Month: March 2015

Sky Italia to create a 1992 channel to promote new series 1992

9 March 2015 Rob Buckley Post a comment

What were you doing in 1992? Watching tele? Going to the movies?

Well, if you were Italian, you were probably a member of the government, the mafia or the police, fighting for control of the First Republic. At least, that’s what new Sky Italia series 1992 suggests.

For those of you in the UK wanting to watch the latest show from the producers of Gomorrah, it should be airing simultaneously on Sky Arts with its Italian broadcast, starting March 24. But if you happen to be in Italy, I’m sure you’ll be delighted to hear that until then, from this Saturday, Sky Italia is going to be creating a temporary new channel dedicated to the year 1992. Featuring movies including Wayne’s World and Mediterraneo,and classic sports events of 1992 including John McEnroe versus Andre Agassi at Wimbledon, it will also feature TV shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place and Baywatch.

Suddenly, looking at that list, I’m not so nostalgic for 1992. Oh well.

TMINE

Question of the week: is genre important to you?

9 March 2015 Rob Buckley 10 Comments

When it comes to TV viewing, lots of people live and die by genre. Maybe they’re a ‘soaps’ fan or a ‘comedy’ fan. Maybe they like historical dramas or sit in front of Alibi all day watching murder-mysteries and crime shows. Maybe they like action shows.

Not everyone’s like this, but many are. The question is: how important is genre to you, if you’re one of those people? 

The reason I’m asking is because of Fortitude, Sky Atlantic/Pivot’s new TV show. Now, when it started on its 10-episode run, it seemed to be a perfectly ordinary Nordic Noir-style murder mystery. Then, with the arrival of Stanley Tucci, it started to look a bit Twin Peaks-ish. So far, so ordinary, and I imagine that Twin Peaks is still sufficiently close in style to The Killing et al that anyone tuning in for the latter might not have been turned off by the arrival of the former. 

However, the latest couple of episodes have pretty much taken the show (as far as can I see) into territory a bit closer to horror movies and even (spoiler alert) The Strain/Helix. Which are very different genres again. Bold and daring on the one hand – the show has been very unusually ‘shaped’, revealing to everyone, not just the viewer, the identity of the killer midway through the series, for example.

But, on the other, is it too much for the genre addict? If something is a hybrid genre (action-romance, dramedy, horror-comedy from the outset, that’s one thing and fans of both genres can appreciate that show for what it is. But what if something changes genre midway through? Is that going to ostracise existing viewers, while failing to bring in fans of the new genre at this late stage? Or doesn’t it matter? Is genre completely unimportant?

How do you feel?

What TV’s on at the BFI in April 2015?

9 March 2015 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

It’s time for our regular look at the TV that the BFI is showing, this time in April 2015. Quite an epic amount of TV this month, thanks not only to previews of BBC One’s forthcoming adaptation of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and ITV’s remake of Thunderbirds, but also to a season of forensics dramas and documentaries, a season of some of Verity Lambert’s lesser known works and a night of Marc Karlin’s experimental works.

Continue reading “What TV’s on at the BFI in April 2015?”

News

News: Allegiance cancelled, Melanie Griffith is a grandmother, Supergirl gets a villain and a costume, + more

9 March 2015 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Supergirl costume

Film casting

Trailers

  • Trailer for The Forger, with John Travolta
  • Trailer for No Escape, with Owen Wilson

UK TV

New UK TV show casting

US TV

US TV show casting

New US TV shows

  • Trailer for Showtime’s Happyish with Steve Coogan

New US TV show casting

Weekly Wonder Woman

Weekly Wonder Woman: Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Three #22-23, Sensation Comics #26-27

6 March 2015 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

After the roar of a fortnight ago, everything’s returned to relative quietness in the DC schedules. There’s been a brief cameo in Future’s End #44…

Future's End #44

…but Wonder Woman ’77 has been removed from the DC digital schedule…

The DC digital schedule removes Wonder Woman '77

…which means that after the jump, we’ll only be having a look at who’s been punching whom in Injustice, and seeing if Lois Lane and Wonder Woman can bond while fighting some beasties during a quick interview in a two-part Sensation Comics story.  

Continue reading “Weekly Wonder Woman: Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Three #22-23, Sensation Comics #26-27”