Year: 2009

US TV

Preview: Nurse Jackie 1×1

5 June 2009 Rob Buckley 7 Comments

Nurse Jackie

In the US: Mondays, 10.30pm ET/PT, Showtime

You’ve got to hand it to Showtime in the US. In the last three years, they’ve gone from being “the network that would like to be HBO but isn’t” to the near-undisputed leader in quality TV in the US. Californication, Dexter, Weeds, Brotherhood – the list keeps getting longer and longer.

Let’s add Nurse Jackie to that list.

If the US were to ever remake either Green Wing or No Angels and still make it a success, this it what it would come up with. Nurse Jackie is a nurse – simultaneously just like every other nurse but also like no other. She knows better than the doctors what should be done. She knows better than the patients.

In fact, even though everyone disagrees with her, she’s still going to do what she thinks is right to save lives, whether that’s fake a signature on an organ donor form or flush a criminal’s ear down the toilet.

Be glad nurse Jackie’s looking after you – but also be a little frightened.

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Sitting Tennant

Today’s Sitting Tennant (from Rullsenberg): Richard E Grant about to glass David Tennant

5 June 2009 Rob Buckley 8 Comments

David Tennant and Richard E Grant

Got a picture of David Tennant sitting, lying down or in some indeterminate state in between? Then leave a link to it below or email me and if it’s judged suitable, it will appear in the “Sitting Tennant” gallery. You can also enter the witty and amusing captions league table by commenting on this week’s Sitting Tennant photo.

It’s Friday and we’ve arrived at the first captionable seated David Tennant of the week. It’s from Ms Rullsenberg, so she wins the first three points available for best pic of the week: this sees a very grumpy Richard E Grant being teased by a very geeky DT who’s lording his superior performance as the Doctor in Infinite Quest over Grant’s Space Ghost-like performance as the Doctor in Scream of the Shalka. Watch out in case he glasses you, David: you know how violent these drunken thespians can get.

Here’s the picture board. Remember, the new rules are that every photo displayed on Monday (one per person who sends one in) gets a point, with a bonus point if it’s from the latest DT production, and the best pic of the week will appear on Friday and get three points:

  1. Rullsenberg: 26.5
  2. Sister Chastity: 20.5
  3. Jaradel: 19.5
  4. Rosby: 2.5
  5. Persephone: 1

We’re still on old rules for marking last Friday’s caption competition, so the ten bonus points in the captioning round went to Scott 2 (his new name to differentiate him from other Scott, who IIRC correctly is the Scott with the three points) for his duck house caption; witty points went to Scott 2 as well for picture 1; Electric Dragon for picture 2; and to Electric Dragon for picture 3 as well.

That gives us the following lovely caption board:

  1. Toby: 121.5
  2. Marie: 112.5
  3. Rullsenberg: 92
  4. Jane Henry: 70.5
  5. Persephone: 45.5
  6. Jaradel: 38.5
  7. Electric Dragon: 31
  8. Rev/Views: 25
  9. Scott 2: 14
  10. Scott: 3
  11. Aaron: 2
  12. almostwitty.com: 1
  13. Stu_N: 1

Remember, you can submit as many captions as you like for today’s picture, with the wittiest getting 10 points next Friday.

US TV

Review: Burn Notice 3×1

5 June 2009 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Burn Notice

In the US: Thursdays, 9/8c, USA
In the UK: Coming to FX at some point, I’m sure

Burn Notice is the USA Network’s big and very surprising success. Despite ratings of over 6 million, it sticks out like a sore thumb, with a mixture of spy tradecraft, fights, explosions, shootings and characters who really aren’t that likeable at times – something that isn’t really true of the other shows on the “characters welcome” network that gave us Monk and Psych.

After two seasons trying to piece together who slapped a Burn Notice on him and got him fired from his spy day-job, Michael Westen found out at the end of last season – it was Frasier’s dad. With that cleared up and after refusing to take a job with the old curmudgeon, Westen has new challenges ahead: every enemy he’s ever made could be on their way to Miami to get him.

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? But…

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What have you been watching this week (w/e 5 May)?

5 June 2009 Rob Buckley 6 Comments

Summer’s here. You can tell because there’s not much on. So now, your help is needed even more. Have you seen anything good on tele at all this week?

The Daily Show‘s back and hasn’t really done anything interesting this week. I did catch Bettany Hughes’ excellent The Spartans (best watched in conjunction with Paul Cartledge’s companion book) in mid-morning re-runs this week – no adverts in the whole thing, so either there’s some sort of educational quarantine zone in the mornings or C4 is in serious trouble.

I did turf out some DVDs and start watching early 70s “futurisitic drama” Moonbase 3 (available on DVD still), which is really rather good and does have a Welshman running the moon. Weird that he’s called David Calder, given David Calder was the star of the very similar 80s show Star Cops.

No big surprises over on The Apprentice, with James finally getting chucked out after delighting us ever more with his CV and expressions, Lorraine getting evicted for being a misery guts, and Deborah getting the boot for being a sociopath. That just leaves Kate versus Yasmine: my money’s on Yasmine, which means Kate will win, even though she’s a robot.

Oh, and what happened to beardy interrogator from previous years?

Still got Burn Notice and Royal Pains to watch, as well as three episodes of The Goode Family, though.

As always, no spoilers unless you’re going to use the <spoiler> </spoiler> tags, please? Ta!

Friday’s heroic Darth Maul news

5 June 2009 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Doctor Who

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