TV reviews

It’s Friday so it must be time for “What have Toby and I been watching this week?” I’ve caught up with quite a bit of tele, but still a few things to watch, so bear with me: Southland started on More4 this week, so I’ve got to watch that; Rookie Blue‘s second episode aired last night; and I’ve a couple of documentaries to watch, too. But I did see:

• Burn Notice: Last week’s bank episode was actually pretty good and I enjoyed it a lot. This week’s “heroin dealers” one was a little bit unconvincing, as is Navi Rawat off Numb3rs. Honestly, we need a bit more of a change of formula than the addition of Jesse to make the show as interesting as it was when it started.
• The Gates: This week, it was werewolf week, where we got to find out a bit more about werewolf society, which proved interesting. We also learnt there are succubuses in the Gates! It’s proving to be quite fun, with basically the same issues everyone has, projected on the vampires, etc, but with some obvious twists. I’m definitely enjoying it so far, and the detective lead is proving that you can be both bland and intriguing at the same time.
• Hot in Cleveland: Episode 2 was so bad, I turned off after five minutes, not having laughed once. Oddly, I’m sure Betty White said in an interview on The Daily Show recently that she wouldn’t do drug jokes. So how come every single line she gets in this is a drugs joke?
• The IT Crowd: As funny as ever. Need I say more?
• Leverage: Richard Chamberlain turned up for the first of this week’s double-header, which was quite an enjoyable piece of fun, full of Avengers and other references. The second was a tad drearier and the reveal (Nathan had used hypnosis) was downright stupid. Also surprised by Elliot’s variable fighting skills – he’s having problems with just one bloke at a time now.
• Memphis Beat: About halfway through the second episode now and it’s proving about as dynamic as Heartbeat still. And how much hair dye is Jason Lee wearing? That’s is the most even black hair colour this side of Wayne Newton.
• 100 Questions: I’ve negligently been forgetting to update on this one, even though I’ve been sticking with it. Episode four was a bit poor, but episode five was actually very good – a flashback episode to how Wayne turned up on the scene. Episode six was less amusing and my God the main cast has some dreadful actors (I’ll be charitable and assume it’s the presence of a studio audience making the cast give theatrical performances), but the Wayne-Charlotte non-romance continued pleasingly. But it’s all over now. No more episodes. Wonder what Sophie Winkleman will do now.
• Persons Unknown: It’s very strange how claustrophobic the lack of answers, the general atmosphere, the constant cameras, et al are making me. I could definitely do a few more answers now, mind, purely through slight boredom – you’re stuck in a ghost town, there’s no escape, I get it. Still, there are signs at the end of the episode that there will be answers next week – and glad to see my guess at the mole was correct. Interesting statement about “the process“, too. What can it all mean?
• Royal Pains: A depiction of Cuba by American TV that’s quite even handed and doesn’t make you cringe? How remarkable. Clearly they’d been watching Michael Moore films to get an idea of the island’s healthcare system, too. Anastasia Griffith was engaging as Hank’s new rival, although she appears to have stopped eating food since Trauma.
• Scoundrels: Is working best when it tries to be funny and uplifting, fails hopelessly when it tries to be edgy, with David James Elliott failing particularly on this score. Carlos Bernard appears to think he’s in a sitcom now, and there are very few surprises about anything – you can pretty much guess every plot development as soon as the lead in begins. Still Dina Meyer (Starship Troopers) was it, which is always a good thing, Virginia Madsen’s keeping things together, and Leven Rambin and Patrick John Flueger are both worth watching.

But what have you been watching?

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