tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15913913175290047502024-03-05T03:43:59.471-08:00No Flipping!Oh yes, there will be spoilers.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-41905183159817705632009-03-09T05:44:00.000-07:002009-03-09T09:17:59.908-07:00Review: Watchmen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TG6WC6nFG7o0aukVftYAn_fu2nASA-7MfKhZpLV3vpR5tci7nAIHTd9_wd6PJcQijV4essMbc0_iQMlbgpOVvQ5G9attWF80krTEQ8pAyfbZ_JQQYJ3HEJtOdVcn832neqpLimm4bw/s1600-h/Watchmen_36.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TG6WC6nFG7o0aukVftYAn_fu2nASA-7MfKhZpLV3vpR5tci7nAIHTd9_wd6PJcQijV4essMbc0_iQMlbgpOVvQ5G9attWF80krTEQ8pAyfbZ_JQQYJ3HEJtOdVcn832neqpLimm4bw/s320/Watchmen_36.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311171578517535666" border="0" /></a><br />THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!<br /><br />Okay, if you've read a few of the many reviews of Zack Snyder's <span style="font-style: italic;">Watchmen</span> adap, then you probably won't find much in this review that differs from what you already know. As a fan of the comic, I knew all too well how difficult it would be to distill Alan Moore's dense, politically-charged, brutally violent epic into two-and-a-half hours-plus of screen time. After all, there's a lot that anyone taking this on has to get right: they have fans to appease and newbies to convert, whilst still making a stand-alone film that works whether you're a fan or you aren't. Plus, adapting a comic is even more problematic than adapting a novel; comics have a completely different rhythm than that of film, doubly so with <span style="font-style: italic;">Watchmen</span> and its original 12-issue run. There's a rising/falling, episodic nature to a comics run that has to hit beats at certain points that films do not. There's a problem transposing a comic too faithfully to the screen then, that it may come over a little too fractured and awkward.<br /><br />There's also a look and a feel that you get from a good comic or graphic novel that may seem a bit gimmicky in the multiplex. So really, you need a director who has as canny a grasp of dramatic structure as they do stunning visuals. So, was Snyder up to the job? Yes and no, would be the easy answer. There are things that Snyder gets as right as he possibly could, but there are times when he drops the ball completely.<br /><br />Gripes first then. The casting could have been better; Malin Akerman is way too lightweight to play a character as scarred and complex as Laurie Juspeczyk/Silk Spectre II. Spectre's an emotional fuck-up in the comic with mummy and daddy issues, who seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown at any point where she's not cathartically kicking arse, vigilante-style. Akerman looks pretty perfect but there's no depth at any point, which leads to Spectre coming off a bit prissy and hard to root for.<br /><br />Matthew Goode does the best with what he's given as Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias but I don't think Snyder and screenwriters, David Hayter and Alex Tse really got what makes Veidt such a compelling character in the comic. Not to be too spoilery but Veidt has to be charismatic and altruistic from the get-go to make the ending work, but he was pretty much a sneering prick from start to finish. That said, the reading of Ozymandias serviced the film pretty well.<br /><br />Snyder fluffs the action occasionally too. His tendency to be a little heavy-handed and overly-stylised means that some of the set-pieces lose a bit of the comic's brutal realism. Specifically, a scene where Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson) and Silk Spectre II beat a gang of muggers to death in an alley. In the comic, they're obviously shaken by the reawakening of their bloodlust, but here it's exacted so nonchalantly that it just falls flat.<br /><br />Snyder's edit function is a little off too. There are things excised from the comic that would have worked so brilliantly on the big screen (Rorschach systematically turning a happy-go-lucky psychoanalyst into a suicidal depressive; the obvious money shot that would have been New York strewn with corpses) and conversely, Snyder needlessly keeps other things in that just don't make sense (without the genetic engineering angle, Bubastis' inclusion is pointless; dropping Ozymandias' punchline from the bullet catching scene).<br /><br />However, Snyder should be praised from the heavens for what he's done here. This is, essentially, <span style="font-style: italic;">Watchmen</span> on film. He's a little too faithful to the source material perhaps and this means that those going in without any foreknowledge may have to work a little to follow it and invest in the characters emotionally. There's an argument that, dramatically, Snyder's a hack but due to his love of the comic, a lot of its heart makes its way to the screen. Even the tweaked ending has pretty much the same outcome as that of the comic.<br /><br />During the film's torturous development, there've been so many disrespectful story changes mooted (an ending where Ozymandias and Dr Manhattan die for example) and supposed casting gaffes (Arnie as Manhattan <shudder>) that the fact Snyder has made something so close to the comic is nothing short of miraculous. Perhaps he was the right man at the right time, having made megabucks with his last film, also a comic adaptation and, while its tempting to wonder what kind of film a better director with just as much freedom and fanboy love for the material (Chris Nolan, maybe, or Paul Greengrass) would have made, let's just praise the movie gods for the film we now have.<br /><br />Let's just have a look at what Snyder hits out of the park. Jackie Earle Haley is perfect as Rorschach, nailing the human side of this unremitting psychopath with unerring precision and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian and Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl II both deserve tons of praise also, the former being the right combination of venality and charm, whilst the latter pinpoints the nerdish shyness of Dan Dreiberg and the derring-do of his alter ego brilliantly. Billy Crudup is also fantastic as Dr Manhattan, the Watchmen's only real superman, perfectly essaying the big blue guy's detachment and aloofness, distracting blue cock aside.<br /><br />A lot of internet whining has been directed at the soundtrack choices and while some of them are jarringly anomalous - 'Sound Of Silence' during The Comedian's funeral - most of the time, they're in keeping with the comic's merciless skewering of pop cultural mores and, in the main, are meant to raise laughs.<br /><br />Even the outrageous sex scene between Nite Owl and Silk Spectre feels about right. The choice of song - Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah - is a bit odd, but it makes sense that these two, who are vulnerable as Dan and Laurie should fuck like tigers when indulging their alter egos. Nite Owl and Silk Spectre are a way for Dan and Laurie to act out their extremest desires after all, so their sex should be porny and athletic. I'm just saying what you're all thinking!<br /><br />The nerds will carp and bitch and moan til the cows come home, but fuck it, Snyder has made quite possibly the best <span style="font-style: italic;">Watchmen</span> film that any of us could dream of. It has its faults, but hell, just think how much worse it could have been.</shudder>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-89174923993842973672008-08-28T03:57:00.000-07:002008-08-28T06:31:22.087-07:00Film Review: The Promotion<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5b6UQBZF3kjALpPO6481n4FZ4HT-AQ8RADnbVWVsvtbSTec8CL_gz6HfZDXT5qkTpi1Eu468q_hTXJIG0cz8-k093CrcxTVJLMOlyOaOIvgmm3JMV6H6dIDlKrZSCnW3OL5xeNVI4w/s1600-h/2008_the_promotion_002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239524263920735042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5b6UQBZF3kjALpPO6481n4FZ4HT-AQ8RADnbVWVsvtbSTec8CL_gz6HfZDXT5qkTpi1Eu468q_hTXJIG0cz8-k093CrcxTVJLMOlyOaOIvgmm3JMV6H6dIDlKrZSCnW3OL5xeNVI4w/s320/2008_the_promotion_002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />As it stands, seasoned writer, Steve Conrad's (<em>The Weather Man, The Pursuit Of Happyness</em>) directorial debut, <em>The Promotion</em> doesn't have a UK release date. Due to poor Stateside business and <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/promotion?q=the%20promotion">reviews that ranged from lukewarm to savage</a>, it looks unlikely to see British cinemas. If that is the case, then <em>The Promotion </em>will be one of the best straight-to-DVD films of recent years.<br /><br />A low-key tragi-comedy centering around an escalating tussle for the titular leg-up between two borderline-desperate schlubs, <em>The Promotion </em>recalls the works of Wes Anderson and Alexander Payne, only with more heart than the former and less misanthropy than the latter. Doug (Seann William Scott) is an assistant manager at K-Mart-alike, Donaldson's, an unrewarding job made all the more frustrating by his lackadaisical manager, Scott (Fred Armisen), strange customers (one of whom takes to tormenting Doug with frequent bitch-slap bouts) and the youth gang problem in the parking lot which leads to terrorised customers filing less-than-positive feedback cards that are kicked upstairs for the board members to read. Then Doug hears about a new Donaldson's opening across town and spurred on by his boss' claim that he'd be a "shoo-in", he decides to apply for the manager's job. Cue recovering drug addict/alcoholic, former-biker and all-round nice guy, Richard (John C. Reilly) from a branch of a sister-store in Canada to vie for the same job, making Doug's position as shoo-in increasingly precarious.<br /><br />What develops is an often painfully funny, frequently childish game of one-upmanship with the upper hand constantly switching between Doug and Richard, occasionally within the same scene. Writer-director, Conrad never plays it for easy laughs although there are some pretty big chuckles here. Reilly, in arguably his best comedic role to date, is the source of most of them - the scene where he has to explain why he neglected to take down a pun-based poster about "cutting the cheese" hung at the delicatessen counter to board chairman, Mitch (Gil Bellows), is a masterclass in the comedy of embarrasment and awkwardness, with Reilly wringing more mirth out of a series of variations on the same explanation, complete with facial expressions that barely conceal the crying, confused child behind his eyes, than any number of fart gags would.<br /><br />Scott plays against type as a man struggling vainly to coax some dignity out of his glorified McJob, never once resorting to the mugging and wise-cracking we expect of his roles. This is one of <em>The Promotion</em>'s problems; although we're supposed to (I think), we never totally get behind Doug as a protagonist until the final reel (some may even find it difficult then) and by that point, we're too busy rooting for the far more flawed and likeable Richard to even care. Doug comes over as, at best, an impotent man-boy and at worst a petulant jerk and it's apparent that Scott was too busy trying to play it subtle to remember to inject any pathos into the role and the Doug's last act redemption seems too little, too late. I guess that ties in with <em>The Promotion</em>'s message that being the better man comes not from what you do, but the way you do it (Fun Boy Three were right all along), but you can't help but occasionally pine for a little bit of Stifler mixed in with the Joe Schmo routine.<br /><br /><em>The Promotion</em> isn't perfect. Conrad doesn't give the very able female support (Jenna Fischer and Lili Taylor play Doug and Richard's respective wives) much to chew on at all, turning two talented actresses into emotional ciphers. Also, the tone is pretty uneven, wavering from broad comedy (the bitch-slapping Teddy Grahams customer again; a parking-lot girlfight between Doug and Richard) to corporate satire (lacking the bite of, say, <em>Office Space</em>) to squirmy schadenfreude (the company retreat concentration skills game) and Conrad sometimes mistakes quirk for realism, giving his characters odd traits that you want to be explained away by a funny reveal, only the punchlines never come - I was waiting for Lili Taylor's terrible Scottish accent to be the butt of a joke at some point, but alas, I guess the girl was giving it her best Highland brogue after all.<br /><br />In the end though, the pluses outweigh the minuses, largely thanks to Reilly's pitch-perfect, heartbreaking performance (leading to two contenders for the best funny/sad scene of the year involving Richard breaking down in tears after small talk with a Down's Syndrome colleague and tap-dancing alone in the store after closing) and some nifty scene-stealing from <em>Saturday Night Live</em> regular, Armisen (worth whatever he was paid for the hot coals scene alone) and Bobby Cannavale as a smarmy doctor. Steve Conrad will make better films, but he'd have to go a way to writing a better, more textured character than Richard Wehlner.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-61756612834219009952007-10-06T11:03:00.000-07:002007-10-06T14:12:41.580-07:00Live every week like it's Shark Week.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_9qDLhxsfB4WX0ySeThdIz6vXJtwMX1s48ycgAEDglLtY3dXzt9Na742nlmQffYX7Ejgs4lGbtXPN9fDKOPsB8Qt7LbSVt0BWwLeJS742Zpt61glznZsuH85G7Pkv6yrv1uIk-kweg/s1600-h/30rock.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_9qDLhxsfB4WX0ySeThdIz6vXJtwMX1s48ycgAEDglLtY3dXzt9Na742nlmQffYX7Ejgs4lGbtXPN9fDKOPsB8Qt7LbSVt0BWwLeJS742Zpt61glznZsuH85G7Pkv6yrv1uIk-kweg/s320/30rock.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118310039014376066" border="0" /></a><br />There are two new (to us Brits at least) American comedies starting their runs on Five this coming Thursday (11th October), <span style="font-style: italic;">Californication</span>, starring David Duchovny as a serial-shagger in Hollywood and <span style="font-style: italic;">30 Rock</span>, which details the goings on behind the scenes of a fictional TV comedy sketch show. I haven't seen the former, but it sounds terrible. I have no interest in seeing Duchovny (fine actor though he can be) fuck his way through a succession of starlets week after week. That kind of show would have to be, like, <span style="font-style: italic;">Seinfeld</span>-funny for me to even give it a second look and notices from the states, whilst reservedly favourable, suggest that it ain't no <span style="font-style: italic;">Seinfeld</span>. The latter, however, I have seen and it's quite possibly the funniest network sitcom since, ooh, <span style="font-style: italic;">Arrested Development</span>.<br /><br />Created by and starring former <span style="font-style: italic;">Saturday Night Live </span>regular, Tina Fey, the show obviously draws on her experiences on that show but goes off on a whole 'nother, pleasingly surreal tangent. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the headstrong, yet repeatedly put-upon creator of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Girlie Show</span> (<span style="font-style: italic;">30 Rock</span>'s show-within-a-show), who is quickly established as a highly-relatable New York singleton and career woman. She's smart, funny and unconventionally sexy, which obviously means that her love life swings between disastrous and non-existent.<br /><br />If that all sounds a bit rote, well, I guess it kind of is, but the strength of the show is that, even though later episodes do focus on this, it never relies on Lemon's personal life as a plot device crutch. What makes <span style="font-style: italic;">30 Rock</span> a real winner is in its supporting cast. In the first episode, Lemon finds out she has a new boss, "non-genius" Jack Donaghy (the excellent Alec Baldwin), who has no background in television but doesn't let that be a bridge to him meddling as much as he can. Meddling that begins when he decides that the show needs a "third heat", aka troubled (read insane) Hollywood star, Tracy Jordan (the equally-excellent Tracy Morgan, ostensibly playing himself).<br /><br />Rounding out the cast are Jane Krakowski (<span style="font-style: italic;">Ally McBeal</span>) as <span style="font-style: italic;">The Girlie Show</span>'s neurotic, insecure, ever-so-slightly dim star, Jenna Maroney, Jack McBrayer (<span style="font-style: italic;">Talladega Nights</span>) as irrepressibly nice, naive NBC page, Kenneth, Scott Adsitt (<span style="font-style: italic;">Moral Orel</span>) as producer/perennial straight man, Pete and Judah Friedlander (<span style="font-style: italic;">American Splendor</span>) as slobby, sexist writer, Frank.<br /><br />The show doesn't exactly hit the ground running, but it hits a frequently hilarious stride about three episodes in. Baldwin gets most of the best lines as the ever-professional, slightly odd Donaghy and the scenes in which he verbally spars with Fey are the show's strongest. Baldwin has a too-often-untapped flair for screwball comedy which he flaunts liberally here. Always in a tux after 6pm, his life micro-managed to OCD levels, he plays it like Cary Grant in <span style="font-style: italic;">His Girl Friday</span>, crossed with Ed Asner in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Mary Tyler Moore Show</span>. Working with a character that could have easily been a cipher, Baldwin delivers every line with unbelieveable relish. He's a revelation but he isn't <span style="font-style: italic;">30 Rock</span>'s only one.<br /><br />Tracy Morgan is winningly bananas as himself/Tracy Jordan. His character seems to exist on his own plane from the rest of the cast, which suits the character well and Morgan has as much fun with it as he can, without giving the show an uneven edge. Whether it's trying to stab Conan O'Brien, stealing a boat or drawing a tattoo on his face with a Sharpie pen, Morgan is repeatedly watchable and hilarious.<br /><br />Also great is Jack McBrayer, a real star in the making. As is Adsitt, Krakowski, Friedlander, Dean Winters as Liz' on-off boyfriend, Dennis, Chris Parnell as Tracy's whacked-out doctor, Dr Spaceman (pronounced Spa-che-men), the list goes on.<br /><br />The <span style="font-style: italic;">Arrested Development</span> comparison isn't a wild one. <span style="font-style: italic;">30 Rock</span> shares that show's freewheeling, zany, machine-gun rapid gag count and poor ratings/hot critical reception combination. It's probably as doomed as that show too, but here's to <span style="font-style: italic;">30 Rock</span> burning bright for as long as it's allowed to. Just watch it, alright?<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">30 Rock</span> debuts on Five, Thursday 11th October at 10.45pm.<br /><br />Coming soon: my thoughts on <span style="font-style: italic;">Flight Of The Conchords</span> and the new series of <span style="font-style: italic;">Prison Break</span>.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-56836615012469758312007-07-21T04:59:00.000-07:002007-07-21T05:08:53.692-07:00"The king stay the king".<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzsPFuw1wId_nQyDaI3cDZq4VMiiqTq8HqAHXIhKZM26mfy8yDYQZjcGKa_IZjkzymURAa44Ct1INOMBe6QbDZjSIdmBIuOBwTSUw5jXkC3DIPWy-4TiXKm_dQgNeSqtETI8oHiFnbhA/s1600-h/ep03_dangelo_bodie_wallace.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzsPFuw1wId_nQyDaI3cDZq4VMiiqTq8HqAHXIhKZM26mfy8yDYQZjcGKa_IZjkzymURAa44Ct1INOMBe6QbDZjSIdmBIuOBwTSUw5jXkC3DIPWy-4TiXKm_dQgNeSqtETI8oHiFnbhA/s320/ep03_dangelo_bodie_wallace.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089619300154539698" border="0" /></a><br />Just a note to let you know that FX are screening <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span>, in its entirety from the first episode, starting on Monday 23rd July (10pm). You have absolutely no excuse not to watch it now. Regular readers will know how much I love it - a love that will become more apparent once I start reviewing each episode pretty soon (seriously, I'm going to do it!) - so I don't need to go on about it here.<br /><br />If you don't want to wait until Monday, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/thewire">The Guardian have the first episode streaming right now</a> for your viewing pleasure. Just watch it alright?<br /><br />JMxJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-19017352704280074182007-07-02T07:58:00.001-07:002007-07-02T12:35:20.621-07:00TVOD (2.7.07.)Your sometimes-weekly guide to what's worth gawping at on the small screen is back. So what <span style="font-style: italic;">is </span>worth gawping at? Let's take a look, shall we?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUEOvKJEGhN0_xSGyTH_QvyDsOvHZGNCdOXWaFxYQbIPPhxF1nBGSFMKzG89o_3E2nkIPIL8U3HoNMQD5FXkNXWAZ1zaZDYGjotP69CKyTob_BKBLSKUTbEPjwdUgAkat-eUANKPjKQ/s1600-h/Dexter_cast.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUEOvKJEGhN0_xSGyTH_QvyDsOvHZGNCdOXWaFxYQbIPPhxF1nBGSFMKzG89o_3E2nkIPIL8U3HoNMQD5FXkNXWAZ1zaZDYGjotP69CKyTob_BKBLSKUTbEPjwdUgAkat-eUANKPjKQ/s320/Dexter_cast.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082614212462394434" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MONDAY: </span>As always on a Monday, you have <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> (10pm, Sci-Fi). Last week's was another excellent episode, this time flashing-forward into the future to give us a glimpse of what is to become of our cast (Peter's hooked up with Niki/Jessica! Hiro's lost his sense of fun! (gasp) Nathan's really Sylar!), showing us that it probably isn't going to be a happy ending. This show just keeps getting better and while I've heard murmurs from the States about the disappointing season finale, I'm willing to keep an open mind in the hope that the Yanks are wrong.<br /><br />Also tonight, More4 are showing the brilliant doc, <span style="font-style: italic;">End Of The Century: The Story Of The Ramones</span> (10.30pm). This one actually made me cry, but I'm a sentimental fool when it comes to music, especially the tragic stories of Johnny, Dee Dee and Joey, all of whom are interviewed here but are now sadly not with us anymore. Watch it or else.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TUESDAY: </span>The big draw tonight, for me at least and, well, anyone else who likes their comedy with a bit of bite and bile thrown in for good measure is <span style="font-style: italic;">The Thick Of It: Spinners And Losers</span> (9pm, BBC4). After the exceptional Christmas special in which the PM resigned and Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi, excellent as ever) seemed to be losing his vice-like grip on parliamentary machinations, the focus this time around is on who is to take over at Number 10 and, more importantly of course, who's side he/she will be on. Expect lots of dazzlingly inventive swearing plenty of allusions to our own real-life government.<br /><br />Secondly, I'd like to highlight just how deplorable Gillian McKeith's new programme is. <span style="font-style: italic;">3 Fat Brides, 1 Thin Dress</span> (8pm, Channel 4) is another excuse for the fish-lipped harridan to harangue people into losing weight, but this time there's the added carrot of winning a beautiful wedding dress, should they be able to get into it by the day of their nuptials. Now, I don't think I need to point out that this kind of crash dieting is both dangerous and super-stressful, anyone can see that, but this evil bitch, McKeith, supposedly a qualified dietician, is making a fortune out of making people miserable. Fine, if they lose the weight in the end, then it can only be beneficial to that person, but turning it into a competition is just mean-spirited and grotesque. As for the people out there who find this kind of filmed torture 'entertaining', well then I know a guy who sells bestiality snuff films out of the back of his car that you could probably get your rocks off to as well.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WEDNESDAY: </span>Tonight, another show that just keeps getting better, not that anyone watches it, continues its run. <span style="font-style: italic;">Friday Night Lights </span>(8pm, ITV4) hit a graceful high note the other week with Smash (Gaius Charles) leading a strike with the team's other black players after Offensive (in more ways than one) Coach Mac MacGill's ill-advised comments about the differences between the Panthers' white players and black players. The way the story dovetailed after a highly-charged play-off game was riveting, tense and massively satisfying. For a drama that deals in universal themes to have not descended into soapy melodrama even once yet is astonishing. Long may it continue to surprise and break your heart week-after-week.<br /><br />Damon Albarn's on <span style="font-style: italic;">Imagine</span> tonight (10.40pm, BBC1), no doubt giving himself a pat on the back for his new venture, the circus-opera, <span style="font-style: italic;">Monkey: Journey To The West</span>. I don't think I'll be watching this one as I can't stand the pompous, self-aggrandising prick but I do believe there are a lot of people out there who disagree.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">THURSDAY: </span>Not much on tonight really, other than <span style="font-style: italic;">My Name Is Earl</span> (10pm, Channel 4), in which Earl (Jason Lee) tries to find a cat he once stole. Should be good-natured fun.<br /><br />Over on Sky One, there's the return of the camper-than-a-row-of-tents, glitz and glam comedy-thriller-drama serial, <span style="font-style: italic;">Las Vegas</span> (9pm). Word is that this series is the last chance we'll get to see Jimmy Caan acting all stoical (or constipated) as President Of Operations, Ed Deline and Nikki Cox' marvellous breasts, ahem, I mean acting talents as buxom and flirty Mary Connell. Don't worry though as it's been picked up for another season at least with Tom Selleck taking over the Caan-shaped void and eye candy, for the ladies at least, and professional boyfriend of Fergie from Black Eyed Peas (how do I know this crap?), Josh Duhamel will continue struggling to act his way out of a wet paper bag for our enjoyment.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FRIDAY: </span>If you didn't get your fill of music festivals with Glastonbury last week, then you can look forward to BBC3's coverage of T In The Park tonight from 7pm. From what I can gather, only the main stage is open today, so there's sets from Bloc Party, Lily Allen, The Coral and Arctic Monkeys tonight. Basically everyone who's at every other festival then? Great.<br /><br />Elsewhere, Marcus Brigstocke (way too over-exposed for my liking these days) filmed something at Glastonbury in his Giles Wemmbley-Hogg old-Etonian guise and they're showing it on BBC4 at 10pm. Also, Sean Lock does his best to save the increasingly unfunny <span style="font-style: italic;">8 Out Of 10 Cats</span> on Channel 4 at 9.30pm. Lock's always worth a chuckle or three but Jason Manford hasn't brought anything new to the table in place of Dave Spikey at all. They should have been a bit adventurous and asked Reginald D. Hunter or Rich Hall or Phil Nichol to take his place, not this Peter Kay clone.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SATURDAY: </span>Well, today it's the big Live Earth gig from Wembley, New York, Sydney, Rio, Johannesburg, Hamburg, Tokyo and Shanghai and it's being shown on BBC1 from 5.30pm. It's for a worthy cause, saving the planet and all, but you just know that it's going to be a bit shit. It'll be interesting to see what the Beastie Boys do though, I guess.<br /><br />On T In The Park tonight, there's sets from The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Babyshambles, Razorlight and, oh you can probably guess the rest. It's on from 7 again on BBC3.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SUNDAY: </span>After trailing it since late last year, FX finally get around to showing <span style="font-style: italic;">Dexter</span> (9pm), the first post-<span style="font-style: italic;">Six Feet Under</span> vehicle for Michael C. Hall. In it, he plays Dexter Morgan, a forensic blood splatter analyst who also happens to be a serial killer. He only kills bad-'uns, mind, so we'll be rooting for him like we did the Krays in the 60s. Seriously though, this was one of the most critically-acclaimed new series in America last year and it's certainly one that I've been looking forward to. With a concept like that, it can't possibly fail.<br /><br />Also tonight, there's more sex, swords and sandals in <span style="font-style: italic;">Rome</span> (9pm, BBC2) and T In The Park has footage of Snow Patrol, Scissor Sisters, The Fratell-zzzz..... Sorry, dozed off there for a minute.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TV ON THE INTERNET<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">John From Cincinnati</span> is the brand new HBO show from David Milch (<span style="font-style: italic;">NYPD Blue</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Deadwood</span>) and it's fantastic. See lots of promos and stuff about it <a href="http://youtube.com/results?search_query=john+from+cincinnati&search=">here</a> and get excited. I'll be writing something about it myself very soon.<br /><br />Take a look at how you perform at a festival by watching <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=LDTTB2p-OoI&mode=related&search=">Iggy and The Stooges get loads of people up on stage during 'Real Cool Time' at Glastonbury last week</a>.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></span><br />And watch him freak out the squares on <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=_IT0L-f_4Nk"><span style="font-style: italic;">Tonight With Jonathon Ross</span> too</a>.<br /><br />That's all folks!<br /><br />JMxJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-57650517227530760742007-06-18T06:09:00.001-07:002007-06-18T08:20:56.162-07:00TVOD (18.6.07.)Haven't done one of these for a while. Let's see if I remember how to do it...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgup8fMa-HSS10FZkSGEK2D67hXR0JR0iStx7YHATZMzUMyqAfVN2Ad1QkMWA3EAk4hyc-lSq1iX6shD307s_Qt9DwwWq971lIF65rcQZ3uwGgNZDiC4VkEeQnjoyrHdJaZQIWud9G9dg/s1600-h/blackflag.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgup8fMa-HSS10FZkSGEK2D67hXR0JR0iStx7YHATZMzUMyqAfVN2Ad1QkMWA3EAk4hyc-lSq1iX6shD307s_Qt9DwwWq971lIF65rcQZ3uwGgNZDiC4VkEeQnjoyrHdJaZQIWud9G9dg/s320/blackflag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5077390836751615442" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MONDAY: </span>Well, now that Five have a <span style="font-style: italic;">Prison Break</span>-sized hole in their schedules (plugged tonight at least by none other than Steven Seagal, with the showing of <span style="font-style: italic;">Out Of Reach</span> at 10pm. Apparently, he goes toe-to-toe with a human trafficking network in this one. My money's on Seagal), we can all start watching <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> at 10, instead of watching it on Sci-Fi's time-lapse channel an hour later. Tonight's episode will show us the outcome of Peter's (Milo Ventimiglia) run-in with Sylar (Zachary Quinto, evil incarnate with a monobrow), that we already know turns quickly in Peter's favour due to last week's "Next week on <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span>" montage.<br /><br />Peter is rapidly becoming my favourite character which is in distinct contrast with <a href="http://no-flipping.blogspot.com/2007/03/save-cheerleader-save-world.html">my original thoughts on him</a>. Ventimiglia has somehow turned Peter from mopey wet lettuce to troubled dark avenger in just a few episodes, with a little help from jobbing star turn, Chris Eccleston. It's just another string to the bow of an increasingly impressive mainstream television series that refuses to let up in the action and intrigue stakes but never feels like its straining the viewer's capacity for investing in the characters. Basically, it's done everything that <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span> didn't do in the first series. Outside of <span style="font-style: italic;">Battlestar Galactica</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> is easily the most consistently entertaining and engaging television series that the American networks have to offer.<br /><br />Elsewhere tonight, ITV have another new homegrown drama serial starting in the form of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Time Of Your Life</span> (9pm). This one looks like it might be a little different from the rest, coming as it does from the creator of <span style="font-style: italic;">Teachers</span> and imbued with an impressive cast (Geraldine James, Robert Pugh, Olivia Colman and rising star, Jemima Rooper among them). The story even looks interesting for once (girl wakes up from eighteen year coma, having missed out on everything past her school leaving do). It's a six-parter, so you know that ITV, the most attention-deficient of all TV channels, have a lot of faith in it. Just don't expect it to be mind-blowing, although I don't think anyone expects that of ITV anymore.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TUESDAY: </span>Why, oh why, oh why have Sky One given that smug twat from the last series of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Apprentice</span>, Syed Ahmed, his own fucking television programme?! It shouldn't beggar belief as much as it does from the channel who have been shoving <span style="font-style: italic;">Pirate</span> fucking <span style="font-style: italic;">Master</span> down our throats for the past three weeks, but it makes you wonder if the likes of <span style="font-style: italic;">Syed Ahmed - Hot Air? </span>(10pm) is really the type of programming they should be spending our subscription fees on. In the show, the unjustifiably self-assured oily prick is trying to sell his idea for a 'body drier', which he hopes will make towels a thing of the past, to businessmen like Duncan Bannatyne (a man who I like, yet I have no idea why). Any idiot can see that this is yet another instance of someone trying to make money by solving a problem that doesn't exist (what <span style="font-style: italic;">is </span>the problem with towels, exactly, Mr Ahmed?), but it's just going to be either an exercise in <span style="font-style: italic;">schadenfreude</span> or an attempt to make this annoying cunt more likeable in the eyes of the British public. I'm willing to bet that it fails on both counts.<br /><br />Seeing as though ITV have already ripped off <span style="font-style: italic;">Dragon's Den</span> with the surprisingly watchable, yet for all the wrong reasons, <span style="font-style: italic;">Fortune: The Million Pound Giveaway</span>, they have now decided to pick up some residuals from <span style="font-style: italic;">Apprentice</span> fans now that that series has finished, with <span style="font-style: italic;">Tycoon </span>(9pm). <span style="font-style: italic;">Dragon's Den</span> mainstay, Peter Jones (there must be some other willing entrepreneurs who haven't been all over television already) has taken it upon himself - read: been commissioned by ITV - to help six small business ventures get off the ground. Cue knuckle-gnawing excrutiation as each of them prove that a 2:1 in Business Studies prepares you for life in the big wide world just about as much as a C in R.E. at GCSE level does, no doubt.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WEDNESDAY: </span>A good night to stay in tonight, all told, with the premiere of one hot new US drama and the return to our screens of another. First up, <span style="font-style: italic;">Rome</span> is back (9pm, BBC2) for the second and, sadly, final season. In its first run, the sword and sandals soap managed to strike a winning balance between histrionic melodrama and blood-pumping, yet intelligent, thrills and reports from the States suggest that this is the case second time around too. The first episode is sure to deal with the fallout from Julius Caesar's assassination and Vorenus' (Kevin McKidd) wife, Niobe offing herself in dramatic fashion. Ray Stevenson's Titus Pullo was the standout from the first season for me, so here's hoping that he survives the incessant backstabbing (both literally and metaphorically) that this absorbing drama has to offer.<br /><br />Channel 4 are running the ABC hit show, <span style="font-style: italic;">Brothers And Sisters</span> from tonight (8.30pm, with the second episode at 10pm and the third following at 11pm on E4), which looks to me to be a watered-down <span style="font-style: italic;">Six Feet Under</span>. The similarities couldn't be more glaring on first look with the first post-<span style="font-style: italic;">SFU</span> TV job for Rachael Griffiths, the series' family-with-skeletons-in-every-closet focus and the first episode death of the patriarch (Tom Skerritt) leading to hitherto-buried secrets being unearthed. Here's hoping that the similarities are merely superficial as the cast deserves better than to be involved in a second-rate knock-off. Sally Field, Calista Flockhart, Ron Rifkin, Balthazar Getty and the aforementioned Griffiths and Skerritt have all proved themselves to be more than capable actors in the past so fingers crossed that <span style="font-style: italic;">Brothers And Sisters </span>delivers on the promise of its healthy ensemble.<br /><br />Also tonight, there's <span style="font-style: italic;">Friday Night Lights</span> (8pm, ITV4), the best programme on television that nobody watches. ITV don't help matters though, with its one showing per week policy. To be honest, if you started watching it now, you'd probably just be perplexed as to why everyone who's seen it raves about it so. Wait for the DVDs, should they ever make an appearance.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">THURSDAY: </span>Burt Reynolds guest stars in <span style="font-style: italic;">My Name Is Earl</span> (10pm, Channel 4) tonight, obviously trying to prove that he isn't the humourless arse he is often painted to be. Jason Lee is obviously a big fan, seeing as though he tries to sneak a Reynolds reference into nearly every film he's in ("How many times do you get to see Smokey fuck The Bandit?" - <span style="font-style: italic;">Mallrats</span>). The only question is, is Burt a closet scientologist? <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/features/story/0,,2097544,00.html">This article</a>, from last week's Guardian Guide suggests that Scientology doctrines run through the heart of the show, leading to an all-too-clear jobs for the boys scenario (Lee, Ethan Suplee, show creator, Greg Garcia and previous guest stars, Giovanni Ribisi and Juliette Lewis are all known devotees of the writings of L. Ron Hubbard). It's enough to make you reassess your feelings about the show but, hey, funny's funny whether you believe that you're an immortal alien or not.<br /><br />Other than that, there's not a lot on tonight. Keith Allen has his own Louis Theroux-style documentary on Channel 4. <span style="font-style: italic;">Keith Allen Will Burn In Hell</span> (10.30pm) has the Groucho Club emeritus travelling to Westboro Baptist Church, Kansas, in order to meet those foul god-botherers who picket the funerals of dead soldiers with "God Hates Fags" placards. Looks interesting at least.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FRIDAY: </span>If you're not actually going, then BBC is the only place to watch Glastonbury (8pm and 11pm, BBC2, with blanket coverage from 7 'til 11 on BBC3). The usual suspects of Phill Jupitus, Jo Whiley, Lauren Laverne and Mark Radcliffe all sit there on hay bales, wearing wellies you know will never get dirty (in the case of Whiley at least anyway) and looking smugger than all-get-out that they're there and you aren't. 'Highlights' tonight look set to include Arctic Monkeys, Amy Winehouse, Kasabian, Bjork, Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Rufus Wainwright, Super Furry Animals, The Magic Numbers, The Coral and The Fucking Fratellis. Actually, I'm glad I'm not going now.<br /><br />Have I mentioned how good [adult swim] (from Midnight, Bravo) has been lately? After a few months' lull where there wasn't any new programming at all, they've gone nuts and have been treating us to <span style="font-style: italic;">Afro Samurai</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Assy McGee</span> and the patchy-but-occasionally-brilliant, <span style="font-style: italic;">Modern Toss</span> (previously shown on Channel 4). We've also been getting brand new episodes of <span style="font-style: italic;">Robot Chicken</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Venture Bros.</span> (both on tonight), <span style="font-style: italic;">Aqua Teen Hunger Force</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Tom Goes To The Mayor</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Squidbillies</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">12oz. Mouse</span> (Monday and Tuesday). By far my favourite of the new shows has to be <span style="font-style: italic;">Assy McGee</span> (1am), the adventures of a rogue, trigger happy American cop who also happens to be just an arse on legs. A lot funnier than that sounds, <span style="font-style: italic;">Assy McGee</span> has a lot of fun at the expense of the conventions of cop shows and movies (<span style="font-style: italic;">NYPD Blue</span>'s Sipowicz and <span style="font-style: italic;">Dirty </span>Harry Callaghan are clear inspirations) and is just plain, laugh-out-loud hilarious. Anyone with any interest in smart, funny animation needs to watch this.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SATURDAY: </span>The sixth instalment of BBC2's outstanding documentary series, <span style="font-style: italic;">Seven Ages Of Rock</span> (9.30pm) airs tonight with a look at the US alternative scene of the 80s and 90s. While it's reductive to look at such an expansive movement in just an hour, the spotlit bands are the most obviously influential ones. Black Flag, R.E.M., Pixies and Nirvana are all under the microscope tonight, so expect insightful musings from the likes of Henry Rollins (always an effusive, entertaining talker), Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Frank Black, Kim Deal, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic and an impeccable, familiar soundtrack. Wouldn't kill them to talk to Sonic Youth and Husker Du too, but we'll see.<br /><br />Earlier on BBC2, there's a shortened <span style="font-style: italic;">The Culture Show </span>(8pm), which sees the culmination of their search for Britain's most iconic film locations, via the conduit of a mock road movie starring the ubiquitous (this weekend anyway) Lauren Laverne and Mark Kermode. Should be fun. Can't get enough of that chirpy, loveable Mackem? Then, Laverne is back on our screens for more Glasto coverage (4.45pm and 10.30pm on BBC2, with the usual stuff on BBC3 and BBC4), with music from The Killers, Lily Allen, The Stooges, Editors, Paul Weller, Maximo Park, Klaxons, Babyshambles, The Good, The Bad & The Queen and The Fucking Kooks. Seriously, you wouldn't want to get trench foot for that shower now, would you?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>SUNDAY: </span>There's yet another new episode of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Simpsons</span> (6.30pm, Sky One), with Bart getting hitched to Natalie Portman. Last week's newie was killer, so here's hoping that the wacky premise of tonight's throws up some decent laughs along the way, which is all you can really hope for from a show that's ran for over 400 episodes now.<br /><br />Glasto today (5.15pm and 10.30pm, BBC2, with, y'know, shitloads on 3 and 4) promises sets from the likes of The Who, The Chemical Brothers, Kaiser Fucking Chiefs, Manic Street Preachers, Dame Shirley Bassey (honest!), The Go! Team, The Fucking View, The Rakes, Modest Mouse, James Fucking Morrison and Mi-fucking-ka. Pilton seems like a cold, dead place to me this weekend.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TV ON THE INTERNET<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span></span><a href="http://www.hbo.com/conchords/?ntrack_para1=leftnav_category0_show8">Binary solo!</a> Formerly of BBC Radio 4, Flight Of The Conchords, New Zealand's premier digi-folk duo now have their own TV show on HBO in the States. Ingeniously entitled, <span style="font-style: italic;">Flight Of The Conchords</span>, it follows the guys trying to 'make it' in New York. Jimmy Carr isn't in it anymore but Rob Brydon still is and you can watch the first episode online right now. It's really funny, although don't look out for Brydon as he doesn't come into it until later. Do, however, look out for a very funny cameo from upcoming NY comic, Eugene Mirman.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/sevenages/programmes/left-of-the-dial/">"We went for that like thirsty people in the desert seeing a Coke machine"</a>. Watch clips from this week's <span style="font-style: italic;">Seven Ages Of Rock </span>online. Rollins is always worth listening to, but I was surprised at how nice Kim Deal came over as.<br /><br /><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=8kIOQXbjnt4&mode=related&search=">"I'm going... to shoot you"</a>. Watch a full episode of <span style="font-style: italic;">Assy McGee</span> while you can.<br /><br />Think that went alright,<br /><br />JMx<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-14044049026682475912007-06-09T10:34:00.000-07:002007-06-09T11:49:00.573-07:00Review: Hostel: Part IIOkay, I know that this is primarily a TV blog, but no matter what the size of the screen, we don't discriminate. With that in mind, here is a review of <a href="http://www.hostel2.com/">Hostel: Part II</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmoE8EIusSS5tvIBfunwvrd3ImfuIi84V4tFvZlEiJg7mMYdVj6URbb2j8PyqjPv-a-JQ7kutSfdmIKIcuh6JTKNEtcmUE4-FZ46N9sOJvXQS-dArfsXtXT2_YLBzl8jlQYO56Gy-dg/s1600-h/Hostel2poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmoE8EIusSS5tvIBfunwvrd3ImfuIi84V4tFvZlEiJg7mMYdVj6URbb2j8PyqjPv-a-JQ7kutSfdmIKIcuh6JTKNEtcmUE4-FZ46N9sOJvXQS-dArfsXtXT2_YLBzl8jlQYO56Gy-dg/s320/Hostel2poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074121524825769394" border="0" /></a><br />Eli Roth, the director of both Hostel films, is a sick fuck. The inside of his mind would surely be a nightmarish place to reside. While science does not yet permit us to view just what goes on in that diseased brain of his, his films afford us a peek at his most nihilistic, basest desires and fantasies and it is not a pretty place at all.<br /><br />With hindsight, Roth's feature debut, 2003's Cabin Fever seems tame now, despite the lashings of outlandish gore on display in the flesh-eating virus splatterfest. The Hostel films are where Roth has really cut loose with the head-wrong "torture porn" stylings, but to be honest, the commercial success of the original Hostel says more about the audience who lap up every slash of a tendon, every eyeball being cut out than it does about Roth himself.<br /><br />I didn't enjoy (frankly, who could have?) the first Hostel film one bit. I found it to be a soulless, relentless nasty, joyless piece of snuff and this isn't because I'm some reactionary, Daily Mail-reading, ban this sick filth merchant. On the contrary, I like my gore, but the numbing effect of the bloodletting (inventive though some of it was), coupled with the lack of any emotional investment in the victims (they had it coming), left an unpleasant taste in my mouth, so it was with one part trepidation and two parts morbid curiosity that I approached the sequel.<br /><br />I'm pleased to say that Hostel: Part II is a more successful, altogether more enjoyable and satisfying movie than its progenitor. Starting things off with one of the creepiest credits sequences I've seen in quite some time, with the torture resort's furnace operator ritually dispensing of recent victims' artefacts (passports, driver's licences, clothes etc), we then get to find out just what became of the original's 'hero', Paxton (Jay Hernandez, looking more existentially puzzled than frightened for his life). This feels like a concession to the fans of the first Hostel or aimless preamble than any kind of foreboding prologue however and the film only really starts to get interesting when we meet our heroines.<br /><br />Beth (Lauren German), Whitney (Bijou Phillips) and Lorna (Heather Matarazzo, not a million miles removed from the weird kid she played in Welcome To The Dollhouse) are travelling through Europe, striving to strike some kind of balance between youthful kicks and cultural enlightenment. They happen upon a helpful stranger who suggests they make the trip to Slovakia to check out the beautiful spas they have there (in actuality, the hostel of the title).<br /><br />You can probably guess what happens next. You'd be surprised however at Eli Roth's brave attempts to eschew any re-hash accusations. For starters, the victims are female this time around, but more interesting is the sub-plot - which neatly and naturally dovetails with the main story - which involves two American businessmen, Todd (Richard Burgi - bullish and cocky) and Stuart (Roger Bart - reserved and apprehensive) hooking up with the elite hunting cabal to illegally and vicariously indulge their fantasies of killing their wives.<br /><br />In showing the other side of the original's story in an unjudgemental fashion, Roth adds a new depth to the ensuing thrills and spills. TV stalwarts Burgi and Bart both relish their roles, veering wildly between underplaying and shameless hamming as the plot dictates. Of the female leads, Lauren German (previously seen in the Texas Chainsaw remake) treats the scream queen role with a winning gravitas, while Matarazzo plays it kooky without descending into annoyance. It's Bijou Phillips who impresses most however, bringing naturalism and light-and-shade to what could have easily been just another 'silly bitch' role, much like she did in Larry Clark's Bully.<br /><br />BUT (the caps are necessary, as it's a big but), despite the fact that it's a leap forward from the first Hostel film, you will still feel a little dirty afterwards. There's still the overriding feeling of "should I be watching this?". It's obvious that this is Roth's intention - to make the audience hate themselves for enjoying this - but does that make it something of a noble cause? Not really, but in scenes like the chilling round-the-world email bidding war for the girls and the showdown between the hunting club president and the bubblegum gang from the first film, Roth shows a deft touch and sensitivity that he wilfully and gleefully negates with his tendency towards snuff-like set-pieces.<br /><br />When Roth shows a bit of restraint, it's clear that he's starting to mature as a director, but for now, we have to counterbalance that growth with the juvenilia we've come to expect from him. Here's to Roth moving out of the Hostel and into the big leagues. Whether I'd want him to bring his twisted brain with him however, I'm not all too sure.<span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-43022791254991952542007-05-27T05:33:00.001-07:002007-05-27T06:00:12.725-07:00"Gotta keep those lovin' good vibrations a-happenin' with her"It's been too long. Over a month since I last posted. Not good enough, is it? More posts to come this week, I promise.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOVeyUnfVKFT3X6Npm2HODhk5ER4Zs6uQ-HK3Trpg2AZtIXIQClTytrhtAYsYyV9DruuT_Jl6PRC56bwlFjQN8CUL-vOgsxkQw-dbzSoCyPPt_20wUkOZqSV383jHMgpgg8rtkrCu9w/s1600-h/lostfinale.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOVeyUnfVKFT3X6Npm2HODhk5ER4Zs6uQ-HK3Trpg2AZtIXIQClTytrhtAYsYyV9DruuT_Jl6PRC56bwlFjQN8CUL-vOgsxkQw-dbzSoCyPPt_20wUkOZqSV383jHMgpgg8rtkrCu9w/s320/lostfinale.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5069217701136498930" border="0" /></a><br />What can you say about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_%28TV_series%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span></a> (tonight, 10pm, Sky One) that hasn't already been said? Very little, as a matter of fact. Sure, it's one of the most erratic, independable, frustrating shows on television, but I'm still watching. Why? Well, curiosity for the most part, but also because when it's good, it's very, very good. Blessed with arguably the best ensemble on American network television right now (<span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> aside), the writers seem to struggle to strike a balance between character development and the wiry machinations of a plot seemingly spiralling out of control.<br /><br />Tonight's feature-length season finale, however, is one such example of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span> team getting it completely spot-on. The heart of the show is in its flawed, intrepid characters like troubled doctor, Jack (Matthew Fox, above), troubled ex-con, Sawyer (Josh Holloway), troubled rock star and ex-smack addict, Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) and troubled murderer-on-the-run, Kate (Evangeline Lilly). Yes, of course, they're all troubled by something or other from the past that we learn about from the show's incessant flashbacking. It doesn't take the brain of Britain to figure out that all these people, with so many demons to make peace with, are obviously on the island for a reason. That plane crash was no coincidence. We'll have to wait until 2010 to find out that reason (the show was recently given an end-date of three seasons down the line), but the finale to season three throws up a few tantalising glimpses of what lies ahead for our castaways, whilst asking more and more intriguing questions.<br /><br />I don't want to give too much away, as most of the fun with <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span> comes in not seeing the plot twists on the horizon, but to be honest, not a hell of a lot happens in the way of plot tonight. Things are played out in a gripping slowburn, the director and writers slowly ratcheting up the tension inherent in the situations the gang find themselves in. At the end of last week's penultimate episode, Charlie had managed to get into the underwater signal jamming station, only to have guns pointed in his face by two previously-unseen 'others', while Jack was to lead the rest of the crew up to the radio tower, leaving Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Bernard (Sam Anderson) and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) to blow the shit out of the 'others' coming to take away the women (people unfamiliar with the show, you can stop scratching your heads, it won't do you any good). I <span style="font-style: italic;">can </span>say that all three story points are tied up in such a satisfying way that you will welcome the inevitable closing scene rug-pull with open arms. Just when you think that everything's going to work out fine...<br /><br />The ending also possibly opens up a whole new angle for the show as it enters the second half of its lifespan. Again, I won't give too much away, but Matthew Fox gets to do some gut-wrenching emoting from behind an implausibly full, Grizzly Adams-style beard. It also signals that the end will not be a very happy one. Here's to <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span> becoming a bleaker, better show in the next three seasons, full of bad vibrations and earth-shattering reveals.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-9124224518643135262007-04-21T15:42:00.000-07:002007-04-21T16:10:09.518-07:00In praise of Dr Steve Brule<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRZ51QPZDcPKUaRCU6NhaVkfTFpGx8SEe7lPxlX-illdR-Nn4j-V65Kn2_oTRgZKaKGAaiwqOnTAJMqzvAn019K2af0on16Aj6KUbDjibwkeZ0th5n1IcIeMLrAnV50iHAEpgmnoT-g/s1600-h/Brule-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRZ51QPZDcPKUaRCU6NhaVkfTFpGx8SEe7lPxlX-illdR-Nn4j-V65Kn2_oTRgZKaKGAaiwqOnTAJMqzvAn019K2af0on16Aj6KUbDjibwkeZ0th5n1IcIeMLrAnV50iHAEpgmnoT-g/s320/Brule-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056015832887483778" border="0" /></a><br />Following my last post, in which I sang the praises of Rashida Jones from <span style="font-style: italic;">The Office</span>, comes another of my new TV heroes. The new [adult swim] live-action comedy show, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_and_eric_awesome_show"><span style="font-style: italic;">Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!</span></a> is pretty excellent all-round. For British readers, think Vic & Bob, only more surreal, more puerile and definitely more divisive for the audience.<br /><br />I'll agree that it won't be for everyone's tastes, but John C. Reilly's cameos as fictional TV station, Channel 5's advice guru, Dr Steve Brule is something that everyone seems to think is fall-down funny. Reilly's displayed his comedy chops in the past, in films such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Anger Management</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Tenacious D: The Pick Of Destiny</span>, but for most of you, John C. Reilly is the well-respected and very serious character actor from <span style="font-style: italic;">Chicago</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Gangs Of New York</span> and all of Paul Thomas Anderson's films.<br /><br />This is why Dr Steve Brule is such a revelation. His spots, alongside Married News Team, Jan and Wayne Skylar (played by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, respectively), in which he gives advice on how to get those pesky leaves off your driveway ("Just hose 'em off, dummy!"), how to know whether your milk has gone bad or what you should do if you catch fire are just comedy gold.<br /><br />Also, he brings a more actorly bent to proceedings. Even though his role is a peripheral one and he isn't in every episode, he manages to inject his character with a real sense of pathos. This might seem like a ridiculous statement, seeing as <span style="font-style: italic;">TAEAS,GJ!</span> is only a comedy sketch show (only running at eleven-plus minutes an episode), but Reilly brings a likeability and a certain gravitas to this parade of grotesques and the show wouldn't be the same without him.<br /><br />Anyway, see for yourself...<br /><br /><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=kUt-W54HMPc">The Brule Report - Digestion Problems</a> (The point where Reilly says "That, that was my birthday" is one of the best stand-alone pieces of acting I've seen on a comedy show for a long while.)<br /><br /><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kxn-XzhYDpM&mode=related&search=">Dr Steve Brule - A Special Report On Cool Cars</a> (Just brilliant)<br /><br /><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=UfeAW73aEUg">The Brule Report - Cool Clothes</a><br /><br /><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xR7o0kfM8OA&mode=related&search=">Brule's Rules - Leaves</a><br /><br /><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=UyH-3ruD0ik&mode=related&search=">Brule's Rules - Milk</a><br /><br /><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=W4Y9BlcgHg8&mode=related&search=">Brule's Rules - Fire</a><br /><br />For your health!Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-54484959719334893962007-04-20T13:31:00.000-07:002007-04-20T13:46:16.870-07:00In praise of Rashida Jones<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPl5MoJ_iaAjQcb-UitCd1Af7y4hxisMOzqLrwscT4ly1CamBBh7uPMsT9Q_h8MzKLSIyu0jCjhXVCJHS11NBmqLbnXjMfTaWucQIQEV3NgPJeJf65rFy6mnYy_0uFwrZFxjq5apZgJA/s1600-h/TheOffice_Karen.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPl5MoJ_iaAjQcb-UitCd1Af7y4hxisMOzqLrwscT4ly1CamBBh7uPMsT9Q_h8MzKLSIyu0jCjhXVCJHS11NBmqLbnXjMfTaWucQIQEV3NgPJeJf65rFy6mnYy_0uFwrZFxjq5apZgJA/s320/TheOffice_Karen.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055611178248723826" border="0" /></a><br />I've been catching up on season three of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Office</span> lately and I've developed a rather helpless schoolboy crush on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashida_Jones">Rashida Jones</a>, who plays <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Filippelli">Karen Fillippelli</a> on the show. Miss Jones is just so completely naturalistic as the girl who has come between Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer), when all she really has to do is flirt with Jim (successfully, might I add) to the point where I'm screaming at the TV for Jim to just wise up and stop fawning for Pam.<br /><br />Okay, so maybe I'm not screaming but, do you remember in the original <span style="font-style: italic;">The Office</span> when they brought in Rachel? Remember how she just threw into relief the fact that Tim and Dawn were meant to be together? Well, the introduction of Karen into the American version of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Office</span> just seems to have made Jim even more tortured than Tim ever was. It's also made Jim's character a lot more worthy of envy at his choice. Damn you!<br /><br />I'm going to go and have a lie down/cold shower/whatever. More substantial posts coming your way soon, I promise.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-35919841624677997042007-04-01T12:31:00.000-07:002007-04-04T11:19:15.443-07:00TVOD (2.4.07.)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgyqD4bC9rOMDpztrsD7qsQS90w0UdhyphenhyphenZxv31GKboz-M3AWVM5zhMaQrEbenayxPQvkskCuO1Ykg8PZ6S_9o6YWevQBYYU5Vjn-zhRLtCgTlVa1VLKqctqw0PLZl4LJTjXTo5lAG-5g/s1600-h/jim-fixed-it-for-me-medal.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgyqD4bC9rOMDpztrsD7qsQS90w0UdhyphenhyphenZxv31GKboz-M3AWVM5zhMaQrEbenayxPQvkskCuO1Ykg8PZ6S_9o6YWevQBYYU5Vjn-zhRLtCgTlVa1VLKqctqw0PLZl4LJTjXTo5lAG-5g/s320/jim-fixed-it-for-me-medal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048544775795212546" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MONDAY: </span>Well, as always on Monday, you've got <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sopranos</span> (11.10pm, Channel 4). Tonight's episode sees this season back on track, with Johnny Sack out of prison briefly to watch his daughter get married and humiliate himself in front of the rest of 'the family'. Elsewhere, a run-in between Vito and some money-collecting goons has far-reaching consequences. Watch it!<br /><br />Also tonight, Chris Addison goes on <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hunt For Middle England</span> (11.20pm, BBC2), an irreverent, sideways look at the fabled destination that was shown on BBC4 a couple of months ago. Oh and there's <span style="font-style: italic;">Prison Break</span> (10pm, Five), in which we are sure to learn whether Sara escapes from Kellerman's clutches, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes </span>(10pm, Sci-Fi), which is a little too Mohinder-heavy but sheds some light on Claire's shady dad and introduces a perky waitress, gifted with the power to remember anything she learns really well like. God, that's a crap power! I mean, some of the others can, like, see the future, fly, even travel through time and all she gets is the ability to be really handy in pub quizzes! What a rip-off!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TUESDAY: </span><span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span>! (10pm, FX) Other than that, Channel 4 have bumped <span style="font-style: italic;">Kidnapped</span> back in the schedules in order to show what looks like one of their patented sensationalist, prurient attempts at reportage in the form of <span style="font-style: italic;">Eunuchs</span> (10pm); a documentary about, y'know, guys who've had their balls cut off.<br /><br />There's football on too, as Liverpool take on PSV Eindhoven in the quarter-finals of the Champion's League (7.45pm, ITV1). If you don't fancy that, Film4 are showing <span style="font-style: italic;">Planes, Trains And Automobiles</span> (9pm), so you can see John Candy's big pants and Steve Martin's foul-mouthed rant all over again.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WEDNESDAY: </span>The big news in the TV world today is that Sky is completely revamping its movie channels. They're going all genre-specific on our arses, with a channel that will be solely dedicated to premieres (then showing them every frickin' night for a week), one for comedies, one for action movies/thrillers, one for indie-fare, you get the jist. Sounds like one of those ideas that they've just decided to do for shits and giggles and haven't really thought it through. I mean, for instance, what channel can house <span style="font-style: italic;">Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind</span>? Maybe they should have kept a channel aside and called it Sky Movies: Weird Shit.<br /><br />Also tonight, ITV1 launch a new comedy show, entitled <span style="font-style: italic;">Get A Grip</span> (10pm), which is hosted by Ben "Oh, just fuck off" Elton and Alexa "Who?" Chung. Looks like she's going to be the eye candy for the boys, while the girls get a rough ride by having to look at ol' rat-features. I'm not sure whether it's supposed to be a topical satire show or what it is supposed to be exactly, but one thing's for sure, it must be stopped! Anything involving the man who inflicted the Queen musical on the world must be removed from the air before it has a chance to find an audience. ITV do comedy about as well as Men & Motors does female empowerment though, so I guess it's only a matter of time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">THURSDAY:</span> Channel 4 may or may not air Iraq drama, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Mark Of Cain</span> (9pm), in light of recent events in Iran. If they do, however, that's tonight's must-see TV. Elsewhere, there's <span style="font-style: italic;">Lucky Louie</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Chappelle's Show</span> on FX (from 10.30pm) and those two are always good for a laugh.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">STOP PRESS! </span>Channel 4 will not be showing <span style="font-style: italic;">The Mark Of Cain </span>tonight and will keep it on ice until there is a resolution to the Iran hostage situation.<br /><br />Tonight, UKTV Gold are re-animating the corpse of Sir Jimmy Saville for a new show called <span style="font-style: italic;">Jim'll Fix It Strikes Again</span> (9pm). It features all-new fix-its but the main reason to watch will be to see people, now all grown up, revisiting the things that Jim'll fixed it for them to do (Christ, what a clumsy sentence!). Cue grown up men trying to eat on rollercoasters and such like. Weren't they a scout troop? They'll just be trying to suppress the remembrances of the times that Akela tried to touch their special areas then.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FRIDAY: </span>It's Soul Night on BBC4 (programmes begin 8pm), which means an excuse to show the late, great James Brown from last year's Electric Proms. There's also a performance from 1979 from Average White Band, followed by an episode of the recent fantastic documentary series, <span style="font-style: italic;">Soul Britannia<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">. </span></span></span>There are other soulful gubbins going on, but the real draw is <span style="font-style: italic;">Standing In The Shadows Of Motown</span>, a brilliant documentary about Motown's house band, The Funk Brothers at midnight. Worth staying up for, indeed.<br /><br />Elsewhere, there's pretty much fuck-all on, unless you like Golf (The US Masters, from 9pm, BBC2) or <span style="font-style: italic;">My Family</span> (8.30pm, BBC1) and if you do, then god help you.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SATURDAY: </span>Well, obviously there's <span style="font-style: italic;">TV Burp</span> (7.10pm, ITV1), which is followed by <span style="font-style: italic;">Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon</span> (7.40pm), which begs the question of how the fuck Vernon Kay keeps on getting work?! How?! I can understand the appeal of most things that are seen to be popular but alongside listening to ultra-compressed mp3s through your mobile's speakers on the bus, the enduring love affair of the British TV-consuming public with Vernon fucking Kay continues to baffle me. Having a strong regional accent that you're willing to play on like a vowel-elongating performing seal, whilst mugging mercilessly for the camera like an ADD-addled pre-pubescent on school photo day does not equal personality.<br /><br />Over on Channel 4, they're running through the <span style="font-style: italic;">100 Greatest Tearjerkers</span> (9pm). Your guess is as good as mine as to the winner. Continuing with the soul theme, BBC4 has <span style="font-style: italic;">Urban Soul</span> at 10.10pm, an hour-and-a-half documentary about the rise and rise of r'n'b and hip-hop to become the biggest selling music genre in the world. Might be worth a watch. Got to be better than Vernon bastard Kay, anyway.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SUNDAY: </span>Channel 4 cash in on this whole Easter thing that everyone's going on about by running <span style="font-style: italic;">The Passion Of The Christ</span> (10pm), but if you like your entertainment with a side-order of torture, then <span style="font-style: italic;">24</span> (9pm, Sky One) is probably a safer bet. That's followed by <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span>, which has been really good lately, particularly last week's off-topic episode that followed the fortunes of the previously sidelined Niki and Paolo since they crashed on the island. The macabre ending was one of the best this season.<br /><br />On the other side, there's <span style="font-style: italic;">Murder In The Outback</span> (9pm, ITV1), a true-life drama about the murder of British tourist, Peter Falconio and the subsequent investigation, starring the always impressive Joanna Froggatt as Falconio's girlfriend and murder suspect, Joanne Lees. Fancy a laugh? The cult hit, <span style="font-style: italic;">Office Space</span> (12midnight, BBC2) is on. Cult normally means unfunny, but trust me, this one's a keeper.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TV ON THE INTERNET</span><br /><br />I'm probably the last person in the world to link to this in some way but... <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=DOhKrL5DB1Y">"Somebody gonna get pregnant!"</a>. American actor and comedian, Tracy Morgan in full-on, belly-out crazy mode on US TV.<br /><br />Remind yourself of just how funny <span style="font-style: italic;">Brass Eye </span>was by watching <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=g0GxUxKZdHk">the cake segment</a> from the Drugs episode.<br /><br />And remind yourself just how fucking awesome music television can be by checking out <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZagV69HujUY">At The Drive-In on Jools Holland</a> in 2000.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-57648675406365773562007-03-26T11:10:00.000-07:002007-03-26T12:54:51.590-07:00TVOD (26.3.07.)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYtfMGjqDNOTbh1yNv6acWmmMP3UDPW0UEBk2OgCLvkF3ryNc9w6iUZgs-xvuw4nqZiPmapOjhTt38OCwNsbZ5WPbi7bd-6AByd1sn93U97EG_KAncSsE47gSkEjhdWC-MWVk4WECMQ/s1600-h/Hawkwind.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYtfMGjqDNOTbh1yNv6acWmmMP3UDPW0UEBk2OgCLvkF3ryNc9w6iUZgs-xvuw4nqZiPmapOjhTt38OCwNsbZ5WPbi7bd-6AByd1sn93U97EG_KAncSsE47gSkEjhdWC-MWVk4WECMQ/s320/Hawkwind.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046305789873089826" border="0" /></a><br />Yep, it's time to take a look at what's coming down your tube this week, with me acting as a kind of opinionated remote control.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MONDAY: </span>Again with <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sopranos</span> (11pm, Channel 4). Tonight's episode is a 'funny one', including such capers as Paulie (Tony Sirico) finding out a shocking secret from the past, Bobby Bacala (Steve R. Schirripa) shooting a wannabe gangster rapper and lots of metaphysical stuff about the interconnectivity of all things. Hilarity ensues.<br /><br />Over on ITV1, there's the second part of <span style="font-style: italic;">Mobile</span> (9pm), which I probably won't watch because I missed the first, but by all accounts, it's better than your standard ITV drama. Plus, someone I know is in it, but that's another story. Elsewhere, Michael makes a break for Panama in <span style="font-style: italic;">Prison Break </span>(Five, 10pm) and <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes </span>(Sci-Fi Channel, 10pm)does one of those character development episodes, but this being <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span>, there's a lot more going on than that may suggest. Look out for Hiro (Masi Oka) and D.L. (Leonard Roberts) joining forces to save a woman from a car-wreck and the strange, incongruous, Mychael Danna-esque Eastern music that soundtracks Claire (Hayden Panettiere) chasing her brother around the front garden.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TUESDAY: </span>Not much on tonight really. Well, there's <span style="font-style: italic;">Battlestar Galactica</span> (Sky One, 9pm), but I'm nowhere near up-to-date with that yet. On the curiosity front, there's <span style="font-style: italic;">Marbella Belles</span> (ITV1, 10pm), which, judging by the clips on <span style="font-style: italic;">TV Burp</span> on Saturday, should be at the very least fist-chewingly entertaining. On Channel 4 at 11.40pm, there's a documentary called <span style="font-style: italic;">The Crippendales</span>. One can only guess what that's about. If someone can pinpoint the exact moment that Channel 4 started to dumb down, do you reckon we could do a system restore on it?<br /><br />There's always <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span> (FX, 10pm), which gets better with every passing week. Last week's was a doozy, seeing an end to the mayoral election storyline which has taken up a huge chunk of the start of the fourth season. The look on Carcetti's face when he found out he had won was less "Great, now I can start making this city a better place" and more "Holy fuck, what have I done?!". Cue the gradual erosion of Carcetti's morals as absolute power (at least in Baltimore) corrupts him absolutely.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WEDNESDAY: </span>"You're fired!". I'll never get tired of saying that. Such a zeitgeist-nailing catchphrase. Anyway, poor-man's Donald Trump, SIR Alan Sugar launches a new series of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Apprentice</span> tonight on BBC1 (9pm). It's mind-boggling who they give a business degree to these days, so let's all sit agog as the drones are paraded in front of us, all business 'smarts' and no common sense. Look at them! The fucking idiots!<br /><br />It's either that or <span style="font-style: italic;">My Man Boobs And Me</span> (BBC3, 9pm), as we all know that England play again tonight. I think the man boobs are a more inviting option, to be honest.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">THURSDAY: </span>BBC4 shows the first of a couple of interesting looking, music-skewing documentaries tonight, with <span style="font-style: italic;">Storyville: Screamers</span> (10.30pm), which takes a look at the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 through the songs and actions of System Of A Down. Sounds like it might be a little tenuous but worthy and possibly engaging all the same.<br /><br />Channel 4 has a humdinger of a double-bill tonight. At 9, there's <span style="font-style: italic;">Mummy's War</span>, in which Carol Thatcher visits the Falklands on the 25th anniversary of the pointless, fruitless conflict her mother waged. Headline-grabbing stuff (it did actually make the front pages in Argentina) and sensationalist to a fault, but do we really need the offspring of arguably the most damaging PM this country has ever seen picking at her mum's old scabs?<br /><br />After that, there's the Irvine Welsh-penned one-off comedy-drama, <span style="font-style: italic;">Wedding Belles</span> (10pm), which looks as though it might actually deliver on its '<span style="font-style: italic;">Trainspotting </span>with women' premise. Michelle Gomez (<span style="font-style: italic;">The Book Group</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Green Wing</span>) stars.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FRIDAY: </span>"I-I just took a ride/On a silver machine/And I'm still feeling meeean!". BBC4 are showing <span style="font-style: italic;">Hawkwind: Do Not Panic</span> (9pm), about the legendary and enduring acid-rockers. Any programme that promises an interview with Lemmy has got to be worth watching.<br /><br />Elsewhere, there's <span style="font-style: italic;">The U.S. Vs. John Lennon</span> (BBC2, 11.35pm) and you lot going out for payday.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SATURDAY:</span> Well, there's <span style="font-style: italic;">TV Burp </span>(ITV1, 5.30pm), before ITV say bollocks to original programming and show a Harry Potter film instead.<br /><br />Everywhere else, there's the usual substandard Saturday night fare, but Sky Arts is forging a path as a Saturday night haven for the intelligent amongst us. Tonight, they're showing <span style="font-style: italic;">Moog</span> (10pm), which is a bit of a thin documentary, but hey, it's better than nowt.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SUNDAY: </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span> (Sky One, 10pm) has really picked up the pace in the last couple of episodes, but it's hard to see where they're going to go with the whole Locke's-dad-bound-and-gagged-in-an-airing-cupboard thing. The fuck's all that about?! In <span style="font-style: italic;">24</span> (Sky One, 9pm), Acting President Powers Boothe looks to continue menacing his way into a war with the Middle East over fudged information. Sound familiar?<br /><br />Over on BBC2, <span style="font-style: italic;">Louis Theroux Meets The Most Hated Family In America</span> (9pm) looks like it could be a good watch, although The Phelps', a family who picket the funerals of soldiers and gay pride events, preaching their belief that "God hates fags", might be a bit too much of an easy target. We'll see if Louis still has the cojones to tear them the new arsehole that they deserve.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TV ON THE INTERNET<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span></span>One of my favourite <span style="font-style: italic;">Big Train</span> sketches, <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=wcMuTsBFQTE">The Artist Formerly Known As Prince hunting for jockeys.</a><br /><br />The point where I realised that <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span> was the best TV show in the history of television, <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=GNVQBxlzxPg">Bunk and McNulty investigate an old crime scene and communicate solely using the word "fuck" or variations thereon.</a><br /><br />Needs no introduction; <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=TyrM7GxyzGg">Mr Show: The Story Of Everest</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br /></span></span></span>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-75809773780151206932007-03-19T12:12:00.000-07:002007-03-26T12:57:39.514-07:00TVOD (19.3.07)So here we are again, for our weekly look at what you can point your eyes at this week. I did want to do some more posts at some point this past week but, hey, it didn't happen alright. I haven't actually had a lot of time to watch TV, which is kind of important when you're writing a TV blog.<br /><br />Anyway, enough chit-chat, what's on telly?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DJ-iRgYOYmZWcXWNluOATtAOG0hMjJ_ADTjYsyXNhhbLlsSJyXqMbazPGoo2EkoWS9SHntouzCHBhKDFqvhLEM4TxQeSmq2rzm9MaCqhgUSDdOOUTHjYN6g52452zqPzgF3qVynTxw/s1600-h/shark.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DJ-iRgYOYmZWcXWNluOATtAOG0hMjJ_ADTjYsyXNhhbLlsSJyXqMbazPGoo2EkoWS9SHntouzCHBhKDFqvhLEM4TxQeSmq2rzm9MaCqhgUSDdOOUTHjYN6g52452zqPzgF3qVynTxw/s320/shark.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5043716679233300130" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MONDAY: </span>There's the obvious triumvirate of US behemoths tonight with <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sopranos </span>(11.05pm, Channel 4), <span style="font-style: italic;">Prison Break </span>(10pm, Five)<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes </span>(10pm, Sci-Fi Channel or an hour later on their time-shift channel, if you so wish). In <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sopranos</span>, Tony's still in a coma and there's a cameo from Steve Buscemi as Tony's cousin, Tony Blundetto (deceased) to liven things up. Also, there's an absolutely fantastic scene with Chris (Michael Imperioli) trying to get a near-catatonic T to sign off on his film idea. Better than last week, but this sixth season doesn't pick up for a while yet.<br /><br />Meanwhile, on <span style="font-style: italic;">Prison Break</span>, we should find out what happens to Lincoln and LJ after they were caught by the fuzz last week and also whether Sara and Michael manage to meet up. What's she doing?! She tried to commit suicide because of him! I have no idea what is happening in <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> tonight and I want to keep it that way until I see it. The element of surprise is one that this show has used to its advantage so far. Did you see Nathan fly away from Dr. Bennett last week? Awesome! High five!<br /><br />BBC3 unleashes a new sketch show tonight - <span style="font-style: italic;">Rush Hour</span> (10.30pm) - and, although I haven't seen it, you can guess what it's going to be like from the ads. All flash, gross-out and no subtlety. I'll be the first to admit surprise if it isn't, but c'mon, they didn't learn from <span style="font-style: italic;">Man Stroke Woman</span>, so what makes you think they'll start now?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TUESDAY: </span>Not to sound like a broken record but <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span> (10pm, FX, Sky Channel 179) is on tonight. I'm starting to think that this is the best season to date, especially after last week's storming episode. Choosing to run multifarious story strands at once and gently nudging them towards each other or sometimes colliding them in shocking ways has proven to be a masterstroke. As has the decision to pretty much ditch Jimmy McNulty, as the character was starting to become a little broad. It's allowed the writers to flesh out the characters of Marlo (Jamie Hector), Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen), Mayor Royce (Glynn Turman) and the four new adolescent characters and, in doing so, they've just cast the net that little bit wider, throwing light on some of the more shadowy corners of Baltimore (the scene with Dukie, Randy and Michael searching one of the abandoned rowhouses for bodies was a masterpiece).<br /><br />Also tonight is the second episode of new US drama, <span style="font-style: italic;">Kidnapped</span> (10pm, Channel 4). Last week's first ep was unremittingly classy but it knew this. It was like being hit over the head by a hammer that was cast by Junie Lowry-Johnson. Delroy Lindo oozed gravitas and easy charm but the rest of the cast seemed to struggle to make their characters believable. For instance, you could tell that Jeremy Sisto wasn't going to be your average kidnap investigator because he had stubble. He's edgy, you see! I'm probably being a little harsh but you can kind of see why it was cancelled. Mind you, much more offensive shows have thrived. <span style="font-style: italic;">Sex In The City</span>, for example.<br /><br />Elsewhere, Roger Daltrey puts in a cameo role on <span style="font-style: italic;">CSI</span> (9pm, Five). Supposedly he's going to actually do more than go "'Ere! That's moi song!" in a mockney accent over the credit sequence. Bet it's not a patch on his cameo in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Mighty Boosh</span> though.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WEDNESDAY: </span>Fuck all on tonight. Seriously, if you were going to pick one night to, say, read a book, spend quality time with loved ones or go out and get tore up, tonight's the night. If you absolutely, positively must watch something, then there's a promising looking documentary on BBC4 at 9pm, entitled <span style="font-style: italic;">Racism: A History</span>. Watch and feel ashamed at your heritage, white folks.<br /><br />Oh and, of course, there's always <span style="font-style: italic;">Friday Night Lights</span> (8pm, ITV4, Sky Channel 120).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">THURSDAY: </span>I said it last week and I'll say it again until you get it into your thick heads, but you have to check out FX's hour of comedy power from 10pm, featuring the gut-bustingly hilarious <span style="font-style: italic;">Lucky Louie</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Chappelle's Show</span>. You need them in your life!<br /><br />Other than that though, Five airs the opening episode of the new series of <span style="font-style: italic;">House</span> at 9, before following it up with an encouraging-looking American import (because we really need another right now), called <span style="font-style: italic;">Shark</span> (10pm). James Woods plays a brilliant criminal prosecutor who goes over to 'the dark side' (ie: he becomes a defence attorney). It looks like standard legal drama stuff but, hey, James Woods! On TV! And Spike Lee directs! Did I mention that James Woods is in it?!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FRIDAY: </span>What I said about Wednesday could equally apply to tonight, but at least Channel 4's flagship music show, <span style="font-style: italic;">Transmission</span> (11.40pm) is back on. When I say flagship, I mean that they've dumped it in the netherworld of post-pub scheduling. Still, tonight's show looks like it could be intermittent fun. We've got Joss Stone (boo!), Mika (double boo!), The Twang (who?!), Mark Ronson (why?!), Maximo Park (yay!), Bright Eyes (could go either way!) and Peaches "Fuck off!" Geldof (fuck off!).<br /><br />You know that you'll stumble in at 1am, start watching <span style="font-style: italic;">Out Of Sight</span> on ITV2, get to the sex scene part, remember that Jennifer Lopez/George Clooney don't actually get their respective kits off and doze off with the telly on full blast. Oh, what delightful fun!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SATURDAY: </span>Football fans, shake off that hangover and make it a day of footy! Start with the institution that is <span style="font-style: italic;">Soccer A.M. </span>(9am, Sky Sports One, Sky Channel 401), with Tim, Helen, Sheephead, Tubes and the rest of the crew for football-related hijinks. There's no <span style="font-style: italic;">Gilette Soccer Saturday</span> today as there's a crapload of internationals for you to be bored by. First up, there's the first game from the new Wembley, an Under-21 international between England and Italy (12noon, Sky Sports One). Cue thousands of punters sitting down very gingerly lest the stand collapse underneath them.<br /><br />Then it's a toss-up between Republic Of Ireland V Wales (2.30pm, SS1) or Scotland V Georgia (3pm, SS2). The choice, as they say, is yours! Have fun picking! Of course, then there's the obligatory letdown of an England Euro qualifier. We're playing Israel (5.30pm, SS1), which on the face of it should be a walk in the park. You just know it isn't going to be though. Might as well play some kind of drinking game to make it pass quicker. Make up rules like drink two fingers whenever the camera lands on Steve McLaren and he's doing that face that makes him look like he's staring directly into the sun while trying to force out a zeppelin-sized shit. Or how about drink a whole glass whenever Frank Lampard tries a hit-and-hope from forty yards only to watch it sail over the bar? Or here's one; take bets on how long it is before England fans get involved in some crowd hubbub with the local police. The winner gets to have his head shaved and an endless supply of patio furniture to lob at passing riot vans.<br /><br />Not a sports fan? Well there's <span style="font-style: italic;">TV Burp</span> (6.10pm, ITV1), which is still the most consistently funny show on TV. David Quantick really earns his money on that one. Also, The Arcade Fire, Rowan Atkinson and violinist, Maxim Venegrov are all on <span style="font-style: italic;">The Culture Show</span> (7.10pm, BBC2), though not all at the same time, I hope, Channel 4 are showing <span style="font-style: italic;">The Shawshank Redemption</span> (9.25pm) for what seems like the millionth time (maybe this time we find out just how Tim Robbins managed to put that poster back up from inside the tunnel) and Jean-Luc Godard's <span style="font-style: italic;">Sympathy For The Devil</span> - a mesmerising yet didactic audio-visual collage of those turbulent late-60s, intercut with The Rolling Stones recording the title track in the studio - is on Sky Arts (10.25pm, Sky Channel 267), for those with their minds on higher things.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SUNDAY: </span>Heart-stopping television on Sky One from 9pm with <span style="font-style: italic;">24</span>, followed immediately by <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span>. Actually, we're so used by now to <span style="font-style: italic;">24</span> being so goddamn adrenalised that its taken on an almost zen-like quality. We're watching high-octane stuff where nukes go off, people are tortured and heads of state have a long-standing bounty on their heads, but six seasons in and there's a kind of comforting familiarity about the whole thing. "Oh look, Jack's just cut off one of the Russian consulates fingers. Go and put the kettle on dear".<br /><br />With every passing week, <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost </span>gets closer and closer to describing just what state the viewer is in. You're less likely to care now whether Jack will find his way back to camp or whether Charlie will reverse his death curse and more likely to forget about the plot completely and just chuckle at whatever nickname Sawyer comes up with for Hurley this week. Still, at least it's more plausible than <span style="font-style: italic;">Castaway</span> (9pm, BBC1).<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TV ON THE INTERNET<br /><br /></span></span></span>The Onion A.V. Club has an excellent feature entitled <a href="http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/inventory_22_tv_opening_credit">22 TV Opening-Credit Sequences That Fit Their Shows Perfectly</a>, with embedded YouTube vids for all the featured shows. Why no <span style="font-style: italic;">The Prisoner</span> though?<br /><br />Following on from last week's mention for <span style="font-style: italic;">Tim And Eric's Awesome Show! Great Job!</span>, here is the full first episode for you to view at your leisure. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qlYoEdvJV8&mode=related&search=">Part 1</a>/<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9bH8OJ_e9o&mode=related&search=">Part 2</a><br /><br />Watch a <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZKoKwWVyPFg">brief preview</a> of FX's forthcoming pitch black comedy-thriller, <span style="font-style: italic;">Dexter</span>, which stars <span style="font-style: italic;">Six Feet Under</span>'s Michael C. Hall. Looks good.<br /><br />Happy viewing!<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br /></span></span></span></span></span>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-22282234341336116322007-03-12T12:37:00.000-07:002007-03-12T14:50:27.475-07:00TVOD (12.3.07.)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzm6KO5C1Hwqc1i5XJ8x7-E2y75HSJwwQxx72ABIgIKOHMaBfOuE9-ob81yizhOoW13aIJk5-TiPCE__2FzvF6PMGoFjfDdn9Y29o1hio6L0n3JXe1SI8VjYjjDKVBD1t_qqCyYnAImw/s1600-h/tv.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzm6KO5C1Hwqc1i5XJ8x7-E2y75HSJwwQxx72ABIgIKOHMaBfOuE9-ob81yizhOoW13aIJk5-TiPCE__2FzvF6PMGoFjfDdn9Y29o1hio6L0n3JXe1SI8VjYjjDKVBD1t_qqCyYnAImw/s320/tv.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041126762414204466" border="0" /></a><br />The first in what will become a weekly round-up of what you have to watch this coming week on UK TV. Plus, at the end some links to YouTube vids that you might find interesting and can actually watch, like, now.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdl7LCqx3AnDCBPMqveAV4Y8hXDuZwOG5WlkI_SsMXrVXIi_u4MtyFkSUPOiRtmQ04pGYpBHQrfJVxCptFhzrWJLTX794XHc9NAfCjGxGDIEQysklP_B4vswg2Y5mc3PEXNlTxlIC_w/s1600-h/sopranos.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdl7LCqx3AnDCBPMqveAV4Y8hXDuZwOG5WlkI_SsMXrVXIi_u4MtyFkSUPOiRtmQ04pGYpBHQrfJVxCptFhzrWJLTX794XHc9NAfCjGxGDIEQysklP_B4vswg2Y5mc3PEXNlTxlIC_w/s320/sopranos.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041126680809825826" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TONIGHT: </span>Well, tonight you have the choice of three of America's big-hitters. At 11.35pm on Channel 4, you've got The Greatest Television Drama Of All Time (according to Channel 4 themselves, nonetheless), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sopranos"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Sopranos</span></a>. Let's be frank here, the only people who watch <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sopranos</span> these days are people who have followed it from the start, so I'm not going to implore you to start now if you've never seen it before. There are two reasons why I'm not going to do that: 1) You will be utterly confused; 2) Tonight's episode, 'Join The Club', is, as far as <span style="font-style: italic;">Sopranos</span> episodes go, a bit of a dog.<br /><br />A large chunk of 'Join The Club' is dedicated to one of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sopranos</span>' interminable dream sequences. With Tony (James Gandolfini) lying in a coma after Uncle June's (Dominic Chianese) near-fatal senior moment last week, we are 'treated' to a trip through Tony's subconscious. He dreams of being a businessman leading the straight life apparently. Yeah, yeah, we get it now. In fact, we got it ages ago. The whole of the series since inception has pivoted on Tony's misgivings or 'agita' with 'the life', so we don't need half an episode detailing this in a too knowingly cryptic manner. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sopranos</span> is an undeniably great piece of work, but it's episodes like this that stop it from being (heresy alert!) as good as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wire"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span></a>.<br /><br />Before all that, at 10pm, you have the choice between <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_break"><span style="font-style: italic;">Prison Break</span></a> (Five) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_%28TV_series%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span></a> (Sci-Fi Channel). So it's either the progressively implausible caper of the improbably rag-tag bunch of cons or the surprisingly believable adventures of a gang of disparate superhuman freaks. I don't know which one to pick. To be honest, they're both ridiculously watchable and you're all probably going to Sky+ one of them or watch <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> on Sci-Fi+1 or something.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TUESDAY: </span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span></span></span></span>'s on! You know the drill: 10pm, FX, Sky Channel 179. Sky's programme planner doesn't really do its best to sell this undervalued show. Here's what the <span style="font-style: italic;">i</span> button tells us we're in for tonight; Valchek leaks details of the Braddock case to Carcetti, who considers how to leak it to the press. The ensuing negative attention turns Royce against Burrell. High octane mayhem ensues! Okay, the last part was a lie and, as any fan knows, action isn't really what <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span>'s all about. Just watch it, dammit!<br /><br />Elsewhere tonight, there's new US import drama, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapped_%28TV_series%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">Kidnapped</span></a>, which looks like it could be good if a little classy-by-numbers. But hey, you've gotta love anything with Delroy Lindo in the cast and<a href="http://www.channel4.com/more4/"> More4</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/">BBC4</a> compete to see who can lower their standards the most. More4 are screening Harrison Ford's disastrous attempt to play Russian in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K19_Widowmaker"><span style="font-style: italic;">K-19: The Widowmaker</span></a>, while BBC4 throw in a rather pointless addition to their 1997 theme week with the Melinda Messenger-presented, <span style="font-style: italic;">I Love 1997</span>, that features such cultural highlights as the rise to fame of the Spice Girls, Mike Tyson biting a chunk out of Evander Holyfield and <span style="font-style: italic;">Ti</span>-fuckin'-<span style="font-style: italic;">tanic</span>. For shame, the pair of you!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WEDNESDAY: </span>"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!". It's <span style="font-style: italic;">Friday Night Lights</span> (8pm, ITV4, Sky Channel 120)! Leave all prejudice at the door and bask in its brilliance. Also, rising comedy star, Rasmus Hardiker (<span style="font-style: italic;">Saxondale</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Lead Balloon</span>) is in the latest edition of BBC4's fitfully funny comedy of manners, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/tight-spot.shtml"><span style="font-style: italic;">Tight Spot</span></a>, alongside Nina Wadia, Douglas Hodge and Siobhan Redmond. Could be good.<br /><br />Looking for something a little more intelligent? Well, Sky's new channel, Sky Arts (Channel 267) are showing Peter Greenaway's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Zed_and_Two_Noughts"><span style="font-style: italic;">A Zed And Two Noughts</span></a>. Or you could just watch Spurs Vs. Sporting Braga on ITV. Your choice.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">THURSDAY:</span> The best thing on tonight is FX's comedy double bill of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Louie"><span style="font-style: italic;">Lucky Louie</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chappelle%27s_show"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chappelle's Show</span></a> from 10pm. I'll be writing more about these two on here pretty soon but I'll just say for now that you won't see a funnier hour-and-a-bit on telly all week.<br /><br />Also tonight, Channel 4 are screening <span style="font-style: italic;">Goodfellas</span> (10pm), ITV are showing more UEFA cup football in the form of the non-event that is Newcastle United away to Dutch team, AZ Alkmaar (maybe there'll be more Geordies in Holland this week than were at St. James' Park last week) and, in case you missed it last night (and with their complete lack of scheduling nous, I wouldn't blame you if you did), ITV2 are re-running the series finale of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Office_%28US_TV_series%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Office: An American Workplace</span></a>. Will Pam and Jim get together? Who will win the battle of wills between Michael and Toby from HR? Will Dwight and Angela finally come out as a couple? Why don't you tune in and find out at the unholy hour of 12.40am?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FRIDAY: </span>It's Comic Relief night on BBC1 and 2, which means we get a mixture of the good (Borat, Mitchell And Webb), the bad (The Vicar Of Dibley, Take That) and the downright bizarre (whatever the fuck 'Top Gear Of The Pops' is supposed to be) of British comedy and light entertainment, but hey, it is all for charidee. Get your guilt and your comedy ears on from 7pm.<br /><br />If you want to avoid Comic Relief, your options are a bit limited. The other three terrestrial channels are holding back on their a-game lest they get roundly savaged in the ratings stakes, which is understandable. Over on BBC4, however, they're celebrating Paddy's Day with a night of programmes dedicated to fiddle-dee-dee Irish folk music. I'd rather stick pins in my eyes although the always dangerous Shane MacGowan is listed as one of the performers. You could just watch <span style="font-style: italic;">Weird Science</span> (10.50pm, Sci-Fi) with a warm, rose-tinted glow and realise that it's nowhere near as good as you remember it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SATURDAY:</span> Well, I don't think I need to tell you all to watch <span style="font-style: italic;">Harry Hill's TV Burp</span> (6pm, ITV1), but I will anyway. If you're not going out, BBC3 are showing <span style="font-style: italic;">Fight Club</span> (9.30pm) and Sky Arts have a Pixies acoustic set to share with us (10pm).<br /><br />So much better than the post-pub fare that Bravo are misleadingly branding it as, you could do a whole lot worse than catching <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Venture_Bros">The Venture Bros.</a> </span>on the [adult swim] block at 1.45am. That is assuming that you're not asleep or too pissed to appreciate its greatness.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SUNDAY: </span>Sky One (Channel 106) gets the nod for superior popcorn with the still heart-pumping <span style="font-style: italic;">24</span> and the still fucking bewildering <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost </span>from 9pm. BBC2 has the second part of uber-smart doc, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Trap: What Happened To Our Dreams Of Freedom</span> (from <span style="font-style: italic;">The Power Of Nightmares </span>creator, Adam Curtis), also from 9pm and Channel 4 have a run-down of <span style="font-style: italic;">The 100 Greatest Stand-Ups</span> from 8pm. I'll bet Richard Pryor's number one.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TV ON THE INTERNET</span><br /><br />This has to be one of the strangest things I've seen on YouTube in a while - <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=socYMgxJhwk">eminent Slovenian sociologist and one of the greatest thinkers of our time, Slavoj Zizek, wasting his time on a Boston cable show.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=4A3XrF5e-Mg">A super-funny promo spot</a> for <span style="font-style: italic;">Tom Goes To The Mayor</span> creators, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim's new [adult swim] show, <a href="http://www.adultswim.com/shows/timanderic/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!</span></a> Looks very promising indeed and the more Bob Odenkirk, the better.<br /><br />OMG! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5cS0bZiJ1Q">Bernard Manning sings The Smiths!</a> If anyone can remember what sketch show this was on, I'd be eternally grateful.<br /><br />And finally, because I never tire of seeing this and because of all the controversy surrounding TV phone-ins right now, Five Star on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg_s6aOp23M"><span style="font-style: italic;">Going Live!</span></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-39251131227100234602007-03-10T08:02:00.000-08:002007-03-12T14:53:59.407-07:00"Sometimes it is what it is"Originally posted on my sister blog, <a href="http://yermamontoast.blogspot.com/">Yer Mam!</a>, but in the interest of verisimilitude, I thought I'd dump it over here too.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4wTykSkcZ5L-zMQTkU6vISjUI7rJtx_lQ5PA4b8JB7KMniK1vPSClYsKV23KpGziAS70ylCWPMVoM1fmH_lzGKdDZVklWZQmODVMyv6h3vuZmT9qZM5CATuw58BIpoXY81ed5uR_Axc/s1600-h/omar.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038479486617117586" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4wTykSkcZ5L-zMQTkU6vISjUI7rJtx_lQ5PA4b8JB7KMniK1vPSClYsKV23KpGziAS70ylCWPMVoM1fmH_lzGKdDZVklWZQmODVMyv6h3vuZmT9qZM5CATuw58BIpoXY81ed5uR_Axc/s320/omar.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />“How you expect to run with the wolves at night when you spend all day sporting with puppies?” – Omar Little<strong></strong><br /><br />I’ve just watched last night’s <em>The 50 Greatest Television Dramas</em> on Channel 4 and while it was a refreshingly insightful list programme, free of input from the usual cavalcade of misinformed z-listers, choosing instead to coax talking heads from the people involved in the making of the shows and other such peripheral players like critics, it struck me that something was missing. The list was an undeniably classy one featuring such telly classics as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_%28UK_TV_series%29"><em>Cracker</em></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys_from_the_Blackstuff"><em>Boys From The Blackstuff</em></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinker,_Tailor,_Soldier,_Spy#Television_adaptation"><em>Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy</em></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_play"><em>State Of Play</em></a> and such, with the unarguably great <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sopranos"><em>The Sopranos</em></a> sitting pretty at the top. However, considering it was voted for by the same people who the programme-makers were talking to, they missed out the one truly peerless television drama there is. They forgot about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wire"><em>The Wire</em></a>.<br /><br /><em>The Wire</em> has recently returned to British screens (Tuesday 10pm, FX, Sky Channel 179) for its fourth season which aired to uniformly praising reviews in the States last year and the makers don’t look in danger of losing the plot at any time soon. A dense, morally blurred patchwork of American life dressed up as a cop show, <em>The Wire</em> is the most consistently rewarding, engaging television show of all time that, to its devotees, stands head and shoulders above the rest of the pantheon of modern American dramas such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_feet_under"><em>Six Feet Under</em></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huff_%28TV_series%29"><em>Huff</em></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_Wing"><em>The West Wing</em></a> and <em>The Sopranos</em> itself. In fact, the only problem with <em>The Wire</em> is that not enough people watch it.<br /><br />If it had been picked up by a brave terrestrial channel before now there’s no question that The Wire would have figured in this list, if not topped it. Actually, before watching <em>The 50 Greatest Television Dramas</em>, I thought to myself that <em>The Wire</em> was either going to be number one or it won’t be in the list at all. The fact that it fell into the latter camp is purely down to its limited viewership. In <em>The Wire</em>, creator David Simon has crafted a monumental piece of television that transcends its medium. The Wire is such a brilliant work of art that it feels denigrating to measure it up against other television programmes. It should be viewed as art in the same sense as you would a classic book, beautiful painting or particularly affecting poem. It really is that good.<br /><br />Maybe I’m laying it on a little thick, but superlatives seem a little superfluous when conveying just how staggering I think <em>The Wire</em> is. Watching television is, largely, a passive activity, unless you’re one of these sociopaths who like to try to second-guess the writers by theorising about where the plot is going to go next (I hate these people. Why can’t they just give themselves up to the mercy of the writers? What kind of enjoyment do they get from finding out that they were right other than being able to say “I told you that was going to happen” and then feeling a little let down by the fact that the writers are no smarter than they are?) or you get particularly involved with quiz shows, so the engrossing, involving nature of <em>The Wire</em> is to be applauded. What other show would make a seasoned junkie and habitual thief (Bubbles, played beautifully by Andre Royo) the only real good guy? Where else would you find yourself sympathising with the plight of a ruinous fuck-up of a detective (Jimmy McNulty, inhabited by Sheffield-born actor, Dominic West) who manages to be both utterly charming and completely self-destructive? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nypd_blue"><em>NYPD Blue</em></a> may have had one at the heart of the show for years but how can you be expected to give a shit about Sipowicz when the character is so detestable. Despite the fact that the makers of <em>The Wire</em> ask you to side with people that you would cross the street to avoid in real life, they never rely on the audience having to make any leaps of faith. They just set about making their characters as real and believable as they possibly can and place trust in their cast to help flesh them out.<br /><br />So does season four so far live up to the three untouchable seasons that preceded it? Of course it does. Once again the makers have broadened the programme’s rich palette of characters by adding four teenage friends to the cast in Randy, Namond, Dukie and Michael. Each of the friends seem to represent different points of view on the young black experience in America. Randy (Maestro Harrell) is the bootstrap capitalist, always out to make a buck by selling stolen sweets and drinks in school. Namond (Julito McCullum) is the spoilt, comparatively rich kid, helped along by his imprisoned father, Wee-Bey Brice’s former position as head soldier in the Avon Barksdale street army. Dukie (Jermaine Crawford) is representative of the abject poverty and broken homes some black American children are subjected to with his crackhead family seeing to it that he is destined to grow up without a strong role model. Michael (Tristan Wilds), however, is the most intriguing of the new characters. Michael is at that crossroads in his life where his future could go either way; a strong-minded, intelligent young man with a fearless heart and a belligerent streak a mile wide, it appears that the choice of whether to be a good citizen and a pillar of the community or be swayed by newly-appointed King of Baltimore, Marlo Stanfield’s imminent grooming will form the crux of the viewer’s emotional investment in the character.<br /><br /><em>The Wire</em>’s way of introducing new characters with each season and weaving them into the show’s tapestry with consummate ease is what keeps fans coming back. That and the fact that it’s the most smartly-written, multi-faceted drama around anyway. Also, with each season more and more light is shed on the lives and actions of the already-established characters. Superficially the star of the show, although the rich ensemble makes the notion of there being a lead seem ridiculous, West’s Jimmy McNulty is back on the beat and shacked up with season two hangover, Beadie Russell (Amy Ryan). Domesticated to the point of boring, McNulty has finally found happiness. Therefore, it should only be a matter of time before the peace is shattered by his own penchant for kyboshing each and every good thing that ever happens to him. While it’s strange to see him emasculated and house-trained, thus losing the edge that made him so compelling in the first place, it’s also heart-warmingly comforting to see him finally settle down.<br /><br />The Major Crimes Unit is in the process of being gutted from the inside out by Deputy Commissioner Rawls’ (John Doman) “very own Trojan horse”, Lieutenant Marimow (Boris McGiver), with Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters) and Kima Greggs (Sonja Sohn) defecting to Homicide after having their probing assets investigation subpoenas swept under the carpet due to their targeting of major political figures in the run-up to an election. Oh yes, there’s an election going on, meaning that we are treated to more screen time for incumbent Mayor Clarence Royce (Glynn Turman. He was nearly Lando Calrissian, you know!) and opponent, Councilman Thomas Carcetti (Aidan Gillen, of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer_as_Folk_%28UK_TV_series%29"><em>Queer As Folk</em></a> fame). The transformation of Carcetti from oily, super-ambitious, self-serving prick to genuine likeable good guy is one that the writers really haven’t had to strain for. Last season, Carcetti was the first character that you felt wasn’t easy to root for. That was until his post-Hamsterdam soliloquy where he indicted the Mayor for his neglectful attitude towards the Baltimore locals. Since then, you really believe that his actions are of an altruistic nature rather than being egotistical. Gillen plays his dead-eyed conviction perfectly too which makes you wonder why he’s not a star by now.<br /><br />On the other side of the law, Marlo (Jamie Hector) has ascended to the height of ruler of the streets. A ruthless, cold-hearted gangster whose intelligence just makes him all the more frightening, the monosyllabic Marlo lets his actions do the talking. In the first episode of the new season, we see Marlo doling out money to the local kids for new school uniforms, the hidden agenda being that he’s trying to get the next generation in his pocket at an early stage. As a contrast, former police major, Bunny Colvin (Robert Wisdom) is trying to pick his life back up following his dismissal at the end of last season in the wake of the noble, yet doomed legalised drug-dealing fiasco that was the Hamsterdam project, by teaming up with a social worker to try to get youths on the straight and narrow. This, along with Michael’s story arc, throws into stark relief that the running theme this season is to be the choices that young people make and the lack of any kind of infrastructure that’s more likely to push them onto the wrong path than see them right. The people of Baltimore in <em>The Wire</em> are creatures trapped by a harsh environment and it’s the schools, the police and the governors who are to be blamed for their pursuit of a criminal way of life because they’ve been let down time and time again by a system that doesn’t work. Even Carcetti feels the futility of trying to do the right thing when he says about his upcoming televised debate with Mayor Royce, “I’ll kick his ass but tomorrow, I’ll still wake up white in a city that ain’t”, the colours signifying both the racial differences and the conflict between right and wrong, good and evil, straight and crooked.<br /><br />Dark clouds are also hovering over another series stalwart. After the ritual dissembling of the Barksdale organisation at the end of the last season, Bodie (JD Williams) is now dealing semi-independently, getting his product from Proposition Joe (Robert F. Chew), by way of Slim Charles (Anwan Glover). The first few episodes of season four have seen Bodie turn a dead corner into a thriving spot, leading to a conflict over ‘real estate’ with Marlo. While he acknowledges that this is a fight he can’t possibly win (“I’m stood here like an asshole, holding my Charles Dickens”), his headstrong attitude is leading him to fight anyway. While I stated earlier that I hate when people try to guess what’s coming, you just know that this war will end badly. As in life, there’s nary a happy ending in <em>The Wire</em>. The loss of right-hand man, Lex, due to a “nigger moment” (fans of <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boondocks">The Boondocks</a></em> will get the reference) with one of Marlo’s guys, Fruit (Brandon Fobbs, last seen feuding over money with Cutty last season) and his vain attempts to recruit Michael further add to the sense of dread hanging over Bodie.<br /><br />Things are going okay for Cutty (Chad L. Coleman) however, with his inner city gym booming and his newfound status as West Baltimore’s most eligible bachelor has put a smile on his face and food in his belly. Cutty, with his puppy-dog eyes and slow, deliberate drawl, has been one of <em>The Wire</em>’s most likeable characters since his introduction last season. His storyline this season should tie in neatly with the new focus on the youth of Baltimore.<br /><br />As it should with Prez (Jim True-Frost), who has jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire since leaving the force last season due to the accidental murder of another cop, whom he mistook for a suspect. Prez is now a teacher at Tilghman Middle School, which finds him teaching Maths to the four new teenage characters. Possibly the least commanding presence ever to stand in front of a class of children, it’s not long before Prez realises that he’s got a lot of work on his hands if he wants to get his charges to respect him. He spends a whole lesson trying to get his pupils to work out a ‘fun’ maths problem, whilst dealing with a stand-off between two girls (ending in one of <em>The Wire</em>'s trademark startling bursts of violence the next school day) and the clowning around of some of the kids. He manages to pose his question just as the bell rings, leaving him to sigh resignedly, “A – Who arrives in Philly first?... And B – By how much time? And C – Who gives a rat’s ass?”.<br /><br />Another returning character who looks like he’s going to play a big part this season is Herc (Domenick Lombardozzi). His catching of the Mayor in a compromising situation has seen him make Sergeant via the back door and his decision to go to Major Valchek (Al Brown) for advice on what to do with this information could spell huge repercussions down the line for Mayor Royce. Carcetti has the Major’s ear and Valchek’s predisposition for acting in a spiteful manner (He kicked off Frank Sobotka’s downfall in season two, remember) will most likely signal the beginning of the end for the Mayor. Although it’s odd at first to see him separated from his partner, Carver (Seth Gilliam), who’s still a Sergeant in the Western District under Major Daniels (Lance Reddick), it becomes clear that their double-act had run its course and it makes sense to split the two up and let them become compelling creations in their own right.<br /><br />But what of Omar (Michael K. Williams)? The greatest character in the history of television appears to be losing a little interest in “the game”. After dispatching of his nemesis, Stringer Bell (Idris Elba), with the help of Brother Mouzzone last season, he’s left in a bit of a rut. In the marvellous opening scene of the third episode, Omar heads out onto the streets of Baltimore, unarmed and decked out in a blue silk robe and matching pyjama bottoms to buy a box of Cheerios and a carton of menthol cigarettes. Stopping to light one up in front of one of the many boarded-up row houses on the streets of Baltimore, a big bag of gel caps of heroin is thrown down from the upstairs window. Realising that he can now get by on reputation alone with little actual work, a tussle with Marlo is surely on the cards.<br /><br />Omar has long since been <em>The Wire</em>'s trump card (not every TV drama has a homosexual stick-up artist up its sleeve) and the fact that, four seasons in, there’s never been a point where you thought that he was in danger of becoming a little too broadly sketched is a testament to the writing team that features such literary giants as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pelecanos">George P. Pelecanos</a> (Fun trivia fact: Omar’s boyfriend, Ronaldo is seen reading Pelecanos’ <em>Drama City</em> at the breakfast table in the aforementioned scene) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Price_%28writer%29">Richard Price</a>. The choice of recruiting writers previously more entrenched in writing for the page rather than the screen has proved to be a masterstroke from David Simon. It has given <em>The Wire</em> the rich, multi-textured feel of a great novel and it’s all done with the detail and slow-burn atmosphere of the best crime fiction. A note to those Hollywood producers sitting on development hell-ensnared books by Pelecanos and Price; make sure you get these guys to adapt their own work, get David Simon in as producer and use the same casting director as <em>The Wire</em>. Oh, and if you’re ever developing <em>King Suckerman</em>, get Michael K. Williams to play Wilton Cooper and Seth Gilliam would be perfect as Marcus Clay.<br /><br />Anyway, the oversight of leaving <em>The Wire</em> off a list of the greatest television dramas of all time may at first seem like a travesty, but when it’s in a field of its own anyway, pitting it against other, admittedly great television shows just seems unfair to all concerned. As far as 21st century drama goes, <em>The Wire</em> is unequalled.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-88386434786207024282007-03-07T11:26:00.000-08:002007-03-10T07:57:44.929-08:00Save the cheerleader, save the world.The TV schedules, both terrestrial and extraterrestrial (ie Sky), are packed with classy US imports these days. In fact, next week sees the launch of two more in the shape of medical drama, <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_LBS">3lbs</a> </span><span>(Sunday, 10.50pm, BBC1)</span><span>, starring the always excellent Stanley Tucci (<span style="font-style: italic;">Big Night</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Daytrippers</span>), which was pulled from the air by CBS after just three episodes and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapped_%282006_TV_series%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">Kidnapped</span></a> (Tuesday, 10pm, Channel 4) which has one of the most impressive casts for a new drama that I've ever seen, with roles for Delroy Lindo, Timothy Hutton, Dana Delany and Jeremy Sisto among others. It seemingly couldn't fail but it came up against <span style="font-style: italic;">House </span>in the States and was roundly whupped in the ratings stakes, leading to its cancellation after just one season.<br /><br />I'm not going to talk about either of those just yet though, having not seen them, but I do want to talk about two of the more recent US dramas (both of which, coincidentally, emanate from the NBC stable) to be launched on this sceptred isle; one of which doesn't really need the publicity but the other could do with every push it can get.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFZyvI1GvNr5YafxJ7ZJ6OteK5RXehkPSynf_3cBQTmxghrgpfvwaA9AkmI0Q7-pGW_4fW7WYeFkjs1wVdkC38gus9133DbMnDLuWSt4U4OYUBHPHQFLZthz5zzmGJUnQJH4IU2JgkA/s1600-h/Heroes.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFZyvI1GvNr5YafxJ7ZJ6OteK5RXehkPSynf_3cBQTmxghrgpfvwaA9AkmI0Q7-pGW_4fW7WYeFkjs1wVdkC38gus9133DbMnDLuWSt4U4OYUBHPHQFLZthz5zzmGJUnQJH4IU2JgkA/s320/Heroes.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5039267512441328562" border="0" /></a><br />I'm sure that, by this point, every man and his illegal crossbred fighting dog has told you about how good <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_%28TV_series%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span></a> is. Or does it just feel that way? <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> (Monday, 10pm, Sci-Fi Channel, Sky Channel 129) has received one of the biggest promo drives I've ever witnessed, but it's tucked away on the Sci-Fi Channel, so only people with Sky subscriptions can see it at the moment. It comes to BBC2 in June, when it should become the must-see programme for the summer, but for the time being, those of us privileged enough to enjoy the status symbol of having a clunky old black mesh dish stuck on the side of our houses can see what all the fuss is about.<br /><br />Anyway, all those people prattling on about it at the watercooler or whatever your workplace's equivalent is are right; <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> is really very good indeed. I was initially a little suspicious due to its superficial similarities to <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span> and the lazy journalists who used this comparison as a crutch. Not that I don't like <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span>, I do, I was just understandably apprehensive as to whether we needed another puzzling, sprawling, vaguely paranormal thrillfest clogging up our schedules. Thankfully, <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> isn't that show. Admittedly, it's a little on the hokey side, but after just four episodes I've been well and truly sucked into its barmy/plausible miniverse.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> is big, brash and more than a little daft, but its major saving grace is that its completely aware of this. Taking cues from a multitude of comic books and movie and TV adaptations of comic books (most notably <span style="font-style: italic;">X-Men</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Smallville</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Unbreakable</span>), its like watching a distillation of everything that's brilliantly silly about the superhero myth but, because creator Tim Kring acknowledges that the mere premise of the show requires a sizeable leap of faith from the audience, he rewards that by creating a credible world and relatable, if archetypal characters.<br /><br />So we get cutie-pie cheerleader, Claire Bennett (Hayden Panettiere), who just happens to have developed the ability of tissue regeneration, meaning that whatever scrapes or accidents she manages to get herself into (and they come with astonishing frequency), she just picks herself up and goes about her business. Rushing into a derailed train on fire to save a trapped man? No problem. Throwing herself off a 70ft bridge onto the ground below? A walk in the park as long as she pops her shoulder back into place afterwards. Being roughed up by the star quarterback before falling head first onto a log? Well as long as the pathologist pulls a twig from said log out of her cerebellum, it's just a case of throwing on a lab coat and getting the fuck out of the morgue.<br /><br />Then there's Hiro (Masi Oka), easily the most likeable of the principles. Blessed with the ability to monkey around with the space-time continuum, he's spent most of the time so far grinning from ear-to-ear and enthusing about his newfound powers like the comic geek he is. This is in wonderful contrast to the rest of the characters' brooding and, let's be honest, if you found out that you could manipulate the world to your benefit (the excellent story strand in the third episode showing Hiro and his incredulous mate, Ando hitting Vegas and cheating at cards was a great example of this, <span style="font-style: italic;">Rain Man</span> homage and all) and the benefit of others, you too would be laughing your arse off all the time.<br /><br />There's also schlubby LA beat cop, Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg, who finally gets a crack at playing lead schlub after being the sidekick type for years in shows like <span style="font-style: italic;">Felicity </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">Alias</span>) whose knack for reading people's thoughts comes in handy when catching the bad guys, struggling NY artist, Isaac (Santiago Cabrera) who can paint the future as long as he is strung out on smack (although it must be said, he can't manage to convince someone to buy his shitty etchings), and Vegas-dwelling web stripper, Niki (Ali Larter - sex on legs), who seems to be developing her own ultraviolent alter ego, Ms. Hyde type.<br /><br />Filling out this motley crew are brothers Nathan (Adrian Pasdar - who can fly) and Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia - who can take on the other heroes' powers as long as they are in the vicinity). Their story hasn't quite taken off yet (pun totally intended) and this is largely due to the sleepwalking Ventimiglia, although the end of the fourth episode hints that he may have more to get his teeth into in the future. It's nice to see the underrated Pasdar get a little exposure though and he plays Nathan as half <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profit_%28TV_series%29">Jim Profit</a>, half Caleb from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_Dark"><span style="font-style: italic;">Near Dark</span></a> - slightly oily (he is a congressional candidate after all) but he clearly loves his brother.<br /><br />Tying them all together we have Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy), a genetics professor from India whose geneticist father hit upon the existence of the superheroes before his sticky end. It's unclear yet what part Mohinder has to play in proceedings and the scenes in which he stands in his father's old dimly-lit NY apartment, spouting clunky exposition are the only times when <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> drags a little. Maybe that's Mohinder's power; telling us all what we already know in a patronising manner.<br /><br />Even though <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span>' faults are often glaringly obvious, it rattles along at such a pace that they are easy to overlook. It's a remarkably adult slice of popcorn entertainment too with an often startlingly high level of grue and gore. When you have a big chunk of your ensemble being stalked by a killer intent on lopping off the top of your head and stealing your brain however, a bit of bloodletting is to be expected. This being on a major US network though, swearing is out of the question. Sure, you can have a lead character wake up on a mortuary slab with her insides showing, but there's a swift edit just as she starts to let out the understandable "Oh shit!".<br /><br />The most impressive thing about <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> thus far is that it has found its feet and its rhythm in double-quick time. There's been more incident already than there was in the whole first season of <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span> and its time-hopping structure feels less like unnecessary padding than that show's incessant flashbacks. Like I said though, they're different shows and it's unfair to measure a fresh, new series against one that's had time to grow frustrating. I'm confident though that, in time, <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> will be considered the better show, mostly because it is more concerned with taking the viewer on a wild ride than the evermore baffling chicanery of <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span>, where the only people truly enjoying themselves anymore are the writers.<br /><br />Kring has hinted at a five season run for <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span> and, who knows, that may be stretching the point a little. Something tells me though that we're going to have a lot of fun finding out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwDsuX_tDOzhcLtHCI-BOJlKH-BWnETBqsEiapG-kYLLVfU5LMz_qU2QfZn5gaVJRxYGvv4vtJWxGSvFaIIUW1NL6pRYT7sbUsYkrNiTLunVn6VeeicbVgUWvouSViCmwwzkifpBKBA/s1600-h/fridaynightlights.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwDsuX_tDOzhcLtHCI-BOJlKH-BWnETBqsEiapG-kYLLVfU5LMz_qU2QfZn5gaVJRxYGvv4vtJWxGSvFaIIUW1NL6pRYT7sbUsYkrNiTLunVn6VeeicbVgUWvouSViCmwwzkifpBKBA/s320/fridaynightlights.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5039267405067146146" border="0" /></a><br />I don't like American football - rugby for softarses, as I call it - one little bit. It's too slow and contains far too much unnecessary jargon for my liking. So why have I fallen head-over-heels for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_Night_Lights_%28TV_series%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">Friday Night Lights</span></a> (Wednesday, 8pm, ITV4, Sky channel 120)? You would think the fact that I feel so strongly in my dislike towards gridiron that I would steer clear of it, but the fact is, I hate the sport but I love to watch films and TV about it.<br /><br />From the fondly-remembered, albeit admittedly shit Goldie Hawn vehicle, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildcats_%28film%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">Wildcats</span></a>, which seemed to be on telly every school holiday during my childhood through to Oliver Stone's balletic paean to the sport and the money men hellbent on ruining it, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Any_Given_Sunday"><span style="font-style: italic;">Any Given Sunday</span></a>, I don't think you can underestimate the knack that America's film and television makers have for turning this most sluggish of sports into something approaching high art. I guess it's the stop-start nature of American football that makes it translate so well into nail-gnawing drama. Watched live it's coma-inducing, but edited down to the highlights, then it's heart-stopping.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Friday Night Lights</span> is a spin-off from the Billy Bob Thornton film of the same name and claims to be "inspired by" the H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger novel on which that movie was based. The names have been changed but the spirit remains the same. We're still following the fortunes of a small town, Texan high school football team (this time, the Dillon Panthers) and the effect that those fortunes have on the community. We even get snatches of that film's score from TX post-rockers, Explosions In The Sky and Connie Britton reprising her role as the coach's long-suffering wife and calming influence.<br /><br />It shares the film's vibe of poetic elegance and slowly-unfurling, Altman-esque character study. The principles in <span style="font-style: italic;">FNL</span> actually talk like real people do, most of the time, with the odd bit of grandstanding bombast thrown in for good measure (the nature of its subject allows for a little bluster though). It also looks beautiful; the scorched, sun-drenched palette giving each frame an ethereal glow.<br /><br />Most of all though, it's a smartly-written and brilliantly acted show. The <span style="font-style: italic;">deus ex machina</span> of having QB1, Jason Street (Scott Porter) sever his spinal cord in the opening episode doesn't feel too forced either, as it allows nervy, insecure back-up quarterback, Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) to take centre stage and his lack of faith in his own abilities are mirrored by the Dillon citizens' own apprehensions.<br /><br />Faith is the operative word here as the writers have hit upon a winning way of making the show's religious overtones more palatable, partly because belief, both in God and in the Panthers, is constantly being tested, but also because this is America's bible belt and considering how much of a hot button religion is these days, <span style="font-style: italic;">FNL</span>'s central themes end up taking on a deep resonance. When all's fucked up, you turn to God, but where do you turn when even He forsakes you? That's the lingering question posed here and even though the answers may seem pat (believe in yourself, take control of your own destiny, yada yada yada), the tangible sense that, to the townsfolk of Dillon, religion and football is all they have (echoed in the brilliant opening sequence of the second episode which shows various church congregations all across town praying for the wellbeing of their starting QB) is what anchors these cliches in believability.<br /><br />Like I said, the cast is invariably excellent, with Kyle Chandler as conflicted everyman coach, Eric Taylor being the heart of the show and a master of understatement, while both Gilford and Taylor Kitsch essay different ends of the insecurity spectrum - Gilford's Matt Saracen is an introverted stranger to self-confidence while Kitsch's Tim Riggins over-compensates for his self-loathing by carousing and boozing away his talent or feuding with motormouth, egotistical running back, Brian "Smash" Williams (Gaius Charles). Connie Britton also brings surprising grace notes to what could have been a thankless role.<br /><br />It's early doors yet for <span style="font-style: italic;">Friday Night Lights</span>, but the signs are that this could be a classic. NBC have shown enough faith in it to commission a second season despite faltering ratings. Elegiac, poised and powerful, you owe it to yourself to give it a try, even though they do wear all that namby-pamby padding.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Any_Given_Sunday"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591391317529004750.post-55239298845390073882007-03-07T11:10:00.000-08:002007-03-10T05:57:47.539-08:00Coming this spring.Yes, I'm starting a new blog. What <a href="http://yermamontoast.blogspot.com/">Yer Mam!</a> is to music, so No Flipping! will be to television. Here are my three commandments...<br /><br /><ol><li>Watch TV</li><li>Write about it</li><li>Try to be funny</li></ol>That is all, for now.<br /><br />JMxJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03504437464186572313noreply@blogger.com0