Oh that guy that commentated during madrids wc and thai open this year? I really think he is enthusiastic and fantastic
The commentator who was working wth Gill Clark in Beijing is definitely David Mercer and works for the BBC. The commentator who worked with Gill Clark in Jakarta at the TUC finals is definitely John Burgess who I have known personally for 6 years. He is based out of Singapore most of the time and also commentates on a lot of different sports.
Morten Frost as Commentator Hi all, Forgive me for being so far behind in watching videos this past year, but I've just tuned into a few of the All-England matches, where Morten Frost (I think it's him), is doing the color commentating along with Gillian. Is it me or did he do an awesome job? I found really great analysis from him, and I understood more about strategies and concerns with the players. Plus he was able to tell us what the Danish coaches were saying to some of their players during the breaks. Anyone else like him as much as I did? And do we know if he's accompanied Gillian when covering other tournaments, and if this will continue? Cheers, Cory
David Mercer did a good job this time, Gill was flawless as usual. I would vote either David or Morten to commentate alongside Gill, that would be the best combo.
John.B is actually very annoying in my opinion. He shows absolutely favoritism in almost every single match, and he is totally bias in most cases. Let me give you some examples: In Singapore open 06 MD final, he was absolutely praising the INA pair, while pointing out how Paars got hit in the face by one of Flandy's drive as he asked for it so to speak. In WC06 in Madrid, he showed absolute favoritism towards Taufik in the match against Chen Hong... almost to the point that he was about to say Chen Hong would lose for sure. In any match with Malaysian participation, you can pretty much tell he wishes the Malaysians would win all the time. He screams like a little school girl cheering like mad. Not that I don't like him cheering for MAS, but he is over the line when he does so. But the most annoying thing is how he refer a "Cross court" smash as an "Inside out" smash... like what the heck is an inside out smash??? However, in comparison with the HK male commentator who talks about nothing related to the match, but a bunch of gossips and himself(as shown in MS final of China open 06)... John.B can be considered as a great commentator
Yeah, you'll often hear John B. saying "unlucky" when his preferred player is being outplayed. Conversely he'll be praising to the heavens when his favorite is doing well and in all cases belittling the players he does not like.
His list of preferred players: KKK(anyone can tell that he is John's favorite) Taufik LCW Fu HaiFeng(just because of his smash) Players he doesn't mind praising somewhat: Peter Gade Lee Yong Dae Markis Kido/Hendra Top players that you can tell he doesn't like: Lin Dan Bao Chen Jin + none other than LYB
i remember watching the WC06 and there was 'that guy' commentating. im not really sure of his name, but i didnt really like his commentating style then. but as he commentated more matches, the more i got use to his flamboyant style. btw, morten frost and gillian clark are the best commentators.
I am now sitting in front of the tv and watching the French Open Men's doubles finals. Listening to the female commentator, I just couldn't stand her anymore. I started googling and ended up here. It seems she is Gillian Clark, the very much commended commentator in this forum. She certainly is good in what she does. But as a commentator, Gill is repeatedly making the same fundamental unforgivable mistake every time she commentates in a game where Chinese players are involved (or some times, Asean players too). What kind of fundamental mistake? Pronunciation of the Chinese players' names! As I write, the Chinese pair Cai Y and Xu C are playing an indonesian pair on tv. The "C" in "Cai", is pronounced 'Ch' as in 'Chance'. Gill pronounces as "Kai" as in Kylie Minogue. Every time I hear this lady on tv commenting a game, she never seems to get the name of the chinese players correct. It is so frustrating to hear her pronounce those names, totally wrong. Why wouldn't she make an effort to learn how to pronounce before she speaks into the mic?
I agree with what someone else said - I'd rather have zero "commentary". All these commentators (Clark, Mercer, burgess) can only comment in generalistic terms. Unless there is someone who can provide expert insight and analysis (like Morten Frost), mainstream commentary is a nuisance which simply describes the blindingly obvious. Gill Clark - this lady is irritating to the bone. Not only can she not pronounce chinese names, but what annoys me most, is she continually exaggerates the appearance of certain shots, which are rally winners but by no means out of this world (e.g. a very sharp inverse drop). Her favourite never ending phrase, which makes me want to tear my hair out, is "oh my GOODNESS! how ON EARTH did he/she do that??!" you'd be led to think someone managed to fly off the court or something! If i was her boss, I'd tell her if you use that ridiculous phrase one more time you will be suspended! David mercer - pompous british commentator who doesn't know badminton and maybe never played a game in his life (you can tell he only does it for a little extra £ on the side). I watch alot of tennis (which he is probably more capable of comentating on) but he still annoys me with his pompous old school BBC style of commentary. Mr mercer- don't think you can commentate on any sport you wish just cos you're old and have been in the business for donkey years! Us real badminton fans think you're a joke! John burgess - now at least this guy has geniune enthusiasm instead of delivering ridiculous, over the top awe factor like Gill Clark. My fav of the 3 but like I said, I'd rather watch the match without this nuisance (unless there is someone like XXZ providing insightful analysis on tactics etc)
Gill Clark was a good player in her time and is now employed by a Company to provide a commentary in the English Language and travels all over the World to do so. She goes wherever her company require her to go. Her primary function is to provide an English language commentary. With due respect to the many people on this web site whose first language is not English if you do not like what she says or the way that she says it then do not listen to her commentary, listen to it in your own native language. As for David Mercer, he is a respected BBC employee who is asked to provide a service to the BBC again in the English language. His main sport is not Badminton but he does his best. Badminton does not receive a great deal of TV exposure and therefore there are no so called expert Badminton commentators other than Gill (she is not employed by the BBC) John Burgess is an entusiastic commentator whose main sport is not Badminton. I first met John 6 years ago in Manchester at the Commonwealth Games when he was covering the event for Singapore TV. He is still doing the circuit so must be considered by his employers to be doing a reasonable job. There is one simple answer to the problem, if you don't lke the commentator turn off the sound!!!!!!!
couldnt recall which match i watched on youtube but either ge fei or gu jun was the commentator.... and she definitely knew what she was talking about
OH don't get me wrong, I so wish there was an option to turn off the commentary but still keep the sound (so you can hear the shuttle as it goes "POP"!).
I agree, without the sound of the crowd, the cheering and the shuttle matches lose some of the excitement for me. I prefer to listen to the sound, but phase out the commentary in my head and engross myself in the game...
I still like to hear commentators talk about tactics (like Gill and Morten). They make me understand the game more, or at least give me a chance to disagree with them. Because of them, I developed my ability to read a match. I try to see through their comments and determine if my analysis is just the same. This is acutally good if you're a competitive player, because it becomes innate for you to think more during a game. It doesn't matter if their comments are different from what you see. At least they stimulate your mind and get it working. Now if you can't get past the awed expressions of the commentators (such as "How on earth did he do that!" or "Absolutely amazing"), then it just goes to show that you haven't involved yourself in the game deeply.
Yes, I too would welcome commentary IF that commentary is insightful and meaningful. Morten Frost is that kind of "no frills" type of expert commentator who can make points which make you think "aah" or "really??! I see...". HE is the type of guy who can enlighten you and stimulate your mind. Gill Clark, however, does not (and perhaps cannot) provide that sort of insight. She merely states the obvious - e.g. [smash winner]..."oh that clear wasn't deep enough" or "they need to keep the shuttle down/ flat to stay on the offensive". *yawn* Actually, that just goes to show how limited and un-engaging Gill Clark's commentary is!! It's like having to listen to an over-zealous fan commentating on a match! Morten Frost? Yes please! Gill Clark? No thanks!
My Few Cents I believe we are all a bit confused here by the original post If we're referring to the male badminton commentator at the Beijing Olympics, that's David Mercer. I'd firmly endorse Mercer as a knowledgeable and well-prepared commentator who packs the right balance of subtlety and excitement. Add objectivity and a composed delivery - and you have an informative accompaniment that doesn't intrude on the game. I hold no brief for David Mercer or Gillian Clark or Morten Frost or Zhao Jianhua or any one of the umpteen voices that we hear on TV during a badminton match. Some are great, some are good, some are not good... but only one (in my opinion) is incorrigibly terrible To me, 'That Guy' is the epitome of much of what most people would detest in a television commentator. A professional badminton commentator is one who supplements what we, the audience, see on screen. We simply don't want to be told that Lee Chong Wei is serving - after all, that's what we're seeing. The proper intention in voice-overs and commentaries is to add to the picture - not describe it. A professional commentator is one who doesn't speak when a rally is on, doesn't go overboard when describing the action, doesn't tell irrelevant tales about how his grandchildren are doing, doesn't get worked up when his favourite is either leading or trailing, doesn't repeatedly refer to Lee Chong Wei as Lee Kuan Yew, doesn't get fooled by a spoof report that the London Olympics won't feature badminton and doesn't sign off by threatening to be around for the next tournament on TV. Here's a sampling of 'That Guy's' signature expressions: - 'inside out' I've tried my best to figure out what exactly this is - and I've failed. - 'cuts right across the face of the shuttle' Huh? The face of the shuttle? Really? - 'played the dummy', 'tried the dummy', 'here's the dummy' Well, the only dummy here is the one behind the microphone Here's David Mercer during a replay (and not during the rally): "The clear was right into the corner. He knew the reply would be short and he just raced towards it to apply the kill." Here's Gillian Clark supplementing it (and not during the rally): "...and that was the one that did all the damage - deception on the punchclear - seven-love against the world number two!" Here's a gem from 'That Guy' (and blabbering when a rally is on): "The great thing about top badminton players - and it doesn't matter who it is - Taufik is very extravagant with his movements but the likes of Lin Dan - he, they just are so efficient - they appear not to be hurrying anywhere at all around the court." (Mind you, this is when Lin Dan is frantically scampering across the court. And Taufik extravagant with his movements? Um, I thought he was the one who always appears relaxed!) Here's another gem from 'That Guy': "If you can pick on one aspect of the mixed doubles game that needs to be absolutely top form, it's the net play - it's gotta be accurate, it's gotta put pressure on and at the moment, the Thais are not able to do that..." (at precisely this moment, Sudket Prapakamol adroitly flicks the shuttle across the net for a winner ) "... well, that's better - it's exactly what I'm talking about." Here's yet another gem from 'That Guy' (and blabbering when a rally is on): "So, good work there. Come on, a bit more pressure, Kendrick. I promise you I'll be screaming at the end if you got close to winning this. My tonsils have still got a lot of power left. Come on, give me something to shout about." (Er, tonsils have power? Tonsils? ) (And is a commentator supposed to keep shouting like a biased fan? ) Here's another sparkler from 'That Guy' (and blabbering when a rally is on): "Well, I mentioned the last time if you were here and we called a badminton and I said keep the ball, keep the shuttle in court, the absolute vital element in this game is that you just keep it in court you gotta take into account the drift, the breeze..." Er, we do get the drift! As I've posted before, this guy (oops, 'That Guy') doesn't merit being named. As with George W., the sooner he goes, the more relieved everyone will be
Its quite simple really. As for not naming the person as I said earlier he has been around for some time so obviously his boss thinks he is doing a reasonable job.
