An episode all for a line

My Name is Earl‘s second episode just aired in the States. About halfway through the episode, UK viewers, someone will say a line. It’s a great line. And you’ll realise the entire episode has been crafted simply to allow that line to be said. Amazing. I won’t spoil it for you now, but you will recognise it when you hear it.

It’s an interesting contrast, for once, with House, which took a sledgehammer out, smashed lines out of the way and put people through contortions, purely to get a character to say “cunning plan” for the benefit of Blackadder fans in the second episode of the season. Weird.

US TV

Review: Ugly Betty

Ugly Betty

In the US: ABC, Thursdays, 8/7c

In the UK: Don’t know. Can’t seem to find anyone who’s picked it up. But it will be. Oh yes.

“Telenovelas” are this South American thing (apparently. I’m just taking the word of others here, since I have no knowledge of the South American TV industry whatsoever). They’re like soap operas except they’re of fixed length, with a pre-defined beginning, middle and end.

Ugly Betty (aka “Yo Soy Betty La Fea”) is one of Colombia’s most popular telenovelas and now ABC has adapted it and made it its own. Given that the first episode cranked up 16 million viewers or so, making it the most popular of the new TV shows of the season, how much do you want a bet that ABC, the network that likes to say “Can we have more Lost? Or something that’s like an anagram of Lost? Or something a bit like Lost anyway?”, is going to be able to call it a day once the story is over?

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UK TV

Review: Galapagos

Galapagos

In the UK: Fridays, 9pm, BBC2. Repeated Saturdays, 6.40pm on BBC2.

In the US: National Geographic at some point

God, I’m getting old. Friday night and what am I doing? Watching a nature documentary. Sigh.

That’s not to say it wasn’t a very good documentary. Even if it weren’t about the Galapagos Islands, which I’ve be curious about for ages (even before Master and Commander whet my appetite even further), I’d have probably tuned in just to watch. It’s like The Blue Planet: you’ve just got to, haven’t you?

Still, and I suspect this was the real point of it, it made me wish I’d got high def TV.

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US TV

Review: Smallville 6.1

Clark and Zod

In the US: The CW, Thursdays, 8/7c

In the UK: Coming soon to E4

Characters re-cast: 0

Major characters gotten rid of: 2

Major new characters: 1

Format change percentage: 10%

Storylines rest back to zero: Many

The first episode of every season of Smallville is like a treasure hunt. Typically, many, many things happen in the previous season’s finale: people die, are trapped in inescapable prisons, learn Clark’s secret, declare their undying love for someone, etc. But somehow, by the end of the season premiere, everything will be back to normal again.

The trick for the viewer is to find the magic reset button. Will it be under a rock? Behind a tree? Disguised as a mantelpiece ornament?

This season, clue-hunters, the magic reset button will be disguised as a badge. A badge. A badge.

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US TV

Review: Supernatural 2.1

Supernatural

In the US: Thursdays, 9/8c, The CW

In the UK: ITV2 is currently showing season 1. No word on season 2.

Characters re-cast: 0

Major characters gotten rid of: 1

Major new characters: 1 (maybe)

Format change percentage: 25%

Surprisingly bleak moments: Several

The pretty boy ghosthunters are back. After chasing after the demon that killed their mum, while simultaneously looking for their dad (who’s looking for the demon that killed their mum) for a whole season, they finally caught up with both only for it all to go a bit pear-shaped.

When last we left them, they were all involved in a nasty car wreck that looked a tad fatal. Have they all survived the summer break?

Not exactly…

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