I've held off from reviewing Burn Notice so far, because I'm embarrassed I'm so far behind (the GLW got me Season 2 for my birthday, which I'm watching on my daily commute, and loving every single second).
Burn Notice. My friend Adam recommended it to me years ago, and to my shame, I never quite got round to seeking it out. I mean, it hasn't exactly got a title that jumps up and bites you on the cojones has it?
And then while I was flicking through my digital channels this year, I stumbled across it. Those idiots at Fiver (almost as stupid a name for a channel as SyFy) had plonked it secretly, and randomly, on the Thursday night schedule, (which is kinda appropriate for a spy show) and then proceeded to show the first two seasons in one go.
So what's it about? Watch and learn, friends, watch and learn....
So, superspy Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) is on a search to find out who got a Burn Notice placed on him - and as the video above says, it's not just a matter of being sacked. Westen is frozen out, left penniless, blacklisted, oh, and his movements are limited to the greater Miami area. If he tries to leave the city to hunt down his tormentors, they'll send a hit squad out to kill him.
So, he has to take on odd-jobs - mostly undercover stuff - for peanuts, to cobble together the cash to pay people to find out information. He sort of has a client of the week, so to speak.
I know, I know, I know, It sounds like Magnum PI with a spy twist.
What sets Burn Notice apart, is what I call the "useful spy shit" you learn every episode. For example:
Evil, but superb.
I can't get enough of these! Bam! lets have another one!
Every episode of the show is peppered with these little gems of wisdom. Are they real? Who knows?
Do they work? Let's see.....
This shit works, man ...awesome, dudes......I particularly like the imaginative use of an oven glove, and the mess they made of mom's kitchen (not forgetting dad's toolbox).
With all this "useful spy shit" every epsiode, I can just about forgive the Michael Westen character for being a bit overconfident and pompous at times.
It's funny, but his type of character seems to be almost exclusively popular in the USA. Indulge me for a second - consider Seinfeld, or any character played by Adam Sandler, or even Ray Romano's character in Everybody Loves Raymond. All comedy examples, sure, but they all have a single unifying trait.
At the end of the day, they're smug, want to be smartest guy in the room, and someone else ends up being the butt of their jokes. It doesn't travel well, particularly in the UK, where we don't have a soft spot for - how can I put it? - arrogant dickheads.
And the character of Michael Westen would fall into this category if it wasn't for the brilliant supporting characters who are his weakness. He wants to be the aloof superspy, and he clearly left Miami years ago (Grosse pointe blank-style) to reinvent himself, but unfortunately, he cares about his friends and family.
And what a lineup! Gabrielle Anwar is unrecognisable here from her early 1990s soppy roles, as Michael's trigger-and-bomb-happy, former-terrorist ex-girlfriend, Fiona (and I thought some of my ex-girlfriends were psycho......) It's a dream of a part for any actress, and she's brilliant at it.
Bruce Campbell (the main man of the Evil Dead movies - and also one of my favourites, Bubba Ho-tep) is also fantastic as Michael's gone-to-seed green beret friend, Sam. And the third, and finest casting coup was getting Sharon Gless (yes, Cagney herself) to play Michael's mum.
At different times, you can almost feel Westen's exasperation with the demands of these three (in Sam's case, it's usually financial, and in the case of Fiona and his mum, emotional, which, frankly, is not good for a spy). And yet, he needs their help to find out who burned him.
The one part that is unconvincing is when Michael Westen goes undercover. The actor Jeffrey Donovan, bless him, is useless at accents. His British accent is mind-bendingly bad, his texan one is OTT-mental and he can't even do a Boston accent....
But if you ignore that, the show's packed full of explosions, Miami locations, sharp editing, smart suits, sexy laydeez, and I say again, "useful spy shit"....no wonder the USA network boasts that Burn Notice is the number one cable show in the USA.
Oh...go on then, let's have one more useful spy tip.....
Just brilliant. I could listen to this stuff all day.
By the way, if you've missed it, Fiver's showing it again, right from Season 1, Episode 1, at 8pm on Monday 20th December onwards.
Friday 10 December 2010
Thursday 25 November 2010
Dexter Season 5 OhmyGod OhmyGod Ohmygod!
Another thing I love about Dexter is that each time you watch the show, you think "surely they can't up the ante on the previous season?" but by heck, they do each time. (Spoiler Alert) Check out this latest trailer for season 5...
For regular fans of the show, I'm sure you'll agree that there comes a point in each season where you kinda feel the writers are treading water, where the web of storylines and characters are still moving into place....then about three-quarters of the way through the season, there's a big reveal ....
For example, last year, it was a good 'un:
Ok, that's a bit of a rubbishy vid, obviously taped from someone's telly, but you get my point - and the youtube comments attached to it sum up many viewers feelings about the dropped bombshell.
To quote Kabo3lives on youtube, "I flipped my shit when I saw this. No lie". Quite.
But this year, each episode has had me on the edge of my seat. The latest one I watched (episode 9) was a fairly quiet one, by Dexter standards, with Dex having to reveal far too much to the police about what he's up to, when his stepdaughter Astor goes missing. It seems to end sweetly, with Dex as family man, But the last 1 minute of the episode was absolutely chilling. (You are gonna love it.)
This season, the writers also seem to be more comfortable than ever with the whole menagerie of characters within the Dexter universe, and have written them all meaty plotlines.
Miami Homicide is well-busy with loads of gruesome beheadings, Deb and Quinn are getting it on, (and he looks even more revolting than usual - skinny with a mahogany perma-tan, ewwwww), the dark-haired woman from the Commitments is Dex's nanny, Angel and La Guerta are probably the most troubled newlyweds I've ever seen, and she's even more insecure than ever about her job.
There's a host of guest-stars too, clearly having the time of their lives. Julia Stiles, Jonny Lee Miller, and a fantastic Peter Weller (yep, that's right, Robocop himself), as a sleazy, drugs cop suspended for corruption, but hired by Quinn to check up on Dex, and who finds out much, much more than he bargained for.
With three episodes left of this post-Rita Season 5 left, those plotlines are now at a stage when they are intermingling, and drawing together. Once again, the net is closing around Dex, and also, this time, around a new friend he has made. Sleazy drugs cop is also beginning to realise that Dex is not a normal human being, and Dex's prey realises he's being hunted...by Dex ...and...and ....it's just magnificent.
When I reviewed this season a few weeks ago (see here) , I knew it was going to be good. So far it's even better than last years season with the Trinity killer. And even more dangerous. If that's possible.
For regular fans of the show, I'm sure you'll agree that there comes a point in each season where you kinda feel the writers are treading water, where the web of storylines and characters are still moving into place....then about three-quarters of the way through the season, there's a big reveal ....
For example, last year, it was a good 'un:
Ok, that's a bit of a rubbishy vid, obviously taped from someone's telly, but you get my point - and the youtube comments attached to it sum up many viewers feelings about the dropped bombshell.
To quote Kabo3lives on youtube, "I flipped my shit when I saw this. No lie". Quite.
But this year, each episode has had me on the edge of my seat. The latest one I watched (episode 9) was a fairly quiet one, by Dexter standards, with Dex having to reveal far too much to the police about what he's up to, when his stepdaughter Astor goes missing. It seems to end sweetly, with Dex as family man, But the last 1 minute of the episode was absolutely chilling. (You are gonna love it.)
This season, the writers also seem to be more comfortable than ever with the whole menagerie of characters within the Dexter universe, and have written them all meaty plotlines.
Miami Homicide is well-busy with loads of gruesome beheadings, Deb and Quinn are getting it on, (and he looks even more revolting than usual - skinny with a mahogany perma-tan, ewwwww), the dark-haired woman from the Commitments is Dex's nanny, Angel and La Guerta are probably the most troubled newlyweds I've ever seen, and she's even more insecure than ever about her job.
There's a host of guest-stars too, clearly having the time of their lives. Julia Stiles, Jonny Lee Miller, and a fantastic Peter Weller (yep, that's right, Robocop himself), as a sleazy, drugs cop suspended for corruption, but hired by Quinn to check up on Dex, and who finds out much, much more than he bargained for.
With three episodes left of this post-Rita Season 5 left, those plotlines are now at a stage when they are intermingling, and drawing together. Once again, the net is closing around Dex, and also, this time, around a new friend he has made. Sleazy drugs cop is also beginning to realise that Dex is not a normal human being, and Dex's prey realises he's being hunted...by Dex ...and...and ....it's just magnificent.
When I reviewed this season a few weeks ago (see here) , I knew it was going to be good. So far it's even better than last years season with the Trinity killer. And even more dangerous. If that's possible.
Wednesday 10 November 2010
Misfits: the ASBO X-men*
Why should clean cut, all-American familes get all the fun of super-powers (see No Ordinary Family), or cheerleaders, Japanese salarymen, chunky cops and male nurses for that matter (see Heroes). Why not a group of undeserving young scrotes, doing community service on a London housing estate, who get struck by lightning during a freak storm?.
Yup, friends, welcome to the world of Misfits - a seriously underrated programme from E4. Last year, the GLW and I couldn't believe that no-one else seemed to be watching it. However, this show won a BAFTA for best TV drama series, which I think came as a surprise to its creators. Well, welcome back: the second series starts this Thursday at 10 on E4.
It's unashamedly a teen drama, being mostly concerned with sex, social status and taking the piss. It's very funny, very rude, and has an increasing body count. It's also very unsentimental - the cast are just like real teenagers - thoroughly unlikeable, but a lot of fun.
There's inarticulate chavvy Kelly (Lauren Socha), slutty party girl Alisha (Antonia Thomas) and creepy weirdo Simon (Iwan Rheon) - star athlete Curtis (Nathan Stewart Jarrett) who's a decent fella, but busted for cocaine possession, and Nathan (Robert Sheehan) a cocky, irritating little turd (believe me, I'm being kind).
And their powers? Let Nathan explain the current state of play at the end of series one....
I really like the fact their powers aren't random at all, but seem to be appropriate to each character.
Curtis regrets what happened to him, and he gets the ability to turn back time.
Kelly is your typical paranoid teenager, and whatdayaknow, she can hear what people are thinking.
Alisha wants to be the fittest and most shaggable girl around - she literally drives people crazy with desire when they touch her (which she uses to get her wicked way with Curtis, who is not best pleased).
Nobody notices or listens to Simon, and he liteally becomes invisible.
And Nathan? He's just an annoying git, with a really crap life, so it's wholly appropriate that he finds out he's going to live forever (can you imagine having someone like that around you , for eternity?)
In the first series, they had virtually no control over their powers, and were fundamentally the same teenage fu*k-ups they were before. None of them suddenly wanted to be a superhero, nor did their powers make them better people. Curtis tries to change events for the better in one episode, but makes things worse, and in Simon's case, his powers make him a stranger, more damaged individual.
In fact, for me, Iwan Rheon as Simon is the standout performer in the first series- you can almost feel Simon's loneliness, isolation and desperation to belong.
What's worse for the Misfits is that other people in the area (which I think is London's distinctive Thamesmead estate) are also affected by the storm. Their community worker becomes a crazed zombie psycho, there's a great episode where a sexy blonde girl takes a shine to Nathan, but she's not quite what she seems, and in another episode, a do-gooding teenager gets super-charisma, and begins to control everyones minds.
It has the flavour of an anarchist X-Men drawn by a pissed Banksy. (You get me? It's sick, as young-uns say...or am I using outdated cultural slang again? I'll get my coat.)
If you missed it, either because it looked a bit too teenage, or because it was on E4, I can't recommend it highly enough - all the first season episodes are on 4OD, so you have no excuse.
Along with Sherlock it's proof that we can produce good, adventure drama here in the UK (instead of endless cliched costume dramas, aaargh!).
* By the way, I'd like to take credit for the phrase "ASBO X-men, but I think the Guardian coined it first.
Yup, friends, welcome to the world of Misfits - a seriously underrated programme from E4. Last year, the GLW and I couldn't believe that no-one else seemed to be watching it. However, this show won a BAFTA for best TV drama series, which I think came as a surprise to its creators. Well, welcome back: the second series starts this Thursday at 10 on E4.
It's unashamedly a teen drama, being mostly concerned with sex, social status and taking the piss. It's very funny, very rude, and has an increasing body count. It's also very unsentimental - the cast are just like real teenagers - thoroughly unlikeable, but a lot of fun.
There's inarticulate chavvy Kelly (Lauren Socha), slutty party girl Alisha (Antonia Thomas) and creepy weirdo Simon (Iwan Rheon) - star athlete Curtis (Nathan Stewart Jarrett) who's a decent fella, but busted for cocaine possession, and Nathan (Robert Sheehan) a cocky, irritating little turd (believe me, I'm being kind).
And their powers? Let Nathan explain the current state of play at the end of series one....
I really like the fact their powers aren't random at all, but seem to be appropriate to each character.
Curtis regrets what happened to him, and he gets the ability to turn back time.
Kelly is your typical paranoid teenager, and whatdayaknow, she can hear what people are thinking.
Alisha wants to be the fittest and most shaggable girl around - she literally drives people crazy with desire when they touch her (which she uses to get her wicked way with Curtis, who is not best pleased).
Nobody notices or listens to Simon, and he liteally becomes invisible.
And Nathan? He's just an annoying git, with a really crap life, so it's wholly appropriate that he finds out he's going to live forever (can you imagine having someone like that around you , for eternity?)
In the first series, they had virtually no control over their powers, and were fundamentally the same teenage fu*k-ups they were before. None of them suddenly wanted to be a superhero, nor did their powers make them better people. Curtis tries to change events for the better in one episode, but makes things worse, and in Simon's case, his powers make him a stranger, more damaged individual.
In fact, for me, Iwan Rheon as Simon is the standout performer in the first series- you can almost feel Simon's loneliness, isolation and desperation to belong.
What's worse for the Misfits is that other people in the area (which I think is London's distinctive Thamesmead estate) are also affected by the storm. Their community worker becomes a crazed zombie psycho, there's a great episode where a sexy blonde girl takes a shine to Nathan, but she's not quite what she seems, and in another episode, a do-gooding teenager gets super-charisma, and begins to control everyones minds.
It has the flavour of an anarchist X-Men drawn by a pissed Banksy. (You get me? It's sick, as young-uns say...or am I using outdated cultural slang again? I'll get my coat.)
If you missed it, either because it looked a bit too teenage, or because it was on E4, I can't recommend it highly enough - all the first season episodes are on 4OD, so you have no excuse.
Along with Sherlock it's proof that we can produce good, adventure drama here in the UK (instead of endless cliched costume dramas, aaargh!).
* By the way, I'd like to take credit for the phrase "ASBO X-men, but I think the Guardian coined it first.
Tuesday 9 November 2010
The Walking Dead...er...walk on.
AMC has already renewed The Walking Dead for a second season. Not really surprising, regarding it had a best debut for any cable show ever in the states.
Here's a pointless quote from the head of AMC...
“The ‘Dead’ has spread!” said Charlie Collier, President, AMC. “No other cable series has ever attracted as many Adults 18-49 as The Walking Dead. This reaffirms viewers’ hunger for premium television on basic cable. We are so proud to be bringing back The Dead again, across the globe.”
So there you go. I watched the second episode last night, followed by the latest episode of Dexter. Needless to say, I squealed like a little girl all the way through, and afterwards I needed a lie-down in a darkened room, and half a junior dispirin. I even considered sleeping with the light on.
Several sharp slaps later from my GLW, and being told to stop being Mr Soggy-pants, I have to tell you that the tension continues to be ramped-up throughout episode 2, which is called "Guts". It doesn't take a brain surgeon (or abdominal surgeon, boom boom!) to work out why.
It's so gross at one point, that the only dialogue from all the cast members for a good three minutes consists of a single word: "ewwwwwwww!"
I'm lovin' it. Someone in my regular job called me a sicko the other day (because I watched "Drag me to Hell" on the train into work). They're probably right.
Here's a pointless quote from the head of AMC...
“The ‘Dead’ has spread!” said Charlie Collier, President, AMC. “No other cable series has ever attracted as many Adults 18-49 as The Walking Dead. This reaffirms viewers’ hunger for premium television on basic cable. We are so proud to be bringing back The Dead again, across the globe.”
So there you go. I watched the second episode last night, followed by the latest episode of Dexter. Needless to say, I squealed like a little girl all the way through, and afterwards I needed a lie-down in a darkened room, and half a junior dispirin. I even considered sleeping with the light on.
Several sharp slaps later from my GLW, and being told to stop being Mr Soggy-pants, I have to tell you that the tension continues to be ramped-up throughout episode 2, which is called "Guts". It doesn't take a brain surgeon (or abdominal surgeon, boom boom!) to work out why.
It's so gross at one point, that the only dialogue from all the cast members for a good three minutes consists of a single word: "ewwwwwwww!"
I'm lovin' it. Someone in my regular job called me a sicko the other day (because I watched "Drag me to Hell" on the train into work). They're probably right.
Wednesday 3 November 2010
The Walking Dead - Nerdgasm time.
Ok, I think from the title of this blog update, you can be safely assured that I really like AMCs The Walking Dead. I'll be honest, it's the one US show I've really been looking forward to seeing this year.....
Oh YEAH!....but y'know what, the trailer really doesn't do it justice. You may look at the bit where Andrew Lincoln wakes up in hospital and say (adopts whiney, sneering know-it-all voice) "Yeah, but Danny Boyle did that in 28 Days Later years ago..." (*discuss: see my note at the bottom of this post)
Yeah yeah yeah....let's face it, there aren't that many ways to start a zombie story on-screen. By the way, let me digress for the moment, and show you my favourite opener - from Zombieland...
Back to business, and (spoiler alert) The Walking Dead only resembles 28 Days Later in its subject matter and the situation the lead character Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln from Teachers and this Life) initially finds himself in. The show resembles the more serious offspring of a union between 28 Days Later and the BBCs Survivors, though somehow it comes across as more realistic than either of them - which I admit is strange, given the subject matter.
Remember when Cillian Murphy woke up in 28 Days Later? It was used as a sequence of pure spectacle, with him wandering around a deserted London, empty apart from sprinting zombies. Well, this is slightly different. Rick Grimes wakes, can barely stand, and is faced with a deserted hospital with some rooms barracaded shut, with the undead trying to get out - not to mention the piles of bodies outside. You get a real sense of just how bad things have got in the time he's been unconscious.
He is found by an uninfected father and son who think he's a threat because he's wounded (they initially think he's been bitten by a zombie) and after he gets tooled-up, he heads off to Atlanta to try to find his missing wife and son (so far, so Survivors).
But where this differs from previous efforts is that the characters have time to consider their actions. The father and son are trapped: physically by a house surrounded by the undead every night, and emotionally, by the fact that one of the besieging zombies is the father's beloved wife, and the mother of his child.
Another scene stood out for me - on the way home in his hospital nightgown, Grimes encounters his first zombie face-to-face. It's the pitful remains of a young woman, a hissing, snarling torso with arms and a head, only able to move by dragging herself along. He returns a few days later, and spends some time searching for what's left of her, before telling her "I'm sorry this happened to you" and blowing her brains out.
Mercy, conscience, and loss: in essence, some of the emotional attachments within society that are normally absent from your average zombie flick. Mainstream critics may argue that these scenes in The Walking Dead are handled in a slightly heavy-handed way, but as a horror fan, I was pleasantly surprised that they were there at all. After all, you'd have to be a bona-fide psychopath to pick up a baseball bat, or cricket bat and bash your zombie neighbour's head in without feeling anything.
I remember that when I first heard about The Walking Dead , I was sure one of the main channels over here would have been mad not to pick it up - but on reflection, I can see why it was bought by FX.
At the moment, Channel 4 is showing the pretty gruesome True Blood, and FX has just finished showing the 4th series of the bloodbath (literally) that is Dexter, which undoubtedly will be shown soon on ITV2. But The Walking Dead takes this to another level competely. It's an uncompromising horror series - if you're not used to zombie flicks you may be a bit shocked at some of the things that happen in the first episode alone -
I mean, Grimes shoots a little zombie girl in the head in the first two minutes of the show - brains and blood fly everywhere....But, if like me, you're a zombie movie fan - you'll love it.
Mind you, my GLW hates horror films because she's a big girl's blouse, but she thought The Walking Dead was brilliant.
And there is one moment in the very first episode, that doesn't make you jump, nor does it make you squeal, but it literally takes your breath away, and makes you go "Oh.My.God...."
I think I had my first nerdgasm.
The Walking Dead starts on FX this Friday at 10pm - they've even got a nice little interview with the writer of the original comic, Robert Kirkman here
* Factoid: by the way, Robert Kirkman who wrote The Walking Dead came up with the "waking up from a coma into zombie apocalypse" idea first...before 28 Days Later, so there.
Oh YEAH!....but y'know what, the trailer really doesn't do it justice. You may look at the bit where Andrew Lincoln wakes up in hospital and say (adopts whiney, sneering know-it-all voice) "Yeah, but Danny Boyle did that in 28 Days Later years ago..." (*discuss: see my note at the bottom of this post)
Yeah yeah yeah....let's face it, there aren't that many ways to start a zombie story on-screen. By the way, let me digress for the moment, and show you my favourite opener - from Zombieland...
Back to business, and (spoiler alert) The Walking Dead only resembles 28 Days Later in its subject matter and the situation the lead character Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln from Teachers and this Life) initially finds himself in. The show resembles the more serious offspring of a union between 28 Days Later and the BBCs Survivors, though somehow it comes across as more realistic than either of them - which I admit is strange, given the subject matter.
Remember when Cillian Murphy woke up in 28 Days Later? It was used as a sequence of pure spectacle, with him wandering around a deserted London, empty apart from sprinting zombies. Well, this is slightly different. Rick Grimes wakes, can barely stand, and is faced with a deserted hospital with some rooms barracaded shut, with the undead trying to get out - not to mention the piles of bodies outside. You get a real sense of just how bad things have got in the time he's been unconscious.
He is found by an uninfected father and son who think he's a threat because he's wounded (they initially think he's been bitten by a zombie) and after he gets tooled-up, he heads off to Atlanta to try to find his missing wife and son (so far, so Survivors).
But where this differs from previous efforts is that the characters have time to consider their actions. The father and son are trapped: physically by a house surrounded by the undead every night, and emotionally, by the fact that one of the besieging zombies is the father's beloved wife, and the mother of his child.
Another scene stood out for me - on the way home in his hospital nightgown, Grimes encounters his first zombie face-to-face. It's the pitful remains of a young woman, a hissing, snarling torso with arms and a head, only able to move by dragging herself along. He returns a few days later, and spends some time searching for what's left of her, before telling her "I'm sorry this happened to you" and blowing her brains out.
Mercy, conscience, and loss: in essence, some of the emotional attachments within society that are normally absent from your average zombie flick. Mainstream critics may argue that these scenes in The Walking Dead are handled in a slightly heavy-handed way, but as a horror fan, I was pleasantly surprised that they were there at all. After all, you'd have to be a bona-fide psychopath to pick up a baseball bat, or cricket bat and bash your zombie neighbour's head in without feeling anything.
I remember that when I first heard about The Walking Dead , I was sure one of the main channels over here would have been mad not to pick it up - but on reflection, I can see why it was bought by FX.
At the moment, Channel 4 is showing the pretty gruesome True Blood, and FX has just finished showing the 4th series of the bloodbath (literally) that is Dexter, which undoubtedly will be shown soon on ITV2. But The Walking Dead takes this to another level competely. It's an uncompromising horror series - if you're not used to zombie flicks you may be a bit shocked at some of the things that happen in the first episode alone -
I mean, Grimes shoots a little zombie girl in the head in the first two minutes of the show - brains and blood fly everywhere....But, if like me, you're a zombie movie fan - you'll love it.
Mind you, my GLW hates horror films because she's a big girl's blouse, but she thought The Walking Dead was brilliant.
And there is one moment in the very first episode, that doesn't make you jump, nor does it make you squeal, but it literally takes your breath away, and makes you go "Oh.My.God...."
I think I had my first nerdgasm.
The Walking Dead starts on FX this Friday at 10pm - they've even got a nice little interview with the writer of the original comic, Robert Kirkman here
* Factoid: by the way, Robert Kirkman who wrote The Walking Dead came up with the "waking up from a coma into zombie apocalypse" idea first...before 28 Days Later, so there.
Friday 29 October 2010
Battlestar buggeration
Damn. There's bad news and good news for Battlestar fans...
Bad news first. SyFy (it's still a stupid name for a network) has cancelled Caprica (click for the news story) with immediate effect. Just when it was getting good. Idiots.
To add insult to injury, somehow, the woeful Haven has been greenlit for a second series. Probably because it's cheap (and nasty). See my review of the steaming, rancid turd that is Haven here.
The rest of the Caprica episodes will be shown at the start of 2011. It was a slow-burner without the immediate flashiness or giant battles of Battlestar, but I for one, will miss it.
Now the good news: Syfy may have redeemed themselves in my book, because, according to the US website TV guide, SyFy has given the go-ahead for a second prequel series, called Blood and Chrome . Frakk, it sounds good - set 10 years into the first Cylon War, a young Ensign William Adama finds himself aboard the fleet's newest battleship, the Battlestar Galactica.
My thoughts? I have two words for you - hubba, and hubba. The 2 hour pilot starts filming next year.
I want it. And I want it now.
Bad news first. SyFy (it's still a stupid name for a network) has cancelled Caprica (click for the news story) with immediate effect. Just when it was getting good. Idiots.
To add insult to injury, somehow, the woeful Haven has been greenlit for a second series. Probably because it's cheap (and nasty). See my review of the steaming, rancid turd that is Haven here.
The rest of the Caprica episodes will be shown at the start of 2011. It was a slow-burner without the immediate flashiness or giant battles of Battlestar, but I for one, will miss it.
Now the good news: Syfy may have redeemed themselves in my book, because, according to the US website TV guide, SyFy has given the go-ahead for a second prequel series, called Blood and Chrome . Frakk, it sounds good - set 10 years into the first Cylon War, a young Ensign William Adama finds himself aboard the fleet's newest battleship, the Battlestar Galactica.
My thoughts? I have two words for you - hubba, and hubba. The 2 hour pilot starts filming next year.
I want it. And I want it now.
Sunday 24 October 2010
Elementary stuff...
Ok, occasional UK TV review here.
For my friends in the USA, you are in for a bloody treat. For tonight (24th October), Your local PBS station is going to start broadcasting Sherlock, a rare delicacy we devoured here in the UK in the Summer. Seek it it out - it's more than worth it....
In my opinion, it's the only British show of the last few years that can compare to US dramas in terms of quality, scripting, performances and production values. It is truly awesome, and must have cost the BBC a stupid amount of money (which they've undoubtedly recouped by selling it worldwide - kerr-ching!).
...a bit like Dr Who, which like it or not, has also been a gigantic moneyspinner for Auntie, So they gave Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat ,the scamps behind the current season of the show, the chance to get to grips with reinventing Sherlock Holmes. (And incidentally, Moffatt was behind the scariest Dr Who episode ever, Blink, featuring a young Carey Mulligan.)
Madonna's ex, Guy Richie, also tried a revamp recently, with Robert Downey Jr as a hammy version of the great detective, and Jude Law playing Watson as a bit of a posh, tasty, nawty geezer. Hmmm......Yeah, it was all-right I suppose, giving 19th century characters modern sensibilities.
But that movie is not a patch on this new TV version.
This reboot brings the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories bang up to date. I'll get to the excellent casting in a minute, but its pretty clear the writers love the original books. We all think of the deerstalker, the pipe the violin and so on (only the violin is retained) but Moffat and Gatiss have written a version of the character that seems to be truer in spirit to the original, than the Guy Richie version.
I've got to say at this point, (spoiler alert) that writer Mark Gatiss (ex of The League of Gentlemen) clearly couldn't resist taking the plum role of M, the head of MI6 in the series. And of course, the M in this case stands for Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's elder brother. I wonder if Mr Gatiss has read Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where the identity of M is a running gag (see below)
Anyway, I digress - the show was a big hit in the UK, partly because it made the whole concept of Sherlock, well, a bit sexy.
The title role's played by the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch, who seems to make laydeez (ie: my GLW and my female boss at least) emit a low growling noise, whilst simultaneously pulling what I would describe as a disturbing predatory expression - even though he plays Sherlock as a sort of Aspergers Savant - with no emotional wherewithall whatsoever, but quite, quite brilliant nonetheless.
For example, check out Sherlock's gaydar, when he meets "Jim from IT", which puts everyone else's to shame....
Which brings me on to Martin Freeman (who's just signed up to play Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit movies).
He brings a refined depth and humour to Dr Watson - and is probably the most intelligent version of the character I've ever seen. There's nothing buffoonish about him, and he's as fascinated by Sherlock as we are. The show also explains why Dr Watson would want to be Sherlock's sidekick in the first place. His character is a soldier: an Army doctor injured in action in Afghanistan, bored and war weary, and in search of something to make him feel alive.
The scene changes and editing are exquisite (I must be a bit mental praising those - but watch 'em, they're very clever) and in the same way most shows use mobile phones as a plot device to move the scene on, Sherlock uses text messages which appear- speech-bubble like - on screen when someone's phone beeps. When Sherlock uses the net on his smartphone, his searching appears on screen next to him. It's a very clever device.
And then there's the music - the title music is ho-hum, and it's thankfully sparse throughout the show - but there's a little "Sherlock Holmes theme" which plays whenever he's examining a crime scene or the cogs are whirring in his head. It's very evocative, and I've been humming it non-stop since the show aired over here in the summer. Here, have a listen (it's the first track):
Another thing: just wait for the entrance of Sherlock's arch-nemesis, (Professor) James Moriarty in the series.
He is genuinely scary, a genuine Napoleon of Crime, who is more than a match for Sherlock. And he also has a Dublin accent to boot (can the writers be the first to have considered that Moriarty is an Irish name? Genius).
In fact, all in all, this is my second-favourite filmed version of Sherlock Holmes.
My favourite? It's "The Seven Per Cent Solution" starring Nichol Williamson as a quite barmy Sherlock Holmes, and Robert Duvall as Watson. It's an absolutely brilliant, grown-up version of the Holmes and Watson legend. You can get it cheaply here
The second season of the BBCs Sherlock will be broadcast in autumn 2011, and as for those of you in the States who haven't seen it - I suggest you seek out your local PBS station right now.
(And for those of you who missed an episode of two - because the BBC stupidly put it on in the middle of the summer holidays - it's on DVD and you can also download it on iTunes).
For my friends in the USA, you are in for a bloody treat. For tonight (24th October), Your local PBS station is going to start broadcasting Sherlock, a rare delicacy we devoured here in the UK in the Summer. Seek it it out - it's more than worth it....
In my opinion, it's the only British show of the last few years that can compare to US dramas in terms of quality, scripting, performances and production values. It is truly awesome, and must have cost the BBC a stupid amount of money (which they've undoubtedly recouped by selling it worldwide - kerr-ching!).
...a bit like Dr Who, which like it or not, has also been a gigantic moneyspinner for Auntie, So they gave Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat ,the scamps behind the current season of the show, the chance to get to grips with reinventing Sherlock Holmes. (And incidentally, Moffatt was behind the scariest Dr Who episode ever, Blink, featuring a young Carey Mulligan.)
Madonna's ex, Guy Richie, also tried a revamp recently, with Robert Downey Jr as a hammy version of the great detective, and Jude Law playing Watson as a bit of a posh, tasty, nawty geezer. Hmmm......Yeah, it was all-right I suppose, giving 19th century characters modern sensibilities.
But that movie is not a patch on this new TV version.
This reboot brings the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories bang up to date. I'll get to the excellent casting in a minute, but its pretty clear the writers love the original books. We all think of the deerstalker, the pipe the violin and so on (only the violin is retained) but Moffat and Gatiss have written a version of the character that seems to be truer in spirit to the original, than the Guy Richie version.
I've got to say at this point, (spoiler alert) that writer Mark Gatiss (ex of The League of Gentlemen) clearly couldn't resist taking the plum role of M, the head of MI6 in the series. And of course, the M in this case stands for Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's elder brother. I wonder if Mr Gatiss has read Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where the identity of M is a running gag (see below)
Anyway, I digress - the show was a big hit in the UK, partly because it made the whole concept of Sherlock, well, a bit sexy.
The title role's played by the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch, who seems to make laydeez (ie: my GLW and my female boss at least) emit a low growling noise, whilst simultaneously pulling what I would describe as a disturbing predatory expression - even though he plays Sherlock as a sort of Aspergers Savant - with no emotional wherewithall whatsoever, but quite, quite brilliant nonetheless.
For example, check out Sherlock's gaydar, when he meets "Jim from IT", which puts everyone else's to shame....
Which brings me on to Martin Freeman (who's just signed up to play Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit movies).
He brings a refined depth and humour to Dr Watson - and is probably the most intelligent version of the character I've ever seen. There's nothing buffoonish about him, and he's as fascinated by Sherlock as we are. The show also explains why Dr Watson would want to be Sherlock's sidekick in the first place. His character is a soldier: an Army doctor injured in action in Afghanistan, bored and war weary, and in search of something to make him feel alive.
The scene changes and editing are exquisite (I must be a bit mental praising those - but watch 'em, they're very clever) and in the same way most shows use mobile phones as a plot device to move the scene on, Sherlock uses text messages which appear- speech-bubble like - on screen when someone's phone beeps. When Sherlock uses the net on his smartphone, his searching appears on screen next to him. It's a very clever device.
And then there's the music - the title music is ho-hum, and it's thankfully sparse throughout the show - but there's a little "Sherlock Holmes theme" which plays whenever he's examining a crime scene or the cogs are whirring in his head. It's very evocative, and I've been humming it non-stop since the show aired over here in the summer. Here, have a listen (it's the first track):
Another thing: just wait for the entrance of Sherlock's arch-nemesis, (Professor) James Moriarty in the series.
He is genuinely scary, a genuine Napoleon of Crime, who is more than a match for Sherlock. And he also has a Dublin accent to boot (can the writers be the first to have considered that Moriarty is an Irish name? Genius).
In fact, all in all, this is my second-favourite filmed version of Sherlock Holmes.
My favourite? It's "The Seven Per Cent Solution" starring Nichol Williamson as a quite barmy Sherlock Holmes, and Robert Duvall as Watson. It's an absolutely brilliant, grown-up version of the Holmes and Watson legend. You can get it cheaply here
The second season of the BBCs Sherlock will be broadcast in autumn 2011, and as for those of you in the States who haven't seen it - I suggest you seek out your local PBS station right now.
(And for those of you who missed an episode of two - because the BBC stupidly put it on in the middle of the summer holidays - it's on DVD and you can also download it on iTunes).
Friday 15 October 2010
Dexter, Season 5. Time to bring out the big guns (and knives)
Dexter Season 5: OMFG as young people say (as I'm reliably informed).
Look, I know there are a lot of Dexter fans out there, so I'm not going to put any spoilers for season 5 in this review - It's already shaping up to be the best yet, and it's only into its 3rd episode on Showtime.
The last time we all saw Dex over here, was the particularly grim ending to Season 4. (Spoiler Alert for that season)- Dex had sliced n'diced his nemesis, Trinity (John Lithgow), but came home to find wifey Rita dead. For those of you with a nervous disposition, don't bother clicking on this vid.
It's a strange show, Dexter, I mean, Michael C Hall plays a sociopathic serial killer who (mostly) fakes real emotions, takes extraordinary risks, murdered his own brother, and, by the end of season 4, prompted the nasty, bloody death of his own wife. And yet, dear viewer, we all root for him. All the time.
I don't think I've ever sat through a single episode and thought "Dexter, you're a sick and disturbed individual, and you need to be caught and brought to justice." - in fact, watching the show, I think I resemble my mum when she watches James Bond films. Each time Bond gets punched by a baddie in a fight, she involuntarily cries out "Oh James!".
Obviously, I don't do that when watching Dexter, because that would be very camp of me indeed.
However, while watching Dexter, I do have a habit of murmuring "oh shit..." when he gets himself in trouble, which becomes "Oh Shit!" when it gets worse, sometimes getting to "OH SHIT!", and eventually reaching "SHIT!SHIT!SHIT!SHIT!" for a particularly tense episode.
I'm articulate, me.
The GLW summed it up well. She says you get a knot in your stomach watching Dexter because it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Then the tension relaxes, until you watch the next episode, and the cycle begins again....
(God, that makes it sound like Dexter's kill-cycle. I think we need a Doctor in the Gurudad household. Or maybe a priest.)
The other reason I like Dexter, is that it's the show that keeps giving. It's that rare thing: it improves with every season, and rarely sags (c'mon, even the most diehard Lost or Battlestar fan must have thought at times "This is crap. I'm not watching this again").
And each season can be conveniently summed-up in a single sentence. You don't believe me? Allow me to demonstrate:
Season 1. Dexter meets his brother.
Season 2. Dexter and the bunny-boiler.
Season 3. Dexter finds a friend.
Season 4. Dexter meets his match.
So at the moment, Season 5 would be: Dexter fucks-up. Badly.
Damn. That was two sentences.
Season 4 is still being screened on FX in the UK, and Season 5 is airing on Showtime in the US right now
Look, I know there are a lot of Dexter fans out there, so I'm not going to put any spoilers for season 5 in this review - It's already shaping up to be the best yet, and it's only into its 3rd episode on Showtime.
The last time we all saw Dex over here, was the particularly grim ending to Season 4. (Spoiler Alert for that season)- Dex had sliced n'diced his nemesis, Trinity (John Lithgow), but came home to find wifey Rita dead. For those of you with a nervous disposition, don't bother clicking on this vid.
It's a strange show, Dexter, I mean, Michael C Hall plays a sociopathic serial killer who (mostly) fakes real emotions, takes extraordinary risks, murdered his own brother, and, by the end of season 4, prompted the nasty, bloody death of his own wife. And yet, dear viewer, we all root for him. All the time.
I don't think I've ever sat through a single episode and thought "Dexter, you're a sick and disturbed individual, and you need to be caught and brought to justice." - in fact, watching the show, I think I resemble my mum when she watches James Bond films. Each time Bond gets punched by a baddie in a fight, she involuntarily cries out "Oh James!".
Obviously, I don't do that when watching Dexter, because that would be very camp of me indeed.
However, while watching Dexter, I do have a habit of murmuring "oh shit..." when he gets himself in trouble, which becomes "Oh Shit!" when it gets worse, sometimes getting to "OH SHIT!", and eventually reaching "SHIT!SHIT!SHIT!SHIT!" for a particularly tense episode.
I'm articulate, me.
The GLW summed it up well. She says you get a knot in your stomach watching Dexter because it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Then the tension relaxes, until you watch the next episode, and the cycle begins again....
(God, that makes it sound like Dexter's kill-cycle. I think we need a Doctor in the Gurudad household. Or maybe a priest.)
The other reason I like Dexter, is that it's the show that keeps giving. It's that rare thing: it improves with every season, and rarely sags (c'mon, even the most diehard Lost or Battlestar fan must have thought at times "This is crap. I'm not watching this again").
And each season can be conveniently summed-up in a single sentence. You don't believe me? Allow me to demonstrate:
Season 1. Dexter meets his brother.
Season 2. Dexter and the bunny-boiler.
Season 3. Dexter finds a friend.
Season 4. Dexter meets his match.
So at the moment, Season 5 would be: Dexter fucks-up. Badly.
Damn. That was two sentences.
Season 4 is still being screened on FX in the UK, and Season 5 is airing on Showtime in the US right now
Thursday 14 October 2010
The very Good Wife
You may have seen trails for The Good Wife, lurking on More 4. Season 2 has just started in the US, and I'm going to try to convince you why you should seek it out if you get the chance. (Btw I think the first series is being repeated on daytimes on Channel 4 at the moment - so set that PVR/skybox/virgin box, whatever.)
If you're not familiar with the show, it's basically the aftermath of an incident like this:
Sorry, couldn't resist putting that in - but the Little Britain sketch actually does sum it up: the press conference with a politician publicly apologising for his sins, loyal wife at his side, has become a cliche. But no-one has really asked what happens to the poor cow afterwards....
The show is about Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies, ex of ER),the wife of former State's Attorney Peter, (Chris Noth, y'know, Big from SATC) She's the, er, Matt Lucas character in all this. Her hubby is sent to prison following a corruption, cocaine and 'Hoes scandal, and boy, does everyone keep reminding her about it.
So she has to go back to work as a single, working mum - it's pretty fortunate that 13 years earlier she was a hotshot lawyer who came top of her class at Georgetown (naah, I don't know where it is either, but I'm assuming it's somewhere prestigious and WASPy).
Anyhow, she now finds herself working in Comrade Obama's post-racial America with lots of young 20-somethings and a 2-dimensional old flame, armed only with a killer wardrobe, intelligence and heels. So far, so LA law.
But where this differs from other courtroom dramas is that it begins to dawn on you that her husband wasn't necessarily corrupt, and may have been set up by his successor, the ruthless Glen Childs (played by the magnificently-named Titus Welliver). It's this unfolding conspiracy and the battle between these two that drives this show.
But its also got a superb cast: Archie Panjabi won an Emmy last year for playing Kalinda, the law firm's freelance private detective, Chris Noth is superb as Peter Florrick - you really are never sure whether he's a good guy or an evil bastard, and of course Alan Cumming as Eli Gold (he's Peter's reputation rehabilitator, a sort of Max Clifford of the internet).
And that brings me to another point - The Good Wife is incredibly savvy about how modern media and politics work.
Look at this scene from the latest episode: a newly-released Peter is back on the campaign trail, and is answering questions in a webcam interview about justice and the importance of stiff sentencing. Meanwhile, in the other room....
V cool, eh? In another aspect, it reminds me a bit of Burn Notice* No, it hasn't got sexy Miami locations and lots of explosions, but you learn a new factoid in almost every episode. This week, the GLW and I learned the basics of US military law. So there you go.
Oh and another aspect that's equally impressive is that many of the storylines come from news headlines. In one episode, Alicia discovers youths are being given severe sentences for minor crimes by a judge, because he's getting brown envelopes stuffed with cash from a private youth custody centre, which gets paid per inmate. You couldn't (and they didn't) make it up.
Lastly, Juilianna Margulies does a superb job of portraying a woman trying to hold onto whatever dignity she has left after her husband's prozzie-shagging ways become public. It's a dream role - it must be, that woman must have spent nigh-on 20 years in cold, windy Chicago, rather than signing up to a nice, warm sub-tropical drama like Lost (or Dexter..or Burn Notice...or the Glades or Hawaii Five O...actually, disregard the last two, they're absolute shite). This, however, in my increasingly dodgy 1970s Indian soft-drink scale of goodness, is Mangola (m'lud).
*I'll be looking at Burn Notice soon.
If you're not familiar with the show, it's basically the aftermath of an incident like this:
Sorry, couldn't resist putting that in - but the Little Britain sketch actually does sum it up: the press conference with a politician publicly apologising for his sins, loyal wife at his side, has become a cliche. But no-one has really asked what happens to the poor cow afterwards....
The show is about Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies, ex of ER),the wife of former State's Attorney Peter, (Chris Noth, y'know, Big from SATC) She's the, er, Matt Lucas character in all this. Her hubby is sent to prison following a corruption, cocaine and 'Hoes scandal, and boy, does everyone keep reminding her about it.
So she has to go back to work as a single, working mum - it's pretty fortunate that 13 years earlier she was a hotshot lawyer who came top of her class at Georgetown (naah, I don't know where it is either, but I'm assuming it's somewhere prestigious and WASPy).
Anyhow, she now finds herself working in Comrade Obama's post-racial America with lots of young 20-somethings and a 2-dimensional old flame, armed only with a killer wardrobe, intelligence and heels. So far, so LA law.
But where this differs from other courtroom dramas is that it begins to dawn on you that her husband wasn't necessarily corrupt, and may have been set up by his successor, the ruthless Glen Childs (played by the magnificently-named Titus Welliver). It's this unfolding conspiracy and the battle between these two that drives this show.
But its also got a superb cast: Archie Panjabi won an Emmy last year for playing Kalinda, the law firm's freelance private detective, Chris Noth is superb as Peter Florrick - you really are never sure whether he's a good guy or an evil bastard, and of course Alan Cumming as Eli Gold (he's Peter's reputation rehabilitator, a sort of Max Clifford of the internet).
And that brings me to another point - The Good Wife is incredibly savvy about how modern media and politics work.
Look at this scene from the latest episode: a newly-released Peter is back on the campaign trail, and is answering questions in a webcam interview about justice and the importance of stiff sentencing. Meanwhile, in the other room....
V cool, eh? In another aspect, it reminds me a bit of Burn Notice* No, it hasn't got sexy Miami locations and lots of explosions, but you learn a new factoid in almost every episode. This week, the GLW and I learned the basics of US military law. So there you go.
Oh and another aspect that's equally impressive is that many of the storylines come from news headlines. In one episode, Alicia discovers youths are being given severe sentences for minor crimes by a judge, because he's getting brown envelopes stuffed with cash from a private youth custody centre, which gets paid per inmate. You couldn't (and they didn't) make it up.
Lastly, Juilianna Margulies does a superb job of portraying a woman trying to hold onto whatever dignity she has left after her husband's prozzie-shagging ways become public. It's a dream role - it must be, that woman must have spent nigh-on 20 years in cold, windy Chicago, rather than signing up to a nice, warm sub-tropical drama like Lost (or Dexter..or Burn Notice...or the Glades or Hawaii Five O...actually, disregard the last two, they're absolute shite). This, however, in my increasingly dodgy 1970s Indian soft-drink scale of goodness, is Mangola (m'lud).
*I'll be looking at Burn Notice soon.
Sunday 10 October 2010
Caprica's resurrection.
Despite my feelings about the lame-arse Haven SyFy (SciFi, goddamit!) has redeemed itself, with Caprica version 1.1
For anyone who's never seen the show, I'd have to say it's not something instantly accessible, but bear with me. It's part of the Battlestar Galactica universe, and.........hello?.... Hello? I think I've lost a few people there already.
Well (deep breath), I suggest you start playing this music then read on....(Spoiler alert: If you haven't seen the first half of series 1, skip the next paragraph)
...It's about 2 families living on Caprica, the capital world of the 12 colonies of humankind, 50 years before the Cylons come along and wipe out all but 50,000 members of the human race - there's this rich Dyson-type inventor bloke called Daniel Greystone, his jailbait genius daughter Zoe, who gets killed in the first episode in a train bombing by these religious nutters called the Soldiers of the One - it was her boyfriend what done it - anyhow, her mum's a surgeon who understandably is grief-striken and is a bit delusional too, and mopes about a bit. She becomes the close personal friend of her daughter's creepy teacher (played by Polly Walker from Rome) There's the Adamas too: Taurons, frowned-upon by the (generally) racist Capricans - Mob lawyer Joseph loses his daughter Tamara in the same bombing. But Zoe Greystone's a genius, remember - she's made a virtual duplicate of herself in Cyberspace, and her somewhat amoral dad downloads her and puts her in this robot soldier he's got which doesn't work. Until of course, he puts the virtual version of Zoe in it. Et voila! The first sentient Cylon centurion is born, and with it, their method of resurrrection too. A virtual version of Tamara Adama is also made, and she becomes trapped in an online game and becomes uber-powerful in it. It's kinda like wi-fi, except with souls...
And that, friends, is my summary of Caprica Version 1.0 - I've actually left loads of detail out, because, unlike Battlestar, it was really really soapy.
By the end of the first half of the series, I was really beginning to get a bit bored, but Caprica Version 1.1 is a different beast. Slicker and with more direction, it romps along, spanning and interweaving storylines on Caprica, Gemenon (the rather cold and inhospitable homeworld of the Soldiers of the One) and in Cyberspace, taking in religious zealotry, corporate ambition and greed, and even has a classic mob scene. Take a look: it's almost a homage to the the Godfather. Here, Daniel Greystone, in desperation, turns to the Tauron mob for help...
Episode 10 is much darker than the previous half of the series, and is all the better for it - the desires, the plotting and the scheming of the main characters has come to the fore, and what none of them realise is that the cylon race is almost inperceptibly developing in the background. And what's more, the series very cleverly shows you exactly why they hate humans enough to want to wipe them from the face of the 12 colonies.
Bravo, SyFy, Caprica has just become one hell of a ride.
Caprica will return to Sky 1 in January 2011
For anyone who's never seen the show, I'd have to say it's not something instantly accessible, but bear with me. It's part of the Battlestar Galactica universe, and.........hello?.... Hello? I think I've lost a few people there already.
Well (deep breath), I suggest you start playing this music then read on....(Spoiler alert: If you haven't seen the first half of series 1, skip the next paragraph)
...It's about 2 families living on Caprica, the capital world of the 12 colonies of humankind, 50 years before the Cylons come along and wipe out all but 50,000 members of the human race - there's this rich Dyson-type inventor bloke called Daniel Greystone, his jailbait genius daughter Zoe, who gets killed in the first episode in a train bombing by these religious nutters called the Soldiers of the One - it was her boyfriend what done it - anyhow, her mum's a surgeon who understandably is grief-striken and is a bit delusional too, and mopes about a bit. She becomes the close personal friend of her daughter's creepy teacher (played by Polly Walker from Rome) There's the Adamas too: Taurons, frowned-upon by the (generally) racist Capricans - Mob lawyer Joseph loses his daughter Tamara in the same bombing. But Zoe Greystone's a genius, remember - she's made a virtual duplicate of herself in Cyberspace, and her somewhat amoral dad downloads her and puts her in this robot soldier he's got which doesn't work. Until of course, he puts the virtual version of Zoe in it. Et voila! The first sentient Cylon centurion is born, and with it, their method of resurrrection too. A virtual version of Tamara Adama is also made, and she becomes trapped in an online game and becomes uber-powerful in it. It's kinda like wi-fi, except with souls...
And that, friends, is my summary of Caprica Version 1.0 - I've actually left loads of detail out, because, unlike Battlestar, it was really really soapy.
By the end of the first half of the series, I was really beginning to get a bit bored, but Caprica Version 1.1 is a different beast. Slicker and with more direction, it romps along, spanning and interweaving storylines on Caprica, Gemenon (the rather cold and inhospitable homeworld of the Soldiers of the One) and in Cyberspace, taking in religious zealotry, corporate ambition and greed, and even has a classic mob scene. Take a look: it's almost a homage to the the Godfather. Here, Daniel Greystone, in desperation, turns to the Tauron mob for help...
Episode 10 is much darker than the previous half of the series, and is all the better for it - the desires, the plotting and the scheming of the main characters has come to the fore, and what none of them realise is that the cylon race is almost inperceptibly developing in the background. And what's more, the series very cleverly shows you exactly why they hate humans enough to want to wipe them from the face of the 12 colonies.
Bravo, SyFy, Caprica has just become one hell of a ride.
Caprica will return to Sky 1 in January 2011
Wednesday 6 October 2010
Haven's above
I'm coming a bit late to this one - Haven
It's a series that started in July on SyFy (dontcha just hate that rebranding? It's like they think SciFi is too difficult a concept for big cow people in Iowa to understand..."Honey I just found this channel with lotsa weird stuff on, I think it's called Sky-fee....")
Anyway, It's based on a Stephen King novel called the Colorado Kid. And the show is dull. Sorry. First of all, don't bother adapting Stephen King novels for television, they rarely work. The only one I can think of that did is Salem's Lot (and the miniseries of It doesn't count, on the grounds that the final part was shite).
Secondly, It's set in Maine. Why does every single Stephen King story take place in Maine? Good God, man, you're rich enough - do some travelling. Ffs.
Thirdly it's about a female, blonde FBI agent (who just happens to be an orphan) investigating strange people and strange happenings in the town of Haven er...Fringe anyone? Or perhaps the X files?. Good grief.
The pilot sets up a luuuuuuuurve triangle pretty quickly between her and the handsome (note to self: questionable...) local detective, who's literally an unfeeling lump, and the beardy young psychic smuggler type who's a little bit rogue-ish and looks like a cross between Ali-G and Ross from Friends (for younger readers: that was a hit show in the 1990s. Girls liked it for some reason. You can still catch repeats of it on one of Channel 4s crappier digital channels. If you can be bothered.)
Wooden acting, a cast who aren't attractive or recognisable enough, a "who-cares" plot...Oh, I can't be arsed to tell you how mundane this show is, so I'll stop right now.
In my 1970s Indian soft-drink scale of goodness, this is definitely Campa Cola. If you've ever tsated that stuff, you'll know that's bad. Oh, and I don't know if Haven is coming to the UK soon (and in this case, I don't care).
It's a series that started in July on SyFy (dontcha just hate that rebranding? It's like they think SciFi is too difficult a concept for big cow people in Iowa to understand..."Honey I just found this channel with lotsa weird stuff on, I think it's called Sky-fee....")
Anyway, It's based on a Stephen King novel called the Colorado Kid. And the show is dull. Sorry. First of all, don't bother adapting Stephen King novels for television, they rarely work. The only one I can think of that did is Salem's Lot (and the miniseries of It doesn't count, on the grounds that the final part was shite).
Secondly, It's set in Maine. Why does every single Stephen King story take place in Maine? Good God, man, you're rich enough - do some travelling. Ffs.
Thirdly it's about a female, blonde FBI agent (who just happens to be an orphan) investigating strange people and strange happenings in the town of Haven er...Fringe anyone? Or perhaps the X files?. Good grief.
The pilot sets up a luuuuuuuurve triangle pretty quickly between her and the handsome (note to self: questionable...) local detective, who's literally an unfeeling lump, and the beardy young psychic smuggler type who's a little bit rogue-ish and looks like a cross between Ali-G and Ross from Friends (for younger readers: that was a hit show in the 1990s. Girls liked it for some reason. You can still catch repeats of it on one of Channel 4s crappier digital channels. If you can be bothered.)
Wooden acting, a cast who aren't attractive or recognisable enough, a "who-cares" plot...Oh, I can't be arsed to tell you how mundane this show is, so I'll stop right now.
In my 1970s Indian soft-drink scale of goodness, this is definitely Campa Cola. If you've ever tsated that stuff, you'll know that's bad. Oh, and I don't know if Haven is coming to the UK soon (and in this case, I don't care).
Sunday 3 October 2010
The Event - update
You might want to look back at my previous posts about The Event.
The second episode...whoa...
The writers promised that unlike the equally flashback-tastic Lost, they were going to give the audience answers.
And boy, they really do that, less than 10 minutes into the second episode. Suddenly, you're watching a completely different show to the one you thought you were.
It's on Channel 4 from 9pm on Friday 22nd October . Watch it. It's cracking (Grommit).
The second episode...whoa...
The writers promised that unlike the equally flashback-tastic Lost, they were going to give the audience answers.
And boy, they really do that, less than 10 minutes into the second episode. Suddenly, you're watching a completely different show to the one you thought you were.
It's on Channel 4 from 9pm on Friday 22nd October . Watch it. It's cracking (Grommit).
Boardwalk of broken dreams
Time to feel the width and the quality:
Boardwalk Empire - I've heard it's going to be broadcast here sometime next year (probably on Sky 'cause they have that tie-in deal with HBO - betcha they put it on Box Office, just like they did with the Pacific).
What you probably already know: It's written by the guy behind the Sopranos, the first episode is directed by Martin Scorsese, it's based on a book, and stars Steve Buscemi. Oh and they spent a stupid amount of money on recreating the Boardwalk of Atlantic City in 1920, yada,yada,yada...
If you want more detailled nerdy stuff about it, these guys are
quite unfeasibly excited, and have already set up their own UK fansite here, complete with drinking game:
http://boardwalkempire.co.uk/blog
So what's the show like? Er.. well, with that pedigree, it's no surprise it's top quality. First up: check out this title sequence:
OoOOh. It's a cougaresque MILF of a show, isn't it? Mature and expensive.
The first episode lays the groundwork for the 11 other episodes to come, and it unveils just how the world is changing for Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Buscemi), the corrupt county treasurer for Atlantic City. I'm gonna try not to give too much away, but it's 1920, and Prohibition has just been introduced in the States. Nucky sees it as an opportunity to become a major booze importer, but he also sees himself as a benign public servant (on the take). We can already see how his future is going to pan out, especially after he starts dealing with big city mobsters.
Added into this volatile mix is a young, damaged man, James "Jimmy" Darmody, who's just returned from the trenches of the World War I. He's played by Michael Pitt, and I couldn't work out why he gave me the bloody creeps, until I remembered I'd last seen him terrorising Tim Roth with a golf club in the horrible Funny Games. I've gottta admit, the boy does simmering menace pretty well.
And there are some delightful cameos, in particular, Michael K Williams* (that's right - it's Omar, Wire fans!) and my favourite, Stephen Graham (yup, Combo from This is England) as Al Capone. I swear, that man is quickly becoming the British Joe Pesci, and he steals every scene, in everything he's in. (BTW I'll be looking at This is England '86 v.soon. Shame on you if you missed it)
Anyway, the show lives up to all the hype...but..when I reflected on it, the first episode does comes across like Scorsese-by-numbers, kinda like Goodfellas in the 1920s. And it is slow, and a bit soapy. I'm not sure I have the patience to see it unfold.
In conclusion,this is Millers Crossing in the style of Goodfellas. What? you like both of those films? Good. You'll like this then.
Still, on my dubious 1970s Indian-soft-drink scale of goodness, this is a Mangola.
(and if you haven't seen Millers Crossing, why the hell not? It's probably the best gangster film ever made...)
Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Millers-Crossing-DVD-Gabriel-Byrne/dp/B00008RWW5
(*Interesting factoid: the "K" in Michael K Williams stands for Kenneth. Though I doubt anyone would go up to him in reality and say "oOH! Matron!". I suspect that would not go down well. At all.)
Boardwalk Empire - I've heard it's going to be broadcast here sometime next year (probably on Sky 'cause they have that tie-in deal with HBO - betcha they put it on Box Office, just like they did with the Pacific).
What you probably already know: It's written by the guy behind the Sopranos, the first episode is directed by Martin Scorsese, it's based on a book, and stars Steve Buscemi. Oh and they spent a stupid amount of money on recreating the Boardwalk of Atlantic City in 1920, yada,yada,yada...
If you want more detailled nerdy stuff about it, these guys are
quite unfeasibly excited, and have already set up their own UK fansite here, complete with drinking game:
http://boardwalkempire.co.uk/blog
So what's the show like? Er.. well, with that pedigree, it's no surprise it's top quality. First up: check out this title sequence:
OoOOh. It's a cougaresque MILF of a show, isn't it? Mature and expensive.
The first episode lays the groundwork for the 11 other episodes to come, and it unveils just how the world is changing for Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Buscemi), the corrupt county treasurer for Atlantic City. I'm gonna try not to give too much away, but it's 1920, and Prohibition has just been introduced in the States. Nucky sees it as an opportunity to become a major booze importer, but he also sees himself as a benign public servant (on the take). We can already see how his future is going to pan out, especially after he starts dealing with big city mobsters.
Added into this volatile mix is a young, damaged man, James "Jimmy" Darmody, who's just returned from the trenches of the World War I. He's played by Michael Pitt, and I couldn't work out why he gave me the bloody creeps, until I remembered I'd last seen him terrorising Tim Roth with a golf club in the horrible Funny Games. I've gottta admit, the boy does simmering menace pretty well.
And there are some delightful cameos, in particular, Michael K Williams* (that's right - it's Omar, Wire fans!) and my favourite, Stephen Graham (yup, Combo from This is England) as Al Capone. I swear, that man is quickly becoming the British Joe Pesci, and he steals every scene, in everything he's in. (BTW I'll be looking at This is England '86 v.soon. Shame on you if you missed it)
Anyway, the show lives up to all the hype...but..when I reflected on it, the first episode does comes across like Scorsese-by-numbers, kinda like Goodfellas in the 1920s. And it is slow, and a bit soapy. I'm not sure I have the patience to see it unfold.
In conclusion,this is Millers Crossing in the style of Goodfellas. What? you like both of those films? Good. You'll like this then.
Still, on my dubious 1970s Indian-soft-drink scale of goodness, this is a Mangola.
(and if you haven't seen Millers Crossing, why the hell not? It's probably the best gangster film ever made...)
Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Millers-Crossing-DVD-Gabriel-Byrne/dp/B00008RWW5
(*Interesting factoid: the "K" in Michael K Williams stands for Kenneth. Though I doubt anyone would go up to him in reality and say "oOH! Matron!". I suspect that would not go down well. At all.)
Friday 1 October 2010
No Ordinary programme....
I wasn't going to watch this at all. No, really, I wasn't, especially after seeing this trailer.
The trailer for ABCs No Ordinary Family. Cheesy cheesy cheesy. Excuse me while I have a strip wash to remove the overpowering smell of cheese. That's better.
But you know what? I actually really liked it. The whole programme is drenched in sunlight and good-natured charm. If it was an animal, it would be the Labrador Dug from the film Up. I kid you not. The show practically wags it's tail, jumps up and licks your face all the way through. I found myself saying "Gettoff!", but smiling and giving it a sneaky pat when no-one was looking.
I think Julie Benz (last seen lying dead in a blood-filled tub as Dexter's Rita) and Michael Chiklis (from the Shield) were deliberately cast because the parts they've played in previous shows were, frankly, a bit miserable (and in the case of Rita, a bit stupid too).
And boy, do they have fun as Jim and Stephanie Powell. And that's the point. This isn't Heroes. It's not even The Incredibles . There's not a great deal of angst going on here about getting superpowers, no sullen monologues about it, none of that crap.
They simply do what you or I would do if we suddenly discovered we had superpowers. They take 'em for a test ride! And take the piss out of the whole superhero business into the bargain. The best bits of the show so far are the scenes with Jim Powell and his best friend George (Romany Malco from Weeds), where they wander around like two little boys, trying out Jim's new powers in a wholly irresponsible way.
The things that jar slightly are the slightly unconvincing back story about the Powells being a dysfunctional family, and the slightly underwritten character of their son, JJ. Their daughter Daphne, played by Kay Panabaker (great name) is a bit more fleshed out. Another irritating thing is that there's a lot of chat directly to camera, Ferris Bueller-style. Let's hope they knock that on the head.
Oh yes, and it's got that bloke in it who played the pilot in Tales of the Gold Monkey as Stephanie's boss. Surely you remember that show. What do you mean you were in primary school? Er...yeah, so was I (cough). And he looks practically the same.
I'm still trying to work out some kind of grading system for new shows. Let's try 1970s Indian soft drinks for this one.
bad = Campa cola
ok I suppose = Limca
not bad = Thums-up cola
great = Mangola
If you want undemanding escapist entertainment, No Ordinary Family is definitely Mangola.
Hmm. maybe I need to rethink my grading system.
The trailer for ABCs No Ordinary Family. Cheesy cheesy cheesy. Excuse me while I have a strip wash to remove the overpowering smell of cheese. That's better.
But you know what? I actually really liked it. The whole programme is drenched in sunlight and good-natured charm. If it was an animal, it would be the Labrador Dug from the film Up. I kid you not. The show practically wags it's tail, jumps up and licks your face all the way through. I found myself saying "Gettoff!", but smiling and giving it a sneaky pat when no-one was looking.
I think Julie Benz (last seen lying dead in a blood-filled tub as Dexter's Rita) and Michael Chiklis (from the Shield) were deliberately cast because the parts they've played in previous shows were, frankly, a bit miserable (and in the case of Rita, a bit stupid too).
And boy, do they have fun as Jim and Stephanie Powell. And that's the point. This isn't Heroes. It's not even The Incredibles . There's not a great deal of angst going on here about getting superpowers, no sullen monologues about it, none of that crap.
They simply do what you or I would do if we suddenly discovered we had superpowers. They take 'em for a test ride! And take the piss out of the whole superhero business into the bargain. The best bits of the show so far are the scenes with Jim Powell and his best friend George (Romany Malco from Weeds), where they wander around like two little boys, trying out Jim's new powers in a wholly irresponsible way.
The things that jar slightly are the slightly unconvincing back story about the Powells being a dysfunctional family, and the slightly underwritten character of their son, JJ. Their daughter Daphne, played by Kay Panabaker (great name) is a bit more fleshed out. Another irritating thing is that there's a lot of chat directly to camera, Ferris Bueller-style. Let's hope they knock that on the head.
Oh yes, and it's got that bloke in it who played the pilot in Tales of the Gold Monkey as Stephanie's boss. Surely you remember that show. What do you mean you were in primary school? Er...yeah, so was I (cough). And he looks practically the same.
I'm still trying to work out some kind of grading system for new shows. Let's try 1970s Indian soft drinks for this one.
bad = Campa cola
ok I suppose = Limca
not bad = Thums-up cola
great = Mangola
If you want undemanding escapist entertainment, No Ordinary Family is definitely Mangola.
Hmm. maybe I need to rethink my grading system.
Tuesday 28 September 2010
Just take another look at Fringe, OK?
Fringe. It's just the X files with a mad professor, right? You gave up, after watching a few episodes in the first series, didn't you?
Well, you'd be a fool and a communist if you had, because it's got a whole lot better since then...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qfjMraEE7o
Youtube won't let me embed it here on the blog, so click and watch, then read below.
I won't even put spoiler alert here, because that was a whole year ago...but that ending to series 1 was mind-blowing, no? Where is Olivia Denham? Did she go back in time? No, because the Obamas are in the White house. But..but..what's she doing in one of the twin towers? Just where the hell is she? The pretty broad hints were there all along. Fringe is really a show about parallel worlds. Not only that, but parallel worlds at war. And all of it was caused by the original mad scientist himself, Walter Bishop.
You wouldn't have thought it from the first half of the first series...because JJ Abrams was messing with you! He did the same with Lost. I gave up after 5 episodes, thinking "this is a bit samey - so they're on a bloody island, so what?", but my in-law's mentioned to me that it got a lot better in the second half of the season (and they were right: I was hooked right up to the end).
He hid Fringe's light under a bushel in exactly the same way. Rotten sod.
The delicious part of Fringe now is comparing the parallel Earths: Earth B has airships, a Grand Hotel in New York built by Gaudi, 9/11 never happened, and JFK was never assassinated. On the other hand, the whole world's falling to pieces thanks to Walter. And Walternate wants to kick his arse.
And so we start season 3, with Olivia imprisoned on Earth B, and her auburn-haired, tattooed alternate (BOlivia) over here, spying on us.
If you're not a fan, you've got a bit of time to catch-up before it starts again on Oct 5th on Sky 1. It's got the makings of a classic.
Oh, and if you like wars between parallel worlds, you love this:
http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Luther-Arkwright-Bryan-Talbot/dp/1593077254
The Adventures of Luther Arkwright. One of the finest comics ever written. but that's another story...
Well, you'd be a fool and a communist if you had, because it's got a whole lot better since then...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qfjMraEE7o
Youtube won't let me embed it here on the blog, so click and watch, then read below.
I won't even put spoiler alert here, because that was a whole year ago...but that ending to series 1 was mind-blowing, no? Where is Olivia Denham? Did she go back in time? No, because the Obamas are in the White house. But..but..what's she doing in one of the twin towers? Just where the hell is she? The pretty broad hints were there all along. Fringe is really a show about parallel worlds. Not only that, but parallel worlds at war. And all of it was caused by the original mad scientist himself, Walter Bishop.
You wouldn't have thought it from the first half of the first series...because JJ Abrams was messing with you! He did the same with Lost. I gave up after 5 episodes, thinking "this is a bit samey - so they're on a bloody island, so what?", but my in-law's mentioned to me that it got a lot better in the second half of the season (and they were right: I was hooked right up to the end).
He hid Fringe's light under a bushel in exactly the same way. Rotten sod.
The delicious part of Fringe now is comparing the parallel Earths: Earth B has airships, a Grand Hotel in New York built by Gaudi, 9/11 never happened, and JFK was never assassinated. On the other hand, the whole world's falling to pieces thanks to Walter. And Walternate wants to kick his arse.
And so we start season 3, with Olivia imprisoned on Earth B, and her auburn-haired, tattooed alternate (BOlivia) over here, spying on us.
If you're not a fan, you've got a bit of time to catch-up before it starts again on Oct 5th on Sky 1. It's got the makings of a classic.
Oh, and if you like wars between parallel worlds, you love this:
http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Luther-Arkwright-Bryan-Talbot/dp/1593077254
The Adventures of Luther Arkwright. One of the finest comics ever written. but that's another story...
Sunday 26 September 2010
Hawaii Five...Oh.
Aloha! It's the remake. And it's great. At least for the first four-and-a-half minutes. Guns, explosions, James Masters (that bloke from Buffy who played Spike) being really nasty, that geezer from Die Hard 2 playing Steve McGarrett's dad, and then THAT theme tune. Oh my...that theme tune. Here's the 2010 version....
And then it all goes so, so wrong.
From the word go, the GLW and I were rolling our eyes. So spoiler alert , Here's the quick capsule guide:
* Immensely cheesy dialogue.
* McGarrett and Danno argue like a couple staying together for the sake of the kids.
* Why is it the two actors the audience are most likely to recognise (Daniel Dae Kim from Lost and Grace Park from Battlestar) have such underwritten roles?
* Was it really necessary for Grace Park's character to be introduced in her first scene...just wearing a bikini?? WTF?
Maybe the makers were trying to obtain that 1970s vibe?
Anyway, despite the show being switched off halfway through in the Gurudad household, it made me think of the original theme tune...and here it is! This is the best quality version I could find. It's still fantastic, and I prefer it to the 2010 version.
If you want to watch something contemporary about Hawaii - I suggest Lilo and Stitch. It gets better every time I watch it.
And then it all goes so, so wrong.
From the word go, the GLW and I were rolling our eyes. So spoiler alert , Here's the quick capsule guide:
* Immensely cheesy dialogue.
* McGarrett and Danno argue like a couple staying together for the sake of the kids.
* Why is it the two actors the audience are most likely to recognise (Daniel Dae Kim from Lost and Grace Park from Battlestar) have such underwritten roles?
* Was it really necessary for Grace Park's character to be introduced in her first scene...just wearing a bikini?? WTF?
Maybe the makers were trying to obtain that 1970s vibe?
Anyway, despite the show being switched off halfway through in the Gurudad household, it made me think of the original theme tune...and here it is! This is the best quality version I could find. It's still fantastic, and I prefer it to the 2010 version.
If you want to watch something contemporary about Hawaii - I suggest Lilo and Stitch. It gets better every time I watch it.
Now I've seen The Event....
It's not bad at all. There's a lot of flashbacks though, and GLW says she'd definitely watch it again.
If you've had a look at my previous post, and watched the trailer, there's something, well...a bit Lost about it. But fear not, if you were too stoopid/impatient to work out what went on in that series, all the Flashbacks (and flashbacks-within-flashbacks) are clearly signposted, and it's pretty clear what's happening by the end of the episode.
I would say spoiler alert next, but if you've seen the trailer, I ain't giving nuthin' away that you ain't already seen.
It's a conspiracy tale. Cuban-American President Martinez is about to free some weird dissidents from their hell-hole prison in Alaska. Somebody tries to kill him by landing a passenger jet on his head. You get to find out why the airline pilot is doing such a mental thing as well. That's about it in the first episode.
Actually, all credit to the makers of the show,they stuffed a lot into the pilot, so to speak. It shows a lot of promise. God Bless Channel 4. they've bought it and will start airing it in October.
If you've had a look at my previous post, and watched the trailer, there's something, well...a bit Lost about it. But fear not, if you were too stoopid/impatient to work out what went on in that series, all the Flashbacks (and flashbacks-within-flashbacks) are clearly signposted, and it's pretty clear what's happening by the end of the episode.
I would say spoiler alert next, but if you've seen the trailer, I ain't giving nuthin' away that you ain't already seen.
It's a conspiracy tale. Cuban-American President Martinez is about to free some weird dissidents from their hell-hole prison in Alaska. Somebody tries to kill him by landing a passenger jet on his head. You get to find out why the airline pilot is doing such a mental thing as well. That's about it in the first episode.
Actually, all credit to the makers of the show,they stuffed a lot into the pilot, so to speak. It shows a lot of promise. God Bless Channel 4. they've bought it and will start airing it in October.
The Event
Aired this week on NBC. It's told in flashback, has a pretty good cast (That nice Blair Underwood from LA Law, though aren't black Presidents of the USA in TV dramas now a a bit of a cliche? I wanna see a Chinese-American President, oh yea!) Just going to go and watch it now with GLW (good lady wife - did I really need to tell you that?). Anyway, here's the trailer. Feel free to watch it and go wtf?, or you might go ffs. I'm down with the kids, me.
Hey, nice flat screen telly....
It's a shame most TV you can watch on it is crap. There are wondrous exceptions, and I want to celebrate them on this blog.
I'll be looking at the good stuff, mostly US TV. If you like The Wire, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, The Pacific, and Fringe, you'll probably want to read on. If you think that Jack Donaghy from 30 Rock is one of the finest comic creations..ever, then you will really like this blog.
If you only like The West Wing, Studio 60, or Mad Men you may still like this blog, but you're a bit pretentious, aren't you? (But I like you anyway).
I'll be taking a look at some of the new shows just airing in the US right now, and we can expect to see here in the UK fairly soon. I'll also be looking at those box sets that you just can never find the time to work your way through, and celebrating the occasional moments of genius on UK TV - like Sherlock.
Oh and I like other stuff, so I'll have the occasional mention of really good comics and films... y'know, shit like that.
Oh, and if you have any top tips for things I simply must see ....then get in touch.
Gurudad.
I'll be looking at the good stuff, mostly US TV. If you like The Wire, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, The Pacific, and Fringe, you'll probably want to read on. If you think that Jack Donaghy from 30 Rock is one of the finest comic creations..ever, then you will really like this blog.
If you only like The West Wing, Studio 60, or Mad Men you may still like this blog, but you're a bit pretentious, aren't you? (But I like you anyway).
I'll be taking a look at some of the new shows just airing in the US right now, and we can expect to see here in the UK fairly soon. I'll also be looking at those box sets that you just can never find the time to work your way through, and celebrating the occasional moments of genius on UK TV - like Sherlock.
Oh and I like other stuff, so I'll have the occasional mention of really good comics and films... y'know, shit like that.
Oh, and if you have any top tips for things I simply must see ....then get in touch.
Gurudad.
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