A complete archive of The Medium is Not Enough’s reviews of TV programmes since 2005
In the UK: Saturday 29th May, 7pm, BBC1
In the US: Saturday 12th June, 9/8c, BBC America
Well, blimey. You could knock me down with a feather. A Chris Chibnall story that’s a very close approximation to good. Will wonders never cease?
Spoilers and general tomfoolery after the jump.
In the UK: Saturday 22nd May, 6.15pm, BBC1
In the US: Saturday 5th June, 9/8c, BBC America
Sorry to anyone who was desperate for a full review of Amy’s Choice (Why? Who are you?) last week, but I just ran out of time. All the same, I did do a mini-review of it on Friday in case you missed it.
But let’s move on to this week’s episode. With a song.
Who’s the writer who
puts terror in your heart?
He rips off everything
and he makes it three times worse.Who’s the writer who can’t plot?
He made Torchwood what it was
and…
Oh screw it. I can’t be bothered doing any more. The chorus just goes Chris Chibnall, Chris Chibnall, Chris Chibnall, anyway.
Chris Chibnall is responsible for far and away some of the worst episodes of Doctor Who and Torchwood: Cyberwoman, 42, Adrift. You can usually pretty much guarantee as soon as you see our Chibber’s name in the writing credits that the following story will go down as smoothly as milk with a sell-by date of March 1998.
Yet it seems that while he still can’t produce a classic, with Steven Moffat overseeing things, he can at least produce something with a few good moments and that doesn’t suck anywhere near as badly as Victory of the Daleks. Of course, if you were expecting him to turn in something original, you really do believe in Stevie miracles, don’t you?
Continue reading “Review: Doctor Who – 5×8 – The Hungry Earth”
In the US: Sunday 23rd May, ABC, 7/6c
In the UK: Monday 24th May, Sky 1/Sky 1 HD, 5am
So that’s it. Six years. It’s all over now. The final episode of Lost has finally aired. All the mysteries have finally been answered. Woo hoo!
Where is the island? What is the island? Who is Jacob? What is the smoke monster? How did Jacob arrange for everyone to end up on the island? What’s happening in the flashes sideways? What is the source of Jacob’s power? What are the rules of the game? Why was Charles Widmore expelled from the island? What did he and Ben have to fight about? What happened when the nuclear bomb went off at the end of season five? How did Faraday’s mum know so much about time travel, etc?
Yep. All answered in the series finale.
Oh wait…
Spoilers and more after the jump.
In the US : Thursdays/Fridays, 10pm/10.30pm/11.30pm, Starz/Starz Cinema/Starz Edge
When last we left Gravity, we were pondering the oddness of a comedy-drama about failed suicide attempts. Three episodes in and we’re still pondering.
After an opening episode that mostly featured just two members of the suicide counselling group – staid Rob and quirky Lily – episodes two and three felt a bit more anthology show, focusing mainly on other members of the group, as well as the weird police detective following Rob and Lily. We got to meet the slight weird perfect housewife, who turned out to (spoiler) have shot herself because it was either that or tell everyone how trapped she felt in her life. And then in the third episode, it was all about the (spoiler) Latino construction worker-come-comedian who has a very small penis.
The police detective, we’re not sure about – we don’t know why he’s following Rob and Lily, but we do know he has (spoiler) gambling problems, hypochondria, cash issues and more, including a very aggressive yoga style.
As of yet, though, there doesn’t appear to be any real plot. We’re merely seeing a group of people struggling to change their lives so they don’t try to take them again. Sometimes we see the things in their old lives that made them want to end them; sometimes we see the promise of their new lives; sometimes we see the intersection. Sometimes it’s tragic, sometimes it’s sad, sometimes it’s funny.
But it’s almost never truly sad, and it’s almost never very funny. It’s that kind of weird, quirky insubstantial dealing with deep issues in a shallow way that legions of independent film makers have perfected over the years.
Despite this failure to truly excel, it does have some decent actors, some intriguing characters and some rib-tickling moments. It’s just a little bit too fey for my taste. But I’m going to keep watching.
Carusometer rating: 2
Rob’s prediction: Could go either way with Starz, given Party Down is still going, but it should last a season at least.
In the UK: Saturday 8th May 2010, 6.25pm, BBC1
In the US: Saturday 22nd May 2010, 9/8c, BBC America
So you want a Doctor Who story that’s funny, about relationships and involves vampires? Well, the obvious choice is that bloke who wrote School Reunion way back when, isn’t it? I mean that had flying thingies and monsters and a bit of banter between the Doctor, companions, blokes, women et al, didn’t it?
Not seeing it yet?
Then let me put it to you another way: so you want a Doctor Who story that’s funny, about relationships and involves vampires? Well, the obvious choice is Toby Whithouse, creator of 20something vampire/werewolf/ghost flatshare comedy-drama Being Human, isn’t it?
You’re seeing it now, aren’t you?
Spoiler and more after the jump.
Continue reading “Review: Doctor Who – 5×6 – The Vampires of Venice”
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