Sherlock Holmes - Series 3 Begins

Well, filming for it begins on Monday but the last few days have been newsworthy for fans of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss's Sherlock at the very least ...

- Not exactly a cast picture but more a goofy one of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman larking about during the read through for the first story.
-  "You are in for an absolute stonker of a resurrection. It's going to be a treat," said Cumberbatch
- The first two stories supposed to be Mark Gatiss and Steve Thompson will be filmed first but there will be a bit of a gap until the third one by Steven Moffat is done.
- Cumberbatch has suggested that Series 3 might not air until Christmas 2013, which I can easily see happening.
- A fourth series has been commissioned by the BBC, though when that will be filmed hasn't been confirmed yet.
- Benedict has also mentioned that he'd love to see Lara Pulver reappear as Irene Adler, though he also points out that it's unlikely we'll see her in the upcoming series.

More Information: http://www.radiotimes.com/programme/5gt4/sherlock?ref=Article.TagBottom

Sherlock's third series begins filming this month with transmission for late 2013 on BBC1.

My Review of Revenge's 2x15: "Retribution"

Written by Nikki Toscano And Ellie Triedman
Directed by Helen Hunt

Aiden: “So back to basics?”
Emily: “No more distractions.”

Usually when it comes to television shows being meta textual about themselves, it’s either a sign of lazy writing or perhaps the series wanting to amend things for dissatisfied viewers. While the second season of this show has been far from a disaster area, it’s hard to deny that it has suffered from it’s many distractions and I’m not sure if this episode really did remedy anything really.

First of all, for all of Emily’s declarations of no more distractions at the end of this episode – was it really bright of her to destroy that computer by throwing it in the ocean? Aiden tried to dissuade her but she wouldn’t listen and more importantly, how else is Emily going to get her own back on the Graysons without having to resort to murder that is?

More importantly – Eli James, really? I will keep an open mind but did Emily really need a foster brother thrown into the mix? Especially that standing over Amanda’s grave on a rainy night with her seemed to realise that his foster sister wasn’t dead and buried after all? Again, I will keep an open mind but it does seem like Eli is the very type of distraction both Emily and the show arguably don’t need at the moment.

Besides, her renewed focus on taking Victoria and Conrad down aside, Emily’s brief interaction with Trask probably went and put her on the Initiative’s radar as well. He didn’t seem altogether convinced when she said she was looking for some clothes for Jack and given that Trask doesn’t seem to trust anyone, Emily might want to watch her back with him.

Speaking of Jack, I don’t often praise Nick Wechsler enough on this show but in this episode, I actually thought he was really brilliant. Jack’s grief for Amanda was one thing but confronting Emily on their shared history in juvenile detention was another and I also liked that he seemed convinced that the Graysons were involved in Amanda’s death.

Perhaps this will finally mean that Jack will be more of an interesting character and have a purpose on this show. If that’s the case, then it definitely means Amanda’s death wasn’t in vein and while I did feel bad for Emily that Jack was cold towards her at the funeral, Nolan was right when he told her to back off as well. That was probably one of Nolan’s better scenes in this episode.

Less good was Nolan handing over Carrion to Padma in exchange for her father. I completely understand why he did it but it was still a little frustrating to watch as well. More annoying was Daniel’s pathetic attempts of bullying Nolan into doing his bidding as well. I can take Daniel being ruthless at times but I am really hoping that Nolan finds some way of outsmarting him within the next few weeks.

As for Victoria and Conrad – some interesting moments in this one. I particularly liked Victoria’s scenes with Emily at the morgue and the funeral where both times it felt like she was letting her guard down as Emily barely concealed her anger towards Victoria. More scenes like that between Emily Van Camp and Madeleine Stowe would be nice. Emily and Victoria really work off each other so well.

As for Conrad – insisting to pay Jack’s expenses and using Amanda’s death in line with his campaign felt pretty sleazy that even Ashley seemed appalled by it. However I did see some flickers of regret of the whole Amanda situation but Conrad’s self preservation did come out once again with his scenes with Trask. If I were Conrad, I’d make sure to have some kind of ace up my sleeve for when the Initiative really do find out what happened to Helen Crowley.

Also in “Retribution”

It was Charlotte who brought Eli James to the Hamptons but I think mainly for her own misguided good intentions for Amanda.

Emily (to Nolan): “I took a breath and now Amanda’s dead.”

Jack found the key to presumably where the laptop was being kept in Amanda’s jar of glass which he knocked over.

Ashley: “Did you kill Amanda Clarke?”
Conrad: “Good morning to you too, Miss Davenport.”

Victoria: “You try to protect your children from all pain but I cannot be able to stop what’s going on behind those steel doors.”
Emily: “You must feel so helpless.”

I know the character wasn’t well received but I’m surprised that the writers didn’t bring Kara back for this episode. Are we ever going to see her again?

Nolan (to Emily): “I guess I’m life’s pawn. I have to figure out who’s moving me next.”

Emily: “I hadn’t heard from you in a couple of days.”
Charlotte: “I guess I’m more private than the rest of my family.”

Daniel seemed to inadvertently have gotten rid of one of the cameras watching him at the office, while Aiden mentioned his involvement in sabotaging Prosser from a few episodes ago.

Emily: “Death is a thief. It takes and keeps all that a person is, a person was.”

Emily (re Jack): “I wanted to tell him the truth. He deserves that.”
Nolan: “Someday maybe but not right now.”

Chronology: Exactly from where “Sacrifice” left off.

“Retribution” didn’t actually offer much in the way of retribution but was a solid episode that at the very least seemed to promise a return to focus for Emily. I just hope that Eli’s arrival on the Hamptons doesn’t deter that though.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Being Human's 5x06: "The Last Broadcast"

Written by Toby Whithouse
Directed by Daniel O’Hara

Alex (to Captain Hatch): “You forget that we are not like you.”
Tom: “Deep down.”
Hal: “We’re human.”

Now, there’s an interesting question – are they? Did Hal, Tom and Alex actually achieve the impossible and defeat the devil and become human as some kind of karmic reward or was that final scene a nice reminder that Hatch was too powerful an enemy to defeat? If so, then our guys are living a lie, though one I don’t think you can blame them for desperately wanting to be true.

Of course, if they are living a lie, then humanity is based screwed and I’m only imagining writing this very review as we speak and I also think that soufflé I cremated is also a fallacy as well. However, I should point out that writer/creator Toby Whithouse has apparently decided to add a scene on the upcoming DVD for Series 5 that will ultimately answer what really happened for the gang.

I think the ambiguity of this finale was an interesting move and obviously a good way of choosing how things panned out for our gang. I want to be optimistic, so for me I actually think that Tom, Hal and Alex completely the ritual successfully and Hatch is no longer an immediate threat for them and they’re human but I also accept the less pleasant alternative as well too.

The one thing I’ve consistently enjoyed about this show over the course of it’s five years is how the cliff hangers for the penultimate episode tend to be resolved rather speedily and here was no different either. Alex might have had trouble Rentaghost-ing out of her grave but it didn’t stop her from embracing her inner Kitty Pryde from getting out of there nonetheless and she certainly had little problems in trying to bring the group back together.

Then there was Hal. I’m beginning to think he’s actually a bit rubbish at the whole recruiting thing because impressive show tunes aside (nice singing voice/dance moves Damien Molony), his vampires barely lasted five minutes against Tom and even the whole smackdown between Tom and Hal was fairly short lived too, though surprisingly amusing too.

Alex has easily been the glue that’s held this trinity together for quite a while now and while Hal was more of his bastard self than the nicer/odd version we’re used to, it was her who got both him and Tom to work together in order to stop Captain Hatch from broadcasting his message to humanity.

Except again, it’s that thing – did our gang defeat Hatch at all? Hatch is the devil and therefore shouldn’t be physically easily defeated, especially given that he went from the body of a mad man to Rook’s body after the former body was shot on live television and then there’s also the temptations he left for our gang as well.

On screen we saw Alex being tempted by a life with her father and brothers where she didn’t go on a date that would’ve ended up killing her while Tom could have a life without the wolf but with Allison and a baby on the way while Hal could either die in the battle of Orsha or fifty years from now without becoming a vampire. The only problem was that using Leo proved to be a bad move on Hatch’s part and all of the gang still chose each other, in spite of their issue, namely Hal still being a dick at times.

However, the one thing that really does make it more likely than the gang are living a lie was the pointed way (twice) in which Hal suggested that Hatch needed to put them together for his plan to work. Perhaps Hatch really did outsmart our Trinity after all but then again, a part of me is still hopeful that he didn’t. I guess a certain scene in a few weeks time though will be the ultimate decider in relation to our gang’s true fate.

Also in “The Last Broadcast”

Aside from the obvious influences of Inception and Blade Runner, you could also argue that Whithouse might have taken a leaf out of the recent American Horror Story finale as well.

Alex: “Okay, Hatch. Okay, you bastard I am coming for you.”

I did love the use of the interludes for the broadcast segments of this story but the mafia look for Hatch was a bit on the nose. Interesting look I suppose for him.

Captain Hatch (to Mr Rook): “I never understood why you lot were so proud of being human. A monkey falls out of a tree and invents the digital watch. That’s basically it, isn’t it?”

Tom: “What’s going on?”
Alex: “Like I said, shit just got real.”

Rook was pretty underused in this episode. All he did was reveal something about his father and become a host for the Devil before Hal staked him.

Captain Hatch (to the audience): “I was supposed to be the lesson. I was the warning. I was the villain and you all became my tribute act.”

Hal: “Doesn’t matter we won’t let you win.”
Captain Hatch: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ll see.”

As well as writing this episode, we got another cameo appearance from Mr Whithouse reprising his role as Alistair Frith. More importantly we got some nice mentions of the original gang as well as the visuals at the end of this episode of them.

Hal: “None of this is real.”
Captain Hatch: “How do you know? I’m the bloody devil. How do you know I can’t travel through time?”

Tom: “I want this to be true.”
Allison: “What? Tom, it is.”
Tom: “Well, how long can it go on for?”
Allison: “As long as you like.”

I loved the scene where Hal looked in the mirror to see his reflection and Alex pigging out on all that food (while wearing Tom’s clothes) was a delight too, along with them all watching Antiques Roadshow.

Alex (re Brendan): “That was a low blow using him.”
Captain Hatch: “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t show you the whole picture. Everything you’re missing.”

Hal (to Alex/Tom): “That’s my cue to go. I have a surprisingly low threshold for passive aggression.”

Standout music: Hal’s version of “Puttin’ On The Ritz” and Tom Odell’s “Can’t Pretend”.

Mr Rook/Captain Hatch (to the gang): “Now it’s too late. I’m too powerful.”

Hal (to Tom/Alex): “Our curses came from the devil. With him dead, properly dead, they’re gone. We’re human.”

Chronology: More or less from where “No Care, All Responsibility” left off to be honest or perhaps there is no chronology given that ending.

“The Last Broadcast” will definitely go down as a much debated finale for this impressive series. It’s amazing that this series originated from a backdoor pilot into becoming easily the best show BBC3 has ever produced as well as thanking Toby Whithouse and his wonderful crew, I’d also like to thank Mitchell, George, Annie, Nina, Tom, Hal, Alex and the various monsters and people they’ve affected over five brilliant series. The ending might be ambiguous (for now) but it’s definitely a brilliant way to conclude this stunning series.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Atlantis - First Bits Of Casting Announced

With the show set to begin filming next month, some principal casting for the upcoming BBC1 saturday night fantasy drama, Atlantis has been unveiled.

Robert Emms has been cast as Pythagoras. The actor best known for his roles in War Horse and Mirror, Mirror will be playing the famous mathematician, philosopher and scientist in the upcoming series. Of course, while Emms is an interesting choice for Pythagoras, there's more inspired casting afoot for this show.

Mark Addy, known for a slew of various projects, most recent ones being the likes of Game Of Thrones and Trollied has been cast as Hercules. If this is not the most genius piece of casting Atlantis could come up with, I don't know what will be.

Elsewhere former As If and Hex actress Jemima Rooper has bagged the role of Medusa. It's always been a shame that she hasn't been in as many big shows over the years but I'm hoping with Atlantis, she gets to shine as Medusa. She's certainly a great casting choice but so far, all the ones announced are. I am intrigued now to see who we're going to get as Jason now.

More News: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2289881/Mark-Rylance-rule-BBCs-Wolf-Hall-adaptation-best-selling-novel.html

Atlantis will air during the Autumn on BBC1.

Dexter - Season 8 Will Be It's Last

Well, it's not a shocker but it's finally been confirmed that the upcoming eighth season of Dexter will be it's final one. The show, about a serial killer who has mainly killed bad guys for the last several years was confirmed by CBS president and CEO, Les Moonves as the show's final season.

The eighth season will see further guest stars such as  Rhys Coiro, Nick Gomez as well as Sean Patrick Flannery and Charlotte Rampling as private eye Jacob Elroy and a neuro-psychaitrist, both of whom could spell trouble for Dexter and Deb. Aimee Garcia will also be a regular in the final season as Jamie as well.

I have to admit that while it's kind of sad to see the show end, I think it's a good thing as well. Dexter has undeniably been one of Showtime's biggest and best of programmes but with eight seasons under it's belt, now probably is a good time to end things while the show is still good.

Season 8 News: http://www.spoilertv.com/search/label/Dexter

Dexter's eighth season will air on Showtime, Sundays at 9pm from June 30th.

My Review of Being Human's 5x05: "No Care, All Responsibility"

Written by Sarah Dollard
Directed by Daniel O’Hara

Alex: “What the hell are you?”
Captain Hatch: “I’m only the fucking devil, sweetheart.”

Now as exchanges go, that is definitely the best one that Being Human has ever done. It even managed to surpass George’s “gayest ninjas” lines from the first series and it was more than a good way of emphasising that absolutely everything has gone to hell. Hal might be the one with the worst lock in ever but it’s Captain Hatch who has finally risen and he’s managed to do it in style here.

I know some people have been frustrated that the gang except for Alex haven’t been paying closer attention to Hatch’s antics all series long but here tonight, their lack of attention paid off when Natasha’s death became the very thing that managed to sever Hal, Tom and Alex’s friendships apart in rather devastating way.

I don’t doubt by sometime next week, the gang will be reunited and do battle with Old Nick himself but right now, things are looking pretty dire for the gang as they’ve all managed to get themselves in some dodgy situations.

Alex had been the one who suffered from confronting Hatch by herself when he put her inside her own coffin and while it was a tad reckless of her to go up against the guy without Tom and Hal, it did make sense for Alex to at least try. She promised Natasha that she was going to make Hatch and she’s been a fly in the Devil’s ointment all series anyways whereas both Tom and Hal have played into his hands.

The one thing I will say is that while being a ghost (Alex still is one, right?) shouldn’t keep her in her own coffin, the absolute horror Alex showed when she realised where exactly she ended up was beautifully done. As punishments go, it’s one that a lot of shows like to do but usually the victim doesn’t tend to be dead already. I can’t wait to see how Alex will get herself out of this one.

Then there’s Hal. I’ll give the man his due – he really tried to stay off the blood and not go down his murderous ways. In fact the whole situation with Natasha, whilst a touch sleazy did actually make some practical sense. I didn’t enjoy seeing Hal drinking blood from the girl but it was a better alternative than massacring all of Barry and had things been a whole lot different, it would’ve been the perfect solution in order to keep Hal’s dark side at bay.

Unfortunately for all of the gang, not only did Natasha turn out to be a trap by Mr Rook and Captain Hatch to drive a wedge between Tom and Hal and take Alex out of the equation but as a guest character, she was one of the best the show’s ever done. In fact, I think Natasha’s genuine conflict over destroying the trio and her actual feelings for Tom are what made her sympathetic as well.

Tom genuinely seemed to think he had met another perfect girl, in spite of his initial conflict with his feelings for Allison and inexperience towards sex in general. I know it’s a long shot, but there’s a part of me that’s kind of hoping that Natasha didn’t go through her door but sadly, I think she did. Still her death at Hatch’s hands (and Hal being in the wrong position at the wrong time) really did bring about hell in a big way.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the final episode will actually solve this whole storyline with Hal/Tom/Alex vs. Captain Hatch and perhaps Mr Rook but either way, this tension filled episode definitely implied that the outcome really is that unpredictable. Aside from actually having withdrawals and later attacking that pub, I expected Hal to be the one who killed Natasha. I’m certainly glad that he didn’t and tried to save her, even if he failed.

Also in “No Care, All Responsibility”

We finally got a flashback where Rook rescued Natasha as a child and developed a fatherly type of bond with her. It still didn’t stop him from using her for his own end though. The title of this episode came from a motto of Rook’s too.

Hal: “They’re not showtunes. Gilbert and Sullivan wrote operettas, not musicals.”
Alex: “I’m so embarrassed for you right now.”

This episode did give us some Halex moments with a kiss between the pair and a discussion of Alex’s bra of doom.

Alex (re Natasha): “She made you feel feelings?”
Tom: “Yeah.”
Alex: “What a bitch! You should stake her anyway.”

Hal: “You know what I am?”
Natasha: “I’ve been around your lot before.”

It’s nice that this episode confirmed that Mr Rook was aware of Alex, considering that he didn’t seem to take her being mentioned seriously in the last one.

Alex (re romance): “You really are a bit rubbish at this, aren’t you?”
Hal: “It would seem so.”

Natasha (to Tom): “You’re not stupid, stupid. You just think the best of people. You have no idea how rare that is.”

The lovely Natasha Miles was played by former (and returning) Skins actress, Kathryn Prescott. It’s nice to see her on telly again.

Alex (to Hal): “It’s over because you didn’t even ask us for help. Tom made you swear on our friendship and you didn’t once tell us you were in trouble.”

Mr Rook: “I do my job. It’s what I’ve always done.”
Natasha: “I’m human. It’s your job to protect me.”

Standout music: Hal singing Gilbert and Sullivan’s “I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General” and Filter’s “Hey Man, Nice Shot”.

Hal (re Natasha’s death): “I didn’t do this. I need you to believe that I didn’t do this.”
Alex: “Every time I think I know who you are, it turns out I’m wrong, usually because someone’s dead.”

Natasha: “What about Hatch?”
Alex: “Look, I’m going after Hatch. I’ll make him pay.”

Chronology: I’m assuming it’s still 2012. Alex’s gravestone also mentioned that she was born in 1990, the same year as Kate Bracken.

“No Care, All Responsibility” was impressive. Maybe the benefit of this show having a shorter series has been that Hatch rising hasn’t been that long and therefore became more effective and with Hal, Tom (making stakes and his using his own blood for a weapon) and Alex all in interesting predicaments, I do find myself looking forward to the last ever episode but slightly dreading it at the same time.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Downton Abbey - Series 4 First Look

With the fourth series of ITV's juggernaut , Downton Abbey already a month into filming, a lot of interesting information has leaked. Here are the highlights. Needless to say, there are spoilers looming folks.

ITV have released a first picture of Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and baby George. It seems that the opening episode of the fourth series will take place six months after the events of the 2012 Christmas special as Mary comes to terms with both Matthew's death and motherhood.

Elsewhere many a guest star has been revealed for the new series. Former Hotel Babylon actor, Nigel Harman has been cast as a visiting valet named Green while Dame Kiri Te Kanawa who will play a visiting musician. Law And Order: UK's Harriet Jones will be playing Lady Shackleton, an old friend of the Dowager (Maggie Smith) while Tom Cullen will be playing Lord Gillingham, a character with a history with Lady Mary and Joanna David will appear as the Duchess of Yeovil and Julian Ovenden will take the role of Charles Blake, a visiting aristocrat in Yorkshire.

Of course, a returning character from last series will be Shirley MacLaine's Martha Levinson but it is not confirmed for how many episodes she'll be in. I have to admit, I wasn't too keen on the character last series but her return could be pretty interesting. Another interesting storyline due to air in the fourth series is apparently the arrival of the show's first black character. While this show sometimes has the subtlety of a sledgehammer, I really am intrigued to see if the show can tackle a race related storyline, which seems to be what this storyline could be about.

Last but not least, it seems that Siobhan Finneran has quit the series as dour lady's maid, Mrs O'Brien. The character will not be appearing in the fourth series at all, though her exit will hopefully be explained onscreen. I'm not the biggest of O'Brien fans but here's hoping it's a decent explanation.

Press Releases: http://www.radiotimes.com/downton?ref=Article.TagBottom

Downton Abbey's fourth series will air on ITV in September.

The Normal Heart Adds More To It's Cast

Well, it has with two more familiar faces signing up for Ryan Murphy's version of The Normal Heart for HBO ...

Jim Parsons, better known as Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory has signed up for the production. Parsons will be playing the role of gay activist, Tommy Boatwright. This is not the first time the actor has played this role as he previously performed in the Broadway version of the adaptation back in 2011.

Elsewhere John Carter's Taylor Kitsch has also signed up for a role in the HBO production too. Kitsch will be playing the role of closeted investment banker, Bruce Niles who becomes a prominent AIDS activist. Julia Roberts role meanwhile has been confirmed as Emma Brookner, a survivor of childhood polio, a doctor who also treats AIDS sufferers with both Mark Ruffalo and Matt Bomer in the lead roles of Ned Weeks, a man who witnesses the disease firsthand and his reporter/love interest Felix Turner.

More Information: http://www.deadline.com/2013/03/jim-parsons-taylor-kitsch-join-hbos-ryan-murphy-directed-movie-the-normal-heart/

The Normal Heart will begin filming later this year and will air on HBO in 2014.

Doctor Who - Series 7 Part 2 Begins

It's March and while we have another 29 days until the second half of Doctor Who's seventh series airs, promotion for it has finally come out at least.

The promo picture released here is representing the first episode of the 2013 series called The Bells Of St John. The episode introduces the Doctor to a modern version of Clara (who will be there for the remainder of the series) as well as some sinister creatures living in the wifi, known as the Spoonheads. If you look carefully into the promo pictures you can see them as well as other monsters for the upcoming eight episodes due to air soon.

Also released last night was a promotional picture for the Ice Warriors, who are set to appear in Mark Gatiss's episode with David Warner and Liam Cunningham. It does seem that unlike the Silurians, the redesign for the Ice Warriors hasn't been radically altered, with only some minor tweaks to the overall design. Another thing mentioned in the press release is that the monsters for the finale are creatures called the Faceless Ones. Now, why does that sound so familiar?

Elsewhere, the last week of filming for biopic An Adventure In Space And Time has come and it's been revealed that Sophie Hoult has been cast as Dodo Chaplet actress, Jackie Lane. Other cast members who have been confirmed for the biopic include Sam Hoare (Dancing On The Edge) as Douglas and David William Bryan as well as Nicholas Briggs voicing the Daleks as well. Also it seems that John Barrowman has been in talks to be appearing in the 50th anniversary special, according to an interview he did today on This Morning.

Series 7 Part 2 Press Release: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Doctor-Who-to-Return-with-The-Bells-of-St-John-First-Official-Picture
Biopic News: http://www.doctorwhonews.net/search/label/An%20Adventure%20in%20Space%20and%20Time

Series 7 of Doctor Who resumes airing from March 30th on BBC1.

Soap Discussion - February 2013

Last post for the blog and it's a soap one ...

Coronation Street: While the show might have been in the papers for worse reasons this month, at least the quality of the programme seems to be in a decent place. Tyrone and Fiz's plan to run off mightn't have gone to plan but at least the outcome of the former's storyline with Kirsty will reach it's conclusion within the next month. More pressing was the show giving Gail yet another reason to get on her high horse of Nick and Kylie and while Gloria continues to be an unlikeable character, the brief appearance of Timothy West as her ill fated lover, Eric was fairly entertaining. The less said about bratty Faye though the better.

EastEnders: Is Alfie Moon really the sort of fella that two women like Kat and Roxy end up scrapping over? Are any of the men in Walford really worth fighting for? This seems to be a theme this month with Zainab and Ayesha over Masood (and both of them left) and Tanya and Kirsty over Max as well. Maybe I'm missing something here. On a creepier note, I knew Phil's attachment to Lexi would go and take a sinister turn and his attempts to sabotage Lola's attempts of being a mum are stretching my patience. I know this show and realism don't go hand in hand but every once in a while it would be nice if the writers at least attempted it.

Emmerdale: The show is getting better, especially given the Edna and Brenda storylines but it does seem like the writers are struggling a bit with Cain and Moira as a couple and I'm not sure if we really needed to have Charity sleeping with Declan but then again, soaps don't like to have couples actually communicate their problems and come up with solutions to both character's actual marriages to Jai and Katie. Still, it's better than Debbie's continuous obnoxious behaviour or Belle's timely teen rebellion.

Hollyoaks: I know I'm going to be unpopular for saying this but I can't actually wait for Brendan to leave. Although there were times this month where I felt bad for him (Kevin's recent claim being one of them), his stories in general have exhausted and tested my patience and when his relationship with Ste isn't going around in circles, then Walker's scheming and Seamus's skulking around has also continued to bore me. On the plus side, Mitzeee got a decent if rushed exit, the consequences of Esther's bullying saga have been dished out and the Osbournes financial woes haven't been too tiresome to watch and I kind of like John Paul and Doug as mates/friends with benefits. Now can we please find out what happened between Jacqui and Trudy before the former leaves next month?

In The Flesh - Zombies Come To BBC3

With Being Human nearing towards it's end, it's nice to see that supernatural type of television isn't going to be entirely nonexistent on BBC3 as we've got a new series coming up called In The Flesh ...

The three part series focuses on a young man named Kieren Walker (Luke Newberry), a sufferer of partially deceased syndrome or a zombie, who is then having to be reintegrated into society along with fellow sufferers such as Amy (Emily Bevan), Rick (David Walmsley) and his sister Jem (Harriet Cains). However, while their condition can be managed with certain drugs, it does seem that not everyone in the community is welcoming of zombies as a group have made it their mission to take a stand from the partially deceased.

Having watched the trailer, I have to admit that I'm quite impressed with the series. Created by first time writer, Dominic Mitchell, it does seem that In The Flesh, if it's given a chance to shine could be a worthy successor to Being Human and will hopefully avoid the same fate that befell The Fades. In terms of reviewing the series, I might just give it a go, depending on my reaction to the first episode but it will definitely get mentioned in this blog again.

Press Release: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/in-the-flesh.html
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53I2_DbVUqU

In The Flesh will air Sundays at 10pm on BBC3 from March 17th.

The Musketeers - Cast Announced

Although The Musketeers will not be airing until 2014, it seems that the BBC finally announced who the main cast for this 10 part series will be and it's a familiar bunch of actors.

Former Skins actor Luke Pasqualino will be playing the role of D'Artagnan. The 23 year old who has also appeared in a Battlestar Galactica prequel and guest starred in The Borgias has bagged the one of the leading role in the upcoming BBC series created by former Primeval runner Adrian Hodges. Of course, he's not the only familiar actor in the mix.

Santiago Cabrera, best known for his roles in Heroes and Merlin as well as a recent guest appearance on Dexter will be playing the role of Aramis, which hopefully for the actor will not be as short lived as some of the roles he's done in the past but it's nice to see him attached to another BBC show.

Tom Burke meanwhile has been cast in the role of Athos. The actor is mainly for the recent cancelled BBC2 drama, The Hour but I'm sure by this time next year he'll be more known for this upcoming role and then there's the casting of ...

Howard Charles in the role of Porthos. I think this might be the actor's first television role as his credits mainly seem to be theatre based but again by this time next year, he'll definitely be a well known face to the UK public and I trust all four of these actors together are going to be an interesting bunch of Musketeers.

Last but definitely by no means least, The Thick Of It's Peter Capaldi has been cast as the shadowy Cardinal Richlieu in the "fresh and contemporary take" on Alexandre Dumas's classic novel. Other cast members announced include Tamla Kari (Cuckoo), Maimie McCoy (Wallander), and Hugo Speer (Bedlam). With both this and the upcoming Atlantis, it really does look like the BBC are doing their best to maintain their current interest in genre television. I definitely will be watching this show when it airs next year.

Press Release: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a461386/skins-merlin-stars-to-lead-bbc-ones-the-musketeers.html

The Musketeers will air on BBC1 in 2014.

My Review of Being Human's 5x04: "The Greater Good"

Written by John Jackson
Directed by Daniel O’Hara

Hal (to Crumb, re Lord Harry): “He was here, wasn’t he? Every day he’s getting nearer, like a tidal wave. It’s not long now. He’s going to destroy everything.”

Oh dear. Reading the reactions online from Hal’s little moment when tied to a chair about his evil side coming through to Crumb has definitely been interesting. It seems that we’ve got the debate as to whether or not Lord Harry is resurfacing because vampires genuinely cannot change or because of Captain Hatch’s growing presence in the Barry Grand Hotel but either way, it’s an interesting point of discussion.

Changing Crumb into a vampire proved that Hal has been on a slippery slope for a while and with killing Larry last week and ending this episode by drinking from the flask that Mr Rook had given him back at the start of the series, it does seem like Lord Harry really isn’t that far behind.

As interesting as I find the prospect of seeing Lord Harry in full action and as brilliant as Damien Molony was during that scene in the basement with Crumb, a part of me is really hoping that somehow, Hal can actually beat his evil side (as this episode made it very Angel/Angelus) and be a better man because there was certainly a lot that showed that Hal is capable of being better as a person/vampire.

For a start, he finally took responsibility for both Crumb and Alan and did his very best to try and get them off the blood. Even when Crumb staked an unrepentant Alan, Hal still did his best to try and keep his progeny on the right track, even going as far as to tell Crumb about one of his reverting times and an old lover of his as well. It seems that when it comes to women, Hal certainly has a type and they’re the strong willed sort.

I did wonder whether or not this show would attempt anything with Hal and Alex given their current circumstances but it seems that it very much just might do so. Crumb found himself enraged that Alex only went on a date with him more for Hal’s peace of mind rather than having an actual interest in him and both Hal and Alex seemed to protest a little too much when Crumb accused them of having feelings for each other as well.

However the most interesting Crumb really did in this episode was succumb to drinking werewolf blood and dying, just so that he wouldn’t have a future like his recruiter’s. I’m not gonna pretend that Crumb’s death was sad because even though he had a few good scenes, the broad comedy aspects of the character made it difficult to care about him and to be honest, I don’t think I could’ve taken another episode with the character as well.

We’ve had some truly brilliant vampires on this show but Crumb wasn’t one of them and this episode overall brought his storyline to a much needed and swift conclusion. Besides with Hal about to go down a very dangerous path, what could Crumb have really added to the mix? Plus, his actual date with Alex was one of the most painful scenes to watch. The fact that she didn’t stake him herself was a bloody miracle. I certainly would’ve if I had to spend more than five minutes with him.

Thankfully not the guest characters were annoying this week. Sheltered werewolf Bobby was one of the most sympathetic characters we’ve had on the show and it was nice to see Tom going from being a dick to Bobby to reaching out and trying to help him over Rook’s more repressed way of dealing with him. Bobby also worked so well as a guest character because his death at Captain Hatch’s hands made me genuinely sad for the guy.

Speaking of Hatch – getting Rook to use Bobby to try and kill people in the Hotel wasn’t his best move. Hal, Tom and Alex managed to put a stop to it and Hatch made himself known to Alex as well. The more I think about it, the more I honestly do think that out of the trinity, it really will be Alex who’ll end up becoming Hatch’s undoing whereas right now, Tom and Hal do seem too prone into playing into his hands.

Also in “The Greater Good”

No flashback this week but Hal’s mentioning of his relationship with Sylvie definitely felt like a rethread of Lady Mary from the previous episode.

Alex (re Crumb): “So, what are we gonna say?”
Hal: “Stop killing people?”

Together Crumb and Alan seemed more like a couple than two guys trying to score with Alex. I also liked the use of their victim Hazel haunting Crumb and causing him to stake Alan during withdrawal.

Hal (to Alex, re Crumb/Alan): “There’s been enough death and violence. This is where it ends.”

Hazel/Alan (to Crumb): “Really if I wasn’t already dead, I would die laughing.”

Bobby’s obsession with an answering machine was poignant when we learned that it was due to him wanting to hear a message from his mother. That being said, Tom really did get that quickly off EBay.

Bobby: “You’re brilliant.”
Tom: “I think brilliant is a bit – am I? I don’t know like, it’s your decision mate.”

Hal (to Crumb): “I always have a rough idea when I’m about to revert. This time, it came from nowhere.”

It was a little on the heavy handed side with Rook’s Trinity (Joker/Queen/King) and Hatch’s 666 during their card game.

Hal: “All we are doing is marking the time until the inevitable happens.”
Alex: “Kind of like life then?”

Captain Hatch (re Hal/Tom): “Which one are you after?”
Mr Rook: “Neither I’m afraid. For one thing, they seem to have rehabilitated.”

I noticed that even though Alex was mentioned to Rook several times, he didn’t quite seem to be paying attention to being told there’s a ghost living with Tom and Hal.

Mr Rook (re Bobby): “It’s done.”
Captain Hatch: “Relax. It’s for the greater good.”

Captain Hatch (to Mr Rook): “It’s them, you’ve got to do something about them. Hal and Tom, they’ll ruin everything. We’ll never have the chaos we need with them around.”

It seems BBC3 are keen to soften the blow of this show’s imminent ending with the trailer of their upcoming zombie drama, In The Flesh airing after this episode aired. I’ll admit it does look good.

Crumb (to Hal): “Looks like I win.”

Chronology: Not long since the events of “Pie And Prejudice”.

Although it’s probably in some ways a little weaker than the previous three episodes, I do think “The Greater Good” is still a strong episode. I probably could’ve done with less of Crumb and it’s a little frustrating that Hal and Tom seem unaware of Hatch’s antics but at least Alex is becoming privy to his ways.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Game Of Thrones - Season 3 Official Trailer

Melisandre: Death is coming for everyone and everything. The darkness that will swallow the dawn.

We've had a good few trailers that have aired for the third season now but finally last night, one was released with some clips in it. The minute long trailer showed us the arrival of Mance Rayder as well as Catelyn Stark vowing revenge, Joffrey Baratheon lording it over his grandfather and uncle as well as Daenerys with her new supporters/dragons flying around a ship and Melisandre being cryptic about death and a covered man bound to a post, along with Jon Snow and Ygritte getting closer. And those were the smallest of highlights.

Like the trailer for the previous season, this one was accompanied with some music in the form of MS MR's "Bones", which certainly added to the atmosphere as this season really does look like it's going to be epic. Thankfully, we really don't have much longer to wait now for Game Of Thrones third run.

Season 3 Official Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzI9v_B4sxw

Season 3 of Game Of Thrones will air Sundays at 9pm on HBO from March 31st and Mondays at 9pm on SkyAtlantic from April 1st.

ABC Casts For Gothica

Another day, another soap style series for ABC (I do love most of them though) and this time around, a more darkish one as well by the name of Gothica.

Tom Ellis (Miranda, The Fades) has bagged the role of Victor Frankenstein in a series that will weave in various stories such as Frankenstein, Dracula, Jekyll & Hyde in a present day setting. Just a week ago, the actor was rumored for a role in the fourth series of Downton Abbey but it seems what may be Julian Fellowes loss is ABC's gain. Ellis's take on Victor will see his character trying in vein to bring back his daughter Anna to life with disastrous results.

In the role of Dorian Gray however will be former Home And Away actor, Chris Egan. The character has been described as beautiful, charming and enigmatic and will also be in a relationship with Grace Van Helsing. Also cast for the series is former Spooks and Smash actor Raza Jaffrey. The Sorcerer's Apprentice's Matt Lopez will pen the pilot for ABC Studios and executive produce alongside the Mark Gordon Co.'s Mark Gordon. Anand Tucker will direct the pilot, which is slated to film in Montreal. I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to this one. Hope it gets picked up for a series and doesn't suffer the same fate as 666 Park Avenue.

More Information: http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/75685810.html#comments

Crazy Ones - Where Buffy & Mork Meet Up

Yeah, I'm not too big on US sitcoms but it does seem that CBS have a pilot featuring two actors I particularly like.

It seems that Sarah Michelle Gellar and Robin Williams will be playing a daughter and father working in the same office in a new show called Crazy Ones. The characters will be working within the advertising world and Political Animals actor James Wolk has also been cast as a potential love interest for Gellar's character as well.

The show so far has only been picked up for a pilot and while it doesn't sound like the most scintillating of series, it will be nice to see Gellar and Williams in a comedy together. I'm also hoping that for the former, it's a success given that Ringer was dropped after one season on the CW. So, are people looking forward to seeing Gellar return to TV again?

More Details: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/news/a459360/sarah-michelle-gellar-joins-robin-williams-in-cbs-pilot-crazy-ones.html

My Review of Revenge's 2x14: "Sacrifice"

Written by Mark B. Perry And Joe Fazzio
Directed by Stefan Schwartz

Emily: “I’m so sorry.”
Amanda: “Don’t be. You’ve given me the one thing I thought I’d never have – a real family.”

One of the sad realities about this show was that at some eventual point we were going to end up losing a character of great importance. First there was Sammy towards the end of the first season and now sadly, Amanda Clarke (or the real Emily Thorne) is no longer with us and that’s a heartbreaker for me.

Especially given that Amanda was certainly more interesting than other characters but at the same time, it made sense to kill her off. For a while now, Emily has been too fixated on the Initiative and Aiden and not spending enough time dedicating herself to Victoria and Conrad’s deserved destruction. After the events of this episode, both of those Graysons are even more deserving of whatever revenge Emily really can muster up for them.

Granted their involvement in Amanda’s storyline this week was the decision to frame her for Helen Crowley’s murder but at the same time, it was also Conrad who had managed to sick Nate onto Amanda and Jack during their honeymoon and he certainly ramped up the tension by telling Nate to reclaim the incriminating laptop as well.

As a villain, Nate has been nowhere near as fun and interesting as Tyler was last season and to me, his death was long overdue. This episode finally did the right thing by revealing that he was the male body found on Jack’s sunken boat and while Nate managed to wound Jack, he did also manage to get the shit kicked out of him by both Emily and Amanda before blowing up the boat and causing the latter’s death.

I’ve enjoyed Emily and Amanda’s relationship throughout the last season and a half and it’s a shame that this episode brought it to a conclusion. It’s the most interesting relationship on the show aside from Emily and Nolan’s partnership and Victoria and Conrad’s toxic marriage. The scene with Emily comforting Amanda as she died is definitely one of the saddest the show has managed to pull off as well.

I liked that Amanda thanked Emily for giving her a real family as well as ensuring that the latter promised to take care of Jack and baby Carl. Emily finally admitting she loved Amanda as well was a sweet moment too, because from Nolan and Aiden, Amanda has been the only person Emily has been honest with at this point in the show. Amanda will be missed as a character but her death had better ensure that Emily’s focus gets back to the Graysons now.

Speaking of the Graysons, I like that Daniel and Charlotte continue to actually display some genuine morality and standards. Charlotte didn’t want to be part of her parents latest charade and Daniel was disgusted with Amanda being set up for Helen’s death and made into a target by the Initiative.

Victoria and Conrad’s knack for survival might be oddly admirable but this episode further examined why ultimate both of them need to pay for the lives they continue to destroy in their wake. They may be fascinating characters to watch but they’re also extremely abhorrent people. This time I really do hope that Emily takes them down, especially given that Ashley made her privy about Amanda’s blackmail attempt with Conrad.

Last but not least, I know Padma and Aiden’s scenes were cited as the least interesting and while I agree, at least they had a point to them. Aiden was right to try and use Padma as a means of getting to the Initiative but he did show some genuine sympathy for her plight with her father. That might not make for compelling viewing but it at least served a purpose, though I’m not entirely convinced Padma’s father is still alive, even if she did get his finger sent to her.

Also in “Sacrifice”

Some more of the footage from the opening scenes of “Destiny” was used in order to fill out what was going to happen this week.

Conrad: “Congratulations, Victoria, with one bullet, you’ve slaughtered us all.”
Victoria (re Helen): “The bitch had it coming.”

I’m guessing now Emily’s laptop is in the air conditioning box at the Stowaway, hence the script drawing attention to it a few times.

Amanda: “Just promise me you won’t hurt Jack.”
Nate: “Cross my heart, hope to die.”

Victoria: “I’m not ashamed of you, darling, I’m proud of you.”
Charlotte: “Well, I appreciate the sentiment but I’m sorry I can’t fake any more Grayson smiles.”

It was kind of nice seeing Ashley reaching out to Emily about Amanda. I liked seeing that side to her character as well as her disbelief over Conrad’s Gubernatorial campaign.

Jack: “What are you doing?”
Amanda: “Saving you.”

Victoria: “Conrad, your gall never ceases to repulse me. Overt flattery aside, this extravagant soiree not only marks the beginning of your farcical political career but the end of summer and therefore our personal entanglement.”

Trask, the new guy of the Initiative is played by Torchwood actor Burn Gorman, who I like but I’m not sure if he’ll be as interesting as Helen was to be honest.

Nate: “Who the hell are you?”
Emily: “You’ll never know.”

Liked the flashback with Emily and Amanda explaining the significance of the necklace Amanda had to back for but once again, unconvincing wigs with Emily Van Camp.

Emily (to Amanda, re necklace): “I’ll be back for this and I’ll be back for you too, I promise.”

Daniel: “What about Amanda Clarke?”
Victoria: “Poor girl. She chose the wrong enemy.”

Chronology: It’s Labour Day as was mentioned several times in the episode and also due to another Grayson party as well.

Well, “Sacrifice” was certainly a cracker of an episode. Without a doubt, it’s easily the best episode this season and certainly one of the best the series has produced so far. Amanda’s death definitely added some renewed vigour to the show. I’m certainly going to miss her as a character though.

Rating: 10 out of 10

My Review of Being Human's 5x03: "Pie And Prejudice"

Written by Jamie Mathieson
Directed by Philip John

Lady Mary: “How long until you kill again, Hal? How many lives will I be saving when I kill you today?”

Well, I guess we can answer that question by saying that Lady Mary would’ve saved one life had she successfully managed to stake Hal but it seems that would be incorrect, considering that Lord Harry managed to kill someone prior to Lady Mary’s failed assassination attempts but it’s a good point to raise nonetheless.

Hal didn’t necessarily fall off the wagon in spectacular style and make his own equivalent of the Box Tunnel Twenty but his murder of Larry was definitely a shocking moment and the fact that he’s now placed himself into Rook’s hands cannot end well for either of them. Hal, you’ve messed up big time here.

A part of me did feel unsympathetic towards Larry being murdered by Hal. On the surface, he was a manipulative bastard who preyed on Tom’s insecurities and drove him out of Honolulu Heights while refusing to leave the place himself. Then there’s also the fact that he relentlessly pushed Hal’s buttons before giving in and calling Tom and Alex a retard and a slag definitely didn’t do him any favours either.

I really don’t want to sound like I’m actually defending Hal’s actions or making light of the situation but there’s certainly a grey area here to address. Hal might have wanted to kill Larry from the moment they met but when he did become Lord Harry, it was out of trying to protect his homestead with Tom and Alex. Larry spent too much of the time in the episode threatening that dynamic and died because of it.

However, there’s also the worrying point that perhaps Hal’s killing of Larry, whatever his reason may be does serve to prove that perhaps Rook is right about vampires and they can’t be ever truly redeemed. Lady Mary certainly thought the same thing as well when she finally became privy to the fact that she wasn’t Hal’s last victim – hence her fairly justified attempt to kill Hal in the process.

As a guest star, Lady Mary was definitely more successful than Larry and Amanda Hale was an absolute delight as the Regency ghost who only pretended to be posh in order to keep Hal on the straight and narrow. Her scenes with Alex throughout the episode were brilliant to watch but sadly, it did remind us that Hal has form and Lady Mary’s comments about the beast inside him resting might not that off, even if Alex and Tom are determined to believe that Hal is a good man.

I think Hal is certainly capable of trying to be a good man and in this episode, he was trying with his attempts of breaking Larry’s hold over Tom and even comforting the latter in the woods with Alex as well. I really want to think that in spite of the massive shit storm that’s on the way with Captain Hatch and everything else that there might be some hope for Hal but I guess we’ll just have to see, won’t we?

As for Larry Chrysler, former weatherman, current werewolf/failure, arch manipulator and general tosser – Julian Barratt was fine in the role and gave a decent performance. I think due to Larry not being very sympathetic and Lady Mary just being so much more interesting as a guest character that he was overshadowed a bit but at least his death opened up another can of worms for the gang.

It should also be pointed out that Larry’s death gave a suicidal Rook a spring in his step too. Who would’ve thought that Hal screwing up again would’ve worked in Rook’s favour? Okay, probably everyone watching the episode but either way, I can’t wait to see what’s going to come out of Hal and Rook’s newly formed partnership in the next few weeks.

Also in “Pie And Prejudice”

I’ve noticed that this year instead of prequels, we’ve been getting revenge scenes with Alex online each week. They’re on the BBC site and YouTube as well.

Alex (re Lady Mary): “You think I would corrupt her?”
Hal: “I think you would corrupt Keith Richards, so if you don’t mind.”

Fans of Hal this week had the treat of him as Acting Manager for the Barry Grand Hotel, in his tweed suit for Lady Mary and even in a dressing gown as well. This show really does pay attention to it’s core audience.

Lady Mary: “You kind of had a thing and you got killed and now you and Hal live together?”
Alex: “Yeah. Oh, now fuck off.”

Larry (re Hal/Alex): “And they don’t mind?”
Tom: “Well, they’ve got their own things going on.”

It seems that somewhere off screen Tom found out about McNair’s former life as a surveyor. I also hated that Larry swindled money that Tom was going to use as a gravestone for McNair.

Lady Mary (re Hal): “I was his last victim.”
Alex: “Is that what he told you?”

Hal (to Larry): “It’s a big house but not that big. How odd you must find our little set up here.”

Lady Mary, proving quite unladylike admitted to being a fan of John Woo, Metallica, Jackie Chan, cage fighting, shoplifting and pushing people over.

Mr Rook (to a chatline): “I don’t have a family. I don’t have any hobbies. The job was my life. Now that’s gone, so I find myself at something of a loose end.”

Lady Mary (to Hal): “You utter wanker.”
Alex: “Not gonna lie, that could’ve gone better.”

This episode was surprisingly absent of both Crumb and Captain Hatch. We also learned that Patsy’s surname was Ritter and Toby Whithouse’s Alistair Frith did a voice cameo in this one.

Alex: “You’re the best out of all of us, Tom. You just don’t realise it.”

Hal: “You want to talk to the real me? Hello, Larry, here I am. Did you want to speak to me?”

Chronology: A few days since “Sticks And Rope” and we learned that Larry had been a werewolf for nine months while Mary a ghost for 250 years.

Although “Pie And Prejudice” did start off a little shaky, it managed to get into it’s groove rather well and the shocker of Hal’s murder of Larry definitely gave the series a brilliant water cooler moment as well. It’s a shame that we’ve only got three episodes left of this show.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Doctor Who - More 50th News

With filming for the biopic nicely underway, more spoilers have been unveiled about what people can expect from Mark Gatiss's An Adventure In Space And Time ...

First of all, Lesley Manville has been cast Heather Hartnell, wife to William Hartnell and last week, the Radio Times posted a filming picture of her and David Bradley in character with the couple's dog. I'm not sure how big Manville's role in the biopic will be but it does make sense that we'll be seeing elements of Hartnell's personal life into the mix as well.

More interestingly though is the casting of Reece Shearsmith (League Of Gentlemen, Psychoville) as Patrick Troughton. I'm actually surprised that parts of the biopic will be covering Troughton but I'm certainly pleased and Shearsmith is good casting as well. I'm still wondering if Gatiss himself will actually appear in the biopic too.

Of course one of the biggest news items about the biopic was the recreation of the iconic London scenes from The Dalek Invasion Of Earth as Mark Gatiss was on set for filming of this particular scene. I'm planning to watch that particular story tonight.

Meanwhile for the show itself, it's been confirmed that the 50th anniversary special will be filmed in 3D and will be getting a cinema release. It is also rumoured to be 90 minutes long and will be directed by Nick Hurran who has previously directed the likes of The God Complex and Asylum Of The Daleks. With filming for the special due to begin in April and hints of a Christmas 2013 special, it's nice to finally be getting some concrete information about the show's anniversary year.

Filming With Mark Gatiss: http://www.cultbox.co.uk/news/clips/6210-video-mark-gatiss-and-the-daleks-invade-london-for-doctor-who-biopic
Biopic News: http://www.doctorwhonews.net/search/label/Documentary

Series 7 Part 2 will air on BBC1 from March 30th and the specials will air in November.

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.