Way back in 1999 Garth Brooks, the country music star produced an album of alternative rock music under a fictional artist. Chris Gaines, which was initially going to accompany a film about the artist's life. Growing up with Garth Brooks I was highly intrigued. I loved his country music but this new sound was amazing and such a high risk. Brooks was practically shunned in the country music world for stepping out of the comfort zone of country music and it's a real shame. He changed his whole look for the role and promotion of the CD and film that never was. Unfortunately he returned to the country side of things with a less than thriller album, Scarecrow. This may seem irrelevant for what I normally discuss but I felt the amount of work that went into this alternative persona needed some discussion. There are so many movie projects that are only halfway completed or never go into distribution. I remember reading in Entertainment Weekly that they were planning on doing a film version of Ender's Game and I was highly disappointed when they decided to shelve it, even though I wasn't quite happy with it being animated in the first place. It's a downside to capitalism of needed to make money instead of creating good art. Which also fits into television shows. Usually the one I love don't have the largest audiences and are cut even though they're something new and different besides all the versions of Law&Order, CSI and the like. Not to mention film sequels and prequels.
Where has the creativity gone?
This is also brings be to J.K.Rowling's new site pottermore. All we'll get is her notes of character backgrounds that she couldn't put into the book. Nor is she writing anything new. In a way Harry Potter has been eclipsed by Twilight and now Stephine Meyer's new book The Host is being made into a film. The site seems to be just a rehashing of what has gone before. Really splitting the last films of both Harry Potter and Twilight is just a money making venture is really needed? I guess only time will tell but for now enjoy these lost songs of Chris Gaines:
Rob Brydon's Identity Crisis first aired on BBC2 in 2008 but was just recently broadcast and I caught it on iplayer. Rob Brydon first came to my attention in Gavin and Stacey, it took be a while to realize that I had seen him first in Black Books so talk about different personas! I've gotten to know him more from QI and various other British panel shows and in his partnership with Steve Coogan in Michael Winterbottom's The Trip and A Cock and Bull Story. Needless to say, I am a fan. Even more so because I've got this strange addiction to the Welsh that my English friends don't understand, well even my American friends don't understand it.
This particular television event was all about Brydon going back to Wales and discovering his identity and playing to a Welsh crowd. It was interesting to see his struggle with his previously held notions about the Welsh being pessimistic when everyone he interviewed said Welsh people were the complete opposite. (My own travel to Cardiff and the customer service I got there was I would have to say the most pleasant in the UK)
The best bit was talking about the Welsh language. James Corden's explanation was brilliant! Now I want to learn Welsh even more that I did before. (Of course my language choices have always been out of left field, American Sign Language, Hindi and now Welsh) The meet of the show was finding out about the Welsh people and their attitudes and then building comedy around that. I think the program showed how fantastic Brydon, and a lot of other comics are at changing the material to suit the crowd and knowing when a joke isn't going to be hit out of the park. (I apologize for all the baseball metaphors they just keep popping to mind) The first show was horrible and you could feel the tension that was in the room. I do have to say that I think Brydon is better doing characters than he is doing himself, although I think he was so uptight and nervous about the risk he was taking by performing for a Welsh audience which he isn't used to might have led to this perception. He's definitely more at ease on QI than he was here, still it was an intriguing program.
Another series of Jonathan Creek and I'm still in love. The second series of any television series is hard to maintain the momentum of the first series while remaining fresh. The second series does have the added bonus of already establishing the characters but in some cases that can be a hindrance. For it's second series, Stewart Milligan replaced Anthony head as Adam Klaus and played a much bigger role. This was a disappointment. I wasn't a big fan of Milligan's voice it was a tad annoying for my tastes and I didn't like his approach to the role but I suppose I wouldn't have been that upset had Milligan started in the role but when comparing him to Anthony Head I would prefer the latter. The best of the series for me was The Black Canary, the Christmas special which had Kate Isitt in it who I know only from the UK Coupling. As my favorite character on that show it was nice to see her in something else.
The trouble with series two, well there are two problems but they're interconnected. The first is like I said before the importance of keeping the show fresh and new. We already now that any crime that will occur has to take place under impossible circumstance in order to bring both Maddy and Jonathan into the mix. It's not really a fault I guess as this is the problem with all mystery shows. (I always know Perry Mason will solve the case but yet I still love it.) I'm not sure it could necessarily be classified as problem except the problems are more easily solved and not as outrageous as they had been in the first series. I correctly guessed the murderer in two of the seven episodes (including the Christmas special). I don't usually try to guess the murderer but this series it was just too easy and I knew right away so by the end of it the solution wasn't all that interesting.
The series did take a risk with the two-parter episode The Problem at Gallows Gate 1 &2 but I don't know if it absolutely worked. There wasn't a great cliffhanger at the end of the first part. It was mostly just setting things up and taking the time to do it that I don't think they needed. So whether or not the freshness of the show is a problem is up for debate but the second problem was the relationship between Maddy and Jonathan. Throughout the first series there is marvelous tension between the two of them and you wonder if they're going to get together. The second series seemed to not know where to take that and they just repeated the same patterns again and again. Maddy gets jealous of Jonathan for seeing someone but yet won't let him make a move on her. I'm getting quite bored with Maddy treating Jonathan like a child. When Jonathan makes the salad she complains and makes them go out but yet the salad was really good. Really they should just do it already. The best bit was when Jonathan got really angry when she interrupted his night with Charlotte. "What are you like?" Ah, so British.
Gender wise it's an interesting dynamic, Jonathan is the brains but Maddy is the outgoing one who makes fun of Jonathan's habits. It just slightly reminds me of the 'new lad' from men Behaving Badly but not quite I guess it's just a different way to treat men as the passive non-aggressive type, something which is not seen on American television.
Although I've given a lot of criticism this has in no way dampen my view of the series and I'll be moving on with series three. What will they think up next? I think that's part of the reason behind detective shows. There has been so many of them and they've all approached mysteries in different ways. Really almost every show of every genre has a problem to solve, what makes this show different than the others is the real question?
The 1965 film The Ipcress File starring Michael Caine is a fun little thriller. For part of the time I had no idea what was going on and it kinda loses the plot in the middle but it ties it all together nicely in the end. I have to say, seeing Michael Caine so young was a shock as I'm used to his later work. There were some really interesting camera techniques like Palmer's point of view without his glasses but also the use of space. The opening of the film is quite memorable for me even though it's just Palmer getting ready for the day.
Shoving the title and wordage to the left side of the frame while having Palmer on the right seem to unbalance the image. The camera though doesn't seem concern with filming Palmer centrally. In the opening and throughout the film characters are shot from behind chairs and other people squished up into the corner. Also the camera is titled just slightly so the room is off kilter. It's enough to notice but not enough to distract like the tilt of the camera does in the 2006 Fay Grim.
A British spy thriller is amazing enough in itself but The Ipcress File also has Michael Caine and above all the level of awesomeness is off the charts with the soundtrack. It runs throughout the whole film and gives a nice feel to the film. And it's a song that stays with you after the film is over. The humor in the film may not have been intentional but some of the lines were ridiculous. 'Beef-a-Roni, Fantastic' And of course, Micheal Caine's eye makeup.
The Ipcress File was followed by Funeral in Berlin in 1966.
I've been hearing about Jonathan Creek for a while because of my avid obsession with QI and Alan Davies and I finally sat down to watch it. The show is quirky, really I think that's the best way to describe it but it's an awesome quirky. How can you not love a socially awkward, magician trick maker who lives in a windmill? The mysteries, or rather the solutions are kinda Sherlock Holmesian because you can never guess how the mystery will be solved. Although that doesn't stop you from trying!
Alan Davies is well for starters super young in this, compared to QI where I'm used to seeing him. It is from 1997 though so this has to be taken into consideration. His delivery if great and I loved when he's solving the mystery or he's asking questions and the camera closes in on his face. It is aware of itself in an ingenious way. I was disappointed that Anthony Head hasn't played a bigger role in the series besides the beginning episode. Talk about someone looking young! I do think though that eyeliner a good look for him.
Plus the series has a nice light humor to it that I enjoy. One of my favorite episodes so far has been 'No Trace of Tracey' where there were funny frog jokes/lines like; 'I draw your attention to page 1-9-7 of the observers book of frogs.' I mean how great is that! Only to be outdone by 'Have you been sucking a frog?'
I stumbled upon this show while watching QI on youtube, it was one of the suggestion videos that come up on the side for Jimmy Caar's annoying laugh. Jimmy Caar isn't my favorite British comedian but someone was making fun of him so I thought it was worth a look. Of course after seeing this one clip I felt compelled to watch the entire show and work my way through the others.
Now I should say I do have a healthy obsession when it comes to British chat/quiz/panel shows. There's nothing to compare them to in the States. Three teams of two celebrities, news from the year and plenty of laughs, it didn't let me down. It was rather strange though watching the episodes from 2004 and 2005 as the news doesn't seem like it had happened that long ago. Of course you would think that shows like this that are dealing with current events and reality tv that all becomes heavily dated wouldn't be as fun to watch again but really its not the news that's important its the funny answers and conversations the questions/answers generate.
The celebrities are all my favorite comedians that I've seen on other quiz shows. The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2006 with the Goth Detectives: Noel Fielding and Russell Brand was the best. I'm not sure the show can do any better. They were hilarious together especially when Jimmy gave them 22 points for one answer because he had assumed they weren't going to get it. And then they go on to win much to the dismay of David Walliams. It was epic!
Another season of Eureka and it's is getting better although it's still not quite there yet. It's gotten better at presenting mysteries that I want to see unfolded, most notably Eva Thorne but there still isn't anything that lasts the whole season to make for a great season finale. Everything is nicely tied together. Also Eureka's creators have apparently not understood the 'redshirt' character. I know characters need to die, especially with all these science experiments going wrong but they should die or leave the show before I gain too much emotional attachment to them. The one good death of the entire series was Nathan Stark. The episode, 'I do over' made me cry, which I take as a very good sign of storytelling. I wasn't happy that Nathan and Allyson were getting back together but my interest in the relationship between Carter and Allyson was beginning to wane. More so because as Nathan and Allyson had become a couple again the show, all of a sudden lost its energy.
The show tried to regain its lost energy by introducing new characters, Lexi and Tess but since they both leave after only a few episodes it didn't really seem to make a difference. I felt cheated with these new characters, none more so than Kim reappearing again just to die again. It would seem the only reason she was created as a character was too die. Taggart did come back though right when I was wondering what had happened to him. I had missed him and his crazy ideas but I do enjoy Jo and Zane better. Fargo I think has changed for the better. He started out seeming smarter than what he became in the second season but has regained some of his smartness passing off his comedic relief to Larry.
Allyson's pregnancy was a necessity because of Salli Richardson-Whitfield's own pregnancy but I find it difficult to understand how it will be incorporated into the show. Children seem to be more of a problem than a solution to anything. Allyson's first son Kevin has been completely forgotten after removing the artifact from his mind. If the writer's can't keep him in the story how are they going to keep Allyson's new child? Even Zoe and Lucas have left for college, an entire year before they would normally leave.
Keeping the show fresh is clearly a problem. A whole episode was devoted to looking back at the rest of the episodes, someone a little tired of writing perhaps? I did enjoy the episode 'Your face or mine" that Colin Ferguson directed and there was a lot of humor which helped the show but its still not quite amazing.
As far as disaster films go this is good one. Global warming has finally decided to rear its ugly head and starts another ice age for the northern half of the world. Of course this means the focus of the film is on New York so it can freeze icons like the statue of liberty and the Hollywood sign can be destroyed in Los Angeles. There is a formula for the end of the world narratives that almost every film has to have which makes it hard to do well since things are just repeating themselves. For example the homeless black guy with a dog. Armageddon anyone? Stupid politicians, smart scientist, the ordinary people trapped and of course the love story.
The casting was perfect. I mean I could watch Dennis Quaid in just about anything but this is also a great one for Jake Gyllenhaal still at the beginning of his career where he can still be believable as a teenager. Even the supporting cast is good. The humor in the film helps the film stand out. My favorite scene is when the librarians are bickering about which books can be burned and Brian stops them by saying they can burn all the tax law books. Now although I enjoy the film a lot there are problems with it, some plot holes and ridiculous things that I normally overlook but they seemed to standout this time around.
The beginning of the film opens with the ice shelf cracking and it just happens that it breaks off down the middle of the scientist's camp. It wouldn't have had the drama of Dennis Quaid jumping over the crack with the ice cores if it hadn't split the camp in two but at the same time what are the chances? Especially since there's a long wide angle shot that shows they're the only thing around. How do the wolves escape, but also, how does a Russian ship end up floating through New York? So, yes some of the elements are outlandish but so is the subject matter so for the most part I'm able to overlook these faults.
The disaster itself is nice a refreshing, the next ice age as opposed to volcanoes or asteroids. The topic of global warming is relevant to environmental issues being discussed now and the wave of water that engulfs New York is quite terrifying. This is especially poignant after all the recent tsunamis that have happened around the world.
Salman Khan's latest film Ready can be described in one word: ridiculous. For a Bollywood novice, this would not be the film to start with but for those who already enjoy Bollywood its a fun little romp. There isn't much of a plot, Prem's family wants him to get married and Sanjana escaping from her own wedding poses as Pooja who has come from America to meet Prem and possible marry him. Of course Prem falls for Sanjana but they can't just live happily ever after, really they've only gotten through half of the film. The second half of the film is Prem getting Sanjana's uncles to like each other again and get them to agree to marry Sanjana to him.
The film is constantly making fun of the basic bollywood formula. Prem saying that the lovers need obstacles before sending Sanjana off to her waring uncles but promises that they'll get married.The highlight of the film is when Salaman Khan takes off his shirt in a dream sequence during a fight scene. The villain had taken off his shirt and someone shouts this is the best time for Prem to take off his to show off his highly muscular body. Talk about a female gaze! Surprisingly for Bollywood this film had a lot of sexual jokes.
Yes the plot is farfetched but that's Bollywood. There's an innocence to it that you don't find in many other films and one of the reasons I like Bollywood so much. The hero and villain are strictly demarcated and the family is crazy with little quirks. Prem's father can never remember words and results to pantomime. Having seen other films by Anees Bazmee you can tell this is definitely his film but it just isn't as good as his other work because the plot is so forced.
The dancing in the film, which is what Bollywood is known for left much to be desired. The choreography was pathetic. Sometimes it went a little inappropriate as well. Salaman Khan, is granted not the best dancer but he has a screen presence that makes him enjoyable to watch. Asin, who plays sanjanna cannot dance to save her life. Watching Asin trying to dance is almost as unbearable as watching Vidya Balan trying to dance.
The BBC's screen version of The Royal Shakespeare Company Production of Hamlet was amazing! Now I have nothing to compare it with as this is my first Hamlet date but I picked a good one. David Tennant has just that right about of madness that makes it work, he's funny and more importantly he draws you in so as you don't notice the 3 hour run time. He brings life to the screen which might be a little much for others. I did think at times that it seemed as if the Doctor was playing Hamlet; his madness and jumping about but its not. Although I take that for the Doctor, and other fans of Doctor Who probably will as well, really its all David Tennant. The screen performance comes from his energy that is apparent even in interviews. Although this was a screen version Tennant was made for the stage. I have never really been much of a fan of the theatre, as my interests lies more with film and television, so I never got why actors were thought more highly of if they did a play on Broadway. But watching Tennant's performance made me rethink my fandom. (Of course this is no doubt influenced by the fact that I recently saw Tennant and Catherine Tate in Much Ado About Nothing on stage) Even with the madness there were times where Tennant was completely calm like when he was giving the famous soliloquy.
How to approach a scene and lines that everyone knows? I feel the hardest thing in watching scenes you know is believing the performance your watching without letting previous performances or knowledge of the lines to taint what you're viewing at the time. I know David Tennant plays the title character and everything but Patrick Stewart is just as good in this production. He plays an eerie ghost and a great villain. A long way from Captain Jean-Luc Picard or professor X I know him as. He had a great screen presence that commanded the space he was in. There was no doubt in my mind that he had killed his brother and wanted to kill Hamlet.
I liked the staging which was brilliant. The set with all its mirrors and reflecting surfaces was amazing. Some of it was a little too theatre based, lots of back and forth in the beginning that made things a bit dull. The great device they used was the handheld camera Hamlet spoke into and used during the play with the play. Since they had updated the play to a more contemporary setting it was a nice way for Hamlet to deliver his monologues and soliloquies in a believable fashion. The dark colors of the set, the starkness set the tone of the play quite well. I did have a problem with Tennant's hair at the very beginning when it was combed down because his head looks weirdly small but his crazy hair helps.
When Sin City came out I had wanted to see it. It look really interesting and had a great cast but I never got around to it. I had no background on the story. I don't read graphic novels, (I get sick if I do- too much going on) so I wasn't exactly prepared for the gruesomeness of the film. The way it was filmed meant the large amounts of blood weren't as disturbing as they could be but it was still shocking. I got a Tarantino feel from all the blood but also a Time Burton feel from the gothicisc environment of Basin city, the film noir style and being shot in black and white.
No one could deny the film noir factor but it was like bad film noir and I'm not sure if that was done on purpose or not. Some of the dialogue was ridiculous or maybe its just film noir is so dated that it sounds strange to try and have a film noir detective now. Going back to watch old film noirs you get the same feeling of this horrible. Film noir is more about lighting and the woman than the dialogue.
Weaving the three stories together was actually done really well. I wasn't sure how they were going to achieve that or even if they were connected to each other. Using Josh Hartnett as a bookend was nice. Not enough can be said about that opening scene when you realize some things will be in color.
Because everything is in black and white the color is so stark. And you never knew when it would pop up. Her eyes as her cigarette is lit, Clive Owen's red converse, Alexis Bledel's blue eyes. The highly stylized look of the film was amazing helped with the fact that it was all done with green screen. It did really look like a comic book that remained intact throughout the film. I feel a testament to what can be done with technology. With that being said I think it was too dark for me and the dialogue was just horrible. Robert Rodriguez is definitely not my favorite director.
I've proceeded forward with the crazy wacky and zany people of Eureka, Oregon and it has been quite the adventure.
In it's sophomore season didn't take too many risks and played it safe. This might be good as the second season usually has the curse of not following through (think Heroes) but it still was spicy like the first season. The crazy experiments and new characters kept it going but they'll have to do something more inventive for the next season.
Some of the new characters I'm totally in love with, mainly Zane, really how could you not? He's got the bad boy attitude but the genius scientist is still there. The pairing with Jo is good and makes sense. In the long run, most likely better than Jo and Taggart but time will tell. Callie as a new love interest for Carter is bland and not exciting. The show has seemed to want to move away from the love triangle of Carter-Allison-Nathan which had potential. The more I see of Nathan, especially after he's no longer head of GD, the more I like him but I think he needs to get a different girl. It's too neat, his relationship with Allison, or maybe there's just no chemistry, which is why I like Jo and Zane so much because they have chemistry.
I'm still unhappy with the Beverly storyline. It just seems haphazardly done. There's no style in it, no finesse. I wasn't too happy with Henry either although he turned out to be alright. This season lacked a forward momentum. Yes it was all about Kevin and his link to the artifact and Carter unraveling the mystery of Kim's death, or at least starting to. It lacked a great plot line. It was okay but not amazing.
The best episode was 'Noche de suenos' where people began to share dreams. Maybe this is to the fact that I've got crazy dreams that I enjoy watching dreams go crazy. I also like that Fargo's grandfather woke up, that made for a nice episode. But there are some episodes that aren't exciting because they've been done before. Like when Zoe loses her voice. There are certain elements in Science fiction that are based on universal fears that are repeated again and again. Losing your voice was seen on both Buffy and Doctor Who, it's a little redundant.
The finale was done in a two-parter with the great, 'To Be Continued" title but the last episode's resolution was blah! It wasn't enough of a cliff hanger to make me immediately want to go to the next season. If I was watching this as it aired I might forget about it when it came back. I hope the next season is better.
My sister had begged me to watch this show and I wasn't sure what to expect because we don't always have the same taste, however I was pleasantly surprised. Eureka to begin with is an interesting concept for a show. A bunch of scientist all live in one town in the Pacific Northwest (Part of my draw may be homesickness) and so naturally they create things that could destroy the world. Colin Ferguson who plays Sheriff Jack Carter is plenty down to Earth and non-sciencey to be able to identify with. Although as my dad would say its a classic case of the "stupid white guy." But there is comedy to be had when Carter tries to act like he knows what science is and also when he makes fun of it for the benefit of the audience who are most likely as bewildered as him.I was really happy to see Joe Morton who plays Henry Deacon, I haven't seen him in anything since Speed.
The characters are as zaney as the concept of the show itself and they all work really well together. This is best seen in season one's finale when they go to the future and everyone is paired up. It was basically a fanfiction episode without the happy ending, in terms of it staying like that. The zaneyness of the characters makes it feel like it's in an entire different universe, which I suppose in a way it is. It slightly reminds me of Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me. The surreal effect you get from the show, the music and opening credit sequence.
Overall Eureka is a great idea that just sometimes isn't fully realized. There are flaws in the show mostly doing with dialogue but it's not a big hindrance to the show, especially when a cursorily glance is given to other shows on television now. I didn't like the change in characters from the pilot, but that often happens and Nathan does add some needed personal drama and a nice little love triangle between him Allison and Carter. I'll be interested to see how the triangle is played out but also how they handle the mystery of Beverly. I don't think they've set that up in the best way. You know from almost the beginning that she's bad but not really why or maybe more importantly isn't given as more of a shock reveal for the audience with little teasers throughout. Sometimes, less is more.They must be doing something right though having been renewed for a fifth season.
I look forward to unraveling the mystery of Beverly, the artifact and the other science experiments to threaten the world and that little town of Eureka.
The mid-series finale for Doctor Who has come and gone and I'm still unsure what to think of it, and I've seen it twice! I am absolutely in love with Rory. Finally he gets a good part instead of dying again. The pre-credit sequence was epic. Marching in to face the cyberman, 'Where is my wife!' Ahh, amazing! Blowing up all the ships behind Rory as a message from the doctor was a cool affect but very un-doctor-like. It felt wrong that he would blow up the cybermen, even though they are his enemy. In RTD era is was all 'let's give them a second chance', Matt Smith's first series was 'Run' and now its 'let's blow them all up so it looks cool and epic.'
I was beginning to like Amy but this episode was quite dull for her. I didn't like the teasing of who's the father of Amy's baby. Mostly because I'm not a huge fan of the The Doctor and Amy dynamic. It's gotten a bit better with Amy and Rory but it's still a little touch and go at times. I didn't think Amy was very convincing as a mother. She doesn't have the maternal instinct about her. Yes, she's young and isn't used to being around a kids and never really held a baby but she's an actress, act! When her baby turns into flesh I did feel the trauma from Amy but it didn't stay with her, except maybe when she was pointing the gun at River. The bottom line is she didn't convince me.
The gathering of old enemies was a little meh. I read somewhere, a facebook comment I believe, that 'It's not exactly the children of time now it is?' and I would have to agree. It lacked the greatness of series four finale. I may be a little bias as series four, RTD, and David Tennant are all my favorites but there you have it. Once again it was the emphasis on fighting, which granted companions did but the Doctor would usually admonish them afterwards.
So yea, I felt the middle dragged a bit but the ending left me speechless with my mouth hanging open for a full minute afterwards. Now I had not really given much thought onto who River Song actually was. I don't go looking for spoilers and would rather find out when the show tells me. Of course I'm horrible at guessing and had absolutely no idea until she said it. I didn't like River when she first appeared in Silence in the Library but she's slowly been growing on me. I think she's a good fit with Matt Smith although she's such a mystery at times that I get kinda bored with her.
The main revelation last night was that River Song is Amy and Rory's daughter who is part timelord because she was conceived in the time vortex. I was shocked and surprised. We still don't have the whole story - I wish I could read Gallifreyan! Some of my favorite parts of Doctor Who are going back and rewatching things after the big reveal has happened so i diligently went back and watch Silence in the Library - but of course Steven Moffat had no way of knowing where her character was going so that doesn't really help. And the more I thought about it the the more I was dissatisfied with it.
I had to watch it again and after the second viewing I was less enthused than the first time around. Yes, it won't be as climatic as the first time since you know what's coming but it was like the questions still weren't answered fully enough. River Song has been a mystery for so long now that I felt like I wanted an answer but was let down. I keep thinking of Donna Noble and her story arch which was brilliant.
The revelation that she was the Doctor Donna was an amazing turn of events but everything fit together, even linking her first appearance in The Runaway Bride. Or Rose and Bad Wolf. I think that's why I respect and appreciate RTD's writing over Moffat because stories in RTD get closure and things come together neatly. Granted we never heard anything from Jenny - The Doctor's Daughter, however that was also Moffat's creation. I've been expecting to see her come back.
From the beginning of the series when the Doctor left the little girl in the astronaut suit something felt wrong. Why would the doctor leave? It's that nagging question that just won't rest and makes the series not sit well. We'll have lots of time to mull over all the facts though as Doctor Who won't be returning until the autumn with 'Let's Kill Hitler' an interesting title to say the least.
BBC's Merlin has been an interesting take on the legend of King Arthur, Camelot and Merlin. Some of the things they have done in the show leave questions which I'm not sure how they'll manage to answer. I love the basic premise of the show, Merlin finding out about his magic but having to keep it secret and working for Arthur. It leads to some comic moments. The first series for me though was practically a spot the Doctor Who actors game, but once I got over that I've been enjoying it. It's been great watching Anthony Head in something new, even if he is playing the evil character - although he's not too terribly evil in this rendition. The second series for me lagged quite a bit and I was compelled to keep watching. I watched a few episodes now and again, it was still good but wasn't amazing enough to keep my interests from being distracted elsewhere. After I managed to complete the second the series the third flew by quickly.
I love what they've done with Gwen and Arthur however knowing that in the legend Gwen runs off with Lancelot I'm not sure how that's going to work. I've grown to love both Arthur and Gwen and now that they finally got together and you get the sense they really do love each other I'm not sure I would believe Gwen just running away.
Morgana's story has been less than appeal. I understand her hatred for Uther but the way she turned on Gwen I found unbelievable. Really to begin with she was the nice friendly caring ward to the king and her sudden shift didn't feel real. They could've worked that better into the story of her breakage from the others in Camelot and not just Uther. And I cannot ignore the wonderful Dragon voiced by John Hurt. I thought they did a great job bringing the dragon to life and not making it look too fake, although they lose some of its realism after Merlin freed him. I was glad Merlin became the Dragonlord because that meant the dragon could still come in now and again.
Gwain is a great character and finally a knight along with Lancelot (the only one I'm not too happy about mainly because of the implication with Gwen but also I can't stop thinking he might start painting the future and get his head sliced off ala Heroes) Sometimes it is a struggle with Merlin not being able to talk about his magic with Arthur and part of me wants Arthur to find out. Arthur has had to deal with a lot of humility so maybe finding out that Merlin has indeed saved him a lot and he's not the as great of a knight as he thinks would be just too much for him. The ending of series 3 was amazing and if they had to end it there I would necessarily be happy with it but I could live with it. Fortunately it will be back for another series and I'll be watching!
Black Adder the Third in my favorite series of Black Adder. I love the time period but I found the jokes funnier. Rowan Atkinson's blank stares at Hugh Laurie were perfect. The first episode, 'Dish and Dishonesty' was a great take on elections. I loved mixing modern election coverage with regency elections. The commentary and exit polls and of course everything was rigged. Everything seems to be geared towards my sense of humor in this series, the cynicism against the French, the evil squirrels and the intertextuality. 'Duel and Duality' had a great bit where Blackadder laments about his wanting episodes of his life played weekly at half 9 by a renown actor of the age was fantastic.
Hugh Laurie was a great lift for the show although I missed Percy a bit. It was strange to see Laurie in comedy since before I've only seen him in House and Sense and Sensibility where's he sarcastic but not goofy like he is as Prince George. He definitely tended to wear a great deal of makeup. My favorite part was when Stephen Fry playing the Duke of Wellington beats up Laurie.
I also have to add that not having Blackadder die at the end was refreshing since I had assumed he was going to die.
Black Adder Goes Forth was a bit of a disappointment and I think my least favorite of all the series. I didn't find it as funny. Rowan Atkinson's usually funny monologues were too long and not humorous. Captain Darling was funny for a while but it was weird to have him in a role different from Percy (even though he had done that in Series 3). Some of Hugh Laurie's stuff was funny but only to a certain point. The stupidity worked better as the Prince. Although I did like the drag look for Laurie. Blackadder's interrogation of Captain Darling was entertaining. They had been going at each other all series with Blackadder always loosing so it was nice to see Blackadder win, at least for a bit. Baldrick's part was for the most part uneventful. I liked the poetry but his character was tiring and old. Even his cunning plans were dull. The greatest joke of the whole series is the coffee.
Way back in 1999 Garth Brooks, the country music star produced an album of alternative rock music under a fictional artist. Chris Gaines, which was initially going to accompany a film about the artist's life. Growing up with Garth Brooks I was highly intrigued. I loved his country music but this new sound was amazing and such a high risk. Brooks was practically shunned in the country music world for stepping out of the comfort zone of country music and it's a real shame. He changed his whole look for the role and promotion of the CD and film that never was. Unfortunately he returned to the country side of things with a less than thriller album, Scarecrow. This may seem irrelevant for what I normally discuss but I felt the amount of work that went into this alternative persona needed some discussion. There are so many movie projects that are only halfway completed or never go into distribution. I remember reading in Entertainment Weekly that they were planning on doing a film version of Ender's Game and I was highly disappointed when they decided to shelve it, even though I wasn't quite happy with it being animated in the first place. It's a downside to capitalism of needed to make money instead of creating good art. Which also fits into television shows. Usually the one I love don't have the largest audiences and are cut even though they're something new and different besides all the versions of Law&Order, CSI and the like. Not to mention film sequels and prequels.
