That doesn't make sense to start the series
after the Olympics have started. I too was expecting it to be used to build up to the Olympics. But, I suppose they decided to wait until BBC3 was back as a linear channel, as it would get higher ratings with being more widely available.
Granted, it's not a very common name. BUT, as you say, Fear and Gibson are very well known in figure skating circles now. Everybody with an interest in the sport should know her name and how to pronounce it by now.
Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no idea who he was. I haven't heard that voice before and, as you say, he didn't introduce himself. I thought it might have been the guy that was commentating at the start of the Men's SP (Oliver Wilson), but the voice was very different.
Is it just me, or does he sound like he could be from the other side of the Atlantic? So, maybe somebody over that side of the pond might recognise the voice.
But, imagine getting your co-commentator's name wrong!
When she's (probably) sitting beside you.
I didn't say this before, in case somebody got offended. But, since you have brought it up, Louise's voice was the reason that I watched the World Feed coverage rather than the Eurosport coverage. A commentator that always sounds loud and sharp is not my taste. Of course, it's natural and she can't help it. But, when I had the option of listening to somebody with a more calming voice, I took it.
I wonder - was Chris maybe commentating remotely from home in Chicago. If he was in America and there was connection issues, it could explain why he was late.
I have never been a fan of Simon or Chris commentating on their own. They have always been better when they were commentating together, bouncing off each other. So I cannot understand what the producers are thinking giving them so many solo assignments in recent years.
A thing that became clear many years ago is that Simon and Chris don't watch competitions that they are not commentating on. With Simon, you can understand this - he has other commitments (i.e. commentating on tennis). But you would think that Chris would watch all the Majors at least. After all, figure skating has been his life.
If you ask me, Simon and Chris have not been the same since that season that Eurosport did not have the rights. So many things changed in that time that they are struggling to get familiarised with the way things are now. Between them, they used to be able to fill each others' gaps in knowledge. But now the gaps have grown and their combined knowledge is not enough to fill the gaps completely.
In my ideal world, the ISU would get a permanent commentatary team for the World Feed coverage, and Simon and Chris would go back to commentating together on British Eurosport.
Having proved so popular with the fans, Mark would seem to be the perfect candidate for the World Feed... except for his "Dancing On Ice" commitments. But, from reading your comments about the first couple of episodes of the current series, the programme seems to be going downhill fast. So, it might be prudent for him to retire from it after this series, before it gets even worse and starts to tarnish him.
As I've said many times, I prefer having 2 commentators working together, so that we get different opinions and perspectives. To be honest, Ted's commentary in the Junior GP's has sounded tired for a couple of years. But, whenever he has had somebody sitting beside him, it has improved things.
With that in mind, I would love to see the ISU bring PJ Kwong into their commentary team, to sit alongside Mark in Seniors and / or Ted in Juniors. And maybe to fly solo if either of them is not available.
But, that is another discussion.
CaroLiza_fan
