The new model of the ‘reasonably priced car’ has been out for a few months now, so Top Gear has had to upgrade. That meant testing it first. And to do that, they got a few celebrities to help out, including Matt LeBlanc, Eric Clapton and Bruce Willis. Watch the whole thing though, particularly the bit aimed at salesmen having to carry around sodium and eels, since it’s the funniest thing you’ll see this week.
This, actually, is amazing though. It’s like Knight Rider.
It’s “What did you watch this week?”, my chance to tell you what I movies and TV I’ve watched this week that I haven’t already reviewed and your chance to recommend things to everyone else (and me) in case I’ve missed them.
First, the usual recommendations:
These are all going to be on in either the UK or the US, perhaps even both, but I can’t be sure which. If I got the channels wrong, let me know and I’ll fix them
Still in the queue: plenty to go in the House of Cards queue and there’s this week’s episodes of The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Vegas, Elementary, Archer, Zero Hour and Community to watch, although I think Community‘s days as a watched programme are numbered in this house. On top of those I have new US show Cult to watch – basically The Following but on The CW and with the guy who played T-Bone on Prison Break – which I’ll try to sneak a look at over the weekend, as well as new Australian show, Mr and Mrs Murder, which sees a husband and wife team cleaning up murder scenes (literally) and then doing some detective work of their own. I’ve also got Channel 4’s one-off spy drama Complicit to give a try, but Guy says it’s a bit rubbish so I might skip it.
I did get round to watching Sky Living’s The Spa, which stars Rebecca Front. It’s as dreadful as every other Sky 1 and Sky Living comedy, I’m afraid. In particular, we had a scene based on someone being told to tell someone they were ‘clinically obese’ and mishearing and saying they were ‘clinically a beast’.
Now, some thoughts on the regulars as well as some of the shows I’m still giving a try.
“What did you watch this week?” is your chance to recommend to friends and fellow blog readers the TV and films that they might be missing or should avoid – and for me to do mini-reviews of everything I’ve watched. Since we live in the fabulous world of Internet catch-up services like the iPlayer and Hulu, why not tell your fellow readers what you’ve seen so they can see the good stuff they might have missed?
In Canada: Mondays, 8:30pm ET/PT, CityTV
In the rest of the world: Not yet acquired
Well, I was patient. I was tempted to give up after the first episode of Seed, a Canadian comedy in which a Seth Rogen-esque slacker and sperm donor is tracked down by first his his biological son, then his biological daughter then one of his current, pregnant donation recipients (and new potential romantic partner), and has to come to terms with being a dad and offering sage life advice. It suffered from two basic flaws: relentless stereotyping and a lack of actual jokes.
Yet it was somehow so damn likeable that I stuck around for the second episode, which was a marked improvement: funnier, nicer and cleverer, and with fewer stereotypes. Could it be it was improving?
No. Mistake on my part, that. Episode three returned to the same lack of standards as episode 1, with more stereotypes than a Bernard Manning comedy routine and a matching lack of jokes.
Even on its own terms, it makes no sense whatsoever. Here’s a sample plot from the third episode: the lesbian couple with our ‘hero’s’ son have been trying to bring him up without any masculine attributes, such as ambition, assertiveness or aggression (which are just fine in them, mind you). However, ‘dad’ objects to his nine-year old going to ‘scrapbooking’ classes, and it turns out that the son is only going to the classes because of his mothers. So – because dad fancies the teacher – he enrols his son in a rhythmic gymnastics class instead. So what happens? The lesbians, who have been trying for nine years not to bring up their son in a stereotypical way, start to worry that their nine-year old needs to have more male interests or else he’ll turn out ‘super gay’.
What? You can try to make sense of that for the rest of eternity and it won’t.
So despite that strangely likeable quality, the complete lack of internal consistency, the rampant stereotyping and the total lack of jokes means it’s a big no to Seed from The Barrometer, I’m afraid.
Barrometer rating: 4
Rob’s prediction: Will last a season at best
He’s on something of an awards roll is Ben Affleck. Having won an Oscar with Matt Damon for writing the script of Good Will Hunting, now he’s all lined up to win the Best Director Oscar for Argo.
But everyone has to start somewhere and Ben Affleck is no exception. So lean back, relax, and enjoy Affleck’s 1993 directorial debut: I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her On A Meathook, and Now I Have A Three Picture Deal At Disney.
Bet you didn’t see that coming.
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