Underplayed Gems

The Joy of Text (2001)

The Joy of Text poster
Directed by
Peter Orton
Genre
documentary film
Country
United Kingdom
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A themed night of TV programmes on BBC One from 2001 all about text messaging. It includes a variety show with celebrity guests and games, a documentary on odd uses of texting, and a segment on the darker side of the practice.

datedgimmickylightheartedcheesyunpolishedtrivialepisodic

What happens

The Joy of Text was a themed night of television programmes centred on text messaging, shown on BBC One. It was broadcast on 9 June 2001, and featured three TV programmes: The Joy of Text: Live, Text Maniacs and X Text. The first programme, The Joy of Text: Live, was a 40-minute entertainment variety show hosted by Ulrika Jonsson and Terry Alderton, featuring celebrity guests and text-related games. This was followed by Text Maniacs, a documentary looking at surprising examples of text messaging use. X Text, the final programme, looked at the seedier side of texting. The Joy of Text received negative reviews from media commentators, who criticised the night for its poor script and lack of entertaining content. Fewer than 3 million viewers tuned into the series. Viewers sent in a record 500,000 text messages during the show, some of which were compiled to form a tie-in book, also titled The Joy of Text. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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