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Slow Burn | Jul 31, 2004 10:06
Slightly sad old time on the telly at the moment, with several good things gone, or about to go. Loving the slow burn of The Sopranos though, its focus on the minutiae of family relationships and the way each episode starts small and seems like an epic by the end. If you look closely, I'm sure there's a kitchen sink in there every week.
It's a long time between drinks for us Sopranos fans (and who isn't?), though. The next series won't be made until 2006.
Also loving Explorers, which is sadly (for us) only four parts, although I suspect for Peter Elliot, four was enough. They spent a lot of money on helicopters for the series and it was worth every penny: beautiful, beautiful, beautiful West Coast scenery. And Elliot is good company, too, not too funny or unfunny, kind of wry and at times just managing to keeping his spirits up. The fact that he is doing the journeys of some of the early explorers with all the right high-tech gear only emphasises how hard it was for them.
But ER's gone, as has Angel, the brief and glorious State of Play and Insiders Guide is about to shuffle off this mortal coil, or wherever it is that Buddhists go, possibly into empty urns. Sadly, their replacements seem to be either cop shows (yawn) or reality shows (double yawn). I don't hate cop shows as much as reality shows, but I do find them mostly offensive. Murder as entertainment. Every week the bodies of young women are offered up as sacrifices to the great god of ratings. I'm sure that in the US especially they serve to make people more fearful: everyone always thinks crime is higher than it really is. And really, why you would watch SVU, a show about rape?
To be fair, CSI etc have the fun of all that technology, although the LA Times reports that it's influencing jurors, who expect all the same flashy forensic evidence when they get to a trial.
Do you think Sven might have been watching too many episodes of Footballers' Wives? I'm just saying. Besides, he probably doesn't have the time.
In other quality US television news, I'm sorry to say there are bad reviews in the US for Six Feet Under, but we'll get to decide ourselves after the Olympics have done their dash next month (August 14-29, sports fans). I can tell you that Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn from Buffy) is appearing eventually as a pop princess called Celeste (whom Keith the bodyguard guards), who likes to frolic with boys, but swears to remain a virgin until marriage. Heh.
The Letterman list is thus: Monday 2nd: Natalie Portman, and Ambulance Ltd (they sound crap don't they?); Tuesday 3rd: Rosie Perez and Greg Giraldo; Wednesday 4th: Pamela Anderson and Al Franken (what d'you think they'll talk about in the green room?); Thursday 5th: director Chris Kentis (no idea); Friday 6th: Tom Cruise and Natalie Merchant; Monday 9th: Jada Pinkett and Dax Sheppard; Tuesday 10th: General Tommy Franks and Jessica Simpson; and Wednesday 11th: Will Smith and Jet.
Lastly, apologies for my blogging tardiness; I'm now a wage slave, an office drone, an (almost) nine-to-fiver on account of having crossed over to the Listener – that's my name in the new-look issue, which I know you'll all rush out and buy immediately. It's not a bad life, really.
I Blame the Parents | Jul 14, 2004 17:41
On the one hand, it seems playing video games might actually be good for your kids (phew!) as this story and this story reveal, but on the other, they're going to need specs to play them, which should at least keep one sector of the market happy: opticians.
In a strange bit of synchronicity (or is synchronicity always strange?), number one son recently failed an eye test at school and is now the wearer of a new pair of cool, lightweight, blue-framed specs. Which means, of course, that his myopia is another thing that is my fault. Bad parent. Although there is another theory, which I prefer, that's it's all just a conspiracy to make parents feel guilty. Yes. That's more like it.
The Angelverse shrinks to almost nothing after tonight's season four final, which I'm looking forward to and not looking forward to. It means no more new Angel for a while, as TV3 has replaced it with season six of Buffy. Why? I don't know. But could I do with seeing the musical episode again? Absolutely.
Another series that ends soon is 24, which has been pretty darn good in its final few hours. They did it by emotionally compromising as many characters as possible. It's like State of Origin: This is Personal! You've gotta love Chloe (nicknamed Potato Face by Television Without Pity. Kim Bauer is Spawn, as in Hell Spawn), who is so tactless she's hilarious. Teevee.org's Nathan Alderman has some interesting thoughts on the women of 24, who he thinks are treated badly. I dunno, I don't think anyone comes off all that well. No one is innocent. Jack Bauer's a murdering bastard really, all in the name of national security.
Can't get enough of The Donald? He plans to launch a magazine. I guess it worked for America's first black woman billionaire.
There's been quite a bit of critical frothing going on in the US about Deadwood, a western on HBO that stars, among others, Ian McShane who, in a previous incarnation, was granny fave Lovejoy. The main reason for the publicity is that Deadwood is loaded with cussin'. Someone I know has seen a couple of eps and says it's more profane than The Sopranos.
I'd tune in for a John McEnroe-fronted interview show. Who wouldn't?
The Secret Life of Us versus The Insiders Guide to Happiness debate continues with Shaun who comments:
I think it should be taken into account that The Secret Life of Us is in its third (?) season now and has had a longer time to grow into itself, develop characters etc etc. I remember watching the first series and thinking, "an Australian friends but a bit edgier" once again proving that Australia is little more than a USA with training wheels. The Insiders Guide I consider good TV, not just good local TV, a great use of the medium, well scripted and very well shot, it never lets you get too comfortable.
Thank you Shaun, I agree. I really like the way Insiders is filmed, and good music, too. I like the way it came full circle a couple of weeks back when they went back in time to the accident. Dunno if they're doing another series yet, though, and there is a air of conclusion about the series. It's going somewhere and there will be an ending. Speaking of good music, Secret Life used a Datsuns song last week again – although no-one was wanking this time.
A schoolkid has written asking for an address to write to David Beckham, which is not as easy as I thought it would be. Any ideas anyone?
Lastly, the Letterman list looks like this: Kristin Davis and Ali G tonight (14th); Will Smith and Jet 15th; Hillary Duff and Jonathan Ames 16th; Cedric the Entertainer and surfer Laird Hamilton 19th; Julianna Marguiles and Ashlee Simpson 20th; Denzel Washington 21st; Halle Berry 22nd; Sharon Stone and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs 23rd; Matt Damon and The Hives 26th; and Brittany Murphy and comedian Paula Poundstone 27th.
The universe is alive with life, okay? | Jul 01, 2004 22:26
Do programmes like Andromeda exist to make other programmes like The O.C. look good? How about this little gem from last week's Andromeda on Sky 1, the show that Kevin Sorbo swapped Hercules' leather pants for: "The universe is alive with life!" proclaimed some spooky alien chick with shiny makeup. Kev: "And death too."
The universe is alive with death? R-i-iiii-ght. By contrast, The O.C. (TV2 Friday night) was funny, clever and self-referential in that post-90210 way that Aaron Spelling never dreamed of. OC girl Summer was going ga-ga over the star of a TV show called "The Valley", which starred a guy very much like her real boyfriend, Seth.
Seth is worried that if Summer has to chose between the TV-star him and the real him, she'd chose the TV-star version. Naturally, this leads to a party with strippers in LA after warnings from Seth's father ("That town will eat you!"). Paris Hilton is there and has a conversation with Seth about Pynchon: "Gravity's Rainbow is his masterpiece!" Heh heh. Now that's funny.
Speaking of funnies, Angel has been hysterical, if you think a normally morose vampire with a soul singing "Oh Jasmine" along to the tune of "Mandy" is funny.
Thanks to Jolisa for pointing out this story about a reality show Bridezilla biting back. The June 11 Entertainment Weekly mentioned in that story also includes a rundown of the summer's shows in the US – traditionally a time for dross, so a lot are reality. How about Extreme Dodgeball (okay, maybe that's more like WWE); Into Character, where Ordinary Joes and Janes take part in re-enactments of their favourite films, like a triumphant run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum, a la Rocky; and Next Action Star, which will manufacture, like American Idol, a movie star. The two winners, a man and a woman, take part in a TV movie exec-produced by Joel Silver. There's also the Ashlee Simpson Show, in which Jessica's lil' sis makes a record.
In another twist on the genre, Joe Schmo 2 is a faux reality series, in which contestants think they're on a dating show, but they're surrounded by actors improvising as reality TV stereotypes like "the playa" and the "gotta-be-gay-guy". Woah, that's like Ali G or something.
There is one good thing – Graham Norton is doing a US version of his talk show. He told EW his dream guest would be Madonna, although the Madonna of about six years ago … "Kabbalah – how dull does that sound?"
And Jolisa also points out this hot news in the US, which will be of interest to Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) fans. Also, this story from the Washington Post.
Along with The Cuteness and Suzy Cato, there's been a nomination for Hi-5 ("After all, it's the reason Hi-5 videos sell," says Robert.) This is beginning to sound like a perverted trend. I can see you guys at home: "Hey kids, let's watch Hi-5!" "But Dad! We're 23!"
Hannah really likes The Secret Life of Us too:
… far better than The Insiders Guide to Happiness. The Insiders ... is not bad for a locally-made program but they don't get it quite right like Secret Life. Anyway, if anyone else has a good collection of Secret Life I would love to borrow, as there are a few that I missed.
Ooh, The Insiders damned with faint praise. It is influenced by Secret Life (the writer said so in an interview), but I think it's doing different things. Diana Wichtel said it right when she called it "television of unease", an echo of Sam Neill's phrase "cinema of unease". We often do make melancholy film and TV and I like Insiders for it. Have you noticed the green lighting? Just to add to that sombre air.
Speaking of mad and melancholy, I'm thinking Perfect Strangers would have been better as a sort of Amelie-style comedy, rather than the barmy, unhinged love story it is. Ah well, Sam gets to star in his own cinema of unease story again.
Reasons to be cheerful: Black Books' third series starts on July 8. Here's an Observer story about Dylan Moran; and I have to guiltily admit to liking What Not to Wear, which returns July 9. Is it my imagination, or are there a lot of women around now with bootleg trousers, pointy shoes and short, tucked-in-at-the-waist jackets? It's not a bad thing. They look nice. The Beeb website has an excellent guide to figuring out what to wear – just bang in your body shape and impress your friends and work colleagues with your stylishness.
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