Olympics

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Lady Gaga was the surprise first performance act. There was speculation about whether she'd be in there, but there hadn't been any announcements or confirmation about any of the acts I don't think.

One of NBC's commentator teams along the Seine is Hoda and...Snoop, lol

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

So, heavy metal with pyro effects and a headless Marie Antoinette was not on my Olympics bingo card. ^^

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

I don't know how other countries' networks are handling it so far, but NBC is struggling a little bit with the show. Most of the performances in Paris are very dispersed and chaotic, there's a lot going on, but it's going on in several places, and at times it seems like NBC doesn't quite know what to watch and from what angle. Stadium-bound shows are definitely better for TV I think.

The running intermezzo with the unknown Revolutionary carrying the Olympic torch is great though, it's doing a better job of showing off the city than a lot of OC's.

I also really like that the acts are interspersed with the athlete delegations on the river. In every other Olympics I've seen, there's the shows as a bulk segment, then the parade of nations as a very long bulk segment, and then the actual opening formalities and then maybe a chaser performance at the end. In Paris it's act, a few nations, act, a few nations, act, and so on. I like it.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Dude flawlessly playing piano in the pouring rain is amazing and kind of badass. That poor piano, though...

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Sororité! Wow.

A bunch of golden statues of important women from French history emerged from columns in several places around the city. There were on-screen graphics explaining who they were and what they did (an original part of the program, not inserted by NBC).

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Mongolia's OC uniforms are fire.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Yes. The answer is yes.

 

[Isabeau]

Ok I’m tuning in (I was out). I’ll go back later to watch from the beginning later. CBC for me.

Ladies dancing in heels ha ha I’m guessing because fashion= France?

 

[Isabeau]

Ok so we’re at the Zs, so I missed G Greece to Z, but USA has just appeared and I haven’t missed Canada woot!

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

You missed some fun stuff, lol. Definitely worth a go-back-and-watch I think.

 

[Isabeau]

Yeah I can see that omg haha Wild

i think I also missed Canada go by, I misunderstood how the order goes.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

IIRC, it's Greece first (always), and France last (host country, always), and everyone between is in alphabetical order, in the language of the host nation.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

On social media I've been seeing a whole lot about this, which was evidently a whole dance number:

But it was completely omitted in NBC's coverage. In fact a whole lot of things went on at that particular stage - a pedestrian bridge temporarily converted into a fashion show runway - and NBC never spent more than a few seconds at a time looking at it. I think it's possibly because of the several very prominently gender-subversive models among the performers. What a shame.

 

[Isabeau]

Yeah I saw some of that!

I loved the woman on a horse “galloping” on the Seine

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Yeah that was great!

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Sigh. NBC completely missed or blew off the handoff of the torch from the unknown Revolutionary to the designated athletes for the last few steps to the cauldron. They came back from commercial break right to Zidane already carrying the torch. If the masked carrier's identity was ever finally revealed, American viewers didn't get to see it.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Paris's cauldron!!!

 

[Isabeau]

There was a rumour going around that Céline was going to perform and when a few notes started during the torch passing, I KNEW it would be her singing it. It’s one of Edith Piaf’s best songs, always makes me tear up. Imagine singing that in the Eiffel Tower.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

That's the first time Dion has performed in public in what, three or four years? It was fantastic!