Sunday, January 11, 2009

Watching ER Season 3

Good Sunday morning!

Feels soooooo great to be back on my English blog after a long, long break!

My first posting for the year 2009 is about the DVD that I've been watching for the past few weeks, and some thoughts about language acquisition through watching DVDs.

The DVD that I am currently watching is ER season 3. I bought this DVD box set ages ago, but I stopped watching after only a few episodes as I got busier with my other commitments, mainly my French learning.

However, I resumed watching this DVD recently, after I bought a portable DVD player as a little treat for myself, for having finished learning my French-English dictionary shortly before the end of 2008. Luckily, this portable DVD player is region code-free, so I can play DVDs from any country on this player.

Coming back to the ER DVD box set that I've been watching, it is formatted for region 3 (Southeast Asia), and comes with English, Spanish, and Portuguese audio tracks and subtitles in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Korean. Maybe I can make use of this DVD to study Spanish or Portuguese in the future.

Up until very recently, seeing as my listening comprehension in English is not that spectacular (or so I thought), I had always made a point of turning on English subtitles whenever I watched English-language DVDs, but this time around, I've decided to go without the subtitles, so I can concentrate more on what's happening visually rather than trying to grasp every single word in the dialogue.

Surprisingly, I've found that I can understand each episode far better without the English subtitles than when I switch them on!

Maybe that's because I can pay more attention to the physical actions and facial expressions of the actors without the subtitles to divert my concentration. I am more convinced than ever that the important thing is not to try to get every single word that's being said, but to try to get the general idea of each story.

Anyway, I think ER season 3 is indeed fun to watch, and as I am now really hooked on this series, I expect to finish watching this DVD box set pretty soon. My sister told me that ER gets boring after Dr Mark Greene dies in season 8 (in her own words: ER basically dies when Dr Greene dies.), but that means that I still have 5 more exciting seasons of ER to enjoy!

Can't wait to find out how this captivating hospital story unfolds in the next few seasons!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi this is Shacho!

Good to know that you're enjoying ER!! This is one of my favorite English drama series!!

I never missed watching this when I was in Canada. I totally agree with you when you say that the important thing is to get the gist of the story.

Dr. Greene is one of the most popular characters of all the protagonists. I like him too.
My favorite however is Parminder Nagra. She's an England-born Indian actress who made a big debut in the film "Bend It Like Beckham (2002)" by Gurinder Chadha. Keira Knightley has also made a debut in this movie and she has come so far as to star in "Pirates of the Caribbean," but personally I think Parminder is a way better actress than Keira.

I don't think you can see Parminder's fabulous acting in the season 3, but I'm sure you'll love her when you eventually see her laugh, cry, stride all over the hospital and more!!!

Uncle Polyglot said...

Hi Shacho,

Thanks a million for your comment! It's always a delight to hear from you!

After reading your comment, I've done a quick search for Parminder Nagra on Wikipedia, and learned that she comes on board the cast of ER from season 10 onwards, which means that I still have a long, long way to go before I finally get to see her performance on ER. I'm imagining that her British accent must sound awfully sexy. It's really something to look forward to!

As you've also commented on my Japanese blog, getting a portable DVD player turned out of be one of my soundest investments gadget-wise in many years, and I strongly recommend that you get one in the near future. It can really change your life! You might be able to find a region-code free model if you do a little search on the Internet.

Looking forward to hearing from you again soon!

Wish you a wonderful new week ahead!

Cheers,
Uncle Polyglot

vipin said...

first timer here.. nice blog!
eventhough i havent watched this er. . .enjoyed ur post! :)

Uncle Polyglot said...

Hi Vipin,

Many thanks for your comment!

I am really glad that you've liked my posting!

Terribly sorry that I haven't replied for so long, as I haven't been checking regularly on this blog for comments in the past few months.

I will try to update this blog more often going forward, such that I can have more contact with my non-Japanese readers.

Talk to you again soon!

Cheers,
Uncle Polyglot

Sauce Stige said...

I also like this show a lot. Even i have taken huge knowledge about medical departments from ER tv show. Now this is my favorite show. I always crazy to watch any new medical series.