Charlie Brooker returns to the BBC with a six part series which aims to show how TV misrepresents reality. The format is essentially the same as his "wipe" shows and it benefits greatly as he has confidence in this layout. The only real difference is a lack of guest slots (no Doug Stanhope), instead replaced by the TV comedy show achilles heel; sketches.
I really enjoyed it, mainly because this is Brooker back in his full on miserable cynic persona only with a shit new haircut and a set instead of his living room. The sketches weren't fantastic, but at least Brooker wisely doesn't feature in them and they don't look as cheap and tacky as Boyle/Howard/Lee's (his director ,who I think is the guy who plays Barry Shitpeas and I think is called Ali Campbell (but he doesn't front UB40), deserves credit for all his BBC shows).
The thing I felt it achieved brilliantly was the balance between funny and serious, something 10 O'Clock Live still needs to iron out. When the point gets serious he doesn't try to force humour into it. This does lead to stretches where you don't laugh, but it doesn't matter because what you get instead is interesting.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Thursday, 20 January 2011
10 O'Clock Live (Channel 4)
Channel 4's new topical comedy show, hosted by Jimmy Carr, David Mitchell, Lauren Laverne and Charlie Brooker, was something of a mixed bag. It's lumbered from the off with the baggage of being a satirical news comedy show and therefore has an instant hurdle to overcome in that any satirical news comedy show on TV has to live up to the original, and possibly still best, comedy quiz show in Have I Got News For You and Chris Morris's classic The Day Today and Brass Eye, which isn't really very fair; 1o O'Clock Live isn't trying to be either.
Instead it is trying to be everything and herein lay the problem. Due to the sheer volume of content they tried to pack into an hour nothing quite fully worked and some things (the horrific US news spoof) were appalling. I'm hoping that as they have a 15 week run they will tweak the format to make it work better. Here's how I'd do it.
First I'd get rid of Lauren Laverne. She seems like a spare wheel. Apart from being the closest there was to a host her only input was the aforementioned US news sketch. I suppose she's useful as the focal point of the round the table discussion (which needs to be tweaked by the other 3 letting Brooker talk instead of just talking over him). Second, get rid of the desperately poor sketches they take up time that will easily be filled with content already there.. For example, Mitchell hosting a debate with 3 people started chaotic and just as it was starting to work they had to end it for a Brooker video segment. Brooker was followed by a break and when it returned there was THAT sketch and a Jimmy Carr segment so poor I can't remember anything about it. Cut the crap after the break, move Brooker there and allow the debate to run longer.
The best between break part of the show was the one that started with Brooker's cynical rant and then had Mitchell discussing tuition fees with a single politician. Brooker was very funny, the discussion was interesting. This should be how the whole show plays then you'd have Intro, Carr monologue about the news, Mitchell does a serious bit, ads, Brooker video, Carr interviews someone interesting, Mitchell monologue if the interviewee is less interesting than he was this week, ads, round the table talk (preceded by Mitchell if the interviewee was as interesting as this week), ads, Brooker rant, Mitchell discussion, Carr sign off. Credits. Better programme.
Instead it is trying to be everything and herein lay the problem. Due to the sheer volume of content they tried to pack into an hour nothing quite fully worked and some things (the horrific US news spoof) were appalling. I'm hoping that as they have a 15 week run they will tweak the format to make it work better. Here's how I'd do it.
First I'd get rid of Lauren Laverne. She seems like a spare wheel. Apart from being the closest there was to a host her only input was the aforementioned US news sketch. I suppose she's useful as the focal point of the round the table discussion (which needs to be tweaked by the other 3 letting Brooker talk instead of just talking over him). Second, get rid of the desperately poor sketches they take up time that will easily be filled with content already there.. For example, Mitchell hosting a debate with 3 people started chaotic and just as it was starting to work they had to end it for a Brooker video segment. Brooker was followed by a break and when it returned there was THAT sketch and a Jimmy Carr segment so poor I can't remember anything about it. Cut the crap after the break, move Brooker there and allow the debate to run longer.
The best between break part of the show was the one that started with Brooker's cynical rant and then had Mitchell discussing tuition fees with a single politician. Brooker was very funny, the discussion was interesting. This should be how the whole show plays then you'd have Intro, Carr monologue about the news, Mitchell does a serious bit, ads, Brooker video, Carr interviews someone interesting, Mitchell monologue if the interviewee is less interesting than he was this week, ads, round the table talk (preceded by Mitchell if the interviewee was as interesting as this week), ads, Brooker rant, Mitchell discussion, Carr sign off. Credits. Better programme.
Thursday, 13 January 2011
10 Best Shows of 2010
Belatedly here's my list of my 10 favourite shows from last year in no particular order.
Lost series 6
Lost came to a close extremely well and, on the whole, very satisfactorily. I would have liked more tragedy, but it did a great job of bringing to a close these characters stories while retaining the mystery that served the show so well. It will be missed and should definitely be checked out by those that passed on it.
Treme
David Simon's latest was another rich, dense tapestry of a city chock full of great characters, performances, music and writing. Essential for lovers of The Wire (aka humans) and jazz music.
Dr Who
The best British drama on TV and it's for kids. Within 2 episodes I'd forgotten all about David Tennant, so good is Matt Smith. An iffy Dalek episode aside this was a particularly strong series, possibly even then best since it's return. Steven Moffatt had much more control and vision of the series as a whole and the reset button wasn't gay. The Christmas episode was also very good.
This Is England '86
3/4 magnificent this suffered slightly from being one episode shorter than it should have been. It was still an excellent show and extremely funny for 2 episodes.
Boardwalk Empire
While it's never quite reached the height of it's Scorsese directed pilot this is another dense HBO drama that's well worth checking out. Steve Buscemi is excellent as Nucky Thomson. I will write more soon when I finish the first series.
The Walking Dead
Frank Darabont's excellent zombie drama again never quite reaches the peak of it's 1st episode, but is never less than really very bloody good. Bloody being the operative word.
The Trip
Coogan, Brydon and Winterbottom's pseudo sequel to A Cock and Bull Story is quite genius when the two leads out impression each other. It reminded me, in a strange way, of Spare Tyre.
Pete Vs Life
Rafe Spall's life is narrated by a Geordie and the Geordie from Partridge (who's not playing a Geordie) in a show that's 2 shows in one. The first is a blokes life being commentated on, which would be funnier if it was played straight, while the second is a British Curb Your Enthusiasm with Timothy Spall's kid. The first episode didn't quite work, but it developed really well.
Caprica
Prequel spin-off from the remake of Battlestar Galatica (proof remakes can work) that was chock full of fantastic sci-fi ideas, but was split in half so it was only really half a series and ended as such. The second half, which has just aired in the US, will be the last which is a real shame as the ideas here have got real legs.
Dexter series 5
I will write more on Dexter soon, but all you need to know is it's a very excellent show. The 5th series wasn't the very best, but it was definitely not the worst either.
Lost series 6
Lost came to a close extremely well and, on the whole, very satisfactorily. I would have liked more tragedy, but it did a great job of bringing to a close these characters stories while retaining the mystery that served the show so well. It will be missed and should definitely be checked out by those that passed on it.
Treme
David Simon's latest was another rich, dense tapestry of a city chock full of great characters, performances, music and writing. Essential for lovers of The Wire (aka humans) and jazz music.
Dr Who
The best British drama on TV and it's for kids. Within 2 episodes I'd forgotten all about David Tennant, so good is Matt Smith. An iffy Dalek episode aside this was a particularly strong series, possibly even then best since it's return. Steven Moffatt had much more control and vision of the series as a whole and the reset button wasn't gay. The Christmas episode was also very good.
This Is England '86
3/4 magnificent this suffered slightly from being one episode shorter than it should have been. It was still an excellent show and extremely funny for 2 episodes.
Boardwalk Empire
While it's never quite reached the height of it's Scorsese directed pilot this is another dense HBO drama that's well worth checking out. Steve Buscemi is excellent as Nucky Thomson. I will write more soon when I finish the first series.
The Walking Dead
Frank Darabont's excellent zombie drama again never quite reaches the peak of it's 1st episode, but is never less than really very bloody good. Bloody being the operative word.
The Trip
Coogan, Brydon and Winterbottom's pseudo sequel to A Cock and Bull Story is quite genius when the two leads out impression each other. It reminded me, in a strange way, of Spare Tyre.
Pete Vs Life
Rafe Spall's life is narrated by a Geordie and the Geordie from Partridge (who's not playing a Geordie) in a show that's 2 shows in one. The first is a blokes life being commentated on, which would be funnier if it was played straight, while the second is a British Curb Your Enthusiasm with Timothy Spall's kid. The first episode didn't quite work, but it developed really well.
Caprica
Prequel spin-off from the remake of Battlestar Galatica (proof remakes can work) that was chock full of fantastic sci-fi ideas, but was split in half so it was only really half a series and ended as such. The second half, which has just aired in the US, will be the last which is a real shame as the ideas here have got real legs.
Dexter series 5
I will write more on Dexter soon, but all you need to know is it's a very excellent show. The 5th series wasn't the very best, but it was definitely not the worst either.
Thursday, 16 December 2010
The Walking Dead (FX)
America's other new hit show of last year showed very soon after the US on FX. I don't know whether any of the networks have bought it, but they would be wise to: it is very excellent.
Masterminded by Frank Darabont (writer/director of Shawshank, Green Mile and The Mist) it tells the story of a group of survivors after a zombie apocalypse. Darabont wrote and directed the first episode and heavily rewrote the rest of the series leading to two of the other writers to quit the show. As long as Darabont remains so hands on I can't see this affecting the second, slightly longer (8 episodes as opposed to this series 6), series.
The first episode, which focussing almost entirely on the (Andrew Lincoln), is particularly brilliant and compares very favourably with the best zombie movies. The rest of the series never quite hits these heights again, but is always very very good. The advantage of being a series means the survivors are far more rounded and there's already a lot of potential for future series.
While The Walking Dead doesn't bring anything completely original to the genre it does have many interesting twists on things we've seen before. If you are a fan of zombie movies then this is pretty much a must watch.
Masterminded by Frank Darabont (writer/director of Shawshank, Green Mile and The Mist) it tells the story of a group of survivors after a zombie apocalypse. Darabont wrote and directed the first episode and heavily rewrote the rest of the series leading to two of the other writers to quit the show. As long as Darabont remains so hands on I can't see this affecting the second, slightly longer (8 episodes as opposed to this series 6), series.
The first episode, which focussing almost entirely on the (Andrew Lincoln), is particularly brilliant and compares very favourably with the best zombie movies. The rest of the series never quite hits these heights again, but is always very very good. The advantage of being a series means the survivors are far more rounded and there's already a lot of potential for future series.
While The Walking Dead doesn't bring anything completely original to the genre it does have many interesting twists on things we've seen before. If you are a fan of zombie movies then this is pretty much a must watch.
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Frankie Boyle's Tramadol NIghts (Channel 4)
Frankie Boyle was by far the best thing on Mock The Week and the live show I saw a couple of years ago was excellent so I was looking forward to his first solo TV show. Boy was I disappointed. Not because it didn't quite live up to the expectation I had of it, but because it was plain terrible.
It started OK with a stand up section to start, but having only around 5 minutes meant there was no structure to the comedy and instead it was just a series of "dark" jokes. On Mock The Week when contrasted against lighter comics and across a 90 minute show where the level of darkness can rise and fall this worked brilliantly. When strung together fast and unrelelnting almost everything good about Frankie Boyle vanishes and he just comes across as cruel and vulgar.
Yet the 3 stand-up sections were the undeniable highlight compared to the woeful series of sketches that filled out the rest of the show. One sketch was a funny idea done badly and the first installment of George Michael's Highway Code would have been funny if it had just been "mirror, signal, wank, crash, wank" instead of going on. Other than those two none of the sketches were anything better than utter dross. Crude ideas executed very amateurishly. Whoever shot and directed the sketches should never work in TV again as they looked cheaper than the sketches off that cheap sketch show that Michael Marshall Smith appeared on (I can't remember the name of it but hopefully someone (Al?) might). Thing is, that was very cheap while this is Frankie Boyle in a prime Channel 4 comedy slot and will have a budget.
Overall an unmitigated disaster that can't be fixed until a second series it doesn't deserve. So bad I genuinely mean this final sentence. Much worse than The X Factor!
It started OK with a stand up section to start, but having only around 5 minutes meant there was no structure to the comedy and instead it was just a series of "dark" jokes. On Mock The Week when contrasted against lighter comics and across a 90 minute show where the level of darkness can rise and fall this worked brilliantly. When strung together fast and unrelelnting almost everything good about Frankie Boyle vanishes and he just comes across as cruel and vulgar.
Yet the 3 stand-up sections were the undeniable highlight compared to the woeful series of sketches that filled out the rest of the show. One sketch was a funny idea done badly and the first installment of George Michael's Highway Code would have been funny if it had just been "mirror, signal, wank, crash, wank" instead of going on. Other than those two none of the sketches were anything better than utter dross. Crude ideas executed very amateurishly. Whoever shot and directed the sketches should never work in TV again as they looked cheaper than the sketches off that cheap sketch show that Michael Marshall Smith appeared on (I can't remember the name of it but hopefully someone (Al?) might). Thing is, that was very cheap while this is Frankie Boyle in a prime Channel 4 comedy slot and will have a budget.
Overall an unmitigated disaster that can't be fixed until a second series it doesn't deserve. So bad I genuinely mean this final sentence. Much worse than The X Factor!
Thursday, 11 November 2010
This Is England '86 (Channel 4)
Finally got round to watching Shane Meadows follow up to This Is England and how very good it was too. Not only was I surprised by how funny the first 2 episodes were, but by how light they were on the whole. The comedy far outweighed the weightier material and a lot of it was truly inspired. I actually think my favourite moment in the whole series was a comedy moment from very early when a gang of biker youths have to turn round in the road to bully Shaun; just a perfectly pitched comedy moment.
Meadows did not direct the first 2 episodes and when he does the drama becomes more prevalent, although the turn in tone is played perfectly across the episode climaxing in a tough final 10 minutes. Up to here this is a truly magnificent series and everything is set for a brilliantly finale, but it doesn't quite make it. The final episode is very good, just not great.
The main problem, for me, was one of predictability and convenience and it can be pinpointed on one character; the return of Combo. Suddenly you have a character appear who's completely changed from the one we know and love/loathe with no real explanation and can only ever serve the purpose of giving everything a neat end. He's a deus ex machina, essentially. By not appearing until the very end there is never any time to learn anything about him and he didn't really ring true because of this.
There's also an element of the other stories being pushed aside to make way for the big emotional hit and I missed them. Maybe if there had been 5 episodes with the final episode being extended into 2, the act of violence ending the 4th episode, it could have finished as brilliantly as it started. It probably would have been a more hard going ending, but it could've been phenomenal.
Still a very very good series that does the brilliant film justice. I'm looking forward to 4 years time when we may get, with a bit of luck, This Is England '90 when we get a music montage of Gazza crying while Gadget chokes on his own vomit after a smack overdose!
Meadows did not direct the first 2 episodes and when he does the drama becomes more prevalent, although the turn in tone is played perfectly across the episode climaxing in a tough final 10 minutes. Up to here this is a truly magnificent series and everything is set for a brilliantly finale, but it doesn't quite make it. The final episode is very good, just not great.
The main problem, for me, was one of predictability and convenience and it can be pinpointed on one character; the return of Combo. Suddenly you have a character appear who's completely changed from the one we know and love/loathe with no real explanation and can only ever serve the purpose of giving everything a neat end. He's a deus ex machina, essentially. By not appearing until the very end there is never any time to learn anything about him and he didn't really ring true because of this.
There's also an element of the other stories being pushed aside to make way for the big emotional hit and I missed them. Maybe if there had been 5 episodes with the final episode being extended into 2, the act of violence ending the 4th episode, it could have finished as brilliantly as it started. It probably would have been a more hard going ending, but it could've been phenomenal.
Still a very very good series that does the brilliant film justice. I'm looking forward to 4 years time when we may get, with a bit of luck, This Is England '90 when we get a music montage of Gazza crying while Gadget chokes on his own vomit after a smack overdose!
Sunday, 24 October 2010
X Factor (ITV1)
I managed to escape the whole show by going out this week, but what I did see of "Guilty Pleasures" week did raise 2 moments of slap yourself in the head dumbness.
1) As part of "gulity pleasures" week (ie, crap tracks you kinda like) one act performed Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love. Guilty pleasure... Led Zeppelin... reeeeaaaaalllllllllllyyyy!?
2) Cheryl Cole talking about pre-pubescent manufactured (at boot camp) boyband One Direction's encounter with hundreds of screaming girls on Oxford Street said "boyband's have to deal with screaming girls like you did. Even the Beatles". Boyband... The Beatles... reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!?
This is what Ted is completely right about. Having a singing competition to create a new mainstream pop star is OK if they understand that that's what they are. To compare anything it creates to The Beatles or dismissing such massively influential bands as Led Zeppelin is appalling and just wrong.
1) As part of "gulity pleasures" week (ie, crap tracks you kinda like) one act performed Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love. Guilty pleasure... Led Zeppelin... reeeeaaaaalllllllllllyyyy!?
2) Cheryl Cole talking about pre-pubescent manufactured (at boot camp) boyband One Direction's encounter with hundreds of screaming girls on Oxford Street said "boyband's have to deal with screaming girls like you did. Even the Beatles". Boyband... The Beatles... reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!?
This is what Ted is completely right about. Having a singing competition to create a new mainstream pop star is OK if they understand that that's what they are. To compare anything it creates to The Beatles or dismissing such massively influential bands as Led Zeppelin is appalling and just wrong.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
The Event (Channel 4)
A few weeks ago I mentioned the new US show The Event. This Friday it starts on Channel 4 with two episodes back to back from 9. But is it still worth checking out? Having now seen the first 5 episodes I will say Yes!
Of course The Event is a network show and therefore a different beast to the HBO shows I've recommended, like The Wire, True Blood and Treme. HBO shows are filmed in complete, short (usually 10 or 12 episodes) series and aired in their entirety while the networks are filming while it airs; usually about 6 weeks ahead. This tends to mean network shows are easier to pick apart and can change as the series progresses, depending on the response. And as network shows are always fighting not to get cancelled (especially in their infancy) they need to do more to keep the viewer watching and therefore tend to have something big happen every week. When done right, in the likes of Lost and early series of 24, this makes great entertainment as long as you don't think too much about it. When done wrong it makes for some shoddy TV. For example, later series of 24 seemed like they were written in 4 episode blocks with a massive twist every time it got passed to the next group of writers leading to a series that bore no resemblance to the start within 8 hours; or every series of Heroes after the first where superpowers were turned on and off or characters turned from good to bad and vice verse on a weekly basis just to suit whatever was happening that week, nevermind what happened before.
After just 5 episodes I can't be sure that The Event won't turn into something balls in the future, but for now it's building quite nicely. It's fast paced, mysterious, mostly unpredictable and fun. The characters have been sketched quite nicely and have room to be fleshed out, something Lost did so well, but they are still just sketches; not the fully drawn characters of HBO. Despite everyone looking so beautiful, a constant irritant in network TV, I don't particularly want to slap anyone I'm supposed to like. There is a minor worry in episode 5 where a character did something very out of character, but I'll hold judgement until I see where they take it.
So, if you're at home alone on Friday with nothing planned then check it out. It's nothing on The Wire or Treme, it's much better than Heroes or Flashforward ever were and it's not too far behind where Lost started out. It won't change your life, but it will hopefully keep you entertained.
Of course The Event is a network show and therefore a different beast to the HBO shows I've recommended, like The Wire, True Blood and Treme. HBO shows are filmed in complete, short (usually 10 or 12 episodes) series and aired in their entirety while the networks are filming while it airs; usually about 6 weeks ahead. This tends to mean network shows are easier to pick apart and can change as the series progresses, depending on the response. And as network shows are always fighting not to get cancelled (especially in their infancy) they need to do more to keep the viewer watching and therefore tend to have something big happen every week. When done right, in the likes of Lost and early series of 24, this makes great entertainment as long as you don't think too much about it. When done wrong it makes for some shoddy TV. For example, later series of 24 seemed like they were written in 4 episode blocks with a massive twist every time it got passed to the next group of writers leading to a series that bore no resemblance to the start within 8 hours; or every series of Heroes after the first where superpowers were turned on and off or characters turned from good to bad and vice verse on a weekly basis just to suit whatever was happening that week, nevermind what happened before.
After just 5 episodes I can't be sure that The Event won't turn into something balls in the future, but for now it's building quite nicely. It's fast paced, mysterious, mostly unpredictable and fun. The characters have been sketched quite nicely and have room to be fleshed out, something Lost did so well, but they are still just sketches; not the fully drawn characters of HBO. Despite everyone looking so beautiful, a constant irritant in network TV, I don't particularly want to slap anyone I'm supposed to like. There is a minor worry in episode 5 where a character did something very out of character, but I'll hold judgement until I see where they take it.
So, if you're at home alone on Friday with nothing planned then check it out. It's nothing on The Wire or Treme, it's much better than Heroes or Flashforward ever were and it's not too far behind where Lost started out. It won't change your life, but it will hopefully keep you entertained.
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Film 2010 (BBC1)
The second edition of Film 2010 dropped the live outside broadcast which was so awful last week, but also didn't include any reading of viewer messages which leads me to wonder, why is this show live? Seemingly so Winkleman and Danny Leigh can't give closure to their reviews. Instead they have to just stop and move onto the next piece far too quickly. The two headed reviews weren't helped by this making them feel indecisive. It's by no means a terrible format and will hopefully improve over the series. I've been genuinely surprised by Winkleman who, for the first time ever, doesn't seem drunk and incoherent. Danny Leigh will hopefully develop some confidence because at the moment he comes across a bit wet. He needs to stop justifying himself so banally.
It will very quickly return back to what the BBC's Film show has been since Norman's heyday... something I'll watch if it's on, but won't make much effort remember.
It will very quickly return back to what the BBC's Film show has been since Norman's heyday... something I'll watch if it's on, but won't make much effort remember.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Film 2010 (BBC1)
I forgot about this so I watched it on my Wii. The idea of Claudia Winkleman reviewing movies sounded a very wrong one. For one, she's a woman and we all know women can't concentrate long enough to watch anything over an hour long unless it includes moody vampire nonces, ABBA songs or a group of women suffering personal tragedies together, but being happy and empowered in the end. Thankfully she's accompanied by Danny Leigh, film reviewer for the Guadian and man. At least he will make sense. There are also spots fronted by the "team" of Chris Hewitt from Empire and Antonia Burke a novelist with no heart.
The show is broadcast live for some reason. The only reason seemed to be so
Chris Hewitt could interview Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and... Spider-man... fuck, I've forgot his name... not Tobey Maguire, the new Spidey... he's in The Social Network... Andrew Garfield! I remembered. Anyway, they did a live interview and it was a shambles. Other than that nothing was really gained from the live broadcast.
Winkleman and Danny Leigh both give their opinions on the films and Winkleman actually spoke coherently, so I was pleasantly surprised. This could be interesting when they get movies they don't agree on if they get to bicker live. Other than that it's not really much different.
The show is broadcast live for some reason. The only reason seemed to be so
Chris Hewitt could interview Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and... Spider-man... fuck, I've forgot his name... not Tobey Maguire, the new Spidey... he's in The Social Network... Andrew Garfield! I remembered. Anyway, they did a live interview and it was a shambles. Other than that nothing was really gained from the live broadcast.
Winkleman and Danny Leigh both give their opinions on the films and Winkleman actually spoke coherently, so I was pleasantly surprised. This could be interesting when they get movies they don't agree on if they get to bicker live. Other than that it's not really much different.
A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (BBC4)
The second part focusses almost completely on Hammer and was much better than the first. The story of Hammer is far more interesting and expansive than the story of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff for a start. Then there was the excellent section in the middle where we learn about Hammer's influence on Italian horror and Roger Corman, which made me want to watch the Edgar Allan Poe Vincent Price movies.
Gatiss loses most of the creepy paedo when talking about Hammer, although it does creep back in the middle section. My main problem is the style everything is presented. Shots of Gatiss walking around looking thoughtful while we listen to a voice over comes across almost pompous. There's even a protracted shot of Gatiss pouring a cup of tea that holds a good 10 seconds longer than makes any logical sense. It just irks me. I'd rather see footage relevant to the voice over.
Gatiss loses most of the creepy paedo when talking about Hammer, although it does creep back in the middle section. My main problem is the style everything is presented. Shots of Gatiss walking around looking thoughtful while we listen to a voice over comes across almost pompous. There's even a protracted shot of Gatiss pouring a cup of tea that holds a good 10 seconds longer than makes any logical sense. It just irks me. I'd rather see footage relevant to the voice over.
Saturday, 16 October 2010
X Factor (ITV1)
Insult of the Week - Louie Walsh to Matt Cardle "You remind me of Bono". That's the polite way of saying "you're a cunt".
Highlight - Cheryl Cole had a new, red, hairdo which included a fake plait that sat on her shoulder like a bloodied rat.
Highlight - Cheryl Cole had a new, red, hairdo which included a fake plait that sat on her shoulder like a bloodied rat.
Thursday, 14 October 2010
A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (BBC4)
The former star of League of Gentlemen and now novelist and writer on Dr Who and Sherlock brings us a documentary series about Horror movies. This first part looked at the first golden age of Hollywood horror, from the 1920's to the 1950's.
Gatiss openly admits that this series will be about very personal horror movies and he is clearly passionate with the films he discusses, but everything is somehow very dry. You expect such a creative, funny writer to bring some fun to the script, but he doesn't. Instead he delivers information in an overly theatrical way which, I assume, was intended to bring the fun to it, but he came across more like a paedophile museum guide for a school trip. Creepy.
I worried early on that this was just going to be another documentary about the same old films as the first 15 minutes mainly cover Dracula and Frankenstein, but things get more interesting after that with sections on James Whale, Freaks and RKO. By using Darcula and Frankenstein the episode does has an arc as Lugosi and Karloff stories litter the hour and finish it off.
Despite the dry yet perverse delivery this was a pretty interesting hour and I learnt quite a bit; the middle 30 being particularly good. The second episode looks like it's going to cover Hammer although I hope it covers more. And I hope there's more John Carpenter, I want to listen to him talk about Horror, not the (now) 100 year old woman who was in Dracula.
Gatiss openly admits that this series will be about very personal horror movies and he is clearly passionate with the films he discusses, but everything is somehow very dry. You expect such a creative, funny writer to bring some fun to the script, but he doesn't. Instead he delivers information in an overly theatrical way which, I assume, was intended to bring the fun to it, but he came across more like a paedophile museum guide for a school trip. Creepy.
I worried early on that this was just going to be another documentary about the same old films as the first 15 minutes mainly cover Dracula and Frankenstein, but things get more interesting after that with sections on James Whale, Freaks and RKO. By using Darcula and Frankenstein the episode does has an arc as Lugosi and Karloff stories litter the hour and finish it off.
Despite the dry yet perverse delivery this was a pretty interesting hour and I learnt quite a bit; the middle 30 being particularly good. The second episode looks like it's going to cover Hammer although I hope it covers more. And I hope there's more John Carpenter, I want to listen to him talk about Horror, not the (now) 100 year old woman who was in Dracula.
Monday, 11 October 2010
True Blood (HBO)
True Blood is the latest series from Alan Ball (writer of American Beauty and Six Feet Under), and based on Charmaine Harris's Sookie Sackhouse novels. It takes place in Bon Temps, Louisiana, now; only vampires are real and have "come out" after the creation of Tru Blood, a synthetic blood vampires can survive on.
The core of the series is Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a naive waitress who can read people's thoughts, and her relationship with vampire Bill Comption (Stephen Moyer) . Surrounding them are Sam Merlotte who runs the local bar, is desperately in love with Sookie and has a secret (he turns into a dog. I'm not ruining anything, it's bloody obvious from about episode 3), Tara, a fiery young black woman who is Sookie's best friend, Jason Stackhouse, Sookie's incredibly dumb and horny brother, Eric Northman, a 1000 year old vampire and former viking, Jessica, a 17 year old girl Bill is forced to turn into a vampire and has to care for and LaFayette, a flambouyant gay cook and drug dealer.
Series 1
The excellent first series gradually introduces the world and the characters quite brilliantly through 3 central stories: Sookie, Bill and Sam's love triangle, a murderer killing "fangbangers" (women who sleep with vampires) and the dealing of V (vampire blood's a drug). It is all pulled off really well, gradually building a solid lore. It is also surprisingly funny with a rich sense of humour throughout. And there's plenty of sex and blood.
Series 2
The second series starts out fantastic with Anna Paquin tits and gets better. This time round we learn more about vampire culture with Sookie and Bill leaving Bon Temps with Eric to find his maker, Jason joins the religious right's anti-vampire movement/army while back in Bon Temps the mysterious Maryann (Michelle Forbes), who has a past with Sam, turns up and possesses the town. The first two stories come together nicely and come to a satisfactory conclusion with a couple of episodes to go allowing Sookie and Bill to return home and deal with Maryann.
Series 3
This time round werewolves are introduced into the mix and they don't really add anything. The main story this series concerns the vampire King of Mississippi's attempts to take over vampires. The King himself is a fantastic character, supreme fun and this story was really good, sadly this series has far too many uninteresting subplots: Sam finding his birth parents and brother, Tara being kidnapped by a vampire, Jason wanting to become a cop, Jessica and Hoyt's love story, LaFayette falling in love with a witch (surely being a bloke he should be a wizard). This series also makes a massive mistake in explaining what Sookie is.
The first 2 series are quite excellent. Most of the irritating vampire traits are kept in check and there's some fun ideas added. There is also a good balance between drama, comedy and horror. And, best of all, the characters are great, in particular LaFayette, especially in series 1, is great fun, Jason is an extremely likeable idiot and provides plenty of laughs and Tara has some great putdowns.
The third series is less good, but still entertaining. As I've already said, The Mississippi vampire king is brilliant and there's some fantastic gore, but it's beginning to lose the balance it held so well for two series. The homo-erotic subtext that runs throughout the first 2 becomes less a subtext and becomes overplayed. It also suffers from giving too many characters too much to do. All the major characters have their own story and they don't fit together. This means that the better stories (the vampire stories) are sidelined so we can get enough screentime to major characters in previous series that should be taking a back seat (Sam, Tara and Lafayette). It is also starting to get a bit too silly with the amount of "magical" creatures. We already had vampires, shape shifters, Sookie and Maryann in 2nd series. Now we have werewolves, witches and Sookie's power defined on top. All in a town that has a population of 2,600 (according to the town sheriff). All a bit too soap opera.
It may be on the decline this year, but all is not yet lost. And if it is, at least there was 2 excellent series. Well worth it if you can stomach sex, blood and vampires.
The core of the series is Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a naive waitress who can read people's thoughts, and her relationship with vampire Bill Comption (Stephen Moyer) . Surrounding them are Sam Merlotte who runs the local bar, is desperately in love with Sookie and has a secret (he turns into a dog. I'm not ruining anything, it's bloody obvious from about episode 3), Tara, a fiery young black woman who is Sookie's best friend, Jason Stackhouse, Sookie's incredibly dumb and horny brother, Eric Northman, a 1000 year old vampire and former viking, Jessica, a 17 year old girl Bill is forced to turn into a vampire and has to care for and LaFayette, a flambouyant gay cook and drug dealer.
Series 1
The excellent first series gradually introduces the world and the characters quite brilliantly through 3 central stories: Sookie, Bill and Sam's love triangle, a murderer killing "fangbangers" (women who sleep with vampires) and the dealing of V (vampire blood's a drug). It is all pulled off really well, gradually building a solid lore. It is also surprisingly funny with a rich sense of humour throughout. And there's plenty of sex and blood.
Series 2
The second series starts out fantastic with Anna Paquin tits and gets better. This time round we learn more about vampire culture with Sookie and Bill leaving Bon Temps with Eric to find his maker, Jason joins the religious right's anti-vampire movement/army while back in Bon Temps the mysterious Maryann (Michelle Forbes), who has a past with Sam, turns up and possesses the town. The first two stories come together nicely and come to a satisfactory conclusion with a couple of episodes to go allowing Sookie and Bill to return home and deal with Maryann.
Series 3
This time round werewolves are introduced into the mix and they don't really add anything. The main story this series concerns the vampire King of Mississippi's attempts to take over vampires. The King himself is a fantastic character, supreme fun and this story was really good, sadly this series has far too many uninteresting subplots: Sam finding his birth parents and brother, Tara being kidnapped by a vampire, Jason wanting to become a cop, Jessica and Hoyt's love story, LaFayette falling in love with a witch (surely being a bloke he should be a wizard). This series also makes a massive mistake in explaining what Sookie is.
The first 2 series are quite excellent. Most of the irritating vampire traits are kept in check and there's some fun ideas added. There is also a good balance between drama, comedy and horror. And, best of all, the characters are great, in particular LaFayette, especially in series 1, is great fun, Jason is an extremely likeable idiot and provides plenty of laughs and Tara has some great putdowns.
The third series is less good, but still entertaining. As I've already said, The Mississippi vampire king is brilliant and there's some fantastic gore, but it's beginning to lose the balance it held so well for two series. The homo-erotic subtext that runs throughout the first 2 becomes less a subtext and becomes overplayed. It also suffers from giving too many characters too much to do. All the major characters have their own story and they don't fit together. This means that the better stories (the vampire stories) are sidelined so we can get enough screentime to major characters in previous series that should be taking a back seat (Sam, Tara and Lafayette). It is also starting to get a bit too silly with the amount of "magical" creatures. We already had vampires, shape shifters, Sookie and Maryann in 2nd series. Now we have werewolves, witches and Sookie's power defined on top. All in a town that has a population of 2,600 (according to the town sheriff). All a bit too soap opera.
It may be on the decline this year, but all is not yet lost. And if it is, at least there was 2 excellent series. Well worth it if you can stomach sex, blood and vampires.
Saturday, 9 October 2010
X Factor (ITV1)
So, this week the seemingly decade long live shows began and there was a "big twist". That was that each judge could put an extra act in the show which was one of the lamest "twists" ever concieved. So along with the 12 acts mentioned last week we have...
Over 28's - Wagner
A foreign chap in his 40's (at least) who would be brilliant if his singing voice matched his eccentricity. As it is his singing voice is the polar opposite to his eccentricity so "shit" would be quite a complimentary description.
Boys - Paige
A young black chap who's barber could be Kid 'N' Play. I was surprised he didn't make the 3 last week.
Bands - Diva Fever
If you genetically spliced The Scissor Sisters and Jedward together this is what you would create. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds.
Girls - Trayc
As Gamu is being deported Cheryl couldn't put her back in so we got a different young black girl with nothing memorable about her except the retarded way she spells Tracy.
This weeks theme was number ones, but sadly no version of Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter.
Highlight - during Wagner's medley of Ricky Martin's She Bangs and the B52's Love Shack the director cut to a close up of one of the lady dancer's asses. I'm assuming she was supposed to be seductively rubbing her buttocks, but it instead she pulled her cheeks apart.
Over 28's - Wagner
A foreign chap in his 40's (at least) who would be brilliant if his singing voice matched his eccentricity. As it is his singing voice is the polar opposite to his eccentricity so "shit" would be quite a complimentary description.
Boys - Paige
A young black chap who's barber could be Kid 'N' Play. I was surprised he didn't make the 3 last week.
Bands - Diva Fever
If you genetically spliced The Scissor Sisters and Jedward together this is what you would create. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds.
Girls - Trayc
As Gamu is being deported Cheryl couldn't put her back in so we got a different young black girl with nothing memorable about her except the retarded way she spells Tracy.
This weeks theme was number ones, but sadly no version of Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter.
Highlight - during Wagner's medley of Ricky Martin's She Bangs and the B52's Love Shack the director cut to a close up of one of the lady dancer's asses. I'm assuming she was supposed to be seductively rubbing her buttocks, but it instead she pulled her cheeks apart.
Saturday, 2 October 2010
X Factor (ITV1)
This week the final 32 "acts" are split into their groups and they go to the respective judges house and are narrowed down to the final 12 who will go to the live show. The over-25's has now been changed to the over 28's after the chick from Pussycat Dolls suggested they change it because "some of the guys in the over-25's a still young". So, acccording to X Factor you are no longer young at 29.
The final 12 are:
Girls - Cheryl Cole's group
Cher - Touted as being "unique" and "original" but actually is more "tuneless" and "raps bad". I have a horrible feeling she might win it.
Rebecca - A young black girl with an excellent voice, but nothing memorable. Will probably "grow" as the show progresses. This year's dark horse.
Katie - A thoroughly annoying young woman who you will love or hate, depending on whether you're intelligent (hate) or a moron (love). Shouldn't be in the show as she bottled her final audition.
Boys - Dannii's group
John - the only act in the over-28's with any hope of going far. He basically only sings one note so is the X Factor's answer to Ian Curtis.
Storm Lee - a non-entity who's most memorable feature is his stupid name.
Mary - a 50 year old Tesco worker who has no chance of selling records, but has a really good voice.
The big shock was Cheryl Cole's failure to pick Gamu Nhengu; hands down the best act in the whole competition. She could sing, had a quirky voice, was immensely likable and would sell records. I think she didn't put her thru because the producers were afraid the standard British punter wouldn't be able to pronounce her surname.
I didn't endure Xtra Factor this week, but I'm sure Konnie Huq was still bollocks.
The final 12 are:
Girls - Cheryl Cole's group
Cher - Touted as being "unique" and "original" but actually is more "tuneless" and "raps bad". I have a horrible feeling she might win it.
Rebecca - A young black girl with an excellent voice, but nothing memorable. Will probably "grow" as the show progresses. This year's dark horse.
Katie - A thoroughly annoying young woman who you will love or hate, depending on whether you're intelligent (hate) or a moron (love). Shouldn't be in the show as she bottled her final audition.
Boys - Dannii's group
Aiden - a guy with over stylised hair who I have no recollection of.
Nicolo - a strange Italian lad with a genuinely eccentric personality off stage who then becomes more normal when he sings. He's actually quite likable and will probably go quite a way.
Marlon - quite natural performing he deserved to go through after being made to sing If I Was A Boy.
Groups
FYD - five blokes that together look a bit odd; i can't imagine many teenage girls putting their posters on their wall. They are also the only group that entered as a group.
Bell amie - 4 girls who weren't good enough individually so Cowell turned them into a group at bootcamp. I have no recollection of them at all. My tip to be the first voted off.
One Direction - Another group created by Cowell at boot camp. Much better than the girls, but what's the point in having a group category if you are going to make one on the day and put them thru instead?
Over 28's - Louis's group
John - the only act in the over-28's with any hope of going far. He basically only sings one note so is the X Factor's answer to Ian Curtis.
Storm Lee - a non-entity who's most memorable feature is his stupid name.
Mary - a 50 year old Tesco worker who has no chance of selling records, but has a really good voice.
The big shock was Cheryl Cole's failure to pick Gamu Nhengu; hands down the best act in the whole competition. She could sing, had a quirky voice, was immensely likable and would sell records. I think she didn't put her thru because the producers were afraid the standard British punter wouldn't be able to pronounce her surname.
I didn't endure Xtra Factor this week, but I'm sure Konnie Huq was still bollocks.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Masterchef : The Professionals (BBC2)
And so the final variation of Masterchef (after Masterchef, Celebrity Masterchef and Junior Masterchef) began this week. Now I'll be up front about it, I really like Masterchef. It may have a template it follows rigidly every episode (like every reality show on TV), but I get a surprising amount of enjoyment out of watching these people cook. I shouldn't, but I do.
Now, I could talk about the excellent editing which gives the cooking some real dynamics, the wide selection of tunes (they actually used some drum n bass once) which drive everything or the hyperbole that angers Noise so much, but I won't. Instead here's the Masterchef drinking game, guaranteed to get you pissed.
Take a drink every time...
Greg Wallace says "Cooking doesn't get tougher than this"
Michel Roux says "unctuous"
Michel Roux's soux chef Monica refers to his as "my boss" or (double drink) "Chef Michel"
The beat pauses to be replaced by a cooking related sound (eg. the sizzle of a pan, the whir of a whisk, the sound of a knife slicing through a Jerusalem artichoke)
Someone cooks scallops
A plate of food is referred to as "rustic"
Someone puts "too many ingredients on a plate"
Someone drips sweat into their food
Any competitor states the competition is "life changing"
The person who states "I can win this" follows that soundbite with a shit plate of food and is eliminated
Greg Wallace compares a plate of food to something intimate (eg. that dessert is like a warm cuddle)
Michel Roux looks at one of the chefs and his eye bulge so wide it amazes you they stay in his head.
You will get paraletic every episode!
Now, I could talk about the excellent editing which gives the cooking some real dynamics, the wide selection of tunes (they actually used some drum n bass once) which drive everything or the hyperbole that angers Noise so much, but I won't. Instead here's the Masterchef drinking game, guaranteed to get you pissed.
Take a drink every time...
Greg Wallace says "Cooking doesn't get tougher than this"
Michel Roux says "unctuous"
Michel Roux's soux chef Monica refers to his as "my boss" or (double drink) "Chef Michel"
The beat pauses to be replaced by a cooking related sound (eg. the sizzle of a pan, the whir of a whisk, the sound of a knife slicing through a Jerusalem artichoke)
Someone cooks scallops
A plate of food is referred to as "rustic"
Someone puts "too many ingredients on a plate"
Someone drips sweat into their food
Any competitor states the competition is "life changing"
The person who states "I can win this" follows that soundbite with a shit plate of food and is eliminated
Greg Wallace compares a plate of food to something intimate (eg. that dessert is like a warm cuddle)
Michel Roux looks at one of the chefs and his eye bulge so wide it amazes you they stay in his head.
You will get paraletic every episode!
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
Panorama : The Secrets of Scientology (BBC1)
In this documentary, the follow up to 2007's Scientology and Me, John Sweeney tries again to uncover more about Scientology. This time round several "traitors" who have left the "religion" talk to him about it's inner workings and to add to the credibility all still believe the teachings of Scientology, just not the organisation.
There no Scientology spokesman stalking him this time, so no explosive rants spicing this one up, but it is none the less interesting for it. While it doesn't really uncover anything new about the "religion" itself it does paint a terribly creepy picture of powerful and very paranoid organisation. The extents they go to to protect their secrets are kinda fucking evil.
While not an earth shattering expose this is still a real good watch and well worth checking out on iplayer.
There no Scientology spokesman stalking him this time, so no explosive rants spicing this one up, but it is none the less interesting for it. While it doesn't really uncover anything new about the "religion" itself it does paint a terribly creepy picture of powerful and very paranoid organisation. The extents they go to to protect their secrets are kinda fucking evil.
While not an earth shattering expose this is still a real good watch and well worth checking out on iplayer.
Saturday, 25 September 2010
Lone Star (Fox)
The final new series I've tried this week is Lone Star. It stars James Wolk (a cheap TV version of George Clooney) as Bob Allen, a con man in love with two different women; his current and previous marks. He and his father are setting up a long con to steal from an oil company run by Bob's father in law, played by Jon Voigt.
There's a lot of potential in the concept: con man trying to juggle two lives, brother in-laws jealous about his progress in the company, a previous con catching up with him, the current con to take down an oil company. The execution does not match the potential. What should be a drawn out, character driven, drama is all just a bit too slick and shallow on a major network. Had this been an HBO show I think it would be much better. As it is it's all just a bit too glossy and simplistic leaving you struggling to give a shit about anyone. After all our hero is an adulterer who steals from people.
Disappointing, but still better than Undercovers. I doubt I'll bother anymore with either of those, but The Event was a success. I believe that might be starting on Channel 4 soon.
There's a lot of potential in the concept: con man trying to juggle two lives, brother in-laws jealous about his progress in the company, a previous con catching up with him, the current con to take down an oil company. The execution does not match the potential. What should be a drawn out, character driven, drama is all just a bit too slick and shallow on a major network. Had this been an HBO show I think it would be much better. As it is it's all just a bit too glossy and simplistic leaving you struggling to give a shit about anyone. After all our hero is an adulterer who steals from people.
Disappointing, but still better than Undercovers. I doubt I'll bother anymore with either of those, but The Event was a success. I believe that might be starting on Channel 4 soon.
X Factor (ITV1) & Xtra Factor (ITV2)
The mediocrity continues. This week there's a double bill (oh joy) with the second part tomorrow. This week is "boot camp" where the 211 acts that weren't completely awful the first time round get to prove themselves again. First they are split into the groups (Boys, Girls, Bands, Over 25's (usually referred to as just "the overs"; ageist fuckers)) and each group sings the same song (sadly not at the same time, that would be too quick) and the 211 are whittled down to 100. They then all learn a dance routine and finally they sing a song of their own choice. This final stage will continue tomorrow were 6 acts from each group will be picked for next week's show.
The worst things this week were two different girls turning Creep into a power ballad which caused me great pain and another girl who achieved the remarkable by making a Coldplay song worse than the original. Somehow I think she's going to get through because she's "original".
On the Xtra Factor Konnie Huq continues to be shit. Producers are still trying hard to play it for laughs, but Huq's just can't do it. I did laugh once though, but it was nothing to do with her. When new Jedward wannabes Bijon froze while singing and the music cue to accompany it was the main theme from 28 Days Later. Just a tad excessive!
The worst things this week were two different girls turning Creep into a power ballad which caused me great pain and another girl who achieved the remarkable by making a Coldplay song worse than the original. Somehow I think she's going to get through because she's "original".
On the Xtra Factor Konnie Huq continues to be shit. Producers are still trying hard to play it for laughs, but Huq's just can't do it. I did laugh once though, but it was nothing to do with her. When new Jedward wannabes Bijon froze while singing and the music cue to accompany it was the main theme from 28 Days Later. Just a tad excessive!
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