French TV

An archive of blog entries about French TV programmes and production.

The BarrometerA Barrometer rating of 4

Third-episode verdict: Crossing Lines (NBC/TF1)

8 July 2013 Rob Buckley Post a comment

In the US: Sundays, 10/9c, NBC
In France: TF1. No air date yet

Crossing Lines TV Schedule

Time to appraise the first three episodes of Crossing Lines, NBC and TF1’s bold attempt to make a eurocop thriller that doesn’t totally suck. Created by one of the showrunners of Criminal Minds, Crossing Lines sees William Fichtner’s physically challenged, burned out former New York cop for no good reason other than international co-production funding join forces with a group of European cops at the ICC in investigating cross-border crimes that manage to evade national police forces in Europe.

As we saw from the first episode, some of these cops can act, some of these cops can’t; Donald Sutherland is in the show as well, for no very good reason; and largely the show is a mass of dramatic clichés, but strangely capable of at least some local sensibilities and occasional surprises. 

Episode two saw a retreat from cliché in favour of extreme boredom, with a very chatty episode involving a bit of art theft, some dodgy science and a lot of moping. The show shifted from everyone speaking their native languages where necessary to everyone, even incidental characters, speaking English without prior bidding and in the most improbable of situations. We did, also, get the first hints at a continuing story arc involving a shady Russian – who’s not yet been seen, only intimated at.

Episode three, which judging from some of the story set-up might well have been episode two once upon a time, was a markedly improved affair that gave the German character some much needed characterisation that was remarkably stereotype-free. Fichtner wasn’t the be-all and end-all of investigation, and everyone managed to have something to do, even if some of them weren’t up to the job (cough, cough, the Italian cop, cough, cough). But it did also continue the show’s reality gap issues, with a cross-border, trucker fight club that would almost certainly have made any viewer roll their eyes in disbelief. 

The show is silly. That aspect can’t be avoided. But it does present a largely stereotype-free view of Europeans that is refreshing compared to the usual US TV depictions. I really want to like it, as a result, but the plots are the usual insult to rational thought that you’d expect from Criminal Minds et al. I’m hoping, given time, it can mine the numerous genuine cross-border problems Europe has for some stories that don’t insult the viewer. But I don’t have a huge amount of hope.

Barrometer rating: 4
Rob’s prediction: Will be lucky to last a season

What did you watch this week? Including Crossing Lines, Perception, Satisfaction, Under The Dome and Much Ado About Nothing

5 July 2013 Rob Buckley 7 Comments

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.

Normally, at this point, I’d list my usual recommendations. But what with international viewing schedules, etc, that’s started to get awkward. Instead, as I revealed on Tuesday, I’ve put together a “TMINE recommends” page, featuring links to reviews of all the shows I’ve ever recommended. I’ll improve it in all sorts of ways over time, since it’s a bit rough and ready at the moment, but it should mean that you’ll be able to find some good TV viewing if you need to.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been watching this week. Still in my viewing queue, though, is Being Mary Jane, BET’s new comedy-drama with Gabrielle Union, about “one black woman who is not representative of all black women” and her struggles with life and love. I’m not in a big rush to review this since the series itself doesn’t start until January 2014. But after a slightly shaky, very ordinary first five minutes, it started to improve post titles, so I’ll probably have a review up on (checks work schedule) Thursday next week.

The Almighty Johnsons (TV3/SyFy UK/Space)
Yes, it’s the return of New Zealand’s best drama show, with Norse gods (weakly) reincarnated in the bodies of ordinary mortals, all hoping that they’ll return to full strength once Odin and Frigg get married. It feels like the show’s trying to right itself after a somewhat erratic second season, with more of a focus on relationships. Some great individual dramatic and comedic moments, but no sign yet of a strong season-long narrative drive to push the plot. UK viewers will be relieved to hear season three has been acquired by SyFy UK, for broadcast soon.

Crossing Lines (NBC/TF1)
The first episode, of course, was a tiresome mixture of dramatic cliché and serial killer topes from cop shows, all set against a European backdrop. Episode two was a vastly chattier affair, less cliched but incredibly boring to watch. There doesn’t appear to be a good reason at all for Donald Sutherland to be in this, but they keep trying to find things for him to do, and the poor old German character may be the best of the actors not performing in their native languages, but he’s got almost nothing to do in terms of character development, sadly. It’s also becoming readily apparent that the writers have no real understanding of the difference between Northern Ireland and Eire, with yet another Irish character popping but having a Northern Irish accent. Some vague hints at a season arc involving a shady Russian, though, so maybe it’ll get better in the next few episodes.

Graceland (USA)
Too boring and not unique enough for me to keep watching, so it’s been dropped from my viewing schedule.

Perception (TNT/Watch)
A slightly stronger episode this week than last week’s, with our hero and heroine investigating a woman who thinks her husband has been abducted by aliens – it’s all because of a rare brain syndrome of course. The season arc stuff was quite well handled, alternately funny and moving, but the procedural side of things once again easily the worst aspect of the show, which would be great as a simple “weird condition of the week” psychological House.

Satisfaction (CTV)
A funny second episode that went a little way towards rectifying the problems that the first episode had with Leah Renee’s character. It could do with steering away from the supporting characters, though, since they’re bordering on the offensive (particularly the one with a cleft palate). Fake TV show The Horse Doctor was inspired though.

Under the Dome (CBS/Channel 5)
Exactly the same as any other Stephen King story set in a small town in Maine, and this week, of course, the casualties began to mount up. Absolutely unremarkable but reasonably diverting.

And in movies:

Much Ado About Nothing
Leagues better than the self-congratulatory Kenneth Branagh version, this sees virtually everyone who’s been in a Joss Whedon-directed TV show or film all together in one place for the first time outside of the convention circuit to do a modern-day but linguistically intact retelling of Shakespeare’s classic comedy – all shot in black and white in what’s probably Whedon’s house during his lunch breaks. Fine performances from everyone, particularly Nathan Fillion and Amy Acker, and excellent direction from Whedon, too, who manages to make a Shakespeare comedy genuinely funny. Still, it always weird to hear Alexis Denisof with an American accent.

“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?

US TV

Review: Crossing Lines 1×1 (NBC/TF1)

28 June 2013 Rob Buckley 9 Comments

Crossing Lines

In the US: Sundays, 10/9c, NBC
In France: TF1. No air date yet

Crime, these days, is global. In Europe, which doesn’t have an equivalent to the FBI specifically tasked with investigating ‘federal’ crimes, if you’re a computer hacker in Poland, you can steal money from a French bank as easily as if you were in Paris and the policiers will have a devil of a time bringing you to book. If you’ve killed someone in London and are looking to avoid the police, a quick trip on the Eurostar over to Brussels and even if the Met know you committed the crime, getting the Federale Politie/Police Fédérale/Föderale Polizei to not only talk to each other but find you and arrest you will be far more challenging for them than getting the South Tyneside police to do the same.

My, if only there were some kind of pan-European bunch of cops tasked with investigating crimes that cross EU state boundaries, able to skirt these kind of jurisdictional issues so they can bring to heel criminals who have escaped justice because of lack of co-operation between forces.

Well, there isn’t, but Crossing Lines, a US-French-German co-production, imagines such an elite group of cops, albeit one that needs an American lead for in-story reasons that are a little opaque and for real-world reasons that are far more explicable.

It stars William Fichtner (Prison Break, Invasion, MDs) as a crippled New York cop who’s moved to the Netherlands and become a garbage collector for reasons that are initially inexplicable but become clearer by the end of the pilot. He’s recruited for his deductive powers (and American-ness) by a French detective (singer and occasional actor Marc Lavoine) who heads up an elite team of cops at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The team also includes a British interrogation specialist (Genevieve O’Reilly), a Northern Irish weapons specialist and former traveller (Richard Flood), a German technology expert (Tom Wlaschiha from HBO’s Game of Thrones), an Italian undercover specialist (Gabriella Pession) and a French crime analyst with an eidetic memory (Moon Dailly from France 3’s Commissaire Magellan). Together with the help of an ICC inspector (Donald Sutherland – do I really have to tell you who he is?), the team can investigate crimes other groups can’t touch.

Their first case? Well, given the series was created by one of the show runners of Criminal Minds, despite the shiny international cast, the numerous glossy European locations, relatively high budget and a surprising nose for local cultural differences, would it surprise you if I told you it was a relatively dull, tedious, cliched affair involving an American serial killer? Probably not.

Here’s a trailer:

Continue reading “Review: Crossing Lines 1×1 (NBC/TF1)”

Tuesday’s “Paul Giamatti joins Downton, Liam Neeson’s back for Taken 3, and World War Z 2” news

25 June 2013 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Film

Film casting

Trailers

  • Trailer for Adore with Naomi Watts and Robin Wright
  • Trailer for Prince Avalanche, starring Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch and Lance LeGault

French TV

  • Simon Mirren and David Wolstencroft to rewrite Versailles for Canal+

UK TV

US TV

US TV casting

New US TV show casting

What did you watch this week? Including The White Queen, The Returned, Man of Steel, Continuum, Hannibal and Graceland

21 June 2013 Rob Buckley 11 Comments

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:

  • Continuum (Showcase/SyFy)
  • The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
  • Hannibal (NBC/Sky Living)

And here’s what I thought of them and others:

  • Continuum (Showcase/SyFy): The action is definitely amping up now, even if the amount of sense the show is making isn’t. Some surprises to be had, some revelations that weren’t, and some weird twists that were probably just there for weirdness’s sake. Nevertheless, it’s definitely getting back on track as a show.
  • Graceland (USA): I’m still watching episode three, which is a marked improvement on its predecessors (full third-episode verdict on Monday). But episode 2 was soporific, derivative rubbish.
  • Hannibal (NBC/Sky Living): An exquisite end to a fabulous season. Always surprising, always keeping you guessing, with some astonishing moments along the way from writing staff, directors and cast alike. The final scene was just perfect, too. Why do we have to wait for a year for it to come back? Sigh.
  • The Returned (Canal+/Channel 4): A bunch of French people in a small town who have all been bereaved – for better or for worse – wake up one day to find their dead loved ones are back. Then they have to adjust – and find out what’s happening, and potentially kill off some of the dead people. So far, a bit lightweight but a couple of interesting episodes establishing the main characters, and there’s a very creepy kid called Victor. I’ll probably stick with it, just for the music which oddly enough is by Mogwai.
  • The White Queen (BBC1/Starz): To me, a very dull historical potboiler, with surprising additional witchcraft. To my lovely wife, a brilliant, faithful adaption of a great book. Therefore, YMMV. Will air on Starz in the US in August with more sex. Quelle surprise.

And in movies:

Man of Steel
A reboot of the Superman franchise, with an origin story that sees Russell Crowe as Superman’s real dad, Kevin Costner and Superman’s adoptive dad, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as General “Kneel Before” Zod, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White and some bloke called Henry Cavill as Superman. On many levels awesome in its more literal sense, with some astonishing action set pieces and effects that finally do justice to the entire range of Superman’s super-powers. On the other hand, a very bitty, very nerdy story that only really works when it’s all about hitting people very hard, bar a few isolated moments, most of them involving Kevin Costner, only one or two of them involving Lois Lane. A little bit too po-faced, too. But a lot better than you might have thought of Zack Snyder, not as good as you’d have thought of Christopher Nolan and about right for David Goyer. The cast are all great, and there’s a good kick-ass female baddie, too, which makes a nice change.

Lovely wife found it astonishingly boring, though, although she hates anything by Christopher Nolan.

“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?