US TV

An archive of articles about US television programmes and production.

Third-episode verdict: The Class

4 October 2006 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

It had a promising start and it’s continued to be promising. Only a few minor changes since the preview, with one character having been recast – it’s for the better, since the original actor gave one particular relationship a touch of the “Ew!”, so makes the possible adultery intended not quite as inevitable as it was in the pilot.

It’s not quite as clever as when it started – not saying much – but its characters are all reasonably entertaining, people are already starting to pair up and there’s steady plot progression rather than “situation of the week”. It’s like Friends, circa seasons two and three. Not quite as good as Friends season one, but what is? I’m going to carry on watching anyway.

Fourth-episode verdict: Men in Trees

3 October 2006 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

A rare fourth-episode verdict here, but the third-episode was so bad compared to the first two that I felt delayed judgement was required.

Well, the fourth episode was definitely better than the third, but it still didn’t quite have the charm of the first two. Maybe I’ve just fallen out of love with it. I suspect it’s only going to be good when Jenny Bicks writes it.

A reluctant thumbs down, then. What a pity.

US TV

Review: Dexter

3 October 2006 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Dexter

In the US: Showtime, Sundays, 10pm

In the UK: Acquired by FX for showing in early 2007.

You’ve got to hand it to Showtime. For years, the ITV1 to HBO’s BBC1, it’s finally got its groove back and is putting out some great stuff, like Weeds, Brotherhood, Sleeper Cell, The L Word and now Dexter.

All the same, you’d have thought serial killer dramas like Dexter would be a bit passé . They’re unrealistic and pretty much all the same: bad man who attacks women gets chased by nice police people, who build up clues and an idea of the killer’s mind until he’s apprehended or killed.

So Dexter, if it’s possible to feel welcoming towards a gory serial killer drama, is indeed welcome for providing a new twist. The eponymous ‘hero’, Dexter, is indeed a serial killer. But he’s a member of the police – a CSI in fact. And get this: he only kills other killers.

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An episode all for a line

2 October 2006 Rob Buckley 3 Comments

My Name is Earl‘s second episode just aired in the States. About halfway through the episode, UK viewers, someone will say a line. It’s a great line. And you’ll realise the entire episode has been crafted simply to allow that line to be said. Amazing. I won’t spoil it for you now, but you will recognise it when you hear it.

It’s an interesting contrast, for once, with House, which took a sledgehammer out, smashed lines out of the way and put people through contortions, purely to get a character to say “cunning plan” for the benefit of Blackadder fans in the second episode of the season. Weird.