US TV

Review: Heroes 3×14 (aka Volume 4×1)

3 February 2009 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

The Hunter in Heroes

In the US: Mondays, 9/8c, NBC
In the UK: “Simulcast”, which apparently means some time within the next month or so

So Heroes is back.

Woo.

Do I hear a hoo anyone?

No? Why’s that then? Ah, you got hacked off with it. Too many odd character flips and complicated storylines that made no sense? Sounds about right.

But wait. Sit up and pay attention at the back. This is an all new Heroes. A refreshed Heroes. A Heroes that’s going back to basics.

Promising a clean break with the overly complicated past storylines that estranged its audience (this being the third such clean break promised), Heroes is trying to recapture the glory days of season one with this, its fourth “volume”.

With Nathan gone bad after the last volume, his new plan as junior senator for New York is to cosy up to the US President (Michael Dorn – Worf off Star Trek) and make him go Guantánamo on his fellow super-powered friends, who are all just trying to live normal lives now.

And that means – in case you missed all the advertising – if the heroes are to survive, they’ve all got to work together. The question is does this all add up to new and improved Heroes or is it well and truly time to call it a day?

Continue reading “Review: Heroes 3×14 (aka Volume 4×1)”

News

Tuesday’s desperately romantic news

3 February 2009 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Robert Downey, Jude Law and Rachel McAdams in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes

Film

Art

Radio

  • Mark Heap to star as an alien, with Maxine Peake, Paul Ritter and Susan Jameson, in Radio 4 sci-fi play

British TV

  • Channel 4 freezes pay and bonuses
  • Rafe Spall and Tom Hollander join Aidan Turner, Zoe Tapper and Samuel Barnett in Desperate Romantics
  • Prepare for lots of dramas about Africa

US TV

US TV

For Toby: the mysterious disappearing Ali Larter in the Heroes Superbowl commercial

2 February 2009 Rob Buckley 8 Comments

I wasn’t going to do this (honest) but since Toby has tried to spot Ali Larter in the Heroes Superbowl commercial and can’t – because she’s been edited out – let’s play a game of Spot the Larter then. First, count the number of Heroes in the huddle at the start of the promo:

Heroes Huddle

Six blokes, right? Now, let’s have a look at the break after their huddle:

Heroes + Ali

Six blokes and… oh wait, who’s that on the left? Then they head off to play. Six blokes again:

Heroes of the Superbowl

Then there’s a line up: again, who’s that on the far end?*

HeroesLineUp.jpg

They play, Peter throws long and who’s that in the middle of the field, waiting to catch?

Tracy goes long

But someone else gets there first:

Heroes interception

Here’s the behind the scenes interview to show she was there for the filming and you can see some some of the footage she shot for the ad, And here’s the ad so you can watch for yourself. Sigh. People are going to think I’m obsessed… Curse you Tobes.

*PS Can you tell I have no idea about American football or am I bluffing well?

UPDATE: In case you weren’t convinced by that line-up pic, here are two official promo pictures supplied by NBC – look to the top left:

NBC Superbowl pic

And in the middle at the top:

Another NBC Superbowl pic

Audio and radio play reviews

Review: The Companion Chronicles 3×7 – Transit of Venus

2 February 2009 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

Transit of VenusIt seems that if you want to listen to a guaranteed decent Companion Chronicle, you have to stick with the Hartnells. Whether it’s because the Hartnell years tended towards greater innovation and harder sci-fi, or whether it’s because the better Big Finish writers prefer it, the quality on the Hartnell releases have tended to be far better than those for other Doctors. Certainly, the very worst of the range is still head and shoulders above most of the rest.

Here, for example, we have The Transit of Venus, read by original Hartnell companion Ian Chesterton (aka William Russell). While not absolutely brilliant, it is a very Hartnellian piece, in which Ian and the Doctor are stuck on board the The Endeavour under the command of Captain Cook as it travels to Australia.

Continue reading “Review: The Companion Chronicles 3×7 – Transit of Venus”

Robin Hood audio books (complete with Richard Armitage)

2 February 2009 Rob Buckley 4 Comments

Gosh, that Big Finish sure does love an audio book range. Not content with the Companion Chronicles and the Stargate audio books, it’s now planning to release Robin Hood audio books, featuring cast members from the TV show. Here’s the press release. I’ve cleaned up some of the typos.

Big Finish is excited to announce a series of six talking books based on the BBC’s hit series Robin Hood. Designed to be hour-long one-voice productions, each story will be read by a member of the original television cast.

The BBC’s adaptation of the Robin Hood legend for its Saturday night drama slot has proven to be massively popular worldwide. With action and adventure galore, the series has revitalised the traditions of the story and opened it up for an entirely new young audience.

In an innovative move, Big Finish’s series of talking books will tie closely into the third year of the show, reflecting the themes, plots and characters of the season as it unfolds. Each story will be available on CD, or as a download from www.bigfinish.com/robin-hood

Four actors from the series have lent their voices to the stories: Jonas Armstrong (Robin Hood); Richard Armitage (Guy of Gisbourne); Sam Troughton (Much) and David Harewood (Tuck) have all provided stunning performances that fans are sure to enjoy.

The first season of Big Finish’s Robin Hood talking books is as follows:

  • The Witchfinders, by Rebecca Levene. Read by Richard Armitage
  • The Tiger’s Tail, by Jonathan Clements. Read by Jonas Armstrong
  • Friendly Fire, by Trevor Baxendale. Read by David Harewood
  • The Dambusters, by Michael Abberton. Read by Sam Troughton
  • The Deer Hunters, by Jonathan Clements. Read by Sam Troughton
  • The Siege, by Simon Guerrier. Read by Richard Armitage

The first release will be available shortly after the first episode of Robin Hood’s third season airs on BBC1, but you can pre-order your copies now from www.bigfinish.com/robin-hood

If you would like to be sent more details when they are available, please send an email to [email protected]