We know the outlines of the story of television. In the early 20th century, great minds across the globe, like Scotsman John Logie Baird, German Paul Nipkow, and American Philo T. Farnsworth were trying to combine motion pictures and radio broadcasts, with varying success. Which technology was best had to be decided before anyone would invest in a vast infrastructure of broadcasting networks, content, and receivers, and then selling to idea to the public. These competing systems were put on hold for World War II, and then Farnsworth's electronic television system emerged victorious. But let's back up to 1939, when a British boy's magazine printed an article about "television." The British were proponents of John Logie Baird's mechanical television system, and the history the medium was still short. When no one had a receiver, they turned to "television theaters."
Northern holiday crowds at Blackpool and Morecambe in July, 1934, were the first to test the pleasures of real television theatres in which reproductions of events happening up to 20 miles away were projected on the screen. A slight last-minute hitch prevented Morecambe's Television Theatre opening on the day planned, so for a short while the Blackpool venture, located inconspicuously near the Central Pier, stood unchallenged as the only place in Britain where the public could enter a darkened room and see a televised moving picture on the screen.
The inventor of the apparatus used at Morecambe was Mr. F. Cockcroft Taylor.
Actors and actresses who were willing to permit themselves to be televised in 1934, had, in the studio, to make-up like cannibals in full war paint. First they had to paint their faces dead white, then thick blue lines were put down the sides of their noses to bring that part of the face out properly. Their eyelids had to be painted mauve, their lips blue, and their eyebrows were made enormously big and heavy, like George Robey's. The rest of their faces were left dead white.
By 1939, things had improved somewhat. Read a contemporary account of early television in Britain at Malcolm's Musings: Strange but True. -via Strange Company
See also: TV's Father: Philo T. Farnsworth and Nazi TV.
Comments (1)
And anybody who introduces themselves by relating what books and comics they've read recently seems pretty danged good to me (actually I'm currently trying to get into Chia Mellville's Perdito Street Station myself, I get the feeling I -will- enjoy it if I manage to get through the first chapter ...) anyway, hello! =)
I unlocked a short video. The bionic woman turns around while in a dark alley to see a thug come out. She begins to assess him with her bionic eye with a split screen effect (left side is regular/right side is bionic assessment). Her assessment show a knife in his right hand. He walks toward her and asks if she is looking for something. He slashes at her and she grabs his hand, knocks the knife up into the air, knocks thug onto his back, catches knife out of air, and puts it to thug's neck. This is done quickly in a fluid motion but not so fast as to not catch it.
I tried to get a better score to see if it would unlock more or better stuff, but I couldn't.
I went back and did it again. After getting 82%, I unlocked another short video. One guy turns to another and asks how long til she's combat ready. The other replies that she's a civilian. That was it two whole lines.
Don't spoil it for the next no-prize winner.
Do I get a cookie?
I messed up the hearing thing, but I got 75% straight for the first 3 tests...