There are not a lot of ways to have real fun if you happen to be taking part in a live, nightly news cast. The news, in general, tends to be a bleak and serious affair, with only the occasional light personal interest piece to break things up. Well, one weather girl (don’t get mad at me, that’s what she calls herself) has decided to liven things up a bit by injecting her recent forecast with a ton of Batman and Superman references. Take a look.
This absolutely fantastic weather forecast from Channel 5 News’ Sian Welby, was posted to the channel’s YouTube page today and, man, is it ever a thing of beauty for anyone who loves puns, or DC comics, or both things at once. There are actually a whopping 20 Batman and Superman nods wedged into Welby’s one-minute weather forecast to celebrate the opening of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Before I go on, I’ll wait here while you head back up to the video and try to pinpoint all of the references.
It’s not easy, is it? Sian Welby is very good at shoehorning in phrases and making things sound like something else in order to sneak them into something as mundane as talk of the weather. She starts off cleverly enough, with talk of how everyone would need “x-ray vision” to see through the fog covering some of the area during the morning, and then just gets more and more sneaky from there. Her next big reference includes someone Batman fans love to hate, or, in some cases, love to love, as Welby announces that “it’s Harley Quinn-cidence that temperatures will be lowest in the north and the west.” See what she did there? Yeah, you do.
And, Sian Welby just keeps going. “Lex have a look at how things progress this afternoon,” she proclaims. That’s followed soon after by “sun will struggle to Dent the clouds in the north Adam West.” Then, “rain will Affleck Northern Ireland and western Scotland.” She lets that eventually lead into “if you’re going on a car trip tonight, just be aware that things will Gotham bad to worse.” Welby then quickly and clearly name checks The Dark Knight Rises and Batman’s mumble-mouthed supervillain Bane. And she adds that “low pressure will suddenly steel (as in Man of) the sunny conditions from us,” with, apparently, “no justice” for Easter Sunday and the “clouds to be Greyson in short supply.” With all the thunder and rain expected, Welby wraps up her forecast with a bemused “super” to close this awesome experiment.
I know you’re thinking, What?! How is she doing this?, and the only thing I can say is experience is probably a big help. Take a look at her pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens broadcast.
OK, I don’t know what sort of geniuses brought Sian Welby into the world, but I think all fantasy and comic book fans owe them a debt of gratitude.
