The Wrong Other Woman

A rundown of some of the most recent shows I've caught ...

A Touch Of Cloth: Charlie Brooker's cop spoof trilogy finally came to it's conclusion with the airing of the third installment during the Bank Holiday Weekend. While the first one remains the best of the three, this final chapter was a marked improvement on the second with Karen Gillan's Kerry Newblood being a fun addition to the series. While the reveal of who Gillan's character was managed to be predictable, it still led to a great confrontation between her and John Hannah's always reckless Jack and the ends credits for this one were pretty cheeky - in the literal sense of the word.

Devious Maids: Finale time and the end to this second season managed to set up some interesting plotlines for next season - someone got shot, Rosie/Spencer got married as it was revealed the former's first husband was actually still alive, Zoila ended up pregnant, Marisol realised her husband killed the Powells son, Carmen slept with a married man (is Gilles Marini in every show nowadays?) and er, Valentina did something, didn't she? As a finale, it certainly packed a lot into it and it'll be interesting to see where this soapy show can go in it's third run.

Scandal: I won't lie - I've only gotten into this show more recently but having watched the first three episodes of the third season, courtesy of SkyLiving (and catching with the main points of previous seasons), I really do get why there's so much fuss behind this show. The fallout of Olivia and Fitz's affair took a surprisingly unpredictable (if slightly frustrating) turn of events while the further backstories of both Eli and Huck have been fascinating to watch. I'll definitely be watching the rest of this season and hope that the fourth season also airs pretty sharpish over here as well.

The Vampire Diaries: A hundred episodes later and this show is still here (okay, I know production for the sixth season has begun) but to celebrate it's landmark episode, the show brought back several characters (Klaus, Rebekah, Tyler etc) and had Katherine decide that she didn't want to go quietly into the night by swapping bodies with Elena during her dying moments. It's a good enough way of keeping onto Katherine for a tiny bit longer and for a prominent episode, it was also highly enjoyable too.

Utopia: A good finale but not as great as the previous series. I did like that they bumped off a few more characters and Wilson's increasing dark turn has been more riveting than anything concerning Ian or Becky and Jessica certainly had her moments in the last two episodes. With ratings being low though, it'll be a miracle if the show gets picked up for another run and I don't know how much longer they can sustain the threat of the virus but it would be a shame for Channel 4 not to give it another series too.

- Colin Woodell will be appearing in the second season of The Originals, playing a werewolf named Aiden.
- Outlander has already been renewed for a second season.
- Bex Taylor-Klaus has replaced Amy Forsyth for the upcoming Scream series.
- Mike Birbilglia has joined the cast of Orange Is The New Black.
- Derek Hough will be appearing in multiple episodes of Nashville's upcoming third season.
- Jyoti Amge and Patti LaBelle have both joined the cast of American Horror Story: Freak Show.
- The Leftovers has been renewed for a second season. SkyAtlantic will be airing the first season shortly.
- Mary McCormick and Josh Randall will be playing a power couple in the upcoming season of Scandal.
- Michael C. Hall will be returning to television in a mini-series called God Fearing Man. The project is currently being shopped around to networks at the moment.
- Homeland's fourth season will receive a two hour premiere. The series returns to Showtime from October 5th. Channel 4 will air it shortly afterwards.

Back For Janus

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

24: Live Another Day: It's been a great half-season return for Kiefer Sutherland's career defining series and while nearly all the baddies were taken out rather quickly, the finale shocker of Audrey being killed off packed something of a punch and with the ending we got for Live Another Day, there's no way FOX can't bring it back for another twelve episode run. The show definitely cannot end on that cliffhanger after all. Plus, it has been some kind of a rating success again for the station and no doubt the DVD set for this will sell immensely.

Devious Maids: The last few episodes have been pretty interesting. It's nice to see that Rosie managed to get Reggie out of Kenny' house and reunited that family, Zoila's love life and friendship with Genevieve continuing to be a highlight and I can certainly sympathise with Carmen not being a kid person but the stuff with Marisol/Nick/Opal, even with the latter blowing her brains out has still dragged out a bit too long and I'm at a point now where I want to see Spence's annoying nephew go away now. Thankfully there's only one more episode to go now.

Orange Is The New Black: This show literally became this year's Breaking Bad, didn't it? It's a good job I was watching it this year because the hype/ads for it was inescapable. As for the remaining six episodes of the second season - some of the best television I've seen with Red and Vee's fight for supremacy intensifying with every episode, some great flashbacks for characters like Rosa and Sister Ingalls (along with the ones for Piper, Alex, Red and Vee), the downfall of Natalie, some great moments with Pennsatucky/Healey, Morello turning a corner, Nicky being awesome, Taystee wising up, the pregnancy plot with Pornstache/Daya/Bennett getting messier, Caputo improving as a character. The only bore of the second half of the season was the Larry/Polly scenes but we might be getting less of them next season if we're lucky.

The Vampire Diaries: I've watched a lot of episodes since my last TV jumble in relation to this series. Because of that, I've seen the fallout of the whole Tessa/Silas/Amara triangle, Bonnie becoming a link to two world, Katherine having to suck up to the fact that she's dying (though she has been a help to Stefan and his PTSD) as well as Damon filling Elena in on his past with the Augustine crowd and the introduction of the seemingly interesting, Enzo for good measure. It's certainly been a busy bunch of episodes. I think I'm enjoying this season a little more than the previous one though Caroline needs a little more to do given that her relationship with Jesse went nowhere and Tyler can't be arsed to even attend college.

Utopia: Possibly one of the craziest things to air on UK television at the moment is back for it's second run of episodes and while two thirds of it's second series has run, it's been interesting yet again. Okay, I still find Ian, Becky and Grant somewhat tedious at times as characters but the 1970s flashback opening episode with Rose Leslie playing a younger version of Millner has been one of the best episodes of television this year and in the current day, Millner has still been her delightfully ruthless self, corrupting Wilson all the more as she pushes for the virus to be released. Of course, Jessica similarly has been a delight too with her escape from captivity and her standoff with Millner in the latest episode. With ratings being terrible though, it'll be a miracle if this show gets a third run of episodes but here's hoping Channel 4 are feeling generous though.

- Claire Holt has joined the cast of NBC mini-series, Aquarius as a series regular. She'll play Officer Charmaine Tully.
- Elena Satine will play the slightly unhinged Louise in the upcoming fourth season of Revenge.
- Simon Kassianides will play right hand Bakshi, Reed Diamond will play Daniel Whitehall, Nick Blood will play Lance Hunter while Lucy Lawless will be playing Isabel Hartley in Agents Of SHIELD.
- Kyra Sedgwick will be appearing in the second season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Deputy Chief Madeline Wuntch.
- Kelly Frye will play Plastique in The Flash while JR Ramirez will be playing Ted 'Wildcat' Grant in parent series, Arrow.
- John Rhys-Davies and Tyler Jacob Moore will be appearing in Once Upon A Time, taking on the roles of Pabbie and Prince Hans respectively.
- Blair Brown will be appearing in the third season of Orange Is The New Black. Her role has not yet been disclosed.
- Lea Michele will be appearing in the final season of Sons Of Anarchy. Her character will be a single mother/waitress named Gertie.
- Fargo's second season will air for UK viewers again on Channel 4 in 2015.
- Gillian Anderson may become a regular for Hannibal's third season. A contract is rumoured to be negotiated for the actress.

Not Another One

It's been a month and there's been a fair amount of stuff I've been catching up on and while some aren't mentioned here, they will be in future blogs but for now, here's the rest ...

Arrow: What's the best thing about having Jack Harkness on this show as Tommy's dad? I don't know, how about maybe adding River Song into the mix as well as Laurel's mother, believing that the previously deceased Sarah isn't so deceased after all. Also add a dollop of Jackson from Teen Wolf into the mix as this show's equivalent of Robin, I mean Red Arrow/Roy Harper as well nicely continuing to develop the likes of Oliver, Laurel and Tommy and more appearances from favourites like Deadshot and Huntress and you've got a show that has become more than deserving of the success it's been enjoying.

Glee: Last time I talked about this, Emma had bailed on Will during their wedding and the next two episodes dealt with the fallout of that with Will and Finn embarking on one of the lamest musical feuds since the last brand of teenyboppers spat their dummies out. On the plus side, Santana's snarkiness continues to be amusing, even if her lack of boundaries backfired on her and Sue's version of Superbass will certainly stick with you, even if you don't want it to or not. However, I'm not entirely sure of this Catfish type plot with Ryder and Finn declaring Rachel as his future wife was nothing short of creepy. On the plus side again, Adam's a good addition to the show.

Nashville: Still watching this show and it's a fun enough romp but nothing too earth shattering though. Between Juliette and Rayna, the former is emerging as the more interesting of the two, even if she's getting every pop starlet cliche known to man. Still, it's being delivered with plenty of aplomb and it's much better than the less engaging political plotlines with Rayna's husband and father. The supporting characters are still a mixed bunch. Scarlett's been a wet blanket in some episodes but Deacon is far more interesting than Teddy has been so far in the series. The music's still pretty decent too.

Once Upon A Time: Another solid bunch of episodes. I like that we're getting some solid answers here such as that mystery guy's motives (and no shock they're sympathetic ones), Cora's whole backstory prior to Snow killing her and Regina's first day when she set the curse on everyone. I also like that Neal seems to be an interesting enough character, though I'm still not sure if once again Gold has to be connected to every plot strand of the series but the return of vengeful Regina and briefly seeing Graham again was nice. I'm looking forward to seeing where the show will go now that Snow's heart isn't quite so pure anymore either.

The Vampire Diaries: You killed Jeremy - you bastards! Did we really need to see yet another person in Elena's life die, really show? It's starting to feel a little too gratuitous at this point and the actual death itself lacked a certain emotional punch that it might have had in earlier seasons had Elena not lost so many people in her life beforehand. I have to admit that the episodes that have aired this year haven't been that spectacular. Both the Silas plot, the Hunter stuff and Klaus's continuous presence have somewhat derailed the show a bit. I am really now hoping the Originals spin-off is picked up so this show can start afresh and breathe some much needed life into it.

Utopia: This really was a gem of a series for Channel 4 and not surprisingly enough, it decided to end on a cliffhanger where Jessica's true purpose was revealed at the last minute. In retrospect, the whole reveal about Jessica wasn't that surprising in context but it still made for a good cliffhanger moment, one that we will see resolved because Channel 4 have renewed it for a second series. It's nice to see that with this show, Black Mirror and Misfits, the station itself is capable of producing some gripping genre television. Easily one of the most exciting shows of 2013.

- Colton Haynes has been made a regular for the second season of Arrow as Roy Harper along with Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson.
- American Horror Story's third season will have the title of Coven as Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates will be playing warring witches in New Orleans.
- Darri Ingolfsson will be appearing in the final season of Dexter as a specialist in medieval equipment who encounters Dexter.
- CSI has been renewed for a 14th season. Do people still actually watch that show?
- Christina Ricci has exited NBC pilot Girlfriend In A Coma.
- Terry O'Quinn has joined the pilot for Gang Related.
- Downton Abbey's third season finale (Christmas 2012) has broken records on PBS, pulling in over 12.3 million viewers. That's more than the episode got on ITV.
- Damian Lewis has pointed out that things are over between Carrie and Brody in the upcoming season of Homeland.

Telescope

And here's a look at some of the stuff I've been watching over the last week.

Glee: Well we finally got to the wedding of Will and Emma and needless to say, the event itself didn't exactly pan out so good. In fact, unless you're Will/Emma or Jake/Marley, you had a good time at the wedding. Kurt/Blaine got steamier than usual for this show, Rachel's gotten one hell of a cliche plot and then there's Quinn/Santana as well. I'm not gonna lie - it does feel like a ratings stunt but it was an interesting enough turn of events and far better than Sue being her usual petty self or Tina's inane pursuit of Blaine as well. In terms of songs - the whole Not Getting Married sequence was a work of genius for the show.

My Mad Fat Diary: I hope people are actually watching this one because as a successor to Skins, it's definitely become a rather charming show to watch. The last two episodes have certainly ramped up the intensity of the show as Rae's attempts of keeping her time in hospital seperate from her new friends have seemingly come undone and the slow build up with her and Finn has been interesting to watch. The finale on Monday definitely looks like it'll end the first series on a good note. I hope it gets a second one though.

Nashville: After finding myself incredibly disappointed  with Smash last year and give my general aversion to country music, I wasn't sure about this show but two episodes in - I love it. It's pure, unashamed soap but it's a fun one with interesting enough characters, a great rivalry between the not so vacuous Juliette and the slightly entitled Rayna and the songs are surprisingly catchy enough as well. The political plots with Rayna's husband and father are the weaker parts of the show but other than that, this has definitely become a show worth watching on a Thursday night. Quite fond of Telescope and If I I Didn't Know Better for some reason too.

Once Upon A Time: I loved this episode. I was looking forward to seeing this show's take on Jack And The Beanstalk and like with Ruby's plotline last year, the subversion with Tiny and Jacqueline (nice to see Cassidy Freeman popping up in shows I watch) was brilliant. I guess this means that we've got Tiny as a recurring character now, right? I also found myself enjoying the subplots with Regina back to her scheming ways and Emma, Henry and Gold's trip to New York as well as that mysterious newcomer in town. It's a shame the ratings have been disappointing because this season has been so enjoyable to watch.

The New Normal: I'm still watching this show and I still like it, but again, it does feel like the weakest of Ryan Murphy's current shows on television. However I do like that the show seems to be developing Jane a bit more. She's still an acid tongued bigot at times but she's still interesting to watch and I found myself preferring her over David's mother at times as well. Though I did like seeing David's mother showing her acceptance of Bryan with a rather simple gesture.

Utopia: It's nice that this show is airing on Channel 4 rather than E4. It proves that the channel is capable of taking more risks with genre television and this has certainly been a gripping and rather polemic series. The last two episodes have really upped the tension with virtually every character deceiving or being deceived by others that's really hard to know who we're supposed to be siding with her. Jessica's unhinged but she's currently got the manuscript and Becky seems to be the most clean cut of characters but she's being put into a compromising position. It's going to be interesting to see how the finale will resolve this whole saga.

- Jason Ritter has been cast in the US version of Gavin And Stacey (titled Friends And Family) in the Gavin role. Anyone want to place bets on how many episodes this gets to before cancellation?
- BBC1 will be airing a new thriller called Mayday, starring both Aidan Gillen and Sophie Okonedo over the space of five days from March 3rd-7th.
- SkyAtlantic have bought the rights to Alan Ball's series, Banshee and will premiere it in May.
- BBC2 have cancelled The Hour after two series.
- Fans of Community will be delighted to know that SonyTV will be airing the third season in May.
- Both Ripper Street and Mr Selfridges have been commissioned for second series by BBC1 and ITV.
- The US version of The Bridge, starring Diane Kruger, Demian Bichir, Annabeth Gish, Ted Levine and Matthew Lilliard will air on FX.
- Oliver Jackson-Cohen will be joining NBC's Dracula, playing Jonathan Harker.

Calender Boys

And here's a look at some of the show I've been watching in recent weeks. Warning: Spoilers as per usual.

American Horror Story: What is it with this show and finales? The first one ended on a strangely bittersweet note but the second one managed to give us a final season that makes the whole season question worthy on itself? It was a rather ballsy move, unlike Lana pulling the trigger on her son, which I think we all saw coming, didn't we? I'm not gonna lie - I've enjoyed this second season more than it's first and I was pretty satisfied/intrigued with the respected endings given to Lana, Kit and Jude. I can't wait to see what the third season is going to give us. Easily one of the best show on television. Sorry, Homeland, but you've been beaten here.

Glee: It's interesting that I'm discussing three Ryan Murphy shows in one blog but chalk that up to timing rather than a calculated move on my part (no, honest). Anyways the recent two episodes of this show, while still burdened with the same narrative problems (such as out of nowhere crushes with Blaine/Sam/Tina), still managed to give us two interesting episodes. The Naked one in particular was nowhere near as gimmicky as it could've been and while I certainly didn't mind seeing the male cast as calender boys, I have to admit the other highlights have been English boy Adam, the girls belting out Locked Out Of Heaven as well as the Rachel/Santana/Quinn's version of Love Song. However the one thing I do find extremely surprisingly is how likeable Finn has been as well for the last while. Have the writers finally turned a corner with him, character wise?

Mrs Brown's Boys: And while my guilty pleasure show at the moment ends tonight on RTE1 (BBC1 on Monday), the last two episodes have continued to be a belly full of fun. Yes, this show can be crass and predictably at times, such as that vibrating phone, Rory being a dab hand with handcuffs and Cathy falsely assuming one of the family is adopted but it's still funnier than any other comedy on the BBC at the moment. I can't wait to see what the last episode will give us.

My Mad Fat Diary: Three episodes in and I'm still enjoying this show. The 90's nostalgia aside, it's just a well written and fantastically fun show to watch with a good blend of serious edges too. I liked that the last two episodes focused on explaining about Archie and Chloe (though the former's secret I think could be seen coming a mile off) and Rae's interactions with both her mother and shrink have certainly gotten more interesting to watch as well. This so far has been a wonderful homemade series for E4 and I do hope that there's going to be a second run of episodes for it. It's certainly deserving of it.

The New Normal: Okay, I'm still enjoying this show but I'll admit it's probably the weakest of Ryan Murphy's main three and like Glee at times, has a tendency to a little heavy handed with it's messages but at least Bryan and David continue to be a believable couple and it's hard to dislike Goldie/Shania and despite that Nana being a bit too cartoonish, Ellen Barkin is still easily the best performer in the show. It's just that we're not seeing more to our main players other than their desire to become fathers and I kind of wish we got a little more there.

Utopia: I like a good conspiracy/genre show as much as the next person and this one is definitely one of the most interesting things Channel 4 have produced in a while (along with My Mad Fat Diary) as a manuscripts seems to have changed the lives of several different people over the space of three episodes. The main characters are interesting and sympathetic enough and the main antagonists so far do seem to be a scary bunch but while the central story is fantastic, is it the type of show that should be just one series or is there really enough to make it go for another run? At the moment, it's a little hard to tell.

- In news that won't shock anyone, Lily Rabe will also be returning for the third season of American Horror Story. Also rumoured to be returning is Taissa Farmiga from the first season.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has labelled the characters on Girls as 'ignorant'. I guess it's not just me who has issues with this show then.
- Expect a massive death in an upcoming episode of Revenge. In fact, you can thank/blame the Daily Mail for spoiling who dies actually.
- Ellen Muth will be appearing in the upcoming Hannibal series, playing a character named Georgia, though not a Grim Reaper this time.
- Rosanne Barr is developing a sitcom for NBC.
- Angel Coulby and Keeley Hawes will be appearing in the SkyAtlantic version of The Bridge. HBO will also be doing their own version of the show and a second series of the original version will air this year too.
- The Syndicate will be remade for US television as well as Pulling. Both due to air on ABC.
- Jamie Dornan will be reappearing in Once Upon A Time, though when hasn't been specified.
- Felicia Day will be making another appearance on Supernatural. I guess the producers really do love her character.
- Californication, Shameless and House Of Lies have all been renewed for further seasons by Showtime.