US TV

An archive of articles about US television programmes and production.

US TV

And at number 25…

29 August 2006 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Coming up with last few characters in the list of the top 25 TV characters ever has proved harder than I thought. I managed to come up with 23 and 24 yesterday morning. That’s caused a bit of a stir over at the Doctor Who LiveJournal forum. Some agreed with my inclusion of Liz Shaw. Some didn’t pick up on my tongue-in-cheek style. Oh well.

Anyway, ever since, I’ve been trying to come up with number 25. You should have seen the look on my wife’s face when I explained why I seemed distracted in Sainsbury’s: “Well, I’m trying to think up the 25th greatest character in TV history.” “Oh, right….”

I came up with a few options, some of whom might be good for your own lists, if you haven’t already got them:

  • Frank Burnside from The Bill
  • Miranda from Sex and the City (thanks Marie)
  • Maggie Forbes from The Gentle Touch (which goes back to my point about how we forget strong female characters in favour of slightly less strong female characters such as Jane Tennison from Prime Suspect, in this case)
  • Dirty Den from EastEnders (until he came back from the dead)
  • Dr Cox from Scrubs (thanks Lisa)
  • Niles Crane from Frasier (thanks again Lisa)
  • Regan from The Sweeney
  • JR from Dallas
  • Matthew Burton from It’s Your Move (Jason Bateman showing off some extreme talent at a very early age)
  • Jason King from Department S and Jason King (the original Austin Powers)
  • Kit Curran from The Kit Curran Radio Show
  • Julie Newmar’s Catwoman in Batman
  • Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers
  • Howling Mad Murdoch from The A-Team
  • Tom Chance from Chance in a Million



Eventually, though, I hit on it. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten him (or is it her)! You might well kick yourself when you hear their name.

At number 25 is…

Jim Bergerac.

Nah. Just kidding it’s….

Continue reading “And at number 25…”

More on ‘Little Britain US’ and a new series from Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais

25 August 2006 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Broadcast (normally subscription only, but free for everyone while the Edinburgh Festival is running) has an interview with Simon Fuller about various things, including his bust up with Simon Cowell and the proposed ‘Little America‘ or ‘Little Britain US’ (or whatever it is they’re doing).

“We are on the brink of confirming something rather special,” he confirms. “Comedy of that quality always crosses the Atlantic. Think back to Monty Python. Who would have thought that would have been such a big hit in America?”

The Times has more info. Maybe. It might be reading too much into the Broadcast interview, though.

For those with an appreciation of classic comedy, there’s more good news from Fuller. He’s cajoled Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement, who wrote The Likely Lads, Porridge and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, into creating a new series, too:

“It’s a music drama with a bit of comedy in it. It has the flavour of a very contemporary version of The Commitments for TV.”

Sounds a bit like one of their few flops, Over the Rainbow, doesn’t it? But only a bit. Let us wait and see.

Five US goes live in October

25 August 2006 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Five US, the channel made just for me, is to start broadcasting on October 15th, according to the Media Guardian. And so’s that other one they have planned, Five Life.

Five US will broadcast daily between 4pm and 1am. Vanished and Shark, which I’ve already previewed, will be two of the main attractions, as will Conviction from Law & Order creator Dick Wolf and Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King. Nick Thorogood will be the controller of both digital channels.

You can read the Media Guardian article to find out more about Five Life, since I don’t care. Five US is my channel.

Some of my favourite TV characters

25 August 2006 Rob Buckley 23 Comments

Okay, so Scott’s already got in on the act and Lisa looks like she’s raring up to do her own posting elsewhere, but here’s a list of some of my favourite TV characters in response to Jess Whedon’s. In no particular order.

  1. Neil Burnside, The Sandbaggers. Lots of explanation over here.
  2. David Creegan, Touching Evil (US version). Lots of explanation over here.
  3. Stringfellow Hawke, Airwolf. Because he was just so hard
  4. Callisto, Xena: Warrior Princess. One of the few villains to have a good – and sympathetic – motivation. Plus how many characters get to die yet end up a god?
  5. Chandler, Friends. Fantastic until he got neutered by Monica.
  6. Lieutenant Castillo, Miami Vice. Even harder than Stringfellow Hawke. That’s how hard he was. The less he said, the harder he got.
  7. House, House. Do I really need to explain this one?
  8. The President, The West Wing. Moral, dynamic, powerful and a complete nerd who speaks Latin. We need more characters like this. He made me want to be American, anyway.
  9. Turlough, Doctor Who. Slippy, weasly and great fun – for three stories. Then he went off the idea of killing the Doctor. Oh well.
  10. Anya, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Just endlessly entertaining.
  11. James T Kirk, Star Trek. Well, he was great, wasn’t he?
  12. Spock, Star Trek. And so was he.
  13. Lynda Day, Press Gang. And so was she. Pretty much like most editors you’ll meet, in fact.
  14. DI Rosie Campbell, The Paradise Club. I just loved this posh, Oxford-educated police officer trying to spew out police slang, be street and it all going pear-shaped, every time.
  15. Chloe Sullivan, Smallville. Smart, funny, loyal, brave, and willing to put up with a constantly broken heart for the sake of friendship – the best sidekick a superhero could want
  16. Tony Hancock, Hancock’s Half Hour. The funniest man who ever lived.
  17. Avon, Blake’s 7. Seriously, just watch any episode and you’ll understand.
  18. Jarod, The Pretender. A genius who could be anyone he wanted to be. Great character, shame the show got silly.
  19. Nasir, Robin of Sherwood. Britain’s answer to Lieutenant Castillo.
  20. Austin James, P.R.O.B.E. Another genius, this one scientific. From the brain of Isaac Asimov and pretty much like all his other characters, James was the proto-House of his day

I’ve left a load out, I’m sure of it. But that’s a good crop to be getting on with. Depressingly few women in there, though. How do we up the quota? Give me suggestions!

UPDATE: And Stringer Bell from The Wire! He’s a drug-dealer, but he goes to economics classes in the evening. You’ve got to love that.