I've been just thinking about some of the very best moments in television I've seen. Those moments which just hit you with the perfection of the story. Sometimes they are up, sometimes down. But always when you see one, you realise that the show has moved from just TV to something more personally important.

I'm going to list a few here:

As a major warning, there will be heavy spoilers to the following shows:
The Shield, The Wire,
Do not read on if you want to experience these moments without having the shock or joy of a fresh moment in them.




Big gap here as these are spoiler-riffic.









1. The Shield - Season 5, Final episode.

This is the single most heartbreaking moment I've ever seen on television. Even now, nearly 2 years after the events of this episode I feel saddened by them. Lem has been hounded all season and is at breaking point. But so far he hasn't turned on Vic and the Strike Team.
Shane meets him out alone, walks up to give him a sandwich and chats a little. Before dropping a grenade in the back of the car and walking off. It detonates and Lem lives just long enough to see Shane breakdown in the realisation of what he's done.

Vic's reaction on discovering Lem's death is iconic, but it's clear that nothing will be the same again and that this signifies the beginning of the end for Vic.




2. The Wire - Season 2 - Frank Sobotka's death at the hands of 'The Greeks'

Over the course of the season Sobotka grew on me greatly; he had a strong sense of personal honour and wasn't a criminal for his own ends, but to help his fellow Union members. He spent the entire season being fucked by the police all because he pipped a Captain over a stained glass window.
Eventually he begins to turn on the Greeks, but changes his mind and decides to go talk to them instead. Unbeknownst to him, the Greeks have a mole inside the police force. One who notices that Sobotka was talking to the police - despite the fact that Frank didn't actually tell them anything and had changed his mind.

Frank walks alone towards them, having told his nephew to stay back. His body washes up in the harbor later, without its head.

The Union honour his memory by declaring him head of the union for another year. "Sobotka for union president" posters crop up in later seasons.

3. Dead Zone - 205 - Precipitate

I talk about this episode here.

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003

This show has several fantastic moments. The decapitation of Shredder, the tengu Shredder, Bishop's first appearance and many more.

But the one I'm going to pick is "The Big Brawl" series from the end of the second season. It's a wonderful four parter that has the Turtles and Splinter involved in an ultimate contest of champions. It's high action, immense fun and you'll be suprised at the winner.

5. Boston Legal - Guantanamo by the bay - Cold Opening

This is probably Boston Legal's finest moment. Pretty much shattering the 4th wall in an ironic fashion. Jerry Espenson explains to Shirley Schmidt that he'd love to return to firm and thinking about it makes him want to sing out this happy song. Shirley asks him to hum a few bars of it and he breaks out into the theme song. I love the Boston Legal theme song, the Denny Crane kazoo version was fantastic, but this one is beyond all that. It's funny, enjoyable and just plain cool.

6. Arrested Development - Who is Mr. F?

Arrested Development is so brilliant in it's forshadowing that other shows should take note, the Lucile/Buster/Hand pun of season two was brilliant. But it's season three's Bond-like Mr. F sting that cracks me up repeatedly. Mr. F turns out to have two meanings, but it is the second one that's funniest. A mysterious pimp named Mr. F starts threatening Michael Bluth over a woman who Michael thinks is his sister, but is really a prostitute. Mr F. Turns out to be Franklin, G.O.B.'s offensive hand puppet. Then the Mr F. Sting plays over the top of the moment and it just becomes hysterical.

7. Futurama - The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings (Season 4 final episode) - The final notes.

This episode has it all, it's bittersweet. Has a fantastic musical number and is just sublime. For a long time I'd always feel choked up when watching this episode. The open and hopefull ending showed a real gift for open ended story telling. It could have been the perfect moment to end on, I'm glad it wasn't...
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The first season of Torchwood was a fun and entertaining idea that got mired down in exceedingly poor writing. The show alternated between being some juvenile swingers love-fest and a very poor episode of Scooby-Doo with swearing in it.

One or two episodes were quite good, but for the most part it was trite.

Still, I very much enjoyed watching it. Partly because it was so retardedly stupid at times that I was left speechless that the BBC tolerated such piss-poor programming and partially because I know Cardiff and enjoyed seeing places that I recognised on TV.

By the end of the series I was sick of the various references to "Jack being like Jesus" especially the finale. That made me really angry, and I vowed not to watch it again.

Then I heard that James Marsters would be making an appearance as a rogue Time Agent and I was intrieged. James was the one actor in Buffy and Angel that I quite enjoyed watching, he was consistently entertaining and a fantastic villain come anti-hero.

So I decided; against my better judgement, to give the first episode of season 2 a go. And blow me if it wasn't half bad. In fact it was quite good.

James Marsters was simply brilliant, I really enjoyed him smacking the heck out of John Barrowman and making the entire Torchwood team look like the bunch of idiots they are. While it wasn't the most intelligent of plots, it was a jolly cracking ride.

Sadly, John Barrowman proved to still be a one dimensional and exceptionally wooden actor. I used to enjoy his performance as Captain Jack until I realised it wasn't a performance. It was from the "Sean Connery school of acting" and not even a very good version at that.
Additionally Torchwood still seems to be almost full of almost pointless sexual plotlines, Captain Jack randomly swings more than a saloon door in a badly made western. Maybe I should watch the Children's edit as that will hopefully remove the parts of the show I find pointless. I don't care about Jack being bi and snogging men, that's not the issue. I'm just tired of him bouncing around from person to person like some kind of sexual pinball in a sleezy game. I guess if it was just Captain Jack who did it, I could tolerate it. But it seems the entire cast is totally unable to control their hormones. They are like a bunch of randy drunk teenagers at their school prom. Could at least one or two of them show some ability to get on with the job without lusting after the next quickie? Please?

But, griping about how terrible Barrowman is on screen and the sexual *ahem* "tension" aside. The episode was good enough that I'll watch next weeks. In particular the teaser section at the end indicated that Masters would be returning for at least one more episode. I hope he doesn't get killed off and is instead bumped up to a guest slot in Doctor Who. He was that damn good.

Better than last season for sure. But that wasn't hard.
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Last weeks season opened was solid, but slower than usual (and The Wire is a slow show to start anyway). So I pushed back watching the second episode till today.

I'm only just past the cold opening and credits and I'm already feeling compelled to write about it. The cold opening is a simple piece about Bubbles at an Addicts Anonymous meeting, it opens with a young ish woman talking about her experiences as an addict. The degrading things she did to chase her next high are not explicitly mentioned. But they are hinted at, which makes it all the more disturbing. Bubbles himself doesn't directly talk about his experiences (many of which the viewer has also experienced) instead he attempts to make light of it with amusing metaphors and jokes. But it's clear that things are wearing on him as he keeps it short before sitting down crushed.

Such a powerfull opening scene is part of what makes The Wire so great. We have only two characters talking a lot, one of which is only a bit part. But the writing and acting is so strong that the desperation and decay that is creeping through Baltimore permiates everything.

Then we're onto the season 5 cover of Tom Waits's "Way Down in the Hole". It's really grown on me this past week, I might like it more than The Blind Boys of Alabama's rendition. It has such a wonderful downbeat drive to it.

It seems that lies are a major part of this episode and even season. Both the media and McNulty are creating stories where there are none. McNulty in particular has lost the plot, as his tampering of evidence in a death to make it appear like strangulation (to match earlier post mortem neck damage on another body) is a new low even for Jimmy. Right now I can't really figure out why he's acting out this way, before Jimmy's motives have been clear if a little twisted but now... I don't know, he's gone way beyond his usual levels of bad behaviour into something that could end up with him being tarred as a 'bad guy'. As I said in the previous review, I think he's in for a major fall.

In the other fronts Marlo is pushing out again after the Major Crimes Unit relax their vigilance (having been essentially disbanded last episode) and he strikes out against people who offended him. Omar is on that list, but hasn't appeared yet. It's going to be legendary when Marlo goes up against Omar. Hopefully Snoop catches a bullet in the process.
I'm also hoping that Marlo's conversations with Avon and the "Russian" (Really Ukrainian) result in a return of "The Greek" I loved that guy in season 2 and I'd like to see the return of that organisation as it would tie S2 in nicely before the end.

The media section of the story still remains the weakest, Clark Johnson is fantastic again this episode. But on the whole it doesn't seem to have as much punch as any of the other parts of this story.

But the action is back and the ball is already rolling. Things are looking bleak in Baltimore and that means good television.
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[Spoiler Heavy]
First Appearances:
Major returning characters from previous seasons: McNulty, Bunk, Carver, Marlo, Freamon, Carcetti, "Beadie" Russell, Kima, Daniels, Sydnor, Snoop, Prop Joe, Carver, Rhonda Pearlman, Jay Landsman.
New Characters of note: Editor: Gus Haynes (Clark Johnson)

The Wire is easily one of the best shows that America (and possibly humanity) has ever produced. It's a pinnacle of storytelling that is for the most part unrivaled in the media. Only Dexter, The Shield and Six Feet Under come close to touching it for sheer perfection.

Sadly, this year will be The Wire's final season. This landmark television show that is hardly watched by the public will one day be discovered and held up for what it is. Seminal. But until then I'm going to mark the passing of the first of "The Trio" (The Trio is the nickname for the three best shows in the media right now, Dexter and The Shield are the other two) by reviewing , rating and commenting on every single episode this season. I'll duplicate these over at tv.com because I aim to review every episode of The Wire there (eventually).

Episode One - More With Less

The episode opens on one of my favourite characters; "Bunk" Moreland, interviewing a suspect. A section of the interviewing technique employed is one that first made it's TV debut in Homicide: Life on the Street (and additionally appeared in the book of the same title). While the scene is still funny even here, for myself some of the impact was lost because honestly - Homicide did it better. I feel a little dirty for even writing that; don't get me wrong Homicide is an amazing show, but The Wire is normally perfection. I guess that having seen the Homicide version last year, the humour just wasn't fresh. If you haven't seen it before elsewhere I'm sure it was more entertaining. For the record, I believe it originated from an actual incident at a police station - but don't quote me on that, I could be wrong.

Still as Bunk himself says "The bigger the lie, the more they believe."

I love that each season of The Wire has a new rendition of Tom Waits's "Way Down in the Hole". While it is still the First Season rendition by "Way Down in the Hole" The Blind Boys of Alabama that I love the most, this season's cover by Steve Earle is fantastic. It's got a real laid back feel to it that is simultaneously downbeat and lifting. It sets the tone for the show wonderfully and the title credits make it clear that the media is an important subject for this season (as previously indicated in various interviews).

The episode opens after the credits with McNulty and the rest in surveillance of Marlo's crew. Marlo is bright enough not to do anything in public and is even aware that the detail are keeping close tabs on him. Snoop continues to be one of the most unpleasant and detestable female villain characters in television history. I'm hoping she catches a nasty end this season, it would make putting up with her horrible voice and crimes all worthwhile. She's fantastic in this role as she's brought such a viseral response from me, I'd like to beat her (character's) head flat against the curb.

Meanwhile, Carver's promotion has proven to be a double edged sword. It is clear that his men have a lack of respect for him as their Sergant, but also they are in an exceedingly foul mood over the lack of overtime. Conversation hinted at in the previous scene becomes a hard reality as it becomes clear that the police department's moral is at an all time low. Considering some of the previous seasons, this is an achievement. The odds of being able to cover all of the police departments back pay AND future pay seem slim. Also, is Carver really wearing an official Baltimore Sergant's uniform? Cause I laughed every time I saw his hat badge. Regardless, it is clear the city and the police force are in serious trouble.

At Mayor Carcetti's office financial issues are clearly a massive problem for the city of Baltimore. Carcetti's response is to continue to cut and gouge the Police budget without providing any compensation for the force. It becomes clear that the major crimes unit is going to be disbanded in an attempt to save a few dollars. The FBI are also unwilling to get involved and help out unless Carcetti will release Clay Davies for federal prosecution.

The Baltimore Sun is a new arena for The Wire to tackle, it is where the issues concerning media will most likely be played out and it also gives us our first experience of Clark Johnson's character Gus. The same financial theme continues even here, with the staff concerned about layoffs. Clark's perfomance is immediately magnetic, if very similar to his perfomance in Homicide (but that is not a problem imo).

While the police force is struggling, life is continuing as usual on the street. Prop Joe and his co-op continue to go from strength to strength. But Marlo is clearly a disruptive element in this unit. He attempts to drive a wedge between Prop Joe and his Lieutenants. Something that may flare up later this season.
Also on the street, Bubbles is trying to get his life back on track. But previous mistakes and misdeeds mean it's hard for him to escape and move on. He is physically trapped in the desperation that many of the other characters feel. He makes ends meet by shifting papers on the street.

McNulty has discovered that Marlo's man Chris Partlow is interested in Sergei Malatov (a Ukrainian enforcer for the Greek from season 2). Does this show have a deep tapestry that reaches back into it's own history or what? I'm consistently impressed with touches like that (The Frank Sobotka posters are another such touch. I'd love to own one of those.)
In his private life he is still living with the lovely Beadie Russell, but various problems (including guilt over Bodies death) have caused him to return to previous form. He's drinking heavily and cheating on her. The shift back to homicide (where he started in this show) causes him to lash out. More than any other character McNulty has fallen since the previous season and if he continues then he's got a lot further to fall.

Herc has gotten out of the police force and is now working for Maury Levy as an investigator for the defense attorney. He's now sort of on the side of the criminals (helping defending them in court at least) and this could bring him (or his cop buddies) into serious trouble or conflict.

We end with McNulty back where he started, at his desk in homicide. Looking as fed up and depressed as many of the other characters must feel.

This season opener is less of a shocker - many shows like to open with a shock first episode - and instead it is in the traditional slow burn style of The Wire. Many potential conflicts and issues are groomed, it's hard to tell which ones will flare up and which will fizzle. That's part of the magic in The Wire, it's happy to tell a realistic story with human characters. People make mistakes, get frustrated, move on.

8.5/10 - Room for improvement in the pacing front. But that's to be expected in this show. A solid (if slow) start to what looks like an incredible season.

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Well apparently USA has cancelled both The Dead Zone and The 4400, two of it's flagship summer shows (and the reason why I started watching Burn Notice & Psych) now. Without giving either show a chance to wrap up.

It's not been officially announced yet, but inside sources are talking about it. So, well I'm pretty bummed out. The 4400's latest season was fantastic and while TDZ struggled in it's 6th Season, it ended on an incredible note that promised excitement next season.

I could take an announcement saying "Next season will be their last." As they'd then get a chance to deliver high octane episodes that finished up their big story arcs. But this just sucks hard as it's an incredibly lousy time to do this, it's going to be like watching Carnivale or John Doe now. You just end unsatisfied because the story hasn't ended.

I probably won't be posting until the 6th/7th of January as all the good TV has pretty much wrapped up due to the WGA strike and Christmas. But Season 5 of The Wire premieres on the 6th so I'll review every single episode in a spoiler-tastic orgasm of love. At least they are getting a decent final season to finish up.

FU USA!
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Right, well the final two episodes of Dexter were leaked across the internet and the sites I go to started to get so choked with potential spoilers that I decided to watch them and avoid having the experience spoiled.

If you want to avoid any spoilers walk away now....







Ok well what to say? This season was nothing short of amazing, it was tense and heartbreaking to watch. There were so many things that could have happened, once Lila started to act up it was inevitable that she'd kill a major cast member - the only question was who. For a while Angel Batista was looking like the likely target, then there was the worry of Rita or even Debs who Lila had shown distaste for.
In the end it turned out to be Sgt. Doakes, who is one of my favourite characters in the show. I appreciate that he wasn't slaughtered like a criminal and the moments where Dexter and Doakes talked openly were some of the best in the series. Losing Doakes almost hurt as much asa part of The Shield that I'm not going to talk about here to avoid spoilers. If you watch The Shield you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

I'm not feeling too good so I won't go into it in much more detail right now, but suffice to say Dexter was the best show this fall season and in 2007. It spanked the hell out of everything else in the Fall section.

Heroes Season 2.
Oh man I'm glad the WGA strike cut Heroes short, the writers need to get their act together and figure out what they're doing. Removing Sylar's powers, dumping in extra characters. Adding a "Get out of Death free" card and having Peter continue to do dumb stuff when he has powers that are better for the situation (most notable, him pulling the door open to the vault. When he could have walked through it. Peter isn't too bright, let's be honest. How he qualified as a nurse is beyond me, he's a freaking idiot.

But, the final couple of episodes did a lot to redeem the series. Returning Sylar to full strength was an excellent move, the entire Adam/Hiro arc was the best character interaction this show has ever had and the ending scenes were superb.

Of course, I can't help but feel that what they've tried to do is reset to start. Nathan is dead - again (he flanged his way past death in a wtf moment this season) - but immortality juice (aka Claire and Suresh's blood cocktail) is a total dodge on that if needed. Sylar is back with his powers, Noah is back with the Company.
I'm hoping the gap during the protest allows them to sit down and work out exactly what they're doing. Then write a decent plot that doesn't have big holes and jilted dialog. Because I really want to like Heroes a lot, but right now I just watch it for the scenes with Syla

Oh and hooray that bad Irish accent woman is lost in an alternate future! Begone!

Correct calls:
Dexter killing Lila - It was obvious from the moment she started acting up that she was a borderline personality. Her fate was sealed the moment she turned that gas tap and lit that stove.
Sylar killing Alejandro but not Maya - I'm interested to see if Sylar took Alejandro's ability (it would be prudent of him if he did) and also to see if he has Candice's (as he took it when 'sick'). If he has Candice's ability then he's going to be a major power for the rest to face.
Bennett not dying - I think a lot of people saw this one coming.

Incorrect calls:
Elle (Kirsten Bell) dying - I didn't want to see this happen, but her character seemed too one dimensional to keep. It seems now they're aiming at the redemption curve for her. So I think she'll have a reasonable shelf life.
Doakes surviving - This was made more in the vain hope that he would survive, I had no idea how he would. I'm gutted it happened as Eric King was incredible as Doakes.
Rita - I thought that Julie would be leaving Dexter this season, I'm very glad she didn't.
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I know some might feel this is a little early, but as the WGA strike has demolished most of the fall season I feel like posting my top show seasons right now.

I'm going to post them in categories rather than just a list, then I'll try and go with an overall top ten. Everything will be posted in reverse order for my amusement.

Top Drama of 2007
(The season must have started in 2007, so anything carrying on from 2006 Fall is disallowed)

4. Boston Legal - Season 4
Ah, Boston Legal. A shining example of brilliance adrift in a sea of mediocre 'reality TV/phone voting shows'. I've gushed over this show several times before, I'm not mindlessly in thrall to it, the switching up of characters does grate at me. But season 4's selection of characters has been brilliant. Shatner and Spader are still the main reason to watch, but Christian Clemenson is a close third.
3. The Shield - Season 6
Season 6 of The Shield was intense and a white knuckle ride from start to finish. While it was little shorter than I hoped it would be, it was originally intended to be the last season. So I'll forgive it as it means one more year of Vic Mackey. The Shield is quality from start to finish, I'm both looking forward to and dreading season 7.
2. House - Season 4
House has successfully shaken things up and kept the format interesting by the competition and I'm really twisting my arm by letting it get into second place. But it just pips The Shield and I can't really put my finger on why. I think most of all it's because I'm seriously impressed that the show was willing to switch up House's diagnostic team and manage to do it in a way that was both enthralling and natural feeling.
1. Dexter - Season 2
Wow, just. Wow. Last year's best show has once again taken the top slot without even pausing to breathe. We're two episodes from the end and things are set to become even tenser before we're through. Last year put the viewer right through the wringer emotionally and this season is attempting to up the ante.

Next year I'll be interested to see if Dexter can do it again, because it'll be facing the final season of both The Wire and The Shield. 2008 will be a massive year for fans of good drama.

Best Comedy
6. Scrubs - Season 7
I'm slightly astounded that I'm listing this here. I really thought that Scrubs was going to be tired and out of jokes by this stage, but it's not. It's still managing to deliver that bittersweet mix of wacky comedy and serious messages with ease. It isn't as fresh as the first few seasons, but short of some serious character shake ups no show can reinvent itself.
5. My Name is Earl - Season 3
Or can it? My Name is Earl has indeed attempted to reinvent itself, which was a bold move after only two seasons. Dropping the subject of 'Earl's List' this season has focused on his time spent in prison for confessing to a crime he did not commit. While the core concept hasn't changed as Earl continues to perform good deeds, the fresh location has resulted in new characters joining the older ones. My one complaint is there doesn't seem to be enough of Nadine Velazquez as Catalina this year.
4. Family Guy - Season 6/7 (I always lose track of the seasons here)
Family Guy has had a very short run before it's hiatus due to the WGA strike. So it's mostly made it in on the basis of the Star Wars homage 'Blue Harvest' and the two parter Stewie kills Lois/Lois kills Stewie. The cameo from Stan Smith and Bullock in particular was brilliant.
3. 30 Rock - Season 2
I watched the first season of this show in 2007 as well, but I'm disallowing it and just basing this off the second season. 30 Rock contains sublime comedy and the second season has been just as good as the first one. Jerry Seinfeld's episode 'Sein-vision' was such an amazing opener to the season and I always look forward to this show.
2. Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 6
I almost missed the release of Curb Season 6. Despite the fair hiatus the show was back on top form. Cheryl Hines was achingly beautiful and put upon in this season, but the real stars were 'The Blacks' and the season finale was brilliantly hilarious. The show is always such quality and it's astounding to think that they are mostly improvised lines.
1. The Office - Season 4
It's a staggering testament to the power of this show that the fourth season that they're taking my top spot with less than a dozen episodes AND they're on hiatus right now. The show is still just brilliant and is holding up exceedingly with it's longer length episodes.

Best Newcomers
2007 has been a lean year for good new shows :(
2. Burn Notice - USA
Burn Notice was a fantastic breath of fresh air in the summer months that don't often bring interesting new shows. Following a similar format to Life with 'Case of the week' plus metaplot it delivered witty and exciting episodes from start to finish. Bruce Campbell was nothing short of amazing as Sam Axe.
1. Life - Wednesdays - NBC
While Life has only had 9 episodes - 8 of which I've seen so far - it has consistently impressed me with its quality scripting and acting tied into a solid 'crime of the week' format that has a strong and compelling metaplot tying everything together. Damian Lewis manages to portray a very interesting, complex and compelling character who you can't help but like.

Best DVD Shows
These shows are based on the best of the DVDs I've purchased over 2007. In order for me to have even purchased them in the first place they must have been priced for a reasonable amount. So each one of these represents acceptable bang for the buck.

5. Dead Like Me - Season 2
I love DLM, so I was very happy to finally purchase it on DVD. It was every bit as good as I remember and had some rather excellent episodes as well. I'm hoping the straight to DVD movie remains on form as Ellen Muth needs to be on my big screen more often.
4. Arrested Development - Season 3
Arrested Development is the single best American Comedy show in, well this millenium. It's deep, very funny, clever and highly rewarding. Also it's one of those shows which has provided material for you to catch on later showings, in fact it's the best show for doing this I've ever seen. Every rewatching reveals something new. Add to this David Cross demonstrating why he is one of the funniest men in television (with almost entirely improvised lines) and you have one hell of a show. The final season is no exception.
3. Seinfeld - Multiple Seasons
Seinfeld has some of the best extras in any DVD, I can't stress that enough. Between the Sein-Imations, Notes about Nothing (two of the best extra's ever) and Commentary these DVDs have some of the best extras ever stocked ontop of a fantastic show.
2. Six Feet Under - The Complete Series
I wept uncontrollably when watching the finale. It's the only time in the past 7 years I've cried without control, I was even able to hold most of it back for my Grandmother's funeral. The end of the series was the most bittersweet and heartwrenching television I've ever seen.
1. Futurama - Bender's Big Score
I semi reviewed this here so I won't go into it again, suffice to say just thinking about it has me wanting to watch it all again. The Hypnotoad extra is genius brilliant as well. All hail the Hypnotoad!
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Well, what to say? Pushing Daisies is the latest offering from Bryan Fuller, creator of Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls. I love Dead Like Me, so I felt I should give Bryan's newest creation a decent shot. Of course I am aware that Bryan walked out on DLM after 5 episodes, so a lot of the stuff I love about DLM isn't his work.

Regardless, I read a little about the show and liked enough of it to give it a go. I'm really trying to find a second decent new show this Fall season, Life is the only one that's stuck so far.

Unfortunately I have an immediate problem with Pushing Daisies (PD) - the Narrator, Jim Dale. His delivery is just way off, I found myself immediately disliking him and then fondly hoping he wouldn't appear outside of the pilot. He does. There's something so grating and annoying about every single line of narration, I'm not sure if it's Jim Dale's voice or the exceedingly annoying X is Y years, Z Months, M Days, WTFF Hours and WHOCARES? Seconds old bit that set me immediately against the narrator. I want something really unpleasant to happen to him (the narrator, not Jim) and normally I like shows with narration. I find it very traditional story telling and cool.

Visually Pushing Daisies is the definition of whimsical, everything is idealised, stylised in a rather mom and pop 1950s retro feel and completely clean - even the dead people! It's like the whole world has been put through a CGI cleaner upper. This makes the show feel like a fairy tale, which is somewhat endearing. But it's the premise of the show that initially drew me; Ned (the main character) has the ability to touch a dead person and bring them back to life, he touches them again, they stay dead forever. Additionally, if he doesn't touch them again within 60 seconds something else dies, them's the price you pays.
That seems like a very cool idea for a show, with plenty of potential for solving murders and the like. It certainly results in some very cool visuals:


But the most interesting murder so far - Chuck (Ned's Childhood sweetheart) is solved in the pilot episode and you end up with 'murder of the week' minus an ongoing metaplot. I'm not happy with a series of unlinked episodes, that's exceedingly 1980s. The only ongoing thing is Chuck is still alive, in love with Ned and they can't touch each other cause she'll die. *eyeroll*

The cast is adequete and likeable (apart from the narration) but they all feel soulless and artificial. It might be the fault of the lighting/look of the show that does this, but they remind me of a bunch of dolls in a house. All perfect and neat.

I could go on further, but right now this show has not impressed me that much. It's just failed to have any substance and as such is a nice idea, pretty productions and (rarely) funny lines mixed together into something that comes out very humdrum. I will watch a bit more to try and change my mind, but when a show this new has me thinking "This show needs a shake up" it's in trouble and will probably depart from my viewing. Going the way of the polished turds "Lost" and "24".
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I purchased the first season of this show purely on the strength of The Wire, plus David Simon and the awards that Homicide has won.

While I'll get into it in more detail at a later date I just wanted to express how happy I was to find series 2 + 3 for $60 (total) instead of the $160 I would normally have to pay.

I've only watched the first episode of series 2 so far, but it was a doozy.
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[This post will contain nuts - and spoilers]

Well what to say? In a wasteland of poor new shows, weak returning shows and the WGA strike Life has been a little giant ray of zen sunshine into my life. Wednesday's episode "Farthingale" is a prime example of this. Within moments of the episode starting we're treated with one of the more bizzare and oddly amusing images I've seen in a while. The top half of a man standing on the floor in front of an open fridge. At first I wasn't too sure how he'd died, did he fall through the floor? Where were his legs? Then it becomes rapidly clear that they have been shredded, as explained the fridge door protected his top half. So I'd assume his lower half was pretty much instantly vapourised and he immediately died of shock. Before falling to the ground and landing upright like some tablecloth trick.

From there things just become more wierd, it turns out he has two sets of ID, which leads to two wives and from there we progress into understanding how he lived, why he had two wives and why he was killed.

Meanwhile the metaplot continues onward, the lead detective that put Charlie away turns up dead in the police station garage. Charlie is naturally accused and contacts his lawyer Constance, only to discover she's been drafted by the DA. Which takes her away from Charlies side in any potential problems, isolating him further.

We're given a few more insights into the conspiracy that got Charlie imprisioned. We meet Dani's (Charlie's partner) father in this episode, a man who Charlie has been told was involved in making a large amount of money disappear somehow. The plot thickens greatly and I'm interested to see where the metaplot goes, they need to resolve this conspiracy in a reasonable timeframe - dragging it out will just result in "who cares?" Lost syndrome. But they can't afford to resolve it too fast as it's the driving force behind the show. Without it Life would just be a set of unrelated cases, which can work but it would involve a serious rehaul of the show's style.

I'm thinking Season 2 or 3 for the big reveal.

But until then I'm happy to ride along on Charlie's Zen coattails. Especially when they're going to keep putting out quality lines like:

Dani: That's your theory?
Charlie: It makes sense.
Dani: That's why I'm surprised it's your theory.

Top stuff.
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Well I finally got my hands on a list of shows that are shut/shutting down due to the writers strike.

It's located here:

The relevant ones for me are:
Boston Legal: 15 episodes completed out of 22 episode order. Episode 8 to go out December 4.
Family Guy: Production shut down.
House: Repeats to air after American Idol in January.
Prison Break: On hiatus until January 14. (Maybe they'll get better writers for after the hiatus :P )
30 Rock: 10 episodes of a 22 episode season taped. Production shut down. Last scheduled episode, 9, airs on December 13.
Heroes: Heroes: Origins spinoff suspended. December 3 episode to serve as finale of volume two.
My Name Is Earl: All season 3 episodes completed.
Scrubs: 12 episodes shot. NBC rumoured to have wanted 12th episode to serve as series finale; creator Bill Lawrence refused to wrap series early.
The Office: On hiatus.
The Colbert Report: On hiatus.
Nip/Tuck: 14 episodes in the can; filming on 8 more postponed. Episode 5 scheduled to air November 27

That's a hell of a lot of shows I watch hit one way or another. Pretty soon all I'm going to have to view and write about will be My Name is Earl, Seinfeld + Homicide DVDs and of course - Benders Big Score!

27th of November is the return of Futurama people, and I could not be happier.
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Well, finally the second season of Heroes has managed to pull it's thumb out of it's ass and get up to speed. After a giant pile of filler we've started to reach some answers and interesting points.

"Four Months ago" (Ep 208) filled in the blanks between the end of the last season and the start of this one. There are still a few unanswered questions, the most important of which are "When will Sylar regain his powers?", "Which side is 'good' the company or Adam?" and "What will happen when Adam sees Hiro again?"

The Sylar question is just a case of frustration and waiting. Zachary Quinto is one of the most interesting and deep actors in the show. Sylar is easily the deepest and most intriguing of the various 'heroes' and my favourite by a long margin. In part because I always prefer the bad guy. One of the reasons I'm rather fond of Adam, he's quite possibly bad, but it's hard to tell at this stage. Hiro thought he was essentially good, he is helping and working with Peter against the Company (not to be confused with The Company in Prison Break) who it seems are responsable for the plague. Oh mankind when will you learn that scientists will always tinker until they create something that can wipe us all out? Hubris, thy name is science!

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Kirsten Bell's character Elle is not going to survive beyond the end of December (shame, she's a talented actress - but her character is to sociopathic to make it long term). Plus at least one of the twins Maya and Alejandro is going to go down. Most likely Alejandro as he's really felt like nothing more than wall furnishings. I'm predicting some possible Sylar involved death and then Sylar manipulating Maya for her ability (as it needs two to work and cancel).

All in all, it was an excellent episode. Best one of the season so far, but that's not saying a lot tbh. :P
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In some utterly incomprehensible move the BBC has decided to put the first episode of The Mighty Boosh up online before it's aired.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mighty-boosh

I'm not sure why they did this. Mind you, when I tried to watch it the sound cut out several times during the episode and the picture quality was awful. So I'm still going to watch it again on Thursday.

[I'd say this post contains spoilers, but it really doesn't matter with The Mighty Boosh]

The first episode of this series (sadly it's a 6 episode series - laaaame!) is titled Eels. Vince, Howard, Naboo and Bollo have moved on (as is traditional each series) and are now running a shop. Needless to say the format is still the same - Vince and Howard are idiots, Vince is loveable and successfull, Howard is a loser. So if you enjoy the show then you'll get more of the great stuff.

On the whole the episode wasn't amazing, there were many old characters returning - some of them proving you can get better from death in the world of The Mighty Boosh. While Tony Harrison (the tentacled head), the excellent Richard Ayoade as Saboo were welcome returnees and Rich Fulcher was so disturbingly brilliant as the woman - it's the return of the cockney hitchhiker that I found dull and boring. This is probably why I didn't enjoy the episode so much, because it was very much based around him.

It had some excellent moments, but it doesn't compare to last seasons Nanatoo, Old Greg or The Nightmare of Milky Joe

7/10
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[This will contain spoilers]

Ok, so now we're halfway through season two of Dexter. It's pretty much got Prison Break and Heroes beat hands down by this stage. But I have mixed feelings about it as a whole.

The big problem for me comes down to the issue that season two is just too early for this story. We've had a single season to establish and like Dexter and he's already being threatened with discovery and changed in personality? It feels too early for this, the threat to Dexter has come too soon and as such it doesn't feel like he has the remotest chance of being caught. Season three on the other hand would have really piled the pressure on for this, in the third season of a show (and onwards) all bets are off.

So instead I'm left looking at which other cast members are likely to leave. Rita is an almost certain loss. There have been off screen cast comments that indicated as such. The other major potential loss is Doakes*. Which I think would be a serious loss to the show, Doakes is an excellent foil for Dexter - the premise of the second book by Jeff Lindsey is "What happens when Doakes and Dexter are forced to work together?" That's something I want to see happen.
Mind you, it is a lot of fun watching Dexter set Doakes up repeatedly. Eventually things will need to come to a head between them, but season two is just too soon for it. There's so much more to learn about Doakes before we do that.

Lila is the major issue in this. It's still unclear exactly what her agenda is, she's obviously a schemer and somewhat disturbed. But exactly how and what she has to gain is another pair of questions. She's systematically driven Dexter away from Rita and the kids, it could just be simple desire that's made her do this. But it feels far more cold and calculating. I wouldn't be suprised if we discover that she's a killer in her own right. It would certainly fit the way she behaves and the bond she seems to share with Dexter. It would also provide a suitably ironic end to the season. Dexter once again being forced to kill someone very close to him.

The show feels like a train hurtling towards a dramatic confrontation & crash. The problem I'm having is I still don't know what this confrontation is going to be. What's going to bring things to a head? By this time last year a solid direction had shaped up and we were prepared for the Rudy/Dexter head to head.

I'm sure once I know where this season is going, and look back on it all in hindsight it will be a much more enjoyable experience. Till then I'm just going to have to sit back and enjoy the ride.

*Anyone else noticed that Eric King's name is the only one which flashes and disappears in the opening credits? Is that relevant/important in some way?
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Frankly I don't blame the Writers Guild of America for going on strike. Writers really are the life blood of television; no matter how good your actors/producers/directors/editors/best boy etc are, the writing is the foundation.

I can't help but wonder how disruptive this will be. A lot of the new shows are going to get crucified through this. It's quite possible a huge swathe of promising new TV will get killed off, with a little luck Lost will die as well.

That would be a nice bonus.

Yeah Lost sucks, you heard me.

Anyway, like I said - I don't blame them. Not one bit, it's criminal how little the writers get per sale. Frankly the entire entertainment business is a horrible place when it comes to money. The entire thing seems to be a giant mess of money chute, with the largest one dumping cash right into the hands of non-creatives.
The amount the public gets gouged for DVDs is a great example. $100 for a season in some countries - that's just ridiculous... Especially when the writers are getting what? Cents?

So good for them, no matter what kind of damage this does I can live with it.

Unless Dexter, The Wire, The Shield, The Office or 30 Rock get destroyed as a consequence... Then there will be hell to pay WGA, HELL!
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I'm going to quickly sum up each show I've been watching from this fall season in a single sentence.

Prison Break - Getting close to jumping the shark.

Heroes - Not very gripping, needs work.

House - The new shake up has made things very interesting

The Office - Comedy gold all the way.

30 Rock - Sein-vision was the single funniest concept I've seen so far this year.

My Name is Earl - Unsure about the new direction of the show, didn't think it needed this much of a switch up.

Scrubs - Funny but looking tired.

Nip/Tuck - Only seen the one episode so far, but it was a doozy.

Dexter - As outstanding as ever, but the plot would have been better served in season three.

Family Guy - Amazingly it's still funny.

American Dad - Not so great this year so far.

Life - The stand out new show so far, cast is a little thin in quantity though.

On the whole I'm a bit disappointed with the various drama shows, especially the Monday night pair (Prison Break + Heroes). Very few of the new shows have been interesting and as such it feels like a lean season for quality tv. In particular Dexter hasn't been as good as it's first season, it's still miles better than Heroes & Prison Break. But there just seems to be that edge missing to the show. I'll write about it more after this Sundays episode.

Or maybe it's because I'm sat on the edge of my seat waiting for the final seasons for The Wire and The Shield. I don't know. I've also been watching seasons 1 to 8 of Seinfeld again (thanks to 30 Rock having Jerry as a guest star...)
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Well my computer blew up, literally. So I had to replace it. Then I forgot my login details for this blog and ridiculously old fraud got fired on House M.D. so I've been too depressed to write about anything.

I hope he gets a permanent role in the show somehow, he was awesome.

Something more coherent tomorrow when I've caught up with Heroes, Life, Prison Break and watched all of Thursday's awesome comedy line up.
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Probably old news for some. But I've only just discovered that Dead Like Me will be returning in the form of at least one direct to DVD movie. Something that Futurama (yay!) is also doing this year.

I'm excited about it, but a little disappointed that.
a) Mandy Patkin is not attached to the film. Bad Mandy!
and
b) Laura Harris has been replaced by Sarah Wynter for the role of Daisy.

Now the first one isn't too bad, as long as they don't completely write the character of Rube out of the series. At least leave a window for him guys...

The second one is a disaster imo, Daisy wasn't really that essential a character anyway. She could easily have been replaced with another female lead, instead we have a horrible soap opera 'body swap' situation.

I'm not sure this is going to work out well or not. But I'll certainly pick it up as I adore Ellen Muth.

On a slight side note. Mandy Patkin needs to stop walking out on stuff, I was going to take up watching Criminal Minds because he was in it. Now I've found out he walked out on season 3 despite being one of the leads. Damn it Mandy, you're a fantastic actor and a complete draw to any show for me. But you keep abandoning them...
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The Wire is one of the hardest shows I've ever tried to get other people to watch. It's a brilliant and deep show with such rich character and development that it's a joy to watch. It's the closest thing television drama has ever come to capturing reality.

And about half the time I recommend it to someone they give up watching it after about three episodes.

For a long time I couldn't work out why this was happening, then I remembered my own initial experience with the show. It came recommened by a friend, one who has excellent taste in shows and who's opinion on all things television I trust. (I don't know if you read this or not mate, but I have to thank you again for introducing me to this show.) So I bit the bullet and got the first two seasons without even previewing a single episode.
I remember very well watching the first season, while there were moments in the show that I found amusing and certain characters immediately gripped me - specifically Bunk and McNulty - but on the whole I was struggling with it. Then suddenly, around the 6th or 7th episode I got to grips with it. The characters and plot fell into place and everything started to flow.
Suddenly I went from being, semi-interested and occasionally amused into hooked. I realised that the more I put into the show; the more attention I paid, the more I got out of it. This show was not 'easy watching' but it was for those people who need a little more than passive viewing. It's one of the things I look for in a show, if the show can engage me and then ask very serious, deep questions. Or raise potent issues. Or even make me rethink my world viewpoint. Then it's a show worth standing up and taking note about.

To this date I've only encountered three shows that have really done this. Shows that really challenge me as a viewer. 'The Shield', 'Dexter' and 'The Wire'. I'm sure there are more out there, I'm constantly searching for them. But right now that trio of shows are my 'Big Three'.

So, as you can read. I wasn't immediately hooked by 'The Wire', but as I'd commited money into owning the DVDs I felt compelled to watch them at least once. To justify my investment.
And I'm glad I did. So if you decide to watch 'The Wire' and find yourself not sure, or struggling to get into it. Hang on, don't be one of the ordinaries and give up. Watch till the end of the first season. Then make a judgement.


Now, onto the show itself. 'The Wire' is set (and recorded) in Baltimore and features an ensemble cast of cops and criminals. One of the major features of the show is you do not get just a single side to the story. You get to experience the story from both sides, which is a wonderful method of telling a tale. But it does add to the complexity of the show, both due to an increase in the number of story threads and in the depth of the characters. It can be tough for a viewer to get to grips with a 'villain' who's not just a one dimensional "bad guy". Even 'The Shield' in all it's brilliance keeps most of the villains (outside of The Strike Team ;) ) very one dimensional. But 'The Wire' does not do this. Instead it presents you with young pushers who are doing the job because there's no other way to live in the ghetto areas. It gives you an insight into top level career criminals. It even tells the stories of dock workers, beat cops and politicians.
Instead of a simple show about some detectives who put up a wire and catch some bad guys, you get a rich tapestry where the lines between good and evil don't exist. Where the police struggle against the system to catch people they know are dirty. Where a policeman might just step over the line with both feet in pursuit of a bust. Where a lieutenant could have to make the decision between his career and upholding the law. Where a street level stick-up boy might just turn out to be one of the best characters ever to grace the television.

'The Wire' is not afraid of making it's characters do unlikable things, they're humans. They make mistakes, even the police. The show highlights some subjects that America might like to pretend don't exist. Subjects that include: the loss of the American blue-collar workforce, the crippling bureaucractic system and self serving career-jockeys that get in the way of police work, the plight of the ghetto cities and so much more. If any show could be called gritty and realistic this show would be at the head of the cue.

I've written all of this without even getting into the cast. There are powerhouse performances from so many cast members it's difficult to single out any one given actor. Everyone I know has their own favourite character, the one they identify with the most. Dominic West as Jimmy McNulty is probably the most central character (at least for me), he's the one who initially gets the ball rolling with regards to the detail. He's a tremendous asshole and tends to make more enemies than friends. Spending more time drunk or crashing his car than doing policework. But he still remains an excellent detective at times. But there are so many other characters worth noting too many to talk about. Bunk, Lester, Perez, Marlow, Stringer Bell, Brodie, D'Angelo, Avon, Bunny. Not all of these are police either...

There is one character I want to write about before I hit 'submit'.

Omar Little.

Omar is by far and away one of the most entertaining and interesting parts of the show. He's introduced in the first season and essentially is "A gay, African American stick-up man". He's portrayed by Michael K. Williams (he's made an appearance on Boston Legal in either Season 2 or 3) and is essentially a guest star in the first season. But it's clear from his time on screen that he's a character of depth and interest. Along with Brother Mouzone and "The Greek" he's one of my favourite criminals in the show. But it's very hard to look on him as a criminal, he almost exclusively robs other criminals (Modern day Robin Hood! Except he gives to himself and his crew) and he has a very clear code of honour.

Two of my favourite moments are "the f**k scene" (not safe for work), which involves McNulty, Bunk and a crime scene - Where almost the entire dialog is the f-word (demonstrating how flexible that word is - but you can watch it for yourself)


And a scene in the third season where Omar and Brother Mouzone face off in a wonderful homage to the western duel.

The sad thing is, The Wire has massive critical acclaim. People who really know their TV are able to say "Yes, The Wire is one of the best things on TV for years." But it's just not a show that's accessable for the mainstream viewer. Too many people give up on it because it's a hard show, one that requires work and effort to enjoy. But whatever you put in, you get out tenfold.

If you're at all curious, you can read up further in the following links:
HBO's Site
Wikipedia's Entry
TV.Com's page
(But watch out for potential spoilers if you go reading in detail about the episodes or characters.)

If that's not good enough, the show is rated a 9.7/10 on IMDB

Try it, it's worth the time and effort. Otherwise it will remain, "The best show you've never seen."

Listen Carefully
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I know that currently most people rate Heroes as the best piece of television out there. But if I'm honest I have to disagree. Heroes is good; I enjoy it greatly. But it's not the best.
The problem I have with Heroes is it doesn't challenge the viewer so much. While there are mysteries and strange occurances in the show, it's no more unusual in this than many other Sci-Fi shows. It also tends to make giant leaps of logic and provided a rather weak season finale. All of this said, I enjoy watching Heroes immensely. Sylar remains amongst one of my favourite characters of all time and the current plot seems seriously exciting.

But I personally feel the show pales in comparison to Dexter. Dexter came out last year and I was immediately interested due to the choice of lead. Michael C. Hall's performance in Six Feet Under was magneticly powerful, so I was immediately interested in seeing how he'd manage to play such a very different character. As I read about the show I began to feel excited, it was a show that pushed into an unusual field of television. Placing the lead character in the role of a serial killer is a bold move, especially in television. Books (where Dexter originated) can contain much darker characters as it's not so bad to marginalise the audience. Television shows on the other hand cost a huge amount in resources and time. So to commit to such a dark subject matter was a brave move by Showtime. (Showtime, you're forgiven for the loss of 'Dead Like Me'!)

Dexter is not a show for everyone. It's exceedingly dark and disturbed, the average viewer prefers not to have themselves challenged by the show they're watching. They like their whites white and blacks black, no shades of grey. Dexter does not provide this, instead it asks the viewer a very hard question. "Is a monster who preys exclusively on other monsters acceptable?" "Is it OK to kill if it protects the innocent?". Additionally confounding this issue is the sublime performance of Michael as Dexter, the novel provides a very dark but humourous vision of Dexter. You understand his needs, his drives, his reasonings and also his humour. Michael brings all of that to his performance and more. He dares you to like him, and you do. Even when you see the horrible things he does, you still like him.

The first season more or less followed the plot of 'Darkly Dreaming Dexter' but with additional material used to expand and enrich Dexter's life. It does deviate in a few key points, but I'd still recommend watching the show before reading. I found that to be the more enjoyable way to experience the show. But others have disagreed and prefered the book.
In a spoiler free version, the first season introduces us to Dexter, allows us to experience his life and understand "Harry's Code" the code of rules that Dexter follows strictly when killing his victims. A code created by his stepfather to protect and control Dexter's urges even after Harry's end. But Harry's life becomes disturbed when another serial killer moves into the area. A killer who takes an interest in Dexter...

The season was a whiteknuckle ride from the first episode to the end. A total tour de force in every aspect. It did not disappoint at any moment. From the very first moment I watched the opening credits in each episode I was hooked.

The second season has managed this and more. Dexter is in such a precarious position, society would not, could not accept him. And without spoilering anything too much, I've been sat on the edge of my seat genuinely scared for Dexter.

I'm actually worried about a fictional serial killer's life and problems. That's how good this show is.
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So it's around that time of year where I start wading my way through the shows that have been picked up and seeing which ones are of interest. 'Life' is one of the ones that's caught my interest enough to warrant a further look.

Life stars Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers) as Detective Charlie Crews. Charlie has recently been exhonerated for a series of murders he did not commit. Due to the length of his imprisonment, and the dangers for a cop in prison he was given a substantial amount of money (and allowed to return to the force as a detective) as compensation. Those of you who've seen Band of Brothers know the power Damian can bring to the screen. He's an accomplished and compelling actor.
Also of note is Robin Weigert (Deadwood) as his Captain with an agenda. She wants him off the force. And Sarah Shahi from Teachers (amongst other shows) as his reluctant partner and eye candy.

Now of course, the show already has a twist to push it away from the rest of the cop shows out there. That's essential in this day of entertainment. Charlie was framed and railroaded for the murders, but he doesn't know why. This metaplot is bundled up with 'crime of the week' cases, much like 'The Dead Zone' or 'Burn Notice' likes to do.
The thing is, alone that wouldn't be enough to make the show interesting. So the writers have taken Charlie and given his character an additional twist. He attempts to follow zen and as such has at times a very cryptic and unusual method. It also affects his conversational tone and dialog. But he's no zen master by any stretch of the imagination. He struggles to follow the teachings and is far from enlightened.
What this gives us is a character who attempts to be calm on the surface, while underneath there is turmoil and a driving need to find out why he was framed. He's alternately amusing and deep, in some small way he reminds me of House.

The most developed (if two episodes is developed) of the other characters is his partner. While the details of her life are still kept somewhat vague it's clearly established from the start that she has issues. She's in rehab and goes out seeking one night stands. She also somewhat resents Crews, but also seems to understand that he's a good cop and a man who was greatly wronged.

Anyway, it's hard to talk about much more when I've only seen 1h30mins of the show. But it's interesting, has fast paced and amusing dialog with an interesting metaplot to tie progression together. If you like cop shows, investigative shows or just quirky characters I'd recommend giving it a look.

Right now tv.com has it rated at a 9.1 - I wouldn't go that high but it's certainly pushed in with a high 8 and shows signs of growing from there.
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[This post certainly contains spoilers - about Prison Break and House M.D.]

Ok well I wanted to wait a while and see what direction several shows were taking before I posted about them. I've now watched the first 4 eps of PB and 3 of Heroes, not enough to know exactly what direction they're planning, but enough to get a taste. House I'm still undecided on, I'm loving the idea of a new team (plus keeping the original team around in different roles) but I'm worried they're just going to put the original team back together after a while. I prefer the team of ridiculously old, old fraud, mormon, evil bitch and #13 over Foreman, Cameron and Chase.

I'll start with:

Prison Break - S3 Eps 1 - 4
First of all, it seems I spoke too soon about the Sarah Tancredi situation. After the end of episode 3 I was pretty sure we were facing a homage of 'Se7en' aka head in a box and it turns out we were. So apparently Sarah is dead and Lincon is keeping it from Michael. I say apparently because honestly I'm not convinced yet.

There are two options here, first of all. She's dead, gone and that's it. Quite likely, because how many people come back from being beheaded and having their bonce express mailed to the brother of the man you love? Prison Break has already set the trend of doing this, Veronica was just gunned down in the early stages of Season 2. Prison Break is a major sausage-fest, women in the show either disappear, leave quickly or die. Killing off Sarah is just following the form of the misogynistic tendencies of the writers - "Kill off the pretty women, give us sweaty men!"
On the other hand, Sarah is a major character. Both in the previous plotting and fan-base. I've not checked the various fan sites to see the reactions too this, but I'm betting they're not happy. Especially the Michael-Sarah love fans. It's a pretty poor way to wipe her character out of the show, and there is a possibility that she'll make a return and the whole thing will have been faked. Lincon isn't the smartest cookie and the Company may have fooled him with, say a death mask. They'd certainly have access to that kind of material and skill.
This theory is of course exceedingly unlikely - reports indicate she was going to get killed off this season anyway and her pregnancy just sped the process.

Prison Break has been floundering since the final episode of season one. Season 2, while entertaining was not the same show as season one. Not by any stretch of the imagination. So many elemental parts were lost or made meaningless. Schofield's tatoos, Fibonachi, Sarah, Veronica, etc. But most notable is the complete loss of Michaels intelligence. Since he uttered the words "We run!" at the end of Season 1 he's gotten as dumb as a post. Admittedly a post that women like to lust after (shame he can't take his shirt off anymore eh ladies?), but a seriously dumb one.

Does this sound like the Michael Schofield in season 2?
"Michael has been clinically diagnosed with low latent inhibition, a condition in which his brain is more open to incoming stimuli in the surrounding environment. As a result he is unable to block out peripheral information and instead processes every aspect and detail of any given stimulus. This, combined with a high IQ, as a psychiatrist explains in the episode "Tweener", theoretically makes him a creative genius."
(From wikipedia's entry on Michael Schofield)

He's pretty much lost all of that ability - but it seems (in the latest episode) it's come back somewhat. He seems to have a plan and an ability to pay attention/second guess people. Well people who aren't Mahone anyway... Ok, he's out-thought Bellick, maybe that's nothing to shout home about after all. T-Bag already managed it in season 2...
Anyway, at least there is some hope that his season one character has returned. Because while it is entertaining watching Dominic Purcell run around and look perplexed as Lincon there needs to be more.

So I'm interested and disappointed in Prison Break, they've failed to innovate or evolve and instead have returned to old habits (prisons, killing female cast members). But they've also failed to keep the good parts. Maybe it'll change, Dominic and Robert Knepper (T-Bag) will keep me watching for a while yet.

Oh, and as a brief aside. I really hope that Robert Wisdom's role in Prison Break doesn't stop him coming back for the final season of 'The Wire'. 'The Wire' > 'Prison Break' and I'd love to see him at least guest star in it's swan song season.

Season so far 6.5/10
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Boston Legal

I feel that the rest of this post is pretty much preaching to the choir. Boston Legal is already massive, but more praise never hurts.

[This post may contain nuts... and mild spoilers]

Boston Legal was created by David E. Kelley (Yeah, the man responsable for Ally McBeal - don't hold it against him!) and is essentially a follow on/spin off from The Practice. Unsuprisingly it is set in Boston and involves a legal firm. While this is hardly new ground for David, the man has honed the art of the legal show to a fine point. Boston Legal shows off his art in every way, shape and form possible.

The show literally shines with polish; it's sleek, beautiful, well edited, has blistering pacing, a punchy dialog to match, superb sets and a truely awesome and catchy theme song. A show that doesn't take itself too seriously (it almost breaks the fourth wall on several occasions.) But all of this slick, polish and shine is simply the backdrop to some star performances.

The most obvious of these are the performances from James Spader (3 Emmys for the role) and William Shatner (2!) . The show was pretty much created with them in mind and they are such an excellent pairing. James manages to play a very complex individual; Alan Shore is simultaneously arrogant and humble, hard and caring and so many more conflicting attributes in one. He's very much got a hard exterior with a soft interior and then another hard part. It's refreshing to see an actor who's so willing to perform such unlikable deeds and still be understandable.
William Shatner on the other hand plays a man with alltogether more simple motives, he's very much the true blooded American. Happiest when eating stake, shooting guns or making love to beautiful women Denny Crane is a true red American through and through...
But, this said not even Denny Crane (Denny Crane!) is a simple one dimensional character. There's a great deal of vulnerability to his character; he's a man who was once great, in many ways is still great. But he's not the man he once was, he's falling - but still trying to keep a hold of what he once was.

While Alan and Denny are, at least on the surface two very different men. Underneath it they share a great closeness, they understand and accept each other with a degree of closeness that is at times touching. Boston Legal can appear to be a show about trials and lawyers on the surface, but underneath that it's a show about friendship and loyalty. It's this aspect that keeps me coming back, like Scrubs this show can be alternately funny and touching within the space of a single scene. Shows like that are gold.

I would be amiss if I did not at least mention my favourite character in the show. Jerry Espenson (played Christian Clemenson, who won an Emmy for the role in 2006). A man with unusual habits and attributes caused by Asperger Syndrome, a disorder that I was not aware of before Boston Legal brought it to my attention. At first Jerry is seen as a joke and a problem case in the firm, but Alan comes to form a bond and friendship with the man. Something akin to a mentor relationship, but also very much based on friendship. Alan is capable of seeing past the superficial and understanding how brilliant Jerry is at practicing law. This friendship stirs up feelings of jealousy in Denny, fueling some memorable conversations between them all.

Now Boston Legal isn't perfect, it has one major flaw. Apart from Shatner, Spader and Candice (as Shirely Schmit) any member of the cast is considered disposable. They can be dumped at anytime from the show and sometimes they are dropped without even aknowledgement that they're gone. Some of these characters have been cut because they haven't been working, but others imo have been cut because the writers have failed to provide enough focus on them. The character I feel who has been mistreated worst of all is Brad Chase, Mark Valley (the actor) has only been given once real chance to show his talents. He was brilliant in that episode but has been given the short end of the stick more times than not.

For the record the Episode 'Guantanamo by Trial' contains the single greatest cold opening in the history of television. Ever. Take that fourth wall!

Watch the damn show already.
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I've kind of held back from reviewing several shows that i'm watching (House M.D., Prison Break and Heroes) partly because I'm interested in seeing where they're going before I start typing about it and partly because I keep forgetting to watch Heroes.

I know! Sacrilegious and scandalous! But I've not even watched the second episode yet. Tuesday I found myself thinking "I know there's a show I watch on Mondays. But I already watched Prison Break so what was it?"
And it's only today that I realised I missed Heroes. I shan't be able to catch up on it till tomorrow evening. Tut, tut.

Anyhow, onto last nights offerings.

[This post may contain spoilers]

30 Rock - Seinfeld Vision
I picked up watching 30 Rock when I realised that Studio 60 wasn't going to make the distance *cry*. While the two shows have a very different tone, there are some parallels. Enough that I was willing to give 30 Rock a chance to grow on me. The previous season was good, but not amazing. It felt like it was missing that final bit of pazzaz to push it over the top. Last night it got it, Seinfeld Vision had that little something extra.

Problem is, I think that this extra is because Jerry Seinfeld was on the show. The various clips of him being digitally inserted into other shows was hilarious. Every moment with Jerry on screen was fantastic, there was a moment where I found myself wishing it would turn out he'd join the cast permanently. But it's maybe for the best that didn't happen as they'd need to re-write the dynamics of the show too much.

Alec Baldwin was on blistering form as Jack, the gusto with which he reeled of his 'summer hits' was so superb that I just couldn't stop laughing at 'Milf Island'. I still don't really like Tracy Jordan (played by Tracy Morgan), he's just so far out there and crazy that I find it difficult to tolerate him on screen. I guess maybe he's supposed to be like Chris Tucker, who makes a living out of being crazy and loud. But I just don't find it funny. That said, the scenes between Kenneth and Tracy - with Kenneth acting as his 'office wife' were very good. So I don't know, the jury's out on him I guess.

Very solid start to the season, and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the episodes.

Oh, it also helps that I think Tina Fey is hot.

9/10

The Office - 402 - Dunder Mifflin Infinity
Speaking of characters I find attactive, we're onto 'The Office' and, you should have guessed it. Pam. The relationship between Jim and Pam is growing and I find it very sweet and endearing. There's something about the show I find really lovely. While many of the characters are an ass one way or the other I still like them. Flaws and all.
Jim is still my firm favourite, he's very 'everyman' and also seems to take on the position of the viewer in many situations. I find his looks punctuate situations and really add to the comedy. Out of all the characters, he's the one most likely to look directly at the camera outside of interviews.

Anyway, while the relationship between Pam and Jim strengthens (I'm going to be so bummed out when they break up - and you know the writers will do it at some point...) the relationship between Dwight and Angela shatters after Angela can't forgive Dwight for freezing Sprinkles the cat to death. To be honest, I can't really blame her - it's probably the worst thing he's done by a long stretch. Dwight's poor handling of the situation taints his attempts to assist Michael in winning back some companies who stopped ordering.
Michael and Jan's relationship doesn't look solid either. While it's never been solid, it's Michael's complete inability to notice any potential problems that's going to hurt him most of all. In truth I'm not sure what Jan is doing, both with him and in general. She seems to just be going through a bout of depression. Something Michael would of course miss and then make a mess of helping her through it.

The episode was another 40min episode, which is interesting. I guess they've moved to a 40 min format this year. Which is both a bold move and a clever one, it could have gone horribly wrong if they got the pacing wrong or didn't have enough material. But instead I think they've hit a great balance that works. I hardly noticed the time passing. 40 mins suits 'The Office'.

8.5/10

I also think a 40 min format might suit 30 Rock.
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Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Jerry Seinfeld is going to be on 30 Rock tonight! It's like a meeting of awesomeness in my head! Even the advertisment on tv.com looks awesome. It seems that Jerry is about to be hit from behind by Alec Baldwin. Now that's entertainment!

" Jerry Seinfeld shows up at Jack's office in an upset mood after Jack announces his plan to use footage from Seinfeld to install Jerry into every current show on NBC, a strategy which he calls "SeinfeldVision"."
[tv.com]

Now that's an awesome plan.

More tomorrow...
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I'm finding the various attempts to include Sara Tancredi into the opening plot while the actress Sarah Wayne Callies is unavailable (due to her pregnancy) highly amusing. It feels more like they're trying to conceal a sudden (and really, really bad) plot twist where the girl kidnapped turns out to not be the real thing. We're getting views from behind, of feet and even bad photographs that are obviously not her. I half expected Schofield to toss the photo on the floor and whinge "It's not her." Then look pathetically at his brother and whine about how the writers have halved the level of his intelligence between each season.

[Seriously, you can watch his IQ drop from episode to episode. Starting with the "What do we do now?" "We run." moment at the end of season one. What use are your tattoos now Mikey?]

While I'm writing about PB, there needs to be more Lincon Burrows smash puny humans moments in this season. They were the best parts of season 2 and the events in Monday's episodes were awesome. He's a wrecking machine and as such I want to see Dominic Purcell placed into a western, cop or criminal film. Heck, anything where he can have a fight in a bar and dump people through tables would do me just fine. There's something so entertaining about his completely roughhouse brawling method of 'Throw myself at the bad guys full tilt.'

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The Shield

Starring Michael Chiklis out of an ugly looking orange suit 'The Shield' is one of the most innovative and exciting cop shows out there. It rates as one of my "Big two" police shows alongside 'The Wire' and has currently finished it's six season. There is one final season planned and then that's it.

'The Shield' is so unique because it has a fresh angle on the genre of 'Cops and Robbers'. Instead of a clearly defined line between the police and the criminals you have a group of policemen who are willing to break the law. Both for results and for personal gain. It's very hard to define the strike team - which is headed up by Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) - as good guys. But they are very clearly the center players of the show. At best they are anti-heroes, at worst criminals with a badge.

The core of the strike team consists of Vic Mackey, Shane, Ronnie and Lem. It's is their stories that we follow most of all. But orbiting around them are the various other members of the police station, refered to as "The Barn". Notable amongst these are Dutch, Claudette, Danny, Acevada and Julian but other characters are of importance as well. Even these other members aren't entirely clean, at times they're tempted to step beyond the boundries of the written law.

And that's a huge key theme of the show, what is acceptable in pursuit of justice? How far should a cop go? What happens once you've stepped over that line? Can you go back? The show delivers tremendously on this count, ethically and morally you shouldn't support the Strike Team. They do so much wrong, but you can't help but like them. Their actions feel justified as you can see the surrounding enviroment that is driving the decisions. It's wonderful to root for the "bad guys" once in a while.

Alongside all the gritty and dark tone of this show stands a subtle sense of humour. It's present in both the situations and the dialog. One of my favourites involves the shooting of a dog, a young cop might get into trouble for doing this. So they place a gun near to it, and I'll let the dialog speak for the rest.

Vic Mackey: Sir, I'm telling you, the kid had no choice. The dog was reaching. It was kill or be killed.
Rawling: Oh come on, Roy. The dog had a piece, he was gonna use it.

Such brilliant writing, injecting humour into the situation without making it absurd.

I could go on and on about this show for a lot longer. But I think I should wrap up here and summarise. You should watch 'The Shield' as it's a dark and gritty show that breaks the normal rules for the cop genre. It's fast paced, well scripted and is difficult to predict. Just when you think you've figured out the next sequence of events the show twists off in an entirely new and unpredictable direction. It's a bleak show where the heroes can only be distinguished from the bad guys by the badge they carry, and as such there is a very real threat of danger to the characters you come to love. You'll end up wanting Vic Mackey and his Strike team to get away with it all, but not sure they will.
The show is not for everyone, as many like their stereotypical good guy cops. But if you can take something that's different and challenging to watch 'The Shield' is waiting to amaze and wow you every step of the way.

To sum up, I'd like to quote Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach.
Holland Wagenbach: (about Vic Mackey) Why does everyone like that asshole so much?

Who can really say? I do like him a lot, I hope he gets away with it at the end of the seventh season. But I can't be sure he will.

Must watch!
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There are some shows that are truely special, they stand head and shoulders above the rest of television. Over the next few posts I'll talk about a few of them that I've watched and why I think they're must watch shows. But for now I shall just provide a short list, in part to get them down in black and white and in part to allow me a bit of time to work out how exactly to rave about each one.

In no particular order:
1. The Shield
2. The Wire
3. Dexter
4. Firefly
5. House M.D.
6. Venture Bros
7. Arrested Development
8. Seinfeld
9. Dead Like Me
10. Family Guy
11. Futurama
12. Heroes
13. Doctor Who
14. Nip/Tuck
15. Prison Break
16. Six Feet Under
17. The Office (USA)
18. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
19. Fraiser
20. Red Dwarf
21. Green Wing
22. Sharpe
23. Black Books
24. Spaced
25. Boston Legal
26. Band of Brothers
27. Phoenix Nights/Max & Paddy
28. Carnivale
29. The Scarlet Pimpernel (BBC)
30. Casanova (BBC)

*Phew* That's a lot of TV and I haven't listed everything I could have. I am going to acknowledge that there a few missing from the list that some people would feel should be on there; Lost, Simpsons and 24 for example. One day I'll explain why they're not on this list.
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