Stuff I Watched: 16th Dec – 23rd Dec 2009

December 24, 2009 by sherby57 2 Comments

I don’t know whether I’ve not watched much telly this week or I’ve just watched stuff that I don’t want to write about.  Either way, welcome to the most half-hearted edition of Stuff I Watched to date.

In The Loop: DVD (Watched 16th Dec)

The film version of The Thick of It is very much like a film version of The Thick of It.  It’s essentially just an extended episode with some of the characters slightly different, but this is certainly not a bad thing.  It’s very clever and brilliantly funny, just like the TV show.  Annoyingly, the DVD broke after about an hour so I don’t know how it ended.  Fingers crossed that it’s on the BBC soon.

Misfits: E4 (R 17th Dec W 19th Dec)

A cracking ended to what has turned out to be an excellent little series.  Annoying Nathan finally does something good (but stays annoying) and he dies for his troubles.  Sort of.

I’m glad to say that it’s got a second series.

Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe Review of 2009: BBC4 (R 22nd Dec W 22nd Dec)

If you like television and didn’t watch this, then you don’t like television.  And you’re probably dead.

Charlie Brooker is probably the closest thing I have to a hero.  It’s strange that one of the best programmes of the year is one that just talks about other programmes.  Absolutely awesome.  I could watch Screenwipe over and over again.  And I often do.

I realise that this is really brief, but it’s Christmas Eve and I’m very sleepy.  If you’d like to chat about any of the programmes, leave a comment and I’ll get back to you when I can face writing more than two sentences.

Filed under Movies, Television Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stuff I Watched: 27th Nov – 1st Dec 2009

December 2, 2009 by sherby57 9 Comments

This instalment of Stuff I Watched was an absolute ball-breaker to write.  I don’t know why exactly.  I also don’t quite know why I’m telling you.

Comedy Showcase: The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret: Channel 4 (Recorded 27th Nov Watched 27th Nov)

This was probably my most eagerly anticipated programme of the year.  How could an Arrested Development fan not be excited at the thought of David Cross making his on Channel 4 sitcom pilot?  Especially when you learn that Will Arnett will also be making an appearance.  Part of me wanted to watch just because I couldn’t quite believe that they’d both be in a UK-based sitcom.  Anyway, it was directed by Anthony & Joe Russo, who directed Arrested Development, and co-starred Spike Jonze, Sharon Horgan and Russell Tovey.  It had an awful lot to live up to.

Almost inevitably, it fell a little flat, but it was still very good.  The plot centred around the eponymous Todd Margaret (Cross), who accidentally gets promoted following a misunderstanding and is transferred to the UK.  His life then goes rapidly downhill following a series of increasingly poor decisions.  It was probably a little light on laughs, but there were some great moments, such as Margaret getting off his face on energy drinks and berating all the customers in a cafe.  It felt like they had created a complete world for the series to live in, so it would be a shame if we didn’t get to see how they’d develop it in to a full series.

Comedy Showcase: PhoneShop: Channel 4 (R 13th Nov W 29th Nov)

This pilot has already been picked up for a full series, and it’s easy to see why – it’s hilarious.  Apparently Ricky Gervais was the script editor and you can certainly see his influence/why he was chosen (I don’t quite know what the script editor does).  Unsurprisingly, it’s about the goings on in a mobile phone shop, and this episode followed a new sales person’s first day in the job.  It doesn’t sound promising, but then, a day in the life of a Slough paper merchants doesn’t sound that exciting either.  My favourite lines came from a montage of the sales team in action: ’I think if Jade was still with us, this is the phone she would have chosen.’ and ‘Let’s talk about what insurance package that Jay Z might have with this phone.’

I’m looking forward to the full series.

I’ve Loved You So Long: SkyPremiere (R 15th Nov W 1st Dec)

A French drama about a woman (Kristin Scott Thomas) who returns to her family after 15 years in prison and struggles to adapt.  It all sounds a little dull, but the French are masters at making movies where nothing happens and yet they’re totally compelling anyway.

The best part of the film was Scott Thomas’s performance.  She’s one of those actors who I know, but don’t really have an opinion on. That has certainly all changed as she was completely mesmerising throughout.  Her pain was really quite palpable.   There was a scene where she comes face to face with her mother for the first time, since leaving prison, that was particularly heartbreaking.

If I was nit-picking, you could say that it was a little long.  If they had lost 20 minutes, it would have felt a lot leaner.  It’s highly recommended, though.

Modern Family: Sky One (R 29th Nov W 1st Dec)

I gave up on this series about five minutes in to the second episode but, since it’s had so many positive reviews, and this episode in particular had an especially ringing endorsement from unpopcult, I thought I’d give it another go.  By the way, it was the episode with Fizbo the clown.

Sadly, I didn’t like it.  I was tempted just not to write about it; I don’t like it when people feel the need to slag off something that isn’t their cup of tea, just to get some sad sense of superiority.  I thought I’d comment though because I didn’t laugh once and it’s just so strange how senses of humour can be so different.  I only ever read positive reviews of the series and I really feel like I’m being cheated out of something.  You can never have too much good comedy in your life.

We Need Answers: BBC4 (R 1st Dec W 1st Dec)

It was a welcome return for the extremely silly quiz with 3, yes 3, presenters (Mark Watson, Tim Key and Alex Horne).  It had a 3 episode ’try-out’ earlier in the year and now it’s back for a full 13-part series.  I read something describing the show as a mix between Shooting Stars and QI – which doesn’t seem very accurate, but I can’t think of anything better.  It’s not going to change your life but it’s a fun way to spend half an hour.  And how can you not like a show that has more presenters than contestants?

This weeks theme was: ‘Women (and Steven Gerrard)’.

Filed under Television Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stuff I Watched: 7th Nov – 14th Nov 2009

November 15, 2009 by sherby57 Leave a Comment

The more observant amongst you will have noticed that, as well as only having written about two TV shows in a week, the post title covers the 14th and I watched the last programme on the 12th.  This is intentional, as it is a symbolic end to a bad TV week.  I keep asking myself whether it has it been a slow week for TV or was it just a week in which I just didn’t want to write about it.  I’d managed to write about the two programmes, below, by Thursday, and then on Friday morning I had to delete loads of recorded programmes because there was no sound.  To say that I was annoyed is an understatement.  I’m a big fan of Sky HD, but you become so reliant on it that when it goes wrong it becomes a tragedy (I’m being hyperbolic).

Anyway, thanks to the wonders of endless repeats, I’ve managed to re-record most of the programmes that I deleted.  The one notable omission was Curb Your Enthusiam, which was, typically, the programme I wanted to watch the most and the one that had no repeats.  Thanks for that Channel 4, you misers.

Spiral: BBC4 (Recorded 1st Nov Watched 7th Nov)

It was the final episode of the French police drama and Samy went undercover with the Larbis to Spain, in the hopes of exposing their drug deal.  Meanwhile a suspended Laure successfully blackmailed evil Josephine in to dropping the charges against her.  C’est bon.

Everything was going a little too well for our Gallic police chums and it clearly wasn’t going to last.  Before too long, Samy was uncovered as an undercover cop and it’s fair to say that he was in quite a bit of trouble.  There was palpable sense of urgency as they tried to find out where he was, and, to that end, it was good to see that police brutality is still alive and viciously kicking in France.  Just as all looked to be lost, they found Samy and then…that was it.  The ending crashed down like a guillotine.

It was all well executed, as usual, but the ending was a total anti-climax.  We didn’t even see Josephine get her comeuppance and she didn’t make an appearance in the second half of the episode.  This was strange as she’d almost been the focal point for the entire series, and it left a few too many unanswered questions.  And then we get to poor Pierre who had even less to do than Ginger Josie.   I can’t help but feel that the writers dropped the ball.

I’m still looking forward to season 3 though.  Let’s hope it’s not another 3 year wait.

In Treatment: Sky Arts 1 (R 9th Nov W 12th Nov)

I wrote a few days ago that I didn’t think that Laura seemed very lovable, but, after watching this episode, I was left wondering if the problem is actually that it’s never seemed like Paul was actually in love with her.

It’s the beginning of Week 6 on In Treatment and they started with a weird feeling episode.  Now that she’s no longer his patient, Paul finally tells Laura how he  feels about her.  It was strange because this is a huge thing for Paul to do, considering the effect it could have on his career, yet he seemed as detached and clinical as ever.  I’m not sure that it felt like he was in love with her even with it all out in the open.  It left me a little confused as to what was going on.

I’m not too bothered by it, though.  The series has built up enough trust in me that I’ll go with it even when I’m not entirely convinced.

Filed under Television Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Stuff I Watched: 29th Oct – 3rd Nov 2009

November 7, 2009 by sherby57 4 Comments

It’s been a bit of a slow TV watching week, this week, and I’m struggling to keep up with my Sky planner.  This post only covers programmes up to the 3rd, but that’s because I haven’t watched anything worth writing about in the last 4 days.  I just thought I’d tell you that, in case you were wondering.  I know you weren’t wondering, so I shouldn’t really have bothered.

Russell Howard’s Good News Extra: BBC3 (Recorded 24th Oct Watched 29th Oct)

Isn’t annoying when the BBC broadcast an extended edition of a show that you already watched a few days ago, but you feel like you have to watch it anyway because otherwise you’d feel cheated out of the extra material?  Or is that just me being worryingly obsessive?  Luckily (for me), all the extra material was at the end, so I was able to whizz right through it.

I thought that the ‘extra’ stuff would just be clips, jokes and out-takes that didn’t quite make the original cut, but it actually consisted of a 15-minute stand up set by Steve Hall (We Are Klang).  It was a bit weird as it was completely unrelated to the half hour that preceded it, but it I have to congratulate the programme-makers for sneaking some more stand up on  to television.

In future, Mr BBC, just show the longer version and save me some time.

The Thick of It: BBC HD (R 24th Oct W 31st Oct)

The very welcome return of the anti-West Wing, The Thick of It.  It’s incredibly fast paced, cutting and very funny, plus it features the best swearing on TV.  Rebecca Front plays new instated minister Nicola Murray, a politician who was so far out of the political reckoning that she seems to be the only person not scared of Malcolm Tucker.  It’s a very intelligent satire and I’m not remotely qualified to comment on it any further.  In fact, I’ve probably broken a few laws by saying as much as I already have.  Just watch it.

Ghosts in the Machine: BBC4 (R 27th Oct W 1st Nov)

A typically interesting BBC4 documentary that took a look back at the history of ghosts on British TV.  The reason that I mention it is that there was a long look at Ghostwatch, a 1992 one-off drama that should have been laughable and yet was one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen on television.  It was a fake TV ghost hunt featuring Michael Parkinson, Craig Charles and Sarah Greene (all playing themselves),  investigating the strange occurrences in a typical suburban home, before things start to go very, very wrong.  It shouldn’t be scary because a) you know it’s fake and b) it looks fake, but it plays some subconscious trick on you that makes you think it’s real anyway.  All I know is that the thought of Mr Pipes creeps me out to this day.

Sadly, this documentary places the genesis of shows like Most Haunted with Ghostwatch and so it wasn’t entirely a good thing.  I own it on DVD (it’s never been repeated on British TV), so I might have to give it another watch.  In the day time, of course.

FlashForward: Channel 5 (R 26th Oct W 2nd Nov)

I got 17 minutes in to this episode (whichever episode it was), before finally giving up for good.  The programme had an intriguing premise, but its execution was awful.   I realised that I didn’t care about any of it in the slightest, so I did the sensible thing and deleted it.  Just the simple act of deletion gave me more pleasure than all the episodes that I had watched, combined.

Did Heston Change Little Chef?: Channel 4 (R 28th Oct W 3rd Oct)

It’s always satisfying to watch follow up editions of documentaries and reality shows, so you can see what actually happened once the TV crew had gone home.   There is also the added bonus that there are lots of ‘reminders’ of what happened originally, so you can fast forward through chunks of them (if you’ve got a good enough memory to remember what had happened).

The original series followed superstar chef, Heston Blumenthal, and his attempts to revamp the tired Little Chef chain.  This resulted in a modernised flagship store in Popham and a promise that the model would be rolled out if it proved to be a success.  On his return, Blumenthal found the Little Chef management team to be as incompetent as ever, completely ignoring his advice and then making excuses as to why they’re actually right.  There was a promise that ingredients wouldn’t be downgraded in quality, but a brief search through the pantry revealed bisto and oven chips.  After some persistent badgering, however, the message did finally seem to get through and two additional restaurants were modernised.

From his ‘wacky’ style of cuisine, you might be forgiven if you presumed that Blumenthal was completely up his own arse, but he’s actually a very down to earth guy and he did a really good job here.

Chuck: Virgin 1 (R 3rd Nov W 3rd Nov)

It’s quite unusual for me to watch a programme on the same day that I recorded it, so that’s probably a good indicator on how much I wanted to watch this.  It was the final episode of season 2 and they went for the classic comic book plot of ‘wedding interrupted by bad guys’.  Last week’s episode was not only excellent, but also seemed to provide a fitting end to the season, so they were going to have to really up the ante to provide a decent finale.  I’m glad to say that they did.  Many bloggers would give you a plot outline and details on what happened in the episode, but you’ve either seen the episode and know what happened, or you haven’t seen it and I don’t want to spoil it for you.  They’re my excuses and I’m sticking to them.

There have been times during this season when I thought that the series may have been losing its way, but the concluding few episodes really pulled everything together – they were able to combine emotion, comedy and action in a way that’s rarely seen.  I’d accidentally read a spoiler for the end of the episode (and I won’t say what happened in case you haven’t seen it yet), but it was still an awesome, crowd pleasing moment, with the cherry on top of Casey’s hilarious reactions to Chuck.

It’s just a shame that we’ll now probably have a long wait until season 3.

Filed under Television Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stuff I Watched: 15th Oct – 19th Oct 2009

October 21, 2009 by sherby57 7 Comments

Football Behind Bars: Sky One (Recorded 12th Oct Watched 15th Oct)

This was the final episode of a six-part, Sky One documentary series, presented by Ian Wright, about young offenders playing football.  It was bound to be awful, wasn’t it?  Well, you’d be forgiven for thinking so, but it was actually rather well done.

It followed Ian Wright’s attempts to set up a football academy in a young offenders institute, in an attempt to help them learn some life skills, and hopefully make it possible for them not to re-offend.  It would have been easy for the programme makers to either overly sensationalise the criminal pasts of the inmates, and\or give a rose-tinted view of the outcomes of the scheme; to their credit, they did neither.  Nonetheless, the academy clearly had a positive impact on those involved, and it was good to see a ‘celebrity’ trying to make a genuine difference.

Curb Your Enthusiam: More 4 (R 15th Oct W 16th Oct)

I was actually genuinely exciting for the return of Curb, and couldn’t wait to see this first episode.  We’re now in to season 7 and it shouldn’t still be funny as it’s essentially the same every episode. Somehow, though, it’s still hilarious.  If you’ve never seen an episode, then I seriously recommend that you do.  Larry David is my hero (the fictional one and the real one).

Eastbound and Down: FX (R 12th Oct W 17th Oct)

I didn’t like the first episode, but I went in to this one trying to like it.  The first few minutes saw a weird Will Ferrell cameo, which could have made things a but more watchable.  It didn’t, I lasted five minutes before deleting it.  I have this nagging feeling that everyone’s going to be raving about this in a few months time and it’s going to make me sad inside.

Caravans: A British Love Affair: BBC4 (R 17th Oct W 17th Oct)

I really don’t know what it was that made me watch this, but don’t judge me.  It wasn’t the most amazing documentary I’ve ever seen, but I mention it because I thought it was only fair to give a fair reflection of all the programmes that I watch.  And sometimes I just want to watch a documentary about caravans.  It’s all too easy to scoff at caravanners these days, but this documentary at least explained what a feeling of freedom that owning a caravan gave people in dull post-war Britain.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Channel 4 (R 12th Oct W 18th Oct)

It’s two or three years since this originally aired and I was ambivalent about it the first time around; it was well written and acted but I felt it was deeply flawed.  Since it was first shown, I’ve seen the whole of The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin’s previous show, so, when I saw this as a late night repeat, I thought I’d give it another go.  Would my opinion by any different a second time around?

No.  The script was still good and the Matthew Perry\Bradley Whitford double act was as likeable as ever, but, there were also a lot of buts.  I picked out lots of flaw, just in this pilot alone, but I’ll try and keep them as brief as possible.  I think you can lump many of the problems in to the category of ‘unconvincing’: I’m not convinced by Jordan McDeere, I’m not convinced that the ‘big 3′ stars of the show-within-a-show have any talent, and I’m not convinced that ‘Studio 60′ was ever a hit show.  Most embarrassing of all is when they try and show some of the comedy sketches – let’s just not talk about it.  It’s a very strange show that is both really good and excruciatingly bad in equal measure.  For that reason alone, I’ll probably watch them all.

Modern Family: Sky One (R 15th Oct W 19th Oct)

The latest highly acclaimed US comedy show arrives on Sky One, so of course I was watching.  It’s a mockumentary following the fortunes of three (yes, you guessed it) modern families.  I didn’t think it entirely worked; some of the jokes seemed a bit too obvious, and the ‘feel’ wasn’t quite right.  That said, it did make me laugh a few times, and it was only the pilot, so it can’t be all bad.  The main thing I took from the experience though was how much it made me want to watch Arrested Development again.

Filed under Television Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stuff I Watched: 11th Oct – 14th Oct

October 16, 2009 by sherby57 2 Comments

Wallander: BBC4 (Recorded 7th Oct Watched 11th Oct)

After enjoying excellent French drama Spiral, on BBC4,  I thought I’d give their latest foreign-language import, Wallander.  This is the (presumably) original Swedish version of the detective series that starred Ken Branagh over here.

After watching the first episode of Spiral, I wondered how much my  enjoyment was influenced by it appearing better than it was because it was in another language.  Whilst Spiral has clearly proved itself, I soon felt with this that it could be just about any cop show that you might see on ITV.  Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not really my bag.  I gave up after 25 minutes.

In Treatment: Sky Arts 1 (R 8th & 9th Oct W 11th Oct)

And so the first week comes to an end, starting with Day 4 – Jake & Amy – the least convincing episode so far.  I did’t really understand this couple, and so I failed to connect.  They didn’t just seem totally unsuited as a couple, they didn’t seem like a couple at all.  Also, their storyline is that they’ve had 5 years of fertility treatment, given up, then Amy got pregnant, and now she wants an abortion; it frankly left me a bit baffled.  The acting didn’t seem to be quite up to the standard of the previous episodes.

I followed this up immediately with, Day 5 – Gina.  In a twist, Paul goes to see his own therapist, Gina (Dianne Wiest), and it adds a whole new layer of depth to the series.  I did find it a bit cringey that he only talked about the patients that are part of the series though.  I’m interested to watch the subsequent episodes now to see how the more we learn about Paul affects the way we see him deal with his patients.

Incidentally, the music in this series makes me want to vomit.

Micro Men: BBC4 (R 8th Oct W 11th Oct)

This was a fun and informative one-off drama about the early days of British home computing, and the sort of television that the BBC does better than anyone else.  It’s the story of Clive Sinclair’s (Alexander Armstrong) business rivalry with Chris Curry (Martin Freeman), who ran Acorn computers.  It was somehow not very dramatic and yet utterly entertaining.  This was helped by an excellent cast including some good cameos from well known faces.  The main thing that I learnt from the programme was that if Clive Sinclair really went around behaving like that, then it’s a miracle that he stayed in business as long as he did.

Generation Kill: Channel 4 (R 7th Oct W 13th Oct)

Having watched this already on FX ,earlier in the year, it took me all of a nanosecond to decide that I should watch it all again.  It’s a drama based on the true-life book by Rolling Stone report, Evan Wright, who travelled with a group of US Marines during the invassion of Iraq, in 2003.  It’s also made by the creators of The Wire, which I’ve already proclaimed as the ‘best show ever’, and they prove that it was no fluke.

The cast is lead by two actors who are very different to the other TV shows that I’ve seen them in.  James Ransome plays Corporal Ray Person, an amiable and likeable guy that you’d like to hang about with; compare that to his portrayal of Ziggy Sobotka, in The Wire,  who was maybe the most annoying character in TV history.  Similarly, Alexander Skarsgard plays Sgt. Brad ‘Iceman’ Colbert, the kind of guy that you’d want on your team before anybody else; compare that to his portrayal of vampire poseur, Eric, in True Blood.   Both are startling transformations.

Like its televisual predecessor,  its strength lies in the fact that there are no easy answers.  It would be easy to portray the marines as glorified heroes or as gung ho imbeciles, but, with a few notable, intentional exceptions, the characters are drawn as real, flawed human beings.  Unlike the majority of television, the programme makers are playing with glorious shades of grey.

As nothing is ever spelled out for you, it certainly bears a second viewing; if anything, I would say that it’s designed for multiple viewings.  I really enjoyed the first episode and it may actually be better the second time around as you have a clue as to what’s going on.

Stargate Universe: Sky One (R 13th Oct W 13th Oct)

The third episode of the new sci-fi series finally brings the opening arc to an end; sadly, it was with a largely pointless episode set on a desert planet.  This didn’t really work for me as a stand alone chapter, but maybe it would have made more sense if it had been shown with the other two parts.  I really have no idea where this series is going, and, at this point, that’s not a good thing.

Spiral: BBC4 (R 11th Oct W 14th Oct)

Another gripping episode of the French police drama.  I particularly enjoyed the scene where they used evil lawyer Josephine’s unscrupulous informing on her clients to help set up an undercover operation; it was very cleverly done.  It also contained the understatement of the year; on discovering a young lady killed, and horribly disfigured, by gunfire, Laure informed her boss with the line: ‘Pierre, we’ve found the three bullets…’  The French are très blasé.

The main reason why I’m writing about this episode is that I was hoping that somebody could help me out with a query. When Laure was in her psychiatric review and said she lived with her partner of 10 years, was that true?? And if it was true, has it ever been mentioned before?  I know it’s been 3 years since season one was on telly, but I have no recollection of this at all.

Life on Mars ‘USA’: FX (R 11th Oct W 14th Oct)

Although I would have watched this for the concept if it was an entirely original show, I did find myself watching this primarily to compare it with the original British series.  And that kind of made it hard to enjoy it.  They kept much of it the same; the opening sequence was very similar (apart from the twin towers), Sam was transferred from Hyde, and, surprisingly, the character names all stayed the same.  Despite this, all I could notice were the differences.  I accept that they had to make changes in order to make their own programme, but the location shift makes for a huge change in tone; 1973 New York seems glamourous and exciting, 1973 Manchester felt mundane and real.  I don’t suppose that US network TV was ever going to make a 1970′s time-travel cop show that was mundane and real though.

In my original notes for this, I made lots of comparisons between the two series, but I’ve decided not to mention them now.  The original Life on Mars is considered a modern TV classic, so it would be incredibly unfair of me to overly judge the US version after only one episode.  There is one thing thing that I would bring up though: the casting of Gene Hunt.  My first thought was, ‘Harvey Keitel, what a great choice’; he’s a well respected actor who has played many tough guy roles.  The reality of the situation is slightly different though, Keitel now just come across as a frail old man and not the kind of blustery ball buster that Philip Glenister portrayed.  A previous pilot was made for this with Star Trek alum, Colm Meaney, in the role, and you can’t help but feel he would have been a better choice.

Anyway, I spent so long comparing it that I couldn’t really tell you what it was actually like.  Hopefully I’ll be able to watch episode 2 on its own merits.

Filed under Television Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stuff I Watched: 8th Oct – 10th Oct 2009

October 11, 2009 by sherby57 3 Comments

FlashForward: Channel 5 (Recorded 5th Oct Watched 8th Oct)

Episode 2 –  This week’s episode had a bit of a poor start; some kids played an unconvincing game of ‘blackout’, one of the kids was unconvincingly bullied for not joining in, and then the parents of that kid unconvincingly dealt with the aftermath.  Luckily, things picked up a bit, and they had at least the good grace to address early on the fact that our heroes are the self appointed world experts on the  ’blackout’, despite working in a FBI sub-office.   After last week praising the vigilance of the agent that managed to spot the one person who didn’t black out, this week I’d like to commend the FBI web developers, who knocked up the world’s most complicated web-site in a few hours.  And, a special mention must go out to whoever managed to get the authorisation for the ‘millions of dollars’ in funding needed to set it up, as their superior somehow hadn’t noticed that it had been spent.  Maybe I’m just being picky.

Like early episodes of Heroes, I think I’m watching for the intriguing set-up and not how the programme is being executed; it may be the clunkiest script I’ve heard for a long time, and their love of hammering a point home by endless repetition of earlier scenes is bordering on OCD.  There is also the deeply troubling question of why nobody seems that bothered by it all, and, given we’re in America, where are all the religious  fanatics?  Now I’m definitely just being picky.

Despite its obvious flaws, it’s still interesting enough to keep me watching. For now.

Emma: BBC HD (R 5th Oct W 8th Oct)

I’m determined that one day I’ll watch one of the BBCs acclaimed costume dramas in it’s entirety and not just give up after 10 minutes of the first episode. That day, however, is not today.  Believe it or not, I’ve actually read some Jane Austen novels and quite enjoyed them. I just can’t seem to bear it when they turn up on the telly.  Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

It’s Only a Theory: BBC4 (R 7th Oct W 8th Oct)

This is a new series in which highly-qualified experts submit a theory to a panel, which consists of Andy Hamilton, Reginald D. Hunter and a guest (this week, Clare Balding).  After some amusing cross-examination, the panel then decide whether or not the theory is approved or rejected.  On the face of it, this seems to be exactly the same format as Dave Gorman’s Genius, but with theories instead of inventions.  Whilst they are very similar, the big difference is that IOAT is actually quite serious and the theories are genuinely interesting; this week’s were, ‘the first 1000 year old human has already been born’ and ‘we’re in danger of  turning sadness in to an sickness’.  The appeal of the show is helped by the wit of unlikely duo, Hamilton and Hunter.  Yes, it’s another variation on the comedy panel show, but it’s also one where you might actually learn something to go along with your laughs.

In Treatment: Sky Arts 1 (R 5th, 6th & 7th Oct W 8th Oct)

I had mixed feelings going in to this; it’s made by HBO and is highly acclaimed, but I didn’t know if I had the stomach for watching a five nights a week drama about a therapist talking to his clients.

I watched the opening three half-hour episodes back-to-back, and each starred Gabriel Byrne as Dr Paul Weston.  The first episode sees Laura  (Melissa George) describe the events of events of a drunken night out  and ultimately confessing her unrequited love for Weston.  The second saw Alex (Blair Underwood), an über-confident fighter pilot, who slowly begins to reveal his inner turmoil over a mission which resulted in the  death of children. Episode three was the story of suicidal teen, Sophie (Mia Wasikowska).

Just watching two people have a conversation for half an hour, in a single room, shouldn’t be as interesting as this is.  The acting is uniformly superb, but special mention must be made for Byrne who spends much of the show just listening; he goes to show what a skill listening is for an actor.  Acting alone doesn’t make a show, and the scripts really shine through.  It’s really compelling  television and each strand feels like it’s slowly being opened out as we learn more about each of the patients and their therapist. I’m exciting to see where this is going to go over the next 9 weeks, and how the writers are going to sustain the momentum built in these opening episodes.  Don’t be put off by the concept, you should definitely watch this.

Stargate Universe: Sky One (R 6th Oct W 8th Oct)

I’ve never followed any of the Stargate franchises and may well not have bothered this time if it wasn’t for the inclusion of Robert Carlyle as its star.  I’ve seen bits of other Stargate episodes, but I had no real preconceptions going in to this, so I just tried to sit back and enjoy the ride.  I watched the two opening episodes, which are part of a 3 part opener, and it’s pretty good, but feels like we’re still establishing the premise.  And the premise is this; some military and scientists, who are part of the Stargate program, escape an enemy attack by taking a one-way ride to an ancient spaceship that is billions of light years away from earth.  The current plot is almost entirely concerned with their attempts to get the decrepit life support system working, and when they, presumably, get that working, then I don’t know where it’s going.  At the moment it feels like it lies somewhere between Voyager and Battlestar Galactica.  Hopefully, they will err towards the latter in terms of plot and quality.

Harry Hill’s TV Burp: ITV1 (R 10th Oct W 10th Oct)

It’s a welcome return for the show the remains the exception to the rule that ITV don’t do comedy.  I was worried during the first half that it had lost its touch, but the second half really picked up and was hilarious.It’s perfect Saturday evening entertainment.

Lie To Me: Sky One (R 8th Oct W 10th Oct)

It’s not been that long since the first season finished its run, and this season 2 opener was a welcome return.  It’s the story of Dr Cal Lightman (Tim Roth), a ‘human lie-detector’, and his team of related experts.  They’re regularly sub-contracted by various US law enforcement agencies to solve their crimes for them.

It’s not the kind of show that I normally like; I generally steer away from police procedurals and there’s no real overall storyline running through the series.  Credit to the writers and cast then that they have made essentially an episodic cop show that isn’t completely vacant.  A large part of its appeal lies in the casting of Roth who commands every scene in which he takes part; it’s worth watching just for him.

Filed under Television Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No Time To Blog: Day 6 – TV

September 21, 2009 by sherby57 1 Comment

I finished watching The Human Bird (Channel 4); I was frightened just as a viewer. It was a great piece of television, if you get chance to see it you should.

Finally got around to watching episode one of Spiral season 2 (BBC4), the French crime drama. With it being three years since the first series I’d forgotten half of the chatcters which meant I spent much of the programme saying, ‘Oh, I’d forgotten about him.’ I remembered the ginger lawyer lady but couldn’t recall what part she had played in the previous series other than being a bit dodgy. I really enjoyed it though, but I do wonder if I’d still be watching if it was an English programme.

Filed under No Time To Blog, Television Tagged with , , , , ,

Man on The Wire

September 1, 2009 by sherby57 1 Comment

In a recent post about watching the final episode of The West Wing, Gone West (Wing), I stated that I didn’t agree with many pundits opinion that it was the greatest TV show ever.   In the comments section of the post I was asked what is the greatest show on the television, and despite the inherent arrogance in answering such a subjective question with any conviction, only one programme sprang to mind: The Wire.

It struck me that if I had written a post about something that I considered  not to be the best, then I had no justification for not writing a post about something that I do think is the best.  It’s not as though I hadn’t thought about writing about The Wire previous to that, it’s just that when something has been so universally praised, how do you find something new to say about it?  Well, as I type this sentence, I’m not sure that I do have something new to say, or even have a unique angle in which to say something old, but I’ve started, so I’ll finish.

Inevitably, as for the majority of highly acclaimed programmes made in this decade, The Wire was made by HBO in the States, and it ran between between 2002 and 2008.  It’s five seasons ran for 60 episodes, and, in that time, creators David Simon and Ed Burns blessed us with a masterpiece.  So, what is it about?

It’s not so easy to describe The Wire.  If you had to try (which I do), you’d start by saying that it was a cop show set in Baltimore, which follows a police detail’s attempts to bring down the city’s endemic drugs trade.  If you were to leave the description there, anyone who had seen the show would recognise it, but would also be screaming, ‘Yes! But it’s so much more!!’  And it is SO much more.

The first thing that separates it from the norm is that it spends as much time inhabiting the world of the drug dealers as it does of that of the cops.  We see life on the streets from the bottom up, from the desperate users, to the street level muscle, to the ruthless bosses.  And in all that time, each character is treated as a real three-dimensional person, with no easy depictions of clear cut evil.  On the flip side to this, the police are equally human, each carrying their own distinctive, and real, flaws.  The characterisation in this show is second to none, but more of that later.

Season one focuses on ‘the detail’, and its building of a case against Avon Barksdale’s drugs empire.  Each subsequent season then introduces a new theme, and a new set of characters, which are explored in addition to those already established.  What other show has the nerve to introduce so many characters?  I’m struggling to find an exact figure on it, but there could well be 40 distinct ‘main’ characters over the 60 episodes, and you’re sure to remember every one of them.  In season two we are introduced to the city’s downtrodden dock workers, exploring the lengths that the unions will go to for their men.  Season three delves in to the machinations down at City Hall, and shows the deal making and back stabbing of local politics.  Season four follows the lives of four teenagers and their attempts to negotiate the over-stretched schools system.  Finally, season five gives us an insight in to the world of the press, and their analogous relationship to the police (it also features an outrageous plot line that I won’t say any more about).

What’s even more impressive is that each season can be seen as a distinct story, with each episode merely a chunk of that overall plot.  It is extremely brave to do away with cliffhangers and the tricks of episodic TV, but it really pays off.  The Wire is the only show that has made me angry when an episode ends, so desperate was I to see the next.  How do they do that without a cliffhanger?

I’ve not mentioned individual characters yet, nor the performances that helped create them.  Well, the acting is uniformly excellent, and with so many actors to choose from, it would be churlish to pick any one out.  I’m loath to pick out any favourite characters, as to anyone who hasn’t watched it, it would be meaningless, and to anyone who has seen it, then you have your own list (I’m guessing most of those lists have Omar on them).

Maybe the final thing I should mention is that it is a show that doesn’t compromise and it doesn’t pander to the casual viewer.  Street language and police jargon are not explained, and you have to pick them up as you go along.  The plot is slowly teased out as the season progresses, and there are no happy endings or easy answers.  It almost makes watching it sound like a chore, but it in fact just makes the experience all the more rewarding.

My personal involvement with The Wire started when I watched a review on Charlie Brooker’s excellent BBC4 show, Screenwipe, in which he gave his strongest possible recommendation (I’ve just watched that review on Youtube, and it makes me want to go and watch The Wire even more), but since I’m not a big fan of buying DVD box sets, I instead regularly checked its UK home, FX, in case of repeats.  In 2007 I got lucky as that’s what happened, and the repeats were immediately preceded by a Charlie Brooker special, Tapping The Wire.  In it, he interviewed cast and crew, and travelled to Baltimore to talk to some of the locals.  He also talked to some celebrity fans, who, to a man (and I think they were all men), said that The Wire was the best TV show ever.  Now, whenever I hear that something goes off in my brain that says, ‘they’re wrong, it’s DEFINITELY not the best show ever’, and so it was with a bit of awkward trepidation that I approached the first episode.  At the end of the series opener, my unfounded fears were allayed, and by episode 3 or 4 I was hooked.  FX then showed the full 60 episodes weekly, and it was a glorious year in my television watching life.

FX are currently repeating The Wire again weekly, presumably to compete with BBC2′s recent acquisition of terrestrial rights, and I am once again watching.  We’re currently at the start of season three, and I’m enjoying each episode as much as the first time.  The deeply complex nature of the show makes multiple viewings not only enjoyable, but maybe essential.

I’m quite happy to admit that I didn’t find anything new to say about The Wire, but I didn’t really expect to.  I also expect I’ve missed out some obvious aspect of the show that is better than other TV shows, but, with so much on offer, things are going to fall through the cracks.  I could have saved myself a lot of time by summing the show up like this; what’s so good about The Wire?

Everything.

Filed under Television Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,