Sunday, November 28, 2010

The X Factor - Final Five

After weeks of much complaints, fans have finally seen that Katie Waissel and Wagner have now gone from The X Factor. Which leaves us with a much predicted final five ...

Rebecca Ferguson - She's the only one in the competition that I would like to see win the thing and she's been the most consistent throughout the whole show as well. If she doesn't win, then I hope she's at least in the final three next week.

Matt Cardle - He's a likeable enough guy and certainly seems to be appealing to the female viewers, so I'm not surprised that he's in the semi-finals. I can also see him or One Direction actually winning this as well.

Mary Byrne - It's amazing to see how far she's come in this (and my sisters are big fans of her) but I'll be surprised if she's in the final three next week. She's definitely talented and more likeable than other but I don't see her winning it, though it would be interesting if she did, wouldn't it?

Cher Lloyd - I liked her at the start but over the last few weeks, I've been a little put off with her as well. If she does win this, then she's really going to have up her game in order to last as a singer because she's definitely not done much out of her comfort zone to be honest.

One Direction - The last thing the world needs is another boyband, so for that reason alone, I'd rather they didn't win but if Matt or Rebecca don't bag the prize, they certainly will. That I can be sure of.

Being Human US Airdate/Trailers

Okay, not an official cast shot but a rather adorable one of the three leads for the US version of Being Human and for SyFy viewers (and those who obtain this stuff via other means), you can catch the series, Mondays at 9pm from January 17th. I have next to no idea if anyone is buying it in the UK (more than likely, SyFy UK will do the deed) but I certainly plan to give it a go at least.

SyFy Promo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOVJoPw85tw&feature=related
Trailer 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_0UnJbVAFs
Sam Witwer Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6yvkFRjCA0&feature=related

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Umbrella

And here's a catch up on some of the stuff I've been watching over the last few days ...

Glee - The last two episodes have certainly been interesting. The first one with Gwyneth Paltrow's Holly Holliday was a lot of fun and to be honest, auto-tuned or not, I did enjoy the mash-up of Umbrella/Singing In The Rain as well as Sue's pretty ruthless attempts of becoming principal, only to jack it in protest of Kurt being victimised by Karofsky in the next episode. It's nice that in the midst of Burt and Carole's wedding that the Glee club, Will and Sue finally stepped in trying to deal with Karofsky, even it backfired somehow. As for Sue's own wedding - um, weird but I did like seeing her mother and while it's nice to see more of Blaine and have Kurt transferred to Dalton, I only hope that Mercedes is due a storyline soon because protesting about tator tots is not good enough to be honest.
Merlin - I love this show, I honestly do and while I loved this episode, this show really needs to step up a gear. Tournaments aren't that exciting anymore and apart from the fact that Gilli wasn't a baddie and made some perceptive comments to Merlin about concealing his magic, this wasn't an episode that progressed much to be honest. Still though, the finale starts this weekend and that does look genuinely exciting.

Misfits - A fantastic second episode. I wasn't exactly in love with the idea of Nathan getting a brother out of nowhere but it certainly worked in helping him and his father overcome some of their own issues when said brother also died as well. It's also interesting that the influence of drugs has some pretty bad effects on the gang's powers as well but along with the ninja guy and mystery girl, Nikki, this show is definitely building up some interesting arcs this year. Oh and excellent choice in music at the start of this episode too.

The Vampire Diaries - One has to feel a little for Pearl. She's all about trying to start over in Mystic Falls and when she isn't having to deal with Anna's interest in Jeremy, she's got rebellious minions torturing the crap out of Stefan for fun as well. I suppose being emtombed for 145 years will do that to you though. On a serious note, these last two episodes have been good but not as good as previous ones, even if I do like Alaric being utilised into Stefan's rescue this week.

Desperate Housewives - Another two episodes which were interesting to varying degrees. Gabby's obsession with Grace is naturally causing problems with Carlos and Juanita but there were some amusing moments when Carlos and Bob hung out more and the latter reunited with Lee. Lynette and Tom's story with the latter's mum was far more affecting than Susan having to become babysitter after Paul made sure she was fired and I'm not sure if the casting was right for Keith's parents but I do like that him and Bree deepened a little more before going their seperate ways. Renee's still not working for me and Beth is only slightly more interesting than when she started. I knew she was a plant.

- Jessica Tuck has been promoted to series regular for Season 4 of True Blood. Janina Gavankar will play shapeshifter/school teacher Luna while Alexandria Breckinridge will play witch Daisy and Vedette Lim will play cage fighter Naomi.
- Grey's Anatomy are planning a musical episode in the second half of the seventh season.
- Calista Flockhart will not appear in the series 100th episode of Brothers And Sisters. Damn.
- Lucas Grabeel will be reprising his role as a teenage Lex Luthor in an upcoming episode of Smallville.
- Being Human US starts on Syfy from January 17th at 9pm. I'll be doing more spoiler blogs on it in the next month.
- The cast of Glee will appear at the semi-final of The X Factor next month. The series will also return in February after the last two episodes air in December.
- Teri Hatcher has denied reports that she's set to leave Desperate Housewives. Rumours did surface that she was due to quit her role in the series.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Buffy Movie Without Joss Whedon

Last summer it was announced that another movie version of Buffy The Vampire Slayer was to be made without creator Joss Whedon having any involvement. As the months passed, I began to assume that this was no longer going to happen but it's just been announced that Warner Brothers are going ahead with a movie version by newcomer Whit Anderson and sans the Joss man after all. To be honest, I'm not really sure how I feel about this. On one hand, nothing literally is sacred anymore and an issue such as being creator of an iconic show doesn't seem to matter but given how Whedon's Season Eight comics have become rather disjointed, dare I actually suggest that perhaps someone else's vision of Buffy Summers may or may not be a good thing? I guess time will only tell on this one.

Guardian Article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/nov/23/joss-whedon-buffy-vampire-slayer

Monday, November 22, 2010

A Love Letter To America - Doctor Who Series 6 Spoilers

Well, hasn't it been an interesting last few days? When we haven't been getting trailers for A Christmas Carol, we've been getting some lovely filming pictures for the first two parter of Series 6 as the cast were filming in Utah last week.

Notice in the first picture two very interesting things - one that Amy is fleeing from the FBI and two, that she's got some interesting marks on her arms not that dissimilar to the ones that River had been branding on hers for earlier shots of this story. According to Piers Wenger, this story is going to be something of a love letter to America and while the filming was in place in Utah, expect scenes in New York, San Francisco and Washington as well.


The Doctor, Rory and River in a particular scene together and it's nice to see that if Amy's wearing plaid, then Rory's wearing some shorts as exchange. I guess with the FBI look, River might be working for Canton (Mark Shephard) and his cronies again. Other casting for this two parter includes Dtuart Milligan, Marnix van den Broeke, Chuk Iwuji, Mark Griffin, Kerry Shale, Glenn Wrage, Jeff Mash, Sydney Wade, Tommy Campbell, Peter Banks, Nancy Baldwin, Kieran O'Connor, Alex Giannini, Adam Napier, Henrietta Clemett, Paul Critoph, Ricky Fearon and Emilio Aquino, according to DWM.

This season has also had a few more details revealed in other areas too. Neil Gaiman's character Idris in the third episode is at the end of her life but doesn't die, Mark Gatiss's story is suburbia based, episodes 5 and 6 will be a two parter by Matthew Graham and are rumoured to be titled The Rebel Flesh and Gangers, featuring Sarah Smart (At Home With The Braithwaites) while Steven Moffat will scribe episodes 7 and 8 with a break in between them as the second half of the season will air in Autumn 2011.

It's also being heavily rumoured that River's true identity will be revealed around the seventh episode and also that Amy learns her secret (or a secret) beforehand and is urged not to tell the Doctor whilst rumours are that Rory will make an almighty blunder as well. Matt Smith also revealed in a recent interview that something is going on with Amy as well in the upcoming series, so make of that what you will. More pictures of the Utah filming can be seen in the link below.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

A Bit Of A Huge Roundup

This is going to be a little short but over the last two weeks, there have been some good shows to watch over.

Lip Service - Pretty interesting finale. I'm not gonna lie that I didn't see Cat/Frankie happening because it was pretty obvious that was going to go there and it'll be interesting to see if Cat does choose her ex-girlfriend over Sam. I did also like Frankie's mystery being resolved and it was nice to see Tess sort out her friendship with Ed, get a good acting gig and spark up a relationship with Finn. Pun intended. Hoping this series returns for a second run.

Merlin - what is it with Uther trying to crush other people's love interests? First, he ended up banishing Gaius's one, Alice after it was revealed that her hand was being forced by a Manticore and thanks to Morgana's scheming, he almost ended up having Gwen executed as well. I have to admit to enjoying Merlin using a disguse in order to save Gwen and give both Uther and Arthur a piece of his mind. Now, I need to go and catch with last night's episode.

Thorne - I really enjoyed the last two episodes of this series but I'm hoping for a little more of an oomph if we get a next series. Thorne's guardianship over Charlie and his scenes with his father, Phil and Ruth were fantastic but Sandra Oh was surprisingly disappointing as Sarah Chen and I wasn't too sad to see her killed by Martin. Overall, a worthwhile addition to Sky1's staple.

Accused - Christopher Eccleston and his gritty dramas, eh? He certainly seems to enjoy them and the start of this six-parter from Jimmy McGovern was a decent stab at something for Monday nights. Each week sees a court case and this week saw Eccleston's character steal money to pay for his daughter's wedding and ending up getting six years as well as having his affair quietly revealed in the background. Certainly not a good day for Willy.

The X Factor - Well, in the last three weeks, we've had TreyC, Aiden and Paije all fall to the sides whilst Katie Waissel and Wagner have triumphed yet again. Having weeks dedicated to both Elton John and the Beatles certainly has been telling but at this point, I just know that either Matt Cardle or One Direction are going to win this, so it doesn't matter what controversy Katie generates, though to her credit, she did a cracking version of Help.

I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here - Maybe it's a form of twisted karma but for a woman who examines other people's poo for a living, Gillian McKeith certainly has managed to become a figure of fun and scorn for the general voting public and her fellow teammates. Personally, while I'm not glued to this series, I am finding the excess picking on Gillian a tad too mean and I don't even like the woman.

The Apprentice UK/Irish Versions - Mmm, I'm watching the Irish more and actually enjoying it more. We've lost misery guts Tara and moronic Dave (while still being lumbered with patronising git, Jamie) and with any luck, Will will develop a personality and Michelle will win the bloody thing. As for the UK versions, I wasn't too sad to see the departures of either Alex or Sandeesh to be honest.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Doctor Who - Children In Need/A Christmas Carol Trailer

Children In Need only comes once a year and since 2005, Doctor Who's had something of a presence. We've had exclusive scenes, previews for Christmas specials and the odd concert here and there in the past but this year's edition with Matt and Karen giving a tea party to two lucky kids certainly took the biscuit - in a very good way of course.

Along with the scene, we also got a rather sumptious trailer for A Christmas Carol, the sixth Christmas special we've had since the show's return. Highlights include watching the Doctor descend from the chimney as Michael Gambom's character warned him that he wasn't the charitable sort. This is also a character who we see at three different points of his life whilst Katherine Jenkins plays one of his version lost love as well.

The most interesting thing about this trailer apart from Amy talking about time being rewritten was seeing her in her kissogram outfit along with Roman Rory (Arthur Darvill) once again. Amy and Rory are mostly seperated from the Doctor in this story as they have their own mission to keep everyone alive on a spaceship whilst enjoying their honeymoon.

Another noteworthy aspect of the special is that while it might look like another Victorian piece, it's not even set on Earth this year but it's certainly taking liberties with the novel that it's inspired from though. And with another 36 days to go, I for one are sure as hell anticipating this beauty all the freaking more. Oh and look out for those sharks in the trailer as well. I'm not sure what to make of them just yet.
A Christmas Carol Trailer: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfp2ux_doctor-who-christmas-special-preview-children-in-need-2010_shortfilms

A Christmas Carol airs on Christmas Day on BBC1.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

My Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures 4x06: "Goodbye Sarah Jane Smith"

Written by Gareth Roberts And Clayton Hickman
Directed by Joss Agnew

Ruby (to Sarah Jane/Clyde/Rani): “I’m afraid not. This is where the adventures. Yours, not mine.”

Thank goodness it’s been long since confirmed that this show will be returning in 2011 for a fifth series or otherwise, “Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith” really would’ve felt like the end of the road for the Bannerman Road gang. Hell, we even had the reminder that no-one is irreplaceable drilling through our heads in this story as well.

Sarah Jane’s been fighting off alien menaces for quite a long time now that at some point, it would have to be looked into as to whether or not she could carry on. Sarah Jane might be able to prevent a lot of things but ageing ain’t one of them and the idea of someone similarly fighting the good fight would be another.

I guess it was obvious that Ruby White would turn out to be too good to be true. She was a direct parallel of Sarah Jane – smartly dressed, initially standoffish and packing some impressive alien tech, which also included the equivalent of her own alien computer in the shape of Mr White.

Add to the fact both Clyde and Rani themselves couldn’t help but compare/notice the similarities between Sarah Jane and Ruby and the whole thing was set in stone. Sarah Jane felt like she was beginning to lose herself and Ruby was conveniently there to pick up the pieces.

Forgetting the sonic lipstick when facing the Dark Horde was a bad moment for Sarah Jane as it gave Ruby the opportunity to play hero with saving Clyde and Rani’s lives but it also meant that Ruby could get closer to Sarah Jane to really put her plans into effect as well. And yes, I totally saw Ruby’s true colours emerging.

In fact, I was damn tempted to scream at my screen when Sarah Jane gave Ruby control over Mr Smith and given that Julie Graham isn’t one of my favourite actresses, I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the hammy moments with Ruby in this entire story.

Ruby’s turn as she revealed to Sarah Jane that she had been sucking the life form out of her managed to retain some menace even if it was rather hammy as well but it also came to show how much trouble Sarah Jane had unwittingly become in. I know Sarah Jane would eventually defeat Ruby with some help but there was some nice touch and go moments in this one as well.

First of all was the fact that Mr Smith tried to alert Clyde to the real identity of Ruby, which only ended up in Clyde getting locked in a prison ship and then there were Rani’s attempts of placating the Katesh creature whilst Luke and K9 banded together to put Mr White out of commission and regain control over Mr Smith.

The final couple of scenes in this story weren’t too conflicting. Ruby’s desire for chaos at the expense of Sarah Jane and the gang was never going to end well for her but the fact that she was stupid enough to underestimate all of them also did help matters. For a creature adept at faking meteor landing and having Sarah Jane doubt herself so heavily, Ruby really did come a cropper in the end.

Of course, there’s no fear in Ruby in actually being destroyed. While she’s still alive and seething on her prison ship, I can only assume that Julie Graham will somehow reappear in the next series and after three series of the Trickster, perhaps Ruby will be another ongoing foe for Sarah Jane to have to deal with. The writers could have a lot of fun with her as a recurring foe.

As for a lot of the other stuff, taking out the seriousness of Sarah Jane’s plight, I’ve got to use this review as an opportunity to heap praise on Gita Chandra. While Ruby had both Clyde and Rani initially convinced that Sarah Jane had done a runner, Gita herself used the logic of maternal instinct as a means of debunking that theory.

I could say it was Gita just being her usual hopeful self but a part of me wonders if there’s something inside Gita that’s trying to remember all her alien encounters and knowledge of who Sarah Jane really is. I’m still convinced that wiping Gita’s memory was a bad move and one that could have consequences and perhaps this was a hint of that.

As for Luke – it was nice to see him back for a full appearance in this story but it’s almost like he is no longer a part of the series if that makes sense. Yes, he was instrumental in Ruby’s downfall but I guess that I’ve gotten so used to not seeing him that it felt a little strange seeing him again.

Also in “Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith”

Sarah Jane ended the story with another one of those ‘life is a big adventure on Earth’ type of speeches.

Sarah Jane: “What are you doing here?”
Ruby: “Saving the world. All in a good day’s work. Goodbye.”

Ruby was largely decked out in red for the whole story and had a sports car. Oh and her was similarly styled like Sarah Jane’s.

Sarah Jane (to Ruby): “You’ve lead a normal life. Nothing’s been normal for me.”

Ruby: “We’re all going to miss you Sarah Jane and your little chums. Wonderful, brilliant Rani, amazing, plucky Clyde. Oh and your son, Lukey, Lukey Pukey. Oh but you don’t want these, your mind’s made up. No looking back, no goodbyes, you’re a hard woman, Sarah Jane. What am I gonna tell these kids?”

Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman previously wrote the 2009 Comic Relief sketch together for the series.

Ruby: “Enjoying the show?”
Sarah Jane (re kids): “They’ll find a way to stop you.”
Ruby: “The hope of the dying tastes so sweet.”

Luke: “You can’t.”
Rani: “It’s the only way or Clyde and Sarah Jane will die.”

Ruby’s prison ship looked pretty similar to the Sontaran ship, except for the white interior of course.

Sarah Jane: “Ruby, you made a big mistake coming here. What we do, it isn’t for the thrills. It’s not yours to take.”
Ruby: “Sarah Jane, I underestimated you.”

Chronology: Late 2010, though none is really specified.

“Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith” is arguably the strongest of the four finales we’ve had and definitely a satisfying end to a series that has certainly come into it’s own over the last few weeks.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

True Blood - Season 4 Wishlist

Season 4 might be seven months away but here are a few things I'd like to see for the upcoming season. - We need a time jump. Let the first episode quickly resolve the Sam/Tommy and Bill/Sophie-Anne cliffhangers before jumping a couple of months - especially when Sookie returns from fairy world.
- Keep the focus on good fairies with a bad ones in the mix but more as a set up for Season 5. I want better development for Claudine as well.
- Flashbacks giving us Eric and Pam's history. Also for Pam to do more in Season 4 as well.
- Jessica and Hoyt to be happy but involved in the big bad storyline in some way. Same with Tara and Sam.
- More stuff from Hadley and Hunter but involving Jason as well as Sookie. Oh and involve Jason with the fairy plot as well, seeing as it should concern him to a degree.
- Maybe some stirring that the shapeshifters are next to come out to the public. Also plenty of Claudine in Bon Temps, being a positive influence on Sookie.

- Hallow/Marnie to totally kick ass and wreck havoc as a baddie. Oh and a team up with her and Russell in the latter half could be fun.
- Eric to get the amnesia plot but maybe towards the latter of the season and have the same change in relationship with Sookie as he did in the book.
- However I wouldn't mind some Sookie/Alcide stuff as well as Debbie returning to cause problems.
- If we have to lose a major vampire, I'm opting for Sophie-Anne, but only after her and Sookie finally interact.
- I would prefer no reunion between Sookie/Bill and for Bill to largely interact with other characters as well as consequences for his attempts of trying to kill Eric, Pam and Sophie-Anne.
- More insight into Arlene and Terry and Holly too, who I think will be roped into Hallow's plot.
- Better writing for the whole Crystal/Hotshot storyline as well as maybe Jason becoming a panther.
- For Sookie to actually work in Merlottes for most of the season as well as having her spend more time with Jason, Sam and Tara. And for more of Lafayette and Jesus too.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

My Review of Dexter's 4x12: "The Getaway"

Written by Wendy West And Melissa Rosenberg And Scott Reynolds
Directed by Steve Shill

Trinity: “Do you think you’re better than I am?”
Dexter: “No, but I want to be.”

And in some ways, it can be argued that Dexter is better than Trinity. For instance, at least all of Dexter’s victims (bar Jonathan Farrow) deserve their bloody fates and at least Dexter hasn’t spent the last few years subjecting his family to fear. Those things at least give him some kind of an edge over the Trinity killer.

After 12 episodes, it was always going to be tough wrapping this storyline in a manner than would satisfy but this episode certainly went out on a limb to mostly resolve everything as best it could. First of all, though the confrontation between Dexter and Trinity in the police station.

It’s amazing how tense that scene managed, especially with everyone else being so obliviousness as to what was going on between the two of them. That being said, I’m glad Dexter realised that it was time for Trinity to be put down but it’s only a pity that it didn’t go to plan once again.

Knocking Trinity was smart and taking his cash to stop him from escaping was also smart but getting into a fight with another cop was downright stupid and I knew that as soon as Dexter got himself arrested that Trinity would have the opportunity to pay him back in kind. There was no way that Trinity wasn’t going to do something awful to Dexter before this episode ended.

And that’s where killing Rita came into it. For once, I am beyond glad that as a viewer I didn’t have to see Trinity’s bathtub murder of Rita on screen but there was certainly a horrible pattern emerged when Dexter picked up Harrison next to Rita’s body in the same way that he had been with his own mother as a child.

It’s also a shame that Rita had to die as well because even though it was inevitable that Trinity would go after her, a part of me assumed that he wouldn’t actually succeed. I also found it extremely interesting that while he was being prepped for his own death, that Trinity didn’t bother to mention to Dexter that he had killed Rita.

Then again, Trinity did make a big song and dance about taking no pleasure in the people that he’s been killing for the last thirty years. I guess it was supposed to counter Dexter’s obvious exhilaration towards his own murders but the fact that he killed Rita certainly made sure that viewers wouldn’t be forgetting him anytime soon – as if we would anyways.

I really enjoyed the scenes between Dexter and Rita prior to the latter’s death as well in this episode. They had finally seemed to be properly communicating as a couple and the Rita that I liked when the show first debuted was there instead of the overly insecure nagging one that we’ve had for too long.

Dexter might not have collapsed into a flood of tears upon seeing Rita’s body but it’s definitely certain that this is going to have a major effect on him. It’s also a kick in the nuts and further proof that Harry might be right all along about Dexter being unable to have a family and a dark passenger at the same time without something having to give.

It’s also probably not the best time either for Dexter to have found out that Deb was aware of Laura Moser and Brian being the Ice Truck Killer. To be fair, I thought Deb actually handled it pretty well but I can see this reveal (especially with Quinn’s growing hatred in the mix) becoming something of a problem for Dexter as well.

As for Arthur Mitchell, he might have been a dead man in this episode but Deb and company were able to peg him down as Trinity after they discovered the true extent of his kill cycle and if that can be done, who’s to say that they won’t learn that it wasn’t Arthur who framed Stan Beaudry as Trinity as well or even the fact that Dexter was at the Mitchell’s house quicker than anyone else?

Also in “The Getaway”

Some of the reprise bits included clips from the first season in order to remind viewers about the Ice Truck Killer saga.

Dexter: “You do not want to question my loyalty to my family, Quinn, not today.”
Quinn: “Do your fucking job.”

When Quinn wasn’t being a prick to Dexter, he also refused to engage in anything to do with Christine’s suicide.

Cop: “Buddy, we’re taking you in.”
Dexter (to himself): “So much for diplomacy.”

Dexter: “My dark passenger has done this to me. It’s ruining my life.”
Harry: “It is your life.”
Dexter: “I don’t want it to be.”

Maria and Angel discussed moving into together but apart from Dexter and Matthews, no-one else seems to know they’re married.

Deb (re Laura Moser): “Well, I know now. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”
Matthews: “Keep it to yourself.”

Rita (to Dexter): “I know you better than you know yourself. You can conquer whatever darkness is in you. I know you can.”

The title of the episode reference the fact that Dexter and Rita were going to go on their honeymoon to the Keys with Harrison during the episode.

Harry: “This is your future, Dexter. We both know it’s inevitable.”
Dexter: “No, Arthur abandoned his family. I won’t abandon mine.”

Deb: “You’ve been the one constant, the one constant good thing in my life.”
Dexter (to himself): “I’ve been good for her and Rita says I’m good for her and the kids. No-one would ever say that about Arthur. Maybe Harry’s wrong. Maybe things can turn out differently for me.”

It’s amazing that in the space of four seasons, we’ve only lost two regular characters and that both were killed by the season baddie – Doakes by Lila, Rita by Trinity. Trinity himself was killed by a framing hammer.

Dexter: “Guess you were expecting a different scenario.”
Trinity: “I was following my path.”
Dexter: “So was I.”
Trinity: “God lead you to me.”
Dexter: “Hardly.”

Chronology: December 2009 for this finale.

“The Getaway” is certainly one hell of a way to end this season. I’ve loved the fourth year arguably more than ever but I even I was bowled over by this episode. Rita’s death certainly packed a punch and with Trinity gone, the writers are going to have one hell of a time coming up with an equally compelling adversary for Dexter next season.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Let's Not Use The Beiste In That Way

Glee - Certainly the most eventful episode of the season so far. Kurt's bullying is something that's become out of hand in the last while and the constant fact that no-one seems to defend him against the closeted Karofsky is beginning to become increasingly frustrating. New guy Blaine definitely tried his damndest but it's the likes of Will and Figgins who really should be stepping up to the plate with this but hats off to Ryan Murphy for highlighting Kurt's plight all the more. In terms of the other storylines - I felt bad for Beiste being used by the kids as a source of 'cooling off' but I also wondered if it was wise of Will to give Beiste her first kiss as well. The song varied - liked the Dalton boys take on Teenage Dreams, our guys mash-up of Stop In The Name Of Love/Free Your Mind but wasn't overly impressed with the girls rendition of Start Me Up/Livin On A Prayer. As for Puck and Artie's friendship - it certainly has potential.

Lip Service - why haven't BBC3 confirmed a second season of this? It's becoming one of the best programmes they've done this year and this episode was certainly a corker and a half. Tess's birthday escalating from one disaster to another (bad botox, Chloe's engagement, Ed finally admitting his true feelings) were one this but the whole Sadie/Frankie/Cat/Sam quadrangle got interesting and messy all at once, especially given that Sadie left Frankie and Sam is becoming increasingly aware of how much closer Frankie and Cat have become. In terms of Frankie's own mystery, there wasn't much forwarding on that one and I wasn't too fussed about Becky finding out about Frankie and Jay either but overall, this was certainly a brilliant episode to watch.

The Vampire Diaries - The last two episodes I've seen have been fun ones to watch. Whether it's dealing with Matt's unpleasant mother or Elena becoming proactive in trying to track her own biological one, the show is certainly not sitting on it's honkers, that's for sure. While I had guessed that opening the tomb wouldn't give Katherine back to Damon, I am pleased to have Pearl around and I was pretty sad to see Bonnie's grandmother die but Alaric after being sidelined a little has become more interesting now that both Damon and Stefan are aware of who he really is. Why can't TG4 speed up with this series already?

Misfits - I fell in love with this series over the summer and I certainly wasn't intending on waiting for Channel 4 to air Season 2 in 2011 to see if it lived up to the first one. If this opener was anything to go by, then this season is going to be a lot of fun. Lucy the menacing shapeshifer caused chaos but evaded reprisals, the gang became aware of Nathan's immortality and Simon bumping off Sally all too quickly and there's a masked guy stalking the gang as well. More importantly the humour is still also pretty much intact as well, so overall, it's an almighty welcome back for this gang of troublemakers.

Desperate Housewives - I think apathy is beginning to set in because I'm just not loving this season as much as the last one. I don't really think Renee is fitting in that well as a character, I find Paul's attempts of trying to buy some of the neighbours houses not that interesting (even if he is trying to blackmail Susan at the moment) and seeing Lynette and Tom argue over and over again - this time over the latter's mother has gotten more and more repetitive than ever. The only bright sparks have been Gabby and Carlos coming to terms with meeting their biological daughter and Bree and Keith's fooling around. Five episodes in and this season needs to step up a gear.
- Rob Kazinsky has been cast as Dr Rick, the ex-boyfriend of Odetta Yustman's character, Annie for one episode of Brothers And Sisters.
- Courtney Ford has been cast as Andy Bellefleur's lawyer sister, Portia in the fourth season of True Blood. IDW will be releasing further comics of the series in 2011 as well.
- Teri Hatcher has revealed that she's done her cameo on Smallville as a gesture of respect for fans. How sweet!
- The younger versions of the Glee kids appears in next week's episode. Blaine is also not as confident as he appears to be as well.
- Kevin McKidd will direct an episode of Grey's Anatomy. He's the second cast member to do it this season.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Doctor Who/Torchwood Spoilers

Okay, some latest spoilers for the upcoming seasons of both Doctor Who and Torchwood. Normally I would've done seperate blogs but both stuff was just enough for one this time around.

Doctor Who - Last night, Arthur Darvill, Karen Gillan and Matt Smith were there to put on the Christmas lights in Cardiff but from November 17th-19th, they'll be in Utah along with Alex Kingston to film for the season opener of Series 6. Other spoilers from Moffat have surfaced in NyMag in regards to River's identity being revealed. It's also been mentioned on Gallifreybase that Amy will learn something about River in the opening episode that she won't be able to tell the Doctor. Closer to that, Children In Need on November 19th will give fans a teaser for the Christmas special, which means a title should be pretty imminent as well. EDIT: The episode will be called A Christmas Carol. I'm smiling because of that.

Torchwood - Arlene Tur has been cast in the recurring role of Dr Vera Juaraz. So far, she's the only casting for the new series but RTD has mentioned that The New World will take place two years after the events of Children Of Earth. Filming is set to begin in January 2011 with both Starz and BBC1 due to air the series in the summer.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

My Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures 4x05: "Lost In Time"

Written by Rupert Laight
Directed by Joss Agnew

Clyde (to Miss Wyckham/German Soldiers): “People like you disgust me. You hate and you fear anyone who isn’t the same as you but we’re British and we will fight you every step of the way.”

And for this week only, we get not one but three stories all together. Who needs a TARDIS when you’ve got a mysterious shopkeeper, his parrot and a time window at the ready? The only thing now would be getting Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani within touching distance of the time window but even there, the Shopkeeper was clever by using a local alien story to lure the three of them into his domain.

I think the most surprising thing about this entire story is actually the Shopkeeper himself. Every story has an alien menace and whilst this guy is alien (or possibly human with alien technology); he’s never villainous within both parts of the story. That in of itself has to be a record for the series.

He might have been slightly underhanded in the way he got Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani’s attention but points to him for at least giving them all a purpose while sending them to three different time periods – objects to prevent the destruction of Earth via the time vortex itself. It just would’ve been nicer if had given them a choice in their places of travels.

I didn’t exactly envy Clyde being sent to 1941 in order to get his object but on the other hand, there aren’t that many shows aimed for children that are willing to deal with Nazis invading England and while the dialogue could’ve gone into preachy mode, it’s actually kept well in check by Rupert Laight and Daniel Anthony alike.

Clyde befriended the young George Woods and managed to locate the item in question and even when they were both captured twice during the story; both of them used their wits to get Clyde’s desired object for the Shopkeeper. The German soldier characters were a little on the one dimensional side but even I was a little surprised by Miss Wyckham turning out to be a spy for them.

Clyde’s own courageousness in this story ended up having a detrimental effect on George towards the end but it’s interesting that he was also the first person to successfully complete his task as well. Okay, Rani might have acquired her object before Clyde managed to get his but she stayed somewhat longer than needed for the mission.

Speaking of Rani, she possibly won out for the best of the three storylines given that she had the honour of becoming Lady Jane Grey’s lady in waiting and somewhat angel in the process whilst in 1553. Yes, Rani’s always had a lovely quality about her but now it’s officially canon that she’s otherworldly. Okay, I’m joking but I don’t blame either Lady Jane or servant Ellen for thinking that Rani wasn’t human.

Every time we meet an established historical figure or are thrown into historical events, there’s a blazing reminder that fate cannot be changed. Pompeii still had to fall, Vincent Van Gogh would still end up taking his own life and of course, Lady Grey through no fault of her own would also end up dead.

Rani knew that she couldn’t alter the fact but it didn’t stop her from preventing Lady Matilda’s ill conceived attempts of martyrdom for Jane and it didn’t stop her from comforting the nine day Queen either. It was nice to see Rani doing her best to give the tragic queen some comfort even if she was powerless to change the poor girl’s fate at the same time.

However it did seem that Sarah Jane was able to change fate through her own companion, Emily in this story when she stuck in 1889. Emily definitely fitted the role perfectly and while Sarah Jane’s dismissive attitude towards ghosts wasn’t helpful at the start, it was nice to see the both of them working as a team and figuring out that the voices from the future were belonging to an errant babysitter and two tragic kids doomed to die.

I’m not exactly sure why or how Sarah Jane was able to prevent their deaths but I guess even for this show, it might have gotten away with two kids dying in a fire. Plus I also enjoyed the twist of Emily using her granddaughter, Angela to give Sarah Jane the last object at the very last minute in the present.

Now the only real mystery of this story was – who the hell was the Shopkeeper and was that parrot really his superior? Also we didn’t know why exactly it was those three objects that were key into stopping the Earth from being destroyed either but given that the series is due for a fifth series, there’s a good chance that the Shopkeeper might make a return visit to Bannerman Road.

Also in “Lost In Time”

Clyde seemed to be dressed more grown up in this story. Then again, it’s not improbable for some 17 year olds to own a leather jacket.

Sarah Jane: “How do you know my name?”
Shopkeeper: “Oh, I know a great many things.”

The objects were a hammer/weapon of sorts for Clyde, a dagger for Rani and a key for Sarah Jane.

Emily: “There are ghosts in this house. Everybody says so.”
Sarah Jane: “Just because everybody says so, it doesn’t make it true.”

Lady Grey: “How is this possible?”
Rani: “They’re dead clever where I come from.”

More hints this week on Clyde and Rani when Lady Grey pressed the latter over any males that she might fancy.

George: “We need to escape, don’t we?”
Clyde: “If you hadn’t noticed, we’re both tied up and locked in.”

Matilda (to Rani): “Lady Jane has not been saved. You’ve condemned her to die like a common traitor, forgotten and alone.”

The Doctor’s met Lady Grey in a story called “Nine Day Queen” beforehand. Emily became a doctor as she grew up and George specialised in radar development.

Emily (to Sarah Jane, re mobile phone): “I knew Mr Bell’s invention would catch on but a wireless telephone? The future must be very exciting.”

Lady Grey: “Are you truly of this world?”
Rani: “Don’t be daft, of course I am.”

Shopkeeper (to Sarah Jane): “I’d love to stay and chat but duty calls.”

Chronology: November 23rd 2010, seven days after this season ends, funnily enough.

Interesting story. “Lost In Time” gave us three nice little trips and whilst the time window looked similar to something from another show, I have to admit that Rupert Laight pulled off a superb story this week. Definitely one of the strongest from the series.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Monday, November 08, 2010

True Blood - Season 4 Big Bad Cast

It's going to be another seven months before the fourth season of True Blood arrives but the casting for Marnie (or is it Hallow?) has finally been made. Stage and film actress, Fiona Shaw has won the coveted role of the big bad for the fourth year and if the series follows the book, Dead To The World, Hallow/Marnie will certainly be a force to be reckoned with. Hopefully casting for the likes of Naomi, Suzanne, Portia and Queen Mab will be announced soon.

Sunday, November 07, 2010

My Review of Dexter's 4x11: "Hello Dexter Morgan"

Written by Scott Buck And Lauren Gussis
Directed by SJ Clarkson

Trinity: “Hello, Dexter Morgan.”

Three words as simple as “Hello, Dexter Morgan” should never sound that creepy but when they’re being uttered by Arthur Mitchell, there’s no way that they can sound anything but creepy. Dexter really, really is fucked this time around.

I really don’t know what he was thinking that he was going to achieve with Trinity this time around. If the last six episodes haven’t proved anything, they should’ve proved to Dexter that Trinity is ever bit as smart as he is, if not more. There was no way Trinity was going to hand over 50,000 dollars to Dexter and the end scene was excellent.

Trinity finally knows who exactly Dexter is and all it took was murdering a real Kyle Butler, setting up a trap in the arcade and following his enemy to Miami Metro. The only question is – what does Trinity do next? I doubt he’s going to be stupid enough to actually attack Dexter in the police station of all places but he certainly has the upper hand.

If Dexter hadn’t procrastinated all season with killing him, he wouldn’t be in this mess. Last week had presented him with the perfect chance to finally do in the serial killer and Trinity slipped through his fingers. Trying to play the role of blackmailer this week only gave Trinity a chance to get clever and he certainly played it well.

Though to be honest, this week was all about Trinity being clever. He’s gone from the killer who was tempted to end his own life to getting a new lease on life thanks to Dexter saving him a few weeks. When Trinity wasn’t getting one over on Dexter, he also managed to deal with his daughter without bloodshed.

I actually did think the second that Christine was released from police custody, it would’ve been the moment that Trinity decided to silence his daughter for good but instead he just coldly dismissed her, which was a pretty reckless thing to do, considering that he didn’t know whether or not she would start talking to the police about her father’s whereabouts.

I hate to admit it but to a certain extent, I felt a little bad for Christine. All she wanted was her father’s approval and she never got it. Killing Lundy to protect him didn’t earn and neither did lying to the police when being grilled by both Angel and Deb also didn’t either. Christine could never really catch a break with her father.

Which was why I was hoping that when she did decide to open to Deb about the shooting that she would also reveal who Trinity was (and therefore blow Dexter’s attempts of throwing the cops off the scent) but alas, she didn’t. She did however admit to killing Lundy, asked Deb for forgiveness and then proceeded to shoot herself afterwards.

It might not have been the best of endings for the character but it certainly did its bit in resolving the case with Lundy. Deb was wonderful during these scenes as well. Not only did she manage to keep her cool when talking to Christine twice but even when she refused to forgive Christine, Deb managed to not let her anger towards the woman overwhelm her judgement in the manner either. I don’t think Deb would’ve able to have done that a couple of seasons ago.

And as for the plots that were more romantic and less about murder – certainly an interesting bunch. Angel and Maria might have made the unwise move to marry in order to obstruct Matthews from getting a discipline hearing but given that Matthews has been a genuine jackass over their relationship, I’m actually on their side with this one.

As for Rita confessing to Dexter about her kiss with Elliot – glad that plotline’s been resolved. The fact that Dexter punched Elliot in my opinion serves to remind that he really isn’t faking it when it comes to Rita and that makes me a happy viewer. Unfortunately by the time I review the next episode, I won’t be so happy.

Also in “Hello, Dexter Morgan”

Isn’t it odd that the police aren’t seriously gunning for Arthur after Scott was rescued? Then again, Arthur was able to go around the station without being noticed too.

Trinity: “Let me ask you a question. What kind of man witnesses a child abduction and doesn’t call the police?” Who are you, Kyle? What do you want?”
Dexter: “Money.”

We learned that Christine’s mother was called Lorraine Hill and has been dead for five years. Angel also found the postcards that Trinity sent to her from his kills.

Rita (re Elliot): “Shouldn’t we talk about this?”
Dexter: “I thought we just did.”
Rita: “You didn’t say anything.”
Dexter: “I’m putting it behind me. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”

Christine: “I don’t wanna talk about your daddy issues, okay?”
Deb: “Fine. Let’s talk about yours.”

Dexter framed a truck driver named Stan Beaudry for being the Trinity killer after he killed him.

Stan: “I’m gonna rip your heart out.”
Dexter: “Yeah, I heard.”

Dexter: “Love thy neighbour. Bullshit.”

Masuka made me laugh in this episode with the way he blurted out to Dexter about Rita and Elliot. Quinn’s nastiness towards Dexter also started spilling out in front of Deb.

Dexter (to Deb, re Trinity): “I’m sure he made mistakes. We weren’t looking.”

Christine: “You know what I did? I shot you, I killed Lundy.”
Deb: “Okay.”
Christine: “I’m so sorry.”

Chronology: December 3rd and 4th 2009 for this episode.

Excellent episode. “Hello, Dexter Morgan” is certainly building towards an unstoppable finale, that I literally cannot wait to see what happens next, even though I’m pretty scared to watch a certain storyline come to life.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Friday, November 05, 2010

Glee Spoilers

Some of you might know these spoilers already for upcoming episodes of Glee but here they are. Bewares.

- Episodes 6-10 have the titles of Never Been Kissed, The Substitute, Furt, Special Education and Sue The Grinch.
-
Kurt will be spying on new rivals for Sectionals - the Dalton boys, where he meets Blaine. Blaine and his guys perform Teenage Dreams. There's a possibility that Kurt might be transferring to Dalton as well. This is a mash-up episode as well with the boys doing Stop In The Name Of Love/Free Your Mind and the girls performing Livin On A Prayer/Start Me Up.
- Both Finn and Sam will come up with an unusual method of relieving tension while Puck uses Artie as a pet project of sorts and if not this episode, a later one will feature a spin the bottle game amongst the Glee clubbers.

- Gwyneth Paltrow's character Holly Holiday is scheduled for two episodes to replace a sick Will and she'll be doing a Singing In The Rain/Umbrella mash-up. Sue also temporarily replaces Figgins as principal whilst dealing with the arrival of her Nazi hunting mother and yes, they get a musical moment together.
- Kurt will go into wedding planner mode when Burt and Carole get married. The Glee club are also involved in this storyline as is Sue for some reason.
- There will be flashbacks to some of the kids when they were much younger.

- Mercedes father will be appearing later in the series and that Susan Boyle rumour for the Christmas episode seems to be popping up all the place again.
- Sunshine is returning for the seventh episode. Hope she clashes with Rachel.
- The eighth episode will have Santana perform Valerie as well as Quinn and Sam doing I Had The Time Of My Life (though some sources on Tumblr are saying that Rachel/Finn might be doing that one) and Blaine doing Hey, Soul Sister. Sectionals may be episode 9 this year.
-Tracklisting for Christmas CD/episode ...
1. We Need A Little Christmas (Jenna Ushkowitz, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer)
2. Deck The Rooftop (Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Naya Rivera, Kevin McHale, Heather Morris, and Jenna Ushkowitz)
3. Merry Christmas Darling (Lea Michele)
4. Baby, It’s Cold Outside (Chris Colfer and Darren Criss)
5. The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year (Chord Overstreet, Mark Saling, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Jenna Ushkowitz, and Heather Morris)
6. Last Christmas (Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Kevin McHale, Mark Saling, Jenna Ushkowitz, and Chris Colfer)
7. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Lea Michele, Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, and Jenna Ushkowitz)
8. O Christmas Tree (Matthew Morrison)
9. Jingle Bells (Cory Monteith, Mark Saling, and Kevin McHale)
10. You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch (k.d. lang and Morrison)
11. Angels We Have Heard On High (Amber Riley)
12. O Holy Night (Lea Michele)

This season is certainly getting better and better.

Thursday, November 04, 2010

We're Off To See The Fisher King

Another UK TV based blog. I'll do another US one next Thursday after I've finished Dexter off and seen the first episode of The Walking Dead.

Lip Service - Terrific fourth episode. Okay, I might not find Frankie the most likeable of people but she certainly keeps things interesting to a degree. Not only did she nearly get arrested for trashing a house with Sadie and sleeping with Jay at the end of the episode but her search for her past is starting to cause problems for Sam and Cat as well. Speaking of them, I cringed a little when Sam had to meet her girlfriend's parents. I think I could go a healthy stretch without seeing Cat's mother to be honest. As for Tess, the internet being a disaster storyline was cliched but amusing enough. I still think in spite of Lou's douchey behaviour that she'll end up going back to Tess. Dating Tom the prick can't be doing her the world of good and Lou is preferable to Ed getting with Tess. I like him but I'd rather that him and Tess didn't get it on if that's possible.

Merlin - Eight episodes in and this season still feels like it's on the slow path. This week did try to make some progress with Arthur going on a mission for an artefact whilst unaware of the fact that it was actually Merlin's destiny to meet the dying Fisher King (look, it's Kemp from Being Human) and get some water from Avalon while Gwaine did some monster slaying. Another plus to this episode was Warwick Davis's cameo appearance and the fact that Gwen became privy to Morgana's evil ways and confided in Gaius about it. Overall, an enjoyable episode though Morgause was wasted to a cameo this week.

The X Factor - It was Halloween during the weekend, so there was perfect excuse to use it as a theme for the show on Saturday. Well, it would've been perfect if more than a handful of contestants actually had songs/costumes that adhered to the theme. If I never hear Wagner's take on Bat Out Of Hell or Aiden's odd version of Thriller, it won't be too soon. Cheer up, Aiden. In terms of songs, I actually thought that Cher's version of Stay With Me worked the best, even if Simon's comments about the similarities between Cher and Cheryl are about two months too late. Oh and Belle Amie left but that wasn't much of a surprise.

The Apprentice - UK/Irish Versions: I have to admit that between the two of them, I'm actually preferring the Irish version a little more this year. The UK version has had some good moments in the last weeks and I was glad to see both Melissa and Paloma get the boot in the last two weeks but the Irish one is making me laugh. Especially with Panos being gloriously out of his depth and the figure of fun with a bad game during a task for Cadburys in a local village. Oh, and kudos to Michelle being project manager given that her dictator style actually meant that people get things right and given that she was on the team that lost out to an 11 month calender last week, it was nice that she was able to get a victory. I wasn't too bothered to see Sarah and Nagaite go though I'm hoping that Jamie is next.

- Nina Dobrev has revealed that more will be revealed about Katherine's colourful past in an upcoming episode of The Vampire Diaries.
- Kevin and Scotty will be taking in a young girl named Olivia in Brothers And Sisters.
- Gwyneth Paltrow's character on Glee will be called Holly Holiday. Burt and Carol will also be getting married in an upcoming episode as well as Kurt possibly transferring/spying on another school.
- HBO have ordered a pilot from Steve Coogan and Justin Theroux.
- Eliza Dushku will be playing an FBI agent in The Big Bang Theory, whose job is put in danger by Sheldon.
- True Blood's fourth season will finally introduce Andy's sister, Portia as well as cage-fighter Naomi, z-list palm reader, Marnie (who gets posessed by a witch's spirit - Hallow?), fairy Queen Mab and Suzanne McKittrick, who's a shapeshifter. Casting for these roles has yet to be confirmed.