Welcome To The House Of Fun

Yes, two TV jumbles this week. The next one will be either Friday or Saturday ...

American Horror Story: I caught up with the first episode of FX's new show and it's typical Ryan Murphy fare alright - complex but not always likeable characters and a surreal setting. The haunted house in question of this delightfully bizarre show certainly has some interesting people haunting it, which is good because I'm not totally sure if I like the Harmons or find their marital problems or even Ben's patient Tate interesting enough to sustain the show. People like Larry, Constance, Moira and the rubbery guy are far more interesting. Still, though I think we have a winner with this series.

Downton Abbey: As a set of final episodes go, this was a bit of disappointment. Of the three characters to succumb to Spanish flu, it's amazing they really did go for the safest bet instead of taking a gamble and the whole Matthew/Mary/Carlisle triangle is getting on a bit. Still, I did like Anna/Bates finally marrying (despite that ending) and Sybil and Branson getting eventual acceptance from Robert as well as any of Violet's one liners. It definitely made up for other storylines lacking. That being said, there's still the Christmas special to look forward to.

Glee - Oh goodie, after one exceptionally dreadful episode where Damien MacGinty's Rory was centre stage and living proof that no-one the writing staff has visited Ireland in the last decade, it's nice that the much hyped episode which finally saw Kurt/Blaine and Rachel/Finn take their relationships to the next level was just as good. Even more so for finally taking West Side Story to the stage and giving the always wonderful Coach Beiste a love interest. It's amazing how the episodes where Sue has little to do (or doesn't appear at all) are becoming my favourite and the less said about Sebastian the better.

Merlin - Oh, the last few episodes have been something brilliant, haven't they? I've enjoyed seeing Arthur using his brains more - first with Queen Annis and then with Merlin but I am hoping that Aggravaine's attempts of turning Arthur against Gaius don't come to fruition though. Even better was Morgana's attempts of using Merlin as an assassin and yet another encounter with an older looking wizard. The show does need to give the Knights a better role than their current but overall, the quality this year has really stepped up a gear.

Misfits - And it's back but is it as good as the first two series? It's hard to tell really. The opening episode had a job in setting up Rudy's character but overall, he has a lot of promise and an interesting power as do the rest of our lot, even though it was Curtis in the second episode whose powers really did give a great insight into the female form, didn't it? I'm also finding myself rather compelled by Kelly's interest in power dealer fella Seth as well. Plus with Downton Abbey now finished, it really is a good Sunday night drama too.

The Fades - Not a bad final episode for the series. It's hard to know if it'll come back (though I'll be surprised if it didn't) but either way, BBC3 did strike gold with this series in the end. I liked the defeat of John and Jay's death was reasonably effective too (even if I wasn't crazy about her character). The more I think about it, the more I hope there is more to see with this series.

- Despite the fact that we have yet to see Liam McIntyre in Spartacus: Vengeance, Starz have renewed the series for a third season. They're confident, aren't they?
- Downton Abbey's third season will be set in both 1920 and 1921 respectively. It's unknown if this will be the show's final series.
- John Schneider has been cast as Sam's father with Tanya Clarke as his mother in an upcoming episode of Glee.
- Carlos Bernard will be playing a suave business partner of JR's in the Dallas reboot. Channel 5 have the rights to the upcoming series.
- Emilie DeRavin will be playing Belle in an upcoming episode of Once Upon A Time.
- American Horror Story has been renewed for a second season.

The King Is Dead, Long Live The King

And here's the second of my TV jumble blog ....

Downton Abbey: If you haven't read this week's Radio Times (the Crawley ladies are on the cover), then it's become apparent from some critics that Season 2 is a little too soapy, especially with the turn of events here - William's deathbed wedding to Daisy, Matthew's paralysis, Vera's much welcomed demise, more obstacles for Bates and Anna, Carlisle having Mary in his grasp and even Robert seemingly being tempted by a new housemaid whose circumstances have some slight similarities to Ethel. On the plus side, the war is finally over but on the flipside, Lavinia is back. Can both her and Carlisle just do one already?

Merlin: There are plenty of ways a young prince might want to celebrate his birthday. Nearly being assassinated and witnessing his own father's death probably aren't that high on the list. Much as I like Anthony Stewart Head, I just won't miss Uther as a character (though Aggravaine is becoming just as annoying) and his death has been overdue. More interesting was Morgana's sense of conflict when she learned that Uther had perished due to one of her spells interfering with Merlin's attempts to save. The next episode featuring the birth of a white dragon was also interesting, even if Game Of Thrones handled that plot much better.

Smallville: Interesting set of episodes. Apart from some nice progression with Darkseid and Lois holding off on marrying Clark, I think the returns of both Zod and Kara in the last two episodes, particularly considering the effect they both had on Oliver. I can't wait to see how the last two episodes wrap up ten years of superhero antics.

The Fades: I am really loving this show now. After a slow start, it's really picked up considerable pace and while some of the female characters (apart from Sarah) still need improving, I am loving the rivarly between Angelics 'leader' Paul and Fades leader John and Sarah becoming a fade was definitely not something I expected to see. Unfortunately, the writers really are not doing a lot in Neil's favour, are they? Having him resort to taking Mac hostage to get Paul onside isn't the best way of getting us to understand his point of view.

The X Factor: It's amazing how crazy this show gets and not in a good way. Who do the producers think they're fooling? The petty squabbling between the judges is old hat and Kelly and Tulisa are acting like spoiled brats doesn't help matters. Misha B's a bully? If true, there are better ways of handling it and for the love of God, get rid of that insufferable Frankie once and for all, please. Even Gary was forced to admit he was dire and the show's handling of rock week was unbelievably bad on so many levels. Tulisa, I know you're 23 but you do realise that Kesha, Salt 'N' Pepa and Gnarls Barkley aren't rock, right? Count yourself lucky that Sami's cruise ship singing doomed her on Sunday or it would've been one of your acts for the chop.

The Walking Dead: I'm always mystified that it takes nearly a year for FXUK to air the latest seasons of Dexter and True Blood but somehow they're able to air this show within days of US transmission. The second season of this show started on Friday and it's still as slow moving but interesting as ever. I'm hoping with thirteen episodes that the show has enough time to utilize every character better than the first one did. Oh and the cliff hanger at the end of the first episode was certainly a good shocker.

- Kristofer Polaha has mentioned that there are more interesting times ahead for Henry in the next couple of episodes of Ringer.
- Pan Am is expected to be picked up for a full first season as Steve Maeda has joined the series as executive producer.
- Lea Michele has recently mentioned that she was grossed out filming a sex scene for an upcoming episode of Glee. Er, too much info there.
- Both John Hannah and Ryan Philippe will be appearing in the fifth season of Damages. Season 5 will also be the series last season as well.
- Courtney Cox and David Arquette has sold a pilot named Skinny Girl to ABC.
- True Blood's fifth season will introduce a vampire named Nora, who is one of Godric's progeny and a sister to Eric as well as a mysterious character called Salome.

Run The World, Brittany

And here is one of two TV blogs. Next one is tomorrow.

Glee - Great set of episodes of here. The second one seemed to deal all too quickly with Quinn's downward spiral but the reintroduction of Shelby and a second club which Mercedes ended up joining after the third episode was an interesting. Actually, the third episode was the best we've had - much needed focus on Mike's family, Emma's family (and Will being the supportive partner) and Mercedes being called out on her laziness as well. Plus Brittany at her flash mobbing best bid for Class President means that Kurt is probably going to lose another role pretty soon. Too bad we have to wait a month for more episodes though.

Shameless - Is it weird that I've enjoyed the second half 0f the series more than first half? The 100th episode felt like a return to form and the fact that Kev briefly returned and it was written by creator Paul Abbot certainly helped matters. But it still isn't perfect. I couldn't care less about Aidan as a character, Shane/Kelly's marital problems seemed to come out of nowhere, Mimi and Billy are still wrong to watch and Marty's return was ultimately pointless in the end. And Frank has got to go - he's become the epitome of cannon fodder now.

The Apprentice Ireland: Ah, I missed this show and funnily, I actually prefer it (slightly) to the UK one. Speaking of the UK one, this one has adopted the same stratagem this year with Bill going into business with one lucky hopeful instead of giving them a job. So far, I don't like any of them and while Ashling was an incompetent PM (read the fecking brief, woman), I would've fired Chris a lot quicker. He's a big character - yeah, right. Still, the next 11 weeks should be fun though.
The Fades: I'm at a crossroads with this show. Every time I feel underwhelmed, something drags back to watching it. The second episode was incredibly dreary (apart from Mac's daddy issues) but the third one sort of made up for it. Paul with wings and then Paul in a coma was interesting, Helen crossing over, Neil getting Mark to talk to Sarah (she's still here) and then Mark getting arrested for his estranged wife's disappearance and the arrival of John at the end. I hope this means the second half of the series delivers, especially with Anna and Jay, who are the weaker characters of the bunch.

This Is Jinsy: Every now and then, I see a programme so unimaginably horrible, I find myself at a loss as to why anyone in their right mind would commission such a show. Sky1 - what the hell were you thinking? Were you that hard up for new programmes you allowed this dreck to be subjected to a public audience? If you haven't seen it (and I only watched it for David Tennant and Catherine Tate's episodes), really don't bother. It tries to be akin to the likes of The League Of Gentlemen but it's nowhere near that level of entertaining. Avoid like the fucking plague.

- The Simpsons has been renewed for two extras seasons, courtesy of FOX. I guess that salary dispute got sorted then.
- Both The Playboy Club and Free Agents have become the first shows to get the axe for this season. I wonder what other shows will follow.
- Amber Benson will play a stripper in the 10th episode of Ringer, who Victor comes into contact with.
- Alice Evans will be playing Esther, the mother of Klaus in an upcoming episode of The Vampire Diaries (ITV2 are airing Season 3 tomorrow at 9pm).
- Irish viewers will see Pan Am first when RTE2 air it Mondays at 9pm from October 17th.
- Kristin Bauer will be played Maleficent in an upcoming episode of Once Upon A Time.

We Got The Beat

Okay, it really has been a while, so apologies and here are some of the things I've been watching in the last while.

Downton Abbey - I literally spent four days last week catching up with the first series and writing up a review for it before watching the first episode of Season 2. The first episode of the new series taught me a lot of things, namely that this series isn't a flash in the pan for top notch quality entertainment on a Sunday night and that I really have become invested in the characters. The new ones were a varied bunch - I sort of sided with Ethel, Lavinia made no solid impression and Vera was a total unbridled bitch in the making. The love arcs - Matthew/Mary, Anna/Bates and Sybil/Branson all took up some good screentime but the scenes within the Somme with Matthew and Thomas were definitely the most effective, particularly towards the end. Welcome back, show.

Glee - I just watched the first episode of Season 3 yesterday and while there's too much talk about the show's ratings (overexposure can be a curse), the episode itself was actually pretty good. Sure, it would've been nice if the writers had come up with a better excuse for Blaine to transfer to McKinley and maybe Will shouldn't have booted Santana out of the group but it does seem like the show's back on fine form. I certainly enjoyed punky Quinn, the gang's take on We Got The Beat and Kurt/Rachel getting one hell of a humbling experience. Plus, the obvious tension between Finn and Blaine could make for an interesting rivalry. The biggest problem is still Sue though. I feel she is losing impact as a character and her candidacy is something that I don't is strong to be sustained throughout the series.

Smallville - I still have to catch up with E4's episode this week but the last few have been nothing but brilliant. I loved Chloe's re-introduction to the series, Martha's brief return and of course, Parallel Lionel doing his damndest to influence Alexander as well. Heck, even The Hangover themed episode was a lot more fun than it actually should've been but maybe that was because of Cassidy Freeman's singing. That being said though, the Darkseid arc does need to step up a gear though, considering that we don't have that many episodes left.

The Fades - You gotta love BBC3. They gave us the wonders of both Torchwood and Being Human and now they're hoping that The Fades can also bring them success. The ratings have certainly been good for the station and the apocalyptic scenerio that's presented here with the creepy dead things is certainly interesting. Paul's not a bad protagonist but I found myself disappointed that both Sarah and Helen were bumped off when I could've thought of two other characters I wouldn't have minded seeing the back off. Still, though I will be watching this one for the next five weeks.

The Vampire Diaries: Good set of episodes here. Rose's death certainly hit home, the build up towards Klaus has been interesting to watch along with the return of John Gilbert, werewolf lady Jules and the divide between Tyler and Caroline. In fairness, this show has certainly come leaps and bounds and the multiple plotting has certainly been more interesting than Damon's continuous veering between being good and bad. Just choose a damn side, already.

The X Factor: The last few weeks have been fine, ratings are up but have we really seen anyone with that great potential? Kelly's crying over one contestant was pretty horrid to watch and Louis needs to stop encouraging novelty acts as well. Also, I get that it wasn't intended but Simon's return last week just proved to me that the series really does work without him. Liking Gary and Tulisa the most as judges this year.

- I'll be reviewing Ringer from next week onwards. I needed to watch the first two episodes and while it's not perfect, I do want to review it.
- Alexandra Daddario has landed a multiple episode arc on Parenthood, playing the role of receptionist Rachel.
- Michael Zegan has signed up to play a new character in the second season of The Walking Dead.
- Despite being shot in the finale, Rutina Wesley will be appearing in the fifth season of True Blood. A mysterious woman will also be at the centre point of the next series.
- Downton Abbey has been renewed for a third run. The first episode of Season 2 attracted over 9 million viewers. Filming for this year's Christmas special has begun.
- Lacey Turner will appearing in David Tennant's episode of upcoming BBC series, Love Life. Filming for the series began this week.
- Matthew Rhys will be playing John Jasper in a BBC2 production of The Mystery Of Edwin Drood, due to air next year for the bicentennial of Charles Dickens. Tamzin Merchant and Alun Armstrong will also appear in the two-parter.
- Merlin's fourth season will air on October 1st at 7.50pm. Misfits third year will also debut on E4 next month.
- Gilles Marini will be appearing in an upcoming episode of Modern Family, playing a character named Julian.
- Ashton Kutcher's opening episode of Two And A Half Men attracted 28 million viewers.

The Fades - More UK TV Spookiness

Okay, if Bedlam wasn't enough for UK viewers this year and Being Human wasn't enough for BBC3 on the supernatural front, then it's rather nice that The Fades is offering another piece of spookiness to UK telly, right?

The series, set to debut next week focuses on a loner named Paul (Iain De Caestecker) who has apocalyptic dreams that both a therapist and his friend can do nothing about. On top of that, he's also seeing the spirits of the dead, or Fades as they're called in this series.

The trailer for the series is definitely promising and BBC3 definitely seems the right place for a series like this to flourish. Plus with a cast that contains Game Of Thrones newcomer Natalie Dormer as a visionary as well and Daniella Nardini as a priest, this is definitely a series with a lot of promise.

Press Release: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/03_march/29/fades.shtml
Season 1 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB3iMW0fbLs

The Fades airs Wednesdays at 9pm on BBC3 from September 21st.