This is what I've been watching this week. I'll start with what I think was the best thing on:
Sanctuary
This is fast becoming one of my favourite series. End of Nights was a really exciting two part episode. Part two was especially dramatic, and really really sad. I kind of expected invisible girl to die though. Would have been nice if they'd waited a while, until we'd got to know her more and it made more impact, but it still worked. Of course the most upsetting death was Ashley. That really was unexpected! I thought they might keep her evil for a while, to make things interesting, but I wasn't expecting her to die so soon into season 2. Amanda Tapping was great in how she played Magnus dealing with the whole situation.
This really is a fantastic TV show. It mixes humour, drama, cheesiness, ridiculous monster stories and a load more into one show. Hey, doesn't Farscape do that too?! Okay so it's not on that level of awesome yet, but it's still great.
Stargate Universe
Eh, it's getting better. I wish Rush wasn't quite so much of an arse. It's like they've got McKay and taken away all the humour and the hidden caring side he has, and what they're left with is a character who isn't at all likeable. Eli continues to be a good character though, and Young is growing on me. One thing that struck me about this episode (Darkness) is that it's kind of like the first episode of Atlantis, only really dragged out. In Rising, when they first got there, everything was going wrong. One problem after another. Universe is like that, only the problems take longer to fix, and there's lots of non-Stargatey angst and arguments along the way. Like I said though, I did like Darkness better than Air part 3.
Dollhouse
So excited that this is back! Lots of direction changes here. Ballard is working for the Dollhouse, Echo remembers stuff, Saunders knows she's an active. That last point is quite interesting, if only for Whisky/Saunders and her confrontations with Topher. Seeing his human side for the first time outside of that future episode was interesting. I'm not sure how this'll go with Echo knowing she's an active and Ballard secretly trying to bring down the Dollhouse, but I'm sure Joss Whedon will make it awesome.
Weird thing about that first episode was seeing Jamie Bamber be English, and Alexis Denisof (I like that he's in it now) being American. Both of their voices sound really different in their real accents. Denisof sounds like he's putting on the American, but since he is American, it's just weird. It looks like they'll be some good guest stars this time around though.
Heroes
What can I say? It's alright. I think Heroes will probably only ever be alright. I mean, it is interesting, and I'll always stick with it, but it's never going to be the greatest thing on TV. It gets exciting sometimes, and they it's not again. I like the Nathan/Sylar story. I'm not really all that bothered about the new story yet though, with the carnival guy. I guess we'll see how it goes.
Modern Family
Just a brief mention for this. It's a new comedy by the Frasier people. I watched the first episode, and it looks well worth watching. It's series linked on Sky+ based on episode one anyway, since I had a good laugh at it. This is on the Sky+, and Eastbound and Down is off.
Warehouse 13
Still impressed with this series. I don't have much to say about it this week, other than that the idea that there's a dark side to it has made it even more intriguing.
FlashForward
Is Merry the Hobbit going to be D Gibbons?! Or was it Commander Norrington all along?! That was certainly a shocker at the end of that last episode. This series continues to be one of the most exciting on TV, and probably comes second to Sanctuary right now in my eyes. How were people responsibly for the flashforward?! I suspect aliens.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Saturday, 17 October 2009
Sanctuary Season 1
Stargate Universe left me just slightly disappointed, but Sanctuary really has impressed me. It's a lot better than I ever thought it'd be. It got more exciting throughout the first season, and ended in a way that really sets up a great season 2.
I think "Nubbins" has to be one of my favourite episodes. I thought it'd be another Tribbles rip off, and even though it sort of was in the idea, it was original enough to be really good. Sanctuary manages to be both serious and funny (are you listening Stargate Universe?!) and episodes like this coming before something as serious as "The Five" are exactly why.
I wasn't sure I liked the idea of Magnus' power coming from her own choice to make herself better by injecting vampire blood at first, but it's grown on me. It's certainly original, and another refreshing take on the vampire stories. Druitt's really sudden cure was odd though. I did want him to end up on the good side, but it was just...sudden. Still, the idea of The Five is clever.
Some good guest starts in season 1 too, particularly members of The Five. Peter Wingfield is always cool. SG1 link too, which is always cool. The guy who plays Tesla is a great sort-of-villain too. Rekha Sharma from BSG in there too, and another appearance from Kavan Smith was good to see.
The finale was really exciting, and having recently watched the first episode of season 2, I really think this is a series to keep an eye on. When I first watched the web series and heard it was going to be on TV, I gave it a series. It already has a second, and possibly a longer future.
I think "Nubbins" has to be one of my favourite episodes. I thought it'd be another Tribbles rip off, and even though it sort of was in the idea, it was original enough to be really good. Sanctuary manages to be both serious and funny (are you listening Stargate Universe?!) and episodes like this coming before something as serious as "The Five" are exactly why.
I wasn't sure I liked the idea of Magnus' power coming from her own choice to make herself better by injecting vampire blood at first, but it's grown on me. It's certainly original, and another refreshing take on the vampire stories. Druitt's really sudden cure was odd though. I did want him to end up on the good side, but it was just...sudden. Still, the idea of The Five is clever.
Some good guest starts in season 1 too, particularly members of The Five. Peter Wingfield is always cool. SG1 link too, which is always cool. The guy who plays Tesla is a great sort-of-villain too. Rekha Sharma from BSG in there too, and another appearance from Kavan Smith was good to see.
The finale was really exciting, and having recently watched the first episode of season 2, I really think this is a series to keep an eye on. When I first watched the web series and heard it was going to be on TV, I gave it a series. It already has a second, and possibly a longer future.
Friday, 16 October 2009
Stargate Universe - Air
Stargate Universe is going to be the darker, grittier Stargate series. This is what we were all told before it started. I thought this would be a good thing. The Deep Space Nine of Stargate. So far though, I'm not sure it's working well at all.
It seems to me as though they've set out to do something darker and more drama based, and in doing so, forgotten a lot of what Stargate is. SG1 managed to have great serious story arcs and still be pretty hilarious and light hearter. Atlantis was definitely a little darker and a little more serious, but you always had the witty humour to go with it. If they want to go even darker and even more serious, that doesn't mean they have to lose 100% of the light hearted nature of the show, and 100% of the humour. To me, it looks as though they've tried to go in a similar direction to Battlestar Galactica, and I know they've mentioned Firefly as in inspiration. That just doesn't work with Stargate. Well, Firefly maybe, but not BSG. It's not the same kind of drama, and if they were intending it to be, I think they're aiming it at the wrong audience. It's not what people expect of Stargate. I'm not saying that going off in that direction is bad, and it would certainly make a lot of sense given the situation that the characters find themselves in, but to start off with a load of dark/flawed characters and a general dark feeling....I'm not sure how well it's working.
I also think it suffers from lack of background/build up. Atlantis was talked about for an entire season of SG1 before they found it, and sent an expedition through to have their own series. Universe got nothing. I thought that Shepherd and Caldwell's discussion about what the Odyssey was up in Atlantis was related, but turns out it wasn't at all. That means that they started off totally from scratch. I know that's what they wanted, for this to be a seperate series, but I'm not sure it helps the story. The connections to the other Stargates was made with the involvement of three members of SG1 plus Walter. Walter did his usual job of giving the continuity some credibiltiy. Same guy at the SGC for all series! I like Daniel's video thing. Good way to include him. Carter...underused. Again. She was commanding the Hammond, like she said she'd be, but she was barely in it. I'm surprised that Amanda Tapping agreed to show up. The worst cameo has to be O'Neill though. Richard Dean Anderson is funny. He's funny during the most series and life threatening events of both SG1 and Atlantis. It's what he brings to Stargate and the O'Neill character. Why oh why have him in it and not have him be funny at all? He provided a good link to SG1, but other than that, he was disappointing.
The actual Universe characters aren't that bad. Rush is a bastard, which is interesting, although maybe having your central character being like that so early on is a little off putting. Young looks like he'll be a likable leader, but he's not been in it enough yet, and he's been kind of out of the spotlight with Robert Carlyle around. Scott seems like a bit of a stereotype. I hope he doesn't end up being just another Ford. Chloe doesn't stand out much yet either. Eli is definitely my favourite character so far. The idea of completing an online game (Stargate Worlds!) to get involved is awesome, and the only Stargatey bit of this new Stargate. I think he's taken it in a little bit too easily, and maybe they should have had weeks of him knowing about stargates rather than a day before he's whisked off to the Destiny, but he's still a good character. He's funny, and he's the everyman character. I can imagine him always being my favourite.
The actual plot is pretty good, mostly. Air part 3 was a bit dull, because not all that much happened, but it still looks promising. I just hope it does get better. Air was no Children of the Gods or Rising. I do like the idea of this being more character based than alien bad guys based, but I just feel that it's rushed into being different rather than evolving. Deep Space Nine evolved into the darkest Star Trek. It didn't just start that way. I still think SGU is worth sticking with though, if only because the ideas behind it are so good. I was watching some making of programme the other day, and Brad Wright really does make it sound awesome.
You know what disappoints me the most? I loved Atlantis. Atlantis was the highlight of my viewing week for most of the time it was on. I wanted SGU to be the best thing on television this year by a long way, and it's not...by a long way. I look forward to Sanctuary, Dollhouse, and Flashforward a lot more. Maybe that'll change, maybe it won't, but SGU is good enough to stick with. Well, as if I wouldn't stick with new Stargate, whatever the premiere had been like!
It seems to me as though they've set out to do something darker and more drama based, and in doing so, forgotten a lot of what Stargate is. SG1 managed to have great serious story arcs and still be pretty hilarious and light hearter. Atlantis was definitely a little darker and a little more serious, but you always had the witty humour to go with it. If they want to go even darker and even more serious, that doesn't mean they have to lose 100% of the light hearted nature of the show, and 100% of the humour. To me, it looks as though they've tried to go in a similar direction to Battlestar Galactica, and I know they've mentioned Firefly as in inspiration. That just doesn't work with Stargate. Well, Firefly maybe, but not BSG. It's not the same kind of drama, and if they were intending it to be, I think they're aiming it at the wrong audience. It's not what people expect of Stargate. I'm not saying that going off in that direction is bad, and it would certainly make a lot of sense given the situation that the characters find themselves in, but to start off with a load of dark/flawed characters and a general dark feeling....I'm not sure how well it's working.
I also think it suffers from lack of background/build up. Atlantis was talked about for an entire season of SG1 before they found it, and sent an expedition through to have their own series. Universe got nothing. I thought that Shepherd and Caldwell's discussion about what the Odyssey was up in Atlantis was related, but turns out it wasn't at all. That means that they started off totally from scratch. I know that's what they wanted, for this to be a seperate series, but I'm not sure it helps the story. The connections to the other Stargates was made with the involvement of three members of SG1 plus Walter. Walter did his usual job of giving the continuity some credibiltiy. Same guy at the SGC for all series! I like Daniel's video thing. Good way to include him. Carter...underused. Again. She was commanding the Hammond, like she said she'd be, but she was barely in it. I'm surprised that Amanda Tapping agreed to show up. The worst cameo has to be O'Neill though. Richard Dean Anderson is funny. He's funny during the most series and life threatening events of both SG1 and Atlantis. It's what he brings to Stargate and the O'Neill character. Why oh why have him in it and not have him be funny at all? He provided a good link to SG1, but other than that, he was disappointing.
The actual Universe characters aren't that bad. Rush is a bastard, which is interesting, although maybe having your central character being like that so early on is a little off putting. Young looks like he'll be a likable leader, but he's not been in it enough yet, and he's been kind of out of the spotlight with Robert Carlyle around. Scott seems like a bit of a stereotype. I hope he doesn't end up being just another Ford. Chloe doesn't stand out much yet either. Eli is definitely my favourite character so far. The idea of completing an online game (Stargate Worlds!) to get involved is awesome, and the only Stargatey bit of this new Stargate. I think he's taken it in a little bit too easily, and maybe they should have had weeks of him knowing about stargates rather than a day before he's whisked off to the Destiny, but he's still a good character. He's funny, and he's the everyman character. I can imagine him always being my favourite.
The actual plot is pretty good, mostly. Air part 3 was a bit dull, because not all that much happened, but it still looks promising. I just hope it does get better. Air was no Children of the Gods or Rising. I do like the idea of this being more character based than alien bad guys based, but I just feel that it's rushed into being different rather than evolving. Deep Space Nine evolved into the darkest Star Trek. It didn't just start that way. I still think SGU is worth sticking with though, if only because the ideas behind it are so good. I was watching some making of programme the other day, and Brad Wright really does make it sound awesome.
You know what disappoints me the most? I loved Atlantis. Atlantis was the highlight of my viewing week for most of the time it was on. I wanted SGU to be the best thing on television this year by a long way, and it's not...by a long way. I look forward to Sanctuary, Dollhouse, and Flashforward a lot more. Maybe that'll change, maybe it won't, but SGU is good enough to stick with. Well, as if I wouldn't stick with new Stargate, whatever the premiere had been like!
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Sanctuary - 4 episodes in
Thank you Sci Fi channel for showing the entire first series over one weekend, and thank you Sky+ for allowing me to record it so I don't have to marathon too much.
Four episodes into the first season and I'm quite enjoying it. I saw the first lot of webisodes, 1-4 I think, that the first two parter was based on, and I sort of saw the episode when it was on ITV4 too, but I had a really bad tv signal then and I missed most of it. I do remember preferring the webisodes though. For a start, David Hewlett was in them, and secondly they didn't have that weird zooming in on clues thing. Not keen on that. Now I'm properly watching it, I'm appreciating the TV format a lot more. I think more was revealed about John Druit in the web series, but clearly you can't give too much away at the beginning in the real series.
The idea of monster hunting almost puts it in the list of the other recent X Files inspired series; Warehouse 13 and Fringe. Obviously the idea of the Sanctuary itself is very different though. Well, kind of like Warehouse 13, only living creatures instead of stuff. It is a good idea, although I think sometimes the idea of being out to help them all is kind of lost when they're just locking creatures up. I guess it'll develope further as it goes on though.
John Druitt is definitely the best character to be introduced so far. Christopher Heyerdahl is always great to watch, and he has an awesome voice. Zimmerman is a bit of a stereotype. Overwhelmed new guy. Enthusiastic, always wants to do the right thing, but obvious newbie. There's nothing wrong with him, but he's not really exciting yet. Ashley is a decent character, but again maybe a bit predictable. She's about kicking ass and doing the muscle work. Usually a male role, but she plays it the same anyway. Science and morals is someone else's job. She bags and her mum tags. She'll probably be something more later on though. The "Big Guy" monster man is interesting, because he rarely talks. You feel like he'll say something really interesting one day. Also, he sounds like Todd the Wraith, because he's Christopher Heyerdahl doing almost the same voice as he does for Todd the Wraith. Only reason I recognised it was him in the suit.
And Dr Magnus...I can't decide what I think of Amanda Tapping in this. I've said in other blog posts that bad accents annoy me. Hers isn't that bad really. Few slip ups. Maybe the same subtle slip ups as James Marsters as Spike in Buffy. It just doesn't suit her. It's like doing the accent is really unnatural to her, which doesn't make sense because I believe she has an English background and was either born here or lived here or something. It just seems like a strain, and it's almost as though her acting suffers slightly because it does seem so unnatural to her. All her speech sounds more formal than even a posh received pronunciation accent should be. The character is alright though, but she'll be a lot more interesting when the story gets going a bit more. You can see that she's a bit distant and mysterious, but that'll all change if John Druitt comes back.
Yep, John Druitt still the best character to be in it. Heyerdahl's accent is flawless, and doesn't seem unnatural at all. He plays a half crazed killer pretty darn well, and you just know he'll influence loads of stories in the future.
I'm sure it won't be long until I have more to say on Sanctuary, since I have several more season 1 episodes to go and I intend to get them watched in the next week or so. Good show.
Four episodes into the first season and I'm quite enjoying it. I saw the first lot of webisodes, 1-4 I think, that the first two parter was based on, and I sort of saw the episode when it was on ITV4 too, but I had a really bad tv signal then and I missed most of it. I do remember preferring the webisodes though. For a start, David Hewlett was in them, and secondly they didn't have that weird zooming in on clues thing. Not keen on that. Now I'm properly watching it, I'm appreciating the TV format a lot more. I think more was revealed about John Druit in the web series, but clearly you can't give too much away at the beginning in the real series.
The idea of monster hunting almost puts it in the list of the other recent X Files inspired series; Warehouse 13 and Fringe. Obviously the idea of the Sanctuary itself is very different though. Well, kind of like Warehouse 13, only living creatures instead of stuff. It is a good idea, although I think sometimes the idea of being out to help them all is kind of lost when they're just locking creatures up. I guess it'll develope further as it goes on though.
John Druitt is definitely the best character to be introduced so far. Christopher Heyerdahl is always great to watch, and he has an awesome voice. Zimmerman is a bit of a stereotype. Overwhelmed new guy. Enthusiastic, always wants to do the right thing, but obvious newbie. There's nothing wrong with him, but he's not really exciting yet. Ashley is a decent character, but again maybe a bit predictable. She's about kicking ass and doing the muscle work. Usually a male role, but she plays it the same anyway. Science and morals is someone else's job. She bags and her mum tags. She'll probably be something more later on though. The "Big Guy" monster man is interesting, because he rarely talks. You feel like he'll say something really interesting one day. Also, he sounds like Todd the Wraith, because he's Christopher Heyerdahl doing almost the same voice as he does for Todd the Wraith. Only reason I recognised it was him in the suit.
And Dr Magnus...I can't decide what I think of Amanda Tapping in this. I've said in other blog posts that bad accents annoy me. Hers isn't that bad really. Few slip ups. Maybe the same subtle slip ups as James Marsters as Spike in Buffy. It just doesn't suit her. It's like doing the accent is really unnatural to her, which doesn't make sense because I believe she has an English background and was either born here or lived here or something. It just seems like a strain, and it's almost as though her acting suffers slightly because it does seem so unnatural to her. All her speech sounds more formal than even a posh received pronunciation accent should be. The character is alright though, but she'll be a lot more interesting when the story gets going a bit more. You can see that she's a bit distant and mysterious, but that'll all change if John Druitt comes back.
Yep, John Druitt still the best character to be in it. Heyerdahl's accent is flawless, and doesn't seem unnatural at all. He plays a half crazed killer pretty darn well, and you just know he'll influence loads of stories in the future.
I'm sure it won't be long until I have more to say on Sanctuary, since I have several more season 1 episodes to go and I intend to get them watched in the next week or so. Good show.
Saturday, 3 October 2009
TV is good right now.
Lots of good new series, and thanks to the miracle of Sky+, lots of old things to watch again.
Warehouse 13
I'm enjoying this series. Fringe was billed to be the new X Files, but although I won't deny that it's pretty good, I couldn't get into it. Warehouse 13 has also been compared to The X Files, but I'm finding it much more enjoyable than Fringe. I think it's the humour. Two agents after supernatural artifacts, kinds of X Filesy, with more Stargatey type light heartedness, mixed in with serious story. Jane Espenson has been involved in lots of my favourite shows, so it's not surprising that I'm liking this. The only thing I'm hoping for is a bit more of a continuous story arc for the series kicking in at some point. I know it's still early, so I won't blame them for not having a solid one yet. I'm only 4 episodes in so far, but I think I'll stick with this.
FlashForward
This is a great idea for a TV show. Interested to see that Brannon Braga is involved. Instincts tell me to shout "but he killed Star Trek", but I know that isn't true...he took it to some bad places, but one day it'll be recognised that Enterprise saved it. Aaanyway, the pilot was definitely good. Since I've only seen one episode, there's not a lot I can say about it yet, other than that I'm excited to see where this one goes.
One annoyance, and something I find an annoyance in any series, is the bad accents. Well, the one bad accent. If you want a person of a certain nationality, employ someone of that nationality, or someone who can do a flawless immitation of the required accent. I'm talking of course about the main bloke's wife, Olivia I think it is. Penelope from Lost. She's English, and she's being American, and it bloody sounds like it. Sort it out.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I can't explain how much I'm loving Buffy all over again. It's like I'd forgotten that it was one of my favourite series. Forgotten why I originally loved Joss Whedon, before Firefly and Dr Horrible convinced me of his genius. Fx are currently showing the final season. I've been watching since the end of season 5, and it's a lot darker than I remembered. Well, I remembered, but maybe it didn't strike me at the time just how dark Buffy always was. No one gets to be happy!
Anyway, I have a slight dilemma coming up. Sci Fi are about to start showing Buffy from the start. Do I quit season 7 on Fx and start again, or finish 7 and attempt to record as much of season 1 as I can on Sky+ and start that when I've done? I think I've decided to try the latter, although it'll be weird to watch from the beginning after seeing the end. It's just so good!
Eastbound and Down
Yep, this has Will Ferrell written all over it. Enjoyable comedy. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's a TV series that's vaguely like Anchorman, so it's worth a go.
Coming soon...
If you include the many awesome repeats being shown across Sky channels at the moment too, there are a load of great shows coming up this season, so here's what I'll be posting about in the coming weeks:
Dollhouse season 2 - starts on Sci Fi in the UK on the 20th of October.
Stargate Universe - starts on Tuesday on Sky1 (I'm amazingly excited about this)
Heroes - not sure when, but apparently "coming soon" to BBC 2
Buffy season 1 onwards - yay! Starts Monday at 7pm on Sci Fi
Santuary - unless I've misunderstood, Sci Fi are repeating this from the start. Good opportunity to catch up, since I never got going.
Dexter season 4 - as soon as my new PC arrives I'll catch up.
Warehouse 13
I'm enjoying this series. Fringe was billed to be the new X Files, but although I won't deny that it's pretty good, I couldn't get into it. Warehouse 13 has also been compared to The X Files, but I'm finding it much more enjoyable than Fringe. I think it's the humour. Two agents after supernatural artifacts, kinds of X Filesy, with more Stargatey type light heartedness, mixed in with serious story. Jane Espenson has been involved in lots of my favourite shows, so it's not surprising that I'm liking this. The only thing I'm hoping for is a bit more of a continuous story arc for the series kicking in at some point. I know it's still early, so I won't blame them for not having a solid one yet. I'm only 4 episodes in so far, but I think I'll stick with this.
FlashForward
This is a great idea for a TV show. Interested to see that Brannon Braga is involved. Instincts tell me to shout "but he killed Star Trek", but I know that isn't true...he took it to some bad places, but one day it'll be recognised that Enterprise saved it. Aaanyway, the pilot was definitely good. Since I've only seen one episode, there's not a lot I can say about it yet, other than that I'm excited to see where this one goes.
One annoyance, and something I find an annoyance in any series, is the bad accents. Well, the one bad accent. If you want a person of a certain nationality, employ someone of that nationality, or someone who can do a flawless immitation of the required accent. I'm talking of course about the main bloke's wife, Olivia I think it is. Penelope from Lost. She's English, and she's being American, and it bloody sounds like it. Sort it out.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I can't explain how much I'm loving Buffy all over again. It's like I'd forgotten that it was one of my favourite series. Forgotten why I originally loved Joss Whedon, before Firefly and Dr Horrible convinced me of his genius. Fx are currently showing the final season. I've been watching since the end of season 5, and it's a lot darker than I remembered. Well, I remembered, but maybe it didn't strike me at the time just how dark Buffy always was. No one gets to be happy!
Anyway, I have a slight dilemma coming up. Sci Fi are about to start showing Buffy from the start. Do I quit season 7 on Fx and start again, or finish 7 and attempt to record as much of season 1 as I can on Sky+ and start that when I've done? I think I've decided to try the latter, although it'll be weird to watch from the beginning after seeing the end. It's just so good!
Eastbound and Down
Yep, this has Will Ferrell written all over it. Enjoyable comedy. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's a TV series that's vaguely like Anchorman, so it's worth a go.
Coming soon...
If you include the many awesome repeats being shown across Sky channels at the moment too, there are a load of great shows coming up this season, so here's what I'll be posting about in the coming weeks:
Dollhouse season 2 - starts on Sci Fi in the UK on the 20th of October.
Stargate Universe - starts on Tuesday on Sky1 (I'm amazingly excited about this)
Heroes - not sure when, but apparently "coming soon" to BBC 2
Buffy season 1 onwards - yay! Starts Monday at 7pm on Sci Fi
Santuary - unless I've misunderstood, Sci Fi are repeating this from the start. Good opportunity to catch up, since I never got going.
Dexter season 4 - as soon as my new PC arrives I'll catch up.
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