Paul

Paul: yay or nay?

  • Yay

    Votes: 68 47.6%
  • Nay

    Votes: 75 52.4%

  • Total voters
    143
  • Poll closed .

alchemy void

Post-its for the win.
Messages
27,291
Scrolling through Twitter today, I was a little surprised by the visceral reaction to Paul's commentary at 4CC.

They think he's clueless, boring, talks too much, lacks precision, mispronounces everything, and repetitive. Jackie Wong, for example, seems to really be annoyed with his surface-level commentary.

I totally get it, but I find him harmless enough and I enjoy enough of his aloof Brit snark to find him a net positive. He just doesn't bother me much. I'd prefer him over Tracy/Rod, or Johnny/Tara most of the time.

I have a hunch that those that are outraged with his commentary may take things more seriously than I do.

So let's decide Paul's fate. Does he stay or does he go? I have been informed by the ISU that these poll results will be binding and non-negotiable. :p
 

clairecloutier

Well-Known Member
Messages
14,559
Skating Twitter was completely OTT on this (as on so many things). But there was a lot of @ing at the ISU, so I suppose they'll probably get their way.
 

muffinplus

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,321
That's all you got from Twitter? :lol: That they complained about his voice?

Not "The racism, comments on women’s bodies, perving over a 16 year old" vitriol? I'm happy for you if you missed it... :lol:

I was actually kind of taken aback when I read all the bitching because I didn't even hear anything SO bad (I didn't watch the full stream all days mind you)
 
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Immortelle

Rejected by Krasnopolski
Messages
2,064
Big yay from me, even better as the comp goes on and his commentary takes on an edgy, snarky tone 😂
I think it would help him if he had an expert to work with, but then do we run the risk of having too much talking during performances??
 

lurkz2

Well-Known Member
Messages
143
I wouldn't mind him stating the obvious too much if it weren't during the live skating. He was talking too much during the performances, most of it obvious to even a casual observer like: physical observations, that was not an ideal landing, or x skater would surely appreciate landing all his jumps.
 

BlueRidge

AYS's snark-sponge
Messages
64,927
I hate commentary to begin with and don't understand why anyone wants to hear someone talking while the skater is skating.

Tanith & Charlie's compromise of not talking during the skating is fine.

But I did not watch much of 4CC because Paul annoyed me so much. I didn't hear anything offensive from him, I just heard him talking just to fill space.

Its nothing personal against him whoever he may be, but announcing skater Skater X from country Y and then when the skater starts skating saying again so this is Skater X from country Y is just irritating. Talking to talk. I want to watch the skating. If I want to know somebody's opinion of it I'll read the pbp on FSU.
 

Vagabond

Well-Known Member
Messages
25,385
He talks all the time, and mispronounces everything (ex. “Salko” instead of Salchow). It wouldn’t be so bad if he abstained from commenting during the performances.
But "Salchow" isn't how the name is pronounced in Swedish. Who are we to judge? 🤨

And I'd rather that he pronounce it "salko" instead of making it wound like the word for a female pig, which is how Scott Hamilton pronounces it.
 

Seerek

Well-Known Member
Messages
5,780
I was already quite familiar with Paul Alster's commentary from his coverage of the Grand Prix Series from prior seasons for SBS Australia, so I already knew what to expect (there are clips online).

His voice reminded me a little bit of Alan Weeks, who did commentary way back in the 70s and 80s.

I think most people on Twitter didn't know of Paul's past gigs before he appeared at Euros for ISU.
 
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Orm Irian

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,691
Paul (#SBSman) occasionally annoys me but is generally harmless and fills the airwaves placidly enough not to bother me. I'll keep him. And if he annoys Mr Rockerskating, who annoys me frequently enough that I've long since muted his obnoxious Twitter account, that's a definite mark in his favour.
 

Aerobicidal

Shut that door.
Messages
11,148
I'm going to incorporate "warming up to one's task" into everyday conversation as much as possible.

I feel like one event per season is enough Paul. I also think the drunk woman from last year's 4CC should announce between three and five major events for season.

Ted Barton can do everything else.
 

Spun Silver

Well-Known Member
Messages
12,130
Nay. Even if he is ordered to talk or forego his fee, surely he could find better moments to do it and more to say that actually adds something we don't already know. I guess I could compromise and give him one more chance but he's gotta step it up.
 

Scrufflet

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,207
I was so grateful to find skating anywhere, I didn't care who was talking! Pretty quickly, I found him harmless and quite bland so I just tuned him out. I always liked the Eurosport guys though. With Tracy and Rod, I listen to Tracy and wait for Rod to calm down.
Johnny and Tara - Johnny has managed to become a much better commentator; he's toned down the snark. I listened to them and thought that Tara was improving and had good, substantial, insightful things to say... Then I realized that it was Tanith!
 

Bunny Hop

Queen of the Workaround
Messages
9,412
Nay = back to SBS and @misskarne ;)
They can get rid of him from SBS too, thanks.

Some of the reaction may depend on what commentary people are accustomed too previously. Having spent a lot of time with access to Eurosport and Chris Howarth, who at least has a skating background and can provide some insight, I find Paul Alster's chatter inane and his constant stating of the obvious drives me insane. If a new fan were watching (and he commentates the highlights programmes on network TV here, so this is possible) they would learn nothing about skating from his commentary.
 

MsZem

I see the sea
Messages
18,463
@alchemy void maybe you can edit the thread title to clarify which Paul you're referring to? There is more than one Paul in skating ;)

Having been fortunate to get the commentary-free ISU channel for years, I'd much rather have that. If there is commentary, it should be minimal and add something to the broadcast. Paul adds nothing and while I don't find him creepy or racist, he does annoy me enough not to watch.
 

Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
Messages
55,385
Scrolling through Twitter today, I was a little surprised by the visceral reaction to Paul's commentary at 4CC.

They think he's clueless, boring, talks too much, lacks precision, mispronounces everything, and repetitive. Jackie Wong, for example, seems to really be annoyed with his surface-level commentary.

I totally get it, but I find him harmless enough and I enjoy enough of his aloof Brit snark to find him a net positive. He just doesn't bother me much. I'd prefer him over Tracy/Rod, or Johnny/Tara most of the time.

I have a hunch that those that are outraged with his commentary may take things more seriously than I do.

So let's decide Paul's fate. Does he stay or does he go? I have been informed by the ISU that these poll results will be binding and non-negotiable. :p

I assume you meant a Yay vote means he stays? I voted for Stay. I dont find him any more annoying than other commentators. Terry Ganon annoys me because he talks about things that are not about the live skating. At least Paul talks about the skating and generally is positive toward the skaters.
 
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text_skate

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,944
I say Yay. He's a guy, who makes an effort to pronounce names correctly. He's more accurate than any other commentator I've heard so far.

I'd prefer a commentary free ISU stream, but if that's not possible, I go with Paul, preferably with an expert on his side.

Apreciation: No bias towards any skaters or federations, which I like very much. He takes it in like a non-skating fan aka the general audience, which is something figure skating needs, if it wants to stay relevant.
 

maatTheViking

Roxaaannnneeee!!!
Messages
5,637
I found him obnoxious, mostly because he talks during the skater's skate. I always dislike it, but it's worse because he doesn't add anything of value.

If he only talked during the replay ("the review") or before the start, I wouldn't mind him.

but honestly if NBC Gold keeps him on for another year, I'm reconsidering my subscription. Casual fans don't sub to all the figure skating competitors, so I think it's reasonable that we want valuable commentary or nothing at all. Paul Alster provides color commentary, but I have FSU for (and for insightful commentary ofc).

I really wish that NBC Gold, being a streaming platform, would simply offer two streams, one with and one without commentary. I don't understand why the commentator is not a separate soundtrack they can just filter out.

I'm not twitter-offended, I'm more just annoyed, and wondering if its just better to go back to youtube after the fact - due to time contraints I rarely watch live anyway.
 

Hanna

Skating junkie
Messages
31,724
I'm loving that the thread title is just "Paul". :rofl:

As for the actual topic, I don't mind him and he has definitely grown on me. I'm still hoping we get Chris for Worlds though.

I also think it would be good to have the option to turn the commentary off. Really, it can't be much of a tech feat to do that.
 

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