Year: 2009

Sitting Tennant

Friday’s Sitting Tennant (from Ms Rullsenberg): Oh, something. You’ll know it. Probably Secret Smile

10 July 2009 Rob Buckley 9 Comments

Ms Rullsenberg's Sitting Tennant

Well, you wanted to know, given Monday’s photo, what Friday’s would be. Here it is. It’s one of Ms Rullsenberg’s personal favourites, judging by the moth-eared corners, and it’s from something. You know. Probably Secret Smile. Or that one where he’s a bit mental after a car crash. That one.

Anyway, that gives us the following leaderboard:

  1. Rullsenberg: 38.5
  2. Sister Chastity: 33.5
  3. Jaradel: 25.5
  4. Rosby: 2.5
  5. Amy: 2
  6. Persephone: 1

Meanwhile, over in witty captions, the judge’s verdict is in and the ten points for wittiest caption goes to Sister Chastity! There’s a turn up for the books – watch out the rest of you.

  1. Marie: 132.5
  2. Toby: 131.5
  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. Joe, Sister Chastity: 10
  11. Scott: 3
  12. Aaron: 2
  13. almostwitty.com: 1
  14. 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.

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.

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; the best pic in the stash each week will appear on Friday and get three points.

You can also enter the witty and amusing captions league table by commenting on Friday’s Sitting Tennant photo, the best caption getting 10 points.

What have you been watching this week (w/e 10 July)?

10 July 2009 Rob Buckley 13 Comments

This television thing. In your home. What’s been on it this week that you’ve been liking or hating?

Torchwood started off not bad, went a bit pants and went to downright excellent last night, so heavens knows what it’s going to be like tonight – I might be too stunned by the fact it’s not been awful to even tune in. I eventually managed to catch Top Gear, despite the Beeb’s efforts to mess up the Sky+ EPG, which was reasonably entertaining, but no classic, particularly since it had that *expletive deleted* Michael McIntyre on it.

Valentine‘s returned to The CW for no readily explored reason, other than they paid for it so they might as well show it while people still remember it. It’s a very odd show. On the one hand, it has the world’s worst opening title narration, narrated by the world’s least convincing actress, Jaime Murray. Every single aspect of the “Greek love gods matchmaking mortals” storylines makes you want to tear your face off to make it all end, even if you have Joshua Malina as one of the mortals, as happened this week. But the arcing storyline involving the gods themselves and their mysterious nemesis is really excellent, dark, gripping and surprisingly true to the myths. If they’d just had that as the show and hired an actress to play Aphrodite instead of Murray, maybe we’d have had a classic fantasy series on our hands.

Except they didn’t, so it’s been cancelled already. Who knows if we’ll ever find out how it was supposed to end.

Otherwise, apart from what I’ve already reviewed, it’s just been Tim Gunn’s Guide To Style on Sky3, which for the uninitiated is like Trinny and Suzannah’s What Not To Wear but done by someone with taste, style, charm and intelligence. Series first: no keepers in the 10 items!

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

Friday’s “Jodie Foster’s beaver” news

10 July 2009 Rob Buckley 3 Comments

Doctor Who

Film

Theater

  • Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig to star on Broadway in A Steady Rain

British TV

US TV

The CarusometerA Carusometer rating of 3

Third-episode verdict: The Philanthropist

9 July 2009 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

The Philanthropist is one of those ideas which seems good in someone’s head, quickly becomes appalling once it’s been stuck down on paper and then can either get better or get worse once it’s on television. It will never, ever be great, however.

While you have to give the show brownie points for dealing with socially worthy issues in primetime drama, you can’t have a show about a rich white guy travelling the world, sorting out other countries’ problems in under an hour and for it not to be offensive in some way.

The first episode at least went to scrupulous pains to point that out, almost to the extent of sacrificing all drama and characterisation from the piece. Episode two tried its hardest to deal with Burma/Myanmar and to introduce the characterisation the first episode so desperately needed. In doing so, it became more than a touch offensive, with white billionaire managing to sneak passed the Burmese army to interview imprisoned former leaders. As you do.

It wasn’t helped by the new title sequence, with James Purefoy jetting around the world to generously pet small African boys on the head.

Episode three, while not appalling, was pretty close, dealing as it did with the import of Eastern European women to Paris to act as prostitutes. Yes, someone’s been watching Taken, but decided to remove any hints at the drug trade, because then we might have a complicated story to deal with. It was all very crassly handled, and once more, the best you can say for it is that its heart was in the right place.

Despite all this philanthropy, it’s very hard not to hate all the characters. James Purefoy’s character may be on a mission to heal himself, but at the moment, he’s a drunk, self-centred, emotional wreck who womanises semi-vulnerable attractive women as part of a self-confessed addiction; his co-CEO is little more than a cipher and Neve Campbell’s character barely even warrants that, despite attempts to broaden her in the third episode. Shockingly, Michael Kenneth Williams has had even less to do, and most of that has been getting his head kicked in and standing around helplessly.

The whole thing could still have been handled better if it wasn’t told in flashback. Each week, it’s a different story, being recounted by a different lead to a different supporting character. It’s clumsy, takes up too much, and takes you out of the action altogether.

The result, unfortunately, is that while the show tries hard to be intelligent, it’s just glib, moderately offensive and not very involving. And I’m not sure, no matter how hard the producers and production crew worked, that it could ever have been anything more.

Carusometer rating: 3
Rob’s predication: Will not be renewed for another season, and might not make it to the end of this one

BBC1 autumn drama showreel, including Waters of Mars

9 July 2009 Rob Buckley Post a comment

The Beeb’s just unveiled its Autumn drama showreels, which includes snippets of Criminal Justic,Emma, Framed, Garrow’s Law, Material Girl, Paradox and Small Island, which I’ve embedded above (UK only – take that Hulu users!).

Oh yes, it also includes clips from Spooks with Richard Armitage and Doctor Who with David Tennant, who some of you quite like, I hear.

The Beeb’s also come up with a carousel of more clips that I can’t embed over here.

Full summaries of all the new shows – as well as Gavin & Stacey – after the jump.

Continue reading “BBC1 autumn drama showreel, including Waters of Mars”