Belgian TV channel Prime is currently promoting its range of American TV shows with this lovely little collection of lovely little versions of all its shows. How fun.
Mad Men
Monday’s Doctor and companion reunion news
Doctor Who/Theatre
- David Tennant and Catherine Tate to star in Much Ado About Nothing
- Rusty reveals Torchwood: Miracle Day‘s plot [minor spoilers]
Film
- Elijah Wood to return as Frodo in The Hobbit
- Vera Farmiga and Omaii Hardwick join Pure Life
British TV
- David Hare spy drama to star Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambon and Ralph Fiennes
- Being Human press pack
- Primeval does poorly
- Hustle returns with 5.7m viewers
- Not Going Out returns with 4.7m viewers
US TV
- ABC orders pilots of Man Up and Smothered
- Salma Hayek and ABC working on Wicked mini-series
- Mad Men gets a fifth season
- No one picks up Wonder Woman
- HBO picks up neo-Sex and the City, Girls
- History cancels The Kennedys before it even airs
- Dollhouse‘s Enver Gjokaj to guest on Community
- New trailer for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
- AMC orders up a fourth season of Breaking Bad
- Sebastian Roche signs up for Criminal Minds spin-off
- Mark Pellegrino to recur on Breakout Kings
US TV
Wednesday’s “Dead Blue” news
Doctor Who
- Karen Gillan to star with Misfits‘ Robert Sheehan in Romeo and Brittney
- A Doctor Who/Torchwood crossover will happen
Film
- Steven Soderbergh to direct The Man from UNCLE
- Trailer for period werewolf love triangle Red Riding Hood
- Trailer for The Mechanic with Jason Statham
- Jane Wright quits BBC Films
- Trailer for medieval buddy movie Your Highness with James Franco, Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride and Natalie Portman
- A remake of The Swarm?
- Trailer for The Green Lantern
British TV
- ITV revenue up 11%
- Dirk Gently to be a pilot
- Living TV boss to quit
US TV
- TNT cancels Dark Blue
- Monday night ratings see most shows hit record lows
- Claire Danes to star in Homeland?
- Dylan Walsh to star in CBS FBI drama
- Rachael Leigh Cook to star in Perception
- Lindsay Price to guest on CSI: NY
- Batman TV series being considered
- Mad Men‘s Carla Buono joins Brothers and Sisters
- Two returning characters on Smallville
- CBS developing Samuel L Jackson’s Raising Men
US TV
Question of the week: is US TV over-rated?
So a few (quite important) Brits have been poking at the US TV industry recently. Ben Stephenson at the BBC recently said that it was a "myth" that US television is better at making drama than its UK counterparts. So far, so almost uncontroversial. The best of British can hold its own at most levels compared with the US, exceed it in some areas, but be inferior in others, IMHO.
But now famed TV writer Jimmy McGovern (Cracker et al) has weighed in, saying that all US TV drama is over-rated.
"I couldn’t get into The Wire and everybody told me it was great. I was watching it and I thought Bugsy Malone – these guys are talking about things, but they never convinced me they had experienced the emotions they were describing. It was never authentic for me at all.
Huh. The Wire – not very good? Not sure I can agree with that. Cracker was good but The Wire good? Nope. And can anyone point to the current British TV shows that match The Wire, Mad Men, In Treatment et al in terms of drama?
But what do you think? Is US TV drama over-rated?
As always, leave a comment with your answer or a link to your answer on your own blog