains that they are actually each other’s first partner, so they haven’t done lifts before. And Josh and Ellie have been brought in to demonstrate, firstly in the corridor, and then on the ice.

The first attempts that Ella and Adriano did in the corridor were not too successful! But, it seemed to be going better when they got onto the ice. Although, that might have been because Woody was holding Ella up…

Anyway, there were a few funny moments when they were talking during this part of the programme. At one point, Woody was explaining in detail what to do, and Ellie started giggling when he mentioned armpits. And Woody asked “What’s so funny about armpits? They’re a part of your anatomy, Ellie. Get over it!” And I was thinking “it would have been funnier if he had said oxters…” (For those outside of Northern Ireland, we use the term “oxters” all the time for that part of the body. “Armpit” is only used if you are trying to sound more refined!)

Also, it was funny when Ella and Adriano were doing separate pieces to camera, and they were each jokingly blaming the other for the falls… when the other was standing beside them just out of camera shot! And I was thinking, “Well, that’s a good sign. They are getting on well enough that they can joke about it”.

I’m not sure how whether to class the next part of the programme as part of the same strand, or as the introduction to the Ladies strand. Because it had the 2 skaters that the Ladies strand focussed on, but they were talking about the gala. It was the first time that Alexia had seen Kloe since her return from Hungary, and such an amount of screaming and hugging there was! And, the first thing Alexia commented about was Kloe’s new hair colour… after I commented in my Episode 8 review that I couldn’t see much of a difference! Just proves that I’m a thick bloke…

Anyway, they were talking about what they were going to be wearing at the gala. Alexia is in the American routine, so she’s wearing red, white and blue. Meanwhile Kloe is doing a Hungarian routine, so she’s wearing red, white and green. She showed a drawing of her design (with no colour), and then showed a photo of a dress where she got her inspiration from.

But, after this, it was definitely onto a different strand. Speed Skating with Izzy. Last time we saw her (back in Episode 5), we were told that she was under consideration for a scheme for future Olympians. Well, now Izzy and a team-mate called Jess were getting ready to do the consideration tests for that.

When she was talking to camera, Izzy was talking about how different it would be only able to come home at the weekends, and that the prospect of leaving home was fun, but also scary. We then met her parents, and her Dad (Clive) was explaining how he was also worrying about her moving away from home. But it was funny the way he put it: “When Izzy’s away, it’s quite interesting for us because she’s not that great with the phone to be honest! She will text us but it’s not, you know, it’s not a lot. We normally have to track her down”.

Well, this provided a good segway into coach Mandy showing Izzy and Jess around the type of accommodation they would be living in if they got onto the scheme. As Izzy said when she walked in “This is really nice”! Mandy then talked to them for a while, and finished off with “So, you’ve got to learn to cook now girls!”, which produced some laughs!

Back at the rink, Mandy took the girls into a room to show them some photos of when she competed at the Olympics at Lake Placid in 1980.

The next bit was just to fill in time. It showed some of the skaters we have already met throughout the series handing out fliers for the gala at school. So, we had solo ice dancer Lauren; ice hockey player Liam; and synchro skater Lucy going round their fellow students handing out leaflets. And, I have to say, I thought the gala was a real bargain – only £6 for a normal price ticket!

Next it was back to Alexia and Kloe (who was now fully blonde). Now, this strand was showing us how the BBC was saving licence fee payers’ money. They were using Alexia and Kloe for another CBBC programme, called “Operation Ouch!”. It seems to be a series where 2 doctors (who are twins) are investigating the science behind different things in a hospital setting.

Here, they are investigating why skaters do not get dizzy when they spin. We were told that when you spin, the fluid in your ear spins too. And that when you stop spinning, it takes a while for this fluid to settle down, which is what makes you dizzy.

So, one of the twins (Dr. Xand) was put into a chair that spins around. Now, so that he did not know what was going on around him, the experiment was done in a completely dark room. Anyway, the doctor controlling the chair (Dr. Barry – not one of the twins) started the chair spinning, and Dr. Xand said that it felt that he wasn’t moving. But when the chair was stopped after a minute, he felt like he was spinning in the opposite direction.

Next it was Kloe’s turn. She did feel herself spinning. And when it stopped, she was able to say immediately that she had stopped. And that she did not feel dizzy at all. Dr. Barry could not get over this! Next Alexia had a go, and the results were the same.

So, the conclusion was that their brains are better at suppressing the feeling of dizziness than normal people’s brains.

Next it was back with the speed skaters, and they were now doing their consideration test. Mandy was telling us that the GB squad were training earlier in the day, and their times were just under 10 seconds. So, she was hoping that the girls would do 10.5 seconds or, better still, under that.

First up was Jess, and afterwards she commented that she found it really hard. She then admitted that she hadn’t been training as much as normal, and so was struggling quite a bit.

Next up was Izzy, and afterwards she was really puffed! So, we were not surprised when she said she was glad it was over!

Anyway, Jess got 10.3 and Izzy got 10.4. So, they were both under the target time for consideration.


Back to “Operation Ouch!”, and the girls have taken Dr. Xand to an ice rink. But, before going onto the ice, there is another experiment.

It is again being spun around on a chair, but this time it is a normal office chair in a lit area. And, after being spun around, the person has to walk over to a table and pour water from a jug into a glass.

Dr. Xand went first, and it was hilarious! He was staggering all over the place, nearly fell over some benches, and couldn’t stand still when pouring the water! He only managed to pour a wee bit of water into the glass.

Next was Kloe, and she was straight over to the table, and pouring the water no bother. And Alexia did the same!

Finally, the girls got to go onto the ice and were showing off their spins. And Dr. Xand was saying that he had never actually seen skaters that were that good before! But, then it was his turn to join them. And it was obvious straight away that this was not his first time on the ice!

Alexia then gave him a lesson on how to spin. And although he was VERY slow moving, he did actually manage to do a complete turn. But then he was feeling dizzy straight away! And Alexia was really shocked at this. Anyway, he had nothing but admiration for these skaters who can spin, and then go off and do the rest of the routine.

Next, another bit of time filling. Some of the younger skaters we met during the series went into the BBC Radio Nottingham studios to talk about the gala on the air. So we had synchro skaters Asiyah and Kaira, and a fella called Adam talking to DJ Mark Dennison.

Finally, it was to rehearsals for the gala. And let’s just say that, from what they showed, it did not go as smoothly as you would have hoped!

Next time: It’s the Gala!!!

As tiffoc kindly warned us, Episode 10 was on straight after Episode 9. But, I haven’t actually watched it yet. So, I’ll try and get it watched and the review written in the next day or so.

CaroLiza_fan
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
First the good news. It turns out that the recording messing up was not as bad as I feared. All that was missed was 10 seconds of the episode, and when I went to iPlayer, I found that most of that was just an arty shot of Jellie through a window in a door!

Well, we have now reached the end of the series.

Episode 10 – It's Gala Day

The final episode is a strange one to describe. Because it was mostly made up of short re-caps about what happened earlier in the series, and highlights from the gala. So, this will probably be the shortest episode review of the series!

There was no “Coming up” segment as such. Instead they started with a review of the entire series compressed into 75 seconds. It was just a series of clips accompanied by clever one-liners from the narrator.

Now that I think of it, although I have been talking about things she has said in every review, I have never actually mentioned who the narrator is. Her name is Yasmin Evans, and she is a DJ on BBC Radio 1Xtra. And although some of the things she has said have left me cringing (probably the fault of the writers rather than her), she has done a brilliant job guiding us through the series.

After the review, there was a short feature on Singles Skater Solomon. He was talking to camera telling us about it being his first gala and being excited. And his Mum added that all the family were coming. Now, I don’t know if it was just that I hadn’t picked up on it at the time, but I didn’t realise that Solomon had only been skating 2 years. But, that is what the narrator told us during the brief summary – that he had only been skating 2 years, and that the coaches had spotted his “natural talent”.

Next it was Ice Dancers Ella and Adriano, and they showed the bit again where Ella was talking about getting a hard time at school. After that, the narrator told us that the gala was actually going to be their first performance together as a couple in front of an audience. (I’ll just add – they showed a clip of them practicing in their costumes, and Ella’s dress was absolutely beautiful. But, I wasn’t keen on Adriano’s costume).

We then came to Ice Hockey player Charlie. Now, Charlie had a different role in the gala – he and some other pupils from his school were actually going to be narrating the Gala.

Next up were Josh and Ellie. Much to my annoyance, the part of their story that was focussed in on was the bit where Josh was trying to decide whether to carry on or not.

It was only then that we finally got to talking about the gala itself. As has been mentioned before, the title is “Around The World In 80 Skates”, and each routine has a theme based on a particular country or continent. There are 150 skaters taking part, but only 2 have solo routines – Kloe and Josh B.

And this led into the pair of them chatting while walking down the corridor. Kloe was saying that Gurgen had told her that there were 2,000 tickets sold. She then asked Josh B where his family were sitting, and he said he didn’t know. Personally, I’m not sure where I stand on this one. On the one hand, it is probably for the best, as it could be distracting. But on the other, if things are going badly, it could be reassuring to have a glance over at them!

Next it was over to Singles Skater Emma (the girl who has a whole pile of relatives skating). And she was listing all of the relatives that she had attending!

Finally it was to Ice Dancer Josh (as in Ellie’s partner). And he was talking away about how everybody was rushing around like headless chickens (my words!), whereas he was just waiting to get his boots on.

It was only then that we started into the gala itself. Onto the ice came Mr. Williams (the teacher who took the assembly in Episode 8), Charlie and 2 other pupils.

Now, before I start talking about the routines, I have to put in a disclaimer. After what has been done so far during the series with the BBC putting in their own music, I have no idea which (if any) of these routines had their original music used in the episode!

The first routine was representing Ireland. Now, ever since he first appeared in the series, I have been wondering who this Woody guy was that was looking after the Ice Dancers in the past few episodes. He looked vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn’t work out why. But, with just a “Woody” to work from, it was impossible to find out who he was.

Well, Woody was doing the Irish routine with his partner. And it was only because the narrator mentioned her name (Robynne) that I finally has something to work from. And looking through the results from last year’s Nationals, I found them in no time! “Woody” is Edward Carstairs.

Is it any wonder I couldn’t find out who he was?! Like, I was expecting him to be somebody Woods, or somebody Woodman, or something like that! :laugh:

And finding out who they were also meant that I finally realised why Woody looked familiar. I had seen him and Robynne competing at Junior Worlds a few months ago!

While they were on, the narrator told us something interesting. There are only actually 3 Dance couples at the centre. Presumably they are Robynne / Woody; Ellie / Josh; and Ella / Adriano. So, if this is the grand total of competitors at what is supposed to be the main ice skating facility in the country, it is quite worrying.

Anyway, the narrator was actually using this piece of information to point out the lack of boys in Ice Dance, and lead into solo dancers Kershia, Lauren and Chloe getting ready.

Now, I liked the way this was done. The entire Ice Dance team did a group routine. A tango, to represent Argentina. And the way it was choreographed meant that it was not obvious at all that it was a mixture of dance couples and solo dancers. (Although, if you started counting and realised that they was not only an odd number of skaters on the ice, but only 3 boys to 6 girls, you might have twigged that there was something not quite right!) The girls were all wearing different black dresses with a couple of red roses tucked in on the left side of their waists. The boys were all dressed identically, wearing a black shirt and black trousers with a red sash around their waists.

Afterwards they had Kershia and Lauren talking to camera. Kershia commented that “That actually went really, really well”, while Lauren was saying “It feels like it’s just over too quickly. Like all this work and you only get a 2 minute theatre-thing out of a 2 hour show and you’re like ‘Oh, come on! At least let me do an encore!’” I can see her point. In fact, I’m sure most skaters think that! But, at the same time, she should be grateful because I am sure there are many dancers out there without partners who don’t get the opportunity to do galas.

Kershia then added “We don’t really get to do this very often. Like, the couples go off and do their thing, we go off and do our thing, so it’s really nice just to come together and just enjoy it as a group”. Hear, hear! And Lauren agreed.

Now, mixed in with this Ice Dance stuff were clips of the Ladies Singles Skaters getting ready for their group routine, which was representing America. First they were in the changing rooms getting ready, and we saw Alexia wearing what I can only describe as Minnie Mouse’s dress! All the dresses were that same basic design, except they came in 3 different colour combinations: Red with white spots; white with blue spots; and blue with white spots.

You know, in the changing room, Alexia was being really bossy! Like, when they were about to leave, she was shouting (rather patronisingly!) “Has everybody got everything? You haven’t forgotten your brain or yourself…?” [Alexia claps hands] “We’re good to go! One number guys…” Cheeky madam!

But, after showing the backstage stuff, I was disappointed that they didn’t show ANY of their routine then! Instead, we moved straight onto Josh B.

First we saw him getting the red hanky he had tied around his neck sewed to his shirt so that it would not fly off. Then we saw a long shot in which we saw the rest of his costume. It a white shirt and black trousers, with this awful looking piece of material covering where his belt would be. It had inch-high stripes in the sequence black-red-gold-red-black.

Then we had a review of his time in the series, focussing in on the “competition in Luxembourg” and the changes his family have made to accommodate his skating.

It was only then that we saw a bit of the Singles Skaters routine, and we found out that it wasn’t just the girls – the guys were taking part in this routine as well. They didn’t show that much, so you didn’t really get a proper feel of what it was like.

Josh B was doing a routine representing Spain. And then the music started – CARMEN!!! Now, this is why I have my doubts about whether this was actually the music that was played in the rink. Because, the highlights they showed just happened to fit very nicely into the part of “Toreadores” they played (the part that is used during the Formula 1 podium celebrations, which the BBC shows. And hence, the BBC shouldn’t have any rights issues with playing that bit of music!)

Afterwards, Josh was talking about being happy with how it went, and about it being a relief that there were no judges! But, he also mentioned in passing that he had 2 more routines to do. I’m assuming one of them was the finale, so that leaves another routine that they didn’t show in the episode.

After Josh B, they showed some very short clips of a routine from the Ice Hockey players, and one of the younger synchro teams. And a short clip of Ella and Adriano warming up for their routine with Josh and Ellie.

But, then it was onto the Icicles, with the focus on Emily and the “will this be her last performance?” question. The routine was to represent Brazil, and was actually their SP from last season. And because we have seen the video of them performing it at Worlds, we know that the music played on their gala performance on “Ice Stars” was NOT the original music. Although, they could of course be doing the same routine to different music. But that would get very confusing for getting your cues.

It was the young Ice Dancers next, but there was major drama on the way from the changing rooms to the ice! :drama: They were wearing masks, and Ella’s was tied too tight and wouldn’t go over her head. And it got stuck. And as Kershia was trying to fix it, it got more tangled. Between them, Kershia and Lauren eventually got it untied as the 3 of them were frantically running to the rink. Lauren was tying it back on Ella just as their names were getting announced. And then Adriano pointed out that it was being put on upside down, with the nose piece on her forehead! So, it had to be re-done. By this stage Josh and Ellie were already on the ice waiting, but thankfully the mask got fixed just in time for them to get out.

This routine was to represent Armenia. And, I thought it was funny that it was the Dancers that were doing the Armenian routine, seeing as it was the Singles Skating coach that was Armenian! The music we heard was “Flashlight” by Jessie J, but whether that was what was actually played is another matter! Anyway, the boys were both wearing white shirts with black trousers. Ella was wearing a pink dress, while Ellie was wearing a green dress. All four were wearing masks.

And despite the drama beforehand, it went extremely well. They showed a clip of Ella going back to her dressing room, getting high-fives from a young synchro team who were waiting to go on (they looked to be about the same age as her, and their dresses were the same colours as the Icicles’ dresses, but were a different design). Then, in her dressing room, Ella was talking afterwards about how stressful it was.

Although they didn’t show the routine, we also saw a clip of some wee tiny girls dressed up as rabbits going onto the ice, with the kangaroo behind them.

Next up was Kloe and her Hungarian routine. Beforehand, they did a recap of a lot of the stuff she had done so far in the series. And when she was waiting rinkside, they showed a bit of a routine representing Jamaica.

Kloe’s dress looked a lot different to what I imagined it to be like from the drawing she had shown us in Episode 9. It was the same design as in the drawing, but I wasn’t expecting it to be nearly completely red. And if there was any white and green present, it must have been in the sparkly trim (although, it looked kinda bluey with the lighting)

Oh boys but she was good! But then they left her for a minute or so and showed a recap of Solomon! :mad: But, thankfully, they did come back to show the end of Kloe’s routine.

You’ll never guess who was taking part in the next routine they showed. Yes, it was Solomon! This was a strange routine. The boys were all wearing open black jackets, black trousers… and black Elvis wigs! Underneath the jackets they were wearing T-shirts of one of either 2 designs. Now, I don’t know if this was intentional but, being from Northern Ireland, this is what sprung into my mind as soon as I saw the designs of the T-shirts: “WHAT???!!! Half of them are wearing Celtic shirts, and the other half are wearing Rangers shirts!!!” :eek: (Solomon was in a Celtic shirt)

Well, that was the gala nearly over. All the skaters were lining up waiting to go onto the ice for the finale. And we saw a crowd of Mexicans in their ponchos and sombreros that we hadn’t seen.

But, before the finale, there was a surprise extra routine. Mr. Williams started introducing a routine to represent Nottingham, and they showed a shot of Alexia looking completely confused, followed by similar reactions from other skaters.

Unbeknownst to the skaters, the coaches had prepared their own routine for the gala!!!

For us anyway, it was ccompanied by “I’m Feeling Good” by Michael Bublé.

We saw a clip of Sophie and Robynne standing facing away from each other, and then Woody coming along and choosing Sophie! (Erm, awkward!) And then, after a few shots of the skaters watching rinkside, we saw then again, but this time in full flow.

They also had a shot of Tamara doing a step sequence, and somebody with dark hair who I didn’t recognise doing what the narrator thought was “an amazing spin”.

But there is no question as to who was the star of the routine. Gurgen. He was doing all these jumps, and all of them looked spectacular. Kloe even commented to Josh B “He can skate better than us!”

They then showed a shot of Sophie with Robynne in the background. Oh boys but they looked hot!

After the routine, we went back to Kloe and Josh B, and they were both complaining that the coaches’ routine was much better than their routine, and their costumes were better as well. But, they were complaining in a good way, if you know what I mean. They were so impressed!

Then the skaters started coming onto the ice, starting with the Icicles. And, the rink soon filled up! I don’t know how he managed to find the space without taking somebody out, but Josh B even managed to throw in a jump!

And no sooner had we seen them doing a couple of laps of the ice then we were seeing them coming off the ice and wandering along in the corridors backstage. So, either the main part of the finale was edited out or else the finale was just a couple of laps. Both seem plausible. But for the sake of the audience, after what looked like a spectacular show, I hope that it went out with a bang rather than just fizzled out like a damp squib.

Well, after that there was lots of clips of hugging and congratulating going on. Between skaters; between skaters and their parents; between the Icicles; between Kloe and Josh B…

They also had a clip of Tamara and Gurgen, and he was saying to camera that “It was fantastic. So, I am very happy”. Then, after breaking away to show Ella and her Mum, we came back to them and Gurgen said “We can’t wait to do that again”, and Tamara added “Yes, we’re so looking forward to the next one”.

And you can’t argue with that! What a fitting way to end the final episode.

Well, it was only kinda the end. Because they then showed a highlights package, which led into the narrator giving us an update on some of the skaters featured during the series, while the credits were on.

  • Speed skaters Izzy and Jess have both started training with the national squad.
  • Ice Dancers Ella and Adriano are now competing in Basic Novice, and are training for the British Championships.
  • Icicles captain Emily did quit after the gala to concentrate on her A-levels.
  • Kloe and Josh B “are entering their busiest year ever, representing Team GB and balancing training with their GCSE’s”.

I do have one major complaint though about the final episode. It wasn’t long enough!!!

Personally, I think the end of the series would have worked better if they had shown Episode 9 as normal one week, and then an hour-long special for the gala the following week. But, I guess the CBBC schedules didn’t allow for that.

All in all, it was an extremely enjoyable series. Of course, there were things that were said that annoyed us that know a bit about how things work figure skating, but as a children’s programme, it was extremely informative.

At the same time, there were lots of things we found out in it that we never knew before. Speaking personally, I knew practically nothing about Synchro and Speed Skating before watching this series. Now, I know some stuff about them. And I enjoyed seeing the different coaching methods employed by different coaches.

And, after Episode 9, I am dying to know when Kloe and Alexia’s episode of “Operation Ouch” is being broadcast, as the bits they showed looked fascinating! If and when I find out, I’ll post the details in this thread. (Assuming this thread hasn’t been archived in the meantime…)

There are a few extra things to do with the series that I want to link to, but I’ll wait until next week. Two reasons for this. Firstly, so that you don’t get withdrawal symptoms after being spoiled with a double bill this week! And, more importantly, so that we can spend the next few days concentrating on watching the Croatia Cup and seeing how Josh B gets on there! ;)

Thank you for taking the time to read my episode reviews. I hope you enjoyed them.

CaroLiza_fan
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
Right, now that I have my review of the final episode posted, it is time to remind everybody that the skater I have been referring to as "Josh B" in this thread will be competing in his second Junior Grand Prix of the season this afternoon, at the Croatia Cup in Zagreb.

Josh Brown will be the second skater to start in Group 1 of the Men's SP. He is due to start at 13:42:50 local time (CEST), which is 12:42:50 British Summer Time.

But that may change if the skater on before him withdraws. However, considering that that skater is Alexander SAMARIN (the favourite to win, no less!), I can't see that happening somehow!

Here is the link for the Time Schedule:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQxB6H_UAAEBtgs.png

And for the Live Streaming (not on air yet):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-yqYp-b0ac

:cheer: ALL THE BEST JOSH B!!! :cheer:

CaroLiza_fan
 

tiffoc

Spectator
Joined
Aug 12, 2015
The music was not the correct music from the gala, it was just put over the top like they did with the competitions too. Have to say I was a little disappointed that they didn't even bother to mention Ellie and Josh at the end seen as they have been a big part of the show.

Thanks for all your reviews. Not sure wether Ellie and Josh will be in the next series or not. But look out for them in dortmund in November ☺
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
The music was not the correct music from the gala, it was just put over the top like they did with the competitions too. Have to say I was a little disappointed that they didn't even bother to mention Ellie and Josh at the end seen as they have been a big part of the show.

Thanks for all your reviews. Not sure wether Ellie and Josh will be in the next series or not. But look out for them in dortmund in November ☺

Yes, I agree. There were an awful lot of the participants left out of the review at the end. But, since Jellie were such a major part of the series, they really should have been included.

Did you notice that they had Josh talking to camera during the final episode, but not Ellie. Maybe I am getting paranoid, but I really hope that the episode was not re-edited to not feature her as punishment for our conversation last week...

Getting back to the update at the end, they should also have included the solo dancers, particularly Chloe seeing as she was the one that was featured most heavily. Admittedly, those of us in the know only have to look up a certain website to see that the situation has not changed for any of them. But, it would have been nice for the kiddies watching to be told in the programme.

Personally, I would have liked an update on what Speed Skater Maddy. She was only in one episode, and was so likable. So, it would have been nice to hear how things had been going for her since she decided to take a break from the sport.

But, the other way of looking at it is that if they provided updates on everybody, it would have meant even less time to show the performances. So, we shouldn't complain too much.

Considering they only had 28 minutes in which to fit in highlights of a 2 hour gala, show us backstage stuff, and give us updates on the skaters, I think they didn't do so badly.

But, maybe if they had included less re-caps on what had happened earlier in the series, it might have made life a lot easier for the editors...

Right gotta go. Josh B is about to start his SP at the Croatia Cup!!

CaroLiza_fan
 

CaroLiza_fan

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Josh Brown finished 11[SUP]th[/SUP] out of 24 in this afternoon's Short Programme at the Croatia Cup.

2015 Croatia Cup Men's Short Programme Results

Josh B was the fifth skater to come onto the ice during the Group 1 Warm-Up, and we saw him handing his skate guards over to his stand-in coach (Sorry, I don't know who she is. Gurgen wasn't with him this week).

Unfortunately, because it was the first group, there were a lot of graphics being shown as the housekeeping was being done. This meant that we didn't get to see as much of this group as we did the later groups.

However, we did still get some good shots of Josh B. He was the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] skater to be focussed in on after the JGP Men's standings were shown. Here is the direct link to the start of the Warm-Up, within the video of the whole Men's SP competition:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-yqYp-b0ac&t=1074

And here is the direct link to Josh B's performance, again within the video of the whole Men's SP competition:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-yqYp-b0ac&t=1799

Finally, here is the video just showing Josh B's SP (unfortunately, it doesn't show him getting his results):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8TAsjrVXCw

I thought Josh B's SP last week was impressive. But this was just on a completely different level! Having no pops this time undoubtedly helped, but it was just everything about it seemed better.

Whereas Josh B was visibly disappointed with how he got on in Logroño last week, he looked a lot happier coming off the ice today!

With Gurgen not being with him this week, he was naturally the first person that Josh B said hello to while waiting for his results. But, Kloe was rapidly on his heels in second place! ;)

Josh B was delighted with his score, and immediately turned around and gave the woman with him a massive hug! And they were laughing and joking away with each other until the cameras went to the next skater! 52.37 put him 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] out of 2 at the time (the guy that went before him, Alexander SAMARIN, actually finished up 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] in the SP)

2015 Croatia Cup Men's Short Programme Protocols

This is a massive improvement on what he scored in Spain last week. To be precise, an improvement of 7.61 points. Last week, I couldn't understand why he was disappointed with how his SP went, as I thought he did pretty well. NOW I understand why!

I don't want to jinx him, but this is a great opportunity for Josh B to get into the Top 10. He is only 0.68 behind the guy currently in 10[SUP]th[/SUP] (Petr KOTLARIK), and 6.01 behind the guy in 8[SUP]th[/SUP] (Koshiro SHIMADA). On top of that, he has a 3.63 cushion over the guy in 12[SUP]th[/SUP], and 6.57 over the guy in 13[SUP]th[/SUP] (Kai Xiang CHEW)

Josh B will be the fourteenth skater to start in tomorrow's Free Skate. So, second skater in Group 3.

So, make sure you are back sharpish from whatever you are doing during the resurfacing!

More details about his start time and the livestream will be posted tomorrow morning.

:cheer: ALL THE BEST JOSH B!!! :cheer:

CaroLiza_fan
 
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CaroLiza_fan

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ISU Reporter were a bit slower than usual putting today's links up, so apologies that I was not able to post this sooner.

Josh Brown will be the second skater to start in Group 3 of the Men's FS. He is due to start at 19:29:10 local time (CEST), which is 18:29:10 British Summer Time.

But that may change if any of the skaters on before him withdraw.

Here is the link for the Time Schedule:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQ3ZP12UEAAbHgQ.png

And for the Live Streaming (not on air yet):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRE1phtM9QU

:cheer: ALL THE BEST JOSH B!!! :cheer:

CaroLiza_fan
 

CaroLiza_fan

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Apologies for posting this so late. I only got a chance to watch the Men's FS this morning.

Josh Brown finished 18[SUP]th[/SUP] out of 24 in Saturday's Free Skate at the Croatia Cup.

2015 Croatia Cup Men's Free Skate Results

This meant that he slipped from 11[SUP]th[/SUP] after the Short Programme to 13[SUP]th[/SUP] position in the overall results.

2015 Croatia Cup Men's Results

We got a good shot of Josh B when he and the other skaters were waiting to get onto the ice for the Group 1 Warm-Up. He was the second skater to get onto the ice, but by the time he got his skate guards off, he was third to set off on his lap.

As was the case with Josh B’s Free Skate group last week in Spain, EVERYBODY was wearing black except Mattia DALLA TORRE. But, unlike last week, Josh B did get focussed in on. In fact, he was the third skater to be featured.

Here is the direct link to the start of the Warm-Up, within the video of the whole Men's FS competition:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRE1phtM9QU&t=8531

And here is the direct link to Josh B's performance, again within the video of the whole Men's FS competition:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRE1phtM9QU&t=9403

Finally, here is the video just showing Josh B's FS (unfortunately, it doesn't show him getting his results):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRkRCqoFDx8

Just to put into context what I am about to say, I haven’t seen Josh B skate too many times. In fact, this is only the sixth time I have seen him do a routine in competition. But, it is safe to say that this is the worst I have ever seen him skate.

He started off by falling on both of the first 2 elements he did, the triple flip and the triple lutz. And to further compound matters, the flip was under-rotated. After that, nearly everything was popped, and one jump had a hand down. Although, he did do a very nice triple salchow.

During the highlights, Ted Barton commented that Josh B is normally a very good jumper, and that the jumps were starting off great here, but that it was finishing them off that was the problem.

There is only one way to describe how Josh B was after his routine – totally disconsolate. He never spoke once. Mind you, the woman that was standing in for Gurgen made up for it – she never stopped talking to him the whole time the camera was on them! Although Olly Murs was singing a bit too loud to make out what she was saying, it was obvious from her body language that she was trying to cheer him up, and look on the positives. But, it was also obvious that Josh B wasn’t even listening to her.

He scored 77.18, which put him into 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] out of 14 at the time.

2015 Croatia Cup Free Skate Protocols

Although his Free Skate in Zagreb was pretty bad, and he scored a full 6.46 points less than he did in Logroño, it was not a total disaster. In the space of week he was able to improve his ISU Personal Best score for the Short Programme from 44.79 in Logroño to 52.37 in Zagreb. And, thanks to this, he improved his ISU overall Personal Best Score from 128.43 in Logroño to 129.55 in Zagreb.

Plus, he improved his finishing position in both segments, and in the final results.

So, although he was disappointed with how the FS went in Zagreb, this is what he should be taking away from his trip to Croatia.

:cheer: WELL DONE JOSH B!!! :cheer:

CaroLiza_fan
 

CaroLiza_fan

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In my review of the final episode of “Ice Stars”, I promised you that I would be posting another comment with some additional things to do with the series.

Well, here it is!

Firstly, it is time to tie up some loose ends. Starting with the Solo Dancers.

Kershia and Lauren did not really play a big part in the series. They were just there to help out Chloe in trying to find a partner. But, any time they have been on, I have been teasing you that Kershia had an interesting story that I hoped the series would touch on. But they didn’t.

Well, when I looked up her profile on Ice Partner Search, I found that Kershia is actually 19 (she looks younger!) and used to be a Singles Skater, but had to quit because of an injury that meant she couldn’t do the jumps. Before that, she had been able to do double axels cleanly, and had also attempted triple salchows and triple loops in competition. But what I really liked is that at the very end, she commented “There are many great opportunities in Great Britain due to the limited amount of couples who compete in this country”…!

Unfortunately, she’s not wrong! :disapp:

As you may have picked up when I was talking to tiffoc after the series finished, all three of the solo dancers are still on the website. So, I wish them all the best in their search, and hope that they all manage to find the perfect partner.


Secondly, there is the small matter of “Ice Stars” videos. Unfortunately, it is still the case that only the first 2 episodes were uploaded to YouTube. However, there are other videos up there connected with the series.

The week that Episode 4 was being broadcast, Kloe and Josh B were in the CBBC Studios. Somebody kindly recorded all of the segments, and I have posted the links in my review of their studio appearance.

During the series, there were also short videos associated with the series being posted to the CBBC YouTube channel. Most of them were short features on some of the main characters, but there were also some other videos.

31[SUP]st[/SUP] July 2015: “CBBC Ice Stars (Jess Glynne – Don't Be So Hard on Yourself audio)” (CBBC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F1jzcasT9I

11[SUP]th[/SUP] August 2015: “Ice Stars – Meet Charlie – CBBC” (CBBC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH1WNAZAc0o

11[SUP]th[/SUP] August 2015: “Ice skating tips: How to stop – Ice Stars – CBBC” (CBBC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ToZ00LSpDY

18[SUP]th[/SUP] August 2015: “Ice Stars – Meet Josh – CBBC” (CBBC) [Josh B; not Josh from “Jellie”]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGLoWkYlOm0

8[SUP]th[/SUP] September 2015: “Ice Stars – Meet Ellie – CBBC” (CBBC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBnqfVZxl14

15[SUP]th[/SUP] September 2015: “Ice Stars – Meet Khloe – CBBC” (CBBC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brCVoLWbBVc

15[SUP]th[/SUP] September 2015: “Ice Stars Tips: How to do a bun – CBBC” (CBBC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpgNIsH5NF0


Although I didn’t realise it until near the end of the series (I only found out when I went to the NISA website to find out what on Earth happened between Amani Fancy and Christopher Boyadji at the Nebelhorn), the National Ice Skating Association had been running stories about some of the participants during the series.

August 2015: “CBBC Ice Stars Release Music Video Ahead of First Episode” (NISA)
http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index....s-release-music-video-ahead-of-first-episode/

17[SUP]th[/SUP] August 2015: “Behind the scenes with CBBC Ice Stars’ Joshua Tarry” (NISA)
http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index.cfm/news/behind-the-scenes-with-cbbc-ice-stars-joshua-tarry/

25[SUP]th[/SUP] August 2015: “Behind the scenes with CBBC Ice Stars’ Josh Brown” (NISA)
http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index.cfm/news/behind-the-scenes-with-cbbc-ice-stars-josh-brown/

1[SUP]st[/SUP] September 2015: “Behind the scenes with CBBC Ice Stars’ Ellie O’Connell” (NISA)
http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index.cfm/news/behind-the-scenes-with-cbbc-ice-stars-ellie-o-connell/

7[SUP]th[/SUP] September 2015: “Behind the scenes with CBBC Ice Stars’ Rebecca Gillespie” (NISA)
http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index.cfm/news/behind-the-scenes-with-cbbc-ice-stars-rebecca-gillespie/

14[SUP]th[/SUP] September 2015: “Behind the scenes with CBBC Ice Stars’ Isabelle Roberts” (NISA)
http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index.cfm/news/behind-the-scenes-with-cbbc-ice-stars-isabelle-roberts/

21[SUP]st[/SUP] September 2015: “Behind the scenes with CBBC Ice Stars’ Ella-George Cook and Adriano Rossi” (NISA)
http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index....ice-stars-ella-george-cook-and-adriano-rossi/

25[SUP]th[/SUP] September 2015: “Discover Rebecca Gillespie, with 10 weeks until the British Championships” (NISA)
http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index....ith-10-weeks-until-the-british-championships/

28[SUP]th[/SUP] September 2015: “Behind the scenes with CBBC Ice Stars’ Afton” (NISA)
http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index.cfm/news/behind-the-scenes-with-cbbc-ice-stars-afton/

5[SUP]th[/SUP] October 2015: “Behind the scenes with CBBC Ice Stars’ Kloe Rozgonyi” (NISA)
http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index.cfm/news/behind-the-scenes-with-cbbc-ice-stars-kloe-rozgonyi/

12[SUP]th[/SUP] October 2015: “Behind the scenes with CBBC Ice Stars’ Alexia Walker McGrath” (NISA)
http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index....es-with-cbbc-ice-stars-alexia-walker-mcgrath/

Don’t worry, if any more “Ice Stars” participants are featured on the NISA website in the run up to the British Championships, I will add the links here.

As you probably noticed, unlike the BBC (who were being paranoid about child protection), the NISA articles have included the full names of the skaters.

NISA are being very clever here, as they will have realised that a high profile series like “Ice Stars” might attract new sponsors to the sport. And if these sponsors are interested in a particular skater (e.g. a company with Hungarian connections might want to help out Kloe), then having stories about the skaters which include their full names will help the companies do their research and also to get in contact.

Unfortunately, lack of funding has been the main theme in pretty much all discussions about British skating in recent months. So, anything that can help bring money into the sport can only be a good thing.

Hopefully this series will have helped to spread the word about all forms of ice skating, and will help attract new people to the sport, both as participants and as sponsors.

And if it does, then even more kudos has to go to the BBC for having the foresight to commission the series.

Can't wait until the next series is broadcast! (As well as Kloe and Alexia's episode of “Operation Ouch”!)

CaroLiza_fan
 

YesWay

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Looks like Kloe and Josh are both entered in the junior competitions at Volvo Cup in Riga, Latvia, 4-8 November. Lots of other British competitors too! Loads of novice singles, one more in junior Ladies, a junior Dance team (NOT Josh and Ellie), and 3 competitors each in the Mens and Ladies senior competitions.

http://www.isu.org/en/single-and-pa...alendar-of-events/2015/11/volvo-open-cup-28th

Seems there will even be live streaming...
 
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CaroLiza_fan

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Looks like Kloe and Josh are both entered in the junior competitions at Volvo Cup in Riga, Latvia, 4-8 November. Lots of other British competitors too! Loads of novice singles, one more in junior Ladies, a junior Dance team (NOT Josh and Ellie), and 3 competitors each in the Mens and Ladies senior competitions.

http://www.isu.org/en/single-and-pa...alendar-of-events/2015/11/volvo-open-cup-28th

Seems there will even be live streaming...

Yep. I posted about them being amongst the entries when Nirti started the competition thread. But I decided to wait until nearer the time of the competition to comment in here.

And then I forgot all about it! :eek:: :slink: So, it's a good job you did! :bow:

By the way, with all the excitement about Skate America and the Eurosport Player, I also forgot to tape the final episode of "Ice Stars" when it was repeated on Saturday. :bang: So, I guess I'll just have to download it on Sky+, and then record it manually to disc from there. But, it's annoyed me because the sound and picture quality won't be as good as if it were recorded on the Freeview box!

Oh well!

CaroLiza_fan
 

dorispulaski

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Just a reminder Ellie and Josh will be competing at NRW trophy this week.

And there is Livestream so you can watch them.

[h=2]
news.gif
NRW Trophy for Ice Dance 6th - 8th of November[/h]



Here's the lineup:


ADVANCED NOVICES

Name(s) Nation
1 Darya MITRAKOVA / Ilya DRANTUSAU BLR 1
2 Lou TERREAUX / Noe PERRON FRA 2
3 Ellie O'CONNELL / Joshua TARRY GBR 3
4 Julia ALBRECHT / Aleksandar BULATOVIC GER 4
5 Lara LUFT / Asaf KAZIMOV GER
6 Antonia MARTINI / Kai HOFFERICHTER GER
7 Ramona GRIMM / Markus KÖNIG GER
8 Greta ANHEUER / David Bence UJJ HUN 5
9 Oliwia BOROWSKA / Filip BOJANOWSKI POL 6
10 Marta LEWANDOWSKA / Jan LIPSKI POL
11 Ekaterina ANDREEVA / Ivan DESYATOV RUS 7
12 Nika DAYNEKO / Vladislav KASINSKII RUS
13 Irina KHAVRONINA / Nikita TASHIREV RUS
14 Maria MARCHENKO / Egor POZDNIAKOV RUS
15 Angelina ZIMINA / Egor GONCHAROV RUS
16 Zlata IEFYMENKO / Vadym KOLESNYK UKR


And the GS thread

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...nce-6th-8th-of-November&p=1271066#post1271066

And their Fan Fest
http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...onnell-amp-Joshua-Tarry&p=1230779#post1230779
 

CaroLiza_fan

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Great to hear!!! :cheer: :clap: :rock: :party2: :points:

And if you can't wait that long, the episode of “Operation Ouch!” that Kloe and Alexia featured on will be shown TOMORROW at 17:00 GMT on the CBBC Channel.

BBC

Monday 8[SUP]th[/SUP] February 2016
CBBC 17:00 – 17:30 GMT “Operation Ouch!”

Details on how to receive CBBC are in this post. (And, apologies to those who have been trying to tune in CBBC HD. I only discovered there now that I had made a typing error - I put a “9” in the frequency instead of an “8” :eek:: )



Since the first series of “Ice Stars” finished, the British Championships have been held.

Entries / Results Page:
http://www.icephoto.co.uk/British15/

Here is a summary of how the skaters we were introduced to during the series got on (apologies if I have missed anybody out!)


Basic Novice B Men

Jamie (the guy that was also in “Ice Rink On The Estate”) was 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] in the FS and, since there was only one segment, finished 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] overall.


Advanced Novice Ladies

Becky won both segments, and so won the title.
Alexia was 8[SUP]th[/SUP] in the SP and 6[SUP]th[/SUP] in the FS, and finished 8[SUP]th[/SUP] overall.


Junior Ladies

Kloe was 5[SUP]th[/SUP] in the SP and 9[SUP]th[/SUP] in the FS, and finished 8[SUP]th[/SUP] overall.


Junior Men

Josh B. won both segments, and so won the title.


Basic Novice Dance

Ella and Adrianno were 4[SUP]th[/SUP] in both Pattern Dances and also in the FD, and finished 4[SUP]th[/SUP] overall.


Advanced Novice Dance

Ellie and Josh were 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] in both Pattern Dances and also in the FD, and finished 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] overall.

Unfortunately, just over a week ago it was announced on their Facebook page that Ellie and Josh have split. Here is how Princessroja revealed it to us in their Fan Fest.

It is worth reading the subsequent conversation, as Ellie’s Mum made some interesting comments.

So, all the best to them for whatever the future holds.



And finally, apologies for neglecting this thread since the series finished. Watching National Championships and running Predictions Games really took over.

CaroLiza_fan
 
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CaroLiza_fan

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Just a wee reminder that the episode of "Operation Ouch!" which features Kloe and Alexia will start on the CBBC Channel at 17:00 GMT, i.e. 1h from now.

I should warn you, I have read the episode description, and some of the other things on it may not be too pleasant:

"The doctors reveal what happens when you get diarrhoea, Dr Xand meets Alexia and Kloe from CBBC's Ice Stars, and there's a hidden camera experiment."​

Details on how to receive CBBC are in this post.

As usual, I will record it and watch it later.

CaroLiza_fan
 
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