TV Commentators

[skchen]

I must commend Gillian Clark and Charmaine for their excellent and at times explosive commentaries of the just-concluded 2009 Sudirman Cup World Team Badminton Championship held in Guangzhou, China. They were just fantastic.The early-round commentaries by others were 'so so'. The other commentator who is also very good is John Burgess but unfortunately he did not comment for this tournament.
Gillian and Charmaine were also very gracious in offering their best wishes to Julia Wong, the Malaysian woman singles player, for a speedy recovery from her knee operation.


:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[madbad]

I must commend Gillian Clark and Charmaine for their excellent and at times explosive commentaries of the just-concluded 2009 Sudirman Cup World Team Badminton Championship held in Guangzhou, China. They were just fantastic.The early-round commentaries by others were 'so so'. The other commentator who is also very good is John Burgess but unfortunately he did not comment for this tournament.
Gillian and Charmaine were also very gracious in offering their best wishes to Julia Wong, the Malaysian woman singles player, for a speedy recovery from her knee operation.


:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

I think many would agree that Gillian Clark is one of the best in the business. Haven't really heard much from Charmaine Reid as a commentator (odd since she is a fellow Canuck).

As for Burgess, aka "that guy" to many of his detractors, you either love him or hate him. Personally I shade towards the former. At least he brings some enthusiasm to the table; have you heard some of them drab "point by point" commentators... UGH!

[viver]

I do miss Hoyer-Larsen/Morten Frost analysis... ;)

[RedShuttle]

Gillian Clark is fine but she goes over the top a bit too often.

She often proclaims "how in the world did he do that?" on shots that even intermediate amateurs would make from time to time.

[bananakid]

A good commentator is one who knows when to talk and when not to talk during the course of the match, and Gillian is very good at it.:)

On the other hand, the worst commentator of all is not "that guy", but the freak male Chinese commentator who talks about crap non-stop during THE ENTIRE MATCH, just view the Cai/Fu vs INA pair during the Sudirman cup, and I couldn't even hear the sound of the shuttlecock being hit simply because of his annoying voice and non-stop non-sense.:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[**KZ**]

hah...yeah....the chinese commentator....he talks too much and knows little....plus....he cant pronounce names properly...

[madbad]

hah...yeah....the chinese commentator....he talks too much and knows little....plus....he cant pronounce names properly...

Perfect qualifications for a commentary job, don't you think? :rolleyes::D

[tmtay]

I watch the game on global tv. The commentator cannot spell the player name correctly, each time he pronounce the player name is always changing and end up with a funny name. And he also like to mistaken the player's nationality.
Thanks god on the final match they change the commentator.

[volcom]

A good commentator is one who knows when to talk and when not to talk during the course of the match, and Gillian is very good at it.:)

On the other hand, the worst commentator of all is not "that guy", but the freak male Chinese commentator who talks about crap non-stop during THE ENTIRE MATCH, just view the Cai/Fu vs INA pair during the Sudirman cup, and I couldn't even hear the sound of the shuttlecock being hit simply because of his annoying voice and non-stop non-sense.:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
Which channel??

I always enjoyed listening to ZJH's insights especially in the fianls, on CCTV.

[bananakid]

Which channel??

I always enjoyed listening to ZJH's insights especially in the fianls, on CCTV.


I don't know which channel it is, but if you download the match I mentioned(Cai/Fu vs Ina pair) in my earlier post then you will know what I mean.
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=a51d0263ce178baf8066db0503cf4f2cb878de78 5cc0f59e

Obviously the quality of commentating is way better when they have former badminton greats like ZJH to give actual "expert" analysis on the match.:cool:

However, when that annoying Chinese commentator starts telling you how he plays and stuff that has nothing to do with the match itself, then it begins to really piss me off.

[george@chongwei]

can they challenge hasbullah awang?:D

[robin7]

I have to agree that Gillian Clark and John Burgess are the best English commentators I've heard so far.

But one thing that I can stand with Gillian is that she focuses too much on LD during every match of LD.

During LD-PSH match, she was saying "LD is such a character and he's so fun to watch...." when LD dove and failed to retrieve a shot by PSH.

She questioned "It was called out?" when LD's return just missed the line but commented "It was very close!" when the replay showed LD's return missed the line but was called in.

Well, I believe she is a huge fan of LD.

[lagigolo]

I did hear her say how good looking he is.

[scherzando]

I watch the game on global tv. The commentator cannot spell the player name correctly, each time he pronounce the player name is always changing and end up with a funny name. And he also like to mistaken the player's nationality.
Thanks god on the final match they change the commentator.

He was hilarious! :D Did anyone else watch the SF on Global TV? Well, he might not have been professional or insightful (or useful), but it was just hilarious. He pronounced almost all the names wrongly and the funniest was when he tried to pronounce KKK's name. He came up with at least 5 ways of pronouncing it, I kid you not. :p (well, ok, maybe 3)

Oh well, he was a good laugh. (And did you hear the comment he made about XXF being LD's gf? LOLOLOL. His whole sentence was screwed up! Talk about grammar!) Oh let's not forget he also did numerous mistakes about the scores!



I did hear her say how good looking he is.

Ooh someone has a crush. :p LOL.

[koo_fan]

I did hear her say how good looking he is.
Ouh.. I am surprised she can be so fair and not being irritating when doing commentary on LD's game, if she is indeed a fan of him. Good. So professional.

And i'd say en ex-player could always be a perfect commentator when they were also provided with the talent. They'd be perfect! Who's next? Wong Choon Han?

[ctjcad]

can they challenge hasbullah awang?:D
..probably..For one Oldhand, his equivalent is probably John Burgess..;)

As for the Global TV commentator, any video of him on the mic??..:confused:

[kwun]

i for one have never been able to stand Gillian Clark. she tend to over-dramatize and over-sensationalize trivial issues.

she also used to be very anti-China. even though she seems to try to be neutral, you can tell her commentating has been a bit hostile to the Chinese, be it that she always tend to support the non-China side, or trying to down play the Chinese.

in recent years, however, she has slowly accepted the fact that it was futile and has since gone with the flow a bit more.

to really see what a good commentator is, we should look towards more professional commentators in the US and in other sports. little that i watch other sports like NBA/NFL, whenever i do, i always find their commentating much more professional than anybody have done in badminton.

another excellent commentator is cycling commentator Phil Liggett, who can make a sport as monotonous as pedalling from point A to point B interesting. :)

[skchen]

Ouh.. I am surprised she can be so fair and not being irritating when doing commentary on LD's game, if she is indeed a fan of him. Good. So professional.

And i'd say en ex-player could always be a perfect commentator when they were also provided with the talent. They'd be perfect! Who's next? Wong Choon Han?

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WCH can only be a 'support-commentator'. He just does'nt have the ummph nor the vocabulary or the command of the English language of Gillian or John Burgess to be a 'stand-alone' commentator . No doubt he knows everything about badminton but that is not enough. Sorry.

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:


__________________________________________________ ___________

[koo_fan]

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WCH can only be a 'support-commentator'. He just does'nt have the ummph nor the vocabulary or the command of the English language of Gillian or John Burgess to be a 'stand-alone' commentator . No doubt he knows everything about badminton but that is not enough. Sorry.

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:


__________________________________________________ ___________
Ok, jokes aside. Wong Choon Hann is not the man. I loves his spirit but he's not for the job.

[robin7]

WCH can only be a 'support-commentator'. He just does'nt have the ummph nor the vocabulary or the command of the English language of Gillian or John Burgess to be a 'stand-alone' commentator . No doubt he knows everything about badminton but that is not enough. Sorry.
It's always a challenge for a non-English speaking person to do commentary in English.

[koo_fan]

It's always a challenge for a non-English speaking person to do commentary in English.
I think Hasbullah Awang will support you. ~.
Wong Choon Han,a man with all good facts about Badminton, but judging from his commentary task in the past, he is not fit for that job.

[Dreamzz]

yup, gillian over emphasises a lot on some of the points, but at least she knows what shots the players are trying to execute and does explain each player's strengths and weaknesses (though this is repeated constantly). john, on the other hand, is amusing at first but very quickly becomes boring and then down right annoying. what i would give for an application to remove the commentary and just listen to the players hitting the shuttle.

[skchen]

yup, gillian over emphasises a lot on some of the points, but at least she knows what shots the players are trying to execute and does explain each player's strengths and weaknesses (though this is repeated constantly). john, on the other hand, is amusing at first but very quickly becomes boring and then down right annoying. what i would give for an application to remove the commentary and just listen to the players hitting the shuttle.


__________________________________________________ ___________

That would be very boring just watching the players' hitting the shuttles. :(
As regards John, he is not only good in commentating on badminton matches but also on other sports like table-tennis, rugby, etc., and he is in great demand. He recently commentated on the matches of the 2009 World Table Tennis Championships held in Yokohama, Japan, from 28 April to 5 May 2009.

__________________________________________________ ______________

[pjswift]

Gillian Clark is better than unknown commentators. Like John Burgess, they both share one common prerequisite : enthusiasm. She's better than JB because she talks at the right time compared to JB which is almost all the time (but improving).
However she's a horror at commentating LD matches. I can tell who's winning by just listening to her volume. If LD's winning, she can match JB in terms of non-stop energy. If LD's losing, she suddenly goes quiet. Which was what happened in SO. Started by raving over LD and ended whimpering.
Charmaine did a good job tempering her LDisms.
JB does a better job commentating LD matches. At least he's neutral and does not assume a match outcome. That way, the commentator does not lose face.

[bananakid]

Gillian Clark is better than unknown commentators. Like John Burgess, they both share one common prerequisite : enthusiasm. She's better than JB because she talks at the right time compared to JB which is almost all the time (but improving).
However she's a horror at commentating LD matches. I can tell who's winning by just listening to her volume. If LD's winning, she can match JB in terms of non-stop energy. If LD's losing, she suddenly goes quiet. Which was what happened in SO. Started by raving over LD and ended whimpering.
Charmaine did a good job tempering her LDisms.
JB does a better job commentating LD matches. At least he's neutral and does not assume a match outcome. That way, the commentator does not lose face.


Come on... JB is no less a bolehian as X Ball, and how can you call him neutral at all.:confused:

[george@chongwei]

i for one have never been able to stand Gillian Clark. she tend to over-dramatize and over-sensationalize trivial issues.

she also used to be very anti-China. even though she seems to try to be neutral, you can tell her commentating has been a bit hostile to the Chinese, be it that she always tend to support the non-China side, or trying to down play the Chinese.

in recent years, however, she has slowly accepted the fact that it was futile and has since gone with the flow a bit more.

to really see what a good commentator is, we should look towards more professional commentators in the US and in other sports. little that i watch other sports like NBA/NFL, whenever i do, i always find their commentating much more professional than anybody have done in badminton.

another excellent commentator is cycling commentator Phil Liggett, who can make a sport as monotonous as pedalling from point A to point B interesting. :)
I hope gill clark wont see this:D

[viver]

For commentators, I do like Morten Frost or Hoyer Larssen as they provide excellent analysis and explanation on what's happening during the match. On the Chinese side, most are good i.e. Zhao Jianhua. The lady doing the commentataries in Cantonese is very good analysing the matches as well.

Maybe is me, I have a feeling that Gillian Clark is sometimes lost as what's happening on the court - compare her comments with the analysis at the same time from either MF or HL. Regarding the 'other guy', better not even mention about it...

[madbad]

For commentators, I do like Morten Frost or Hoyer Larssen as they provide excellent analysis and explanation on what's happening during the match. On the Chinese side, most are good i.e. Zhao Jianhua. The lady doing the commentataries in Cantonese is very good analysing the matches as well.

Maybe is me, I have a feeling that Gillian Clark is sometimes lost as what's happening on the court - compare her comments with the analysis at the same time from either MF or HL. Regarding the 'other guy', better not even mention about it...

There is a difference between commentating and analysing. That's why in most North American pro sports there is a team made up of a commentator, a colour guy and one or two expert analysts. Gillian Clark and John Burgess would serve the role of commentator for the most part. At least Burgess does not pretend to be what he's not (an expert analyst)

[RedShuttle]

Cai Yun has been around for a long time. Why can't Gillian Clark pronounce his name properly as "Chai" instead of "Kai"? To her credit, she does pronounce HHB's name correctly as "Her" instead of "Hee".

[phaarix]

My favourite is Gill Clark. She never seems to annoy me, and often commentates with other former pro players, which makes it interesting! She doesn't speak over them and gives them a chance to talk as well. John Burgess tends to do that though... but I enjoy listening to him just because I find it funny how many mistakes he can make in a single match :D.

[viver]

I agree with you that commenting is different from analyzing. However I don't understand her comments such as 'what on earth was he/she thinking...'; 'how this shot was done', etc... Either a commentator does not have to know anything what he/she is talking about or at least must provide some insights of what's going on.

A certain part of a video just watched, a player attacks a net shot and fails, and heard she commenting 'what on earth was he/she thinking about??'. I don't expect such comment from an experienced commentator and ex-professional player like her.



There is a difference between commentating and analysing. That's why in most North American pro sports there is a team made up of a commentator, a colour guy and one or two expert analysts. Gillian Clark and John Burgess would serve the role of commentator for the most part. At least Burgess does not pretend to be what he's not (an expert analyst)

[ctjcad]

..there are a lot of commentators in this similar thread below:;)
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59409

[skchen]

Cai Yun has been around for a long time. Why can't Gillian Clark pronounce his name properly as "Chai" instead of "Kai"? To her credit, she does pronounce HHB's name correctly as "Her" instead of "Hee".

__________________________________________________ _________


You are right Gill Clark cannot pronounce Cai as 'Chai' but as 'Kai'. It's just like 'cari' in Bahasa Malaysia which is pronounced 'chari' and not 'kari'. The 'h' is purposely left blank.
By the way how do you prononce 'Kuncoro'? Is it pronounced as 'Kunchoro' or as 'Kunkoro'? The English commentators pronounce differently.

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:

__________________________________________________ _____________

[Smautf]

I really like John Burgess - for me his defining moment was the famous LHI/LD MS final of the KO 2008 where he captured the drama of the closing rallies without lapsing into melodrama.

Morten Frost's analytical comments are always interesting - what a fab coach he must be!

Of the others, Bobby Milroy gives an expert view from a perspective which really brings home to average club players (like me) the reality of the quality of the international game, and Simon Archer from England gives intelligent commentary and has a good eye for what's going on behind the shots - I'd like to hear more of these two. English coach Andy Wood has occasionally guested - again very insightful.


Cheers,

Smautf

[cooler]

A good commentator is one who knows when to talk and when not to talk during the course of the match, and Gillian is very good at it.:)

On the other hand, the worst commentator of all is not "that guy", but the freak male Chinese commentator who talks about crap non-stop during THE ENTIRE MATCH, just view the Cai/Fu vs INA pair during the Sudirman cup, and I couldn't even hear the sound of the shuttlecock being hit simply because of his annoying voice and non-stop non-sense.:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
hahaha, i second that. Sometime i even overhear them talking about lin dan in the MD games lol

[Wong8Egg]

However she's a horror at commentating LD matches. I can tell who's winning by just listening to her volume. If LD's winning, she can match JB in terms of non-stop energy. If LD's losing, she suddenly goes quiet. Which was what happened in SO. Started by raving over LD and ended whimpering.
Charmaine did a good job tempering her LDisms.
JB does a better job commentating LD matches. At least he's neutral and does not assume a match outcome. That way, the commentator does not lose face.

Your post just reflected how bias you're. Talking about JB is neutral. :D:D:D

[Joyous]

It appears to me that some fans will deem a commentator lousy if he/she compliments a player that they don't like. GC has always try to play down the 'bad' things that we see on TV and highlight the good points of all players. And for that I applaud her for trying to promote 'goodwill & harmony' amongst all lately.

JB has a good vocab, very descriptive & is a die-hard LCW & Boleh Land fans. But he sometimes pre-empt - calling a shot in when it's out, thinking that players will switch courts when the game is not over yet. But he apologizes for those mistakes. One can sense that his support is normally with opponents playing against the Chinese & that is his prerogative. Quoting & unquoting him - he has a soft spot for LD.

At the recent SC 09, it was good to hear the comments of players made by P Erik of Denmark whilst watching the semi between MAS/CHN....