Catching Up

Not the most imaginative of titles but between actually catching up with one show before it's next season arrives and watching opening episodes, mid-season finales and actual finales, I've been well, catching up.

Downton Abbey: ITV1's ratings juggernaut may not have bagged many of the 16 Emmys it was nominated over the weekend (though congrats to Maggie Smith for her win) but it did manage to make Sundays back into must see TV once again. I'm not gonna pretend the writing for Series 3 is perfect but it's certain an improvement compared to last series. Granted, the finance problems of Downton and Bates jail time are both storylines that need to be clipped rather sharpish but it's nice to see Edith get some attention, Mary and Matthew quickly married and the fun banter between Violet and Martha as well. Overall, a few niggles aside, the new series is actually a lot of fun.

Glee: Sequels are rarely as good as their originals and for this show to do a second episode about Britney Spears (sorry, I mean Brittany S. Pierce), the point remains valid. The songs apart from maybe 3 and You Drive Me Crazy/Crazy mash up didn't click as well as they could've and while the balance between Kurt/Rachel's New York antics and the new(ish) McKinley lot are still good, I'm not yet sold on the triangle of Marley/Jake/Kitty and I really want to see more of Puck and Santana than the 30 seconds of both we managed to get in this episode. And no more Justin Bieber songs, show. I don't care how young your audience is, the older viewers don't need that torture.

Once Upon A Time: The last time I talked about this show, I had seen eight episodes. Now I've seen eighteen of them and I've gone through all the backstories of the likes of Sidney, Hansel/Gretal, Belle, Jefferson, Red/Ruby and now Regina and this show has still managed to impress me at every turn going. I'll admit there are times when the Mary Margaret/David storyline can drag a little and it does seem annoying that Emma is constantly outsmarted by both Regina and Gold but with four episodes left to watch of the first season, this has definitely become one of my new favourites in such a short space of time.

Sinbad: I've been dipping in and out of the last three episodes because while the show started off intriguingly enough, certain other episode did seem to lag a bit, especially the werewolf themed episode. The finale was decent though, giving us a believable enough backstory for all of Taryn's previous actions, so if the series does get a renewal from Sky1, hopefully it will improve on it's mistakes. It hasn't been a bad series but it could've been a lot better though.

White Collar: Okay, any excuse to post a picture of Matt Bomer in all his boxing glory but the last few episodes of the first half of Season 4 have been full of fun, haven't they? I did like the scenes with Neal and Peter together at the conference (though their partnership has always been the core of this show) and the reveal about Sam's real identity was pretty obvious but effective nonetheless. Just a few months until the second half but least this batch of ten episodes from the first have left us wanting more.

The X Factor UK: I've been watching both of the US and UK versions of this show and on both sides of the Atlantic, I can't help wondering if this franchise is really dying on it's arse. The ratings for either show aren't worrying but they're hardly spectacular either. I guess maybe, it's because at this rate we know this show isn't going to produce an international global superstar (and no, One Direction do not count). Still, it's judges houses in the UK version this weekend, so it'll be interesting to see who we're reduced to by the end of Sunday's episode.

- Annabeth Gish will be playing the role of Anita, a leader of a wolf pack in an upcoming episode of Once Upon A Time.
- NBC are planning a modern update for Wuthering Heights under the title of Napa. Oh Jesus - why?
- NBC have also renewed The Voice for two more season as well.
- Henry Ian Cusick will be appearing in an upcoming episode of Hawaii Five-0.
- Matthew Broderick will be appearing in an upcoming episode of Modern Family.
- White Collar and Covert Affairs have been renewed by USA Network for a further year.
- Bernadette Peters will be returning as Ivy's mother for the second season of Smash.
- Fans of Max Adler will be disappointed to learn that the producers do not intend to bring back Karofsky for the latest season of Glee.
- Although not yet confirmed, AMC are planning a fourth season of The Walking Dead.
- Andrew Leeds has signed on for a mysterious role in the upcoming season of Grey's Anatomy.

Some People Shouldn't Teach

2 Broke Girls: I think I'm losing it with this show a bit. The stereotyping of anyone who isn't a white female aside, the last episode I watched seemed like a ridiculous endorsement for Law And Order. I get that Max is a fan of the show but did she need to mention it about twenty times throughout the episode though? I did however get some amusement from Caroline predictably succumbing to the side effects of a clinical drug trial. The show is still a guilty pleasure but even I can't deny that it's the two leads and not the writing that makes it watchable.

Bad Education: I literally think that Jack Whitehall is one of these comedians who really shouldn't stick with the acting lark for too long. Not because he's awful (he's okay for the most part) but because, while watching this programme, I couldn't help but think his character from Fresh Meat just became a teacher. A pathetic, posh one who mostly doles out bad advice, is generally incompetent, easily bullied by his own students and is generally rather annoying. There are some laughs here and there and it seems to be a ratings hit with BBC3 but it's not actually really worthwhile viewing.

Once Upon A Time: I am getting seriously into this show that I've now seen as far as the eighth episode of the first season. The revelations keep coming thick and fast, that surprise death really floored me and the growing rivalry between Emma and Regina has been an absolute joy to watch. There are times when Henry is a little too twee but he's not that bad and the 'will they, won't they?' antics between Mary Margaret/Snow White and David/Prince Charming have been interesting to watch. However, it's still Mr Gold/Rumplestiltskin that has proven to be the most compelling character of them all. Overall, this show is definitely better than I thought it would be.

Sinbad: We've had a tiny bit of a game changer in this series in the last few episodes. Getting rid of Akbari and making Taryn into a slightly more interesting character was a wise move and if Nalla really is gone, then Tiger does seem to be a decent replacement for the character. The rest of the characters seem to be developing nicely enough (Anwar especially) but Sinbad himself could do with a bit of a shake up at times though. The show is still a little lacking in some parts but it's actually nowhere near as bad as other critics are making out. I just hope the last three episodes end the first run with a satisfying punch.

The X Factor: Yes, it's back, yes, the ratings are down, yes, the sob stories are still lame and yes, for a ninth year, it ain't gonna produce a global superstar but it's still watchable enough fluff nonetheless and while the guest judges have been a mixed bunch (Mel B - too bitchy, Rita Ora/Anastasia - dull), the regular ones have been adequate enough. To be honest, it's been pretty thin on some true standouts so far, so hopefully in the next few weeks we get some interesting folk.

- France Conroy is returning to American Horror Story, playing an angel of sorts. Not a literal one I think.
- True Blood's sixth season will only have ten episodes instead of the usual twelve with production due to start in January.
- Sinbad will air on SyFy for US viewers from January 2013.
- Hit & Miss has been cancelled after one series. It's a shame but somehow, I'm not surprised.
- Expect songs from Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber (vomit) and Jennifer Lopez in the first two episodes of Glee's fourth season.
- Robert DeNiro is working on a TV version of his 2006 movie, The Good Shephard.
- Joss Whedon will be doing a S.H.I.E.L.D series for ABC.
- Tricia Helfer will be appearing in the fourth season of Community as Lauren.
- Grey's Anatomy's ninth season will feature an episode that will only feature Meredith and Cristina.
- Dowton Abbey's third series will air on ITV from September 16th.

I Believe In Fairytales

Well, as long as they're interesting ones at the very least but enough of that and here's a look at some of the stuff I've been watching recently.

2 Broke Girls: I'm still enjoying this show as much as I can but I have to admit the racial stereotyping is really beginning to bother me in a big way. It's almost enough that Oleg, Han and Earl have all seemed to stop developing as character but the arrival of Jennifer Coolidge's Sophie, the Polish cleaner in the last few episodes and even the episode where Max and Caroline had to hand over Kosher cupcakes to a Jewish family - well, writers, you need to stop it. Be creative and lay off the lazy stereotyping already.

Once Upon A Time: I know I left this one a bit too late (blame my lack of Channel 5) and catching up will be interesting but having watched the first two episodes - I love this show. Unlike Grimm, this really embraces the fairytale aspects beautifully and the whole series of alliances and rivalries in both fairytale land and Storybrooke are fun to watch. No wonder this has been a success for ABC and with characters like Emma, Sheriff Graham, Regina/Evil Queen and Mr Gold/Rumpelstilskin as well as Henry, I think I'm already addicted to this wonderful gem of a series.

Sinbad: This show is fine at best but it still needs some more work. The writers really need to stop using both Taryn and Akbari in every episode, especially when their scenes aren't actually adding anything to the plot and too many monsters/baddies of the week will make the show too formulaic as well too. On the plus side, at least characters like Nalla, Rina and Gunnar have had moments to shine and the Cook still manages to give me the creeps while still being an intriguing so and so. Sinbad himself does need a bit more development but with the recent threat of his grandmother in danger, I'm sure we'll get that now.

The Newsroom: Simply put - I tried, I didn't like it. The cast is great but I've never been an Aaron Sorkin fan and his writing can often be long winded and OTT and in this show, it seems both of those excesses are tested to the max here. The cast are great but I can't stick with this programme and no, Jane Fonda isn't going to make me sit through any more episodes. Just not my thing, I'm afraid.

White Collar: Fun bunch of episodes recently and it's nice that Neal's love life isn't too dominant at times but more importantly, it was also nice that Diane got some centre stage time too on the show, even if the end results did cost her her love life too. Overall, I have been enjoying the show's fourth year. It's been fun and diverting and with this series, Matt Bomer does seem to be in his element as the loveable Caffrey.

- American Horror Story's second season has the title of Asylum and Jessica Lange's character will be called Sister Jude.
- Whoopi Goldberg will be reprising her role on Glee in an upcoming episode and there will be some core relationships that will come to an end this year.
- Dallas's second season will air on TNT from January 2013. The show's first year will premiere on UK/Irish television from September.
- David Alpay will play a charismatic character named Shane in the upcoming season of The Vampire Diaries.
- Julian Morris has been cast as Prince Philip and Colin O'Donoghue has been cast as Captain Hook for the second season of Once Upon A Time.
- Ciaran Hinds has joined the third season of Game Of Thrones as Mance Rayder as had Iwan Rheon and Burn Gorman.
- Tina Majorino will be guest starring in Grey's Anatomy while Eric Dane will be leaving the series in the first two episodes of it's ninth year.
- Revenge will return with a new Satoshi, this time played by  Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. JR Bourne will also play a Hamptons resident named Kenny and Michael Nardelli will play a preppy character named Trey.
- ABC will be remaking Sky1 series, Spy.
- Sean Hayes will be appearing in the second season of NBC drama, Smash, playing a TV and movie star named Terrence Falls.

Mommy's Home

And here's a blog on the last couple of shows I've been watching recently ...

2 Broke Girls: Okay, the last few episodes haven't been as funny as the rest of the series so far but there have been some interesting moments. For instance, any where Han is challenged generated a chuckle from me and seeing Caroline develop an obsession with coupons (and the way she kept pronouncing it) was definitely the type of thing that US sitcoms do in their sleep. And we need to see more of Chestnut and less of Max offering tampons to customers (though Han clearly set that one up).

Bedlam: Good finale but sort of a predictable one too. I kind of saw that Max's dad would have a bigger role in things, that Ellie and Eve would be connected with each other and that Ellie would also be Jed's sister after all as well as that outcome for Warren too. That being said though, this has been a largely satisfying second run and hopefully we will get a third batch of episodes next year. The cliff-hanger definitely suggested that Ellie's story is far from done anyways.

Don't Trust The Bitch In Apartment 23: Another solid finale but seven episodes for a US sitcom is too short a run and perhaps we should've gotten a few more episodes to develop the growing friendship with Chloe and June though. Still, I liked the whole comic book subplot and that slight indication that underneath her penchant for chaos, Chloe had some insecurities as well. Here's hoping the second season will produce more fun times for the flatmates and the crazy gang.

Grimm: I've been watching this show off and on over the last few months and while there were times when it felt a little too tame for it's own good, there have also been moments where it's become interesting as well. Monroe is still the best character the show has to offer but Nick has become slightly less bland than when he started out and his attempts of trying to be honest with Juliette about things going bump in the night was oddly amusing. However, the reveal of that mystery woman being Nick's mother only felt obvious in retrospect but it did manage to set up an interesting development for Season 2, so good work there.

Sinbad: Two episodes in and you know what - I really, really like this show. Okay, so like both Robin Hood and Merlin before it, Sinbad has a tendency of sounding rather modern (and even looking it with the costumes) but already, I like Elliot Knight in the lead role, find the crew members and the villainous characters like Akbari, Taryn and Razia intriguing and given that the ratings have been good for it so far, I hope that means a second series will be imminent too. The only complaint I do have is that the CGI can be dodgy in places but I'm sure that's something the show will overcome as it progresses. Definitely one to watch.

White Collar: I don't watch the show religiously but I've seen enough from previous years and let's face it, Matt Bomer isn't exactly hard on the eye either, is he? No, in all fairness the guy's a great actor and as Neal Caffrey, he's managed to come up with a charismatic and sympathetic conman who has been easy to root for. The first two episodes of the show's fourth season did see Neal attempting to escape from the FBI before being recaptured but his scenes with Mozzie and Peter more than made up for it. However, I'm not so keen on Mehki Pfifer's agent character just yet, though he's not as annoying as Rex was in the first half of Torchwood: Miracle Day, but only by a tiny margin. Good start to the season too and nice to see that this show maintains it's ability to be interesting without taking itself too seriously.

- Jennifer Jason Leigh has been cast as Emily's mother, Kara Wilkins in the second season of Revenge. Barry Sloane will also play a character named Ethan, connected to Emily's past.
- Clea DuVall has joined the second season of American Horror Story, though the nature of her role hasn't been revealed yet.
- Adam Lambert will feature in an upcoming episode of Pretty Little Liars.
- John Noble has revealed that Fringe's final season will feature a war with the Observers.
- Aaron Sorkin is replacing the writing staff for the second season of The Newsroom. I have to confess, I wasn't that keen on it when I watched it.
- Grace Phipps has joined the cast of The Vampire Diaries for it's upcoming fourth season, playing a character with connections to Elena and Jeremy.
- Once Upon A Time's second season will introduce Aladdin, Jafar, Ariel, Peter Pan and Captain Hook with Sarah Bolger playing Sleeping Beauty in the upcoming season as well.
- Santiago Carbrera has joined the cast of Dexter, playing a crime writer named Ethan Price who arrives in Miami to investigate for a book about true crimes.

Sinbad - Season 1 Character Profiles/Spoilers

And it's less than a month away for transmission (actually a fortnight away), here are some more character details about Sky1's take on Sinbad ...

Sinbad (Elliot Knight): Charismatic and reckless, we first meet him living in Basra with brother Jamil working scams to put food on the table but a tragic turn of events sees him banished to the seas with that funky necklace of his being somewhat responsible for it.

Lord Akbari (Naveen Andrews): Youngest brother of the ruler of Basra, Akbari becomes consumed with revenge when his youngest son is killed and soon enough, both him and Sinbad come into conflict with each other too. Akbari also has a dependant relationship with Taryn, which she uses to her advantage.

Anwar (Dimitri Leonidas): The Providence's doctor and clumsy young man with an optimistic look on life, due to his more sheltered upbringing. Described as being more of an open book as well compared to the rest of the characters.

Rina (Marama Corlett): A secretive and feral thief who puts her own self preservation and safety above everyone else's as the show progresses. She connects with one of the gang as the series progresses as well. I bet I can guess who.

Gunnar (Elliot Cowan): Described as a strong and sexy crewmember of the Providence (the ship Sinbad has), he's also older than our leading man too and also someone who tries to avoid conflict as well as using humour to disguise his past. One of the most promising characters as well.

Nala (Estella Daniels): Beautiful and intelligent daughter of an African diplomat,  both her and her father board the Providence, running away from their past.

Tiger (Tuppence Middleton): A bounty hunter, rumoured to be raised by Tigers of all things or at least that is what she would like people to believe. The true circumstances behind her childhood are a lot more complicated.

Taryn (Orla Brady): A powerful mage with a deadly relationship with Akbari, Taryn is one of the most dangerous characters in the series as her obsession with raising her daughter from the dead is her motivation for abusing magic.

Emir (Igar Naor): A childless guardian of Basra and well loved by the people, he is both distrustful of magic (preferring science) and Taryn in equal measure. His brother also happens to be Akbari.

Razia (Sophie Okonedo): A warrior queen ruling a water tribe that currently reside in the ruins of Sindh. She also keeps a carnivorous roc as a pet and will not eat until her tribe have done so. She has a strict moral code.

Anicetus (Timothy Spall): A mysterious old man that both Sinbad and Rina encounter in the series and he'll have something of an effect on the crew.

Jamil (Devon Anderson): Sinbad's older brother who is a worrier and mistrustful compared to his more reckless sibling.

I've got to admit that this is shaping up to be rather impressive looking. I'm not sure if I'll review episode by episode or leave it for my TV jumble thing but either way, I will be watching this series when it starts up, that is a guarantee. What does everyone else think of this? Worth giving a go?

Character Profiles: http://sky1.sky.com/sinbad/sinbad-the-characters
Season 1 Trailer: http://sky1.sky.com/sinbad/sinbad-watch-the-trailer

Sinbad airs on Sky1, Sundays at 7pm from July 8th.

Sinbad Comes To Sky1 In July

And it's about time too. Seriously, I've heard about this months ago and now we're getting closer to it.

A 12 part series, Sinbad sees newcomer Elliot Knight taking on the lead role as the titular character flees home and heads out to the seas with a crew towards a voyage of discovery but things don't go that well when Sinbad makes an enemy of Lord Akbari, played by former Lost actor Naveen Andrews. Other members in the cast include Estella Daniels as aristocrat Nala, Elliot Cowan as Norwegian sailor Gunnar, Dimitri Leonidas as the ship's doctor, Anwar, Marama Corletta as jewel-thief Rina as well as Sophie Okenedo as Razia, Queen of the Water-Thieves and Orla Brady as the villainess Taryn.

From the looks of this, there's certainly been a fair amount of money spent on making this show look as lavish as possible and with the likes of Doctor Who and Merlin months away, this definitely looks worth getting into. Sky1 have been pretty good with their epic fantasy productions over the last few years and with a superb cast, this definitely looks like one to watch out for.

Trailer/More Details: http://sky1.sky.com/sky1hd-shows/sinbad

Sinbad airs on Sky1 from July. Times and dates to be confirmed.