Doctor Who Series 6: The Series So Far

Ever since Russell T. Davies, David Tennant and Company left I've been a little disappointed with Doctor Who. Okay, that's not totally the truth because I absolutely loved The Eleventh Hour - it's one of my all-time favorite episodes but after that I felt like the series was going down hill. I love Matt Smith, as a friend suggested he just looks alien, but I think my problem was the writing. Now I loved other things Stephen Moffat has done such as Sherlock and Coupling but I was never a big fan of his episodes during the RTD years. And with my disappointment from last series - which also included not liking Amy very much I was hoping for a better series but I wasn't holding my breath. Could it be that my love for Doctor Who was waning? Say it isn't so!

Well Moffat this season has outdone himself. What an opening! The Doctor's dead and there's a mini doctor running around out there. All very fascinating. It was neat to see the bad guy from Leverage play the FBI agent Canton. Moving on I felt the end of the two parter was a little bit of a let down as the Doctor didn't go after the little girl in the suit. why wouldn't he? A lost child seems right up his alley. But I'll leave that for the moment.

The Curse of the Black Spot was a bit too Pirates of the Caribbean for me but it was still fun. It lacked the crisp dialogue of Moffat and that caused the episode to suffer. I like the Doctor's ravings but it seemed like everything he was saying was added in to make up for the story that lagged from the beginning with it's pirate baggage. Of course killing Rory again was predictable, but not in a good way. I'm tired of them killing Rory - he's turning into a soap opera character!

The Doctor's Wife was a great Tim Burton like episode. It was different than the previous episodes and didn't quite fit in but still somehow worked. I've read anything by Neil Gaiman but I might well do now. The Doctor and the Tardis! Sexy Tardis! It was such a great relationship. Of course I feel like the Tardis could have been played by Hellen Bonham Carter although I think Suranne Jones did an excellent job. The highlight was seeing the old console room from the RTD era - oh how I've missed it! Once again the death of Rory - at least from Amy's point of view was annoying. 

I might have just been in a great mood Saturday for The Almost People as I had returned from a wonderful day in Cardiff and the Doctor Who tour. (Which I must recommend to all: Doctor Who Tour ) But back to the episodes in question; The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People. The Rebel Flesh was very dark and Moffat like - even though he didn't write it. I was totally convinced on the premise of the episode and finished it with a slight disappointment. I did love seeing Marshall Lancaster from Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes but it didn't feel like a children's show anymore. I needed a sofa to hid behind. The Almost People is the best this series, most likely because it started to clear things up, questions left unanswered in previous episodes. Amy's pregnancy. It was the first episode this series that left me wanting more and wanting it to be next Saturday already. That is an achievement.

And the mid-series finale promises to be even better. If the prequel episode has anything to say I think we're looking at a cliffhanger of a lifetime.

Men Behaving Badly - Series 1

Men Behaving Badly is a early 90s British comedy and something I kept coming across in my reading about changing masculinity after the influence of feminism. A documentary on the BBC on Sex and the Sitcom featured it as well so after hearing so much about it I had to check it out. 

From the very beginning I was laughing out loud. I loved Dermot which makes me sad this was his only season and I'm not sure how I'll feel about his replacement, but I'll give him a chance. It was funny watching men try (unsuccessfully) woo women. The open relationship that Gary suggests backfires when he himself can't handle it let alone get himself another date.

Much like the Black Adder series, it's the predictable comedy that I find funny. Dermot spends all his money on a new suit and a sex book which he claims is a cookbook. Gary believing him gives the book to the new tenet upstairs as a present. Really it's just another situational comedy in a long line of situational comedy on television but maybe the subsequent series will show why it was so successful and talked about.

The Black Adder & BlackAdder II

I had tried to watch this show previously but couldn't really get into it and never even finished the first episode. My mistake I'm told was to start with the first series. Begin with the second series, but did I listen? Of course not! It's hard for me to not begin a series at the beginning, much in the same way that I don't like to come into a film after it has already started.

So I decided to give Black Adder a second chance and I'm glad I did because I love it! It was funny, but very British which is why I may have not got it earlier. But if this was suppose to be the worst series I had to watch the next series. I was unfortunately greatly disappointed. The change from a dimwitted villain to a cunning still somewhat villainy was strange. I felt Blackadder II didn't have the end goal of wanting to be king to drive the show and had no idea how it would end. Whereas the drinking of the poisoned wine at the end of the Black Adder was predictable but it was still funny. He finally becomes King and then dies = comedy. I also think I like the dumbness of the Black Adder which Lord Blackadder lacked.

Most of the series I was preoccupied with finding the similarities between Miranda Richardson's Queen and the Queen from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. She was childlike and annoying but I guess that's where the comedy was coming from.

I do have to say Rowan Atkinson should keep the facial hair because it really works for him. In the Black Adder he looked horrible - which once again was for comedic effect, along with that voice,

but for Blackadder II his evilness was more developed. He was more cunning and was able to exude villainy through his sarcasm more so in the second series compared with the first. I realized about halfway through that he was kind of a cross between Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham, and the bad guy in Ever After...with maybe a little pirate thrown in. It's all in the earring.

I do have to say the finale episode of series 2 was the best. I loved Stephen Fry and the sheep jokes. There was more predictable humor. Lord Blackadder saying something and then it coming true. People who are stupid enough to get hit and kidnapped deserve it! Even though I know its coming it's still funny. It's the knowledge that I know what he's saying is going to happen but he doesn't that makes it funny. In way he's jinxed himself and the audience is a witness to it.
 
I suppose going ahead and watching the first series instead of starting with the second has tainted my view of the Black Adder and such a character change from the first to second series was hard to cope with. I like them both but the first was more funny.

Glee - Season 2

Glee finished its sophomore season and it'll be back for another but how did this season fare? Some of my friends feel let down from this season as there not being memorable episodes but I would disagree. Yes some of the episodes lacked the spark of the first season but that's normal of a show in its a second season. Glee was able to avoid the curse of the second season.

To date my favorite episode hands down is 'Grilled Cheesus.' I cried the whole way through and Kurt's rendition of 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' took my breath away.

Of course I might be extremely biased as I absolutely love Kurt. And I like what they've done with Kurt and handling the issue of discrimination against homosexuals the way they have. Giving voice to a problem rarely dealt with with any intelligence.

Now I do love Blaine and Kurt as a couple and the way it was brought about. Their first kiss was so adorable but it was hard to not have Kurt in the main story anymore so I was super glad when he came back - even though it was bad because his adoptive school lost so he switched back to go to Nationals. But I can leave that alone, that's how much I love Kurt!

I also loved Gwyneth Paltrow's guest appearances even though I think I'll always root for Will and Emma. But Holly Holliday was so wacky and spunky. Such a great character. I loved the Umbrella/Singing in the Rain number that they did as a group, one of my favorite group performances.


The original songs for the Regionals episode had so much emotion behind them and the story Rachel told through her song was very believable. It did help that before, all of her tries at song writing were horrendous. And the group number really sold what the show is all about which could be the reason for New Directions losing Nationals on the season final, much like they lost Regionals on the finale of the first season. I see a trend here of working the whole season for a competition and then losing but being okay with it. It's the same thing that happened on Hellcats, and not that there's anything wrong with that optimistic attitude but its a change from the American attitude of being first.

The finale was bogged a bit with Finn being over the moon for Rachel and Rachel over the moon for New York. Will wanting to go to Broadway but wanting to stay with the Glee club, giving up his old dreams for a new dream.There have been so many great covers and some great original songs throughout both season one and two but this seasons finale was lacking that spark of the other episodes. It was still good but it wasn't a blow-me-away-I-can't-wait-until-next-season-finale.

The slight controversy which wasn't really a big deal was the rendition of Usher's "Yeah!" which was arranged by the University of Oregon's (Go Ducks!) a capella group Divisi. To read an article about it click on the link.
http://www.oregonlive.com
It must be said that although the Glee version was good they should have been wearing something else besides the white dresses that swished.Wearing dresses and trying to dance to hip hop just doesn't work.

I only started to watch the first season of Glee in April so I had some catching up to do (not that I'm complaining). It was one of those shows that I just never tuned in for but once you actually sit down and watch it you're hooked. The concept is great and if we can't have music in actual schools at least we can have the music in schools on television. I'll be back for the next season hoping for more great covers. I didn't even really like Lady Gaga's "Born this Way" until Glee performed it!

Primeval Series 5 Premier

Primeval is back! But is it better than ever?

The first series was amazing and had lots of energy. The group started to take shape and the mystery of Helen Cutter slowly unraveling was great but then the second and third series started to lose its footing. The betrayal of Stephen was understandable and added some drama but then they killed off Nick Cutter. That was upsetting as he was the heart of the show! Plus I was already unhappy with the switch from Claudia Brown to Jenny Lewis as things between them and Cutter were starting to spice up. In the third series two new characters came aboard. Danny Quinn who would replace Cutter for a series and Sarah who had the start of a relationship with Becker but unfortunately was also killed off.

Before series four aired they had mini prequel episodes that signaled the death of Sarah and that Danny, Abbie and Connor were still missing and presumed dead. A new arc had been established and Philip Burton from the private sector entered the picture along with Jesse an annoying girl who likes Becker and Matt a man from the future here to stop the arc from killing off mankind. The fourth series was too shrouded in mystery without giving us any answers and with the change of characters it was like I wasn't watching the same show anymore. The highlight was having Abbie and Connor return - now a couple. I guess you just need to be stranded in Cretaceous period to get some action. ;) There was still no sign of Danny until the very end and wasn't that a lame revelation. Danny brother turns out to by psychopath killer! So we get Danny back just to lose him again as he goes back after his brother.

Now Primeval is back and has moved from ITV to Watch, let's hope the channel change will help this struggling show and judging from the first episode I would say it has. No one is dead or trapped in a different time (excepting Danny of course) and we open with Lester who is wonderfully snarky. The humor is definitely back this time which is a major plus. There's still secrets going on between Connor and Philip but its starting to unfold. Connor's new assistant is predictably in league with Philip and his evil plans and now Abbie knows about Matt. The secrets are still there but the audience is getting more of it now than last series. The episode kept me engaged and wanting more which is good sign but the question now it, can it keep it up?

Gates of Heaven

Gate of Heaven is a documentary on pet cemeteries by Errol Morris made in 1978. A quite unique topic that isn't necessarily what I would normally watch. It really shows you how crazy people are about their pets. I am a pet owner and I love all of my pets but I wouldn't go as far as burring my pets in a special cemetery. 

For a documentary its a strange one. Morris seems to let the people just go on and on even when they're not talking about pets. This aspect leads to some humor but you almost feel wrong at laughing at these people. With viewpoints from the runners of the pet cemetery, the pet owners and the rendering company it's hard to tell whose side we're suppose to be on. It starts out with one man wanting to build a pet cemetery and how his business failed and then moved - without any notice - to a successful pet cemetery run by a father and his two sons. The sons seemed more interested in talking about motivational speaking for the elder and playing music for the younger. Instead of cutting the odd bits out Morris has left them in leaving us with a awkward documentary.Case in point the old lady below who was the one of the best interviews - she just kept talking and talking and talking.

Charmed Season 1

 I just recently finished the first season of Charmed having never watched it when it originally aired but since I had finally seen all of Buffy and Angel I thought I would give a try - plus I was in a magic mood. The premise is alright, three sisters, three witches helping to save the innocents. But the show is very dated - fashion, music and California as the backdrop, much like re-watching Buffy and cringing as she says things like 'wiggins.' But back to Charmed. Episode 1 'Something Wicca This way Comes' did a nice job of setting up the show and each of their powers. It was nice that Piper was a chef, a woman in power - although she was quickly kicked out of the kitchen. And although they knew they needed to protect the innocents I feel like they need a bigger threat (Again I return to Buffy and the Master of season 1 - it just worked so well).

I was kinda tired of Prue and Andy but mainly because I couldn't tell if Prue actually liked him or not. She seemed to aloof to really be invested in their relationship and as a consequence I didn't get invested either. I do admit though that I did cry at the finale. I also didn't like the whole - I can't handle your magic bit, that we got twice thanks to the truth spell. It was little too Louis Lane/Superman for me which I just can't stand. Leo and Piper I liked but the imposed rules a. didn't work and b. were stupid. I'm a romantic at heart though so my view may be tainted.

Some highlights for it's first season: John Cho playing a ghost! I love it when I see actors that are big now in their first roles. 'Wicca Envy' had some humor - astral projection of Rex, freezing time and hiding the tiara was great fun. And 'That 70's Episode' maybe because I have a fascination with television series goes back the 70's (Life on Mars) but that was fun little romp.

To sum Charmed up it's fun. It's a show you don't have to really think about as you watch it. It's easy to follow and may have a few laughs but it's not necessarily memorable. Although maybe I'm wrong it did air 8 seasons...I haven't completed given up hope.

America's Next Top Model Cycle 16

Ah, another cycle of America's Next Top Model is complete! This show is definitely one of my guilty pleasures. I love seeing all the photos shoots but I don't necessarily need all the drama but that's what reality television is all about. Brittani was the winner this cycle and I was rooting for her from the beginning although to be honest this cycle was kinda blah. Cycle 15 has been my all time favorite and so I think going from that to this cycle I was a little disappointed. I couldn't stand Alexandria and really didn't like most of the models, they all complained way to much.

The creative photo shoots are getting less and less creative and I hope that they pick up in cycle 17. I would have to say the highlight of this cycle was the landfill shoot. It really evoked the high fashion the show is now focused on. The final makeovers on the finale was a unique twist but didn't have much of an impact. Why do that as they announce the winner?

With Cycle 17 featuring all stars from past cycles and a cycle 18 ordered by CW let's hope ANTM ups their A game. They need to keep it new, fresh and fierce to keep my attention.

Hellcats - The Complete Series

As the American television season comes to a close so to does the bad news that some shows won't be returning in the fall, like the CW's Hellcats starring Alyson Michalka and Ashley Tisdale. In September, Hellcats was the lead in for America's Next Top Model cycle 15 and it looked interesting enough for me to give up yet another hour of my time. Hellcats had great potential but it seemed to not know how to carry a story arch across the season. It seemed to end halfway through when Travis was released from jail and started the second mystery of Marti's father a little haphazardly. It lost some of it flow and its cheerleading! For a show that's all about cheerleaders it didn't really have a lot of cheerleading after the very beginning. Of course saying all this I loved the show and I'm sad to see it go. Especially since they were beginning to find their stride again in the last few episodes. The relationship between Marti and Julian - HOT! I could've watched a lot more of that. And the sister duo Alyson and Amanda Michalka worked really well with the family oriented themes of the show. The revelation about their father in the last episode would have been a great momentum to keep the show moving forward but really it seemed to just be a device to create more drama wherein Marti is able to storm out after her heartfelt speech of never leaving and end the show the way she began it on her bike.

 Although there was drama there didn't seem to be enough or rather the show didn't push the envelope so to speak. The relationship triangle between Savannah, Dan and Marti could have been taken further. Don't get me wrong, I love the Marti Julian pairing as I've said before but I also really like Marti and Dan. Dan and Savannah didn't have chemistry, passion or drama. It was nice, cute and all tied up. There was nothing their that drew me to them. Whereas Marti and Dan had that chemistry that made their relationship dangerous. Speaking of dangerous its all about Red and Vanessa! That's one smoking couple. I was so over Derrick in the first few episodes (but maybe it was because I wasn't fond of D. B. Woodside in Buffy and that carried over). Once again its all about chemistry, Red and Vanessa had it, Derrick and Vanessa lacked it - to neat and tidy of a romance.

Let's take a moment to talk about place. I've seen a growing trend in television to focus on small lesser known towns or cities not in California (think Glee in Ohio). A change from the late 1990s where everything happened in Cali. The Memphis backdrop adds character to the show which is slightly picker up on by Travis, Marti, her father and her sister but I feel like it was misplaced. There wasn't enough of Memphis within the show to justify setting Hellcats in Memphis. Why Memphis?

Although I would watch a second season of Hellcats I'm not sure what they could do in a second season. I held my breath in anticipation as other networks finalized their fall schedules waiting to hear about Hellcats but I knew it was coming. A drop in ratings, a focus on college cheerleaders (maybe it would have been better if they were in high school? College doesn't work on television - Think Buffy season 4) and the kiss of death - a day change(No longer same Bat channel same Bat time).

Hellcats wasn't the greatest one season show. There are still loose ends and unraveling mysteries but it's also a nice place to stop. We were given the privilege to glimpse a year of their lives but the characters will live on (fanfiction or Twitter - in fact the Studio 60 characters have made a comeback). Really, it's sweet when you think about it.