So I tried watching Parks and Recreation a while back and found it largely unfunny. There was, however, one bright ray of hope in it and that was Ron Swanson, regular American male. Here’s a collection of his best encounters with food and if the show consisted purely of Ron Swanson and moments like these, I’d be telling you all to watch it. But it doesn’t so don’t.
News
Tuesday’s news
Doctor Who
- Torchwood ratings on a par with Camelot‘s
Film
- Arnold Schwarzenegger to star in The Last Stand
- Chris Hemsworth to play James Hunt in Rush
- Elizabeth Banks joins What To Expect When You’re Expecting
- Michael Chiklis to be villain in Jason Statham’s Parker
- Trailer for The Inbetweeners
- Christian Slater and Adewale Akkinuoye-Agbaje join Bullet To The Head
- New trailer for Tintin
- Teaser trailer for Sherlock 2
Theatre
- Theatres cutting back on actors and shows
British TV
- Virgin launches smartphone app for TiVo customers
- Trailer for Life’s Too Short
Canadian TV
- Flashpoint returns to 1.4m viewers
- Rookie Blue picked up for third season
US TV
- Watch one minute of the new Dallas
- ABC Family renews Melissa & Joey
- Better With You‘s Jennifer Finnegan to guest on Psych
- Christopher McDonald to be a regular on Harry’s Law
- Dylan Baker to guest on White Collar
- Callum Keith Rennie joins The Firm
Third-episode verdict: Suits
In the US: Thursdays, 10/9c, USA Network
I’m going to go out on something of a limb here and say Suits is probably the best USA Network show to arrive since the first season of Royal Pains and perhaps even Burn Notice. While it’s not flawless, it has a deliciously dark edge, a strong cast, something new to say about lawyers and now it’s really starting to find its feet, some interesting, original characters.
After a slightly shaky, highly implausible start that still had a lot going for it, Suits has managed to develop its storylines and characters so that they’re interesting and layered. The show also gives you insights into not only people who normally get ignored in other lawyer shows but aspects of the legal system that get glossed over, with far less emphasis being placed on flashy criminal law in favour of other branches such as corporate law.
Thankfully, the show has still managed to maintain its dark, manipulative edge. Most of the characters aren’t especially likeable. Harvey (Gabriel Macht) the evil lawyer may do good occasionally but there’s always a slimey evil reason for it underneath. His constant warfare with junior partner Louis has provided a delightfully fun series of battles played out in and around the office. Even boss Gina Torres is shown to be as underhand, if not more so, as Harvey.
If there’s a weak link in the whole thing, its newbie lawyer Mike Ross (Patrick J Adams), whose implausible photographic memory throws everything into a slightly odd, parallel universe, and Adams’ performance is desperately lacking in charisma. His personal life isn’t as interesting as the writers think it is, but there are at least unexpected dimensions to it and he does at least allow the writers to show just how the devil is in the details in contracts and how much of a lawyer’s life is about reading.
It’s not absolutely the darkest show there’s ever been, but it is a worthy addition to USA’s line-up and worth watching if you’re a big fan of the Machiavellian.
Monday’s “Who re-commissioned JR?” news
Film
- Ray Stevenson to play a villain in GI Joe sequel
- Dollhouse‘s Harry Lennix joins Man of Steel
- Take That to sing Three Musketeers theme tune
- Michael Fassbender joins Brendan Gleeson’s At Swim-Two-Birds
British TV
- BSkyB deal stalled
- Gillian Anderson and David Suchet to star in BBC1’s Great Expectations
- Jesse Armstrong to write an episode of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror
- The Killing starts with 2.2m on C4
Canadian TV
- Nine more episodes of Lost Girl
US TV
- Spike puts Bomb Squad into development
- Dallas sequel picked up with original cast members returning
- Ion acquires The Border
- The Good Wife‘s Karen Olivo joins Harry’s Law as a regular
- Lamorne Morris to replace Damon Wayans Jr on New Girl
- Michael B Jordan to recur on Parenthood
- Life Unexpected‘s Shiri Appleby to appear on Royal Pains
Third-episode verdict: Wilfred
In the US: Thursdays, 10pm, FX
In the UK: Acquired by BBC3 for Autumn broadcast
Wilfred is surreal. Obviously, you gathered that from the fact it’s about a regular guy (Elijah Wood) who perceives his next-door neighbour’s dog to be an Australian guy in an unconvincing dog suit. But Wilfred is actively surreal, surreal in the old-style sense of unsettling one’s perspective on reality. As well as the fact no one ever acknowledges the fact Wilfred is really a swearing bong-smoker with opposable thumbs, this is a show in which Dune is quoted and Wood has prophetic dreams. It’s strange.
So after the funny first episode in which the show is set up, things dip slightly with the second episode, in which Wilfred’s doggie personality is explored more over the issue of trust. This lacked the subtlety of the first episode but was still entertaining. But with our third episode, things took off once again, into the dark, with Wilfred’s attempts to turn Wood is a stronger, less fearful individual resulting in a bizarre confrontation with his other next door neighbour (My Name Is Earl‘s Ethan Suplee) that leads to Wilfred poledancing in a strip club, amongst other things.
Again, the show’s creators do a good job of blending WIlfred’s human and doggy characteristics, with Wilfred mesmerised by a laser pointer at one point, and believing the story given to him by animal control that’s he going off to live on a beautiful farm.
While it’s not side-splitting, Wilfred is just so mesmerisingly odd and original, it’s entirely worth watching the show just to see Wood go through Wilfred’s Tyler Durden-style mentoring in all its surreal splendour. Tune it, enjoy but prepare to be slightly frightened by the whole experience.
Carusometer rating: 2
Rob’s prediction: As dark as FX’s normal output but significantly more interesting and more entertaining, this should run and run.