Another new idea - people tend to watch TV over the weekend so let's talk about what everyone's been watching on a Monday instead of a Friday. And since 24 and Lost are only a week out, moving to a Monday means you can talk about both shows, whether you're in the US or the UK.
The Winter Olympics and lack of Heroes meant there wasn't much new US TV week this week, but anyway:
Archer: Some more great moments as per usual.
Being Erica: Watched the end of season two at last. Overall, while they experimented a lot more this season, Erica's character arc felt less satisfying and the whole thing almost reset Erica's situation back to the start of episode 1 (that's time travel for you). Ethan's emasculation this season didn't endear the show to us either, since at least he was a decent love interest for her last year.
Being Human: Don't really remember last week's very much (that's how good my memory is), but this week's was scary in a different kind of way from usual (Mitchell). Not quite sure why Annie has flipped from wanting "door tuition" (you know what I mean) a few episodes ago to her current frame of mind, but Mitchell's arc has been great. Some odd directorial decisions mind.
Burn Notice: Not bad. The Chris Vance stuff is so much tag-on at the moment though.
The Deep End: Up to episode four, which was half dreadful, half fun. The romance between Australian guy and blonde girl is a little bit Sweet Valley High, but it's charming in its way; everything else, particularly the legal side, is like having a nail hammered into your head by someone thinking they're being zany.
Leverage: A good ending to the season, overall, but the lack of Gina Bellman for much of the season has been a problem for character arcs, and most of the characters have been treading water. Basically, not as good as season one.
Life Unexpected: A reasonable ep, but nothing spectacular, other than "Lux learns a lesson about responsibility".
Lost: Were those answers we just got? Or fake answers? Either way, a great Locke-focused episode. Nice that disability isn't regarded as an unhappy ending for him in the flash-sideways. And best name for alternative Locke I've heard so far: "The Locke-ness monster".
24: Someone kill Dana now. But at least half an episode of decent moments, with Jack doing a cross between Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon and the guy in Metal Gear Solid. Still needs more excitement though.
But what did you watch? See if you can cast your memories back to last week, anyway.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention the following two new HBO shows that started up and which I can't be arsed to give full reviews to:
The Ricky Gervais Show: Heard The Guardian's Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant/Karl Pilkington podcasts? Thought they'd be better if they were all animated, with Ricky Gervais looking like Fred Flintsone? Then a) you're a nutter b) you'd be wrong.
How To Make It In America: Supposed to be a comedy about working class New Yorkers trying to hit the big time through whatever pie-in-the-sky business scheme they have (selling fake leather jackets, borrowing money off a violent cousin, selling black-and-white photos). Actually about as funny as reading stats about recessionary economics. Does have a few funny moments and okay as a drama, I guess, but not involving at all. Still, if you ever wondered what happened to Shassyn Sossamon (sp?) from A Knight's Tale, now you know.
As always, no spoilers unless you're going to use the <spoiler> </spoiler> tags, please. If you've reviewed something on your blog, you can put a link to it here rather than repeat yourself (although too many links and you might get blocked by the spam filter)
In the US: Tuesdays, 9/8c, ABC In the UK: Fridays, 9pm, Sky 1/Sky 1 HD. Starts February 5th
There's something to be said for the "DVD box set" approach to viewing TV series. Why watch episodes live when you can wait until a season has finished and watch all the episodes in one go?
I'll tell you why I'm suddenly thinking this is a great idea - I've seen the first two episodes of the new season of Lost. Where's the next one, huh? Next week: that's where. What use to me is that?
As promised a short while ago, here's that performance by the Reduced Shakespeare Company of the first five seasons of Lost. There's an intro by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof as well.
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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