Australian and New Zealand TV

News and reviews of Australian and New Zealand TV

What have you been watching? Including Doll and Em, Star-Crossed, House of Cards, and Moone Boy

20 February 2014 Rob Buckley 15 Comments

It’s “What have you been watching?”, my chance to tell you what movies and TV I’ve been watching recently that I haven’t already reviewed and your chance to recommend things to everyone else (and me) in case I’ve missed them.

The usual “TMINE recommends” page features links to reviews of all the shows I’ve ever recommended, and there’s also the Reviews A-Z, for when you want to check more or less anything I’ve reviewed ever. And if you want to know when any of these shows are on in your area, there’s Locate TV.

I’m off on a secret mission for a few days (okay, holiday), which is why this is a day early, so I’ve still got a few things in my viewing queue: lots of season two of House of Cards as well as Sky’s new firefighter drama Smoke which starts tonight but which has been on Sky Go for a while and last night’s episodes of 19-2 and Fleming. But I have managed to sneek in some new shows as well as my regular viewing choices.

Star-Crossed (The CW)
A Romeo and Juliet tale in which aliens crashland on Earth and try to integrate into the local small town US population, where they face prejudice, as well as possible potential romance with humans. Not even a tenth as interesting or as deep as Roswell, which is saying something, and absolutely every choice made has been the most generic. Incredibly dull, too, and the leads so far exceed their characters’ supposed ages, they actually have wrinkles in some cases.

Doll and Em (Sky Living)
Real-life best friends Emily Mortimer and Dolly Wells pen a tale about best friends Em and Doll, with Doll joining actress Em in LA to work for her when her relationship falls apart. It’s all very naturalistic and obviously feels like a real friendship. Funny? Not in the slightest and there’s nothing you can glean from it that you won’t have from a dozen other shows like it (eg Entourage, Episodes, Curb Your Enthusiasm). YMMV.

Shows that I’ve been watching but not really recommending:

Almost Human (Fox)
A slight drop-off as we have some hacked home security systems killing their owners. There’s also an ill advised new subplot about Dorian having someone else’s memories embedded in him. A Matrix tribute of about three lines of dialogue really wasn’t worth the effort either, and as usual, attempts to depict hackers on-screen have the authenticity of Californian champagne.

Helix (SyFy/Channel 5)
Jeri Ryan’s here and having fun, but still just a low budget TV Resident Evil with more secrets than necessary and too few answers too make it interesting. But I’m still watching, so what do I know?

Salamander (BBC4)
Gave up on this in episode three when the top-secret conspirators started telling each other about their top-secret conspiracy and Aquaman’s dad took refuge in a monastery. There’s silly and then there’s Belgian silly, apparently.

And in the recommended list:

Banshee (Cinemax)
A bit more of a traditional Banshee episode, with plenty of fights and a British bruiser in town called Quentin to deal with. Not quite the way I expected the Hood Jr storyline to end. Enjoyable, but nothing special.

The Doctor Blake Mysteries (ABC1/BBC1)
A superior effort to the first episde, with much needed characterisation for the new cop in town, and some lovely moments for the original characters as they learn all about this new fangled rock and roll thing. A little bit worried about the message at the end (don’t believe girls).

The Life of Rock with Brian Pern (BBC4)
Promoted to recommended after this week’s episode, this mock documentary about the Peter Gabriel-like Pern (the star of some 2009/10 video blogs) has decided it’s no longer content satirising merely the prog rock groups of the 70s, it’s now working it’s way through the TV and films of the 70s and 80s, too. With piss-takes of everything from Swap Shop and Triangle through Doctor Who and Labyrinth, it also features a cast worth dying for, as well as comedy characters from other shows (Mike Smash from The Fast Show and Mulligan and O’Hare from The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer). If you know the period, you’ll love it.

House of Cards (Netflix)
No, don’t spoil me. I’m only three eps in. If you’ve seen the original, then you’ll already know of one Big Thing that happens in season two, but largely it’s plotting its own path at the moment, with Frank conspiring to get the right man (actually a woman, but he doesn’t want anyone to know that yet) to replace him as chief whip. Seems to have had a healthy dose of feminism added to it between seasons, and it’s as engrossing as always, if perhaps a little less tightly plotted. The hacking details are very accurate, too, I’m pleased to say.

Line of Duty (BBC2)
Superbly tense, with a wonderful couple of reversals towards the end. Much recommended.

Moone Boy (Sky1)
The return of Chris O’Dowd’s delightful, semi-autobiographical sitcom about growing up as a young boy (with an imaginary friend) in Ireland in the late 80s and early 90s. We started with a trip to the countryside to visit some Gaelic speakers, which was both funny and educational, thanks in part to a cameo by Jonny Vegas as another imaginary friend.

True Detective (HBO/Sky Atlantic)
Best episode so far. Extremely clever and we finally get to see where it’s all headed. A bit worried that it’s about to head into fantasyland though and jump the shark. Fingers crossed.

And in movies

Her
In a slightly futuristic LA, lonely Joaquim Phoenix falls in love with his new operating system (the voice of Scarlett Johansson). As a movie it’s full of ideas about loneliness, the nature of human connection, whether virtual connections are as good as in-person connections, the nature of artificial intelligence, what we expect from relationships, how the expectations of others change our relationships and so on. But it’s a movie free of messages or conclusions, that merely likes to flirt rather with the ideas rather than explore them in any depth. Sad, funny, beautifully performed, it’s ultimately as empty as some of its characters’ lives.

 

“What have you been watching?” 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?

News

News: Karen Gillan’s Selfie, a Prime Suspect prequel, another CSI, HBO and Showtime renewals + more

19 February 2014 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Karen Gillan and Matt Smith's first ever photo together in costume

Film casting

Trailers

  • Trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Trailer for Paddy Considine’s Honour

New UK TV shows

US TV

US TV show casting

New US TV shows

New US TV show casting

What have you been watching? Including Fleming, The Life of Rock with Brian Pern, The Moodys, Salamander and Suspects

14 February 2014 Rob Buckley 16 Comments

It’s “What have you been watching?”, my chance to tell you what movies and TV I’ve been watching recently that I haven’t already reviewed and your chance to recommend things to everyone else (and me) in case I’ve missed them.

The usual “TMINE recommends” page features links to reviews of all the shows I’ve ever recommended, and there’s also the Reviews A-Z, for when you want to check more or less anything I’ve reviewed ever. And if you want to know when any of these shows are on in your area, there’s Locate TV.

With the Winter Olympics now in full flow in the US, I’m only slightly behind on shows now, with only Sunday’s Babylon and The Musketeers as well as Wednesday’s Inside No 9 to find time for. But with so little new TV on in the US, I’ve resorted to watching some new shows on UK TV as well as the Internet.

Alpha House (Amazon Prime/Lovefilm)
A group of US politicians all live in a house together (or something). A decent cast, including John Goodman, and Gary Trudeau, the creator of ‘Doonesbury’, writing should have spelt hilarity. But while it does feel authentic in its situations (albeit with a comedic twist), the funny that should have been there never really turned up. Only the first episode is available on Lovefilm at the moment, but the whole series is on Amazon Prime in the US.

Fleming (Sky Atlantic/BBC America)
Dominic Cooper and Lara Pulver play Mr and Mrs Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, in a biopic (with a slight economy with the truth) that sees how the two met pre-War when she was still married to someone else and how the feckless Fleming got his act together during the Second World War in naval intelligence, before eventually writing the novels we all know and love. A first half hour of outright tedium almost put me off the whole thing, but the second half was a lot stronger, albeit with a hint of the ‘rapey’, so I’ll be tuning in for episode two. Has already finished its run on BBC America, I believe.

Inside No 9 (BBC2/online)
I’ve only watched the first part of this a dark, comedic anthology from Reece Sheersmith and Steve Pemberton of League of Gentlemen fame. Set in various houses, all numbered 9, the show gives various actors a chance to shine, and for Sheersmith and Pemberton to play implausible grotesques. The first was a little ‘And?’ but well acted (big kudos to Tim Key in particular), so I’ll be giving number two a chance when I find the time. A third is available online.

The Life of Rock with Brian Pern (BBC4)
Simon Day and numerous musicians and comedians all rip the piss out of Peter Gabriel and other prog rockers of the 70s. Very precise in its targets, so if you know the music and bands of the era, you’ll probably get more out of this than the lay audience. I found it moderately amusing but with some very good individual moments.

The Moodys (ABC1)
Follow up to the popular Australian show, The Moodys At Christmas, featuring the eponymous family. Not especially funny, although the generational culture conflicts rang true, but I imagine it’s funnier if you’re Australian and saw the first series.

Salamander (BBC4)
Belgian import that sees a bank robbed but only the safety deposit boxes of important people raided. A police detective investigates and opens up a whole heap of trouble for himself and his family, as the victims and thieves try to cover up the robbery. About as realistic as an episode of 24, and it’s not helped by it all being very silly and having a guy who looks like Aquaman’s dad as the virile hero. But it’s a decent enough show that reminds me enough of 1970s cop dramas that nostalgia will keep me watching.

Suspects (Channel Five)
Channel 5’s first foray into original drama production in donkey’s years is a semi-improvised police drama that sees the National Lottery’s Fay Ripley investigating various crimes with the help of her team. Shot in shakey-cam, it has a documentary feel (in part because it’s Channel 5 and so colossally low budget) and you do genuinely believe you’re watching a proper police investigation a lot of the time. Which is fine, but I don’t want to watch a documentary about the police; I want to watch a drama.

Shows that I’ve been watching but not really recommending:

Agents of SHIELD (ABC)
Probably the best episode since the first one, with shock near-deaths as a cliffhanger, some comedy that actually worked for a change and the characters actually being characters. Too little too late?

Almost Human (Fox)
A change of showrunner gives us two good episodes in a row. The first had Gina Carano (woo hoo!) as a eyeliner-wearing soldier android/gynoid and also provided us with more background story. Meanwhile, for more or less the first time since the pilot, we had an episode dealing with the failed raid Karl Urban’s character led and what his evil girlfriend might have been up to. Some good scripting, some good action and some good characters – plus Gina Carano – means this is almost ready to go on the recommended list.

Enlisted (Fox)
A good point about sexism in the military and sexism towards women in the military. Otherwise, an okay episode.

Helix (SyFy/Channel 5)
Progress is being made, story is advancing and Jeri Ryan is arriving in tonight’s episode. I’m going to keep watching.

Rake (Fox)
Reviewed elsewhere on the blog.

And in the recommended list:

19-2 (Bravo Canada)
Reviewed elsewhere on the blog.

Arrow (The CW/Sky 1)
Nyssa Al Ghul turned up, Black Canary returned and all sorts of weird things happened sexually. There were some good fights, at least. Plus we now have one person who can pronounce Ra’s Al Ghul correctly, at least.

Banshee (Cinemax)
A road trip episode unlike all previous Banshee episodes. Lovely direction, some surprises in terms of wrong-footing with the plotting, and the general message that you can’t escape your past and live a happy life once you’ve done certain things. Excellent viewing.

The Doctor Blake Mysteries (ABC1/BBC1)
The return of the period Australian detective drama and the return of Doctor Blake himself after a trip overseas. Some unavoidable changes in the cast (a death in between seasons and an actor having gone off to the US to seek their fortune) as well as one in-story change haven’t really affected the show that much, although the various emotional repercussions of the overseas trip have been largely brushed under the carpet in a five-minute scene. A decent enough, well plotted episode, though.

Line of Duty (BBC2)
I gave up on the first season because it lacked subtlety and got very silly. However, this second season is an automatic recommendation already, because the first episode was such a cracker. Keeley Hawes is likeable for a change, despite possibly being evil; Jessica Raine is as great as ever. But who saw that ending coming? Tense and a must-see – at least for the next episode. Also, nice head-nod to the first series in the missing persons file.

True Detective (HBO/Sky Atlantic)
Another show promoted to the recommended list this week, thanks to a cracker of a fourth episode. The plot is sorting itself out, the characters are really developing and some superb direction make this another must-see. First episode review, third-episode verdict.

“What have you been watching?” 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?

Question of the week: what was your favourite show of 2013?

6 January 2014 Rob Buckley 19 Comments

Lots of TV blogs and sites have top 10s and 20s of the year’s programmes. Not wishing to be left out of the crowd, I thought I’d do one, too. But in my usual chaotic fashion, I decided to just list as many as I remember liking and then turn to you, my lovely readers, in the hope you’re more organised. And that you’ve nothing to do.

Anyway, this is really just the new shows that I loved in 2013. Feel free to list old shows, new shows or even DVDs you enjoyed last year.

The winner by a mile for the coveted top slot was:

Hannibal (review)
Elegant horror of the finest order, a simply sublime season that instead of being built around gore (although there was some incredibly disturbing imagery), hamminess and archness à la The Blacklist gave us a true horror: the fear of going mad, with FBI investigator Will Graham slowly beginning to doubt his own sanity. With a season-long arc that was hard to perceive until the final episode, it ended with a single image that made the whole thing worthwhile. Astonishing TV in almost every sense, from the dialogue to the visuals to the acting to the soundtrack to the throw-aways at the end of episodes that will haunt you for a long time after viewing.

Having said that, they cast Eddie Izzard in a key role so it wasn’t entirely perfect.

The runners up (no particular order)

  1. The Americans
  2. Serangoon Road
  3. Anno 1790
  4. The Tunnel
  5. Y Gwyll
  6. Engrenages/Spiral
  7. The Almighty Johnsons (season 3)
  8. Banshee
  9. The Blacklist
  10. House of Cards

But how about you?

What have you been watching? Including Y Gwyll, Serangoon Road, The Tunnel, Almost Human and Homeland

2 December 2013 Rob Buckley 11 Comments

It’s “What have you been watching?”, my chance to tell you what movies and TV I’ve been watching recently that I haven’t already reviewed and your chance to recommend things to everyone else (and me) in case I’ve missed them.

The usual “TMINE recommends” page features links to reviews of all the shows I’ve ever recommended, and there’s also the Reviews A-Z, for when you want to check more or less anything I’ve reviewed ever. And if you want to know when any of these shows are on in your area, there’s Locate TV.

It was a bit of a slow week for tele, last week, given that America was having its Thanksgiving holiday. Apparently, American’s don’t watch TV but eat instead. How bizarre and fundamentally un-British.

So I’ve caught up with some of the shows that were in my viewing queue, although I’ve still half the series finale of Seragoon Road to watch. I’ve also started Legacy, Paul Milne’s adaptation of Alan Judd’s spy novel. So far, so good, but Andrew Scott (Moriarty in Sherlock) as a Czech diplomat is singularly unconvincing.

Shows I’m watching but not recommending
Almost Human (Fox)
On the one hand, it’s nice to have a black male character who isn’t a stereotype of über-masculinity. On the other, he’s both a robot and quite dull, beyond the sci-fi things he does. Some good moments in the episode though and a good guest cast, too. But this needs to have a bit more in the human relationships department before it’s can do more than engage our brains a bit. Is Minka Kelly even in the show any more?

Agents of Shield (ABC/Channel 4)
More a ghost story than anything else, it tried to give some substance to Ming-Na Wen’s character, but failed, making us hate the rest of the cast a little more instead. Fitz and Simmons are just about the only characters working so far, but largely they’re there for laughs and not to have any proper background, beyond being expelled from Hogwarts or something.

Recommended shows
The Blacklist (NBC/Sky Living)
A two-parter and a very surprising one, with shock deaths thanks to the arrival of Red’s former partner in crime and apparent fellow understudy at a ‘cod Shakespearean dialogue for beginners’ workshop. Interesting the show also expand itself from merely organising tributes to particular actors and famous villains they’ve played to homaging entire movies, and given it’s an action show, no surprise that it should follow the aptly titled and ever-popular Buckley’s ‘Action Shows Die Hard Rule’, which states that any long-running action show will eventually do an episode that’s essentially Die Hard. They even had Megan Boone running around without any shoes on.

Homeland (Showtime/Channel 4)
In many ways a little magnificent, now they’ve got over the tricky problem of how to make Brodie a goodie. This week’s episode was more a look at modern special forces operations than spying (although it’s all one big melange these days, isn’t it?), but tensely handled and Shaun Toub is as magnificent as ever. Carrie’s still too much of a basket case for comfort though.

Serangoon Road (ABC1/HBO Asia)
A good balance of the personal and the action, and there was the now-obligatory episode for an Australian drama (there will only ever be one episode in said drama, though) that featured an aboriginal character. Good fight scenes, thrills and spills: why hasn’t any channel in the US or UK picked it up? Oh, the finale features Russell Wong, who was so good in The CW’s Black Sash, even if the show wasn’t, which is another good reason for watching it.

The Tunnel/Tunnel (Sky Atlantic/Canal+)
The action has now moved to France, and weirdly as soon as the show did that, it began to feel like an episode of Engrenages, right down to the music, tone, settings and Caroline Proust – except for the fact the police are moderately competent and well behaved in this show. Nice joke about Dillane’s misuse of ‘embrasse moi’ (he meant hug, he said kiss).

Y Gwyll/Hinterland (S4C/BBC Wales/BBC4)
Perhaps a little melodramatic, the finale was still beautifully shot, gripping and chock full of cliffhangers and dangling plot threads, so I’m looking forward to the second series, which has now been commissioned. I’m surprised by how little of any of the characters’ personal lives got invoked by the stories, but we’ll see where they take it next year. Or the year after. Whenever, basically. Try to watch it in Welsh on S4C, if you can, by the way.

“What have you been watching?” 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?