Saturday, October 18, 2014

Ice Queens

And a look at some of the show I've been watching recently ...


Downton Abbey: While this series has been a bit of an improvement on the previous one, there's still a feeling of not much really happening. How many more times do we need to see a scene where Robert loses his patience with Bunting or Edith pining for her child before something actually materialises? Similarly Mary's relationship with Gillingham has gotten more tedious and the sooner this whole 'Who Killed Green?' plot is put to bed, the better really. Halfway through this series, only the continuously spiky banter with Violet and Isobel and Thomas's storyline are the only things really keeping this series afloat.


Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: While it may be returning to Channel 4 on Friday, RTE2 have gotten there first and having watched the first two episodes, it's not hard to see the marked improvement the series has enjoyed. The writing has definitely improved and the fallout from the first season and Ward's betrayal has certainly produced a lot of character shifts as well. It's a shame though that Lucy Lawless wasn't kept on but there's some good potential with Nick Blood's volatile Lance Hunter and the more scenes with May and Coulson, the better really.


Once Upon A Time: I'm currently catching up with the spin-off, Once Upon A Time In Wonderland but the first three episodes of the parent show's fourth season has been some of their best yet. While I wasn't keen on Frozen forming the narrative for the first half of this season, I have to admit the additions of Elsa, Anna, Kristoff etc have been brilliantly handled and having Elizabeth Mitchell as the Snow Queen has also been a great touch to this season. I will admit that while the likes of Rumple, Regina and even Snow herself have been a little underused, this has been a strong slew of episodes so far.


Scandal: The fourth season has aired at least four episodes in the US and with SkyLiving, we're still at least six episodes away from the third season finishing up. The last few episodes alone have seen the death of Sally's husband, the possible imminent death of Cyrus's spouse, Olivia's father getting one hell of a demotion, Fitz being an ass and some more flashbacks on Mellie and her relationship with Andrew as well as the tense atmosphere between Huck and Quinn. There are times when I do feel like I'm getting whiplash as everything seems to be moving so fast but at the same time, this continues to be a gripping series.


The Vampire Diaries: I did some cheating here and decided to watch the remaining episodes to the fifth season online and they've been something of a mixed bag. The finale itself was excellent and it'll be interesting to see how Damon and Bonnie get out of their little predicament but I haven't been too interested in the Travellers and Enzo's storyline took something of a cliched route at times. Plus the less angst between Damon and Elena, the better. Those two have managed to become the most tedious couple on the show at the moment. On the plus side, at least Liv and Luke managed to make it out of the season alive and I do enjoy Stefan and Caroline's scenes together.


- ABC have acquired the rights to gay soccer themed comedy Men In Shorts, inspired by Robbie Rogers.
- Gotham will now air for 22 episodes instead of 16. Nicholas D'Agosto has been cast as Harvey Dent.
- Fans of Friends will be able to watch all 10 seasons of the show on Netflix from January.
- Season 5 of Game Of Thrones will feature it's first flashback scene.
- Archie Panjabi is leaving The Good Wife.
- A remake of Bewitched is in the works.
- Alexandra Breckenridge has joined the cast of The Walking Dead in an undisclosed role for now.
- American Horror Story has been renewed for a fifth season.
- How To Get Away With Murder has gotten a season order of 15 episodes and will air Tuesdays 10pm on Universal from October 21st for UK viewers.
- Andy Mientus will play gay villain The Pied Piper in The Flash.

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