I’m not really the squeamish type. Honestly I’m not. I watched when a friend of mine had her mole removed. With a scalpel. See – not squeamish! But even I am not capable of watching something disgusting and eating at the same time. Can’t be done. And yesterday I was watching True Blood (I am way behind) and after one vampire too many exploded and there was vampire goo all over the floor… well… it put me right off my doughnut. So not ok (especially since I was just getting my doughnut groove back after the food poisoning).
I thought why not do something useful and compile a list of shows that you should watch without reaching for any food stuff. It goes without saying some of these clips are rather unsavory so you have been warned.
True Blood – I have already mentioned True Blood and how it put me off my doughnuts. Now I know it was sometimes gross to begin with (well it is about vampires) but introducing Maryann, the maenad last season did not help matters any. All that pulling the heart out of people’s chest? So unbecoming. And while before we would get maybe one exploding vampire every five episodes now it seems to be a regular occurence. It’s just icky. And gooey. And gross. See what I mean?
I am aware we have a good few Doctor Who fans so here are some related news.
Steven Moffat gave an interview for Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival and he said the series will have 13 episodes and be split in two – 7 episodes during the Easter period and then remaining 6 episode during the autumn period. So technically there will be 2 season finales.
He talks some more about the series – you can check out the rest of the interview in the clip below.
I am still trying to catch up on all of the shows I’ve missed while I was away.
And my Sherlock review is long overdue. If you haven’t seen it already dear readers you simply must. Seriously it is a brilliant piece of telly.
I can understand that for true Holmesians it might seem like utter nonsense to make Holmes a modern man. In fact I remember when I was reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books all those years ago one of the things I loved the most was the setting of Victorian London. For what it is worth (and I’m sure any Anglophiles will appreciate this) there is plenty of London porn (the kind of London porn that makes you want to book that ticket to UK pronto).
But as Mark Gatiss, one of the creators of Sherlock (also appearing in the series as Mycroft Holmes and more importantly the writer for the third episode the Great Game which I absolutely loved) said himself on BBC TV blog:
This may sound like heresy but really it isn’t. Although Steven and I are second to none in loving the flaring gas-lit atmosphere of a lovely old London, it felt as though Sherlock Holmes had become all about the trappings and not the characters.
Also, the original stories are models of their kind. Incredibly modern, dialogue-driven, fast paced and short! What better way to get back to the roots of these fantastic creations than to make Holmes and Watson living, breathing, modern men just as they had been originally?
Dear readers make no mistake it is fast paced, so freaking fast paced and what I loved even more about this modern version of Holmes is that although each episode is hour and a half long they do not let you off the hook for a second – you constantly need to pay attention to the details or you might miss something. Very similar to what I have come to expect from Christopher Nolan and Cuse and Lindelof. And that my dear readers is always (ALWAYS!) a good thing.
The dialogues are a joy to witness and I did love the dynamic between Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.
I have seen Martin Freeman in different stuff before but Cumberbatch was a mystery. He did deliver. He managed to make Holmes part annoying, part stand off-ish, even Asperger-ish in a way but still dry and witty as hell. And he got that Holmes’ fluidity down to a pat without turning himself into a copy of other actors that portrayed Holmes before him. (OT but I still love Jeremy Brett to bits as his version of Holmes is the one I grew up with).
Since we do get a lot of American readers you might be wondering where and when you can catch Sherlock. The series will air on PBS on October 24th under their Masterpiece banner.
Anyhow check the trailer below and in case you have seen Sherlock do let me know what you thought in the comments.
my parents are on holiday. And my mum called me today and proceeded to inform me that my dad (of all people) has started watching soaps. After we had a good giggle at his expense (as one does) I had to see for myself what in the world is he watching. If it isn’t obvious I haven’t watched any soaps in a while. It seems he got hooked on Binbir Gece which seems to be a modern version of Scheherazade.
But just a few weeks ago a friend and I had a giggle at all the soaps that we used to watch when we were younger (OT but isn’t it astonishing how all twists and turns of the plot seem totally normal while you are into and make no sense at all in hindsight?!) So I’ll try and not be judg-y about it. Operative word being I’ll try
Be as it may – here are some of the soaps I have watched over the years. Feel free to chip in the comments with all of your favorites.
Rosa Salvaje was the first telenovela I ever watched. I just started learning Spanish and we used to ditch the class the watch the show. Which was sort of counterproductive but I remember we justified it at the time as preparation for our class trip to Spain. I do have to admit it made the communication with a group of Spaniards that were staying in our hotel a bit easier Rosa is poor with a kind heart and bit of a tomboy who falls in a love with Ricardo, a wealthy bachelor who also has a twin brother (of course he has a twin brother, they all do). Rosa Salvaje served as a template for many telenovelas to come. Which I’m not so sure is a good thing.
I wanted to do a quick round of new UK shows that you might be interested in. There is some crime and drama and then there should be (at least in theory) plenty of comedy.
Come Dine with Me – now for a bit of an exciting news BBC America has started airing Come Dine with Me. I absolutely love this program because a) the narrator is hilarious (Dave Lamb by the way) and this particular episode had me in stitches. Absolute stitches. I mean you can’t make stuff like this up. Anyhow if you fancy a good giggle Come Dine with Me airs on BBC America every Thursday at 10/9c.
Another bit of good news comes courtesy of TV Scoop – Sky1 commissioned a number of big names to boost their comedy rating (sort to speak). Our lovely Mr. Fry will appear alongside Dawn French and Victoria Wood in series called Little Cracker that will feature a number of short autobiographical films depicting events that happened in their past. Hmmm that should be interesting. Also Ruth Jones is getting her own show called Stella. And speaking of Dawn French…
Roger and Val Have Just Got In Dawn French is getting her own sitcom. Produced by BBC Two it stars Dawn French as food technology teacher Val, while Alfred Molina plays her husband the botanist. If French’s previous work is anything to go by this should be interesting. The series will air in 2010.
Above Suspicion – ITV’s franchise Above Suspicion is back for another season. I quite enjoy ITV’s crime drama offerings and this one is just as good as the usual ITV fare. Based on Lynda Le Plante’s fourth novel about a rookie police officer Anna Travis it once again stars Kelly Reilly as Anna Travis and Ciaran Hinds as her superior Detective Chief Inspector Langton. This time the team investigates a murder of one of their former colleagues who seems to connected with a World famous drug trafficker. Above Suspicion is currently in production and should premiere in 2011. You can check out the trailer below.
The Oaks – new supernatural drama for ITV it features Alex Kingston (of ER fame) and Jodie Whittaker and follows the story of 3 families living in the same house in the 1960s, 1980s and in the present day. The house is haunted by the spirit of a young girl, daughter who lived with the family in the 60s but died under mysterious circumstances. The series will have 5 episodes and it is currently in production.
yesterday new Sherlock Holmes series debuted on BBC One. And well after I got over my initial shock I kind of want to see for myself if it is any good.
Yes it’s all modern and shit. BUT before you turn you nose thinking it some silly attempt of old aunty Beeb of being all hip and modern (which is partly true) the series has been created and written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (of Doctor Who fame). And it stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Given I don’t think I’ve seen Cumberbatch in anything that I can remember but Freeman was in both The Office (the original), The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Shaun of the Dead.
So let’s try and not be judgy beforehand. I was all judgy about Guy Ritchie’s version and it turned out pretty darn great.
You can check out the trailer below.
* And before someone gets on my case that the phrase Elementary my dear Watson was never used in any of Arthur Conan Doyle’s work, I am well aware of that. I just thought it’d be nice for a title. So there.
just to get it out of the way – no Mr. Fry is not going to finally appear on House. Or at least not to my knowledge. I’m not an exclusive scooper that’s Ausiello’s job.
But Hugh Laurie and Mr. Fry will be sharing the same screen this autumn on UK’s digital channel Gold for an one-off documentary. They will be talking about their 30 year friendship and their work on a number of project – A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster and Blackadder to name a few.
So you know wheeee and yaaaaay on so many fronts. Am dying to get my hands on that book. I’m sure it’s going to be well… delish. I predict another creek in the neck from reading all night.
And I leave you with this image my dear readers because this shirt still gives me the giggles teehee
some good news and some bad news regarding Torchwood.
The good news is that US cable network picked up Torchwood and will share in the production cost in return for US rights. Some additional good news is that there will be 10 episodes of the series.
And now for the bad news – the series will air in the summer of 2011. Obviously I know nothing about how TV production works etc but it’s been ages (AGES!) since Torchwood: Children of the Earth.
The series will take more international scope and it will feature John Barrowman and Eve Myles. I bloody well hope they would be featured since the rest of them have all been killed off. Sheesh!
It’s not a new version, it’s not a reboot… It’s not going to be Lost and take 20 years to find out what’s going on. It’s going to have a most remarkable conclusion after 10 episodes.
Hmmm yes we will not mention Lost just yet ok? I still have to deal with the fact there is Monte Carlo Television Festival on at the moment and not one actor from Lost is present. Or the fact there are no Lost casting scoops on EW.
Anyhow I’m just glad there is tentative release date for Torchwood. I loved Children of the Earth.
one of my favorite childhood programs is back – ITV’s Survival.
I used to love that program when I was a child, couldn’t get enough of it and now it’s back (and look it even has it’s own Wikipedia page which definitely wasn’t there last year when I checked).
Only three episodes will air but given it is better then nothing.
Survival is hosted by Ray Mears, who is an animal tracker and wilderness expert and has a number of television series to his name. He will use his tracking skills and follow bears in British Columbia, leopards in Namibia and wolves in Central Idaho.
Oh my. I would like to provide you with a clip, unfortunately I couldn’t find any. If you love animal documentaries then definitely give this one a go, it was such a good series when I was growing up even if it is half good as the original series it is bound to be interesting.
if you are by any chance American you will not have a clue whatthehell I am on about. But me thinks any of our European readers will
Way back in the day (during the 90s to be more exact) I was still in secondary school. These were the days of Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place and Santa Barbara respectively (just so that we understand each other I am talking Beverly Hills 90210 the original, not redux. And lets not dwell on the fact it makes me feel ancient to write that). Anyhow these were the shows that were taped (on VHS) and watched after school or during the weekends to catch up.
But back in the day if there was one channel that was considered must-watch-TV it was MTV Europe. Yes believe it or not MTV. When there was no Sookie Boozokie or whatever her name is and no Hills or whatever else they are showing on MTV at the moment. You had your music videos, some really good VJs and some really good programming.
My favorite, favorite show (meaning I simply had to tape it if I wasn’t around to watch it) was MTV’s Most Wanted. Hosted by Ray Cokes it was on from Tuesday till Thursday (I think, my memory is patchy) and it was a constant source of giggles. There was live music and interactive competitions (I never ever managed to get through and I wanted the goody bag so badly , such things as Bingo Wall of Death and Rob, the cameraman who had the most delightful tush EVER.
The show was truly hilarious and one of the kind which was all down to Ray and his crew. It was original, chaotic but above all funny.
I’m happy to report Ray is alive, well, on Facebook and blogging (it is quite a nice read actually, do check it out). And some further investigation has revealed Rob the cameraman is alive and well (although I cannot confirm if his tush is still delightful).
You can check out the installment of Bingo Wall of Death with none other then Robert freaking Smith. Hello?! See – no Sookie Boozokie. And down below you can watch Cyndi Lauper’s live performance on the show (how freaking awesome is she?)
I do wish Ray the best of luck in his future endeavors and here is hoping to he finds something even better then Most Wanted down the road. I know I for one would tune in.
So tell me dear readers, anyone else watched Most Wanted or am I the resident loony regular?
