DS Forums

 
 

Nostalgic for Fame Academy


 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 08-03-2007, 15:47
Citizen Sputnik
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 372

Watching the celeb FA, has anyone else suddenly remembered how great Fame Academy actually was?

With X Factor churning out bland acts by the bucketload who are quickly forgotten, I love the fact that FA actively encouraged students to write their own material, play their own instruments, and become fully fledged artists. I'd much rather see FA on our screens now instead of the turgid X Factor

It's just a shame that, like X Factor, pretty much nobody from the show went on to much success. What is really frustrating is that Alex Parks, who won series 2, didn't go on to much success, considering she's one of the most talented singer-songwriters I've ever head. Her last album was truly sensational.
Citizen Sputnik is offline  
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 08-03-2007, 16:54
moogester
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 15,042
I adored FA, much more than X Factor and Pop Idol. I find it ironic how Alex Parks was feted in the academy with absolutely everyone telling us how big she was going to be
moogester is offline  
Old 08-03-2007, 17:12
stargirl 2
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,615
i wanted Alistair Griffin to win instead of Alex Parks, thought he had a fab voice then and still do. hes doing solo stuff and also fronting a band called Albion at the moment, checkout the websites you wont be disappointed.
stargirl 2 is offline  
Old 08-03-2007, 17:19
jtnorth
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 4,491
Just got to say I have never been as addicted to anything as I was to the first series of Fame Academy. I would sit through hours of live streaming just in the hope of seeing Malachi and Ainslie messing about or making up a song. It was such brilliant TV.
jtnorth is offline  
Old 08-03-2007, 17:33
Innocent_fairy
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Elusive
Posts: 5,698
This is going to sound unbelievably sad, but IMO Fame Academy was the best show the BBC have ever shown (the first series more than the second for me). I remember happening upon one of the highlight shows on a Tuesday night about a week into the series and thinking "Ooooh this looks good". I didn't watch a Friday night show until the one where Marli got voted off. After that I was addicted I even bought the book for goodness sake! I only got the CD of the second series (which I didn't think was so good, due to the fact there were too many contestants IMO - even though I think there was only one more than in series one!) I still loved it though, and am (still) convinced Carolynne should have won it!
Fame Academy brings back happy memories of being carefree and younger -
although I think if they were to try and bring it back now, although I would be an avid viewer, I don't think it would do so well in the ratings - possibly because people want to see more of shows where the winners come out "ready made". e.g. The X Factor - but who am I to talk? Look at my location!
I have spent all day remembering the good old days of FA.......round my parts I appear to be the only one
(Told you I'd look sad....)
Innocent_fairy is offline  
Old 08-03-2007, 17:37
Jeanie
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Kent
Posts: 4,393
Originally Posted by jtnorth
Just got to say I have never been as addicted to anything as I was to the first series of Fame Academy. I would sit through hours of live streaming just in the hope of seeing Malachi and Ainslie messing about or making up a song. It was such brilliant TV.
Same here. Absolutely my favourite reality tv show ever. It had everything - humour, trauma, drama, romance, real strong friendships, rivalry and some amazing talent. Some beautiful songs were written during the show.

Katie's pink slippers and crush on Kevin, Sinead's relationship with Malachi, Lemar's amazing vocals, Marli's desperation and Ainslie having conversations with the squirrels. Blimey even think of David Sneddon with some fondness - and I couldn't stand him at the time!

Still have some VHS recordings of the live feed and performances - remember Ainslie and Malachi's farmer routine and the wonderful Bad Bad Butcher which became Fine Fine Waitress at one point.

Oh it was wonderful.......*wistful sigh*
Jeanie is offline  
Old 08-03-2007, 17:39
Innocent_fairy
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Elusive
Posts: 5,698
Originally Posted by Jeanie


Still have some VHS recordings of the live feed and performances - remember Ainslie and Malachi's farmer routine and the wonderful Bad Bad Butcher which became Fine Fine Waitress at one point.

Oh it was wonderful.......*wistful sigh*
*crys with joy*
Innocent_fairy is offline  
Old 08-03-2007, 23:22
AcerBen
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 13,143
Bring it back I don't like these celebrity versions because they don't go on for long enough for it to be worth while getting into, none of them can sing and ultimately there is no point to the thing because there is no album to buy.

However whilst staying in France I got hooked on Star Academy - honestly you guys missed out. Frigging enormous stage with proper stageshow-esque choreographies, 3 hour Friday night shows plus daily highlights. Half a dozen star guests every week who come on to sing with the students. Just amazing. If the BBC could do it half as good it would be a massive hit.
AcerBen is offline  
Old 08-03-2007, 23:34
billiesmith
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: on the edge of nowhere
Posts: 7,227
Originally Posted by Jeanie
Same here. Absolutely my favourite reality tv show ever. It had everything - humour, trauma, drama, romance, real strong friendships, rivalry and some amazing talent. Some beautiful songs were written during the show.

Katie's pink slippers and crush on Kevin, Sinead's relationship with Malachi, Lemar's amazing vocals, Marli's desperation and Ainslie having conversations with the squirrels. Blimey even think of David Sneddon with some fondness - and I couldn't stand him at the time!

Still have some VHS recordings of the live feed and performances - remember Ainslie and Malachi's farmer routine and the wonderful Bad Bad Butcher which became Fine Fine Waitress at one point.

Oh it was wonderful.......*wistful sigh*
Jeanie, thanks for that wonderfully evocative post I too am now feeling wistful.
billiesmith is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 02:09
tally
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 21,534
Originally Posted by billiesmith
Jeanie, thanks for that wonderfully evocative post I too am now feeling wistful.
Me too. I was totally hooked on FA1. I have a box of videos of the show, sadly not within reach at the moment.

The talent they had in that first series was fabulous. If only the beeb had believed in it and treated it like SCD I think it would have got much better ratings. I even used to record the live streaming. and it was what got me finally joining DS.

It is, in my opinion, the all time best Reality Series ever.

Unlike FA Lite, aka FA2 which looked cheap and shoddy by comparison.

I can remember us all dashing to do our shopping and clean the house on Thursday afternoons as that was the one time in the week when they were travelling to Shepperton and there was nothing on Live Streaming.

It seems a long time since Katie, Pippa, the uppity Camilla and the revolting Nigel et all graced our screens.

As for Sinead, Ainsley and Malachi, you couldn't have written a better script than the antics they got up to. Television gold.

Sadly, it suffered from being compared to Pop Idol and its runaway success. If it had come out before PI, I think it would have been unbelievably popular. Instead it was slated as a pale imitation of PI.

Which it was anything but. Saturday night jamming used to be a must record. There's some great tunes and performances in those hours.

I've never watched the birth of a song before. "Keep Me A Secret" was like the birth of something that you hoped would be much bigger.

I still love it, as I do Sinead and Malachi's CD's (Mals 2nd one rather than the pap they made him release straight after FA finished)

Nostalgia's a wonderful thing *sigh*
tally is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 06:29
Mrs Cee Jay
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 957
I know Richard Park has been a judge from the beginning. Please can someone tell me , who the judges were from all the previous series?
Mrs Cee Jay is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 08:32
ark
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West of London
Posts: 2,994
Yes, watching CFA has made me nostalgic for FA - on streaming last night Carrie was talking during the playback/analysis - she said "When we do the REAL Fame Academy" - which made me hope for a 3rd, even thought I know its not going to happen.

She then went on to describe that they always had a "crooner" who sang beautifully, and an "indie boy" who sang out of tune, yet it was the indie boy that the music industry wanted! reminded me of Ainslie!
ark is offline Follow this poster on Twitter  
Old 09-03-2007, 08:59
cherry o
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 12,904
I only watched Fame Academy 2, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and is probably the reality show I most enjoyed watching.
Never a boring moment as there was always something happening.

I so wish they would do another "non celeb" one, but do not think there is much chance of that happening, sadly.
cherry o is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 10:15
tomorrow
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: WHATM - RIP BB
Posts: 31,478
Originally Posted by AcerBen
If the BBC could do it half as good it would be a massive hit.
What surprises me is that the BBC would rather have celebrity shows for dancing / singing / etc ... and show it prime time every Saturday evening - yet not even really try with a show like Fame Academy ...

Nobody was really interested in Fame academy - they should have had real stars doing the Master Classes ... for example and not have the tutors play such a huge role at the nightly shows ....
tomorrow is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 10:38
moogester
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 15,042
Originally Posted by tomorrow

Nobody was really interested in Fame academy - they should have had real stars doing the Master Classes ... for example and not have the tutors play such a huge role at the nightly shows ....
Who remembers Mariah Carey doing a masterclass and all the fairy lights they had to put up for her And Richard Park creeping up to Ronan Keating
moogester is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 10:56
CPA
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: on my comp
Posts: 1,705
FA 1 Was the ultimate for me.
It was the best reality show I've seen and not even FA2 can be compared to the friendships we saw blossom and the sheer hard work we saw those students go through. In FA2 they challanged Kevins authority in getting them up and working hard at those early morning classes, and for me there was too much outside interference.
Kevin and Carry stayed on a number of occasions in FA1 just nattering to the students and they had a genuine fondness for them that I didn't see in FA2!
It's just typical that the BBC scrapped such a great format
CPA is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 11:32
tally
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 21,534
Hiya CPA. This is great. All the original FAers like you, Acer Ben and ark etc posting again.

I know Richard Park has been a judge from the beginning. Please can someone tell me , who the judges were from all the previous series?
This was the one thing they got wrong in the two series. They had Parky, Carrie and David as judges. In Series 2, Robin Gibb joined them and eventually played a major part in Alistair Griffin's career. (*cough* loathed him so I cant be impartial )

But after teaching them all day, to have the Grants tearing them apart in the Live Show, undermined any trust they had built up.

This is much better. Even the Revell-Horwood.
tally is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 13:24
CPA
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: on my comp
Posts: 1,705
Hi Tally
I hope you are well x
oh yes those were great days when most of us posters agreed with each other LOL
I agree about the judging though... That was the one single thing that was wrong about FA1 format in my mind. well...... that and the obvious star treatment for Lemar. LOL
If they could just get the FA1 format with Carrie and David not judging like now...... Can you imagine what a great show it would be???
CPA is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 13:26
CPA
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: on my comp
Posts: 1,705
oo one thing though Tally. David wasn't in FA1. it was Kevin who was a judge too
CPA is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 13:29
Jimmy Thicker
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 168
The great thing about Fame Academy is that the winners went on to become huge successes and household names.

Like, that whatsisname, and who was it won the second one?
Jimmy Thicker is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 13:31
tomorrow
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: WHATM - RIP BB
Posts: 31,478
I've still got many of the mp3s for FA1 .....



And even today ... cannot say the name "Jeremy" without doing it sort of Katie style ... if you know what I mean - Jeremeeeee

Last edited by tomorrow : 09-03-2007 at 13:37.
tomorrow is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 13:35
CPA
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: on my comp
Posts: 1,705
Originally Posted by Jimmy Thicker
The great thing about Fame Academy is that the winners went on to become huge successes and household names.

Like, that whatsisname, and who was it won the second one?
The fact that they became household names or not is not what made FA1 so good.
the Show itself on entertainment value and the format is what we are talking about. Nothing to do with the fame or lack of fame afterwards
We wanted them to do well and because they had no backing from the record company after the show didn't mean there was no talent.
As I said ........ most of the posters got on as well and the friendships we all made talking about the show.
It beats anything before or since.
there were a lot fewer cynical remarks back then
CPA is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 13:36
CPA
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: on my comp
Posts: 1,705
Originally Posted by tomorrow
I've still got many of the mp3s for FA1 .....

I've still got a few of Kevins work outs on video !!!!
CPA is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 13:41
tomorrow
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: WHATM - RIP BB
Posts: 31,478
Originally Posted by CPA
I've still got a few of Kevins work outs on video !!!!
Me too ... I need to get them on to disc .... and I've taped Kevin's class yesterday (but not seen it yet)

tomorrow is offline  
Old 09-03-2007, 13:44
Eternal Life
 
Posts: n/a
I really liked FA. I thought it was better than X Factor and did so much more with the acts. Whatever happened to Alistair?
 
 
 




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 12:54.