I’m Rob Buckley, a journalist who writes for UK media magazines that most people have never heard of although you might have heard me on the podcast Lockdown Land or Radio 5 Live’s Saturday Edition or Afternoon Edition. I’ve edited Dreamwatch, Sprocket and Cambridge Film Festival Daily; been technical editor for TV producers magazine Televisual; reviewed films for the short-lived newspaper Cambridge Insider; written features for the even shorter-lived newspaper Soho Independent; and was regularly sarcastic about television on the blink-and-you-missed-it “web site for urban hedonists” The Tribe. Since going freelance, I've contributed to the likes of Broadcast, Total Content + Media, Action TV, Off The Telly, Action Network, TV Scoop and The Custard TV.
I’m back in the UK now and half comatose from an overnight flight. But I wouldn’t dream of letting you guys down by doing the work I’m actually supposed to be doing or sleeping or something.
No, it’s time to look at CBS’s new shows for the Fall season. If you’ve ever heard Les Moonves speak (he’s the head of CBS), you’ll know just how much he loves the Internet. So it’s not surprising that CBS has been all forward thinking and created a ‘bloggers toolkit’ so that we can all gas on about the new shows with some handy video clips to hand.
Given that 90% of US television now stars Brits, is based on a British format or both, it’s hard to highlight one particular example of the new season’s shows that’s going to be of most interest to those of us over here. However, regular readers of this ‘ere blog are probably going to be most curious about the remake of Viva Blackpool that Hugh Jackman’s been throwing together: Viva Laughlin. It stars Monarch of the Glen‘s Lloyd Owen as a nice man who tries to open a casino in Laughlin, Nevada. It also features Madchen Amick (her off Twin Peaks), DB Woodside (Wayne Palmer on 24) as well as Jackman in a recurring role.
Unfortunately, there’s no video yet. Bugger. That’s not a good start, is it CBS? Here’s a pic though.
ABC’s now joined NBC in providing us all with clips from their forthcoming Fall shows. Unlike NBC, however, they haven’t done the decent thing and put them on YouTube as well, so you’ll have to brave the ABC web site – and its geo-filter – to have a look at what’s coming up. Again, I don’t know if they’re going to work in the UK, so if someone wants to experiment, now’s your chance.
Of most interest for genre fans is Pushing Daisies, starring Lee Pace as a private investigator who can bring people back from the dead for a minute. it also stars Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Kristin Chenoweth and Jim Dale (as the narrator) and is written by Bryan Fuller of Heroes, Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me fame. Might be a little too whimsical for the viewing public, but you never know.
Most of the new shows, however, seem to focus on really rich people.
I was a little surprised by this particular finale. Normally, seeing the name Sunil Nayar, one of the show’s producers, in the writers’ credits is enough to put fear into your heart, given he’s written some of the worst crimes against humanity that CSI: Miami has perpetrated: nothing has been too stupid or offensive for our Sunil.
But this season’s finale was a relatively low key affair. There were few mind-blowingly dumb moments, just a couple; there were no cliffhangers, no massive plot resolutions, no lives imperilled. If it hadn’t been for the three-minute music video conclusion, you’d never have known it was a season finale. About the only real tension was from a few “will they, won’t they” moments between Calleigh and Eric.
To a certain extent, that’s because this has been a season without a long story arc: there have been a few two- or three-episode arcs, but nothing really to rival previous seasons’ gangs/brothers/hot forbidden fruit South American sister-in-law/marriage shootings arcs. Given the show doesn’t really need to work to bring the viewers in and it’s not a show that people watch to tax their brains or learn something about humanity, it’s more surprising that previous seasons have actually felt this need at all.
Still, even the Carusobot seemed unable to believe he was doing a Batman/Angel/Captain Jack on the top of a helipad for no adequately explored reason at the end.
So don’t be afeared, UK viewers, you can watch this episode without any worries, apart from potential brain damage.
NBC’s posted clips from a few of its Fall season series to its web site today. Now, if they’re like any other NBC video, UK residents won’t be able to watch them (I won’t be able to check until Thursday, for obvious reasons, but give it a whirl and see if it works for you, gentle reader.) but US denizens should have no problem. The videos are quite extensive, so worth looking in on if you’re curious.
UPDATE: Mark says they work for him in Wigan.
However, forward thinking old NBC has also posted a few of them to YouTube so the rest of the world can sample the goodies. Of most interest to UK viewers, in all likelihood, is the remake of The Bionic Woman starring ‘Enders‘ Michelle Ryan and putting in a surprisingly good turn.
Much of the focus is on how the show is going to be a metaphor about modern women needing to be superhuman to balance all the different aspects of their lives. But in keeping with the fact that BSG producer David Eick is behind the remake, it looks like they’re going back to the original for inspiration as well: not only are the physics of the bionic ladette’s powers completely screwed, if you’ll recall, Oscar Goldman was originally a bit of a bastard in the first two Six Million Dollar Man movies (and, indeed, Michael Caidin’s original book, Cyborg) and it looks like new Oscar, Miguel Ferrer, is going to follow in his footsteps. Still it makes you wonder just how many times he’s going to have to develop a Robocop before he realises it’s a bad idea.
Here are two clips: one of Ryan getting her bionic bits and another of her giving first gen bionic woman Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck in BSG) a good slapping. It’s worth mentioning that you don’t get to see some of the worst bits from the full NBC trailer, including Ryan’s relationship with her deaf sister.
