I usually try to wait until a season has finished before writing about it but last night's Glee episode, "Asian F" inspired me to write. The third season of Glee has come back strong with lots more song and dance numbers which it had been lacking in the second season. This episode, focused on Mike Chang's struggles against his parents of them (or rather his father) wanting him to focus on academics while he wants to dance. What was so inspiring about this episode was the way the show shot Mike's struggle. I loved that they had him dance without any music. A bold move but one that paid off immensely. Seeing him stand up to his parents and try out for the musical, with a pretty nice voice was very rewarding.
Coupled with Mike's struggle was Emma's struggle which was a nice pairing and worked well against the drama diva-off between Rachel and Mercedes which I admit is getting a little old. Emma's freak out about her parents and her OCD symptoms coming back in full force was hard to watch because you felt for her. The song that Will sings is perfect for that moment. It just goes to show how much depth the show can have when it really wants it. Nothing has really come close to the emotional involvement of Grilled Cheeses but this episode does a pretty good job.
I wasn't really looking forward to the series finale of Doctor Who. The time between the airing of part one and part two was filled by Torchwood: Miracle Day and I would rather have watched that for longer than return to Doctor Who. After a dismal part 2 to series 6 I knew something would happen so that The Doctor wasn't going to die, since Matt Smith's signed up for another series, so the suspense and anticipation wasn't really there as it has been in previous series. It didn't help that Part 2 on the series has not been that great. It's been disconnected with the first part, lacking a clear connection until the very end and even then the connection was tenuous at best. There have been so many unanswered questions and makes it seem as if Moffat is unable to sustain a story arc without bringing together all the loose ends (not that Moffat is alone in this).
Having said that the second half does have some excellent stand alone episodes and three in particular which should be mentioned. The Girl Who Waited written by Tom MacRae is one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes now. It breathed new life into the show and although it was psychologically complex it wasn't as dark as other episodes have been. It wasn't so much about being scared but about being touched emotionally. It was definitely a box of tissues episode. I felt like it wanted to represent a turning point in the show but was then bogged down my Toby Whithouse's The God Complex which people seemed to love but I found to be a huge disappointment apart from David Walliams. In fact the second series had some really good guest appearances including Daniel Mays and James Corden.
Which brings me to the next episode, Closing Time written by Gareth Roberts. After The Doctor has abandoned Amy and Rory he returns to Craig. I had a problem with The Doctor just leaving his companions, it was strange and wasn't really explained all that well. Basically it was used as an excuse to get rid of Amy and Rory even though they then showed up in the episode, it reeked of soap opera logic. Moving beyond that the episode had a good message which made it a good feel good episode. Again the show seemed to return to what it used to be about and had great humorous moments.
This was a strange episode to lead into the finale, not setting up anything important plot wise besides the cowboy hat which Craig gives him and we saw in The Impossible Astronaut. And finally we come to the series finale, The Wedding of River Song, written by Steven Moffat which although I'm not a fan of Moffat's Doctor Who I have to admit this was a pretty good episode and is my second all-time favorite Moffat episode just behind The Eleventh Hour. It had humor, adventure and mostly a well executed plot although I think it could have benefited from more set up from a previous episode - so a two part finale. The very beginning when the guy is eaten by all the skulls is super creepy but after that the darkness of the show fades into the background which was nice for a change. I did like the nod to Indian Jones with the "I hate rates comment" substituting rats for snakes. It set up the adventure aspect of the episode nicely. I also really liked the return of old characters when time is happening all at once, Simon Callow as Charles Dickens was the first acknowledgement of a time before the 11th Doctor which was also seen in The Doctor's comment about helping Rose Tyler with her homework. Yes there's River Song who first appeared in the Tennant Era but she was a Moffat creation so that's to be expected. It was still nice to have that connection to make it seem not so closed off from its previous incarnations. Allowing Doctor Who to not feel as if its only a Moffat creation which at times is how I feel the show has turned causing me to like Moffat even less. I guess to me it feels a bit egotistical but the inclusion of these little nods helped.
The best part of the episode by far was Rory and Amy. Again Amy not really knowing who he is but Rory standing by his woman. Another witty line about his dying again and again and his perseverance of staying behind to defend the position even through the pain of the eyepatch. The eyepath in and of itself was an interesting prop that was shown in all the publicity images but I like what they did with it, it finally made sense why Madame Kovarian had been wearing one besides the cool factor of wearing an eyepatch. I just loved the fact that Rory had such a kick-ass character this time around - he's come a long way since his first appearance as a male nurse in The Eleventh Hour. And Amy also was a strong character in this episode and showed her muster from The Girl Who Waited, I mean she was wielding a machine gun! Fantastic. Killing Madame Kovarian was so shocking not only for Amy to do but also for a companion of The Doctor to do but it felt right and about time for her to show a little backbone and I loved her dialogue about River getting it from her.
Of course we all knew that The Doctor wasn't going to actually die and I knew that The Doctor was going to ask the robot to help out, that's how it was set up but they could have done a better job of showing it. They showed The Doctor asking for help in a flashback to explain how he could be in the eye of the robot Doctor but you knew that's what happened so it was a waste of screen time. I had originally thought that maybe it would be the rebel flesh that came back to save The Doctor a death but the robot worked I just wish they had revealed it in a different way.
The end was a bit rushed, another reason for having a two-part finale. It becomes extra confusing with trying to keep the timeline of River Song straight. Although Steven Moffat has expressed little confusion over her timeline in Doctor Who Confidential that's not that case, for audience members, or if not everyone is having trouble at least for me I'm finding it hard to follow. There's so much of her history that we haven't seen, most of it has been out of order and we've seen her death so it's quite a complex narrative to follow and there's still more to come since The Doctor really didn't reveal his name to her but she know because she tells the 10th doctor.
What was good was the revealing of the question as a sort of cliffhanger. I was wondering if the question would actually be asked or if they would leave it, like they did in The God Complex without showing what The Doctor's room held. And boy what a question, it sparked a smile from me impressed by the ingeniousness of the question that same sort of jaw dropping quality I had with the end of each Torchwood: Miracle Day episode.
Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model has come to an end after 13 weeks but who came up on top and did they deserve it? This cycle included not only girls from the UK but also girls from Ireland - perhaps there isn't a Next Top Model show in Ireland but it didn't really matter since the only Irish contestant was the fourth contestant to be eliminated. There wasn't a strong standing for the Irish. There does seem to be a strong standing for foreign immigrants in the show however that I find intriguing.
I usually love the Next Top Model series, both the American and the British, but this cycle was a little lackluster for me. I think the main reason being was that I had seen the perfect cycle - cycle 5 - which nothing else can compare to. I have this theory about reality television that at least applies to me if no one else, but once I seen a season of reality program where everything is perfect it's hard for me to continue watching (So You Think You Can Dance is my prime example after Benji won I didn't want to watch it anymore). I think because these shows are about finding the best at whatever the competition is for, i.e. modeling, dancing or singing that once you find one that is amazing what's the point of continuing to try and find another as you've already found the best. Of course this hasn't necessarily stopped me from watching but it's taken the enjoyment out of it a bit.
I love the NTM series for the photo shoots and I cringe through the drama which is why I like watching BINTM a little bit more than ANTM because of the lack of drama. Although maybe lack is too strong of word as there are still moments of drama but no where near what it is in ANTM which lessens the cringe factor considerably. Of course without the drama and because largely everyone seems to be so nice to each other there isn't so much of a call for taking sides as an audience member. I don't feel like I'm all that invested in the contestants which is a hindrance because it lessens the chance of me returning to the show next week instead of waiting for it to be over and just using a Google search to find out the winner.
I had some problems with this series mainly disagreements with the judges, the most notable was when they eliminated Jessica after she had won all the challenges of the day. It showed that the challenges don't mean anything and that they're just a way to fill time between the photo shoots and the eliminations. It made me not want to continue watching because of that. It made it feel like the whole show was fake which to a large extent it is but it crossed a line by dismissing the content of the show by eliminating the winner of the challenges.
The final saw my favorite contestant, Jade going up against Juste who had been pretty consistent throughout the competition. I was really hoping that Jade would win but I knew that Juste had a better portfolio than Jade and she had been more consistent in her performances. The final runway show was nice to see, especially at the end when they had both Juste and Jade walk together. There were no mistakes by either of them and Juste had the advantage of being taller but at the same time Jade showed such energy that she popped next to Juste even though she was considerably shorter. I had come to the conclusion that Jade had won the runway challenge and should win the competition but did the judges agree with me? That's always where I get nervous and I'm not even a contestant but I think it steams from me wanting my judgement to be supported and why I try not to get too invested in the shows so if my favorite doesn't win it's not that big of disappointment. The judges though saw the same thing that I did and Jade was crowned the winner.
Step Up 3 is another dance film in a long line of films that tackle the same subject but with different actors and they increasingly get worse and worse. Like most films there's a formula and this one is no different. We have the love story that has problems and a bitter rivalry between two dance troupes. The plot is thin but its to be expected of this kind of film and you have to go in to it thinking that it's not going to be an artistic masterpiece so that you aren't disappointed.
Step Up 3 follows from the first two films with Moose as the only connection to the previous film and Camille from the first film (although I don't remember them). At least Moose can dance. Luke who leads the group, the pirates, cannot dance to really save himself. At the finale he's picked up enough to get away with it but his dance skills are not why he's in this film. He's there for the eye candy so he can take his shirt off instead of Moose, thankfully, and to drive home the message of following your dreams. I found it ridiculous to have a dance film with someone who couldn't dance, in fact most of the dancing I found was a bit lackluster, excepting Harry Shum Jr. (Mike from Glee) who shined in the background at the end of the film and the guy who does the robot dance.
As a dancer myself I may be over critical and I'll admit that up front. The performances may have been entertaining for an audience member who has no dance experience and who is easily distracted by shiny lights and special effects. Which brings me to my final point and the use of 3D. Now I watched the film in 2D but could tell when things were suppose to be in 3D, when for instance it would be "cool" to see a leg come out of screen towards you. The problem with it being shot in 3D is that is was shot for 3D, which would seem a little nonsensical. It would be better that a 3D film is shot in the 3D format in the first place instead of trying to convert it after the fact. The problem with the dance film is that it detracts from the dance performance and its harder to see the full performance. Because the camera is so close to the body the movement of the dance is lost for the 3D effect which doesn't add to the film. You are not able to focus on the dancer but your focused or rather distracted by the extras, which may actually work to the films advantage given the overall poor dance skills. Even still it reminds of something Alan Davies talked about when filming standup comedy routines. Where the camera needs to be able to see the full stage as well as the medium shot of the comedian to get the full effect of the comedy as sometimes comedians are on the floor and out of shot of the static medium shot. This is the same for dance where the movement and performance is what's important and as the camera gets too close to make use of the 3D technology that has been so popular as of late it loses the performance aspect.
It's best to see it with two contrasting performances between the first the third films in the Step Up series. Notice here that even with closer shots of individual dancers their movements can still be seen and other dancers are visible in the background who are mirroring the dancer the camera is focused on.
Now compare that with this performance from Step Up 3D where the body of the dancer obscures the camera and the view of the audience. It still follows the long shot medium shot format but the focus is away from the actual performance at least of the rival dance group and more on getting that 3D effect. My personal favorite is when the dancer spits on the camera. What class!
It's quite possible that the only person this bothers is me and it might not seem as annoying to others but it becomes more and more frustrating as the film goes on because it continues to do this. Even with my criticism it must be doing something right because they're making yet another one, what will that one bring?
In the beginning I was a little wary of the idea of the new series of Torchwood. Don't get me wrong I was thrilled about another series, especially since it would fill the gap until Doctor Who came back on but I was worried that the co-production with the American network Starz would be damaging to the show and its central location of Cardiff. However I think this may be the best series of Torchwood and the American storyline worked well while still keeping a hold on the Welshness.
Miracle Day! No one dies. The mortal become immortal and the only immortal man on the planet (newly returned from vacation) becomes mortal. Conspiracy is the name of the game for this series and the strength of the series is the unraveling of the events surrounding the miracle. Bureaucracy, politics and red tape play a major role and fits in with the American mentality but whether it translates the same in the UK is under debate. The series dragged a bit in the middle with the flashback to Jack in the 1920s and his relationship with Angelo but on the whole was really good and had really good cliffhangers at the end of episodes. I ended almost every episode with my jaw dropped. It kept me interested and I loved that.
It was nice to have Jack and Gwen back but Bill Pullman made the series. He was amazing and I would argue this was his best role. His character, a child molesting killer who survives execution and shows little remorse, he says at one point, "she should have run faster." talking about his victim. Needless to say, Oswald Danes is not the best person in the world but Pullman pulls it off magnificently. He's rather brilliant. The other new stable characters to the decreasing cast of Torchwood includes Rex (Mekhi Phifer) and Esther (Alexa Havins). Esther was a bit of a letdown, especially for Russell T. Davies character because she wasn't as kick-ass as his other female characters, but she did get a bit better in the end learning to sort of stand up for herself. Jilly Kitzinger (Lauren Ambrose) was snarky, fiesty and someone you love to hate. Dr. Vera Juarez (Arlene Tur) I really liked as a character, smart with a bit of sass through in, much more the caliber of female character that I'm used to with Davies and her end was tragic. Davies does know how to pull the rug out from under you. The best surprise for me was seeing John de Lancie.
I was surprised by the negative press the show was getting and I hope, rather unrealistically given the bad press and low ratings, that it will come back for another series. At this point I would rather watch Torchwood than Doctor Who because of the talent of Russell T. Davies and his ability to create a story that keeps me wanting more, always wanting more (i.e. not watching it just to watch it like I've been doing with Doctor Who), and for Davies ability of causing an emotional response that shows the amount I have invested into the show and its characters which I have done unconsciously. Davies is making Torchwood a show that stands apart from Doctor Who (sort of in the way that Angel stood alone from Buffy). I usually love hearing little references from Jack about The Doctor showing the series lineage, but maybe it's not needed and in fact those references are actual a hindrance because maybe for the first time, Torchwood is better.
Season 4.5 dealt with the launch to Titan, Carter and Allison being together and Zane and Jo trying to figure out their relationship with the mishap of the 1947 time loop. The launch to Titan gave the show something to drive forward to as opposed to previous series where it was trying to find out what mysterious artifacts did and where they came from or trying to fight against Beverly. Thankfully after the beginning episodes Beverly was sidelined. I was upset or more disappointed with how the show is directing Zane and Jo's relationship as I really want them to be together and its frustrating all the obstacles they've put between them. The show has almost become a soap opera in that respect so I was very annoyed at the relationship between Carter and Allison seemingly destroyed but was happy when it was reinstated. I loved the conflict between Fargo and Parish. Most of that has to be from my enjoyment of seeing Wil Wheaton again on tv, especially after watching him as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek Next Generation again. But my favorite guest star of 4.5 came in the last episode with Dave Foley. So good to see him again. Colin Ferguson was superb and I think he gets better the more involved with the show he's getting become executive producer and directing a fair amount of the episodes.
This was the first season of Eureka that I watched while it aired, all the previous seasons I watched had already aired so I was able to watch all at one time where as with 4.5 I was forced to wait a week before the next episode. It added anticipation to my viewing but also more frustration, especially with the relationship aspects. I think the frustrating bits are common throughout television shows of once you get characters together you have to find ways to keep them apart so they aren't happy (and neither is the audience I mights add) to keep the show "entertaining." It seems to be a common fear that if a couple is happy the show can't continue to be enjoyable. Of course isn't that also a problem with real life relationships keeping things new and fresh while staying with the same person day in and day out? When will writers be able to have couples together without breaking them up ever other episode. I'm okay with a little obstacle for couples but when the show approaches the dimensions of a soap opera relationship there's a problem.
Having said all of that though I still found this season likable and I'm excited for the christmas special which I feel is unusual for American television. I guess I associate Christmas specials with British television. There are Christmas episodes that are built into the timeline of American shows but to have a Christmas special, outside the main timeline of the show is for me very British. Which by the way I have no problem with.
Unfortunately the end of Eureka is in sight and after the Christmas special there is the fifth and final season of the show. SyFy's cancellation came as a bit of shock for all parties involved and really I question Syfy's decision making process. At first when the cancellation was announced, Syfy have ordered a further six episodes of a sixth season but then went back on that and are now ending it with just the fifth albiet with an extra episode to bring to an end an entire new storyline. It will be a tough job for the writers and there will be countless disappointments which brings the question to my mind, when does a show outlive its welcome and become acceptable for its cancellation?
The phrase Jump the Shark has been most often used when shows have started their downward fall but those shows often continue while other shows are cut down in their prime.The curse of television is that it is never ending. Stories are recycled and shows could theoretically continue forever, albeit with cast changes, Doctor Who being a prime example where the cast changes have been imbedded into the shows mythology from the first cast change. Why are shows cancelled? Poor ratings are the usual culprit but even that isn't a good judge as Eureka does pretty well in the ratings game. But there's also a question of how those ratings are gather. We've all heard of Nielson ratings but they don't take in an appropriate summation of ratings for shows. Only a select demographic is used and a lot of the problem comes from advertisers and their needs which don't incorporate later viewings online and with DVR devices. It reminds me of episode 6 of season 1 of The West Wing where Toby is able to convince Mr. Willis who has taken his late wife's seat in congress of his argument even though Toby left out some important information and was in fact taking advantage of him. Asking what changed his mind Mr. Willis says he made a good argument and brushing off the fact that he was take advantage of he says,
"I thought about that. It's OK by me, as long as it's not the same people who decide what's on television."
"Misfits comes from the UK, is filled with unattractive and very annoying characters and is essentially Skins meets Heroes. So why do we find it so strangely compelling?" This is a quote taken from a review from Boxcutters and I think neatly sums up the Channel 4 show. I repeatedly saw it advertised on youtube but had been told that it wasn't good so it took me a while to finally watch and when I did I was torn as to whether or not the show was good or bad. Of course labeling a show good or bad comes with consequences and writing off a show completely doesn't account for some of the good points. Can a show ever be wholly bad or good? But enough of the philosophical lesson what was my reaction to the show.
I'm of the opinion close to Boxcutters, Misfits is a show that has taken a possible cast of Skins and meshed it with the plot of heroes with both pitfalls and triumphs. The series begins with a group of kids or rather young adults but really they all look so young that its hard to see them as in their 20s or maybe its the way they act that makes it seem weird that their supposed to be in their 20s. This bunch of misfits are together for community service and are caught in a freak storm which gives them special powers (Much like the solar eclipse from Heroes). As the series progresses we find out which characters have which power leaving Nathan who is immortal for the end. Simon (Iwan Rheon) turns invisible, Kelly (Lauren Socha) is telepathic, Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) is able to rewind time and see things before they happen eventually also going into the future and Alisha (Antonia Thomas) who has the stupidest power to make people extremely attracted to her which is eventually more of a burden than anything because the people she touches get so wrapped up in the sexual frenzy they try to rape her.
Unlike Heroes and more in line with Skins the series isn't focused on the superhero aspect of their powers and they actually end up killing two people who threaten them, first physically and second by finding out about the first killing. They group isn't necessarily evil in superhero terms but they aren't golden either. The first series lacked direction a bit. It was like the writers didn't know what to do with these kids who had these powers that was something different from what has already been explored. The first series is really all about them killing their first community officer and then the second one finding out about it. The series ends with the "death" of Nathan at the hands of an ulter-conservative group controlled by someone else with powers.
The second series is where it all gets rather interesting. A masked man enters the scene saving different characters along the way. Alisha finds out that is is Simon from the future who has come back to save her so the future he knows will survive. Alisha who had previously been seeing Curtis breaks off their relationship as she falls for the future Simon. Thankfully Alisha's character gets more interesting as before she was just eye candy who was obsessed with sex but couldn't have it. Her relationship with Curtis was strange and they fell into a routine of masturbating in front of each other. Not exactly a fulfilling sex life which is ultimately their failing as a couple. Future Simon for some unexplained reason is able to touch her and their relationship doesn't take long to take off. She quickly falls of Future Simon but is conflicted when he tells her that she needs to love the present Simon so he can become the Future Simon she first fell in love with. It's a nice little love story that brought some fresh air and purpose to the series.
After Future Simon dies, the series continues with more and more people stepping forward who have powers and it become a national and in fact global phenomenon. Of course you have your evil people who are initially praised and then overlooked as more interesting powers come forward. Namely the guy who can move milk and dairy products which seems cool at first but when a girl comes forward who can heal with a touch he uses his power for evil instead of good. All is eventually righted.
The Christmas special finds a man who can take away powers and pays people for it. Alisha is the first to jump at the chance to help her budding romance with present-Simon and they are now living together in Future Simon's flat. Nathan takes up with a pregnant girl he meets and sells his power so he can help support her. All of them sell their abilities at the urging of Alisha but then Curtis's new girlfriend who had inherited a power after a heart transplant dies and Curtis is unable to save her. They return to the man to regain their powers but they don't necessarily get the same power, for example Curtis's power has already been bought by someone else and Alisha's power was bought by a corrupt priest whom they kill.
Before the start of the new series and with the news that Nathan (Robert Sheehan) is not returning channel 4 did a short film showing that Nathan had taken the power of a magician and is caught and put in jail for cheating a casino in Vegas. Although I wouldn't be surprised if he came back, at least there's a possibility of his coming back as he didn't die without his immortality. It also introduces the new guy who is taking over for Nathan.
I do think that the series has potential and I enjoyed the first two series although at times I felt like it had little direction the characters made up for it by being interesting.
Nathan was the most fun and he'll be hard to replace but as the series progressed I found myself drawn more towards Simon and I love what they have done with his character and his growing self confidence. However, we've seen his death so I know it's coming, although time travel can be tricky so it may be a long time coming of it could be in this next series. I'll keep my eye on it.
