Year: 2019

Bron/Broen/The Bridge
TMINE

The 10 most popular TMINE entries of 2018

4 January 2019 Rob Buckley Post a comment

As regular readers might imagine, TMINE is something of an acquired taste. After all, I tend to review things from around the world before they air in the UK, so I’m talking about shows that for the most part most readers haven’t actually seen. When they air in the UK, you can of course see what I wrote about them at the time if you’re prepared to search, but that still doesn’t make TMINE’s reviews an essential daily read – except for the most highly refined, Galaxy Brained individuals, of course.

Still, there’s the catchy idea of “the long tail” and I guess if any TV blog is a long tail TV blog, it’s TMINE. So it’s always interesting for me to see at the end of the year what have been the most popular posts over the year – inevitably they’ve been from previous years but not always.

Now, I can’t tell you why they are the most popular, but we can all hazard guesses. So here, for your delectation, is 2019’s first problem-solving conundrum: why on Earth were these the most popular TMINE posts of 2018?

  1. So what do they speak on The Bridge? Swedish or Danish?
  2. Review: Babylon Berlin 1×1-1×2 (Germany: Sky1; UK: Sky Atlantic)
  3. Weekly Wonder Woman: Superman/Wonder Woman #12, Sensation Comics #9
  4. Third-episode verdict: Absentia (AXN)
  5. Review: Burden of Truth 1×1 (Canada: CBC)
  6. Review: Ghost Wars 1×1 (US: Syfy; UK: Netflix)
  7. Review: Deep State 1×1 (UK: Fox UK)
  8. Review: Stargate Origins 1×1-1×3 (Stargate Command)
  9. Review: The New Legends of Monkey (season 1) (Australia: ABC Me; UK: Netflix)
  10. Review: Frankie Drake Mysteries 1×1 (Canada: CBC; UK: Alibi)
Turn Up Charlie
Airdates

When’s that show you mentioned starting, TMINE? Including Magnum P.I. and Turn Up Charlie

4 January 2019 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Every Friday, TMINE lets you know when the latest TV shows from around the world will air in the UK

Christmas is naturally a bit quiet for acquisitions but we’re only a few days into the new year and yet we’ve already got two new premiere dates.

Premiere dates

Magnum PI
Stephen Hill as Theodore “TC” Calvin, Zachary Knighton as Orville “Rick” Wright, and Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum Photo: Karen Neal/CBS ©2018 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Magnum P.I. (US: CBS; UK: Sky1)
Premiere date: Wednesday, January 16, 9pm

Surprisingly decent reboot of the classic 80s private detective series remains faithful to the original while making it more diverse. In a world of cop and medical procedurals, a private investigator procedural also feels surprisingly fresh. The first episode is a bit too Fast and Furious for its own good, but fortunately, it settles down soon afterwards to become a solid piece of light fun.

Episode reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Turn Up Charlie
Turn Up Charlie
Turn Up Charlie (Netflix)
Premiere date: Friday, March 15

Netflix original created by and starring Idris Elba. Charlie (Elba), a struggling DJ and eternal bachelor is given a final chance at success when he reluctantly becomes a manny to his famous best friend’s problem-child daughter. Also stars Piper Perabo, and features JJ Feild, Angela Griffin, Guz Khan, Jocelyn Jee Esein, Jade Anouka, Cameron King and Dustin Demri-Burns.

No trailer yet, unfortunately.

Amber Heard as Mera in Justice League
Film

Not all movie actresses are monolingual

4 January 2019 Rob Buckley Post a comment

In the US and UK, monolingualism feels like the default. Speak more than one language? Crazy, particularly if we’re aiming for fluency rather than asking “¿Donde esta la biblioteca?’, ‘Où est la Gare Saint-Lazare, s’il vous plaît?’ or ‘Wie komme ich am besten zum Bahnhof, bitte?’ and hoping that the answer is short, slow and sweet.

Yet, more than half the world is at least bilingual and there are whole continents and sub-continents where being able to speak more than one language is the norm. And there are people who in the US and the UK who are among that number.

Even in Hollywood.

Normally, Bradley Cooper is the one everyone points to when they want to be wowed by an American actor speaking a foreign language. After all:

  1. He is sexy
  2. He speaks French, which is sexy
  3. He’s a man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_v6HztMeU4

Perhaps more impressive is Ed Norton, who can speak Japanese:

However, point 3 – Bradley Cooper is a man – highlights an important point. It’s usually men who get the credit for this. So today, let’s spare a thought for some actresses who get less credit for bilingualism.

Okay, Charlize Theron is from South Africa, so her ability to speak Afrikaans (or Flemish) isn’t necessarily hugely impressive:

And Sandra Bullock has German family, so her speaking German isn’t necessarily miraculous:

But let’s spare a thought for Texas-born, Spanish family-less Amber Heard, who speaks fluent Spanish and has done entire interviews in Spanish for Aquaman:

And then there’s Natalie Portman who can speak – deep breath – Hebrew, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Arabic and ASL.

It is of course worth noting that Portman has an Erdös-Bacon-Sabbath number of 11, so is clearly a smart cookie in other fields, too. However, that’s not quite as good as either The Wonder Years’ Danica McKellar and Blossom‘s Mayim Bialik, both of whom have the highest EBS number of any actor or actress: 10. Whether they speak anything other than English, though, I don’t know.

Martin Clunes in ITV1's Manhunt
BAFTA events

What TV’s on at BAFTA in February? Including Manhunt

4 January 2019 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Every week or so, TMINE flags up what new TV events BAFTA is holding around the UK

A new year brings new BAFTA events, so here’s TMINE’s regular round-up. BAFTA hasn’t added any UK events for January since the previous TMINE round-up, although oddly it plans to preview BBC One’s The Cry in New York next Thursday. However, it has revealed a new event for February, which will look back at Manhunt, which is starting on ITV1 this Sunday.

The making of TV series Manhunt + Q&A with Martin Clunes and others

Thursday, 7 February 2019 – 6:30pm
Chapter Arts Centre

The team behind the ITV mini-series Manhunt discuss the creative collaborations that brought the show together.

BAFTA winning actor Martin Clunes takes the role of former Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton, who tenaciously tracked down serial killer Levi Bellfield.

Written by Ed Whitmore (Silent Witness, Rillington Place, Strike Back) and produced by Buffalo Pictures, Manhunt is the real life story of how the murder of French student, Amelie Delagrange, on Twickenham Green in August 2004 was eventually linked to the murders of Marsha McDonnell in 2003, and the abduction and murder of Milly Dowler in 2002. With the full co-operation of former DCI Colin Sutton, Manhunt dramatises the hunt to find the killer. The three-part drama follows the detailed and painstaking investigation by the former London Metropolitan police detective and his team, as they dedicated themselves to finding Amelie’s killer, and pursuing links to the other murders.

Directed by BAFTA Cymru winning Marc Evans (Trauma, Safehouse, Hinterland) and starring Welsh BAFTA Cymru-nominated actor Celyn Jones (Set Fire to the Stars) in the role of Levi Bellfield.

Ed Whitmore, Celyn Jones, Marc Evans, Martin Clunes and Buffalo Pictures’ (Doc Martin, Arthur & George) exec producer, who is also from Wales, Philippa Braithwaite join us for a Q&A to take a look back at extracts from the show that airs 6 – 8 January 2019 on ITV 1.

A limited number of members’ tickets are available from Vicki.

Public tickets will be available to buy from the Chapter box office soon.

The Island
TMINE

Happy New Year from TMINE

4 January 2019 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the far-flung sci-fi future of 2019.

The Running Man

Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Akira
Akira
The Island
The Island

How are you enjoying it so far? Been cloned and harvested its organs to cure any of your diseases yet? Or maybe you’re being asked to pass the Voight-Kampff by your HR department even as we speak.

Anyway, whatever you’re doing, TMINE’s back, you’ll be excited to hear! As usual, it’s a phased return to work for TMINE. This afternoon will bring some new Airdates, while The Daily News will be back on Monday, although the TMINE Facebook page has been featuring the highlights over the break. I’ll hopefully be revealing the latest BFI and BAFTA events this afternoon, too, although that might be a staggered return.

When it comes to reviews, WHYBW will be back to its usual Wednesday slot next week. There have been a few new shows over the Christmas break, so I’ll hopefully be doing a Boxset Monday featuring either season 2 of Marvel’s Runaways or Stan (Australia)’s Bloom. I’ll also be previewing Syfy (US)’s Deadly Class, but I’ll probably be skipping The Fosters spin-off Good Trouble, on the general grounds I didn’t watch The Fosters – but you never know.

However, after a bit of Christmas soul-searching, I’ve decided to put Weekly Wonder Woman on permanent hiatus until the comics get good again – soz, Diana fans, but it’s a lot of effort for a lot of mediocre stuff at the moment, despite the return of both Aphrodite and Ares in the latest issues. What to do on Thursdays instead, though? Hmm. I’ll have to have a think about that.

That’s it for now and who knows what other goodies I might bring you, too. Everyone get good pressies?