True Blood S02E12 - Beyond Here Lies Nothin "Promo Season Finale"
Y con este capítulo se acabará la 2ª Temporada de True Blood y estoy seguro que como yo, ya estáis esperando nuevas aventuras en Bon Temps.
Cougar Town - Season 1 "Promo"
Courteney Cox vuelve a la comedia 15 años después de Friends. Estreno Miércoles 23 Septiembre. Le echaré un vistazo, tiene pinta de ser divertida.
True Blood books
De vuelta de vacaciones, y estar unos cuantos días desconectado de todo, hasta de series, siempre va bien. Y por eso decidí empezar a leerme los libros en que Alan Ball ha adaptado su exitosa True Blood. De momento en España solo han salido 3 libros publicados,1 - Muerto hasta el anochecer
2 - Corazones muertos / Vivir y morir en Dallas
3 - El Club de los Muertos
de los 10 que hay escritos. Estas vacaciones han caído los dos primeros.
A partir de aquí SPOILERS de los libros y de True Blood:
Podemos empezar diciendo que Alan Ball ha hecho un gran trabajo en la adaptación
de los libros, digo esto porque éstos están narrados en primera persona y es muy difícil adaptar una cosa así porque todo se centra en un solo personaje. Sí, ya que
tratan de la aventuras en Bon Temps de una chica llamada Sookie Stackhouse.
El comienzo de la serie es igual que el libro, explicándonos la historia de
Sookie con Bill. La historia también es la misma cambiando algunos matices.
Al ser narrada en 1ª persona, carecen las historias de los personajes secundarios
que no sea Bill. Jason apenas sale, Tara no existe hasta el segundo libro y poco sale de ella.
Cambios de la serie al libro, por ejemplo toda la historia de Jason es inventada por
el genial Alan. Igualmente que la de Tara con su madre. El final también cambia, ya que el asesino que provoca los asesinatos en Bon Temps, Rene Lenier asesinado por Sookie, en el libro lo deja arrestado y incovaleciente en el hospital.
El segundo libro empieza con una muerte en el coche de Andy Bellefleur, una persona de color, ni más ni menos que el mismo Lafayette. Si señores, Alan Ball no tubo la valentía de matarlo, supongo que por el agrado del público. Y este cambio hace que el final entre la serie y el libro sea diferente. Dentro de 2 semanas lo veremos.En cuanto al argumento del 2º libro, es casi el mismo. Sookie es atacada por una Menade, Maryann en la serie. Casi porque Bill y Sookie son enviados a Dallas en busca de una persona, un vampiro llamado Farrell, hermano del redil de Stan Davis (otro vampiro). De ahí que Sookie y Hugo se inflitren en la Hermandad, en la que no está Jason. Allí son descubiertos, y Sookie es atrapada y salvada por Godfrey de una supuesta violación, que está en la Hermandad para poder suicidarse con la luz del amanecer y provocar el sacrificio de éstos. A todo esto Sookie es salvada del lugar por unos cambiantes, semejantes a Sam, y hombres lobo.
Ya en la mansión de Stan, y con Farrell rescatado, ésta es atacada por la Hermandad y Eric es herido por lo que Sookie lo tiene que ayudar sacándole un par de balas de plata. Y al final pues se debe a buscar al asesino de Lafayette. Y supongo que es aquí donde cambiará el final, donde entrá en escena la Menade.
El 3º libro comienza con Bill teniendo que viajar a ver a la Reina de Luisiana. Y ahí me he quedado.Con respecto a los personajes, Sookie es tal cual es descrita en la serie. Creo que Alan Ball ha hecho un muy buen trabajo de adaptación. Y si, señores True Blood es así, y no hay que buscarle más cosas. Tal como seguía el libro me imaginaba a los actores escogidos, y creo que lo clavaron. Remarcar también que el libro está más cargado sexualmente y se centra mucho en la relación Sookie-Bill.
Visual Effects: 100 Years of Inspiration
El cine ha evolucionado, a mejor o a peor (referente a guiones), pero me quedo con los efectos de Star Wars y Roger Rabbit.
What the Fox?
We’re all familiar with media bias, I for one am exposed to it on a daily basis through my Mum’s insistence on reading The Daily Express, a paper so unashamedly Conservative I’m surprised its logo isn’t Thatcher’s wrinkly mug.No amount of exposure to media bias, especially the relatively tame versions we have in the UK, could prepare you for the granddaddy of them all because truly, to paraphrase Sinead O’Connor, nothing compares to one 24-news network in the States.
Step forward Fox News.
As one of the most powerful countries in the World’s big three 24-hour news networks (along with CNN and MSNBC) Fox News has a far reaching influence on the American people, who for the most part, and I know this is a horrible stereotype, will get their news from the TV rather than the printed press.
For a network that bills itself “fair and balanced” that shouldn’t be an issue really should it? But you see, the thing is, Fox News is anything but fair and balanced, in fact it couldn’t be less fair and less balanced if Bill O’Reilly burnt an effigy of Barack Obama in his studio.
Fox News is so far right its almost falling off the page, the bias it has towards anything and everything Republican is truly astounding; and its merry band of propaganda pedalling, venom-spewing presenters and contributors (I am extremely loathe to use the word ‘experts’) whip up hate and manipulate their viewers without thought and seemingly without rhyme and reason.
I used to think it was funny, I still can’t help but laugh at some of the unadulterated horse shit that continuously streams out of the mouths of these ignorant nimrods who are actually paid to pedal their filth, but it has gotten to the point where it actually scares me now just how horrifically biased this network is.
What changed? Well I recently discovered, through the only real trustworthy source for news in the States – ‘The Daily Show’, that Fox News’ prime time news broadcasts pulls in over three times more viewers than CNN and MSNBC’s rival shows, and that chilled me to the bone.
To consider the fact that your average Americans who maybe aren’t that well read on the bias that certain networks have, are tuning in and accepting Fox’s revisionist history as the gospel truth really is scary.
A little bias has to be expected in all walks of life, and when its blatant and humorous its fine, for instance during Obama’s inauguration in January – one of the most historic events we may see in our lifetime – Fox were more concerned with where Bush’s helicopter was going…
…That made me laugh, but at the moment with Obama trying to get free health care to millions upon millions of needy, desperate Americans, Fox as you would imagine, are completely against this policy and are practically encouraging people to be disruptive and threatening as the President and his staff try and revolutionise the country’s health care system.
Fox are ignorant and hypocritical but they don’t seem to care. The main offenders on this sorry excuse for a news outlet are the three headed beast of O’Reilly, Hannity and Beck.
Sean Hannity is the host of the imaginatively titled ‘Hannity’, which replaced his old show ‘Hannity and Colmes’ when his former co-host, and the Spade to his blundering Farley, Alan Colmes left the show.
Colmes was supposed to be the counter balance to Hannity’s staunch Conservatism but in reality Colmes was actually quite liberal – far from the “hard-hitting liberal” Fox billed him as.
Since Colmes’ departure, Hannity has become even more unbearable than before, and without someone to at least try and keep him in check his revisionist history and seemingly very short memory are now running rampant like Katie Price at, well, somewhere with men.
Then we have big Bill O’Reilly, a man who is host to – get this: the most watched cable news programme on television – a pretty scary fact when you consider the man is a borderline psychotic who decrees anyone with a different viewpoint to him a “loon”.
O’Reilly has a history of distorting the truth, providing erroneous facts and generally misleading his audience while promoting it as ‘news’. It has even been concluded in a university study using analysis techniques developed after World War One that O’Reilly’s show was actually classed as propaganda.
Now I don’t want to be a hypocrite and start name-calling here but, propaganda, revisionist history… Remind you of anyone else?
The final head of this disgusting beast that makes the Hydra look like a Chihuahua is Glenn Beck – a man so emotionally blackmailing he could probably manipulate his audience into felating him live on air.
Beck has only recently moved to Fox News but in his short time with the network his views seem to have miraculously fallen in line with those of the network, funny that.
Beck’s trademark seems to have become the fact that he tears up at the drop of a hat mid-show and proclaims how he “just loves [his] country”.
It’s a shame he sold his soul really, because out of the three, Beck is the one I think I could actually, dare I say it… like, but in his current home and with his current penchant for emotionally raping his audience I can harbour nothing but disdain for the man.
The aforementioned ‘big three’ aren’t the only Fox News cronies who are the very definition of the phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’ though; we also have co-anchor of ‘Fox & Friends’ Gretchen Carlson.
Carlson is practically a ‘Stepford Wife’, grinning inanely and spouting off uneducated slush like she’s been lobotomised with a coat hanger. Arguably, an attractive woman, she is the living embodiment of a woman whose views can turn you off faster than the sight of Vanessa Feltz on a treadmill… Take note Palin.
Speaking of the former Governor of little old Alaska, any network that endorses a woman so unbelievably stupid and oblivious to the World around her just cannot be taken seriously. For Christ’s sake (oops, sorry Fox) if Palin can be a Vice-Presidential nominee then so can I!
In the UK, our current band of baboons in Downing Street get a pretty free ride, can you imagine how low their approval ratings would be if we had the U.S. media?
Brown and Darling (or Laurel and Hardy as I like to call them, and trust me, they’re never getting that piano up the stairs) and the Dark Lord Peter Mandelson should count themselves lucky that we don’t have a 24-hour news network culture like they do in the States; can you even begin to fathom just what a laughing stock any TV network would be if they unflinchingly endorsed these fucking primates we call a Government?
In this country, a network that unashamedly backed the government in light of all their failings & mistakes and against all evidence to the contrary would attract approximately no viewers and be in administration with a month.
This is why Fox News’ power is so scary: Brown, Darling et al are just grossly incompetent and unprepared for the job they inherited (that’s right inherited… but that’s another rant for another time).
Bush, Rumsfeld and Beelzebub Cheney on the other hand are practically war criminals, yet Fox News would never even suggest that they did anything but a stellar job in the eight years in which they managed to bring the greatest nation on Earth to its knees like a groupie backstage at a Motley Crue gig… No all this bad stuff has happened since January.
It is little wonder that intelligent Americans are more and more using a ‘fake news’ show like ‘The Daily Show’ to get their news. Although it has a visible leaning towards the left, Jon Stewart and crew treat everyone as fair game, if you say something stupid they’re going to call you on it.
It’s a sad World we live in where a ‘fake news’ show might actually be the most accurate and reliable source of news on what was once a trusted and respected facet of the media...
…Walter Cronkite would be turning in his grave…
…Because, if you can’t trust your newsreaders, who can you trust…?
…At least we’ve never had this problem with Sir Trevor McDonald…
…On a lighter note and as somewhat of a parting gift, allow me leave you with this clip, which shows just how psychotic Bill O’Reilly actually is – you thought I was exaggerating didn’t you…?
Enjoy…
Other Musings this Week:
TV has hit that transitional period before the big winter shows return to our schedules, so I’ve dropped the Televisual from this week’s musings, but that’s not to say that still I won’t be dissecting televisual news because…
- The ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ line-up was announced this week and after at first thinking it was a piss poor line-up I’m actually now quite looking forward to the clear winner of the Saturday nigh reality TV battle returning.
In terms of flagging up a winner, which I haven’t had much luck with this year, my heart says Richard Dunwoody (a gentleman, a legend and star of one of the greatest TV ads of all time), the cynic inside me says Ricky Whittle and my head (and possibly my money) is leaning towards Jade Johnson.
Athletes always do well on ‘Strictly’, and if this girl has a good personality then she could definitely be the dark horse, because let’s be fair ‘Strictly’ is basically a popularity contest as last year’s farcical outcome proved.
- This Friday sees the big screen release of a film I’ve read nothing but positive things about ‘The Hurt Locker’, directed by Kathryn Bigelow the film focuses on a bomb disposal team deep in the heart of the Iraq war.
It promises to be an adrenalin fuelled ride, I’ll have my ticket this weekend and I highly recommend you get yours – have I ever steered you wrong before? Actually, don’t answer that…
- Staying with movies, this week I finally got to see what has quickly become my film of the year, the amazing ‘In the Loop’.
After being shafted by geography for its criminally small cinematic release, my DVD finally arrived Monday and boy was it worth the wait. The funniest British film I’ve ever seen and probably ever will, ‘In the Loop’ retains all the magic of ‘The Thick of It’ and then some.
Peter Capaldi’s Malcolm Tucker is one of the greatest comic creations of all time and he carries this movie to heights of profane bliss. Buy it now!
You can see how ‘In the Loop’ fared against its 21st Century Comedy peers in my countdown of The Top 10 21st Century Comedies (So Far) over at www.obsessedwithfilm.com
- I happened to catch the video for Shakira’s new single ‘She Wolf’ this week and fuck me, its practically soft porn!
And although I thought it was pretty dire at first the song has actually grown on me, besides how could anyone not like a song that allows you to howl in it!?
TV Moment of the Week:
Okay, so it’s not strictly limited to this week, but I’m loving the new Sony Bravia ad with Alice Cooper.
It is kind of disheartening to see rock royalty flogging stuff in ads, like Iggy Pop on those horrible Swift Cover ads and Cooper previously on those Aviva ads, but when they are this funny you can’t help but enjoy them.
Speaking of ads, here is the latest in the genius Paddy Power series, this time featuring Zimbabwe’s finest Bruce Grobbelaar.
I’m still waiting for Dion Dublin under the bed… A man can dream…
Do You Wanna Be in My Gang?
Forgive me for the Gary Glitter reference in the title, rest assured I’m not here to talk about pop’s paedophile prince, I am here though to talk about the most feel good show on TV right now: ‘Entourage’.A show where nothing really happens shouldn’t be this successful, yet it remains one of the most popular and commercially successful shows on TV and continues to attract a collective who’s who of megastars to guest each week.
Last week’s episode’s plot was basically the gang playing at a celebrity golf tournament, that’s it – but it was still great. There’s never any great drama, or great suspense, so just why the hell is ‘Entourage’ so fucking popular?
Everyone dreams of what it would be like to be a megastar or friends with a megastar, and this show offers that glimpse and although Vince and co. have their downs, for the most part ‘Entourage’ focuses on the good side of celebrity, which in this cynical day and age is a nice change of pace.
Unlike most Hollywood insider shows of this ilk, ‘Entourage’ gives an affectionate look at the inner workings of Hollywood and its politics, which again sets it apart from most of its peers, I defy anyone to watch this show and not come away feeling upbeat with a goofy smile plastered across their mush.
The main asset that ‘Entourage’ has is the unbelievable chemistry between its principle cast – you honestly believe that these guys have been friends all their lives.
The fact that the four entourage members are good friends in real life clearly helps the on screen chemistry – Jerry Ferrara was best man at Kevin Dillon’s wedding and Kevin Connolly gave away Dillon’s bride to be – but that said; the screen rapport on display here really is something to behold.
As all four actors who form the entourage, with the slight exception of Kevin Dillon – but we’ll get to him later, were relative unknowns when the show debuted and this works perfectly. It wouldn’t have felt real to have established actors, young or not, as part of a movie star’s entourage, but because the actors have grown into stars in their own right through the show, the parallel with the characters really adds to an audience’s connection with the show.
Adrian Grenier proved with his role in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ that he has some dramatic range and I’m still desperately trying to get hold of the comedy ‘The Adventures of Power’ which he also stars in, but for the most part all he is required to do in ‘Entourage’ is look pretty which leaves this acting stuff to his co-stars.
Kevin Connolly has really grown on me as ‘E’, Vince’s best friend, for the first few seasons I found it really difficult to connect with him and I was annoyed by his heavy prominence in the show as I would have rather had more Ari, or especially more ‘Drama’. However as the show has developed so has ‘E’ and he is now arguably the show’s most interesting character.
Jerry Ferrara, as Vince’s hat-wearing lacky ‘Turtle’ has also grown into a well-rounded character over the course of the show. Beginning life as nothing more than a hanger-on who cannot fend for himself, he is now the only member of the gang with a stable relationship and is studying to start a business independent of Vince’s fame and fortune.
Then we have the two men who, in my humble opinion, make ‘Entourage’ the success it is: Jeremy Piven and Kevin Dillon.
When the show first began, it was Jeremy Piven’s monster of an agent Ari Gold, a man that makes Eric Hall look like Mary Poppins, who grabbed all the attention. Ari became a cult icon, and rightfully so – he is the sort of character an actor must dream about playing, and Piven has really made him his own.Piven’s past must have given him a great foundation for the role – he was a regular on another great ‘insider’ show ‘The Larry Sanders Show’ for a number of years. Yet, having seen him play more snivelly characters in the likes of ‘Very Bad Things’, ‘Grosse Pointe Blank’ and ‘Old School’ I was shocked at just how commanding and out and out brilliant he was as Ari on ‘Entourage’.
Piven has rightfully been dominating the Emmys in recent years thanks to his role as the fast-talking Ari, but if this year’s nominees are any indication it seems as though people are finally starting to see what I see in the show’s unsung hero Johnny ‘Drama’.
Played by Kevin Dillon, ‘Drama’ is Vince’s older, less-successful brother, a role Dillon is well-suited to; being the younger, previously less successful brother of Matt Dillon or “Lucky Matt Dillon” as I like to call him, which for reasons that if you’ve seen ‘Wild Things’ will be very clear.
Drama is the down-on-his-luck actor still living off past-success with delusions of grandeur and a knack for making a fool of himself and he invariably steals the show. Finally recognised with an Emmy nod for his work this year, it will be an absolute travesty if he doesn’t take home the award.
Even though Drama is now experiencing some success having landed a starring role on a network TV show, it hasn’t dwindled his ability to look stupid and thus make us laugh. Drama is arguably the character with the most heart in the show, he puts it all out there and often gets slammed, but he still comes back for more.
It really is a superb performance by Kevin Dillon who is finally getting the recognition he deserves, recognition that should have come over twenty years ago. I can’t believe that things didn’t happen
for him after his psychotic turn in ‘Platoon’ back in 1986 because, controversially perhaps, I prefer the work of Kevin to his formerly infinitely more famous brother. If recent times are anything to go by though, the Dillon family could have a new star.Although each character and cast member has their own strengths and appeal, ultimately the show is about friendship and the modern concept of the bro-mance. Beneath the Maseratis, the mansions and the bling, ‘Entourage’ is a story about male friendship and four guys who now think of themselves as a family.
Like any family, the entourage is dysfunctional but they always have each other’s best interests at heart and this is where a show that could have been completely unrelatable gets its common ground with its audience.
Beyond the camaraderie and knowing insider gags, ‘Entourage’ is a well written, well made show that often blurs the lines of reality, much like ‘Larry Sanders’ and ‘30 Rock’ did and does respectively. Vince’s various movie projects, co-stars, directors and producers, both real and fictional have helped create a little universe that operates in both the real world and the fictional world – an ‘Entourage’ universe if you will.
The show also uses original music to great effect – on a par with anything else on TV right now – and has boasted a number of CD’s featuring music from the show. Let’s not forget that ‘Entourage’ also has one of the greatest theme tunes going as well (only really rivalled by ‘True Blood’ I’d say, and of course the ‘CSI’s – but when you have The Who, you can’t really compare can you?) in Jane’s Addiction’s ‘Superhero’.
So, how long can ‘Entourage’ keep going? Well, the simple and stupid answer is: for as long as people keep watching. Six seasons in and the show hasn’t begun to feel stale at all, the writing is continually sharp and the dialogue and banter between the leads is a joy to watch.
As long as these staples remain strong, if there are still guest stars willing to make fools of themselves, which there have been no shortage of recently – Jeffrey Tambor last week was great – which also adds a great deal to the warmth of the show, there is no reason that ‘Entourage’ cannot remain one of TV’s brightest shining lights.
Sure, like any show, there have been the odd mis-steps. The usually reliable Domenick Lombardozzi was horribly obnoxious as the guys’ old friend Dom and was swiftly written out of his guest arc and when Vince ditched Ari and got a new agent it harmed the show’s strongest aspects – the bonding and the banter, even if it did mean we got to see the delectable Carla Gugino for a few episodes.
All in all, ‘Entourage’ is a lesson that simple TV can not only be effective, but it can be fucking brilliant when done right. So, to quote Johnny ‘Drama’, in terms of the most enjoyable show of the TV week, Entourage has definitely secured a…
“Victory!”
Entourage airs Thursdays on ITV2 at increasingly random times - fuckers...
Other Televisual Musings this Week:
- Another great guest appearance by Jay Karnes this week. After his revelatory guest run on ‘Sons of Anarchy’, he turned up on ‘House’ this week as a man incapable of lying.
The former Dutch Wagenbach is a fantastic TV actor and I hope it isn’t long before he lands another regular role and returns to our screens more permanently.
- More a televisual musing of the year, than the week, but is it just me or is BBC Three the worst TV channel ever created?
The utter gash that channel produces just beggars belief and I know for a fact that the Gibbons that run that channel actually put together some sort of focus group last year to try and improve the channel – were they all fucking retards!?
How the BBC can sit there and increase the licence fee when it is using the money on unadulterated quim like BBC Three squirts out is beyond me.
It’s not all Beeb hate from me though, because BBC Four continues to show some great little shows and has to be up there with More4 challenging FX for Channel of the Year.
BBC Three should take a fucking anthology of notes…
Speaking of More4…
TV Moment of the Week:
- It has to be More4’s brilliant decision to screen Will Ferrell’s very funny one man show ‘You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush’ over the weekend.
Returning to the impression that Ferrell made famous during his ‘SNL’ tenure for an entire theatrical show, Ferrell is a comedic tour de force as the former President.
Ferrell commanded that stage throughout and in addition to being peppered with Ferrell’s usual surreal and screwball humour, ‘You’re Welcome America’ was also smart and satirical.
Ordinarily I would have never had a chance to see this, so I doth my cap to More4 for continuing to think outside the box in terms of its programming.
Avatar - Primera imagen
Primera imagen de Avatar. Doden podemos ver al actor Sam Worthington como Jake Sully, su avatar, y atrás supongo un Navi.
Series & music
Gracias a nuestras series americanas, hemos descubierto, por lo menos yo, canciones que no conocía y que son bastante buenas. No me refiero a OST sino a canciones cantadas. Os muestro unos ejemplos y se admiten propuestas.
Jonatha Brooke - What You Don't Know (Dollhouse)
Rogue Wave - Eyes (Heroes)
Sanders Bohlke - The Weight of Us (Grey's Anatomy)
Spiritualized - Lay It Down Slow (Prison Break)
Samson and Delilah (From Samson and Delilah) (Terminator:The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Sia - Breathe Me (Six Feet Under)
Death Cab for Cutie - Bixby Canyon Bridge (Friday Night Lights)
Jace Everett - Bad Things (True Blood)
Tony Lucca - Devil Town (Friday Night Lights)
Ram Jam - Black Betty (Friday Night Lights)
The Fray - You Found Me (Lost)
Alexi Murdoch - Orange sky (Prison Break & O.C)
Cass Elliot - Make Your Own Kind of Music (Lost)
Kara's Tribute
Que mejor que juntar Galactica con esta magnífica canción (deseo escucharla ya en Six Feet Under).
Through The Wire
Ever since the BBC decided to broadcast ‘The Wire’ from start to finish, I’ve been waxing lyrical about how it could quite possibly be the greatest television show of all time.And okay, like the BBC I’m pretty late to the party, but this isn’t one of those latte drinking, high brow, Guardian reading, new media types telling you this, it’s yours truly – the guy with the David Spade back catalogue in his DVD collection (yes, even ‘Joe Dirt’).
It would take a number of men, all much smarter than I am, a very long time to really do justice to the argument in favour of this show’s place at the peak of the TV mountain, so instead I’m going to tell you what I think makes ‘The Wire’ so great.
‘The Wire’ is bold, visceral, slow-burning storytelling at its televisual finest – it could quite easily have been a New York Times’ best-selling novel.
I’ve heard it all from the critics and those that don’t get it, about why ‘The Wire’ isn’t as great as so many claim it to be. The language used is often cited as a reason for people who can’t get into it, and I’ll admit, for the first couple of episodes some of the phrases may have been new to me but it’s not like they’re speaking another language, after a few episodes I could have had a full blown conversation with either the police or any of the corner boys.
Another reason people use is the slow-burn nature of the show – you want cliffhangers and endless explosions? Stick to ‘24’, because this ain’t for you. But if you want intelligent, emotionally resonating drama that stays with you beyond the hour of your life it takes to watch the show then you need this show in your life.
Believe the hype – ‘The Wire’ is as good as you’ve heard it is.
The slow-burn aspect of the show is what I love so much about it, having become frustrated with the likes of ‘24’ and ‘Prison Break’ for their lazy often sloppy writing and storytelling for the sake of a cheap shock or ratings spike, to find the complete antithesis of both those shows in something that trusts in its audience to have the patience to wait for that payoff was a wonderful discovery.
Having grown to know ‘Stringer’ Bell for three seasons, when he was killed at the end of season 3, by God did it mean something, and he wasn’t offed for a ratings bump or for a season ending cliffhanger, he was killed off because his story was told.
This isn’t a show for those people who have TV ADD and can’t invest in something long term, you have to be prepared to dig in for the long haul with ‘The Wire’, but if you do, man, will you reap the benefits.
The city of Baltimore is painted in such an unflinchingly bleak light, the drugs, the murder, the corruption yet it’s hard not to feel something for nearly every character in the show, which ever side of the law they are on – the lines are that murky it’s often difficult to tell who are supposed to be the good guys anyway.
There isn’t a single character who I would say doesn’t have some sort of redeemable feature, even cold-blooded killers like Chris and Snoop have character traits that make you smile and often relate to them.
Show creator David Simon (who is an author, which goes someway to explaining the novelesque feel of the show) worked in Baltimore at the Sun newspaper for some twelve years and if you ask me this is his, albeit twisted, love letter to the city.
Simon has gone on record as saying that ‘The Wire’ wasn’t “selling hope” and he is right, this is uncompromisingly bleak, with death or prison time being the only outcome for most of the dealers.
Each season of the show focuses on a different part of the city of Baltimore and each season I have thought to myself that it wouldn’t live up to the previous, and each season I have been proved wrong. Within the season premiere you feel like you already know the new characters, such is the strength of this show’s writing and characterisation.
The show criminally never won any major awards and never really enjoyed massive commercial success, yet for its gritty and realistic portrayal of urban life it receives critical praise like nothing else.
To start singling out characters and actors for praise would just be plain wrong as this is a universally great ensemble. By avoiding egos and big stars, ‘The Wire’ was able to make us believe completely in these characters, the acting is natural and organic and the effect is staggering.
Arguably the biggest star, Brit actor (and
Sheffield Wednesday fan – sorry had to get that in there) Dominic West had his role scaled back almost to the point of not even appearing in some episodes during season 4 yet he didn’t piss and moan as he, as you feel with the rest of the cast, loves the show and the character and it made sense.Sharing a myriad of its actors with HBO’s pioneering hour-long drama ‘Oz’ obviously helps with the quality of the acting, but there isn’t a weak link from the top to the bottom, even the supporting characters and extras are fucking brilliant.
Like the aforementioned ‘Oz’ (see the ‘Oz’ feature We’re Not in Kansas Anymore – Behind the Walls of ‘Oz’ from a few weeks back for more on that great show) ‘The Wire’ introduces characters that you may think are nothing more than supporting players who then may disappear for a while, only to come back as key pieces to the puzzle.
Everyone matters in this show, they all have their role to play and they all have an effect on the Baltimore landscape.
Another way in which ‘The Wire’ succeeds is by flipping convention on its head, yet it never, ever comes across as contrived or unrealistic. Perhaps the show’s most fearsome character, stick-up artist Omar Little (played by the incredible Michael K. Williams) far from being an illiterate, gang banger is actually a rather philosophical homosexual who is perhaps the only character in the show who doesn’t use profanity.
For a show so steeped in reality, this could and should come across fake and convoluted on screen, but Omar is presented and played in such a way that he is by far one of the most interesting characters in the show. He has often been likened to a Baltimore Robin Hood and in spite of what he is involved in he appreciates that there is a ‘code’.
Stereotypes for cop shows are also smashed – the womanising cop pushing their domestic partner away is a woman and the minority candidate trying to become Mayor is white. And how can I forget the dirty junkie you can’t help but root for, I defy anyone to not be moved by the journey Bubbles goes on.
The show’s socio-political themes are explored in greater depth than any show should be able to in just thirteen hour long episodes and unlike so much of today’s television; ‘The Wire’ has a message. Sure, you don’t need lecturing while you watch TV but ‘The Wire’s commentary on American inner city life, be it at the docks, on the street or in the mayor’s office is not only educational but utterly compelling and more addictive than the product being slung on the corners.
As the top picture’s quote states: “Rules change. The Game remains the same”. Although ‘The Wire’ has cast its focus on other facets of Baltimore in the seasons since it debuted, it all comes back to the drug game and to the cops.
However the personnel and the landscape of the city changed over the show’s five season run, the game remained the same and always will and that is ‘The Wire’s most ominous message.
People cannot be saved – ‘The Wire’ didn’t sell salvation, it sold the cold hard truth that on America’s streets, and now more and more this seems to be applying to inner city British streets to, with the best of intentions things aren’t going to change.
It was a daring move to offer such a bleak commentary on the World, but it paid off in spades as audiences came to respect a show that didn’t lie, that didn’t glorify violence and drugs, that didn’t bury its head in the sand but treated them like adults and offered to paint a more accurate picture of what is going on in places they may not see day to day but know all about more than any politician ever could.
DVD box sets are, as I’ve enthused about before, not only saving shows from extinction and carrying on their memory, but they are also allowing fans to discover shows they may have missed first time around.
I don’t think I’d be far wrong to say that few people watched ‘The Wire’ first time around but through word of mouth stronger than I’ve ever heard, more and more people are finding a show that deserves every ounce of praise ever laid on it.
Anyone who is a fan of television and that visceral effect it can have on you like no other medium needs this show in their life, give it a chance and I promise you that once you go through ‘The Wire’, you’ll be hooked.
Other Televisual Musings this Week:
- Oh, how I loathe that twat on the 3 Mobile promo ads during Channel 4 original comedy.
My fast forwarding has a nasty habit of stopping just at that prick is finishing one of his awful gags – the thing is I can’t decide whether his attempts at comedy are supposed to be ironic. If they are, then at least he’s not actually trying to be funny – he’s just an annoying cunt; but good lord if they are actually supposed to be funny then the continued decline of our civilisation is all but complete.
“Séance, don’t you mean science?” – Fuck off you twat!
- Speaking of Channel comedy, it was good to hear that Charlie Brooker’s ‘You Have Been Watching’ contributed to Danny Dyer’s decision to stop making television.
Now if we can just get someone to make him stop doing films as well…
For a show so steeped in reality, this could and should come across fake and convoluted on screen, but Omar is presented and played in such a way that he is by far one of the most interesting characters in the show. He has often been likened to a Baltimore Robin Hood and in spite of what he is involved in he appreciates that there is a ‘code’.
Stereotypes for cop shows are also smashed – the womanising cop pushing their domestic partner away is a woman and the minority candidate trying to become Mayor is white. And how can I forget the dirty junkie you can’t help but root for, I defy anyone to not be moved by the journey Bubbles goes on.
The show’s socio-political themes are explored in greater depth than any show should be able to in just thirteen hour long episodes and unlike so much of today’s television; ‘The Wire’ has a message. Sure, you don’t need lecturing while you watch TV but ‘The Wire’s commentary on American inner city life, be it at the docks, on the street or in the mayor’s office is not only educational but utterly compelling and more addictive than the product being slung on the corners.
As the top picture’s quote states: “Rules change. The Game remains the same”. Although ‘The Wire’ has cast its focus on other facets of Baltimore in the seasons since it debuted, it all comes back to the drug game and to the cops.However the personnel and the landscape of the city changed over the show’s five season run, the game remained the same and always will and that is ‘The Wire’s most ominous message.
People cannot be saved – ‘The Wire’ didn’t sell salvation, it sold the cold hard truth that on America’s streets, and now more and more this seems to be applying to inner city British streets to, with the best of intentions things aren’t going to change.
It was a daring move to offer such a bleak commentary on the World, but it paid off in spades as audiences came to respect a show that didn’t lie, that didn’t glorify violence and drugs, that didn’t bury its head in the sand but treated them like adults and offered to paint a more accurate picture of what is going on in places they may not see day to day but know all about more than any politician ever could.
DVD box sets are, as I’ve enthused about before, not only saving shows from extinction and carrying on their memory, but they are also allowing fans to discover shows they may have missed first time around.
I don’t think I’d be far wrong to say that few people watched ‘The Wire’ first time around but through word of mouth stronger than I’ve ever heard, more and more people are finding a show that deserves every ounce of praise ever laid on it.
Anyone who is a fan of television and that visceral effect it can have on you like no other medium needs this show in their life, give it a chance and I promise you that once you go through ‘The Wire’, you’ll be hooked.
Other Televisual Musings this Week:
- Oh, how I loathe that twat on the 3 Mobile promo ads during Channel 4 original comedy.
My fast forwarding has a nasty habit of stopping just at that prick is finishing one of his awful gags – the thing is I can’t decide whether his attempts at comedy are supposed to be ironic. If they are, then at least he’s not actually trying to be funny – he’s just an annoying cunt; but good lord if they are actually supposed to be funny then the continued decline of our civilisation is all but complete.
“Séance, don’t you mean science?” – Fuck off you twat!
- Speaking of Channel comedy, it was good to hear that Charlie Brooker’s ‘You Have Been Watching’ contributed to Danny Dyer’s decision to stop making television.
Now if we can just get someone to make him stop doing films as well…
TV Moment of the Week:
- Clayton Rohner proving that he is in fact still alive by turning up for a brief moment in the very weird bonus episode of ‘Dollhouse’.
The former ‘G Vs E’ star deserved a better career than he’s had and it was nice to see him again, if only for one very short scene.
This finale/bonus episode of ‘Dollhouse’ felt very much like it was made when they were unsure if they would be getting a second season, now we know they definitely will be it felt very much out of place.
- Clayton Rohner proving that he is in fact still alive by turning up for a brief moment in the very weird bonus episode of ‘Dollhouse’.
The former ‘G Vs E’ star deserved a better career than he’s had and it was nice to see him again, if only for one very short scene.
This finale/bonus episode of ‘Dollhouse’ felt very much like it was made when they were unsure if they would be getting a second season, now we know they definitely will be it felt very much out of place.
Friday Night Lights ya tiene fecha
Ya tenemos fecha de estreno para FNL, Miércoles 28 Octubre 09. Por fin vuelve la familía Taylor a nuestros hogares. Esperemos que no baje el nivel de las temporadas anteriores, ya que ahora tendremos muchas bajas en Dillon. Matt Saracen no lo tendremos en todos los episodios. Lyla Garrity y Tyra Collette, saldrán para despedirse. Tim Riggins supongo que lo mismo. Confirmados tendremos a Eric Taylor, Tami Taylor y Julie Taylor.
Comentar que el primer capítulo de esta 4ª temporada será dirigido por Peter Berg, que vuelve después del perfecto Piloto que nos dejó en la 1ª temporada.
Heroes - Volume 5: Redemption "Promo 2"
Estamos igual de asustados que los rabbits que salen al final del video.
Battlestar Galactica - Season 4.5 "Review"
Así comienza la versión extendida del capitulo final de Battlestar Galactica.
Decidí no esperar a Septiembre y ver otra vez el capítulo final. Pero esta vez su versión extendida.
Me refiero a los capítulos 19 y 20, DayBreak I y DayBreak II-III. En su totalidad, la versión extendida es de 02h 30 min con créditos incluidos.
Resumiendo el capítulo, es la misma versión ofrecida en TV pero con escenas nuevas. Nombraré algunas:
- Baltar hablando con el hijo de su vecina en su casa de Caprica.
- Flashback del Chief y Boomer cuando se dan su primer revolcón en Galactica.
- Escena del Comandante Adama dejando su estancia vacía en la nave.
- Flashback de Cally con el Chief, justamente después de éste matar a Tory.
- Escena de Baltar y Number Six en su casa, pero esta vez está presente su vecino
(cosa que no lo está en la versión televisiva), cuando Six le da el panfleto del
nuevo lugar de su padre.
- Flashback de Boomer y Helo dentro de un Raptor hablando sobre el Chief.
- Escena donde vemos a Kara y Tyrol intentando convencer que enchufen a Anders en el CIC, tras un sermón de Kara a Adama, éste accede.
Comentando por encima los DVD versión americana, tenemos bastantes extras, sobretodo vídeos donde podemos escuchar los comentarios sobre la serie de los directores, productores, cámaras, actores principales, actores secundarios, compositor Musical, etc.
Me quedo con algunos bastantes graciosos como el de la "Segunda Unidad", que es la que se encarga de grabar las escenas en las que no salen los actores, como por ejemplo, Adama levanta un libro o alguien sirve un vaso de agua, etc. Es un grupo aparte, que solo tiene 2 horas a la semana para grabar. Y como no graban las escenas principales con los actores, si esas escenas se tienen que juntar tienen que ir viendo a través de DVDs, para que éstas no sean muy diferentes. Otro que me ha gustado, es que alguien con cámara en mano va por el rodaje a ver si le cuentan quien es el 5º Cylon, es muy bueno.
También me quedo con el de Bear MCCreary, donde explica como se hace la música de BSG, como se monta, quien forma parte, etc. Y el curro que tiene es inmenso. Solamente explican la música de un capítulo, luego todo ese curro lo multiplicas por el número de capítulos de la temporada. Genial video, si señor.
Por otro lado también tenemos escena eliminadas de algunos capítulos, bastante curiosas.
Y por último para no estropear todo lo que sale en los DVD, un comentario que hace David Eick (Productor/Ejecutivo), uno de los creadores junto con Moore. Explicando que en la 3ª Temporada se les acabaraon las ideas, y es ahí cuando empezó a dar fruto el tema religioso en la serie. Si no hubiera salido esa idea, decía que no sabía como habrían acabado Galactica.
Bueno con todo lo observado en estos 4 DVD y el revisionado que estoy haciendo, me limito a decir que Battlestar Galactica es mi top 1 en Series. Y no creo que ninguna la desbanque.
Y como ya dijo Cavil:
True Blood S02E09 - I Will Rise Up "Promo"
Después del capitulazo de esta semana, lo que viene promete. Vuelve lo mejor de True Blood.
La cadena FX ha dado el comunicado que la 3ª temporada de Damages volverá el próximo Enero 2010. Aún sin fecha determinada, ni sin cast confirmado, pero eso si, como en temporadas anteriores, de un cast de altísimo nivel, alguien lo duda? Esperemos que la serie siga con el nivel mostrado hasta ahora.
Heroes "Centric Promos"
Aquí unas promos de los personajes para la Season 4, una del títere de los guionistas de Heroes, Sylar, y otra de la cansina Claire.
Ironman 2 "Trailer & Sneak Peek"
La escena de Nick Fury Y Ironman tomando un café y donuts en una cafetería no tiene precio.
V se nos avanza
El estreno de V se nos avanza a Noviembre 2009, concretamente el Martes 3 de Noviembre (gracias satrian) pero aún sin fecha ni hora concreta. Comentar que a pesar que Juliet es protagonista principal de esta nueva entrega, seguirá apareciendo en Lost.
En cuanto a la gente que ha visto el piloto, podemos encontrar estas impresiones, por boca de la señora por excelencia en spoilers, Kristin Dos Santos:
Olvida lo que has oído. Hemos visto el piloto y, en una escala del 1 al 10, le damos un 11. El piloto de V es el mejor que hemos visto. Elizabeth Mitchell es increíble, Scott Wolf es adorable y encantador y no serás capaz de quitar los ojos de Morena Baccarin. ¡Va más allá de las expectativas!
24 - Season 8
Después de ser nombrada como la serie más adictiva (y no se han equivocado), dentro de casi 6 meses dará comienzo la 8ª temporada y última de 24 (de momento no se ha hablado de renovaciones, ni del tema película).Ya sabemos que emigran a New York y que vuelve a estar operativa la CTU.
A los ya fichajes confirmados, se unen otro elenco, pero ahora de la parte villana. Por un lado tenemos a Bashar Rahal, como general del ejército de la República de Kamistan. Luego tenemos a Jürgen Prochnow que será la nueva pesadilla de Jack Bauer para esta octava y por último otra nueva cara conocida de Battlestar Galactica, Callum Keith Rennie como un gangster ruso.
Dejo también el Trailer ofrecido en la Comic-Con 09:
Atención a la entrada de escena de Katee Sackhoff (Dana Walsh), y esos asombros y silbidos en la sala, que grande es ella y 24. Y como no, el dúo Chloe O'Brian y Dana Walsh, que promete demasiado. Comentar también el nuevo look de la CTU y su tecnología, que pasada!!.
Si sigue el nivel de la 7ª o lo mejora (eso está muy difícil), estaremos más que satisfechos durante mucho tiempo.
Currently in my Sky+ Box...
(Other recording systems are available)
I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now.
I write about TV each week, and from the shows that frequently compel me to write about them you can probably tell what I watch pretty well by now, but just in case, and in the spirit of sharing, here is what is currently series linked in my Sky+ box right now…
‘Top Gear’ – I don’t know what it is about ‘Top Gear’ – I don’t particularly have much of an interest in cars, beyond the fact that I enjoy that my car means I don’t have to catch the bus with people who smell like stale piss and biscuits, yet I feel like I’m missing out if I don’t tune in to these three idiots every week.
I would never have watched the show in its old format, but since its 2002 revamp, ‘Top Gear’ has rightly become one of the BBC’s biggest shows. The real star of the trio though if you ask me is not Clarkson or the BBC’s new golden boy Hamster Hammond, it is unsung hero James May. May is a very funny man without being equal parts irritating, unlike the other two, and he really makes the show.
The real magic of new ‘Top Gear’ though lies in the camaraderie between the three hosts, it really wouldn’t work without any of them, and as long as the three of them remain on the show, car-enthusiasts and non-car-enthusiasts alike will keep tuning in, because strange as it sounds; no one really watches ‘Top Gear’ for the cars anymore.
‘House’ – I feel ashamed of myself for not giving Dr. Gregory House a chance earlier than his fifth season. It has quickly become one of my favourite shows on TV and Hugh Laurie is simply astonishing as the titular MD and deserves every award he has won for the role.
I ignorantly dismissed ‘House’ as a medical-centred show at first, and while this is of course inescapable (given the fact that it’s set in a hospital and is about doctors) it is so much more than that.
The cast are universally flawless and away from the ‘case of the week’ relationships grow and fracture across the seasons. The calibre of guest stars they have been attracting as of late speaks volumes of just how good this show is and long may it continue.
Recent developments between Foreman and ‘Thirteen’ have given their respective actors something to really get their teeth into (no pun intended) after weeks of treading water and House himself continues to be scathingly funny and mean in equal parts – Laurie does a superb job.
If anyone has still not become a regular patient at Princeton-Plainsboro then do yourself a favour and stop by for a check-up in quality US television making and leave feeling nothing but utter disdain for the lame UK equivalents such as ‘Casualty’ and ‘Holby City’.
‘The Wire’ – There’s no other way of putting it – ‘The Wire’ quite simply is incredible – if it isn’t the greatest show in the history of television then its got to be up there challenging, because this is storytelling at its most visceral best.
To explain all the reasons why this show is so great would take a lot more than a few lines of text (look out for a more in depth study next week) so all I can really say right now is that for the BBC’s run of the show we have half of season 4 to come and then season 5, if you haven’t already dipped into this show you really should, don’t be put off by the dialogue, the culture or the violence, just take a while and let it wash over you – you’ll soon be hooked on every nuance of the most addictive and compelling show to ever be beamed into your home.
‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ – In another telling example of the lack of talent on these shores compared to our transatlantic brethren, can you think of anyone who could maintain a show of ‘The Daily Show’s calibre over here? Because I sure as shit can’t.
What Jon Stewart does four nights a week, albeit with the help of an army of some of the funniest writers Stateside, is nothing short of spectacular. ‘The Daily Show’ continues to be bitingly satirical, hilariously funny and more relevant than any of the 24-hour networks – it is no wonder that most of America, and now Britain for that matter, use a ‘fake news’ show to keep up with US politics.
It’s little wonder either that Jon Stewart was voted one of the World’s most influential men last year – I would take Stewart’s word over anyone in US politics any day (and that includes a certain Mr. Obama).
The show has launched the careers of some of Hollywood’s finest and is starting to rival ‘SNL’ in the decorated alumni stakes, so my advice is tune in now so you can be in on the ground floor when the likes of Jason Jones, Wyatt Cenac and John Oliver become ‘the next big thing’ and as for Stewart, I think he’s very happy where he is; one of the World’s most influential men, hosting a ‘fake news’ show.
‘Dollhouse’ – Joss Whedon’s latest TV venture has had a rough ride, memories of ‘Firefly’s heinous treatment at the hands of FOX were still fresh and very raw, and with apparent network meddling it seemed ‘Dollhouse’ was doomed from the get go.
After a few weeks of fair to middling episodes it seemed that Whedon was about to see another of his opuses shitcanned, but then something great happened – ‘Dollhouse’ got really, really fucking good.
Getting away from Echo’s engagement of the week and delving deeper and deeper into the mythology of the dollhouse proved to be a masterstroke and in my opinion single-handedly got the show renewed for what will hopefully be an awesome second season.
Shockingly Eliza Dushku is pretty forgettable in this (other than when she’s wearing ridiculously hot outfits) and it is the supporting cast of characters that really intrigue. Obsessed FBI agent Ballard, computer geek Topher and Echo’s kind-hearted handler Boyd are all joys to watch and the more we see of these compelling characters, the stronger the show gets.
With the still developing first season just about wrapping up, the signs are all very positive for an insane (in a good way) second season – maybe Whedon isn’t cursed after all.
‘You Have Been Watching’ – Charlie Brooker’s ‘Screenwipe’/‘Flipside TV’ hybrid is finding its feet week
after week. I still don’t wholly buy Brooker as a quizmaster type figure, in fact how he is forced to behave on ‘YHBW’ is the sort of thing I would think that he would normally spew his televisual venom on, but that aside – this is a very funny show that shines a light on some of the more ridiculous offerings our televisions present us with on a daily basis.
The guests have become better as we’ve progressed – two weeks of Frankie Boyle and Reg D. Hunter this week have been very welcome, and the decision to start examining some of the more obscure and weird shows over more mainstream fare has definitely helped increase the laughs.
Brooker seems to have been left pretty much to be himself which is surprising given that this is on C4, but hopefully the success of ‘YHBW’ will not mean the demise of ‘Screenwipe’, because as good as this is, it’s no ‘Screenwipe’.
‘Sons of Anarchy’ – Quite simply, the best new show out there. ‘Sons of Anarchy’ revved (sorry) on to our screens with a swagger that has now been proved more than justified.
The first few weeks were often hit and miss but when the former Dutch Wagenbach, Jay Karnes showed up as a psychopathic ATF agent all hell broke loose.
See the ‘Sons’ feature SAMCRO Forever from a few weeks back for a detailed look at why this show is the best thing on TV right now.
‘Sons of Anarchy’s success stems from it’s ability to strike the perfect balance between light and dark, uplifting and disturbing, tears of joy and tears of sadness & love and hate.
The acting is insanely good, the characters have developed to a nice level for one season’s worth of writing and the town of Charming is poised for an explosion as the tension between most of the show’s major characters bubbles to the surface of this gritty melting pot.
With season 2 just around the corner in the States do yourself a favour and familiarise yourself with a show that can fill a void left by some of the most acclaimed shows of the last decade – I’m talking ‘The Shield’ & ‘The Sopranos’ – its that good.
‘Mock the Week’ – Not just the funniest panel show on TV right now but the funniest panel show of all time. ‘Mock the Week’ may be rehearsed and/or scripted as the naysayers love to tell you but who gives a shit – this is half an hour of comedy of the highest order.
Thanks mainly to Frankie Boyle who is a tour de force and leaves the others virtually gasping for air as he grabs every oxygenated globule of comedy out of the atmosphere (wow that’s a bizarre metaphor). Boyle is rightfully becoming a monster star on the comedy circuit and as long as he remains a regular fixture on ‘Mock the Week’, the show will continue to be one of the funniest things on TV.
Russell Howard is a distant second in the funny stakes, leaving Andy Parsons, Hugh Dennis and the two guests trailing very far behind. ‘Mock the Week’ could quite easily be renamed ‘The Frankie Boyle Show’ but for now it remains the single funniest show in the current schedules.
‘Reaper’ – See last week’s ‘Reaper’ feature (Don’t Fear) The Reaper for an in depth look at why this show is so great and why it is such a tragedy that it has been unceremoniously cancelled.
‘Reaper’ combines comic book geekery with dark surreal humour and fuses it together into a very funny, quirky little show about one slacker’s unfortunate relationship with Satan.
A great cast, larger than life performances and a nice soundtrack make this one of those hidden gems that deserves a fairer crack of the whip than it got.
Enjoy it while you can folks, because pretty soon ‘Reaper’ has a one way ticket to hell…
‘Lie to Me’ – Tim Roth is to ‘Lie to Me’ what Frankie Boyle is to ‘Mock the Week’ (I bet you thought you’d never hear that comparison!) – without him this would be just another show. Roth is outstanding as Dr. Cal Lightman, the show might not be on a par with ‘House’s quality but Roth gives Laurie’s scenery chewing a run for the money.
‘8 Mile’s Mekhi Phifer could be a very nice addition to a rather lifeless supporting cast and if they can get away from the ‘Scooby Doo’ air of predictability that each episode contains then ‘Lie to Me’ could achieve great things.
The show may be derivative, but the science of studying people’s faces gives Lightman and co. a power that can be both gift and curse and that is the side of them I want to see more of.
FOX supposedly believes it has a hit on its hands with ‘Lie to Me’ and with a bit of TLC they just might.
‘Entourage’ – We’re not reinventing the wheel here and nothing ever really happens, but ‘Entourage’ remains one of the most watchable and hugely enjoyable shows out there.
It’s a simple premise (that I will delve into deeper in a couple of weeks) but it works and then some. Always funny and often touching and sincere, ‘Entourage’ still manages to reel in huge stars and continues to be fresh and massively entertaining.
Kevin Dillon has rightfully, finally been acknowledged with an Emmy nod for his role as Johnny ‘Drama’ Chase and it is richly deserved, while Jeremy Piven’s Ari grabs most of the headlines and plaudits it’s Drama’s sad sack, everyman loser with ideas above his station that consistently gives us the biggest laughs and feel good moments.
If you’re looking for multi-layered, vivid storytelling, biting social commentary or hell, even originality – you won’t find it here, but what you will find is one of the most consistently feel good shows out there and when you pepper in some grade a comedy, what more can you ask for?
‘True Blood’ – The newest addition to my TV watching schedule, but perhaps the most exciting; ‘True Blood’ has the potential to right all the wrongs done by ‘Twilight’ and make vampires not just scary again, but interesting.
Set in deep, deep ‘Deliverance’ country, watching ‘True Blood’ makes you feel dirty, it just has a hot, sweaty, Southern aura to it and it works as a direct contrast to the suave, otherworldly gentlemanly ways of the vampires.
The concept is great, vampires walk among us but are treated as second class citizens – it allows for all manner of thinly-veiled social commentary on the treatment of minorities.
A cast of virtual unknowns act their socks off in ‘True Blood’, special praise reserved for Ryan Kwanten as the dumber than a box of squirrels Jason Stackhouse. This eclectic show’s equally as eclectic cast of characters make you feel as though you are living in the backwater vampire invested town of Bon Temps.
The ensemble townsfolk give a layering to ‘True Blood’ that is present in all the great TV shows out there at the minute but the out and out weirdness of ‘True Blood’ makes it something very intriguing and definitely the one to watch at the moment.
TV Moment of the Week:
- Daniel Sunjata turning in a very creepy performance on ‘Lie to Me’.
He plays womaniser Franco on the award-winning ‘Rescue Me’ but has proved with his performance as a gay fashionista in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ and now with this guest appearance as a serial rapist and pathological liar, that he is a very talented actor.
This was the best episode of the season so far and it was largely due to Sunjata’s chilling performance – watching him pit his wits against Lightman truly was a battle for the ages.
Next week go Through The Wire with a special look at why ‘The Wire’ might just be the greatest TV show of all time.
I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now.
I write about TV each week, and from the shows that frequently compel me to write about them you can probably tell what I watch pretty well by now, but just in case, and in the spirit of sharing, here is what is currently series linked in my Sky+ box right now…
‘Top Gear’ – I don’t know what it is about ‘Top Gear’ – I don’t particularly have much of an interest in cars, beyond the fact that I enjoy that my car means I don’t have to catch the bus with people who smell like stale piss and biscuits, yet I feel like I’m missing out if I don’t tune in to these three idiots every week.I would never have watched the show in its old format, but since its 2002 revamp, ‘Top Gear’ has rightly become one of the BBC’s biggest shows. The real star of the trio though if you ask me is not Clarkson or the BBC’s new golden boy Hamster Hammond, it is unsung hero James May. May is a very funny man without being equal parts irritating, unlike the other two, and he really makes the show.
The real magic of new ‘Top Gear’ though lies in the camaraderie between the three hosts, it really wouldn’t work without any of them, and as long as the three of them remain on the show, car-enthusiasts and non-car-enthusiasts alike will keep tuning in, because strange as it sounds; no one really watches ‘Top Gear’ for the cars anymore.
‘House’ – I feel ashamed of myself for not giving Dr. Gregory House a chance earlier than his fifth season. It has quickly become one of my favourite shows on TV and Hugh Laurie is simply astonishing as the titular MD and deserves every award he has won for the role.
I ignorantly dismissed ‘House’ as a medical-centred show at first, and while this is of course inescapable (given the fact that it’s set in a hospital and is about doctors) it is so much more than that.
The cast are universally flawless and away from the ‘case of the week’ relationships grow and fracture across the seasons. The calibre of guest stars they have been attracting as of late speaks volumes of just how good this show is and long may it continue.
Recent developments between Foreman and ‘Thirteen’ have given their respective actors something to really get their teeth into (no pun intended) after weeks of treading water and House himself continues to be scathingly funny and mean in equal parts – Laurie does a superb job.
If anyone has still not become a regular patient at Princeton-Plainsboro then do yourself a favour and stop by for a check-up in quality US television making and leave feeling nothing but utter disdain for the lame UK equivalents such as ‘Casualty’ and ‘Holby City’.
‘The Wire’ – There’s no other way of putting it – ‘The Wire’ quite simply is incredible – if it isn’t the greatest show in the history of television then its got to be up there challenging, because this is storytelling at its most visceral best.
To explain all the reasons why this show is so great would take a lot more than a few lines of text (look out for a more in depth study next week) so all I can really say right now is that for the BBC’s run of the show we have half of season 4 to come and then season 5, if you haven’t already dipped into this show you really should, don’t be put off by the dialogue, the culture or the violence, just take a while and let it wash over you – you’ll soon be hooked on every nuance of the most addictive and compelling show to ever be beamed into your home.
‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ – In another telling example of the lack of talent on these shores compared to our transatlantic brethren, can you think of anyone who could maintain a show of ‘The Daily Show’s calibre over here? Because I sure as shit can’t.
What Jon Stewart does four nights a week, albeit with the help of an army of some of the funniest writers Stateside, is nothing short of spectacular. ‘The Daily Show’ continues to be bitingly satirical, hilariously funny and more relevant than any of the 24-hour networks – it is no wonder that most of America, and now Britain for that matter, use a ‘fake news’ show to keep up with US politics.
It’s little wonder either that Jon Stewart was voted one of the World’s most influential men last year – I would take Stewart’s word over anyone in US politics any day (and that includes a certain Mr. Obama).
The show has launched the careers of some of Hollywood’s finest and is starting to rival ‘SNL’ in the decorated alumni stakes, so my advice is tune in now so you can be in on the ground floor when the likes of Jason Jones, Wyatt Cenac and John Oliver become ‘the next big thing’ and as for Stewart, I think he’s very happy where he is; one of the World’s most influential men, hosting a ‘fake news’ show.
‘Dollhouse’ – Joss Whedon’s latest TV venture has had a rough ride, memories of ‘Firefly’s heinous treatment at the hands of FOX were still fresh and very raw, and with apparent network meddling it seemed ‘Dollhouse’ was doomed from the get go.
After a few weeks of fair to middling episodes it seemed that Whedon was about to see another of his opuses shitcanned, but then something great happened – ‘Dollhouse’ got really, really fucking good.
Getting away from Echo’s engagement of the week and delving deeper and deeper into the mythology of the dollhouse proved to be a masterstroke and in my opinion single-handedly got the show renewed for what will hopefully be an awesome second season.
Shockingly Eliza Dushku is pretty forgettable in this (other than when she’s wearing ridiculously hot outfits) and it is the supporting cast of characters that really intrigue. Obsessed FBI agent Ballard, computer geek Topher and Echo’s kind-hearted handler Boyd are all joys to watch and the more we see of these compelling characters, the stronger the show gets.
With the still developing first season just about wrapping up, the signs are all very positive for an insane (in a good way) second season – maybe Whedon isn’t cursed after all.
‘You Have Been Watching’ – Charlie Brooker’s ‘Screenwipe’/‘Flipside TV’ hybrid is finding its feet week
after week. I still don’t wholly buy Brooker as a quizmaster type figure, in fact how he is forced to behave on ‘YHBW’ is the sort of thing I would think that he would normally spew his televisual venom on, but that aside – this is a very funny show that shines a light on some of the more ridiculous offerings our televisions present us with on a daily basis.The guests have become better as we’ve progressed – two weeks of Frankie Boyle and Reg D. Hunter this week have been very welcome, and the decision to start examining some of the more obscure and weird shows over more mainstream fare has definitely helped increase the laughs.
Brooker seems to have been left pretty much to be himself which is surprising given that this is on C4, but hopefully the success of ‘YHBW’ will not mean the demise of ‘Screenwipe’, because as good as this is, it’s no ‘Screenwipe’.
‘Sons of Anarchy’ – Quite simply, the best new show out there. ‘Sons of Anarchy’ revved (sorry) on to our screens with a swagger that has now been proved more than justified.
The first few weeks were often hit and miss but when the former Dutch Wagenbach, Jay Karnes showed up as a psychopathic ATF agent all hell broke loose.
See the ‘Sons’ feature SAMCRO Forever from a few weeks back for a detailed look at why this show is the best thing on TV right now.
‘Sons of Anarchy’s success stems from it’s ability to strike the perfect balance between light and dark, uplifting and disturbing, tears of joy and tears of sadness & love and hate.
The acting is insanely good, the characters have developed to a nice level for one season’s worth of writing and the town of Charming is poised for an explosion as the tension between most of the show’s major characters bubbles to the surface of this gritty melting pot.
With season 2 just around the corner in the States do yourself a favour and familiarise yourself with a show that can fill a void left by some of the most acclaimed shows of the last decade – I’m talking ‘The Shield’ & ‘The Sopranos’ – its that good.
‘Mock the Week’ – Not just the funniest panel show on TV right now but the funniest panel show of all time. ‘Mock the Week’ may be rehearsed and/or scripted as the naysayers love to tell you but who gives a shit – this is half an hour of comedy of the highest order.
Thanks mainly to Frankie Boyle who is a tour de force and leaves the others virtually gasping for air as he grabs every oxygenated globule of comedy out of the atmosphere (wow that’s a bizarre metaphor). Boyle is rightfully becoming a monster star on the comedy circuit and as long as he remains a regular fixture on ‘Mock the Week’, the show will continue to be one of the funniest things on TV.
Russell Howard is a distant second in the funny stakes, leaving Andy Parsons, Hugh Dennis and the two guests trailing very far behind. ‘Mock the Week’ could quite easily be renamed ‘The Frankie Boyle Show’ but for now it remains the single funniest show in the current schedules.
‘Reaper’ – See last week’s ‘Reaper’ feature (Don’t Fear) The Reaper for an in depth look at why this show is so great and why it is such a tragedy that it has been unceremoniously cancelled.
‘Reaper’ combines comic book geekery with dark surreal humour and fuses it together into a very funny, quirky little show about one slacker’s unfortunate relationship with Satan.
A great cast, larger than life performances and a nice soundtrack make this one of those hidden gems that deserves a fairer crack of the whip than it got.
Enjoy it while you can folks, because pretty soon ‘Reaper’ has a one way ticket to hell…
‘Lie to Me’ – Tim Roth is to ‘Lie to Me’ what Frankie Boyle is to ‘Mock the Week’ (I bet you thought you’d never hear that comparison!) – without him this would be just another show. Roth is outstanding as Dr. Cal Lightman, the show might not be on a par with ‘House’s quality but Roth gives Laurie’s scenery chewing a run for the money.‘8 Mile’s Mekhi Phifer could be a very nice addition to a rather lifeless supporting cast and if they can get away from the ‘Scooby Doo’ air of predictability that each episode contains then ‘Lie to Me’ could achieve great things.
The show may be derivative, but the science of studying people’s faces gives Lightman and co. a power that can be both gift and curse and that is the side of them I want to see more of.
FOX supposedly believes it has a hit on its hands with ‘Lie to Me’ and with a bit of TLC they just might.
‘Entourage’ – We’re not reinventing the wheel here and nothing ever really happens, but ‘Entourage’ remains one of the most watchable and hugely enjoyable shows out there.
It’s a simple premise (that I will delve into deeper in a couple of weeks) but it works and then some. Always funny and often touching and sincere, ‘Entourage’ still manages to reel in huge stars and continues to be fresh and massively entertaining.
Kevin Dillon has rightfully, finally been acknowledged with an Emmy nod for his role as Johnny ‘Drama’ Chase and it is richly deserved, while Jeremy Piven’s Ari grabs most of the headlines and plaudits it’s Drama’s sad sack, everyman loser with ideas above his station that consistently gives us the biggest laughs and feel good moments.
If you’re looking for multi-layered, vivid storytelling, biting social commentary or hell, even originality – you won’t find it here, but what you will find is one of the most consistently feel good shows out there and when you pepper in some grade a comedy, what more can you ask for?
‘True Blood’ – The newest addition to my TV watching schedule, but perhaps the most exciting; ‘True Blood’ has the potential to right all the wrongs done by ‘Twilight’ and make vampires not just scary again, but interesting.
Set in deep, deep ‘Deliverance’ country, watching ‘True Blood’ makes you feel dirty, it just has a hot, sweaty, Southern aura to it and it works as a direct contrast to the suave, otherworldly gentlemanly ways of the vampires.
The concept is great, vampires walk among us but are treated as second class citizens – it allows for all manner of thinly-veiled social commentary on the treatment of minorities.
A cast of virtual unknowns act their socks off in ‘True Blood’, special praise reserved for Ryan Kwanten as the dumber than a box of squirrels Jason Stackhouse. This eclectic show’s equally as eclectic cast of characters make you feel as though you are living in the backwater vampire invested town of Bon Temps.
The ensemble townsfolk give a layering to ‘True Blood’ that is present in all the great TV shows out there at the minute but the out and out weirdness of ‘True Blood’ makes it something very intriguing and definitely the one to watch at the moment.
TV Moment of the Week:
- Daniel Sunjata turning in a very creepy performance on ‘Lie to Me’.
He plays womaniser Franco on the award-winning ‘Rescue Me’ but has proved with his performance as a gay fashionista in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ and now with this guest appearance as a serial rapist and pathological liar, that he is a very talented actor.
This was the best episode of the season so far and it was largely due to Sunjata’s chilling performance – watching him pit his wits against Lightman truly was a battle for the ages.
Next week go Through The Wire with a special look at why ‘The Wire’ might just be the greatest TV show of all time.
True Blood S02E08 - Timebomb "Promo"
Espero que empiece la "chicha" en este capítulo, que solo nos quedan 5 para acabar esta 2ª temporada. Y decir que ya tenemos renovación para una temporada más. Creo que se lo merece y las audiencias lo corroboran.
Lost - Season 6 "Fan Promo"
Me ha molado esta promo. A ver si toda la historia de Lost tiene su sentido.
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