(Don't say 'Skins meets Heroes'. Don't say 'Skins meets Heroes'. Don't say 'Skins meets Heroes'…) Misfits is essentially Skins meets Heroes. (Shit.) Reviewing this show is unusual in that I only tried out the first episode a few days ago and now, after just six episodes, it's already over. That is what's so great about it though – it remained a consistently entertaining show over those six episodes and, unlike the other two shows mentioned, hasn't even had a chance to outstay its welcome. The premise? Five social misfits are undertaking their enforced community service when a freaky storm hits and gives them all special powers. Their probation officer, also caught up in the storm, becomes a psychopath and tries to murder them all, getting killed himself in the process. The youths thus have to deal with two secrets – covering up their probation officer's death, and the new abilities that they've acquired. As it turns out, these guys weren't the only ones affected by the storm… Yeah, so it won't win any awards for originality. In addition, the mythology is a bit hard to swallow – perhaps that's an obsolete comment to make for a show about superpowers, but it holds. Throughout the series, it's never made entirely clear (except perhaps in Alicia's case) whether these characters have control over their abilities and can use them at will. The spontaneous use of their powers, besides being conveniently helpful to the narrative at any given occasion, is unsatisfyingly random. Added to this, some of the powers that show up in peripheral characters are frankly a bit shit (power to make people bald, anyone?) but then again that just adds to the whimsical nature of what is essentially a teenage comedy-drama-hybrid-thing in the mould of Skins. And this is where Misfits succeeds. In the same manner as Skins, we're introduced to a set of characters who are not only quite heavily stereotyped, but all rather reprehensible in their own way. I watched the first episode and immediately hated every single one of the bastards. It says something of a show that, after only six episodes to play around with, I like them all now! You could argue that it was easier to do here as there were only five characters to focus on, and Skins (like Lost before it) certainly gives credence to the idea that the 'character-centric episodes' format does help to create more of an empathy with the protagonists. Take Nathan, if you will. He's the quintessential mouthy twat, in the manner of Tony or Cook from Skins, a deplorable bellend who initially filled me with feelings of annoyance, hatred and mild indigestion (that last one was probably just from the curry I ate). But once some crazy stuff happens to him in the second episode – something I daren't spoil here as it's one of the strangest, sickest and funniest twists I've seen in television of late – and he reacts to these bizarre situations with a very human attitude, I began to sympathise with him. By the finale, I actually loved him for his aforementioned twattishness and was sad the series had already finished. The other characters went through less of a transformation (at least my perceptions of them did) but, on the whole, they were a lot more endearing to me than I thought would be possible in such a short timespan. Bravo to the show's producers for picking such an impressive young cast. Misfits is, as it stands in the current TV climate, a rather unique show. Despite being obviously concocted as a mixture of previously successful formats, the uneasiness and darkness of the probation officer's storyline, along with the surreal humour on display throughout, makes it stand out. I do seriously recommend it (it should all still be on 4od for at least a few weeks) and hey – it's only six episodes, so you're not committing to a crumbling mess of a show of Heroes-like proportions. On a final note, how awesome were the closing credits in the last episode?!
Misfits – Series 1
Labels: Misfits |
Glee – Season 1
Labels: Glee |No, I'm not being an idiot, I realise it's only halfway through the first season of America's latest hit show, but given that the back nine episodes are being produced separately and won't air for months, now is as good a time as any to offer an opinion. What can I say? This show has just been fun. It's uneven to be sure – the contrast of the 'gleeful' musical numbers and zingy one-liners with the heightened melodrama and occasionally intense conflicts is rather jarring. But none of that detracts from the fact that the show is just fun. Fun to watch, fun to listen to, fun to buy the songs off iTunes. Seriously, this programme must be making FOX a fortune with its craftily chosen selection of songs being covered by an often vocally stunning cast, be they taken from old Broadway shows, modern-day R&B crooners or stomp-along rock anthems of yesteryear. As I say, the cast are mighty talented and Ryan Murphy has created a mostly intriguing set of characters that make the long bits of 'TV show' between each tune not just tolerable, but very enjoyable to watch. Standouts for me so far are Kevin McHale's wheelchair-bound Artie, Chris Colfer's extremely gay Kurt (the scenes with his down-to-earth dad are quite touching) and, strangely, Heather Morris' clueless cheerleader Brittany who kills with every one-liner she's given (which is good, as she does usually get just one line). Hairography – "It's like cool epilepsy!" I initially didn't take to the two characters who are supposed to be the leads, Rachel and Finn, particularly as the whole point of the cooperative glee club was that everyone should be as important as each other, but fortunately that wasn't an issue as they took a bit of a back seat as time goes by. Plus I've warmed to Rachel a lot more – what a voice! I both love and hate what they've done with the 'adults' on the show though. Will Schuester obviously loves this club and is trying his best to help them succeed, and yet almost every episode I felt like he had made another poor teaching decision. Jayma Mays as guidance counsellor/love interest Emma was done very well to start with as, let's face it, she is adorable, but a combination of less screentime and poor dialogue meant I was quite apathetic to how the finale turned out in that regard. Praise of the highest order, however, must be given to Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester, the cheerleading coach hell-bent on destroying Will's ambitions, and one of the finest comic creations in quite some time. So a terrific start for Glee. Sure, there were big mistakes with not one but two awful pregnancy storylines, but for the most part the show is sheer fun without the songs, and a complete marketing and creative triumph with them! Hey, with what other show would it not seem completely pathetic to end with a Top 5 list?! Top 5 Songs 5. "Sweet Caroline" – Perhaps it was because it was Puck's first (and so far only) solo, but I loved this short version of a Neil Diamond song that showcased better vocal talent than the unusual Finn 4. "Dancing With Myself" – Again, another solo from one of the smaller players, Artie, that's great in its own right but made better with the visuals of his lonely wheelchair dancing. 3. "Don't Rain on My Parade" – They needed a killer song for sectionals, they got one. I hear Lea Michele's already being compared to Barbara Streisand (because they're both Jewish?!) so the show might as well embrace it! 2. "Somebody to Love" – As you might have seen, I'm usually more a fan of the solo offerings, as they usually have more to say about the character singing them. But this Queen song was done extremely well, and is probably my favourite ensemble effort, except for... 1. "Imagine" – Yes, it was a bit corny having a deaf choir sing John Lennon's classic. And yes, it even felt a bit rude that Mercedes and the rest of New Directions would butt in with their harmonies. But dammit if it wasn't also the sweetest thing I've seen in a long time. Consider my cockles truly warmed. Got your own list? Feel free to post in the comments! (For all you regular British people out there, I hear Glee will be airing on E4 in the new year. I heartily recommend it.)
Mad Men – Season 3
Labels: Mad Men |In many ways, this season of the TV critic's crumpet of choice (if that phrase actually works as a phrase) was the least satisfying so far, but in some ways it wasn't. I think a lot of that came down to something that Mad Men displayed even more of this year – inconsistency. By which I mean not the quality, but the decisions about plotting that would leave the final few episodes filled to the brim with dazzling events and the rest of the season a kind of moody and atmospheric, yet disappointly insubstantial casserole (sorry, perhaps I shouldn't write when I'm hungry). This is a problem the first couple of seasons had, but not to such an extreme. Perhaps it's also that now we're so involved and comfortable with the previously alien environment of a 1960s America, we're less engrossed by style and ambience and just want things to actually happen and that once, just once, some shit would blow up (I jest, but it's got to be said the grisly accident halfway through the season did add some much-needed oomph). The season's biggest problem, yet leading to its greatest triumph, was too much time spent at home with the Drapers. For a while there, the extremely talented supporting cast were completely sidelined in order to make The Don and Betty Show, something made harder to digest (yes, I've eaten something now...) given that these two are rather despicable characters. One makes for a good wife and a terrible mother, whilst the other could actually be a decent father but is a terrible husband. With little hope for redemption in either, the show was becoming so narcissistic that it (almost) became a drag to watch. But at least it was all leading to something... Secrets were discovered and discussed. New corporate directions were taken. And President Kennedy was shot (the one spoiler you can forgive me for revealing!). In fact, that last one was pretty powerful – I'd heard about the impact that the assassination had had on the American people, being the 9/11 of its day, but I don't think I could feel its effect any more clearly than in a fictional TV show where it so instantly altered the minds and actions of characters I'd known for three years (this is an example I would use to champion modern television's superiority over cinema releases). It was perhaps the entire series' best episode to date. Until the next one. The finale... wow. Absolutely no spoilers, except to say that EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED! It came at just the right time too, as like I said the show was getting a bit long in the tooth. The finale succeeded by not only being a marvellous setup for some of the radical things to come, but also being a terrific episode in its own right, with every scene charged with raw emotion that felt so sudden yet so easily explained (and this is why I mentioned that Don and Betty's tedious domestic troubles were at least justified in the end). It was also great to see strong scenes from (most of) the often-overlooked ensemble. To be honest, the office politics and working relationships in Mad Men have always intrigued me much more than the characters' personal lives, but this was even more the case in Season 3. The writers were not sparing in their realistic depiction of the harsh fluidity of business that can advance some careers but bring others to ruin. The uneasiness of this year's British takeover (kudos, by the way, to Jared Harris' eternally compromised middle man Lane Pryce – the newcomer most welcome to continue onwards) was fascinating to watch, particularly when it came to such a daring - and entertaining - conclusion in the finale. It's been said by Matthew Weiner before that he wanted to take this show through the 60s to portray the changing attitudes and philosophies of such a radical era. I've so far enjoyed seeing that happen, although I think I'm justified in saying that this season didn't give us quite as much as we wanted. However, after this brief self-complacent resting period, the setup for future seasons has led to hope that the show will start crapping out excitement by the bucketload. Sorry about that, I wanted to finish with the eating analogy I began with, but it became unnecessarily vulgar. Perhaps soon I'll get to the waste disposal.
New Comedy Shows - First Impressions
Labels: Bored to Death, Cougar Town, Glee, Modern Family, The Cleveland Show |This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.
24 – Season 7
Labels: 24 |How old is Jack Bauer? Presuming that during his hero-defining wife-losing first "worst day of my life" he was in his late 30's (estimating from his hot teenage daughter), and knowing that each season gap usually represents between 1 and 2 years in the 24 'verse, that must mean he'll soon be approaching 50. And he's still kicking ass and taking names. Even age can't defeat him, it would seem. But in Season 7, what might be described as the most preposterous one yet had we not already been subjected to Mexican brotherly spats and deliciously evil American presidents, a poxy bio-agent might just be the thing to force Jack to submit to legend-heaven where he could lounge around and divide by zero with Chuck Norris and Jesus Christ… Jack may have aged gracefully (wouldn't you agree, Fliss?) and fortunately the show still might too. After an abysmal Season 6, which perhaps I shouldn't pass full judgement on as its surprising tedium led me to give up half way through – 24 is one of the few shows I have stopped watching but then picked up again, definitely due to a much more enjoyable social collective viewing – Season 7 managed to surpass expectations and become one of its strongest seasons to date. A number of things could be attributed to this, but the most obvious was the production delay due to 2007's writers' strike that allowed the show a year – a whole year – to reclaim its marbles. The disbanding of CTU and the change of locale (finally!) to Washington helped this stale show to feel a little fresh again, and also enabled the crew to deliver the money shots halfway through of Jack Bauer beating up black people in a white house with his cock (most of this is true). Other things worked but not quite so much. Viewers breathed a sigh of relief when the constant bickering and sniping of techy CTU employees was done away with, then sighed 'Oh.' when it turned out we were just going to be treated to the constant bickering and sniping of techy FBI employees instead. It didn't help that Janeane Garofalo's Janis, aka Chole-lite, was really really annoying (she's good in other shows, honest!) and that there was to be no more of that memorable office phone ringtone. You know the one. Doo doo, DOO doo. Doo doo, DOO doo. Still, we were fortunately given a new hero worth caring about in the form of hard-but-moral Renee. She may have been promoted as 'female Jack Bauer' and unlikely rumours continue that perhaps she could take over the spotlight when it's Kiefer's day to retire, but in truth she was sometimes a bit crap in action (don't ask her about trespassing on boats, it's a sore point). Her emotional attachment to Jack's questionable actions did help in highlighting one of the season's other main strengths, which was the constant running theme of Jack's redemption and answering for his past. Often in the past, 24 has attempted to highlight 'issues' such as racial profiling and, um, cougar protection, but they're discussed for a couple of episodes and then either trivialized to a case of political leverage or simply never mentioned again. This time, the thread of whether Jack's extreme actions in the name of protecting his country are acceptable is incorporated much better into the season's individual scenarios and leads to a satisfying conclusion that provokes something not seen since the Season 3 finale – a moment of earnest self-reflection. If there is any major gripe I had with the season, it was with the reappearance of Tony Almeida as a villain. I don't so much object to his return as he is perhaps the only character who can out-gravel Jack's insanely gravelly voice. However, his constant to-ing and fro-ing between good and evil was a bit too much to take in the latter half of the season, and degraded the character somewhat. Also, despite most of the season's consistently exciting suspense, complete with the memorably camp-but-intense villains of Dubaku and Jonas Hodges and the newly elected President Taylor giving us the first leader we can truly root for since David Palmer, the final act was definitely lacking. Still, the season was mostly solid and I look forward to the next one, apparently to take place in New York (and, geek alert, to star Katee Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica and Freddie Prinze Jr, from, erm, Scooby Doo) and to see a newly reformed CTU. Doo doo, DOO doo!
Why I Hate The Wire
Labels: The Wire |Baltimore journalist David Simon's 'television show' The Wire (if you can call it such a thing) is awful. I mean, just godawful. I can't count all the ways in which it sucks, but let me give it a shot. In the manner of the show I'm lambasting, expect profanity. #1 - It makes you think. Tossers. The Wire thinks it's so fucking clever. It tries to be an intelligent social commentary on the futile drug war and attempts to highlight striking similarities between a number of institutions. Whether you're a drug dealer or a cop (or, just to bluntly ram the point home, a teacher or a stevedore or a newspaper man or a politician), you're a slave to exactly the same kind of bureaucracy and organisational structure in each instance, and you feel honour-bound to serve that institution in spite of yourself. In this way, the show says, everyone's choices are more strongly influenced by institutional pressures than by their own codes of morality. But I've watched a lot of American TV shows, and so I know this to be complete bullshit. Cops are the good guys and drug dealers are the bad guys. End of story. Why are they trying to give us all headaches by overthinking society when real life is clearly a lot more simple? There's also a lot to keep track of in the show. Each season typically spans several months of an intense wiretap investigation, and there are dozens upon dozens of characters whose names and faces you have to remember in order for the show to work in the way the writers want it too. What's worse is that next to none of these characters wear distinctive outfits or have any kind of comical catchphrase to make the familiarisation easy. You really are required to keep your mind switched on when watching, which contradicts the comfortable idea that television is dumbing down. Who do they think we are, professors or something? Dickheads. #2 - The Wire has made me want to read again. Timewasters. For decades now, the line between American television and American cinema has been blurring, with your average episode of 24 or Lost looking so stylish and action-packed you can actually buy into those TV producers who boast, "It's like we're making a movie every single week!". What a huge step back, then, for a writer to aim to have his show ape the antique storytelling medium that is written literature. Unlike conventional procedurals on TV, where any investigations are satisfyingly solved with a pretty little bow by the end of that episode, The Wire might introduce a particular character or plot point and then have the cheek to make no reference to it again for several episodes, or even several years. This sort of thing is explained, although not excused, by the fact that instead of hiring sensible Hollywood types to make his show, Simon's writing team is a ragtag bunch of novelists and journalists, who just don't comprehend what makes a good cop show. Whenever characters get shot in The Wire, it's realistically abrupt and unheroic. Christ, the show lasted an unbelievable five years and to my recollection they had only one fucking explosion. In the same way that a novel is rarely satisfying unless you get to the end, you have to commit to a whole fucking season of this show before you get any kind of payoff. And even then the writers leave several threads dangling at the end of each season, claiming that it's imitating real life. An infuriating consequence of all of this is that, having watched all five seasons of the show, I feel like I've just read five books. Now I'm having to read actual books printed on actual paper to save myself from reverting to idiocy, and who has the time for that in today's busy world? Twats. #3 - David Simon owes me a new television. I made the mistake of watching a recent episode of CSI: Miami the other day. After 35 minutes of forensic foreplay came the spectacular climax (apologies for any innuendo your dirty mind may have picked up there), where Horatio became embroiled in a car chase with a baby-kidnapper through an abandoned airfield that looked remarkably like a studio backlot in Los Angeles. Said baby-kidnapper's car flipped itself over several times before landing on its roof and catching fire. Horatio then gets out of his car, shoots said baby-kidnapper (who had enough energy after his crash to stand up and take aim at Horatio) and then walks into the billowing smoke to rescue said baby from said burning vehicle. Afterwards, said baby's mother is overjoyed to see her son again, and asks how she could ever thank Horatio. Having seen her tears of joy, Horatio claims, "You already have" then repeats this again for dramatic emphasis. You could tell that he meant it too, because he had taken off his trademark fucking sunglasses. It was at this point that I had angrily walked over to the TV, picked it up with my Hulk-like arms of steel and thrown it through my large conservatory windows. And this was a big TV, with internal DVD player and everything. To tell you the truth, the event helped to show how extremely manly I am, although I think I strained something in my back and now I'm finding it hard to walk properly, but that's besides the point. Can I blame the shallow superficiality of CSI: Miami for my response? No. Vacuous police procedurals like this have been going on for years, and I've been watching them without such an irate reaction. The Wire, with all of its fucking depth and fucking realism, is the one show that aimed to be different. Therefore it's The Wire's fault that I got so mad when reverting to an ordinary cop show. That's why I'm suing David Simon for the damages caused, and demanding he gives me a new television set and a cash settlement for the chiropractor's fees. #4 - The Wire has made me racially and culturally sensitive. Bastards. About 60% of The Wire's large ensemble is African American. That's a much larger percentage than any other show, except maybe the delightful sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. As such, The Wire's social commentary on a declining post-industrial American city has taught me many many things. It has taught me that drug dealers and dope fiends can have feelings too. It has taught me that people is people wherever you go, and everyone's just a victim of the institutions they belong to. It has also taught me (and this is an important one) that black people do not all look the same. But why the hell would Simon and his co-conspirators be so mean as to educate me about these various urban cultures which I hadn't witnessed before? Now, whenever I make a sweeping generalisation about the typical characteristics of another ethnicity, I'm no longer being ironically racist. I'm just being a twat. This extends beyond just the black ghetto society depicted in the first season of the show. The Wire has forced me to feel sympathetic towards all of the white young male's most cherished channels of hatred. Serial murderers. Politicians. Kids. Fucking kids. After watching the entire series, I could probably find several redeeming things to say about both FOX News and The Daily Mail. The Wire has filled my heart with love for all mankind. It fucking sickens me. I'm sure there are many other aspects of this abysmal show I could choose to nitpick, but that's probably enough. I suggest you try out the show yourself to see just how fucking awful it is, and recommend to all your friends that they do the same. But you'll all probably like it, because you're all idiots.
Comedies 08-09
Labels: 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory |OK, I sort of missed the boat on this one. It's been a few months since my favourite US comedies finished their latest seasons, and I can't remember everything that happened. But I'll still give my brief impressions of how they fared this year, simply because no one's put a gag to my mouth just yet.
Scrubs - Season 8
Labels: Scrubs |If there's one word that characterises the eighth season of Scrubs for me, it's surprise. Going all the way back to when the writers' strike happened, it seemed like Scrubs was dead, with NBC determined to shamefully air the produced episodes out of sequence in order to bill an especially unusual (and not especially good) episode as the series finale. It was a bit of a slap in the face to longtime fans of the show, but it made the surprise all the more tasty when ABC (who had produced the show all along) announced that they would broadcast an eighth and final season on their own network.
Dollhouse - Season 1
Labels: Dollhouse |Joss Whedon! Joss! Whedon! Creator of such fantastic and unique television over the years! Buffy! Firefly! Dr. Horrible! Joss Whedon, God of the geeks! Some people would probably pay good money for one of his turds! Speaking of...
Breaking Bad – Season 2
Labels: Breaking Bad |As a celebration of the 'best' of TV, the Emmy Awards usually throw few surprises. Voted for by Hollywood, for Hollywood, some nominees may be questionable in terms of their quality, but almost all show evidence of either huge viewership or notable Hollywood-pleasing. Combining all of this, it's easy to see why critical successes such as The Wire, Friday Night Lights and Battlestar Galactica have all been snubbed in recent years, attracting as they do poor viewing figures and being filmed far away from the attentions of Hollywood. So it's noteworthy whenever one such show manages to catch their eye, and the Albequerque, New Mexico-set Breaking Bad has certainly done that, with not only a repeated nod for the surprisingly intense Bryan Cranston, but also for overall best drama and a well-deserved supporting actor nod for Aaron Paul, who did great work this season. It's nice for a darkly surreal show such as this to get some recognition, and may it continue. But why's it good? My answer to that was a whole lot different a year ago. If the strike-shortened first season was all about the set up, complete with the requisite cool-moments factor to get the viewer interested, then the second season was much more of a character study of its two tragic protagonists, cancer-suffering wannabe druglord Walt and his streetwise-but-unfortunate accomplice Jesse. It's cool that the show, whilst obviously advancing plot when necessary, could take the time to really delve into these characters' minds and motives. And yes, this did mean an even slower, less exciting pace than the first season introduced us to. In fact, it wasn't until very late in the season that I realised just how intentional that might have been, for as a whole, the second season was just as powerful as the first, if not moreso. Fortunately, there were still a few liberal sprinklings of grisly/surreal moments present to keep everyone happy. If you've seen this season, you'll know what I mean if I mention the words 'tortuga', 'ATM' or 'pink bear'. It's hard to describe why the season was so effective without going into spoilerific detail, but suffice it to say that over the course of the season both Walt and Jesse's moral compasses and most viewers' impressions of each man's integrity go through some drastic changes. This is certainly spurred on by some major situational advancements (one huge game-changer for Walt, and several medium-sized occurrences to Jesse), but the writers and actors manage to deliver on all fronts to show what's really making these guys tick as time goes by. Of course, one might argue that this isn't too difficult to do for a show focussing on just two characters. And there's truth to that. Despite strong performances from the rest of the small ensemble, they really do feel rather underused, a complaint I held from the get go. The start of the season indicated that Hank and Marie would have much more of a presence on the show, but they both seem to shy away from the limelight after just a few episodes. Meanwhile, Walt's wife Skyler does get a bit more storyline this year, but it has so far fallen into untypically clichéd territory for this show. Still, a strong second season from a show that hasn't yet rested on its laurels, and continues to subvert the viewer's expectations at every turn. Whilst the finale certainly had a surprising climax, it's hard to tell how much immediate impact it might have on the show's third season. I'll be watching, and eagerly waiting to see what strange directions the show will go in next. Oh, and that trick they pulled with the episode titles? Nice!
Torchwood: Children of Earth
Labels: Torchwood |I've never been a big fan of Doctor Who's 'mature' offspring, often a bizarre mixture of mature content and immature storytelling. Not far removed from the silly plot devices of Doctor Who, the only major difference between the two was that Torchwood really wanted to be grown up, and in an attempt to do so the show seemed even more childish in addressing 'adult issues'. You could almost imagine the executives getting as much kicks from a profanity here or a butt there as they did from any kind of meaningful characterisation, and it was hard to see how any kind of political or moral discussions in the show couldn't also be tackled in its family-targeted parent show. Not so with Children of Earth though, the darkest and most thought-provoking piece of sci-fantasy to show up on television since...well, Battlestar Galactica just a few months ago! Never mind Russell T. Davies being on top of his game, I have to hand it to the BBC for their clever marketing choices for this five-part minseries; the show aired consecutively over five weeknights (and, less importantly, each episode's narrative also took place over consecutive weekdays) and allowed for BBC One – and its American counterpart, for whom Torchwood is one of their biggest fictional shows – to advertise the hell out of it as must-see event TV. Admittedly, I watched the show a while after initial broadcast but just watching the way the miniseries flowed it was clear this was a smart move, and BBC must be rather content with the way it worked out. Critical admiration and good viewing figures on both side of the pond. And the miniseries itself? Well, despite the usual reservations I have with the show and Davies' writing in general – which presented themselves here yet again throughout – I was rather impressed. What seemed at first glance to be a bloated expansion of a standard episode, the miniseries became increasingly twisted and heartbreaking as time went on, with dark themes such as government-planned genocide and familicide showing up. Although Davies' work is typically heavy-handed with addressing the issues, Children of Earth was probably most successful because it did have the time to flesh out its characters a bit more than usual, both with the returning Torchwood cast and newcomers such as Peter Capaldi's tragic civil servant and Paul Copley's mentally unstable remnant from the aliens' previous visit. They're all given just enough humorous and light-hearted beats in the first couple of episodes to make the dark payoffs in the final few episodes really sting. Props to John Barrowman, though, who sheds his often goofy image to present a character finding himself in increasingly tragic situations without making the whole ordeal ridiculously melodramatic (which is sometimes the case with the entire cast; If they have to shed a tear, they might as well bawl their eyes out). Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the miniseries was the dark material it attempted to address. Yes, it certainly gave me satisfaction to see some situations and debates included that most shows wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole, but at the same time, it was only moderately successful. For a show that succeeds in showing the dark sides of inherently good people, it's a shame that Davies seems overly-prejudiced towards politicians. Perhaps his view is just a depiction of the general public's view that no-one in politics can be trusted, but here they're all shown as despicable vote-grabbers with no scruples whatsoever. This becomes particularly damaging to the show's integrity later on, as the dark arguments on how best to handle a necessary atrocity, however powerful and intelligent, are lessened by the fact they're being conducted by pantomime villains. And when one such character meets a particularly gut-wrenching fate, subtlety has to be thrown out the window when it comes to letting the viewer judge his actions; Instead, Davies repeatedly tells us that this guy was 'a good man' because (I assume) he doesn't trust us to make that realisation for ourselves. The usual complaints against the Doctor Who universe can be made towards this miniseries as well. The instrumental music is effective, but often too intrusive. Whilst many jokes succeed, others are embarrassing. And the mostly-unseen villains that are alien and therefore required to display as little humanity as possible, well... It'd be difficult for any writer to make them seem authentic and not just, erm, a bit shit really. Despite this, Davies and associates should be praised for attempting something that is both more-of-the-same-but-with-a-bigger-budget and at the same time quite experimental. The aliens might fail, but the concept of possessed children has always been quite a chilling one. The political characters might be annoyingly one-dimensional, but most of the other characters work rather well, even the minor relations of the established cast. Having never been a regular viewer of Torchwood before, Children of Earth finally convinced me that maybe, just maybe, this show does have enough potential to step out of Doctor Who's shadow. And I think that in itself is pretty good praise of this miniseries. It's entirely accessible to newcomers, so I'd recommend it to anyone!
Skins – Season 3
Labels: Skins |Archived review E4 advertised the final episode of this 'season' as a 'season finale', so if they're going to encourage the growth of American terminology I don't feel too bad doing the same. The third 'season' of Skins saw the writers make a bold yet sensible decision of introducing an entirely new cast, with only the younger Effy still remaining (however, for all the ways they've changed her, she may as well be a new character too). This enabled us to go through the fun part of a character-based show again, which is learning what makes them tick. Finding out their interests, their flaws and how their family backgrounds have influenced the people they are. Just as with the first generation of Skins stars (who through rose-tinted spectacles all seem quite loveable now), everyone's going to have their favourites, and cleverly the characters aren't quite as easy to define as Tony, Sid and company. There's Emily, the younger twin trying to step out of her sister's shadow. There's Thomas, the African immigrant taking joy in the small things. And there's mildly autistic JJ, whose rational dialogue and love of magic cover up some serious rage issues.
However, I didn't find the 'core' characters quite as interesting this time around. Whereas Cook successfully manages to out-'Tony' Tony, and remain a character you love to hate, the eventual pairing of Effy and Freddie was something I never rooted for. It's all personal opinion, of course, but the writers seemed to want us to hope that Freddie would eventually win the battle for Effy because he wasn't as destructive as Cook. This backfired for me as Freddie, prettyboy looks aside, didn't have a nice-guy vibe going for him either.
As for storylines, well, the show went as extreme as possible. By the end of the season, it felt like almost everyone had slept with almost everyone else, one character almost killed another, and it doesn't feel like an episode of Skins anymore if someone doesn't get beaten to a bloody pulp. Perhaps next season, much like the second, will settle down slightly and get a better look at the characters' psyches. Perhaps the fringe players like Thomas and Pandora will get some more well-deserved screen time. And perhaps I'll enjoy it more. My opinion of the second season was quite harsh at the time, but upon rewatching it all made a lot more sense, both in terms of character actions and what the writers' overall objectives were with the show. I'm just glad that they've managed to establish another set of strong characters whose outcomes I want to see. For the most part.
Flight of the Conchords – Season 2
Labels: Flight of the Conchords |Archived review The folk comedy duo's second and most probably final season was quite a contrast from the first. Exhausted of the best songs from their back catalogue, it was back to the musical drawing board to try to create lyrics to rival classics such as "If You're Into It" and "Albie the Racist Dragon". For the most part this wasn't successful, and among the many unfunny failings in this season, only a couple such as "Carol Brown" and "You Don't Have to be a Prostitute" measure up. Despite this, the guys clearly had more fun in simply writing a TV show this time around, and the general deadpan banter and understated lunacy which make up the rest of the episodes was much better done; only the last couple of episodes faltered. Other complaints could be made – too many failed romance storylines, not enough band storylines – but making them might be missing the point. Flight of the Conchords was a show that, even without the often hilarious songs, triumphed in making humour out of not very much at all. In fact, it was a particularly British kind of humour, and in that regard, it seems fitting that this entertaining show has already finished on its own terms, without people getting angered at cancellation or just plain bored of it. Well done!
Battlestar Galactica – Season 4
Labels: Battlestar Galactica |Archived review – This is what I wrote for the first half of the season, which aired in spring 2008: Battlestar Galactica is heading slowly but surely towards its end and the first half of this final season has been a bit lacklustre when compared to the amazing New Caprica storyline from the year before. As if it were possible, things have gotten even more dark and murky but without the instant gratification of interesting plot developments. I guess that's always been the trouble with this show; When they have stories to tell, stories that permanently affect the continuity of the show, there's hardly anything on the box more compelling. Filler, however, is uninspiring and that's what we got for most of these first ten episodes. Don't get me wrong, writing and performances can be strong (how Mary McDonnell didn't get Emmy-nominated for her performance as the President coming to terms with her own mortality is beyond me), but sometimes the show seems to be unnecessarily dark because apparently dark is cool. Fortunately, things suddenly sped up in the final few episodes before the year-long break – and how I'm going to enjoy not having to go through yet another one of these ever again – leaving us with a phenomenal twist that Battlestar Galactica does so well, delivering on its long-established premise whilst completely pulling the rug under our feet. The final ten episodes should be very interesting indeed, particularly if the characters all suddenly remember that sometimes it's OK to crack a joke. And my take on the final half of the season, and the end of the show: And so the show that changed the very nature of science fiction television, from light-hearted adventurous romps with aliens to dark character-driven commentaries on our own society, has reached its end. No matter how it would all turn out, I was actually just glad that, in a climate of trigger-happy executives cancelling any show whose viewership will never make it the next CSI or House, this one got to actually reach its planned finale, just as Ron Moore had intended. Was it perfect? No. As with the majority of the last two seasons, there was a lot to like, but faults to tolerate as well. However, let's step back a little bit to the last cliffhanger, where the fleet had just reached the ruins of a post-apocalyptic Earth. NB – Those final comments can actually be even more rightly directed towards The Wire, which I didn't watch until some time after this review.
The repercussions of this discovery were more severe than I thought possible, as everyone lost all hope and sense of purpose in their lives, dramatically causing one beloved character to simply give up and die. The objection of many humans to the Cylon integration in the fleet led to a violent coup and the best story arc since the New Caprica occupation. It's testament to this show that the leader of the rebellion is a well-known character who (like everyone else) has been through so many hardships these last few years that it's almost impossible not to understand, even forgive, his extreme actions. That's what the show has always done so well; the characters are more complex than 6+2i (sorry). No human is truly good; no Cylon is truly evil. The following episodes were rather exposition-heavy, attempting to explain (and only half succeeding) the nature of the final five Cylons. These oft-confusing 'revelations' actually manage to showcase how flimsy the show's mythology is, and that its strength definitely lies in its characters and more human elements.
The finale was satisfying, if not perfect, an action-driven adventure that culminated in a surprise resting place with individual farewells to all the characters, some satisfying, some not. Strangely enough, it was Gaius Baltar's final line "You know, I know about farming" that proved to be the most powerful sendoff for the show, again pulling the rug out from under my feet by making me completely sympathise for a character whose narcissism and selfishness had led to the near total destruction of the human race.
Some people may not be happy with the way this show ended. Although there are some fairly cool references to many mysteries over the years, a few loose ends are not so much tied up with a pretty bow as left with an ellipsis, inviting the viewer to draw their own conclusions. Some might also not sit tight with the definite existence of higher spiritual forces at work, although happily their nature is never specifically explored. In the end though, I'm just going to miss a show that made every character count, even minor ones, and never fell into the lazy trappings of labelling any one person as 'good' or 'evil'. It's something not many TV shows can do, and something that makes the viewing a whole lot more fun, if difficult!
Friday Night Lights – Season 3
Labels: Friday Night Lights |Archived review After a rocky second season - both in terms of viewership and some critical backlash - for my favourite drama of recent years, the show saw a fantastic return to form in its third season, and provided yet more reason that in the case of episode orders for a season, less can definitely be more. 'Rescued' by obscure pay cable channel direcTV, and to be reaired on NBC this winter, only 13 episodes were produced which, much as with Lost's strike-shortened fourth season, helped focus the storylines. More reason for excitement however can be attributed to the seemingly back-to-basics approach that was adopted after last year's worryingly contrived plotlines. This year the storylines have been much less sensational, be it a subplot about Eric and Tami considering buying a bigger house, or Tami's honest conversation with her daughter after realising she's sexually active, or even just worried students talking about their college options, the result has been a return to the adjective Friday Night Lights does better than most other shows out there - genuine. As a young man with two working testicles, I should be ashamed to admit how this show affects me every single time I sit down to watch it, but I'm not; It's heartfelt without being overly dramatised, it's sentimental without being overly sugary. After this season, I imagine there will be a huge question mark as to whether the show will continue. Already, a satisfying close has been given for both Smash and Jason Street, and most of the other students have graduated and are off to various colleges (realistically, not to the one just down the street). A show like this could cope with a cast upheaval, I'm just not sure it should necessarily go through one. As much as I want the show to continue, bouncing back from a so-so second season to a sensational third is going to be pretty hard to beat, and I'm almost content in knowing this is a show I could easily rewatch ten years down the line. Kudos. NB – Obviously, since writing this, it's been announced that the show will live on for another two seasons. So scratch that last bit, I'm happy to have more!
