TV reviews

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

US TV

Review: The Wire 4.1-4.2

22 September 2006 Rob Buckley Post a comment

The Wire

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

In the UK: Coming to FX later in the year.

Characters re-cast: 0

Major characters gotten rid of: 0 since last season’s cull

Major new characters: Dozens. Really.

Format change percentage: 75%

A new season of The Wire is always a disconcerting time for fans. What’s it going to be about this year? Who’s going to be in it from the regulars? The first season was a relatively simple affair: cops chasing drug dealers, although as always with The Wire, it’s never that simple. Season two flipped that round completely and turned it into a cops investigating the demise of working class life in once-industrial cities. Then season three started to look at the politics of policing as well as the politics of the police.

Now season four is dealing with the public education system and local politics. As with all seasons of The Wire, it’s is a slow-burn long-term plot with sub-plots that can only pay off episodes later. And it’s a cracker.

Continue reading “Review: The Wire 4.1-4.2”

Third episode verdict: ‘Til Death

22 September 2006 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

I was waiting for the green shoots of comedy to emerge from the distinctly average pilot. Unfortunately, it looks as if someone has come along, planted some uranium pellets and some salt around the green shoots and killed all greenery in a 100 mile radius. There’s still a few laughs per episode and if you found Everybody Loves Raymond endlessly entertaining, you’ll probably love it, but I’d recommend everyone else to stay away unless they have a nice lead-lined suit to keep them going.

The Unit – it does get better

22 September 2006 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Turns out, as hoped, that the first episode of the new season of The Unit was a blip: the third episode, The Kill Zone, is an absolute cracker. Loads of adrenaline on The Unit side, coupled with some interesting political comments on the home front, with the US army’s policies towards next of kin, funeral payments, etc, put under the microscope.

And yes, it was written by Lynn Mamet. Should be airing October 3rd in the US, which is when season one begins airing on Bravo in the UK, coincidentally.

US TV

Review: Criminal Minds 2.1

21 September 2006 Rob Buckley 5 Comments

Criminal Minds

In the US: Wednesdays, 9pm ET/PT, CBS

In the UK: Season one currently on Five. Will probably air on Living in 2007.

Characters re-cast: 0

Major characters gotten rid of: 0 (1 soon)

Major new characters: 0

Format change percentage: 0%

Cast members looking seriously older: 1

Criminal Minds was one of those shows I rejected as stupid over a year ago when I saw the screener. I’ve caught an episode here and there since, and while it’s not that bad, it combines massive over-seriousness with completely preposterous storylines.

The thing is, most serial killers, psychopaths and sociopaths are really dull. They’re not like the serial killers in books and movies. So when you make a TV series about them, you either have to come up with some completely unrealistic serial killers or produce a dull show.

So I tuned into the premiere episode of the second season, which picks up from last season’s finale, The Fisher King (Part One). My, they’ve gone for “interesting” killers in a big way, haven’t they?

Continue reading “Review: Criminal Minds 2.1”

US TV

Review: CSI: New York 3.1

21 September 2006 Rob Buckley Post a comment

CSI New York

In the US: Wednesdays, 10pm ET/PT, CBS

In the UK: The usual places



Characters re-cast: 0

Major characters gotten rid of: 0

Major new characters: 2

Format change percentage: 0%

New hair styles: 1

I’ve tried watching CSI: New York. I made it through the first season and a half. Then I just got so bored, I stopped. The few episodes I caught after that did nothing to make me think I’d made the wrong choice. Now it’s back for a third season. Have they done anything to change it to make we want to reconsider?

No.

There have been a few changes. Claire Forlani has joined the cast as Mac’s new girlfriend (Eww!) and there’s another police officer to help out while Flack is recovering. But it’s still a dull show, with no real personality of its own. The scripts are sub-CSI, the characters not as interesting. Don’t start watching it if you’re not already, that’s my advice.