US TV

Review: Girls (HBO) 1×1

17 April 2012 Rob Buckley 9 Comments

In the US: Sundays, 10.30pm, HBO

And so HBO’s quest for the new Sex and the City continues. Take four women, stick them in a city, let them talk to each other a lot, particularly about sex. Hey presto! You have a new Sex and the City. Magic or what?

Clearly, it’s not as easy as all that, though, or Cashmere Mafia, Lipstick Jungle, Women’s Murder Club, and all the other SatC knock-offs US TV has thrown at us over the past half-decade or so all would be hit TV shows and movies by now.

However, HBO’s Girls has a lot better chance of being the new Sex and the City. I think. Trouble is, unlike Sex and the City which really was a truly universal show (if you took the trouble to watch it), Girls is a show that maybe only girls will watch. And I mean girls – or at least young women, here – because this is a show that (probably) has its finger so close to the pulse of young American women’s lives (or at least East Coast, white, straight, middle to upper-middle class women’s lives) that if it gets any closer, there’ll be arterial spray hitting the walls in thousands of houses. And by girls, I also mean girls who love indie movies since this is effectively Sex and the City if it had been written by Ibsen on one of his cheerier days.

But I’m not a girl, so how should I know?

If you’re in the US, you can see for yourself with the whole of the first episode on YouTube:

Otherwise, you’ll have to make do with this trailer:

Continue reading “Review: Girls (HBO) 1×1”

US TV

Review: Don’t Trust The B—- in Apt 23 (ABC) 1×1

17 April 2012 Rob Buckley 6 Comments

Don't Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23

In the US: Wednesdays, 9.30c/8.30c, ABC

If there’s one good thing about this year’s season of shows, it’s that there are women in them front and centre. All kinds of women. Good women. Bad women. Secret agent women. Policewomen. Criminal women. PR women without children. Stay-at-home moms. Moms with careers. Playboy bunnies. Air hostesses. Christian women. Rich women. Broke girls. Bent women. Drunk women. Gifted women. Scared-of-commitment women. Fairy-tale women. Girls (more on them later). Not many female scientists – although what did Leslie Hope do in The River? – but a pleasing variety of women nonetheless.

Less pleasing is the growing fear of women in some of these very same shows. Apart from shows such as Last Man Standing and Work It, which are essentially about men’s fear of women, we have GCB – the show formerly known as Good Christian Bitches – which is all about grown-up mean girls. Ringer has Sarah Michelle Gellar being persecuted by her own twin sister. Revenge sees a woman trying to bring down the women (and men) who led to the ruin of her father.

Shows, in other words, in which women should fear women.

Now we have another show which can’t bring itself to use the word ‘bitch’ but kind of includes it in the title anyway – Don’t Trust The B—- in Apt 23. It’s all about a naive woman who moves to New York and finds her life falling apart, in part because of a new, female, sociopathic roommate, whom she absolutely should not trust.

Apparently. Even though the bitch is friends with con artist James Van Der Beek. Yes, Dawson from Dawson’s Creek. He’s out to get you and your money. Turns out you can’t trust actors either. Here’s a trailer.

Continue reading “Review: Don’t Trust The B—- in Apt 23 (ABC) 1×1”

Sitting Tennant

Tuesday’s Sitting Tennant (week 16, 2012)

17 April 2012 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Sister Chastity's Sitting Tennant

And it’s another unusual one from Sister Chastity that takes the chequered flag this week. Well done to her and thanks to everyone who’s submitted pictures this week – the gallery will return on Friday to show the best of the rest, Tony Hart-stylee (anyone here over 15?).

  1. Sister Chastity: 25
  2. Hebbie, Shilohforever: 15

Sitting Board of Winners 2012
January
Hebbie, Sister Chastity

February
Sister Chastity

March
Sister Chastity

Got a picture of David Tennant sitting, lying down or in some indeterminate state in between? Then leave a link to it below or email me and if it’s judged suitable and doesn’t obviously infringe copyright, it will appear in the Sitting Tennant gallery. Don’t forget to include your name in the filename so I don’t get mixed up about who sent it to me.

The best pic in the stash each week will appear on Tuesday and get ten points; the runners up will appear on Friday (one per person who sends one in) and get five points.

Each month, I’ll name the best picture provider and then at the end of the year, the overall champion will be announced for 2012!

Sitting Tennant

Tuesday’s Sitting Tennant (week 16, 2012)

17 April 2012 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Sister Chastity's Sitting Tennant

And it’s another unusual one from Sister Chastity that takes the chequered flag this week. Well done to her and thanks to everyone who’s submitted pictures this week – the gallery will return on Friday to show the best of the rest, Tony Hart-stylee (anyone here over 15?).

  1. Sister Chastity: 25
  2. Hebbie, Shilohforever: 15

Sitting Board of Winners 2012
January
Hebbie, Sister Chastity

February
Sister Chastity

March
Sister Chastity

Got a picture of David Tennant sitting, lying down or in some indeterminate state in between? Then leave a link to it below or email me and if it’s judged suitable and doesn’t obviously infringe copyright, it will appear in the Sitting Tennant gallery. Don’t forget to include your name in the filename so I don’t get mixed up about who sent it to me.

The best pic in the stash each week will appear on Tuesday and get ten points; the runners up will appear on Friday (one per person who sends one in) and get five points.

Each month, I’ll name the best picture provider and then at the end of the year, the overall champion will be announced for 2012!