2008 has been a year where a lot of TV shows have ended, some prematurely, some intentionally and some were cut short but still given a chance to finish.

The first of the shows to end was The Wire of course, it's hard to believe that it's still been less than a year since that final season aired and everything was brought to a close. The Wire was and still is the greatest narrative show to ever air, it had such depth and richness to it's stories and characters alike. The fifth and final season wasn't The Wire at it's finest, it did have a few bumpy moments but it was still head and shoulders above everything else. Some day in the future I might be writing about a show that's 'better than The Wire' but for now this show with it's huge tapestry of events and rich deep characters is most certainly the best thing produced for TV so far. The knock on effects of the show are already being felt, with an increasing number of ex-Wire cast members being pulled into other more popular shows for guest or reccuring roles like House, Heroes, Lost and Prison Break.

Next up to end was The Shield, I think I've pretty much said it all as far as this show was concerned by now. The final season was just phenomenal, with top level performances across the board from the cast but a particularly special shout out for CCH Pounder, Walton Goggins and of course Michael Chiklis. The Shield never had a duff episode and the final episode finished so pitch perfectly with some of the most powerfull silences ever televised. It will be sorely missed.

Then there was Boston Legal, this time last year I was wondering if Boston Legal had watered itself down too far. The constant cast erosions had weakened the synergy in the cast interactions and left the viewer disconnected from making an attachment with quite a lot of the newer characters. But then came the news that Boston Legal was having one last season and things were looking bleak. The show seemed like it would end up going out on a low note.

Fortunately this was not the case at all, Boston Legal kept the cast which worked last season and developed them further. The final result was the show Boston Legal should have always been, silly, clever, self-aware and touching. Boston Legal managed to go out on a serious high and saved it's most ridiculous fun for the final few episodes. Plus it gave me exactly the resolution I was seeking where Katie and Jerry were concerned.

Then came the news that Pushing Daisies, a show which I really worked at to like (and did in the end) was cancelled, most likely a casualty of the writers strike, and while Bryan Fuller will move back to try and save Heroes from the dire mess it's become I don't really find that a silver lining. I could take losing Heroes as it's had all of it's chances now and really should be put down. But Pushing Daisies was just beginning to bloom, I was really beginning to enjoy watching Olive and Emerson in particular and I'm hugely disappointed with the show getting cut down. It's a real victim of the times and we might not even get to see the final few episodes and have to wait for them to come out on DVD. It was a unique and light-hearted show that had a real feel good factor to it. Just the kind of show people need in trying times.

Other lesser casualties/Endings this year included Eli Stone, The Riches, My Own Worst Enemy and Jericho. Some of these are shows I was intending to watch if they ran for longer. There are more shows besides these ones and they can be seen here.

In the new year I'll look at a few shows which might fill the void that the departure of these shows has left. Maybe you'll find something in amongst them to enjoy.
Direct Link

Final DVD Review of the year and it's the final series of Red Dwarf.

For the previous series reviews look here:
Series I
Series II
Series III
Series IV
Series V
Series VI
Series VII


Starring:
Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer
Craig Charles as Dave Lister
Danny John-Jules as "The Cat"
Robert Llewellyn as Kryten
Chloë Annett as Kristine Kochanski
And Norman Lovett returning as "Holly"


Series Eight of Red Dwarf was an attempt to get back to the basics of the show while also widening the cast to include more supporting characters. At the end of the previous series the crew located Red Dwarf after it had been shrunk down taken on a joyride by Kryten's nanobots and had the excess material formed into a small moon. Back in the Red is a three part episode which returns the crew to Red Dwarf, and I mean the entire crew, including a reconstituted Rimmer who is very much like his first season persona. The hologramatic Rimmer had grown over the years and mellowed somewhat, this rebuilt Rimmer is every bit as unpleasant and self-centered as he was at the start of the show. After the events of Back in the Red get the crew sentenced to imprisonment for various crimes Lister signs them up to be part of 'The Canaries' in Cassandra, Canaries are named after the bird and have a similar role to the ones used in mining. While on their first mission they encounter a computer who can predict the future, a computer who has forseen that Lister will cause her end and so starts to engineer Lister's own fate.

Krytie TV has Kryten being reprogramed by 'Kill Crazy' in order to get him filming the female prisoners in the showers, Kryten was designated female due to a lack of male genitalia. He then moves onto pranking people and sets Lister up to damage Ackerman's quarters, jepordising Lister's chances in the retrial. Pete is a two parter which has Rimmer and Lister annoying Captain Hollister with an exceptional amount of mistakes and goofs while Kryten and the others discover a time wand with the ability to freeze time and even regress a living creature backwards down the evolutionary ladder. They use it on Pete, a small bird owned by a crazy Welshman. Do you remember what extinct animal birds are descended from? Last of all in Only the Good, an escape pod containing a metal eating virus arrives on Red Dwarf and begins to devour the ship, the guys are forced to create a mirror world where everything is opposite in order to find an antidote in time before Red Dwarf is destroyed...

The Packaging:
I believe you know the drill by now, the only thing I really need to say here is the packaging is perfect and matches everything previously released in this set without a single problem.

The Extras:
"This is the BBC, we are the true voice of extras. All other manufacturers are false profits prophets who will leave you completely unsatisfied."
The set is a little more expensive this time at £9.99 from play.com. That's 4.4ppm.


Unfortunately with the advent of this series Red Dwarf is left feeling unfinished. The final episode ends on a genuine cliffhanger moment and we've still not seen the end of the story told there. Also the series is not good, the humour is off and there's a little too much reliance on really off the wall characters plus multiple part stories. Still it has it's moments and the return of Chris Barrie plus plenty of Chloë Annett so I do enjoy watching it.

It's worth mentioning that the UK Channel Dave has commissioned some Red Dwarf specials in 2009. So there's life in the old space dog yet.

Direct Link

Must finish Red Dwarf before the year ends!

For the previous series reviews look here:
Series I
Series II
Series III
Series IV
Series V
Series VI



Starring:
Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer/"Ace" Rimmer
Craig Charles as Dave Lister
Danny John-Jules as "The Cat"
Robert Llewellyn as Kryten
And introducing Chloë Annett as Kristine Kochanski


After my slightly controversial opinion that the sixth series was the best we move onto the series that most Red Dwarf fans will agree is the weakest (tied with the eighth one). The crew are still lost in space tailing after Red Dwarf having just recovered from a bout of temporary deadness. The show is still missing the titular Red Dwarf and this second series on the trot without the ship really does wear the concept thin, a single full series without Red Dwarf was OK but this second one is a bridge too far.

This series is also longer than the previous ones with eight episodes, while I welcome the longer run in concept sadly in practice this was not enough, because combined with various problems resulted in a series that was not so hot. In Tikka to Ride after surviving time paradox where they were all dead for a while Lister decided to abuse the laws of time once more in order to get some more curry. Frankly this is a low point for Lister in the series, but it does result in a few amusing moments (unintentional cannibalism) and the scenes involving JFK were well done. In Stoke Me a Clipper Mr Fan-service himself returns for the third time as Ace Rimmer meets up with the crew and attempts to pass on his legacy to Arnold Rimmer, a man who has more yellow than a streak of custard.

Ouroboros has an alternate universe Kristine Kochanski joins the crew after an accidental breach between them occurs and Lister learns the truth about his existence (hint a certain orange haired individual from another sci-fi series learns a similar truth). I know that some people aren't too keen on Chloë Annett's arrival in the series and her role in the crew as Kochanski. But Chloë is exactly the kind of woman who pushes all my buttons so I for one like her appearance in the series, it's one of the two decent points series seven has. Duct Soup is overall a rather unmemorable episode spiced up with some rather fun Kryten moments, I really can't recall too much more about it at this point mind you. Blue is something of a final goodbye to Arnold Rimmer as when Lister begins to miss the man Kryten puts together "The Rimmer Experience" to remind him just what Rimmer is really like.

It remains one of my favourite moments in Red Dwarf and here it is in full:


Beyond a Joke is a Kryten-centric piece in which Kryten's head explodes, he meets Able (another Series 5000 Mechanoid like himself), he is abducted and then learns a disturbing fact about his creator. In Epideme the crew encounter one of Lister's old crushes, Caroline Carmen (Lister has a thing for alliterative women obviously) who turns out to be already dead and infected with a sentient virus. Sure enough the virus infects Lister and the crew are forced to undertake drastic measures to try and save him. Finally in Nanarchy the crew hunt after Kryten's missing nanobots with the hope of solving Lister's situation and make a dramatic discovery.

As I mentioned at the start, series seven is possibly the weakest of all the series, the show suffers greatly from the loss of Chris Barrie but I do like the addition of Chloë Annett greatly (so much so that'd I'd put her up alongside Tara Summers as one of the women I'd most like to marry when I grow up) and there are still quite a few good moments to be found amongst the wreckage.

The Packaging:
There's nothing to be said here that hasn't been said before, it's a purple variant of the previous covers with a shot of something techy (I suspect part of Starbug) as the backdrop. The Red Dwarf logo continues to be completed on the spine and it's just a nice looking product which is about the right size for what it contains.

The Extras:
As always Red Dwarf leads the way for extras, but series seven is packed even when compared to the other series of the show. There's an incredible amount of material here.
The Details:
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Soundtrack: Stereo
Runtime: 230 mins
Region: 2 + 4 PAL UK
Subtitles: English SDH
Rating: 12

The Price:
Play.com currently have it at £7.99, that's 3.5ppm which is excellent for a Red Dwarf product but that can be accounted for by the two additional episodes over the normal amount.

Honestly series seven is one for the dedicated fans only, if you're a completionist who must absolutely have everything then it's worth owning. But for everyone else I'd say try before you buy when dealing with this series, either get it in the 'Just the Shows' combined set or just watch it the once then forget about it.
Direct Link

So I'm back online again (yay!) and I'm still not confident that I'll get an episode of WtW (that's Watching the Wire) up in time due to work commitments. I think it'll be best if I knock it on the head this week and leave it until the following Sunday, it's better to delay by a week instead of putting out a half assed piece with more errors than usual.

Before we move onto the British Christmas specials I'm going to write a little about Zavvi going into administration, I have to admit it's a pretty sad thing for me. I've got a few friends who work in my local store and I hope they all find new jobs. It was pretty bewildering and sad wandering around there Christmas Eve before heading out of town, the place looked like a horde of DVD locusts had stripped all the vegetation from the stands. I'm really going to miss the place if/when it closes, the UK will be left with even fewer options for purchasing DVDs. WHSmiths has a really limited in store range, Woolworths is gone, HMV is decent but often overpriced or missing the odd season from a set and there are precious few other independent DVD stores alive any more. It looks like it'll be up to sendit.com and play.com to get the UK through this dark period, but for me that's not quite the same. I like to pick up my DVDs and have them right there and then, I'm an impulse purchaser for discounted stock.

For Christmas I got the first season of Damages and Rescue Me - more on them in the new year, especially Damages as I shall be watching the second season as it airs - and in an attempt to help out Zavvi I picked up the complete set of The 4400, it felt a bit weird purchasing a dead series from a dying shop. Especially as I arrived in the shop two minutes before closing time and ran about panicing while the announcement told me that 1. The shop was closing, 2. I should take my purchase to the nearest counter and 3. I could buy from the Internet. Number 3 was morbidly amusing because Zavvi's Internet sales option has been down for a while now.

I first picked up the second season of Rescue Me, then after being harassed by a member of staff who thought I was too stupid (or assumed I was stupid, goodness knows I look it) to be able to hear the previous announcement (despite the fact that I was laughing at the irony when it was announced) I quickly switched up several times before leaving, discarding Rescue Me (which I keep typoing as RescuMe) first for Cold Feet, then This Life, then Ally McBeal and then finally regaining my manhood when I picked up The 4400 and bought that. Disaster averted!

It seems when I'm under pressure my Y chromosome goes off for a picnic and only returns at the last possible moment to save me. Onto the Christmas specials.

Doctor Who: (The Next Doctor)
It's hard to gush or put down this year's Christmas special, The Next Doctor was decent but not amazing. The Doctor (David Tennant) finds himself in Victorian London and encounters... The Doctor (David Morrissey), but this new Doctor doesn't seem to have all his memories intact, he doesn't even recognise his past incarnation. Add to this the presence of the Cybermen and you have the potential for a really interesting show.

Unfortunately in the end it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be, the emotional moments were decent but the rest of it just wasn't really exciting. Which was a little disappointing because there are only three more specials left before we lose Tennant, and he's become my favourite Doctor.

Wallace and Gromit: (A Matter of Loaf and Death)
The most watched thing on Christmas day across the UK was the newest Wallace and Gromit, every single show of this animated brilliance has been pitch perfect so far and this one was also. Wallace falls in love with Piella Bakewell once star of commercials for Bake-O-Lite slimming bread. But Gromit is somewhat concerned that Piella might have less than wholesome designs for Wallace.

A Matter of Loaf and Death has everything in it you'd expect from Nick Park; it's fast and funny with occasional touching moments. My only complaint is that it was only half an hour long, it felt like the story had been compressed greatly for some reason. I would have prefered an hour long special with a slightly more natural build up of events.

But ultimately I can't complain about a show which has Peter Sallis uttering the line "Gromit, there's a bomb in my pants!"

Gavin & Stacey:
Hot on the heels of the wonderful Barry announcement for a third (and final) series of Gavin and Stacey came the Christmas special. And there's not much I can say about it except that it surpassed expectations on every front. It was easily the best thing I watched over Christmas, James and Ruth once again delivered a superb script and every member of the cast was on top form. I really enjoyed every single moment of it and I can't wait until the next series comes out.

All in all it was an enjoyable if not mind blowing Christmas.

Coming up over the next few days will be the final two DVD reviews of Red Dwarf and a look back on the year's TV. I promise there will be no Top X lists at all, unless someone asks for them.
Direct Link

Just a quick short post to wish you all an enjoyable Christmas break, Rev/Views will return on (most likely) the 27th. I'll be spending the next three days with the familiy but when I get back online I'll probably write about the Christmas Doctor Who, Wallace & Gromit and Gavin & Stacey's Christmas special as those are the highlights of Christmas TV for me this year. I'm not holding my breath about the Doctor Who special mind you, last years 'Voyage of the Damned' was rubbish and I would have stopped watching except I know and like Clive Rowe. Maybe this year will be better, but I've never liked Rusty's 'big' Doctor who scripts.

Watching the Wire will not be interrupted, it will still come out on Sunday but it might be later in the day than usual.

Until then, enjoy yourselves and have a pleasant time.
Direct Link

Starring:
Wendell Pierce (Det. William "Bunk" Moreland), Deirdre Lovejoy (Asst. States Attorney Rhonda Pearlman), Wood Harris (Avon Barksdale), John Doman (Maj. William A. Rawls), Lance Reddick (Lt. Cedric Daniels), Andre Royo (Bubbles), Idris Elba (Russell "Stringer" Bell), Frankie Faison (Deputy Comm. Ervin H. Burrell), Larry Gilliard Jr. (D'Angelo Barksdale), Dominic West (Det. James "Jimmy" McNulty) and Sonja Sohn (Det. Shakima "Kima" Greggs)

With:
Edward T. Norris (Det. Ed Norris), Clarke Peters (Det. Lester Freamon), Jim True-Frost (Det. Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski), Hassan Johnson (Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice), Corey Parker Robinson (Det. Leander Sydnor), Michael Salconi (Det. Michael Santangelo), Michael Kenneth Williams (Omar Little), Clayton LeBouef (Wendell "Orlando" Blocker), Richard DeAngelis (Maj. Ray Foerster), Domenick Lombardozzi (Off. Thomas R. "Herc" Hauk), Seth Gilliam (Det. Ellis Carver), Robert F. Colesberry (Det. Ray Cole), Melanie Nicholls-King (Cheryl), Delaney Williams (Sgt. Jay Landsman), Peter Gerety (Judge Daniel Phelan), Callie Thorne (Elena McNulty), Michael Kostroff (Maurice "Maury" Levy), Robert F. Chew (Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart), Wendy Grantham (Shardene Innes), Shamyl Brown (Donette), Isiah Whitlock Jr (State Senator R. Clayton "Clay" Davis), Michael B. Jordan (Wallace), Neko Parham (State Police Undercover), Steve Earle (Walon), Bobby Brown (II) (Off. Bobby Brown), Aaron Michael Lacey (Maryland State Trooper), SiSi Kache (Mother), Kosha Engler (Kima's Friend), Christopher J. Clanton (Savino), Barry Bradford (Stash-House Man), Micaiah Jones (Wintell "Little Man" Royce), Christopher Glenn Wilson (DEA Agent) and Jeorge Watson (Marvin Browning)

The Summary:
After being clean for three days, Bubbles gets strong advice from former addict Walon and a promise of extra help from Detective Greggs. When Omar’s murder attempt on Barksdale fails, Stringer lays down the new law to Barksdale – no phone use, no more money runs, a new pager number and anyone that needs Barksdale talks to Stringer first. They also send word to Omar that a truce will be offered.

Read about the price we pay, getting in the game and taking the bus to New York beyond the link...

The Recap:
An alert and clean looking Bubbles is sat on a bench in the park just watching the world and marvelling in its sights, sounds and details. He’s sat at something of a cross roads, both physically and in his addiction and you can see him contemplate as the opening note of “Way Down in the Hole” builds.

Cue the credits…

In Orlando’s Wee-Bey, Avon and Stringer are talking about Omar’s attempt on Avon. Avon now feels that Stringer’s suggestion of a truce with later retaliation is a good move, they then move on to talking about the Detail’s actions following Avon after the basketball game. Stringer lays down the law for Avon, setting him out of the loop and thus removing him from any direct contact. As Stringer says “We’ve gotta build a wall around you.”

In Phelan’s office patience is clearly running thin everywhere. Phelan is losing his patience as other associates are beginning to treat him like a social leper, this detail and set of wiretaps is fast losing support everywhere. After the meeting Ronnie explains why Phelan is being so short with McNulty, he’s been left off the election fliers for his judgeship election.

Back at Dee’s his girlfriend , is talking about the future while Dee contemplates what his life has become before leaving her.

In the basement McNulty and Cool Lester Freamon are talking to Carver and Sydnor about the pattern of calls that have revealed where the main stash house calls are coming from. The calls indicate that the re-up comes from the same place, near the Mondo Mart. As such, Carver and Sydnor are going to be pulling twelve hour shifts watching the re-up payphone – Herc is away for the week. Kima comes in and McNulty talks to her about Wallace, he intends to go talk to Wallace himself.

Out on the streets Orlando meets up with some dealers to make a connect despite Avon’s warning that he should not do anything that could bring the attention of the police down on him. After he hands over the money they give him a bag and then laugh.

McNulty arrives in Wallace’s place and has a look around, while back in the park Bubbles is talking with Walon about his situation. They’re talking about Bubble’s situation, his life and what to do next. Walon explains how he has ‘the bug’ and lays down a few truths for Bubbles. The key part of his talk is that Bubbles should forgive himself, love himself and come to meetings because he can’t do it alone.

Back outside Wallace’s McNulty is explaining to some uniforms about Wallace, they are to wait for Wallace and then snap him up. McNulty hands them some food and beer to pass the time with before he gets a call from Kima and heads off.

Dee is waiting out on the street outside Orlando’s for Shardene who arrives in a yellow cab and refuses to talk with him before heading inside. Dee is less than impressed with this.

Kima and McNulty meet up with Omar who tells them about the amnesty offering from Avon. Kima suggests he should take the truce but Omar isn’t keen because the Barksdale’s want to meet face to face for a parley. Omar then shows them the wound he suffered from the end of the previous episode and asks if they can help him out because otherwise he’ll probably get ambushed by Avon’s men in or around the hospital.

We find out what was in the bag handed to Orlando next, he’s located in a white room with the dealer from the car looking at him. As the man leaves we get a view from another camera, a black and white long shot from the security camera in the interview room. Orlando has managed to get himself landed exactly where Avon feared he would; the entire ‘connect’ was a sting operation. Outside the officer talks to his superior about the names Orlando gave (Barksdale) and then lets Orlando know he’s going to be cooling his heels in the Eager Street city jail for a while.

Carver is undertaking surveillance on the payphone and Sydnor takes over, Sydnor is less than impressed with Carver’s hygene habits. The following day Santangelo spots Little Man making a phone call to a pager for the re-up. Sydnor just has to wait and see who’s on the payphone when the call comes back.

In homicide McNulty is rudely awoken from his drunken stupor by Bunk and a second detective. He’s been waiting outside the interview room where Wallace is now asleep. Wallace has spilled his guts over the entire Brandon slaying, he’s given up everyone involved, even Stringer. He’s going to have to testify and until then McNulty needs to figure out what to do with the boy.

Santangelo calls the basement to let them know that Little Man is picking up the phone, on the other end Sydnor already has an eyeball for the caller. Prez and Freamon monitor the call and tell Sydnor to follow the caller. Orlando arrives in the City Jail but he’s spotted by an inmate when being processed. He phones out to let someone know of this development. Sydnor meanwhile has managed to follow the caller all the way to the main stash house, a secure building protected by a lot of security cameras and floodlights, clearly a permanent structure.

Wallace is now talking to Daniels and McNulty about slinging drugs, I’d just like to take a moment here to praise Lance Reddick’s range, he’s normally so intense and p***ed off in many first season scenes but here he appears genuine and compassionate. McNulty is asking Wallace about any shootings, specifically a girl out in Eastside and Brandon’s murder. Wallace refuses to put Dee in the frame but puts up all of the rest. This is huge news for the Detail; they’ve got everyone important except for Avon nailed on either the murder charges or conspiracy ones. Dee is the only person who might manage to wriggle his way out as he just called Brandon’s location in. McNulty heads out for a phone call and Daniels attempts to see if it’s possible to get witness protection for Wallace. Ronnie doesn’t think it’s possible and suggests that Wallace should be sent down to the shore. McNulty’s phone call turns out to be less than pleasant and he exclaims how he’s going to need a lawyer.

In the basement Sydnor is talking with Carver and Freamon about the main stash before Freamon walks over to talk with Prez about the properties Avon’s dummy companies own. They can’t see a pattern except for some clusters in the west side of downtown. Freamon praises Prez’s paper trail work and tells him it’s time for a little street work. Prez reminds Freamon that he’s in-office and isn’t allowed his gun until the grand jury for his pistol whipping of the lad back during the tower incident. Freamon tells him he won’t need a gun for his street work.

McNulty’s phone call comes clear in the next scene as we see his wife present with her lawyer. His unwise game of front and follow with Stringer Bell has got back to her and she’s understandably seeking limitations of visitation rights for this. Ronnie is asked to provide a counter point and admits she has nothing; she’s a prosecution lawyer for criminal charges not a civil lawyer. The judge rules that she’s going to lunch and leaves them to sort out their problems together.

Orlando is meeting with a lawyer himself at this time, an impassionate Maurice Levy hands over some backdated forms which transfer the ownership of the club. Orlando is not willing to sign unless he gets a bondsman; Levy suggests that such an action would be unwise before telling him “Now you’re in the game” and leaving him there.

McNulty sits down to talk with Elena, it’s clear that Ronnie was the woman McNulty was cheating with her when their relationship ended. They then move on to talking about McNulty’s ‘front and follow’ and he explains just how safe the kids were. The thing is, logically he’s right, they were perfectly safe (as I observed in the previous episode) but it’s still just not something you do. Elena asks if Ronnie knows about the pictures and asks if they’re still together, he first says no to both and then admits he’s with Ronnie “a little”.

In the basement Wallace is watching Senator Clay Davies make a speech on the TV when Daniels walks in and tells him to get ready. It’s clear that Wallace is suffering from withdrawals and Daniels asks him just how much he’s been using.

Stringer is standing in front of a fountain with Proposition Joe waiting for Omar to turn up. Prop Joe soothes Stringer’s concerns about Omar appearing and then let’s Stringer know he’s not doing this for free when Omar arrives. Prop Joe gives them a short speech and then leaves. Stringer then lays down the terms of the truce, Omar is to stay away from the Barksdale product and money and in turn the Barksdales won’t kill him. Omar asks about how’s he’s supposed to let what happened to Bailey and Brandon just slide. He then goes on to demand that Avon pays him around five or ten thousand, Stringer offers him five without much hesitation. McNulty and Kima were both listening nearby to the conversation on a wire.

Daniels drops off Wallace at his grandmothers while over in Orlando’s Stringer, Wee-Bey and Avon are talking about Omar’s demand when Shardene arrives with drinks, Avon shushes their conversation while she’s present, drinks are handed out and she then leaves. Pausing outside to try and evesdrop before the sound of another door opening disturbs her.

Kima is enjoying a night out with her girlfriends, Kima refuses to drink shots because she has work in the morning and after a little ribbing one of her friends asks her why she decided to become a cop. Kima tells them about how she was feel training and still unsure when a call came out and she ended up separated from her training officer. But she still managed to find and catch the perp. While struggling to hold the guy she looks up and sees Charlie Smook, a legendary Baltimore police officer, who drops his cuffs for her and then walks away.

Outside the main stash house a garbage truck pulls up and two garbage men pick up the trash, Prez and Sydnor. They take the bags back to the basement and after sorting through it all they’ve found a mountain of probable cause, more than enough to get a warrant. But Kima explains why they don’t need to issue one right now, it’s better to follow the deliveries instead of just kicking the door in right now. Observation will allow them to find out even more about Barksdale’s operations. Then the police man from Orlando’s bust arrives, Kima knows him – he’s Troy Wiggins. Tory lays down the line about Orlando tells them why he’s here.

Freamon is enjoying a breakfast with Shardene, she’s explaining how hard it is to identify the people in the room because she needs glasses. She puts on a set of state provided thick rim glasses, Freamon notes that she doesn’t wear them while working and then laughs.

Kima, McNulty, Ronnie and Daniels are talking about Orlando’s (Wendle-O if you prefer) situation. It’s unlikely he can get any product from Avon, but Ronnie is willing to negotiate his sentence if he gives up information about the club, money laundering and the girls. They’re interrupted by a phone call from the deputy commissioner for Daniels. McNulty notices that the deputy doesn’t miss much.

Kima meets up with Bubbs who’s paged her to talk, she’s not happy but changes her mind when she finds out he’s trying to get clean and might be serious about it. She agrees to help him despite the fact that he’ll be less useful as an informant if he’s clean.

Daniels is now meeting with Foerester and Burrel over Orlando, Daniels wants to protect the wire and keep moving with it. Burrel is less than thrilled and wants a Buy-Bust.

McNulty and Omar are up at the bus depot, Omar is leaving because Stringer agreed to the payout, that’s a clear indication that Stringer has no intention to pay up. Omar knows if he hangs around or attempts to collect that money all he’s going to get is a bullet with his name scratched into it. McNulty gives Omar some cash and tells him to keep in touch for the Gant trial while Omar walks.

Daniels is walking everyone through Orlando’s buy-bust. Kima will be making the deal, her firearm kept under the rear seat. The car will be a live wire, Kima won’t have anything on her. Orlando is to try and work Savino in order to get someone further up the food chain. As mentioned previously in this episode Savino isn’t very important, they want Wee-Bey, Avon or Stringer on this. Everyone gets ready and they head on out.

Bubbs sits out on the bench still, dealing with being clean before getting up and walking away. He passes by the dealers without purchasing.

Orlando arrives with Kima to pick up Savino, Kima continues to give status updates but has some difficulty because Savino turns up the volume on the stereo. No-one has an eyeball on the car and things are looking a little tricky. Savino tells Orlando to pull over in an alley and heads out to get the goods for Orlando. Kima is a little worried because the signs may have been turned about, but believes she’s in Warwick. Everyone moves in closer, police and as it turns out gangsters as well. Two men in hoodies open fire at the car and Kima’s report is cut short by gunshots. Everyone scrambles to try and find her but they have no idea where she is.

The police helicopter manages to locate the car and McNulty arrives on scene. Orlando and Kima are down in the car and not moving. Daniels desperately calls for a medic while Carver freaks out and McNulty applies CPR to Kima. We end with an overhead shot of the scene from the helicopter.

The Review:
Well, did you see that one coming at the start of this show? Did you expect Kima to get shot in the line of duty? If you sensed it coming during this episode that’s not quite so impressive because the build up of narrative clearly indicates something’s going to happen and there’s so many scenes focusing around Kima that a good understanding of story build should have tipped it to you. But really, The Cost is such an excellent episode in so many ways, we have three episodes left until the first season ends and this one is such a thunderbolt in so many ways, of all the members in the Detail Kima has proven to be the one who’s most consistently capable and she’s the one with a decent relationship in her life.

I can still remember watching this episode for the first time as the final events remain fresh in my mind, it ends with a very charged sequence and a continuous sinking feeling throughout the car sequence. Even before anything happens you get a feeling something bad is coming. I also found it impossible to wait and immediately shot off to watch the next episode in order to find out what happens next. You may also want to do that, I wouldn't blame you if you did.

It's difficult to talk about other events on the whole because the final few seconds of this episode are just that intense. But the other major events are Omar leaving town; which means the 'war' between Avon and him is effectively on ice, the discovery of the main stash house; which is a huge coup for the detail, but it's also got the potential to result in a premature search and seize (just like this buy-bust was premature) if Burrel hears about it (and remember he has someone in the detail reporting to him directly) and Bubbles getting clean.

The Cost is definately the most intense episode of the season so far and it's incredible to think that there's only three episodes left before the first season ends. But that's the truth of the matter, fortunately there's another four seasons after this one to come.
Direct Link

With 2008 fading fast I am determined to both hit fifty DVD reviews and also complete reviewing the Red Dwarf DVDs. Fortunately I have three reviews left before the five-o mark so it looks quite possible. Here's the sixth series.

For the previous series reviews look here:
Series I
Series II
Series III
Series IV
Series V


I mentioned in my previous review of series five that there was only one other series in the lifetime of Red Dwarf which I considered to be superior to it. This is that series, this is the series of the show which I enjoy more than any other and the series I feel is Red Dwarf at it's best.

The crew of Red Dwarf have lost the ship in between the events of last series and this one. They're stuck in Starbug chasing after the ship's trail but it's growing cold. They're approaching an exceptionally hostile part of space filled with GELFs (Genetically Engineered Life Forms) and rogue simulants when Kryten awakens the crew in the first episode Psirens. Psirens are a type of GELF which can take the appearance of anything they wish with the intent of getting close enough to a living life form and then sucking their brains out with a proboscis. Barely surviving this encounter the crew discover an exceptionally advanced space station inhabited by an individual who introduces himself as Legion, at first he appears to be exceptionally helpful - saving Lister's life with emergency surgery and even installing a hard-light hologramatic bee for Rimmer (allowing Rimmer to touch things and also get touched). But as always, things take a turn for the worse.

In what is possibly the greatest episode of Red Dwarf ever, Gunmen of the Apocalypse has the crew encountering a group of rogue simulants. After narrowly defeating the simulants in combat Starbug is infected with a virus. In order to deal with the virus and create a 'dove program' Kryten infects himself with it but begins to lose the battle quickly. It's up to the rest of the crew to grab their virtual reality game, plug it into Kryten, assume the persona's of Brett Riverboat, "Dangerous" Dan McGrew and "The Riviera Kid" and mosey on into town. The episode manages to combine everything I love in one as a comedy/sci-fi/western all rolled up years before Firefly arrived on our screens and it's brilliant.

In Emohawk - Polymorph II two characters from previous episodes make a reappearance after a familiar looking monster attacks the crew, in Rimmerworld Arnold Rimmer faces hundreds of years alone after an act of great cowardice and in the superb Out of Time the crew face the consequences of time travel in a shocking and exciting finale.

I cannot recommend series six enough, Gunmen of the Apocalypse alone is so brilliant that I wish it had been an extra long special but you, the viewer, also get another five amazing episodes on top of that one. This is Red Dwarf at it's finest.

The Packaging:
I've said it all before, the BBC know how to make sets that look good together while keeping their individual appearances. I especially love the subtle brown image of the 'Last Chance Saloon' on this front of this set. Everything else about this set is spot on where it needs to be.

The Menus and Start Up:
The Red Dwarf menus are always a joy to navigate around and series six is no exception. The start up is fast, there are no annoying adverts for other shows and the BBC anti-piracy/copying message is short simple and inoffensive.

The menu itself opens with a once off series of exterior Starbug shots that chart a simple story of the ship crashing. We're then led on board and to the airlock controls where the menus are located. There's options to see the individual episodes (which takes you to the cockpit for selection), play all and commentaries. The music in the first menu is a little short and loops badly but the music tunes for the individual episode menus are better. It's a good looking set up with only a few minor flaws.

The Extras:
Just like every single set previously released in this line there is a huge wealth of material for the viewer to enjoy. The cast commentaries are the highlight of it for myself and I feel they're amongst the most interesting cast commentaries ever released (behind The Shield and Futurama).

The full list of extras is as follows:

Cast Commentary
Fan Commentary - Gunmen of the Apocalypse
"The Starbuggers" Original Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Smeg Ups (Out-takes)
Howard Goodall: Settling the Score
"Sick" Featurette
"Return to Laredo" Featurette
Behind The Scenes Footage
Interview with Andy de Emmony
Trailers
Raw FX Footage
Isolated Music Cues
"Dave Hollins" Radio Sketch
Photo Gallery
Weblink

The Details:
Runtime: 170 mins
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Sound: Dolby Stero
Regions: 2 + 4 PAL UK
Number of Discs: 2
Rating: 12

The Price:
The winner for price right now is play.com who have the set at £7.99, but at the time of writing this review they were out of stock. Sendit have it for £8.89 as another option.

The price works out a 4.7 ppm. Good for a UK series.


Series six of Red Dwarf is without a doubt the finest series of the show, it's six episodes of comedy gold dynamite wrapped up in some beautiful SFX with a ribbon of top notch comedy acting. If you were going to watch only one series of this show, this would be the one to watch. It's the pinnacle of the shows comedy prowess, especially 'Gunmen of the Apocalypse' with it's wonderful rendition of the Red Dwarf theme in a western style.
Direct Link

This is sort of TV related, well related enough that I think I can justify including it.

Game Damage is a web based TV Pilot that's being used to promote a potential TV show plus possible web shows reviewing the world of computers. It's starring Ben "Yahtzee" Crossaw of Zero Punctuation, Yug and Matt. The other name for it could well be "Two Australians and a Brit".

It's not bad at all if you enjoy the world of computers with it's mix of news, reviews and short sketches. There could have been more variety in the sketches, they were the same jokes told over and over, but again there's promise. Ben "Yahtzee" is easily the most entertaining part of the show with his trademark deadpan cynicism but Yug and Matt aren't terrible either. With the right level of funding and sponsorship it could become something decent (like The Guild is doing).

The episode is located over at http://gamedamage.net/

Oh and the show also reveals that Yahtzee normally doesn't talk at the same blistering pace he uses on his review videos, but we knew that already because it involved electronic trickery to speed the timing up.

Now I wonder if people would want some web Rev/Views videos or podcasts...
Direct Link

An oldie but a goodie today with one of the BBC's most excellent wildlife documentaries, now if there's something that the BBC still do will to this date it's Wildlife and it's entirely thanks to David's tireless work that this has happened. The Living Planet was originally transmitted between January and April 1984 and still stands as a spectacular portrait of our planet and the wide diversity of creatures that inhabit it.

The Living Planet is a twelve episode series which has each episode looking at a particular environmental type on our planet. It begins it's journey with 'The Furnaces of the Earth' looking at the most primeval force on our planet - the magma that seeps out from beneath the earth's crust - and then moves on across the poles, through the tundra, jungles, deserts, rivers, beaches, islands, the oceans and the sky before ending in the newest of all environments; the urban one.

This series is filled with evocative imagery that brings the majesty of the natural world to the viewer and David Attenborough's trademark narration remains constantly informative and interesting throughout. His presence as a guide across our globe is a constant without ever trying to overshadow the wonders of nature he's showing us. Some of the more modern documentaries forget about this and decide to focus too much on the presenters, who cares if you're going to go stand under a waterfall for a few hours? I want to know about tree frogs and creeping vines.

Some of the highlights of this series include breathtaking shots of lava spouts, a balloon ride to near the top of the Earth's atmosphere (where spiders can be found if you'd believe it), footage from the bottom of the ocean and the wonderful episode about how fragile and unique island dwelling life becomes in their isolation.

The Living Planet also stands as a snapshot of the natural world in 1984, perhaps thirty, fifty or a hundred years from now our children and our grandchildren will only have these documentaries left to mark the beautiful bio-diversity our planet once had. It also stands in wonderful contrast to the more modern documentaries and is especially interesting when watched in conjunction with 'The Planet Earth'.

Now if I had a complaint about this series it would be that the oceanic life is highly short changed, there is a greater variety of life in the oceans than there is on land but the series only dips into the water for three episodes and just one of those is about the oceans themselves. It's also worth noting that the film quality is lower than more modern documentaries, film grain is present throughout and while I didn't find this irritating it may annoy others.


Packaging:
One of the things I most appreciate about the BBC documentaries is their consistency in design. The Living Planet has a simple black scheme marked with a striking picture of lava on the front and just two images on the back. The colour scheme is kept simple as well; Black, White and Yellow with the gloss

Start Up and Menus:
This stark simplicity continues through the start up (which is as simple and inoffensive as all BBC DVDs are) and the menus. You have my favourite option (play all) plus the option to check each episode separately and even pick the scene you start with. This allows you to get straight to the bits you like best (insects, sharks and deep sea fish please!)

The Details:
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Main Soundtrack: English - Stereo
Runtime: 10 hours 43 mins
Region: 2+4 Colour PAL UK
Subtitles: English HoH
Rating: E (Exempt)


The BBC do one thing better than anything else in the world and that's make wildlife documentaries, The Living Planet is part of that dynasty as one of the earliest that sparked it's rise to the top. Even in this day the series continues to enthrall and capture the imagination of the viewer. It's simultaneously entertaining, humbling, educational and beautiful.
Direct Link

In case you're wondering, the picture is from the Showtime second season advertising stunt where they filled up fountains with dye to make them look like they were filled with blood. Just a little reminder of how cool Dexter was in the first two seasons.

So. Third season of Dexter. I can sum it up in one word and that word is:

Lackluster

There's no need to go into how great the first two seasons were of this show, you should have seen them by now and if you haven't watch out for spoilers. Now the third season, it should and could have been great. The show had come from an incredible high with a second season that was so laden with tension and gut twisting moments it could have been from 'The Shield'. At the time I did mention and write that I thought the loss of both Brian (from the first season) and Doakes (second season) was an incredible move for tension and storytelling but it might hamper them in the long run and honestly, right now I think it has.

Doakes is the element which the show has really been missing, this season attempted to build a credible threat to Dexter's cover life in Prado and to give Jimmy Smits his due he really nailed the part. We saw an incredible descent into madness that really did feel natural within the constraints of the story. But the end of season two promised us so much more than season three could deliver. We were offered a Dexter who was going to evolve and move beyond the scope of Harry's code, we even got that right at the start of the season (admittedly by accident) but things didn't end up going that way in the end.

Honestly the season feels like a transition point, I suspect they've set up Quinn, Anton and Deb for some future pay off in a later season. Likewise Deb's checking of the files is probably going to lead to some "Deb knows what Dexter really is" plot line. [Early bet, she ends up taking him down or shooting him.] Same with Angel's storyline. Dexter is attempting to give us some multi-season plot lines in the vein of (sorry I know I sound like a broken record here) The Shield and The Wire. But I'm just not convinced it's going to pay off yet. Sure Dexter as a family man is pretty interesting, likewise him fathering a child (not that we have time to see what happens here - unless they accelerate the timeline al la Desperate Housewives), but on the whole the show just lacked the substance and tension of the first two seasons.

Next season needs to introduce a credible and untouchable threat for Dexter. Someone or even some organisation/group of people that can provide a lasting danger for him. One he can't just easily off. I mused somewhere about a reporter type noticing a pattern and circling in around Dexter, someone with a hunch but no evidence, someone who's genuinely a good and likable guy. Someone who has no reason to be killed apart from the threat he presents to Dexter's existence. Can Dexter manage to turn this guy away, bring him in some how, set him (or her) up or will he be forced to kill a true innocent to protect his existence? Now that's a dilemma I'd love to see play out over the next two seasons.

Now, onto the actual final few episodes of Dexter. I can draw a direct and obvious parallel here for the show, it's borrowed ithe style of using it's big events in the last but one episode from another show. But instead of providing an interesting final episode/showdown with 'the Skinner' we get a short throwaway confrontation with a "Proceed directly to the wedding, do not pass any tension, collect on obvious metaphor." George King just hasn't been a credible threat this season and there is no doubt that they dealt with Prado and King in the wrong order. If the Skinner had been a more sinister overarching threat to Dexter or say Deb then it would have had more significance. But unfortunately Prado was always the individual who felt more interesting and dangerous. The viewer expected a final confrontation between Dex and Prado in the second half of the final episode. Now there are shows which have managed to throw the big "revelation" moment in a lot earlier than expected with great success - The Shield pulled this move at least twice in it's run and was amazing each time, it blind sided you by giving you 'that big moment' long before you thought it would happen - But this season of Dexter just didn't manage to do it right. So we ended up with a highly unsatisfying final episode that felt more like an epilogue instead of a genuine part of the tale. Tacked on so to speak.

Now this is not to say that the show was terrible, it certainly wasn't. But the big issue I have is the show consistently fails to make it's B rank characters interesting, we've got some great actors in the mix, I adore Vince and Angel. But they're either reduced to one line jokes, seemingly pointless story lines or plain annoyances.

I admire Dexter's writers for their season long story lines, but they need to go back and look at this season to see what didn't work. Right now the only reason to watch it is Michael C. Hall's blistering performance.

But one man can not make a show alone.
Direct Link

Taking the easy way out today* I've decided to bring you the American Film Industry 2008 Awards. Which are cunningly titled as the 2007 Awards.

The AFI TV Programs of the year: Official Selections are:
Breaking Bad
In Treatment
John Adams
Life
Lost
Mad Men
The Office
Recount
The Shield
The Wire

Their selection for films is also up on this page.

Now I'm also going to take this opportunity to issue an apology to the creators, actors and writers of Life as this seems as good a time as any. I was very, very harsh about the show this season because it opened very poorly. So after a few critical words I stopped writing about the show and even stopped watching it. But I did not stop recording it as I had planned to catch up once The Shield and Dexter finished (thus lightening my limited viewing load - I have to pull this kind of triage quite often in the fall season sadly, I wish the American networks would spread things out a little more but what can you do?)

I've started to catch up and I can honestly say, it improves considerably. There will be a full look on the later episodes sometime before Christmas but right now I can say quite happily. You should (once again) be watching Life.

In other shows, watch Breaking Bad. It's exceptionally good stuff.

*Actually, I'll be writing about Dexter either today or tomorrow once I've seen the final episode.
Direct Link

Starring:
Wendell Pierce (Det. William "Bunk" Moreland), Deirdre Lovejoy (Asst. States Attorney Rhonda Pearlman), Wood Harris (Avon Barksdale), John Doman (Maj. William A. Rawls), Lance Reddick (Lt. Cedric Daniels), Andre Royo (Bubbles), Idris Elba (Russell "Stringer" Bell), Frankie Faison (Deputy Comm. Ervin H. Burrell), Larry Gilliard Jr. (D'Angelo Barksdale), Dominic West (Det. James "Jimmy" McNulty) and Sonja Sohn (Det. Shakima "Kima" Greggs)

With:
Wendy Grantham (Shardene Innes), Tray Chaney (Malik "Poot" Carr), Michael Kenneth Williams (Omar Little), Corey Parker Robinson (Det. Leander Sydnor), Hassan Johnson (Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice), J.D. Williams (Preston "Bodie" Broadus), Leo Fitzpatrick (Johnny), Jim True-Frost (Off. Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski), Clarke Peters (Det. Lester Freamon), Domenick Lombardozzi (Off. Thomas R. "Herc" Hauk), Seth Gilliam (Det. Ellis Carver), Michael B. Jordan (Wallace), Clayton LeBouef (Wendell "Orlando" Blocker), Robert F. Chew (Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart), Michael Salconi (Det. Michael Santangelo), Steve Earle (Walon), Jefferson Breland (Basketball Coach), Micaiah Jones (Wintell "Little Man" Royce), Perry Blackmon (Perry), Maurice Blanding (Basketball Player) and Christopher J. Clanton (Savino)


Freamon gets Sydnor and Prez started on Barksdale’s money trail. They discover the usual ties to dummy companies, but they also find large sums of political contributions. Herc and Carver bust Wee-Bey holding $22,000, but only $15,000 is reported. Lieutenant Daniels discovers the discrepancy and orders them to find the money before morning roll call. Omar’s mission takes him to Proposition Joe where he promptly offers another recently stolen Barksdale stash to Joe in exchange for Barksdale’s pager number.

Read about money trails, East/West basketball matches and creative fishing beyond the link...

The Recap:

Avon and Stringer are at a local basketball court watching a prospective player perform. The young lad is talented and quite a few places have shown an interest, Avon indicates his own interest in the boy’s talents and then enquires about Omar. Stringer informs him that they can’t find Omar right now and even worse Omar’s been making friends by ripping off stashes and handing the product out for free. So no matter what they do someone will give Omar a heads up first. Stringer again suggests the truce and eventual hit he proposed last episode but Avon disagrees, he’s concerned about his reputation out on the streets. If they leave Omar out there for too long other people will start to get ideas and start attacking the Barksdales as well. They’re interrupted from talking further when the basketball player and his coach walk in, Avon is paying him ten thousand for the lad’s services and the coach manages to get five for the team. After the player leaves the coach gets himself a piece of the action with another five for himself for making it happen. Cue credits…

In the Pit Dee and Wallace are talking about what happened to Brandon. Dee tries to explain that what happened to Brandon isn’t on him, it’s not on either of them, it was going to happen regardless. But Wallace is tired of the life and the guilt, he wants out and is planning to return to school, all the way back to the ninth grade despite his age (sixteen). The conversation progresses on briefly to Stinkum’s demise at Omar’s hands before Dee hands Wallace some money to help him out.

In the basement Prez is working the phones with McNulty when Kima calls to let them know there’s a pertinent call coming in. It turns out that Wee-Bey is coming into the towers to make a pick up and this means game time for the Detail.

In the Pit Dee meets with Bodie and Poot, they want to know about Wallace and Dee tells them everything is good. They’re to leave the boy alone now. Dee’s pager goes off after complaining about the distance he has to walk to use a phone he heads off. It turns out the call is from Herc and Carver who have pranked him for the purpose of taking some photographs. In the basement Freamon dumps some files on Prez and Sydnor, it’s time for those two to follow the money. On the rooftops near the Pit Kima chats with Carver, she informs Herc and him that they might be making a pick up soon.

Bubbles is with Johnny and they see both Walon (played by musician Steve Earle) from the rehab meetings and Bodie. Johnny is naturally a littler nervous at this because Bodie was one of the lads who hospitalised him. Bodie throws the vials to give everyone a sample taste and a scramble breaks out. Afterwards Bubbles heads up to talk with Walon and offers him a vial if he wants it. But it turns out that Bubble’s assumption was wrong, the guy isn’t there for the drugs, he’s here to try and get his nephew straight. The pair of them share introductions.

Wee-Bey has arrived to make the pick up and McNulty asks Carver to pick the man up at a fair distance away. The plan is to avoid picking him up to early on in order to try and conceal any indication that there is a wire up on the Barksdales.

In the basement Freamon starts explaining how Sydnor and Prez are to follow up on the flow of drug money. He explains the entire process to both them and the viewer so we’re clear just what is involved and how it goes down. The main thing they’re looking for are names, specifically the name of the lawyer involved in these deals, while the Barksdales may be cautious, they’re likely to use the same lawyer for most things. A lawyer they trust, specifically Maurice Levy. From this they can follow other company filings that Levy has made and identify the other dummy companies. Additionally they are to chase up any land or properties owned by dummy companies. In essence, once they start following this money they have no idea where it’s going to end up. They could be looking at almost anything. Freamon himself is also following up the money, but he’s going to be looking for campaign donations. Suffice to say this following of the money trail has the potential to upset some very important people in the city.

Herc and Carver pull over Wee-Bey and find a bag filled with money. Wee-Bey protests innocence, claiming that he didn’t know the money was there and additionally he asks if they have no charge on him. Herc admits they have no charge, just his money and he’s unlikely to get it back. Wee-Bey just smiles and tells them to have a nice day.

Bubbles has managed to follow some dealers to the location of their day stash, a small amount of drugs kept somewhere secure to peddle on the streets. He’s approached from the rooftops and uses a fishing wire plus hook to snag the drugs and pull them up. Unfortunately for him he’s spotted just as he pulls the bag over the edge of the roof top. But fortune favours him after that when the dealers mistakenly attack someone else for his theft. Back in the apartment Johnny and he celebrate their victory. But their celebrations are caught short when they find out the drugs are just baking soda.

In the police parking lot Carver tears the bag while removing the money from the boot of the car. Herc stars musing about tips, he’s suggesting that they take a percentage for themselves and turn the rest in for evidence. But Carver points out there’s a wiretap involved, it’s likely the full amount of cash will be disclosed and then they’ll get caught out.

Freamon is in the basement briefing Kima and McNulty on the money trail so far. They’ve followed it to a large amount of empty store fronts and vacants. Daniels walks in and suggests that following the money may be a little premature. He’s concerned about what will happen after Burrel’s reaction to his pick up of Price’s money previously. But Freamon makes it clear that they need to start right now when a jubilant Herc and Carver arrive with “20 or 30 thousand” in cash. Notice they’ve disclosed a decent estimate compared to the amount mentioned in the summary. There’s no attempt to skim here and it’s quite clear they haven’t. McNulty asks about the photographs and muses that they’ll need a wiretap up on that new phone. Daniels is less than pleased because this means another thirty days in a case that’s ruining his career. McNulty doesn’t understand but Freamon attempts to make it clear.

Omar returns back to the place he’s calling home right now, a vacant house where he’s taking every precaution to ensure isn’t compromised while Herc and Carver goof off listening to a little phone sex on the wiretap. Prez reminds them that they should turn off any non-pertinent calls but the duo disagrees as they’re enjoying it too much. McNulty also comes in and reminds them they should switch off after ninety seconds of non-pertinent, but he doesn’t make them turn it off. I believe it is Bodie talking on the other end of the phone at this point, but I’m not certain. Regardless the phone call suddenly turns pertinent again when the callers talk about Wallace’s bugging out over Brandon’s death. Unfortunately it’ll be hard to explain the sex talk before as pertinent; it’s a stretch even to suggest it is code.

In the Pit Omar arrives in his own style, rolling into town like a cowboy in a western with his duster, shotgun and Kevlar. Everyone scatters and he steps outside the stash house, making it clear he’s going to keep coming back until they cave. They drop the stash and after checking it he leaves.

Kima and Freamon meet up with Shardene while Poot sees Wallace out on the street and decides to find out what he’s been buying. On the rooftops Herc and Carver are talking while wondering where everyone is. Carver notices that the streets are empty and decides to roll out.

In the basement Shardene meets with Freamon, she’s quite interested in his doll house miniatures, the small furniture he makes in his free time. She clearly loves them on sight and is saddened that he simply makes and sells them. The moment is interrupted by Kima who tells them they can use Daniels office.

Bubbles is next seen walking through a nice neighbourhood before ringing on the doorbell, the woman who answers tells him “no” and it rapidly becomes clear that her and her daughter are relatives. Bubbles mentions he’s going to try and get clean again and was thinking about asking her for a place to stay. He turns to leave and she offers him a key to the basement, he’s only allowed to crash there, nowhere else.

Herc and Carver continue to travel through the deserted streets of Baltimore before they spot a young lad walking across the street, this leads to a crowded area filled with people watching a basketball match. It’s West vs. East projects, a match for bragging rights.

In the lieutenants office Kima and Freamon hit Shardene hard with the facts and start pushing her. They tell her the truth about Orlando’s and mention Keisha. They figure that they can get her to tumble and use her as an informant inside the club.

In the project basketball match things are going well, but it turns out that Avon isn’t the only person who got a ringer in. Proposition Joe has also done so and the pair of them share some harsh banter. Herc and Carver are enthralled with the match when Bodie and Poot spot them. They talk a little about the match, all roles in the system forgotten for the moment.

In the morgue Freamon and Kima show Shardene Keisha’s body, dumped after she died at Stinkum’s party. Used and then left to rot. They push Shardene a little further and she breaks down.

In the match a careless word from Poot twigs Herc onto the fact that Avon’s here at the match. Unfortunately neither of them have ever seen Avon in person yet but they call in the information to Daniels back in the basement. Daniels decides they should follow Avon as that’s how it’s worked in narcotics before. McNulty doesn’t bother to go with them, he disagrees – feeling that Avon is far too careful to go anywhere near the drugs or money and the only way to catch the man is by voice or not at all.

The match is looking bad for Prop Joe when he steps up to speak with Avon and suggests they move the bet up to a clean six figures. Avon agrees and Joe nods to a player on his bench, its clear Joe has more than one ringer planned. Sydnor and the Lieutenant arrive, Sydnor being someone who can make a positive id of Avon and he does. He lets the others know what Avon’s wearing while Joe’s new ringer makes short work of the West side team.

In the basement a call comes in that gets the Detail up on the stash but there’s no-one to confirm it. So McNulty writes in Sydnor as being on the roof at that time despite Prez’s protests. The match is getting close when the ref makes a call that Avon disagrees with, and he rips into him. The Eastside have won the game.

In the basement Shardene has started talking to Freamon about Keisha, Freamon explains that they need her help to get the Barksdales, the people who killed Keisha and he gifts her one of his miniatures to make her smile and seal the deal.

Daniels and Santangleo (remember him? He sort of drops in and out of the story in these episodes) start following Avon with Sydnor picking him up in addition with Herc and Carver in front. Avon just stops and parks, sitting and waiting before doubling back, he jumps a light and then loses all the tails for a while before driving past Daniels wagging a finger at him. Avon’s made it clear he’s no fool (but we already know that); he knows who they are and what they’re trying to pull.

In the basement McNulty and Freamon are discussing the calls and Shardene. Bubbles is sat in the basement of his sister’s house trying to overcome his cravings and get clean. Daniels admits to McNulty that Avon lost them and McNulty admits that he’s both a smart criminal and he’s proud to be chasing after him. Freamon runs through the situations and mentions that the haul was twenty two thousand. The money is clearly resulting in a massive amount of profit and there’s little sign of it. But Avon is fronting up contributions to various political causes.

In Dee’s Shardene packs up to leave and Dee doesn’t understand why, Shardene asks him if she looks like trash that could be rolled up into a rug and dumped before leaving.

Daniels is in his office when Herc and Carver come in; he has them sit down and plays a recording from the wire. It’s the dealers talking about how much they were hit for, twenty two thousand. But only fifteen thousand was handed in, the takings for two of the towers are missing. Daniels tells them they are to find the money and bring it back in, Herc and Carver are genuinely innocent of this but Carver still throws a quizzical look at Herc.

Omar arrives at Proposition Joes’s place with the stash bag; he places it in front of Joe who checks it. Joe is amazed that Omar is still stealing Avon’s stuff despite the reward on his head and asks what he’s done it for. Omar gifts it to Joe in exchange for a way to contact Avon. Omar’s plan is win-win for Joe and he agrees.

Herc and Carver strip apart their car searching for the money; Carver finds it in the trunk wheel well where it had fallen after the bag ripped.

In Orlando’s Avon is sat with Orlando and Wee-Bey counting money. Wee-Bey heads on out to get a burger while Omar watches. He then pages Avon an emergency page with Wee-Bey’s code. Avon heads out to check but then heads back in. Omar pages him a second time and Avon – after refusing the offer of Orlando’s phone – heads out to a payphone. Avon calls the number and gets a hang up while Omar heads towards him. Wee-Bey suddenly returns with the burger when Omar opens up. He misses and is winged by Wee-Bey.

The payphone receiver hangs, swinging…

The Catchphrases:
What the f*&k did I do? x 4
I’ve got a proposition for you x 2

The Review:

By now you must be pretty familiar with the score, Game Day is a transitional episode which serves a few purposes, first of all it makes the viewer a little more familiar with the way paper trails are followed up by the police, a rare piece of exposition for the show but a nessacery one for most viewers. It also introduces the character of Proposition Joe, another major player in the Baltimore drug trade and one positioned in opposition to the Barksdales.

Daniels is left clearly in an awkward position by the change in empathsis of the investigation, he’s looking for simple and clean police work which will catch Avon ‘doing the deed’ and wrap up the arrest without ruffling too many higher up peacocks. But the people who he’s working with are not that way inclined. McNulty is after Avon with his method, he’s convinced that the wire is the method of choice; Freamon on the other hand is showing his natural instincts by heading after the money trail. This is a pursuit which has two major results, first of all property seizures are always good for a police department. They result in money which helps operating budgets. But as Freamon himself has mentioned, the money goes everywhere and as such there is a very real chance they’re going to follow after someone who’s important and powerful enough to cause some real problems.

It’s very difficult to review this episode because in all honesty it is an episode without any serious major events for the case. Omar’s attempt on Avon’s life at the end of the episode is exciting and a great example of just how far Omar will go when pushed, he’s not a man who’s interested in the underlings as such anymore. He’s going for the head of the organisation now. But his failure means any further attempts on Avon’s life are going to be impossible, the already cautious Avon will be even more careful now. It’s good news for the Detail that Omar failed as well, if Omar had killed Wee-Bey or Avon then they’d be left trying to sniff after Stringer, a man who’s possibly even more cautious than Avon.

There are four episodes left in this season so there’s plenty to come before the first part of our journey is over. But if you’ve made it this far congratulations are in order, all that watching, the learning of characters and deciphering of the Baltimore slang (Po-lice, Five-O!) and following the plot as it goes is going to pay off soon big time.
Direct Link

Boston Legal:
Another show gives us it's final hurrah this year and this time it's the often preachy but always silly Boston Legal. Of course they save the silliest moments of the show for the final episode, out doing themselves on just about every front. Now if I'm completely honest I thought last weeks offering was better overall, but finales are always a little unsatisfying as they represent death. No matter what happens now there are no new stories for Denny & Alan, Carl & Shirley and Jerry & Katie. This is the end of their tales, but as far as it goes it wasn't bad at all.

The main take-over plot thread was a little bit of a blindside, while the show had been hinting that Crane, Poole and Schmidt was in trouble the Chinese investors were essentially shoved in without much foreshadowing in context. Of course if you look at the world in general right now you can see the foreshadowing, China continues to rise and it's only going to keep getting stronger in the world arena as time passes. But still, it could have been handled better and maybe it would have been if the season had a full 22 episodes instead of 13.

I'll miss Boston Legal for sure, the final season paired everything back, gave us a cast which worked, situations which were fun and not too much liberal ranting. It's not the best show that ended in 2008 but it's up there.

How I Met Your Mother:
'The Fight' was an absolutely awesome episode that gave everyone in the cast plenty to do, Robin and Marshall in particular were given some great lines and moments that really nailed their characters. Even Ted himself was pretty interesting (I always rag on Ted for being the show's boring straight man) and Will Sasso (from MADtv) was fantastic as Doug. Providing just the right amount of support for the cast without taking over (as some guest stars can do).

The final sequence in particular was ace. "Here's your coco!"

House:
A pretty good episode overall from House, which is just as well because the current House:The Thirteen Show, story arc sucks gigantic donkey reproductive organs and then some. She's becoming more and more boring and whingey as time is passing. I have absolutely zero sympathy for her character and even less tolerance.

Leaving that aside the more interesting thread has been the Cuddy/House will they won't they thing. Normally I can't stand will they won't theys. But this one I quite like because the odds are firmly on the "won't".

Once again the patient wasn't very interesting, and the episode even managed to spoil itself by putting in a "not-a-revelation" moment which pushed the entire plot towards a hidden teen pregnancy long before even House got there. Still the final section of the episode included some tender moments and even House allowed himself to be human, it's possible he's lost out on anything with Cuddy now due to the arrival of this child.

Oh and the "virgin conception" moment was delivered with a superb level of fake-out and snideness from House. Good stuff.

The Office:
I don't know if I enjoyed the Christmas episode of The Office or not, I was thrilled with the return of Jim's cold opening gag. This time it had him Christmas wrapping Dwight's desk with a neat twist. But the episode on the whole, it had good points and not so good points. The main, Meredith drinks too much storyline wasn't that interesting, likewise Phyllis' blackmailing of Angela and the subsequent revealing of Angela's affair was awkward. Good, but awkward. I kind of hope it means they're bringing that storyline to a close as the love triangle has gone on long enough.

Most of the best moments were more throw away ones. Michael's continued mistreatment of Toby, Jim & Pam's talking head interview and Dwight's fire marshall moments were funny. It's not their best Christmas episode, but it was ok.

30 Rock:
I really, really dislike any storyline in 30 Rock with Jack's mother in them. Now all due respect to Elaine Stritch, she's a fantastic actress but the relationship her character has with Jack isn't funny. It's borderline boring. As such the good parts of the episode had to come elsewhere; Griz and Dot Com's 'bounderies' moment, Frank's Hat (as always) and this time Jenna's failed attempt to stand up to Jack. (ftr I like Jane Krakowski a lot, she manages to play a great little self centered starlett without being too much).

On the whole it was... Weak.

The IT Crowd:
I caught most of The IT Crowd this week after missing last weeks episode, this week was good. Very good in fact. Matt Berry was given a meaty (bad pun) storyline which played well to his strengths and his character's traits. Likewise Moss and Roy had a decent plot/gag when Jen was asked to give a speech as Employee of the Month and they decided to have her show the stockholders the Internet (a black box with a flashing light). It was great as episodes of the show go, funny and light. I especially enjoyed Berry's fight sequence.

In other stuff I picked up "The Planet Earth" for a meagre £12 yesterday and I've been watching the odd bit of King of the Hill, you know that other, other, other cartoon for adults. The one which isn't The Simpsons, Family Guy or Futurama. I only watch it occasionally so I rarely can recall what happened in each episode, which makes it feel like I'm watching it for the first time again.
Direct Link

Today I make a push towards finishing reviewing DVDs for the most excellent BBC Sci-Fi Comedy Hyperdrive... Wait, no. That's not most excellent, it's average at best. I meant Red Dwarf.

For the previous series review see the following:
Series I
Series II
Series III
Series IV



Starring:
Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer/"Ace" Rimmer
Craig Charles as Dave Lister
Danny John-Jules as "The Cat"
Robert Llewellyn as Kryten
Hattie Hayridge as Holly


Located firmly within the 'sweet comedy spot'; Red Dwarf's Vth Series is one of the best, only the two series' either side of it compete for the spot as 'Best Series'. The Fifth season includes some of the most iconic episodes the show has ever produced and in my opinion is only bettered by the series which follows it.

Holoship is the first episode and one which allows the viewer to explore a new part of Rimmer's psyche, the crew encounter the titular holoship. A spaceship constructed entirely of light and populated by holograms (like Rimmer); Rimmer has a chance to explore the ship, experience what it's like to touch and feel things again, he experiences sex for the second time in his existence and ends up stooping to cheating in order to try and get on board. The Inquisitor includes one of the series more iconic villains, a rogue self repairing simulant (sort of a cyborg-android-humanoid) who survived until the end of time and decided that the only goal of existence was to live a worthwhile and fulfilling life. His sights are set on the crew of the Red Dwarf, and boy are they in trouble. Terrorform is another episode which focuses heavily on Rimmer, this time he's trapped on a psi-moon, a planetoid which reshapes itself to match the psyche of the first person to interact with it. Needless to say Rimmer's own self loathing and wretched persona make this a very unpleasant place to go. Quarantine is quite possibly the funniest episode of the entire series, after contracting a holo-virus Rimmer's sanity is gradually eroded away from him. But unfortunately for the rest of the crew he's in charge of the ship and he's put them in quarantine. Only judicious use of positive viruses could possibly allow Lister, Cat and Kryten to escape the flippers of the terrifying Mr. Flibble. In Demons & Angels a mishap with a matter transporter splits the ship into two versions of itself, one populated with the perfect versions of the crew and the other with the most deviant and perverse versions of themselves they'll ever meet. "First I'm going to whip you to within an inch of your life and then I'm going to have you."
Finally the series ends with an incredible episode called Back to Reality. Suffice to say that this episode had myself and my friends talking about it for weeks after it aired.

Series five is a superb episode that mixed the right amount of comedy and occasional touching moments, followed by more comedy. It built on the brilliance of series four and improved on it; the two series are so well constructed that I still have trouble remembering which episode is from which, they're so similar in style and awesomeness.


The Packaging:
Exactly like the other boxes in this set, there are no switch ups or changes where the BBC packaging is concerned. Only the colour is altered here to distinguish it on the shelf; everything else is kept consistent and as such it just all looks darn great when you have them all together. I have no complaints, the two DVDs and the booklet are held well and it's exactly the right size.

The Start up and Menus:
As always the BBC start up anti-piracy warning scrolls up, it's a far less aggressive version of the FACT one that's located on the Fox DVDS. Then the BBC logo plays and a short introduction video has Starbug landing in the bay of the Red Dwarf and moving to a heavily damaged drive room where Holly spouts a few non sequitur one liners in her wonderful fashion. The loop is short and while amusing it can get a little tiresome, but at least it doesn't jar too badly when it repeats itself. Most of the other menus take place on various screens in the drive room but the individual episodes have their own area for menus. There are two Easter eggs on the first disc and one on the second.

The Extras:
As always with these the BBC have outdone themselves. Not only do we get the usual (and quite brilliant) cast commentary on each episode but there is also a bonus set of 'fan commentary' on Back to Reality. Additionally there is a whole host of extras crammed onto the second disc.

The full list is:
Cast Commentary
Fan Commentary on Back to Reality
"Heavy Science" Original Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Smeg Ups (Out-takes)
"Dwarfing USA"
Documentary on the Making of the US pilot
"Bag Guys" Featurette
The SFX of Red Dwarf V
Trailers, Idents and Episode Intro
Raw FX Footage
Isolated Music Cues
"David Hollins" Radio Sketch
Photo Gallery
Weblink

Plus Easter Eggs and Collector's booklet.

The Details:
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Regions: 2 + 4 (PAL UK)
Runtime: 165 mins (plus 180 mins of extras)
Sound: Stereo
Subtitles: Snglish SDH
Rating: 12

The Price:
Sendit have everyone else spanked right now where the price is concerned. It's an astronomical price of £6.89 right now.


Close to the pinnacle of Red Dwarf, series five is a must have for any fan of the show and a must watch at least once for everyone who enjoys well scripted and exceptionally hilarious comedy. I would almost be tempted to call it the best series of the show, but that title is held for another.
Direct Link