Wentworth Prison Review

As a Prisoner fan, I really want to like Wentworth, but there are just so many things I don’t like about it.

The constant slow motion. The blue tint. The rubbish songs played over a montage at the end of every-single-episode. The series’ inability to have a consistent storytelling format And the series inability to keep to a consistent tone.

The slow motion completely takes me out of Wentworth, by reminding me that I’m just watching a TV programme. I have to try to quell my frustration at the cheesy slow motion and get back in to it. And then what happens? More slow motion! The choice to add slow motion is completely bewildering because slow motion has been thought of as cheesy for at least 20 years. I remember being a wee boy and comedy sketch shows would mock movies and TV as being cheesy by mocking their slow motion. Every single violent scene in Wentworth completely loses it’s dramatic impact because of it’s unnecessary, ill-advised slow motion. To makes things even worse they always add a cheesy ‘whoosh’ sound effect at the beginning and end of the slow motion, which makes it even more noticeable and more cheesy! Even worse than the slow-mo is when they speed up the footage (again accompanied by a whoosh sound effect) This slow-mo to fast forward type effect was the type of thing you used to see in cheesy straight to video action movies, in the 90s, starring people like Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal. It’s unnecessary, excruciatingly cringe-worthy and always takes me right out of the show.

The rubbish songs played over a montage at the end of every-single-episode.

There’s nothing wrong with having a montage, if it’s done on a particularly special episode. For example when a major character has died, a Christmas special, the last episode, or whatever. But Wentworth uses a montage (with a rubbish song playing over it) on every single episode! And it’s done so right from the very beginning of the series! It’s far too heavy handed. As with the slow motion, I’ve never seen anything like it. Never have I seen a TV programme over use something the way Wentworth does.

The series’ inability to have a consistent storytelling format.

Season 1 had a very annoying format of each episode focusing almost completely on one character. Laboriously jumping back and forth between present day Wentworth and the crime that got them in there. Season 2 seemed to have ditched the laborious flashbacks (thank god) But then brought them back for Joan Ferguson. As with the slow-mo and montages, I’ve never seen a TV show have such an inconsistent format.

The series inability to keep to a consistent tone.

The first episode saw a mini riot brake out in the prison in which the prison governor was killed. The series had set itself up as being a dark, gritty crime drama. Yet when viewers tune in to see the second episode, taking place just after the riot, we’re confronted with the inmates singing and dancing to ‘Hot Potato’, directly towards the camera. I wouldn’t necessarily mind a little subtle humour in the series, but a riot had just taken place. Viewers are tuning in to see the aftermath. Yet at the very start of only the second episode we’re confronted with the inmates singing Hot Potato? What the fuck? It’s a song I’ve not heard since nursery school and upon seeing it in Wentworth, made me realise how annoying it is. The scene was an extremely stupid thing to do in such an early episode, when a series should be making a mark as to it’s overall tone.

Season 2 seemed to be an improvement on the first. And then the programme brings in a transsexual male character, as if a man would be put in a female prison! Then, as if to deliberately make it more cringe worthy, they put a tea cosy on it’s head. Some viewers have asked their selves why Wentworth isn’t more popular in Britain than it is. Part of the reason for this might be the fact it’s on channel 5. But partly it’s because the series doesn’t keep a consistent tone, in the same way, a better produced U.S. drama would. You simply wouldn’t see such ill-advised , cringe-worthy scenes such as prisoners singing Hot Potato or a transsexual man in a female prison in U.S. drama’s such as Oz, Prison Break, The Sopranos, Sons of Anarchy or Breaking Bad. Such scenes have shown the producers don’t have any awareness as to what makes or breaks a programme having any street cred.

The constant slow motion, montages and the fact that each episode focuses mainly on one character, with one character’s flash backs being boringly interspersed throughout each episode, makes the series very difficult to get in to. And very difficult to find entertaining. The series is chucking everything but the kitchen sink at you . Wentworth is all over the place.

One of the good things about Prisoner, is that it had this wonderful feel of voyeurism. As if you were peering into a world you shouldn’t be allowed access to. And it all seemed so effortless and naturalistic. Wentworth never has that feel because of the constant reminders that you’re just watching a TV show. Wentworth needs to ditch the slow motion, the blue tint, the rubbish songs and montages and just get on with the serious business of telling stories.

Tabloids Looking for Women

Hay ladies!

Have you been sexually abused?

If you haven’t, who cares!

Just pick a man. Any man.

Say he sexually abused you.

Say he did it 40 or 50 years ago. That way it’s impossible for him to clear himself!

Who cares it happened 40 or 50 years ago. Who cares you were a teenager when he felt you up. We’ll call him a pedo anyway. We don’t worry about semantics.

Don’t worry about your allegations not being true. That’s why we have lawyers!

Hay, you can even pick a man who’s dead! That way he can’t defend himself.

If you’d like your name in the paper and a shit load of cash we’d like to hear from you.

If you’ve got the allegations we’ve got the headlines. And who knows, you might even end up on the next reality show. Money. Fame. Attention. Money. They all await you. That’s right ladies, you can start getting the cash and attention you deserve. So point your finger and say the magic word: Rape!

So join in on the latest craze sweeping the nation and accuse a man of sexual abuse today!

Testimonials:

Here’s what others have had to say:

Mary: “I’d never really thought about accusing a man of sexual abuse before, but now that everyone’s doing it I thought why not give it a go, you know. All me mates down bingo are all talking about how me name was in the paper. And I’ve been able to do up me living room with the 50 grand I got. I’ve never been the centre of attention before. But it’s great, yeah, really good”.

Abigale: “I thought it would be really hard but the paper talked me through it, you know, what to say ’n’ that. In fact once I got talking to the woman from the paper, the story practically wrote itself. I’ve never really felt like I fitted in or belonged but being one of the claimants, well it gives you a sense of belonging. I wanted to fit in, be a part of something and now I am. And now that my name has been in the paper a few times, I’ve been asked to appear on the next addition of Celebrity Big Brother. If you haven’t accused a man of rape then all I can say is do it today. Yeah do it today, it’ll change your life”.

Maureen “I’m glad I had those awful men from Corrie arrested. What they did to Deirdre and Sally was terrible”.

Butch Buzzcut: “All men deserve this. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, all men deserve this. At birth they should all be circumcised, completely, if you know what I mean. Men have been oppressing women for far too long and I say it’s about time we started oppressing them. Let’s have them all bloody locked up. They’ll pay. They’ll all pay”.

Stacey: “I just did it for the cash”.

Tracey: “With so many women saying they were abused by celebrities decades ago, I thought, it must have happened to me too. And I just don’t remember it. You know, repressed memories like. Anyway I must have been right coz as soon as I phoned the police he was arrested and the next day the papers were calling him a pedo”.

Kim: In the 60’s I used to go to the BBC and ITV buildings and hang around all the stars, all tarted up like. I was 15, just a month away from turning 16 actually. I was a perfectly willing participant. Boy, we had some good times. But I thought, if shagging someone a month under the legal age is so abominable now, it must be 50 years retroactive. And with everyone else accusing these men, I thought why not join in. You know, get in on it, be part of something”.

So ladies, why not join in on the current cool trend. And don’t worry if you don’t want your name in the paper. It can be completely anonymous and your details are kept confidential. Remember, It’s his name we’re sullying, not yours!

Poppies

If someone fights an enemy of theirs, they are thought of as being a thug. Yet if someone kills strangers for politicians they are branded a "hero". Tony Blair wears a poppy! If there’s anything that sums up how much of an empty sentiment poppies are, it’s seeing the very person who started a war, wearing one. I’ve never started a war, and you know what, I don’t wear a poppy. Poppies are a symbol of war. The very point in them is to make you think of “heroes” “who have died for their country” This hero-ising of soldiers is what keeps war going. If we stopped glorifying war, maybe we’d stop war. In what situation do you think war is most likely to occur? Among people who don’t think, but rather believe and repeat what the mainstream media tells them, that soldiers are “heroes” who are “fighting for their country”? Or among people who refuse to be a part of war, including not wearing a poppy? Virtually everyone on TV wears one. And you can tell just how contrived that is. The amount of politicians and people on TV wearing poppies is very disproportionate to the amount of people who wear one in the real world. You can tell, squirmy, weasely politicians wear one just because they think it will make them look good in the eyes of the majority. You can tell TV presenters and news readers wear poppies because their producers behind the scenes are saying “here, stick one of these on, we don’t want any complaints”. I remember at school, the poppies were in a box at the till, where you paid the dinner lady for lunch. And the dinner lady would say “want a poppy”, making sure everyone knew they were there. So there was pressure to buy one there and then, as there were lots of other kids in the queue behind you (who were also buying and wearing poppies just to fit in). Kids don’t have any real understanding of the world, of what poppies are about. Many things are inaccessible to children because their minds aren’t developed enough to know if they want it. Yet they are pressured in to buying poppies. Funny that. It could be said encouraging children to wear poppies, which are a symbol of how the establishment has tried to legitimise war and killing, is child abuse. Why should children be encouraged to wear a symbol of the hero-ising of killers. Poppies are worn by people who want to fit in. Poppies are a symbol. And as George Carlin once said, I leave symbols to the symbol minded.

4Later

Overview:

4Later was a late night block of offbeat programming on the UK’s Channel 4. It was broadcast sporadically, Thursdays to Sundays in between the years of 1998 to 2002. Some nights of 4Later only included one or two programmes, while other nights (particularly Friday and Saturday nights) would include programming all through the night from around midnight to 5:30am.


Idents and presentation:

Each night of 4Later began with a specially made introduction. A menu would show the list of programmes coming up, then a surreal short film or animation would be shown before each programme.

One introduction used for 4Later showed footage of a mouse, as the image faded on and off, footage of a dog was shown barking. The sound of barking was morphed with other sounds and the feeling of the introduction was deliberately quite menacing, strange and sinister. This introduction can be viewed on the TV Ark website in the channel 4 1999 idents section.

After some time, the introductions for 4Later programmes were changed to a specially made CGI introduction called The Motel. Although The Motel was adult in it’s content, it was visually similar looking to the Channel 5 children’s series, Too Much TV. In fact The Motel and Too Much TV were made by the same animators. A short segment of The Motel introduced each programme on 4Later.
A short segment was shown before each programme and then one last segment after the last programme. Each segment of The Motel played out a small part of a story, with a different story being played out each night of 4Later. On one occasion The Motel spoofed the U.S. prison drama, Oz. On another occasion it spoofed Jam by Chris Morris.

During this era of 4Later, the idents and break bumpers showed the image of an animated brain with the 4Later logo on it. During this era, 4Later’s night of programming would end with a TV ‘snow’ effect as if the broadcast had been interrupted, to signal the night of programming was over. The 4Later ‘Brain’ idents can be viewed on the TV Ark website in the Channel 4 1999 idents section.

After some time the interstitials were changed again. This time they focused on a character from The Motel, called Ginger Forrest and her chat show, Secrets With Ginger Forrest, broadcast from fictional channel, ‘Channel Phwoar’. Ginger Forrest was a character who’s dialogue mainly consisted of sexual innuendo. Secrets With Ginger Forrest once included the guest voices of 4Later personalities, Nigel Buckland (from Vids) and the presenters of video game review show, Bits.
To celebrate 4Later’s birthday and a night before Channel 4’s animation week, Ginger Forrest interstitials were used to introduce Friends, Frasier and South Park. Which must have been confusing to a mainstream audience. Both The Motel and Ginger Forrest were made by production company, Impossible Television.

When 4Later returned, it had another ambitious change in presentation. It returned with it’s own slogan, “Do Not Sleep”. The idents and introductions were changed again to allow viewers to introduce programmes their selves via their webcams. Some viewers were regular contributors and became familiar faces to regular 4Later viewers. 4Later viewers introducing programmes via their webcams were known as The Collective. A couple of times celebrities unexpectedly popped up via their webcams, page 3 model Joanne Guest and astronomer Patrick Moore. DJ Downfall was commissioned to make a track for 4Later called Do Not Sleep. Tiny segments of Do Not Sleep were used in the background of 4Later idents while viewers introduced programmes. And it was also used for break bumpers. (The screen used to separate programmes and commercials.) So, for example while a movie was on, before the adverts interrupted it, a break bumper would play a tiny segment of DJ Downfall’s track with the audio “do not sleep, (echoed twice) do not sleep, do not sleep”.

Sometimes 4Later complimented programming on Channel 4. For example, during Channel 4’s animation week, 4Later screened more provocative, adult animations such as Deep Sympathy and Sittin’ Pretty by Michael Grimshaw. And during channel 4’s horror weekend in which they screened the original version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Death Race 2000, 4Later screened Fear, Panic And Censorship, a one off documentary about horror film and censorship.

4Later Programming:

Vids. A cult film review show. Presented by Stef Gardiner and curiously hook-nosed far left extremist Nigel Buckland, the latter of which has a bizarre obsession with faeces. (Why is it left wingers are always obsessed with faecal matter?) In between his constant talk of shitting and farting Buckland spends the series bemoaning so called "racism" and "misogyny" while celebrating things such as scenes of female on male violence and blacks being placed in movies simply on the virtue of...being black. The series was unique, creative and and lots of fun aside from Buckland's preachy and destructive leftism.    

Bits. A video game review show. Presented by Alex Krotoski, Emily Booth and Emily Newton Dunn.

Eurotika! A documentary series about European horror and sex films. Each episode was followed by a Eurotika feature presentation film, as well as a special Eurotika introduction to each film. (1999)

While showing sexy and violent clips from films, Eurotika was also educational! With a genuine love of film coupled with a slightly ironic and cheeky sense of humour, Eurotika is the perfect late night programme.

Exploitica. A surreal comedy series using clips of old ‘B movies’ and public information films. (1999)

Frontal. Broadcast live from the Channel 4 building, Frontal was a subversive series looking at the 'underbelly of pop culture'. Included features on culture jamming, reviews on erotica, revenge techniques, performance art and a weekly instruction on how to get high legally, including how to get high using a cactus. The pilot episode for Frontal included showing a banned music video for the song ‘Pretty When You Cry’ by Vast. Another episode of Frontal showed the music videos for ‘Plug Me In’ and Metal Fingers In My Body by the group Add N To X. Presented by James Hyman, Natasha Bell, Tim Gould, Lisa Rogers and Italian music producer Charlie Rapino. A pilot for Frontal aired in 1999. Five episodes where aired in 2000. In total six episodes were made. Although Frontal was a very unique and subversive programme, it’s short life span means that it seems to have fallen in to obscurity. Frontal was shown on Friday nights after the first series of Big Brother. A Channel 4 introduction to Frontal can be viewed on the TV Ark website. The Frontal opening sequence can be viewed here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqnf3rFIXxU

and a short teaser for the series can be viewed here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MZJJKLYScg

Unlike many other 'edgy' shows Frontal was genuinely edgy and it pulled it off with an air of class.

Sweet Talk. "A late review of erotica filmed in Amsterdam. Rowan Pelling from `The Erotic Review' interviews guests drawn from Euro-intellectuals and sex professionals." Each episode included a segment in which Page 3 model Joanne Guest read out erotic literature. (1999) Production company: Freeform.

The Other Side. A weekly documentary about people and their story / journey.

The Trip. A surreal mix of NASA footage mixed with weird music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trip_(1999_TV_series)

Spy TV. Not to be confused with a completely different U.S. show with the same name. This was a programme about how modern technology is affecting voyeurism, and causing a lack of privacy etc.

  

From what I remember Spy TV was often used to promote the upcoming first series of Big Brother to Channel 4. I remember thinking "what is this "Big Brother" thing they keep going on about?"

Spy TV Intro Sequence:  

Channel 4 UK "Spy TV" from SUBVOYANT on Vimeo.

Disinfo Nation. AKA Disinformation. Billed as a 'conspiracy and counter culture magazine show', it had a cool presentation style with fast paced onscreen graphics and cool theme music but was very lite on exploring conspiracies and very heavy with pushing left wing propaganda. Disinfo indeed. Season one comprised of 6 episodes. Season two comprised of 10 episodes. There is a U.S. DVD release but it's a U.S. re-edit of the show, not the original UK edit. The U.S. edit takes some content from the 16 half hour episodes and distills it down to 4 hour long episodes. This means much of the content is missing and the series isn't really suited to hour long episodes. The U.S. edit has the host, Richard Metzger standing in front a cheesy looking CGI white background, it's visually unappealing and I don't remember that being the case with the original UK broadcast version. It's curious that the "Disinformation Network" chose to release 4 hour long episodes and not the whole series in it's original format, or at least upload them to YouTube. Also curious is the fact that the Disinformation Network presented itself as an edgy, rebellious, independent company against commercialism and the monopolisation of media when in fact they began life as a project funded by Comcast! Comcast! One of the largest media conglomerates in the world! They allegedly spent some time as an independent company before being bought / selling out to other publishers. Disinfo Nation was a great idea for a series or at least it appeared to be at first glance. But ultimately it doubled down even more on the left wing politics already pushed by the entirety of the mainstream media. For example there is one single "bonus episode" on the DVD release which is in the original UK edit. This episode consists of the Jew Howard Bloom lying on his bed for half an hour, bug eyed, doing what Jews do, talking about Hitler and "anti-racism" (read Anti-White). That's the furthest thing from "counter culture" you could possibly get. And it's telling, that that's the episode they chose to release in full.     

Digital Sex. A show about how technology is changing our sex lives. Produced by Ricochet Films. Six 30 minute episodes were made.

https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8555ed1b

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398947/ 

Pulp. A book review show.

Treasure. A programme about people’s collections and hobbies. If I remember correctly one episode features a man who photographed electricity pylons and an attractive woman who collected medical paraphernalia. Including buying her own ambulance. 

Late Night Poker.

The Clangers. A British stop-motion children's television series. Originally broadcast on the BBC between 1969 to 1972. This is one of those programmes 4Later showed that made me wish I could talk to the people behind 4Later and ask "why are you showing this?" (I'm not complaining, just curious) Seeing scary break bumpers introduce adult programmes along with the most gentle and subdued children's programmes was confusing, perhaps even slightly disconcerting and that confusion added to the fun.

Dick’s Bar. From the Zombie club in London, a 5 minute programme in which barman Dick Bradsell gives instructions on how to mix your own cocktails.

Naked Elvis. Game show.

The Divine David Presents. (1999) Production company: World Of Wonder.

The Divine David Heals. (2000) Production company: Allied Forces.

Mirror Ball. A programme about music video directors.

Pets. A comedy puppet show.

A Taste Of The Vampire. A one-off programme looking at people who wish to be vampires. Includes footage from the Vampyria II event in Camden Palace, London. (2000) Full Gauge Productions.

Troma’s Edge TV. A magazine show from independent movie company, Troma. 20 episodes were made. 10 episodes have been released on Region 1 DVD's.

Slam. A street performance show. Showcasing street dance, skateboarding etc.

The Magic Roundabout. Shown at the end of 4Later Saturday night broadcasts. Presumably shown to add surrealism and provide light relief.

Focus North. A parody of lame daytime TV.

Onedottv. A programme about digital creativity. 

Love’s Like A Dog. Supposedly named after a foreign soap opera of the same name (If that's true I can't find any details on it). A game show utilizing clips of cheap foreign TV. Presented by Trey Farley. In some episodes Lauren Laverne was the co host while in other episodes Rachel Brady is the co host. Usually included clips of a U.S. public access show called Colin’s Sleazy Friends.

Fear, Panic and Censorship. A one off documentary about horror films and censorship. This was released as an extra on Anchor Bay's 'Box of The Banned' DVD. Though the version on the DVD is a slightly different edit to the one broadcast on 4Later.

Manga Erotica. A one off documentary about erotic manga. This was narrated and presented by anime 'expert' and author, Helen McCarthy.

Dogma TV. Each episode was a self contained drama, mainly about teenagers. Possibly the most memorable episode was about two teenagers who decided they couldn’t cope with their baby. They left their baby on a beach, to be drowned when the tide came in.

Karaoke Fish Tank. Pop music videos introduced by a foul mouthed CGI fish. (Yes, you read that right)

Yeah, the swearing fish was mildly funny but modern manufactured pop music was a very unwelcome intrusive addition to what was supposed to be a late night block of weird programmes.

Jaaaaam. A ‘remixed’ version of Jam, the dark sketch show by Chris Morris.

Man Test. Male celebrities such as Henry Rollins and Michael Winner answer questions on their masculinity.

SF: UK. A weekly show about British Sci-Fi. Later shown on the UK Sci-Fi channel.

Bad Trip. Travel documentary in which people travelling through different parts of the world kept a video diary.

Reclaim The Streets. One-off documentary about protesting in the UK.

Road Movies. "Drama/factual crossover. Each episode takes a white Cadillac as its theme and features a different director each with a £12,000 budget. The 30-minute slots are split into two: the first half follows the director who, having written the movie, goes about getting it shot; the second half showcases the result." The series comprised 5 x 30 minute episodes.

Strippers. "A documentary about club strippers, made by an all female team." 10 x 30 minute episodes. Produced by Ricochet Films

Note: I read on a website this was produced for 4Later but I'm not sure if it actually was shown in the 4Later block, it may have been shown on E4.

Cult Crazy. 6 part series about cults. Presented by someone called Steve Smith, this was very similar to the type of thing you would often see presented by Louis Theroux (2000) Production company: Vashca Limited.

https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b859c5725

Bangkok Beats. Ambient sounds Thai style.

Sick and Twisted. Series about animation. 6 x 30 minute episodes.

Celeb TV. Synopsis unknown.

E For Edge. Presented by obnoxious twat Iain Lee. Synopsis unknown.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3339458/?ref_=hm_rvi_tt

DURT. Digital Underground Remixed Television. Presented by Tim Gould. From what I remember this was about underground films etc and the studio Tim Gould presented it from was made to look like an underground bunker.

https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bac737df9 

Mondo Macabro. From the makers of Eurotika. Another documentary series about bizarre films from around the world. (2001)


Do Not Sleep.

As well as being the 4Later slogan, Do Not Sleep was also the name given to a one off special 4Later night, broadcast live from the Sound Nightclub in Leicester Square, London. It was shown at the festive season to celebrate Christmas and the new year. It was presented by Paul Tonkinson, Emma B and June Sarpong. Although 4Later regulars were also included such as Nigel Buckland and Stef Gardiner (from Vids) Emily Booth (Bits) Charlie Rapino and Tim Gould (Frontal). The Do Not Sleep one off special included mini versions of 4Later programmes and live features broadcast from the club. (Such as strip poker.) Break bumpers showed people blowing up a bed. The night ended with all the presenters singing Lonely This Christmas by the band, Mud.

After the Do Not Sleep one off special had finished at around 05:00am, past Ginger Forrest interstitials were shown, which had been edited together to create a full 15 minute episode.

Due to the above programmes being shown late at night, most of them have fallen in to obscurity. With Channel 4 now being a much more mainstream channel, it seems Channel 4 want to distance themselves from these programmes due to the provocative and experimental nature of some of them.

Imported shows on 4Later:

Oz U.S. prison drama produced for HBO. Dark, shockingly violent and disturbing, this was the perfect programme for 4Later. The first 3 seasons were shown on 4Later. When 4Later was axed subsequent seasons were shown on plain old Channel 4 without any fanfare.
Dark Skies American UFO themed sci-fi series 1996-1997. This was shown on Sunday nights on 4Later's 'Sci-Fi Sundays'.

Vengeance Unlimited Created by John McNamara and starring Michael Madsen, this felt like an unofficial remake of The Equalizer. It was well made and entertaining but cancelled after just one season

American Gothic Created by Shaun Cassidy and starring Gary Cole. This series is often compared to Twin Peaks. Speaking of Twin Peaks that would have been a good fit for a late night block of offbeat programming. So might have The X Files and some old horror anthology shows. Shame they weren't shown. Certainly they would have made for a better fit than most of the following imported shows... 

Codename: Eternity Canadian sci-fi series. It was cancelled after just one season 1999
Prey Sci-fi series starring Debra Messing. It was cancelled after just one season. 1998
Spy Game American action-adventure spy series with a comedic tone. Created by John McNamara and Sam Raimi. It was cancelled after just one season. 1997
Brimstone Fantasy-thriller series about a cop (sigh) who is released from hell on the condition that he can capture other escaped souls. It was cancelled...you've guessed it, after just one season! 1998-99
Mortal Kombat: Conquest (Shown on Sunday nights, usually in a double bill)
Pop Up Video UK (I thought the point in the programming block was to escape the mainstream, the last thing I wanted to see is music videos with fuckin' Robbie Williams!)
Fist Of The North Star. Anime. From what I remember this was surprisingly tame. I think anime such as Devilman etc would have been more appropriate.

The Strip Rubbish cop show set in Las Vegas. 1999 This series was one of several shows on 4Later that felt very ill-fitting for the programming block.

The Mod Squad (Another cheesy cop show and again it felt ill-fitting for the block) 



Films on 4Later: (Included but not limited to)

Films shown as part of Jackie Chan season:

Police Story 2
Police Story 3: Super Cop
The Young Master

Each film in the Jackie Chan season was introduced by Nige and Stef from Vids under the title Vids Does Jackie Chan

Films shown as part of Eurotika season: (Included but not limited to)

The Shiver Of The Vampires
Female Vampire Erotic vampire film by Jess Franco. If I remember correctly this was introduced as the most explicit film to ever be shown on television. I think they were probably right.
I Am Frigid…Why?
The Awful DR Orlof
Naked Warewolf Woman
Frustration
The Devil’s Kiss
Four Times That Night
Black Candles

She Beast

Each film in the Eurotika season was shown after an episode of the Eurotika documentary and a special Eurotika introduction to each film.

Films shown as part of Godzilla season:

Godzilla
Godzilla Raids again
Ghidrah, The Three Headed Monster
Godzilla Vs Mothra
Return Of Godzilla
Godzilla Vs Hedorah
Godzilla’s Revenge

Each film in the Godzilla season was introduced by Nige and Stef from Vids, in a segment called Vidzilla.

Films shown as part of Troma Classic Movie season: 

Tromeo & Juliet

A Nymphoid Barbarian In Dinosaur Hell

Redneck Zombies

Terror Firmer
SGT Kabukiman
Surf Nazi’s Must Die
Chopper Chicks In Zombie Town



Films shown as part of Secrets of Japan season:

Tandem
The Dream Of Garuda
The Bedroom

These erotic Japanese films were also reviewed by Charlie Rapino on Frontal. In the Secrets of Japan season, the Channel 4 logo was changed to a Japanese 4. These idents can be viewed on the TV ark website in the Channel 4 1999 idents section.

Films shown as part of Mondo Macabro season:

Blood Of The Virgins
Awakening Of The Beast.
The Killing Of Satan.
Ammoru The Mother Goddess
Karamurat The Sultan’s Warrior
Alucarda
Secret Chronicle: Prostitution Market
The Warrior

Other films shown on 4Later:

Shadow Skill: The Movie was shown on 4Later as part of Channel 4’s animation week, just after the one off documentary, Manga Erotica.

Films shown on 4Later that weren’t shown as part of a season:

Martin (horror directed by George Romero)

4Later usually included a short animation under the title ‘Late Toon’. Late Toon was sometimes shown at the start of the night and sometimes at the end. These included: (but not limited to)

No More Mr. Nice Guy (by Brad Schiff)
Lava Lava (series by Federico Vitali) 
Gas Planet (by Eric Darnell)

Guy's Dog (by Rory Bresnihan)
Beat The Meatles (by Keith Alcorn)
Morris (by Ed Talfan)
Xerox And Mylar (by Joel Brinkerhoff)
Homiez (French animated series)

Sick Night:

During Channel 4’s animation week, 4Later broadcast ‘Sick Night’. A list of all the programmes shown as part of Sick Night:

Sittin’ Pretty Animation by Michael Grimshaw
Quiet Please Animation by Michael Grimshaw

Vids Season 5 episode 1 The boys review adult animations 
Deep Sympathy Animation by Mike Grimshaw
Guano! French animated series by Federico Vitali 
Bump In The Night I don't know what this is. All I can find is a children's animation with the same name. It would be good if a reader could identify it!
There’s A Pervert In Our Pool After looking online, I assume this is an animation by Martha Colburn
Expelling The Demon Animation by Devlin Crow

4Later’s Influence:

Late Night Poker began a poker craze in Britain which continued for some time after. For a short while, BBC Three allowed viewers to introduce programmes by filming themselves doing a short sketch. This is very similar to the idea pioneered by 4Later’s The Collective. Though 4Later allowed viewers a greater amount of freedom in what they said and did. Whereas BBC Three viewer introductions were confined to talking about the particular show they were introducing. BBC Three showed a programme called ‘Mongrels’ which is very similar in concept to 4Later’s Pets. And the sardonic style of Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe has been compared to 4Later’s Vids.

Some things to think about

Do aliens have ghosts?

If they do, will we meet them in the after life?

Given the fact we all die, does anything really matter? Or is life ultimately pointless?

If heaven exists why are we not created there in the first place rather than having to live a life of hell in the psysical world first?

Is there really right and wrong or just perception?

Things i'd like to do before i die

Rob a bank. Not for the money but the adrenaline.

Drive a getaway car.

Have a life or death car chase with the police. And Win.

Become a crime boss.

Date a famous model.

Direct the most shocking movie ever made.

Abolish all UK laws and watch Britain descend into chaos.

Be a tyrannical world leader.

Find happiness.

Pulling my hair out

Things that irritate the hell out of me:

Opening my packet of fags and it turning out theres none left, after shops closing time.

People walking infront of me in the street who suddenly stop. (gimme some freakin' notice)

Complete strangers who approach me in the street and ask me for fags and money. (yeah right, what's in it for me) Human beings have a thing called self interest.

Alarm clocks. Worst invention ever.

Sport being on the news. The media are always going on about horror films and video games causing violence. How ironic is it then they are so embracing of something that does literally and directly cause real life violence-football matches. Football is mainly liked by idiots and it being shown every single day on tv isn't helping society to progress. Why should sport be on the news?

Small change. pennies covered in a billion germs. what's the point.

People who nag. (just shut the fuck up!)

Girls who flirt and seduce with no real intent of going out with you. My heart wil never really heal.

Good looking girls going out with complete "chavs" or "neds". You see it all the time. They could do infinitely better.

Bus's. Bus times. Bus drivers.

Smokers. Yes, even as a smoker myself I hate other smokers. Im'e a considerate smoker. I hate people who blow their smoke all over you. I don't want to inhale smoke that's been in someone else's lungs! In Dunfermline, and Glenrothes Every shellsuit, dirty, spotty, tattooed, bleached haired person smokes, many of them with wrinkles on their wrinkes and being in the town is like death. Just being near them makes me feel really unhealthy. (shudder)

The wind. (Stop fucking blowing on me) especially when im'e trying to light a ciggie.

It being too cold.

It being too hot.

T.V. Theres fuck all good on.

Women.

Girls who swear. it's so unfeminine. A complete turn-off. Girls who swear constantly and still attract a man are definately attracting the wrong type of man. Save it for dirty talk in the bedroom bitches!

Standing in Queue's. How much time is taken from our lives doing such mundane stuff?

Strangers who stare at me. (Why, what are they thinking?)

People. Pah! People. Is there anything worse?