As a child I still fondly recall afternoons spent at my paternal Grandparent's home watching Star Wars: A New Hope on VHS.  I was captivated by the combination of fun dialog, mystery, excitement, "magic" (The Force), space ships, the cool Han Solo, the mysterious Ben Kenobi and the terrifying Lord Darth Vader.  It was a film that dominated my childhood - along with the David Jason animated version of The Wind in the Willows, The Neverending Story and The Shawshank Redemption it remains one of the most watched movies of my life.  I watched that VHS copy until the tape wore out in multiple sections and I can still recite many lines from memory with great accuracy.

Flash forward to 2005 and I'm walking out of the cinema after watching Revenge of the Sith, the prequel trilogy for me wasn't a total deal breaker at the time - there was a lot in them I found pretty boring and from faintly ridiculous to absurd - but it was clear that they were far from the level of quality that the first three were created to.  However, in hindsight I know that it was the prequel trilogy that made me fall out of love with Star Wars and science fiction in general.  I can still vividly recall the moment where it happened, where even the original trilogy broke... forever?

A day or so after watching Revenge of the Sith my friends gathered together and we started to watch A New Hope again.  Things went fine until Vader's first appearance, at which point everything came crashing down for me, the connection between the snot-rag whiny Anakin Skywalker from the second and third prequel movie (ignoring the annoying little boy from the first one for the moment) and this menace from my childhood came together.  That final cliched scene where Anakin stumbles from the table as Vader and yells 'NOOOooooo!' was the straw that broke the camel's back.  As such, when Vader made his menacing appearance on Leia's ship in A New Hope; a moment that used to terrify me as a child, I was forced to permanently make the connection between Anakin and Vader.  No longer was this figure a terrifying menace, the magic had been broken - I could see the strings (I figured out the magic trick, if you like).  I stood up from my chair, fell to my knees and yelled 'NOOoooooo!' in my very best James Earl Jones impression then walked out of the room and never watched any Star Wars movie again.

Recently my better half; Datura, discovered that The One Man Star Wars Trilogy was playing in Cardiff, Wales.  In exchange for booking tickets to see Dave Gorman's Powerpoint Presentation I agreed to go and see it.  Needless to say, thanks to the history I briefed you on up there I wasn't that excited about going. (It's also needless to say that due to Datura being my wife I wasn't going to complain... much).

We arrived at the show and outside there were already one of my greatest pet peeves, cos-players.  They were dressed mostly as clone troopers, which felt extra ridiculous - because this was for the original trilogy there were no clone troopers in those movies (and about 99% less shit overall).  My observations about the ridiculous nature of the fan(atic) however did not go down well, we narrowly avoided a huge argument that would have spoiled the entire evening.  My bad.

The opening act, John Cooper as Danny Pensive, was a lot more subversive than you'd initially think.  Danny Pensive is Cooper's alter ego - a semi simple, duffle coat wearing man with a goatee and a bad hair cut.  His main traits are writing things down, making observations about them and then talking about it in an abrupt fashion.  It's an act that took us both a little while to gel with his delivery, where the punchline often comes about a line or so sooner than you'd expect - but once you click it works and it works well (check some out here).  "Danny" had to deal with the issue that the Cardiff audience tends to be unresponsive to any participation type comedy, but he did very well and had the audience well warmed up by the end of it.  It was an odd, but welcome act.

After Danny had shuffled his way off the stage it was time for the main act, all three movies back to back in the space of an hour courtesy of Chris Ross.  It was an experience I wasn't completely prepared for, I'd not done any reading or preparation for the show and I was caught completely off guard by Chris's delivery.  The most notable surprise for me was the fact that he does not only all the characters but he also performs the music.  With exceptional talent and accuracy I might add.

Chris manages to fit each film into about a 15 minute performance, it's a high energy show with lots of laughs containing the very best parts of each film.  Some scenes pass by with barely a mention while others are covered in detail.  But most of all, the spirit of what makes each film great, all the classic and fun moments, are present in spades.  Chris embraces the films with a professionalism and enthusiasm that showcases a great deal of love, pride and polish.  This is a man who has come to love what he's doing and had many years to perfect it.

Sections of note include his performance as an AT-AT falling on Hoth, superb impressions of Luke, Obi-Wan, Admiral Akbar and most of all, a star turn as Yoda.  He really gets to the heart of each character and highlights the things that make them great, while also lampooning their flaws.  The prequel trilogy's are touched on in moments as well, especially the way in which they've impacted on the first three movies and diluted some of the more potent scenes.  It's impossible to look at the original trilogy in isolation any more (shame), but Chris remained entertaining in his performance even when touching on the prequels.

I have to write that Chris was a pro throughout this performance, he had two major problems (apart from Cardiff's lack of audience participation) and both of them were dealt with in a way that did not detract from the experience at all.  The first was a series of technical issues, it started with the stage crew missing Chris's cues, repeatedly, Chris was professional enough not to make a deal of it and re-cue them, but once I'd noticed this was happening it was hard to ignore.  This is, of course, not Chris's fault, rather it's the fault of the staff at Cardiff's St David's Hall - and I hope they apologised to him afterwards.  Technical issues did not end there as Chris's mic started giving up the ghost towards the climax of Return of the Jedi, cutting out during his more vigorous scenes and requiring adjustment.  Chris was obviously frustrated with this, but he should feel reassured that it did not detract from the experience one iota.

The second issue occurred with young lad in the front row, he held up his phone to snap a couple of pictures and Chris spotted him doing it.  Fortunately for the boy Chris thought he was texting, something that he took up making fun of, mentioning that 'lad in the front row texting' by bringing it into the act several times.  However, part way through the show, when doing a quick bit of Q&A he discovered that the boy wasn't texting, he had in fact taken pictures.  Sure enough, at the end of the show Chris stopped to talk to the lad and ask him to delete the pictures.  The boy just did not get the seriousness of the request and sat there in mute refusal, I assume at first he thought it was a joke, then he became embarrassed.  Not even an offer of an autograph and official pictures was enough to get the boy to come up on stage and delete them, instead he was escorted to one side by an usher (at which point I think the reality of the situation hit him).  Chris smoothed this over by chatting with the audience as it happened, distracting people from the awkward scene occurring to one side.  In short, he dealt with an problem in the best fashion he could, as a professional.  (I have no idea if the lad got his picture and autograph afterwards, but I was sat a row behind and to the right of him and I think I saw him just get up and hurriedly leave at the end of the show.  So I guess not).

So, can I recommend the One Man Star Wars Trilogy?

I think I can sum it up as such, despite my opening story about how Star Wars lost it's magic, at the end of Chris Ross's show I wanted to watch the original trilogy again.  And I think that's all you need to know about how good it was, he restored my faith in the films and showed me that you could enjoy them despite what came afterwards.

See more about The One Man Star Wars Trilogy at it's site here.
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Chuck is one of those shows that I'm glad is around, in part because it's nice to have a light-hearted, semi-serious spy show on the air and in part because Adam Baldwin should always be on our screens as some angry individual with barely contained violence inside him. John Casey isn't as great as Jayne Cobb, but he'll do in a pinch (hey, they both share the same initials!)

The third season picks up after Chuck downloaded the Intersect 2.0 and spouted that famous line from that film with the two terrible sequels "I know kung fu." I did note at the time that Zachary Levi's martial arts skills weren't really up to the job, there was plenty of camera trickery to try and conceal this, but as long as the show took the time to train him up in time for the third season I wouldn't have a problem with it.

Good news everyone! They did, and Chuck's action sequences are now tighter than ever, they're not quite at the standard of say - Kung Fu Hustle, but they're believable and high energy. They're also tight enough that when there is a deliberate punch/kick being pulled 'in character' you can identify the difference immediately - that's as close as I'm going to get to writing about that moment.

I'm also glad to report that there is plenty of character development for just about everyone in the cast, Devon (Ryan McPartlin) and Morgan (Joshua Gomez) become privy to some huge secrets while Sarah's (Yvonne Strahovski) past is expanded on a bit further and we get some resolution to the will they/won't they between her and Chuck. Brandon Routh joins as the newest member of 'Team Bartowski' and even Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) gets to do more than just look put upon and bewildered.

There are also some exceptional guest stars, including the brilliant Scott Bakula back as Stephen J. Bartowski and the superb Swoosie Kurtz has a star turn in one episode as half of the super spy couple team, Brandon Routh is also pretty good as Agent Shaw, his performance being a key element of quite a few scenes and he's admirably up to the task.

The pacing in this season is a little off, but it's no more so than any of the seasons, Chuck often seems to have a ponderous and slow start to the season before it kicks up into a decent gear. The third season is no exception, but once it is rolling the episodes become phenomenal and the final stretch of them is something to behold as everything on the show comes together in a perfect blend of action, romance, emotion and comedy.

If I had one other complaint it's that the Buy More sections of the show are quite lacking this season, as the show has evolved the Buy More has faded in importance to the point where it feels a little superflous to the plot, it should be an entertaining distraction from the spy action part, and at times - like the Fight Club incident - it is, but also quite often it feels a little like padding. In particular the character development for Morgan and the loss of Anna as a regular has made the Buy More less significant and that's left the weight of the Buy More sequences on Big Mike along with Jeff and Lester. They're two admirable creeps and a source of a lot of laughs, but they're too shallow to hold things up by themselves.

The set is pretty much a Chuck DVD by the numbers, the case is significantly easier to use than the horror that the original first season set came in (I still have problems opening that box) and the extras are relatively spartan in their quantity but enjoyable. It's not going to wow you, but they are interesting to watch.

The issues of the season are little compared to the glorious whole that is Chuck, it's not the most intelligent show on television right now, but it is one of the most fun and it's for that reason I'm giving Chuck's third season two thumbs up.
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Over the past week I've spent just over nine hours catching up with the third season of the Glenn Close tour de force that is Damages. As I mentioned previously I have a great deal of respect and enjoyment for the first season, but I felt that the second season - despite some excellent performances from the cast - wobbled more than a few times and came dangerously close to falling over thanks to weak plotting and poor editing choices.

It wasn't a deal breaker, but I was concerned that the third season would also suffer from similar issues.

Spoilers, it doesn't. In fact it's everything the second season wanted to be and more. Damages continues with it's own indomitable style; strong female leads, non-linear plotting, twist revelations, shocks and high stakes in the world surrounding the law courts.

This time the show focuses on the Tobin family, who are involved in a ponzi scheme that has bankrupted everyone who was involved in it. Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) and Tom Shays (Tate Donovan) are given the task of recovering the money for the various victims while Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), now working for the DA's office, is involved in the criminal side of the investigation.

Sadly the adorable Anastasia Griffith does not return as Katie Conners, but Ted Danson does as Arthur Frobisher, and he's not the only familiar face who graces our screens as the plot moves along by touching on events from the past. There's also a host of superb guest stars, including Campbell Scott, Martin Short, Len Cariou and my all time favourite actress Tara Summers - who I can unashamedly say is utterly brilliant in every moment she is on screen.

Performances are throughout, superb, in particular I have to praise Rose Byrne - who previously has struggled to bring any real emotion or rounded characterisation to her performance as Ellen Parsons, something I've often felt was caused by her need to maintain a US accent (she's from Australia). She's more comfortable with the new, slightly evolved, Ellen - and she's able to play someone who's learnt about the manipulation game from the best. Yes, that's right - Ellen is becoming a schemer of epic proportions in her own right, a much warranted and superb development for the character. In fact, every core character gets some deserved character development, we delve further into Patty's past while also gaining a broader perspective on both Ellen and Tom's lives.

The third season of Damages is everything you've come to expect from the show; it's dark, exciting and clever with strong characterisation layered on top of a plot so twisted you might as well call it a pretzel. It's one of the current cream of the crop drama shows out there and it's one of the few running a genuinely serialised plot over it's thirteen episodes. In fact the serialised nature of the show makes it a better experience on DVD than when it's shown weekly, you can dive into the murky depths of Patty's world and only come up for air when you choose to. As such I can highly recommend picking up a copy of the boxed set and settling down to enjoy a dark tale of deception, embezzlement, lies, fraud and more than a few murders. It's Damages and it's great.


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For a review of the first season go here. Be warned there will be spoilers about events from the first season in this review.

Damages had a first season with an exceptionally unique style of show, I personally appreciated the ambiguity in characters, their goals and personalities not being a clear cut case of Good/Evil but having instead greyer shades. Yes, by the end of the season we had clearly defined villains and a heroine but the journey there was far from straightforward and the last episode of the season is one of my favourite episodes of all time.

The second season then needed to build on the original season's style by evolving its use of non-linear narrative and ambiguous characterisation without straying too far from the format. It's a tall order, because if the season just re-treads old ground you'd end up with something that doesn't engage and if you deviate from the established format you risk losing established viewers. Not an easy line to walk.

So, Damages brings in more big names capable of fantastic performances - joining the returning cast of Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Tate Donovan, Anastasia Griffith and Ted Danson we get the fantastic selection of William Hurt (A History of Violence, Dark City and so much more), Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood), Marcia Gay Harden (Royal Pains), John Doman (The Wire) and Clarke Peters (The Wire, Treme). A huge wadge of quality talent descending onto our screens and promising great performances.

Following on from the fantastic season finale the second season sees Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) now cooperating with the FBI in an investigation into Patty Hewes (Glenn Close). Ellen naturally has good reason to be involved in this after Patty attempted to have Ellen murdered. Ellen is not only using her position to investigate Patty, she's also maneuvering to expose Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson) as the man behind the murder of David Conner, Ellen's fiancé. Ellen has plenty of reasons to remain close to Patty at this time.

Just like the previous season the show is divided into a past storyline that builds up towards the shocking present 'teaser' storyline. The 'teaser' storyline in this case initially opens with Ellen pointing a gun at an unknown person or persons and talking before pulling the trigger twice. It's a marked change from the Ellen of the first season and the film noir undertones of the scene are nicely played. As before, the past storyline pushes forward towards the teaser while the teaser expands on events and gradually reveals more of the situation to raise more questions for the viewer. It was an exeptionally effective ploy in the first season, but if I'm honest it's not as well done here - the performances from the actors are superb, but the editing is very ham-fisted, in particular the music used for certain moments is completely mood breaking.

In all, despite the superb cast, the second season is not as strong as the first one - watching it on DVD was a superior experience to watching it 'live' (one episode per week), just like the first season Damages is a show better watched in bursts rather than one part at a time, but the second season shows a poor choice of direction by the editing and directing staff. It's rare that a superb cast cannot overcome technical and plotting issues, but in the case of the second season of Damages it has happened. Fortunately I'm now watching the third season on DVD and I can say that many of the problems and issues the second season has are resolved.

So Damages Season Two is something that needs to be taken at value, yes it has flaws, yes it is not as good as the first season, but it is an enjoyable experience and it is most certainly worth watching.
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Damages was one of those shows that crept up on my radar after I discovered that Glenn Close and Ted Danson were appearing in it. Both actors who have exceptional pedigres on screen, I had most recently enjoyed Glenn Close's performance in the fourth season of "The Shield" and Ted Danson was, of course, fan-flipping-tastic in "Cheers" back in the day, so I was keen to see how he'd perform in a serious drama.

The show focuses around the dynamic between titanic lawyer Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), a young associate named Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) and their class action lawsuit against the wealthy Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson). Frobisher is accused of lying to his employees and attempting to profit from insider trading.

The series is most notable for it's unusual use of time, the vast majority of the show's scenes are set in the past - with only a few key scenes being set in the present time. These present day scenes are used as 'shocking' teasers designed to raise questions for the viewer while also teasing unthinkable events and placing characters in bizarre situations. It's an interesting concept that demonstrates just how important the journey can be when you're understanding how someone got there, not entirely original in the media of film (Memento being the classic example for playing with time and the perception of it).

Patty Hewes is a sharp, dangerous litgator at the top of her game, she's aided by her right hand man - Tom Shayes (Tate Donovan) and her Uncle Pete. As time passes Patty comes to allow the young Ellen Parsons further and further into her business and her life, with events that suggest (given the unusual timeline in the show) a bad end for Ellen and her fiance David Conner (Noah Bean).

Damages is an intense, fun ride of a show through a twisty plot that barely enters the courtroom at all. It's somewhat surprising at first, but despite being a legal drama very little of the action takes place in the courts. The show instead looks at the surrounding work involved in building a case, especially when dealing with someone as powerful, clever and duplicitous as someone like Patty Hewes. The show racks up the tension with every passing moment and thanks to clever dialog and brilliant characterisation it works beautifully. Cumulating in a stunning season finale that brings everything to a head, answering the questions you will have had along the way and then leaving you wanting more while wondering 'what's next for these characters?'

Particular praise must be lumped onto Glenn Close, her performance is key to the show and she really excels in the role. Damages came into being after her appearance in The Shield's 4th season and I think it is fair to say her observations and experiences near Michael Chiklis's blistering (and career defining) portrayal of Detective Vic Mackey have had some influence on Patty Hewes. At times she manages to display the same duality of purpose and even on occasion she holds similar facial expressions to Vic's. This is not to take anything away from Glenn herself, she's an accomplished and quite brilliant bunny boiler - but like any great actor she's capable of cribbing from others and improving on her game.

Ted Danson is likewise fantastic, his performance as Arthur Frobisher is a long leap from the bartender Sam but he handles it with aplomb and poise. He walks a fine line between being a detestable cartoon villain and being a reasonable (if unpleasant) human being with understandable objectives and believable motives. I know Frobisher is one of the outright bad guys of the piece (being the target of the class action suit etc etc), but I still can't help but appreciate the guy.

One of my favourite cast members is Anastasia Griffith whom I think is just wonderful as Katie Conner, but the powerhouse performances come from Glenn Close, Ted Danson and the brilliant Zeljko Ivanek (as Ray Fisk). Zeljko in particular is a favourite of mine from the superb 1990s show Homicide: Life on the Street and I'm thrilled to say he's as good in Damages as he was in that show, but it's hardly surprising as Zeljko tends to be superb whenever he's on screen.

In fact the only cast member I'd say feels a little out of her depth is Rose Byrne, she's adequate as Ellen - but at times her performance is a little wooden. As she's often in a reactive role this isn't too bad to deal with, but occasionally I do find myself feeling unengaged with her character because of it. I'm not sure if this is an intentional performance or just caused by a lack of experience as a leading character in a TV series, but it is a shame at times.

This minor grip aside, the first season of Damages is a whistle stop tour of a story told through time, space and the world of lawyers. It's an awesome experience that will get the blood rising and leave you wanting more.

It also has one of the best (and most appropriate) TV Themes of all time. So what are you waiting for? Hurry up and check out the first season of Damages, otherwise - by the time I'm through with you, there won't be anything left!



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Mongrels is a strange beast of a show to try and describe, it was initially recommended to me by my father - a lover of the following categories of shows Science Fiction, British Sitcoms, Documentaries and "sick" comedy (and probably others, but these seem to be the types he recommends to me). There's a fair amount of crossover between the shows we enjoy, so it's always enough for me to check out a show he's recommended.

To quote here's the recommendation I got from him with Mongrels "You've got to see Mongrels, it's this sick show about animal puppets. Really funny, but disgusting as well."

My curiosity was peaked enough to give one episode a try on the BBC iPlayer and I enjoyed it enough to pick up the entire first season on DVD.

I think you can encapsulate the essence of Mongrels with the following description; it's an adult orientated sitcom in the vein of the Muppet Show. It centres around five animals who live in (or near) the back yard of a pub. There's Nelson (voiced by Rufus Jones), a metrosexual fox and the slightly neurotic lead of the show; his best friend Marion (Daniel Tetsell), a stray cat of an indeterminate origion who is best described as being - off the wall and easily persuaded into bizzare acts. Nelson has a crush on Destiny (the beautiful and hilarious Lucy Montgomery -
whos performances here, in The IT Crowd and "The Armstrong and Miller Show" contines the trend of my favourite actresses being called Lucy - she's now in the Lucy Hall of Fame along with alltime favourite Lucy Porter) an beautiful afgan of questionable intelligence; Vince (Paul Kaye) a proper fox and general hard case; and Kali (Katy Brand) who is best described as a chav pidgeon with ideas well above her station. They're joined by Gary (Tony Way), Destiny's owner - who barely interacts with any of them apart from Destiny, existing as the token human in the show, while the animals can talk with each other, they cannot communicate in a meaningful and direct fashion with Gary (though they can communicate with other humans, it depends on the situation).

Visually the show is quite a treat, the puppets are distinctive and well put together, this combined with the superb voice acting and talented puppetering brings the show to life and is quite capable of imersing the viewer to the point that you forget that you're watching puppets. The stories are outlandish and deal with a range of "taboo" subjects including genocide, incest, murder, castration/neutering, forced "bum love", inter-species fornication and much more besides. Mongrels is a show that considers no subject too sensitive to lampoon and it gets away with it thanks to the inhuman appearance of its cast and the obviously "non-serious" intent of the show. It's there to make you laugh, maybe make you feel a little queesy and entertain you at the same time.

Mongrels is not a show to everyone's taste; it's often crude, low-brow and at times downright unpleasant, but it is also - most importantly - exceptionally hilarious and the DVD of the first series represents exceptional value. Two opposable thumbs up!
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I recently watched and wrote about the first season of Frisky Dingo, a mad cap jaunt through the world of a supervillain named Killface and his newly acquired nemesis Awesome X (aka Xander Crews). Frisky Dingo is one of those shows you just have to watch to properly understand the brilliance of the show; it's energetic, funny, clever and frat house stupid all at the same time.

The second (and final) season picks up a short time after the cliffhanger ending of the first season, in an act of teenage rebellion Simon activated the Annihilatrix despite his father's plea not to do so. (un)Surprisingly the world was not plunged into the Sun, instead it was moved a short distance further away from the Sun, thus providing a solution to global warming.

Killface decides to take advantage of this gain in public opinion by running for President, something that the now destitute Xander Crews finds out about and decides to foil - if only he had the resources that is. Ka-Kow!

Much like the original season, Frisky Dingo 2.0 continues to develop and evolve both it's storyline and its characters, often in unexpected directions. This is, of course, a fresh and welcome change when compared to the format of many other cartoons (and indeed sitcoms), normally every story is, as you well know, self contained in a single episode. Frisky Dingo flaunts this by having each episode be a part of what came before, the ongoing storyline has some benefits and some disadvantages. It does manage to provide a narrative that you become invested in, it also gives you a wild ride that twists off to utterly unexpected places - it's only when you stop and take stock do you think "how on Earth did the story get to this point?" But, it also means that the show is almost completely inaccessable to anyone who hasn't watched it from the beginning. Events occurr on screen that make no sense when taken out of the context of the entire show and I believe that's at least one thing which contributed to the show's cancellation (and might also explain why it's spiritual successor 'Archer' has self contained episodes).

The first season of Frisky Dingo was a parody of current events, pop culture and the super hero genre. The second season retains this, but evolves it further by providing a strong parody of the US political structure. Killface, a viciously sociopathic individual 'cured' global warming - so he becomes the Democratic candidate; Crews on the other hand is a rich, decadent individual who lives almost completely alienated from normal society due to his bizzare isolation due to wealth - so naturally he's the Republican candidate. The pair are both moronic, have terrible habits and have no idea how to act like decent human beings (or even be one in Killface's instance).

Still, they push on - Killface supported by running mate (and rapper) Taqu'il, campaign manager Valerie and global warming poster child, the awesome penguine Baby Lamont. Xander supported by his wealth and Stan - his attempts to recruit a running mate prove a little... difficult to achieve.

Frisky Dingo was (and is) a shining example of how surreal and yet fantastic comedy can be. The ten minute episode structure the show follows really helps - much like it does in Harvey Birdman - there's no padding out of scenes, it's just plot, set up, gag, resolution - onto the next scene! This makes the show feel a lot longer than it is and absolutely packed to the (crab) gills with just about everything you could want from a comedy show with a sick sense of humour.

All that said, if still you're unsure about trying the show, perhaps this collection of clips from the show will help.

Second thought, that'll probably confuse you further, so let me try this angle instead.

Buy Frisky Dingo, it's the true American way. BOOSH!
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Bryan Fuller, the name is now pretty much synonymous with oddball television shows that have an endearing lead cast, an unusual concept and rapid cancellation. He first worked on Star Trek: Voyager before creating the rather fantastic TV Series Dead Like Me - which was cancelled after two short seasons. Most recently he's been involved in Heroes (now cancelled) and Pushing Daisies (cancelled); so it should be no surprise to anyone that Bryan's first project after Dead Like Me was cancelled by Fox just four episodes into its run. Fortunately for those of us who enjoy quirky comedy/drama with strong and well realised female leads the shows first season was filmed in it's entirety and is available on DVD.

Caroline Dhavernas stars as Jaye Tyler; a moody, withdrawn 'Generation Y' underachiever. She lives in Niagara Falls and works in one of the local gift shops with a co-worker she describes as a 'mouthbreather'. Jaye is distant and withdrawn, connecting with few people apart from her best friend Mahandra (Tracie Thoms), even her family (Parents Sharon - Katie Finneran, Darren - William Sadler, Sister - Karen Diana Scarwid and brother Lee Pace, who would star as Ned in Pushing Daisies later on in his career) find her hard to associate with. Jaye lives in a trailer park and has little to do with the world in general if she can help it.


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Historically I've always had something of a soft spot for the more off-beat adult/late-teens targeted cartoon comedy shows that Adult Swim have put out. The Venture Brothers, Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, but I have been known to enjoy some of the others from time to time. Frisky Dingo has now joined the ranks of these shows after an impulse purchase from myself - the main driving force behind that decision was the name Adam Reed, creator of the rather great cartoon spy spoof show Archer.

Frisky Dingo is a show about an ultra-violent, sociopathic super villain named Killface and his soon to be arch-nemesis Awesome X - billionaire Xander Crews who has just defeated the last known super villain and needs to settle down and run the family business. Killface is a pretty unpredictable individual, and thanks to his incredible strength and psychopathic tendencies (along with his gun) he's a delight to watch on screen. You can't be quite sure how he's going to handle any given sitution. Xander Crews on the other hand is far more predictable, he wants to carry on being a super hero along with his fighting team 'The Xtacles'.

Each episode is little more than ten minutes long and it's filled with frantic action and witty one liners, much like Archer and Harvey Birdman the short length of the episodes is both a boon and at times a hinderance. The short length means that there is no filler moments, everything is set up, bang, pay-off and that makes for a fast watching experience; but also this means that there is little room for depth in the storyline. So don't expect it all to make completely logical sense, just sit back and enjoy the outrageous situations as the plot hurtles from doomsday devices to corporate life, then to home life as a super villain and eventually to killer bunny fights (which are even more awesome than they sound - serious).

Animation wise the show is adequete, but a little crude in places. It certainly holds to the stereotyped idea that Adult Swim shows are not well animated, but it's far from awful to watch. In fact the artistic style is great in it's simplistic direction, it's just the actual movement that's a little awkward at times. It's certainly not a deal breaker, but you shouldn't expect something to the standard of The Lion King (insert a more recent cartoon movie spectacle there if you prefer, I can't think of one).

Be warned though, the show certainly goes to some very dark places with its humor and as such it's really not suitable viewing for the younger audience - but for those people who are old enough and have an appreciation for cartoon violence, low brow humour and very fast paced plotting. Frisky Dingo is something worth checking out, and thanks to it's short run time it it's very easy to digest. As such I, for one, will be picking up the second season as soon as it's released later this month.


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During my sabbatical I've caught up with a great deal of television that has been sat on my shelves in the 'must watch' section; this includes shows like Mad Men, Eureka, Frisky Dingo and more besides. But the DVD I finished watching most recently was the third season of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, a season I haven't seen since it first aired back in what was it? 1998-1999?

I have a lot of fond memories of Buffy's third season, it's the season that took the structure created by the initial two seasons and built on the various concepts within. What resulted was the season with my favourite Buffy big bad - The Mayor of Sunnydale; Richard Wilkins the Third. I adore the fatherly persona the immortal Mayor projects; he's concerned about things like family values and foul language - but also the hypocrisy of the man knows no bounds. He's willing to steal, murder and do just about anything to complete his goal of ascension into demonhood, but then he complains about the decline of good old fashioned family values in America, beautiful.

The season also follows a lot of other characters and has a great selection - from the face/heel turn Slayer Faith (face/heel turns being something Buffy:TVS has a lot of), the return of Angel (in a rather "I was dead, well I got better" moment) and his subsequent departure to spin-off Angeles, all the way to the quite brilliant Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (though in Buffy he's nowhere near as great as he becomes in Angel). It's a season that's just packed with coming of age events and quite literally stuffed to the gills with amazing characters - fortunately at no point does the show feel overcrowded, which is quite an achievement in writing.

The stand out episodes of the season are, for myself: Band Candy (especially the revelation that Giles and Joyce slept together during the episode), The Wish (Mostly because of Anya - but it is a great 'what if'), The Zeppo (it's such a fun concept, having a sidekick character take centre while everyone else deals with some almost implausable situation that is just shown through snapshots - it also gives Xander his first serious character development in a while), Bad Girls (of course - face/heel turn ahoy!), Doppleganger (Vamp Willow is fun, Anya is funner and the foreshadowing of Willow's eventual sexual tastes is brilliant in hindsight), Earshot (for the payoff of the Giles/Joyce Band Candy incident) and of course the two part Graduation Day is a great closer - "Well Gosh!".

The third season of Buffy does not contain any single episode that stands out as 'one of my favourite episodes' (I might write about that on a future date), but it is a consistent and entertaining piece that brings many of my favourite characters into the story and it's a great piece about the trials that occur during the end of "teenager-hood".
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The fifth season of The Sopranos marks the moment where that legend of an actor Steve Buscemi (seriously, name something he's not good in) steps out from behind the camera and onto the screen. Taking the role of Tony Soprano's cousin Tony Blundetto. He'd been involved in the show previously - directing the episodes Pine Barrens and Everybody Hurts. Tony B's story is one of the major arcs of the fifth season, the man did grow up alongside Tony Soprano and, as it turns out, went to prison at least partially because of Tony S.

Tony B's story is a pretty interesting one, for those of you who've seen the season before and need a refresher I do recommend the wikipedia article on it (here) - as long as no-one has amended it to mention that Tony B was in fact an intergalactic time traveller from Vogon 6 who came to Earth in order to determine the secret of making really good cheese. (Unlikely as, let's face it, Americans don't know how to make decent cheeses - they'd be better off snooping on the British or French). Tony B's story is also strengthened by Steve Buscemi's unholy Acting Talent, (did I mention how good Steve is in his performances? I did, well let's mention it again). Fortunately for The Sopranos the show is filled with accomplished actors providing charaters that are deep, meaningful and very real - so Steve's performance as Tony B fits into the show like Cinderella's foot in the glass slipper (such a daft fairy tale) - he doesn't overwhelm the plot, instead he remains a low key prescence who gradually grows, changes and becomes more significant in an entirely natural fashion.

The rest of the season continues in the solid, real and above all else, brilliant style you should have come to expect from The Sopranos by now. Tony is dealing with his seperation from Carmella in the only way he can, by persuing Dr Melfi, Meadow and AJ are dealing with their parent's break up in their own ways. And Uncle June begins to show mild, early signs of Alzheimer's disease - which would be a tragic (if somewhat fitting) end for a man who lived a life that was pretty dispicable in the terms of normal society.

The mounting tension between the New York families provides another thrust of season five's plot - the struggle naturally has a great deal of influence on the lives of the New Jersey crew as they (in essence) live in the shadow of the "New York Mobs". And when other events begin to strain the relationship between the two groups things really begin to break out.

There's an awful lot to like about the fifth season of The Sopranos, it's on par with the fourth one in terms of quality and is a fantastic piece of television in it's own right.
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I've never been sure what to make about the genre of disaster movies, on one hand they almost always represent a struggle of man against nature which often involves touching personal stories and a strong moral about 'man's folly in over-reaching the limitations of the natural world'. They are also spectacular to watch with special effects that often push the envelope of your expectations for film visuals.

But on the other hand they feel rather twisted and a more than a little sociopathic as they always feature vast amounts of people being killed - often in ironic or unpleasant fashions. In some way they're almost the tamer, but genocidal version of the "torture-porn" genre - in as much as they have a great to offer someone who's just hoping to see a lot of people killed very quickly.


2012 is one of the most recent disaster movies, based on the Mayan prediction that the world will end in 2012 - it well. Does. Some science mumbo-jumbo involving the sun essentially overboiling the Earth's core results in the crust destabilising and lots of eye friendly cracks occuring all across the globe.

The story itself follows both the decisions of various world leaders - with the US President (adeptly played by Danny Glover - Predator 2) taking a major role in the movie - which is to be expected as he's the first world leader to be advised of the situation by the scientist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor - Serenity).


The personal aspect of the story follows one Jackson Curtis (John Cusack - Gross Point Blank), mild mannered a minor novellist turned limo driver. He's seperated from his wife (Amanda Peet - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) who's dating a plastic surgeon (Thomas McCarthy - The Wire). From here I think you can pretty much figure out where his story is going to take him, and to be fair Cusack does well with the role he's been given - but the entire thing doesn't hang together well when it's the group isn't busy running away from the latest disaster.

For myself the most enjoyable part was Woody Harrelson as paranoid (but correct) conspiracy theorist/pirate radio broadcaster Charlie Frost. Woody brought a level of enthusiasm and quality to the screen which lifted the story up for a while. I think a disaster movie based around his character would have been a fantastic prospect, and it's a shame he wasn't the central role.


On the whole 2012 was a decent film, but it did feel a little hollow at times. It was visually a feast, filled with exciting moments set against a chaotic backdrop - but the core story felt just a little flat. It's certainly something you'll enjoy watching the once, but not a film which holds up to repeated viewing. I'd recommened it to disaster movie enthusiasts, CGI lovers and people who want to spend a couple of hours unwinding and watching something which is full of style but shallower on the substance.


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The 1980s brought us a host of iconic, memorable moments/shows/films (and in reflection a lot of terrifying and naff ones), many of which are emerging as remakes/relaunches in various levels of quality (BSG, V, The A-Team etc etc.) Now it's entirely debatable if Sledge Hammer! is one of those former shows - there's certainly no signs of anyone rushing to recreate the show at the moment (but given the current trend for leaning on remakes and reality TV instead of working on quality new material, who can tell?) - but it certainly is an iconic example of "an 80s show" in many ways.

Sledge Hammer! is named for it's titular character Detective Sledge Hammer, portrayed by David Rasche - Sledge is a comedic pastiche on Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry character; with all the dials turned up to 11. A counter-culture dressed nihilist with only two loves in his life, the law and his gun. Considered a stickler for the law he's also something of a contradiction, his version of the law involves exceptional rough justice meted out in an increasingly hypocritical fashion. While he's brutish, lacking in intelligence and generally a pretty poor police officer he does deliver results - mostly through a combination of dumb luck and various levels of brutality.

Sledge's "carefree nature" and enjoyment of the job is threatened when he's partnered up with Doris Doreau (Anne-Marie Martin ) - who's not only a woman, but she's also intelligent and a talented cop who does actually follow the rules. I think you can see where this odd couple pairing is going can't you? And yes, the show does play with the 'mismatched cop buddies' theme as a part of it's satire. It also allows Sledge to display his massive level of ignorant male chauvinism here. ("What, you think all women should be barefoot and pregnant?" - "No, I encourage women to wear shoes") Doris is indeed everything Sledge is not.

Finally there's their supervisor - in a show filled with stereotypes used for comedy you'd expect him to be the loud shouting, high blood pressure "GET IN MY OFFICE NOW!" type. Well, he is! Captain Trunk (Harrison Page) is the archetypal long suffering police captain with an insubordinate, troublesome (but effective) detective. A man, who if events in the last episode of the first season hadn't happened [mysterious hint], would end up dead from high blood pressure causing a stroke.

Sledge Hammer! itself was a sitcom which did well with the critics but struggled to gain it's audience thanks to being placed in the dreaded Friday 9pm slot. But the show did manage to secure a second season on the numbers who watched when it was shifted to a better time slot. (Honestly I don't know why the American networks don't just pick cult shows with low audience numbers and relatively low costs to run on Friday evenings instead of constantly sending shows to die there. Suck it up guys, just air some cheap tat as time filler!)

Sledge Hammer! is something of an odd show; I don't find it laugh out loud funny, clever or exceptionally brilliant in any regard - but I wouldn't call it a shitcom, no not at all. There's something quite hypnotic about the broad characters, cartoonish villains and ridiculous story lines used in the show - it's almost as if the irony and slightly naff nature of everything brings it together in some transcendent form of brilliance. It's not one of the 'so bad it's good' shows, it's more one of the 'so self aware and ironically in tune with it's ridiculousness that it's good' shows - OK I made that type of show up, but it's the only way I can explain just how magnetic Sledge Hammer! can be.

Also, this season coined the phrase "Hammer Time!" three years before MC Hammer would use it and at least one of Sledge's lines is (unintentionally?) ripped off and used by Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun. Two pretty reasonable impacts on pop culture for a rather obscure show - one of which is still going strong today.

Now the thing is, it's very hard to recommend Sledge Hammer! because it's appeal is difficult to define. It's not got exceptionally clever things to say, it's not cripplingly funny and the action in the show is pretty ropey at times. But it does feel like it's relevant and that it has a strong message of satire at it's core, as such it's for these reasons and a few other intangible ones I do own the first season of the show and enjoy watching it on occasion. Perhaps it's because Sledge reminds me of Stephen Colbert, I don't know.
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Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior bounced onto our screens back in 2003 as Tony Jaa's breakthrough movie, putting him firmly in place as a martial arts action star to watch; with his speed, charisma and accomplished grasp of Muay Thai he managed to make the rather plot thin Ong Bak into an enjoyable martial arts movie.

This was followed by Tom-Yung-Goong (The Protector) a film I know very little about at all beyond the fact that it was endorsed by Quentin Tarantino(but we all know QT is a bit of a movie slut, he'll endorse anything if he enjoys it) and that it is the most successful USA released Thai movie.

Ong Bak: The Beginning purports to return to the original movie as a prequel to it. Now I'm going to out and out admit right here that I couldn't find a single way that OB:TB links to OB:MTW at all, not even the least bit. It's set in a different time, with different characters and apart from Tony Jaa himself being in the lead role it doesn't seem to have a single thing in common with OB:MTW - even the fighting styles used weren't similar. That doesn't mean it's bad - just that the title seems a tad misleading.

So as such it's best to look as OB:TB as being it's own story; mixing a blend of history and fantasy, which is interwoven with fast paced fight sequences and a plot which exists to do little more than string the various set pieces together. OB:TB is about the orphaned son of a warlord who learns martial arts from outlaws and then proceeds to beat all the salt in the seven seas out of a range of people with a variety of weapons.

The fight scenes themselves are a delight to watch, beautifully shot and choreographed with pinpoint precision. Tony Jaa is an accomplished martial artist with a great deal of showmanship and talent with weaponry and the time he spends training shows in this film. (However, there is one scene where he uses a pan long gun [three-section staff] and it feels that choosing to use this was a little overambitious because it's clear he's struggling to keep it under control at times and that's a little distracting.)

The visuals of the film are also stunning, the camera work gives us beautiful landscapes and scenes which are breathtaking. The dance scene is an awesome piece of visual cinematography and many of the panoramic setting shots are enough to make you want to pack your bags and run off to the Thai countryside.

However, there are a few fundemental flaws in the movie though, the first is the plot - which is exceptionally ropey and poorly laid out even when judged by the traditionally light and loose standards of the martial arts movie. Compared to classics like Snake in the Eagles Shadow, Young Master, Kung Fu Hustle, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Once Upon a Time in China; OB:TB is hugely deficient. In truth even compared to Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior it's hugely deficient in the plot department and that's really saying something because OB:MTW had a plot so thin I can't even recall what it was about.

Secondly the dialog in the film is rather laughable at times, the film bills itself as a heroic fantasy epic

Finally the movie itself isn't a complete piece, it ends on a cliffhanger and it is due to be completed with Ong Bak 3 - this is quite frustrating, but it does explain why everything in the movie (and I do mean everything) seems hugely underdeveloped. It's better to look on this in the same way people looked at Kill Bill: Volume 1. It's the first part in a larger project and as such it might look better when the rest of the story is released.

Anyway, don't get me wrong. OB:TB is an enjoyable film, it's just not in any shape or form a classic of it's genre. You'll watch it, enjoy it and then forget about most of it apart from the action sequences and the more brutal moments in the fights. And that isn't a bad thing.

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[Review for Series Two]

Make no bones about it, for myself Gavin & Stacey is the best British wait no, scratch that Welsh comedy to have come out in recent times (it is actually the best British one, but that's not as important). It's a show which has propelled Barri (That's Barry for all you philistines out there) onto the television map with it's wonderful, sweet story about two people and their families/friends coming together.

More than that though the show holds a little something extra where yours truly is concerned, this is because I grew up for a large portion of my life in the village next door to Barri and growing up it was a place we'd visit on the occasion. Gavin & Stacey embraces the town and the nearby areas by using parts of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan for it's scenes. Even the ones which are allegedly filmed in Essex are in fact filmed in Wales.

This does result in quite a few amused moments for people who are local to the area, but that's no more unusual than the reactions to various parts of Doctor Who - which has used Wales to represent many other places. And of course Torchwood has turned Cardiff Bay into a shrine for the now deceased Ianto. Certainly watching this show with friends and family does result in the 'name that location' game, something I'm only good at when they're using Cardiff itself, I'm not so great on other parts in the Vale.

I could carry on for a long while about the scenes and areas used in the show, and if I let myself - I would. Still, the important thing is the attention to detail the show uses. It's a series about the little things, things which make life the rich experience that it is. It's a series about romance, friendship and the differences between two cultures that geographically and historically are very close, but are absolutely adamant about drawing the line in the sand between them. So much so that people who live in England and Wales do not tend to identify as being 'British' but instead as English or Welsh. For those of you in the States (or elsewhere in the world) I guess this is kind of like the difference between New York and New Jersey.

Sadly for us the third series is the last series for Gavin & Stacey; which is on one hand a crying shame, but on the other hand it's following in the tradition of all the great British sitcoms of recent years - "leave them wanting more". With that it joins more recent shows like Spaced, Black Books, Phoenix Nights and classics like Fawlty Towers.

Like those shows I listed above, Gavin & Stacey also follows another of the great British sitcom traditions - having the writers of the show also act in them and give fantastic performances. James Corden is as great as he was previously in the role of Smithy, but Ruth Jones hits a new high as Nessa - her combination of rude charm, blunt responses and wild past experiences with famous people entertain more than ever; while her adaptation to her new situation with Baby Neil (as opposed to father Neil or grandfather Neil) is just a delight.

The rest of the cast are clearly comfortable in their roles by this stage and there's an innocent enthusiasm about the characters which I find both adorable and funny. Of course the absolute master at this is Rob Brydon, who continues to give a Shakespearean performance that is simultaneously deep and funny - but that should be no surprise for those of you who've watched him solo in Marion & Geoff.

All I can really say is that Series Three is every bit as competent, endearing, enjoyable and laugh out loud funny as the previous series (and specials) were. It's a shame that the show is over, but it's performance didn't have a single bum note and that's something to be proud of. Alongside being Welsh.

Which just leaves me to ask you.

"Oh, what's occurrin'?"

The Extras:
No Longer Occurrin'
Out Takes
Cast Favourite Moments
Photo Gallery

Details:
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Rating: 12
Region: 12
Run time: 2 hours 52 mins
Soundtrack: English
Subtitles: English HOH
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[1st Season review here]

That's right! Its the all singing, all dancing special 102nd edition of DVDs in Review! Now I know you've been waiting with anticipation to see what boxed set would be the focus of this very special post and by now you'll have realised that it's the much requested second season of that wonderful comedy show - How I Met Your Mother.

I'm actually pretty astounded that it finally came out on DVD; it feels like I've been waiting for this release almost as long as I was stuck waiting for the third season of The Shield to be released in the UK (for the record that was 2 years, 10 months, 19 days of agony and surviving on downloaded episodes) - now it hasn't been that long, but it has been over a year, which is a little ridiculous considering that the show is on it's fifth season in America.

[Don't worry, I'm not going to rant about regions and slow releases creating an artificial market and encouraging piracy today!]

How I Met Your Mother is a cream of the current crop sitcom designed as a self billed "love story in reverse". Narrated by Ted it looks back on the journey he undertook seeking 'the one' - the mother of his children, a poor, long suffering boy and girl who have to endure his unending story of how he met their mother.

This show is of course no secret by this time, it's a massive hit and one of the two shows which catapulted the wonderful Neil Patrick Harris back into the limelight (I guess Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle helped a little as well) by reminding us just how awesome he is. It's quite a turnabout from my perspective at least, because I remember him from Doogie Howser, M.D. - which in all honesty was a show I couldn't stand and only tolerated the end of because The A-Team was on afterwards. Yes, I think it's fair to say I hated Doogie Howser as a child - but I can honestly say I've got nothing but positive things to say about NPH.

I've digressed, onto the boxed set itself. It contains the second season, which can be considered to be the 'Robin' season in Ted's story arc. The first season was spent somewhat chasing after Robin and resulted in more than a few failed relationships on Ted's part. But it's also the season where Lily and Marshall approach their wedding, complete with all the pitfalls and issues that entails.

So many comedy shows are pretty much afraid of approaching a young marriage, preferring either to dance about with lots of close and "nearly" moments in order to avoid the "Moonlighting curse" (something I hate). Or they establish the marriage before the show starts and then deal with the comedy of a married couple. HIMYM instead takes the somewhat fresh route of charting Lily & Marshall's growing relationship and the course into marriage. Managing it with expertise and making it something both touching and exceptionally funny.

Cast wise things remain much the same as the first season; with Barney Stinson fully emerging into his role as the breakout character with the best delivery of lines, Robin gradually strengthens as a character and becomes more quirky and poor Ted remains the most boring member of the bunch - most of the time playing the straight man to everyone else.

HIMYM has been called 'Friends for the noughties', but I feel that's somewhat unfair a comparison, because in many aspects HIMYM is the more accomplished and enjoyable show - it has Friends to look back on and as such can see what will work and what won't - and as such it's surpassed the umbrella waving beau of the nineties as my favourite new york 30 something sitcom.

If you've not already started watching HIMYM, now is a great time to catch up on the first two seasons.

Details:
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Languages: English, French
Rating: 12
Run Time: 7 Hours 38 mins
Region: 2
Subtitles: French, English, Swedish
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I was a little mixed with my feelings on the third season of The Sopranos, it had some great moments - but it was uneven enough that as a result The Sopranos won't ever be surpassing my perennial favourites - The Wire and The Shield - in my top ten. But that said it was still light years ahead of most (non-HBO) television.

The fourth season, I'm happy to report, was a far more solid and coherent piece of quality entertainment. The family is struggling with tough economic times (sound familiar?) Uncle Jun is heading for trial and Tony himself is still struggling with his internal conflict.

I could repeat myself here by gushing about the performances, as across the board they are enchanting. In particular James Gandolfini's performance as Tony - he has this one particular expression which looks like a mix of a shark that scents blood and a toad at the bottom of a deep putrid well. There's something completely predatory and unwholesome about it, and it's always a delight to see him use it to express Tony's reaction to the situation. It's almost like he draws a foggy curtain over the front of his mind and retracts back the humanity, leaving only an animal in place.

I'll leave a further look at Tony Soprano for a later post, one which takes a look at some of the more... unpleasant leading men in television and compares/contrasts them. Suffice to say Tony's in the top tier, especially after his performance in this season (the horse incident is just superb in the way it blindsides you and then reminds you just how brutish Tony really is - if you haven't seen it, don't worry calling it 'the horse incident' is not a spoiler ;).

As with series three, series four has a handful of episodes which outshine the rest by light years - this time the vast majority of them revolve around the always entertaining Ralphie Cifaretto who initially joined the show in the third season and fast became a hugely entertaining arsehole of epic proportions. Whoever Did This is one of the greatest episodes of the show I've seen so far as is The Weight. Both of which owe a great deal to Ralphie's presence and general douche-baggery.

I think at this point it's also worth giving large props to Tony Sirico's performance as Pauile Walnuts - I've always had a fond soft spot for the character since the start of the show - and that grew a great deal after the quite brilliant 'snow' episode in the third series (Pine Barrens). He goes from strength to strength in this season; I especially enjoyed his completely inappropriate overreaction towards Christopher in Everybody Hurts - you can almost bank on Paulie getting himself into some trouble that's entirely his own creation any time he makes a decision.

I think it's fair to say that the fourth series of The Sopranos is quite excellent, I still feel that the first two seasons pulled off the strongest story lines - but there is no doubt that number four is a more complete and enjoyable entity than number three was.

The Extras:
Audio Commentaries on four episodes.
Episodic previews and recaps (for the REALLY hard of memory)
Recaps of series 1, 2 and 3 (For those of you who want to get someone up to speed quickly without having to rewatch the previous seasons).
Cast/Crew Biographies
Interactive Menus (Seriously, this is listed as a bonus feature. I wonder what the non-interactive version is like, maybe it tells you that you're not allowed to watch the show.)
Scene Access (...words fail me)

The Details:
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Languages: English
Rating: 18
Region: 2
Run Time: 11hours 48mins
Subtitles: The box only says English, but I found German, Italian and French amongst others.
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I've been meaning to write about the third season of The Sopranos for a while now, I'm actually close to watching the end of the fourth season at the moment of writing this. But I've been putting it off and it took me a while to understand why.

Now there is no doubt in my mind that The Sopranos is in the top 1-5% of television in history, and it's been utterly fantastic to watch. In particular the additional depth provided by the ongoing psychiatric treatment of Tony Soprano makes it a delight to watch. James Gandolfini (in addition to having a most excellent surname) continues to bring us a character who's both compelling and completely sociopathic - there is no doubt that he's brought Tony to life with such completeness that the character is amongst the greatest of criminal protagonists to have graced our screen. He's a likable monster who can make you forget the terrible crimes he's committed at times much like Vic Mackey, Shane Vendrell (The Shield), Stringer Bell (The Wire) and to a lesser extent characters Dexter Morgan (Dexter) & Walter White (Breaking Bad). He really is a complete human being, even if he's from the more loathsome side of humanity.

Likewise performances across the board are fantastic, to name everyone who puts in class work would be effectively naming the entire cast one after another. Returning (surviving) faces and new ones alike they're all spot on what they should be - even if that's annoying, amusing, disturbing or some mixture of negative traits. It's almost impossible to find fault with the performances as even if you dislike a particular character it's because you're supposed to dislike them.

The thing about the third season is this, while it's consistently better than (approx) 99% of everything shown on television, this season just doesn't feel better than the two seasons before it. The cardinal rule of seasons here at Rev/Views is "each season must be better than the one which came before it" and if I'm honest I enjoyed the first two seasons a lot more than this one. Don't get me wrong some episodes were amazing - Employee of the Month, University and Pine Barrens in particular blew me away with their stories - but a lot of the rest just felt par for the show, not terrible but also not great.

[Incidentally I found Employee of the Month a very difficult episode to watch, but the final scene in it was just superb. To take a character on such a terrible journey like that, and then to give them the power back is one thing. But to have a character so ethically strong as to not then use that power - it was just great.]

Additionally, the end of the season didn't have that same feeling of release as the first two seasons. They both built up to moments which blew me away and left me feeling justified for the investment of time. This season at the end instead felt more like things were just happening and it was setting up for the fourth season - there was no real over arcing plot to properly serialise the show. It was mainly life, happening one day at a time.

Maybe this sounds rather negative, and if so I do need to clarify that I was still enthralled by the show and it is no doubt one of the best shows in the medium of television - all time - it's just I was left feeling a little "that's it?" at the end.

Fortunately, the fourth season has been nothing short of fantastic so far. So seriously, if you're not watching The Sopranos (and haven't already seen it)... What's your excuse?

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Chuck's been something of an underdog success story since I wrote about the complete first season boxed set, it's skirted alongside cancellation and instead managed to ensure itself a third season thanks to some exceptionally clever fan activity. Purchasing Subways (a prominent product featured on the show) was a great way to show support.

Chuck's first season was a solid affair which I felt delivered on both the funnies and the spy action but in some ways felt a little limited by it's location. Much like Burn Notice it's a spy show which is mostly set in and around the same places, this is quite understandable it's cheaper to run a show which isn't jetting all over the place and instead has a considerable amount of scenes set in the same location - the Buy More.

The Buy More is also the source of the main secondary plot in most episodes, providing a contrast between the life of the spy and the more mundane lives of Chuck's co-workers. Joining the Buy More cast this season is the most excellent Tony Hale, who's character Emmett Milbarge plays to Tony's strengths as an actor but also managed to surprise me somewhat. My previous experience with Tony is from Arrested Development where he plays the hapless Buster Bluth, Arrested Development - needless to say Emmett is nothing like Buster, and that's a good thing for the plot.

But the most important thing, as I've written many times before, is there must be an improvement in the show when compared to the previous season. What's the point of having another season if you're not going to try and raise the bar? Well, I can safely say with confidence that the second season of Chuck takes everything that was good about the first season and improves on it. Exciting guest stars (even though Chevy Chase and Arnold Vosloo are mishandled as their talents are woefully underused when they're on screen), more action, more fun, more Buy More, more Jeff, more Casey - just about everything you wanted turned up a notch from the first season is. And then the season finale's dial goes all the way to 11 and leaves you wanting more.

[Mild Spoiler alert hidden below about the season finale - highlight to read on the page, if you're reading this with a white background all I can say is tough!]
I will say one thing, I do hope that Mr Levi has had some decent kung fu training in between the second and third season (I've not watched any of the third season yet, so I don't need to know) because his martial arts were a little rough in the season finale. Don't get me wrong, the moment was brilliant fun - but no amount of clever camera work could disguise Zachary Levi's lack of speed and precision. I don't know what it was like for non-martial artists to watch, but as a practicioner of kung fu myself I wasn't convinced, especially as the scene itself clearly draws on a mild homage of The Matrix.

That said, it was a pretty f'ing awesome moment which leaves me somewhat miffed that it'll be about a year before the third season is out on DVD.
[End spoiler]

The pop culture references keep coming thick and fast, it's immense fun to see men in their late twenties obsess about childhood films and just to go one better the show even casts people like Bruce Boxleitner (TRON), Scott Bakula and many more besides in what seems to be a non-stop homage to all the things which made the previous couple of decades so great.

If I had a major complaint it would actually be the continued will they/won't they between Chuck and Sarah Walker. It doesn't help that I find Sarah to be the most boring character in the show, it's not Yvonne Strahovski's fault as such, she's there as eye candy, to get into fights and to look occasionally "emotionally tortured" about her situation with Chuck. But as I've written previously, I'm tired of the will they/won't they trope and the faster it's retired from our screens the better. At least in Chuck's case it isn't to offensive and annoying, but it does hamper Sarah's character to the point that I'm pretty bored with her role in the show right now.

Sarah Lancaster is likewise a little hamstrung as a character, she just exists to do the same thing each week. But the fact that her scenes normally contain Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin) make them a lot more palatable for me. Still I hope there's growth in her character's situation in the third season - there seems to be room for it.

Suffice to say I think it's easy to recommend picking up and watching Chuck, if you've seen the first season then you know what to expect from the second one - similar stuff but better. And if you haven't, you can do yourself a favour and pick up the first season, they've changed the packaging now - the original boxed set was really difficult to open.

Special Features:
Exploring the Mythology of Chuck
Dude in Distress
Chuck vs. the Webisodes
Chuck: A Real-Life Captain Awesome's Tips for Being Awesome
John Casey Presents: So You Want to Be a Deadly Spy
Declassified Scenes
Gag Reel

Details:
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Languages: English, French
Rating: 15
Region: 2
Run Time: 15 Hours 14 Minutes
Subtitles: English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
Direct Link