Posted on July 9, 2009 by Darren
I have to admit, my family’s hooked to Torchwood: Children of the Earth playing on the BBC at the moment. For those unfamiliar with the concept and execution, it’s a five-part epic that is playing at 9pm every night this week. It’s the type of television event that shows why the BBC might just be the best broadcasters in the world – the show is perfect for the format. The tension is elevated by the fact we know the run will end on Friday, the budget is clearly there for all the spectacle and all the talent involved is top notch. It’s the kind of thing that I wish that RTE might pick up on, even once. The really beautiful thing about this run is that manages to demonstrate that not only are the Beeb doing something very well, but they’ve been doing it well all along. From what we’ve seen so far, Children of the Earth can hold its head high with all the other great science fiction events the channel has pulled off over the years.
Back in black...
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: a for andromeda, bbc, children of earth, children of the earth, david tennant, doctor who, miniseries, quatermass, rte, sci-fi, science fiction, survivors, Television, torchwood, torchwood: children of earth, torchwood: children of the earth, whoniverse | Leave a comment »
Posted on July 8, 2009 by Darren
I used to love going to the cinema and watching the trailers. Teasing me with movies I hadn’t heard of yet, showing me my first look at movies I was anticipating all summer or perhaps reaffirming my faith in a movie I’d written off. It doesn’t matter that the trailers always lie (Sweeney Todd is a musical? Not according to the trailer) or they spoil too much (not sure if it’s possible to spoil a historical biopic, but Public Enemies had a trailer which ran until Dillinger escaped in Indiana, which is at least two-thirds the run time), but I loved ’em. And if one of those trailers stunk, I didn’t mind, because there were five or six more waiting for me. I don’t mind having twenty minutes of advertisements before a movie (as happened when I saw The Hangover), but I do mind if these ads are focused on selling my things I don’t really want or care about.
I want to see more of this...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: advertising, adverts, cinema trips, cinemas, film trailers, films, Movies, products, rant, Television, trailers | Leave a comment »
Posted on July 6, 2009 by Darren
The War Games, the final Doctor Who serial featuring Patrick Troughton, materialises on DVD today. I haven’t seen it (I’ll probably pick it up from HMV today if the price is right), but reviews seem to state it’s one of the show’s few ten-parters that doesn’t feel padded… well as padded. Anyway, I’m a big fan of Troughton’s Doctor (whose one-adjective-summation would be “loveable” – in the same way that Tom Baker’s would be “dramatic” or Eccleston’s would be “human” or Hartnell’s would be “bratty” and so on), but we’re nearing the end of Troughton serials available for release. Which is a damned shame. Is animation the next step forward?
The "Reanimated" Cybermen...
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: animated dotor who, animation, bbc, black and white, british television, classic, cosgrove hall, david tennant, doctor who, dvds, patrick troughton, second doctor, serials, Television, the invasion, the war games, troughton | Leave a comment »
Posted on June 26, 2009 by Darren
The trailer for The Box hit the internet yesterday and I’m… not really impressed. From what looks like an attempt to turn a moral quandary (would you take an action that would kill a stranger for a huge sum of money?) into a brainless action movie to the use of the Saw theme (“Hello Zepp”) as an overture at the end of the movie, it’s striking all the wrong notes. On the other hand, I’m quite taken with what looks to be a sixties-style design, so who knows? Director Richard Kelly can be really good (Donnie Darko) or really terrible (Southland Tales). Pending reviews, this is probably one to rent. Since the fad of remaking has spread to remaking episodes of old television shows, I’m wondering if there are any other anthology episodes that warrant a remake?
"So, if I push the button, I get $1 million... and an Oscar nomination?"
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Filed under: Movies, Television | Tagged: and when the sky opened, anthology shows, Movies, night call, nightmare at 20000 feet, nothing in the dark, outer limits, richard kelly, richard matheson, Television, the box, the monsters are due on maple street, twilight zone | 1 Comment »
Posted on June 17, 2009 by Darren
We have the news story of the week (if not the month) right here, at least for ourselves, anyway. That loveable Kyle “I’ve seen him in something before but don’t know what” MacLachlan has suggested resurrecting Twin Peaks in the form of “webisodes” and exclusive on-line content. I’m really of two minds about the idea. Part of me thinks that this boldly innovative show is the right choice to lead the charge into web-exclusive content for classic television. The other part of me thinks that Twin Peaks is so 1992 and that it should be allowed rest in peace.
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: david lynch, kyle maclachlan, Television, twin peaks, web television, webisodes | 3 Comments »
Posted on June 8, 2009 by Darren
I was at home over the weekend and I had the grave misfortune to witness what passes for children’s entertainment these days as my little sister forced us to endure the Disney channel. What we got were a series of ridiculously condescending ‘comedies’ revolving around spoilt tweenagers who can’t act. These were followed by reality “so-you-think-you-can-sing” family gameshows themed around Miley bloody Cyrus. And my sister seemed to love it. Maybe I’m just getting old, but when did children’s entertainment become so brain dead?
Who can see this ending badly?
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: animaniacs, batman: the animated series, childrens television, dcau, freakazoid, hannah montana, kids television, looney tunes, miley cyrus, Television | 2 Comments »
Posted on May 27, 2009 by Darren
So, after a technical malfunction last night left us all watching The Mist, we caught a repeat of the 24 season finale last night. I have to say, I quite enjoyed it, as I quite enjoyed the whole day. It’s the first full season my brother has sat through, and my aunt and uncle seemed quite impressed with it too. I’m not sure how the whole season will rank up there in the pantheon of 24 seasons, but it was at least very watchable.
Jack Bauer helped U2 find what they were looking for.
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Filed under: Television | Tagged: 24, day 7, jack bauer, jon voight, jonas hodges, keifer sutherland, president taylor, season 7, Television, terry jones | 1 Comment »
Posted on May 23, 2009 by Darren
I saw Star Trek last night and was quite impressed – it is one of the best movies in the franchise (albeit not the best). It riproared effectively and gave us a brilliant look at the Kirk/Spock relationship, which is one of the oddities of the show – how such an impulsive, womanising and irrational man would develop a lifelong friendship with such a stoic and logic individual was always a slight mystery to Star trek fans. Still, there is a world of difference between the television shows and the movies, and I wonder if we’ll ever see another Star Trek show back on the airwaves?
The original original crew...
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Filed under: Opinion | Tagged: battlestar galactica, deep space nine, enterprise, gene roddenberry, jeri ryan, jj abrams, patrick stewart, ronald d. moore, star trek, star trek: deep space nine, star trek: phase II, star trek: the next generation, star trek: the original series, star trek: voyager, Television, the next generation, voyager | 2 Comments »
Posted on May 22, 2009 by Darren
I’m going to be honest – I’m not a fan of Without a Trace. I’ll confess to something resembling indifferent affection to Anthony LaPlagia, but I’ve never sat down and watched an episode. I do know lots of people who watch it regularly. Hell, based on the viewing figures, there are a lot of people who watch it regularly. So, as someone who never watched the show, I am still gravely worried by what I see: the recession is affecting networks so badly that they are being forced to cancel expensive high-budget dramas.
I wonder if the network cancelled it simply because of the amount of puns that journalists could make about a show called Without a Trace going missing...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: budget, cold case, drama, medium, networks, reality television, reality tv, recession, Television, the wire, without a trace | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 20, 2009 by Darren
I have a moral dilemma. Pixar’s Up is released in the United States next weekend. It has opened to nigh-universal praise at Cannes. My girlfriend is anticipating the film like nobody’s business. And we’ll have to wait five months to get to see it over here. By that stage, the DVD and Blu Ray will have been released in the United States.
So, should I feel guilty about wanting to import a legally purchased DVD or Blu Ray of a film that hasn’t arrived in cinemas yet?
You shouldn't have to trek halfway around the world to see Up...
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Filed under: Opinion | Tagged: blu ray, DVD, import, Ireland, Movies, pixar, region, Television, tv, us | Leave a comment »
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