TV reviews

A complete archive of The Medium is Not Enough’s reviews of TV programmes since 2005

US TV

What have you been watching this week (w/e January 28)?

28 January 2011 Rob Buckley 5 Comments

Being Human

It’s “What have you been watching this week?”, your chance to recommend to friends and fellow blog readers the TV that they might be missing or should avoid – and for me to do mini-reviews of everything I’ve watched this week. 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?

As you may have noticed, patient reader, I didn’t one of these last week, because I was busily killing myself trying to meet some deadlines. Oops. But it’s here now, my memories having faded only a little bit. I’ve come to a little decision though: there are a number of shows that are basically the same every week, so to avoid boring you, I’ll only give them a mini-review if they actually do something different for a change, otherwise I’ll just flag them us as worth watching.

So Cougar Town, Modern Family, Michel Roux’s Service, House, 30 Rock, the returning Royal Pains, Top Gear and The Daily Show – watch them, they’re good, but I’ve not got a lot to say about them that.

I’ve also got a slight backlog to if anyone would like to wade in with a mini-review of the following (to let me/us know if I should bother watching them), please do: Danish show The Killing, which I hear is rather good; the returning Archer, which definitely was good last season; last night’s Community; this week’s Chuck; this week’s Episodes; last night’s 30 Rock; Baker Boys (Welsh thing starring Eve Myles about the effects of the recession of a small Welsh community); and last night’s Fairly Legal.

I should also point out that if an effort to clear my backlog, I ditched both FX’s dark manly boxing drama Lights Out, which Joe says is really good but one episode is more than any one person can bear; and Off The Map, ABC’s “US doctors in the wilds of South America” show from the people who brought you Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice – I watched five minutes of it and couldn’t face watching any more.

So after all that, after the jump, mini-reviews of Being Human, Being Human (US/Canada), last week’s Community, last week’s Episodes, How TV Ruined Your Life, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, Penn and Teller: Fool Us, Perfect Couples, The Secret Mediterranean with Trevor McDonald, Southland, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, and The Ten O’Clock Show.

Continue reading “What have you been watching this week (w/e January 28)?”

The CarusometerA Carusometer rating of 3

Third-episode verdict: Shameless (US)

28 January 2011 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

In the US: Sundays, 10pm ET/PT, Showtime

So Shameless, based on the Channel 4 series of the same, has been airing on Showtime for three weeks now. Time to pass a third-episode verdict.

On the whole, it’s been variable. Episode 1 was 50% pleasure, 50% pain, in which some loveable young rogues rip off the benefits system and try to make ends meet because their father, Frank, is a work-shy, amoral, immoral alcoholic. While it had romantic moments and funny moments and there were times that you were surprised to be watching a US show – what will all the nudity, swearing and members of the working/underclasses involved, –it wasn’t an especially fun hour of TV.

Episode 2 was a lot better, a lot more fun, while still maintaining many of the themes of the previous episode. We got some mental sex, thanks to special guest star Joan Cusack as the agoraphobic wife of Frank’s best friend, as well as a cross-border smuggling story. It was also warmer and funnier than the previous episode, where we got to see the love Frank the complete git bewilderingly inspires in his family and friends.

Episode 3, however, was back to episode 1 quality, maybe a little better, with gay middle son having to deal with some female interest and the family discovering their aunt has been dead for 12 years while Frank’s continued to cash her benefits cheques every month. We also have the continuing up and down romance between the sensible eldest daughter and her car thief boyfriend, which is the one central warm thing in the whole show.

I’m actually probably going to keep watching the show. It’s got a great cast, even if William H Macy doesn’t quite fit the lead role; it’s not desperately enjoyable, but the stories are interesting, it can be quite funny and it explores matters that are unexplored on most other US dramas. But if there’s a downturn in quality, it’s on a knife’s edge.

Carusometer rating: 3
Rob’s predication: Might actually last a couple of seasons, if not more

US TV

Review: Portlandia 1×1

27 January 2011 Rob Buckley 4 Comments

Portlandia

In the US: Fridays, 10.30/9.30c, IFC

The Independent Film Channel isn’t well known as a haven of comedy – more for earnestly liberal movies – but I’ll tell you what is well known for comedy: Saturday Night Live (at least it used to be). So imagine what would happen if you married IFC with SNL.

Portlandia, that’s what.

It’s essentially a comedy sketch show set in the (supposedly) earnestly liberal city of Portland, Oregon, a place where Steve Buscemi has to buy a 14-part series of books about a woman’s journey from a feminist book store in order to use the toilet and people have to investigate the farm their organic chicken has been reared in before they’ll eat it in a restaurant. Executive-produced by Lorne Michaels and featuring in most of the roles SNL‘s Fred Armisen and the most underrated female guitarist of all time, according to Rolling Stone magazine, Carrie Brownstein – collectively known as ThunderAnt – Portlandia isn’t 100% funny but it is one of the top two US comedies of the last year or so and if you like Flight of the Conchords, you’ll probably like this, too.

Here’s a hint at its hilarity and there are other videos over here:

Continue reading “Review: Portlandia 1×1”

The CarusometerA Carusometer rating of 4

Third-episode verdict: InSecurity

24 January 2011 Rob Buckley 3 Comments

In Canada: Tuesdays, 8.30pm ET, CBC

As we may recall, the first episode of InSecurity, CBC’s spy comedy, was dreadful – a lame, unfunny half-of-hour of bad acting and obvious jokes that everyone involved should be thoroughly ashamed of.

I’m pleased to say that although it’s not tremendously better, it has, at least, managed to raise a few laughs over the next couple of episodes. While it’s still operating at a base level of obvious, stupid and, again, poorly acted, there’s been a sight uptick in the writing, largely thanks to good old Canadian self-mockery, but with some actual characterisation going on as well.

Episode two has been the best of the crop so far, with the idea that Canada secretly has the most powerful armed forces in the world raising especial laughs, but episode three’s inept right-wing ex-prep school terrorists who can’t even bomb the National Arts Council of Canada properly managed to raise a giggle or two.

It’s clear that it’s always going to be both very hit or miss and stupid, but it does now have a few redeeming qualities and can occasionally make you laugh. It’s still not very good and if you have anything better to do, go and do that instead.

Carusometer rating: 4
Rob’s prediction: Dead by season’s end

The CarusometerA Carusometer rating of 4

Third-episode verdict: The Cape

24 January 2011 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

In the US: Mondays, 9/8c, NBC

So we’re three episodes into The Cape now, and while things are starting to get a little better, we still have a few fundamental problems that are unlikely to be overcome.

The first two episodes were a confused mess that didn’t know whether they were supposed to be cheesy self-parody or daring adventure, effectively offering nothing beyond homages to comics – in particular, Batman – that are a whole lot better. The third episode, however, was a little better, with the previous owner of The Cape coming back to collect his property and just a little bit of information about Summer Glau’s character, Orwell, emerging (it’s very comic book what we do get though).

All the same, we have the same fundamental problems. The Cape is actually a pretty rubbish superhero, with no special powers or even decent special skills beyond his possibly magical Cape. This is most obviously brought home in the fight scene at the end of episode three between the two masters of the Cape in which there’s actually bugger all fighting and what there is involves the Cape being used to grab things. Whoopdy doo.

Neither of the two leads are especially interesting and neither are their characters and an attempt to compensate by making all the carnival characters "characters" only ends up with them being ridiculous. Worse still, James Frain is an interesting actor, but his supervillain Chess is ineffectual and never really does anything.

Without anything new to offer and nothing compelling about cast, characters or storyline, this is television largely for people who are desperate for any comic book content on TV. For everyone else, it’s extremely avoidable.

Rating: 4
Rob’s prediction: Will be lucky to last to the end of the season, after which it will be cancelled (or not renewed) by whomever replaces Angela Bromstad in yet another NBC Night of the Long Knives.