In the US: Thursdays, 10pm, FX. Starts January 14th, 2010
Who doesn't want to be a spy? Imagine the glamour, the excitement, the women/men you'd meet.
Of course, reality is going to be a whole lot different. It's all going to be screwed-up people stuck in relatively normal workplaces, quibbling about expense accounts – at gunpoint.
That, at least, is the premise of FX's new half-hour animated comedy Archer, which features the daring exploits of Sterling Archer, ace superspy for top secret organisation ISIS.
What kind of man is Sterling Archer? Well, imagine James Bond. Imagine his lifestyle, all the glamour, the excitement, the women – then imagine that instead of James Bond, you have an American, trust fund-holding, egotistical, self-centred, empty-headed, misogynistic jock douchebag with mummy issues.
I don't normally do reviews of current films. There's not much point since I always see them too late. But when I do see a film just as it comes out, invariably my review would be almost identical to Mark Kermode's. Case in point: Quantum of Solace. Here's Mark Kermode's review, which is pretty much word for word what I would have said. Loved the fight scenes though.
What's that? Is it the sound of something precious and beautiful being trampled underfoot by philistines and idiots?
Erm, no. Surprisingly, it's not and we have yet another miracle of the post-Grade age: an ITV1 primetime drama that doesn't suck, doesn't insult the intelligence and actually makes you hunger for more.
Any more of this and it'll almost become ordinary, expected even, that ITV1 dramas won't make you feel like you've been hit on the head by a six-pack of Kestrels on a night out in Malia.
Anyway, it is a truth, universally acknowledged, that all women of a certain temperament love Pride and Prejudice, particularly that bit with Colin Firth in the water. Many are the women who know it almost word for word; and no doubt there are many who wish they could be in it, particularly during that bit with Colin Firth in the water.
So Lost in Austen is quite a clever idea, even if sounds a bit daft at first: what would happen if somehow you ended up in the novel Pride and Prejudice, having taken Elizabeth Bennet's place. You're a big fan, you know what's supposed to happen, who's supposed to end up with whom and how.
About the blog
This is a UK media blog with daily news, views, exclusive reviews and good conversation. There's a bit of a bias towards the latest and greatest US TV, but we also cover British TV ranging from new Doctor Who to old Z Cars, Property Ladder to Big Brother, and BBC4 to S4C – yes, this blog is firmly part of the conspiracy to promote all things Welsh where possible, particularly Caerdydd.
Add in film, theatre, art, books, events and media journalism and you've (hopefully) got one of the best places on the web for media lovers. Oh yes, and there's The Carusometer, the ultimate guide to quality TV.
About me
I'm Rob Buckley, a freelance journalist who writes for UK media magazines that most people have never heard of. I've edited Dreamwatch, Sprocket and Cambridge Film Festival Daily; been technical editor for trade magazine Televisual; reviewed films for the short-lived newspaper Cambridge Insider; written features for the even shorter-lived newspaper Soho Independent; and contributed sarcastic articles about television to the blink-and-you-missed-it "web site for urban hedonists" The Tribe. I'm freelance now and have contributed to the likes of Broadcast, Total Content + Media, Action TV, Off The Telly and TV Scoop. Have pity on me.
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