State of Play

Me and Ricky Gervais: our shared mind

4 September 2006 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Sometimes I wonder if Ricky Gervais and I have the same brain. Okay, he’s a comedy genius, I’m not. But sometimes he says stuff and I wonder how the words in my brain have managed to come out of his mouth.
Take today’s outpouring at the Extras press launch:

As he considers his first move into drama with his co-writer Stephen Merchant, Gervais said UK broadcasters “just can’t do or don’t do” shows of the calibre of US hits like the Sopranos, 24, The Wire and The Shield.

“I just can’t remember the last time I watched a British drama, probably something like GBH,” said Gervais at today’s press launch of the second series of Extras.

“I don’t give them a go and turn off. They just don’t come into my vision. I only watch about five British shows and they are probably all reality shows.”

Which would be spooky enough as it is. Then this:

Gervais also excluded Paul Abbott’s six-part BBC series State of Play from his assessment – “oh yes, of course, sorry”

Aargh! It’s like having a trapdoor at the back of your head and knowing someone’s been sneaking a peak when you’ve been looking the other way.
Even worse, I can’t make my old observation about how the Discovery channels only show stuff about sharks and the history channels only show stuff about Nazis any more, because Gervais has already used it in his Animals tour. Everyone thinks I’m trying to pass off his jokes as my own. Git.

UK TV

Sophia Myles: sci-fi groupie

10 August 2006 Rob Buckley 7 Comments

Sophia Myles in UnderworldSophia (pronounced to rhyme with “hairdryer” apparently) Myles seems to be a big fan of sci-fan. Obviously, she’s dating the Doctor, himself, after meeting him while filming an episode of Doctor Who. But she’s all set to appear in a new adaptation of Dracula for BBC1, that will also feature Marc Warren (State of Play, Hustle, and, you guessed it, Doctor Who).

Dracula won’t be her first vampire effort though, since she appeared, to slinky effect, as a vampire in Underworld. She was also Lady Penelope in the movie Thunderbirds. So I have a quick question.

What is it with posh blonde women and sci-fi?

There’s that Susannah Harker of Pride and Prejudice, confessing that her deep love of sci-fi made her take on vampire drama Ultraviolet as well as the role of Sapphire in the audio Sapphire and Steel stories. They’re all over the place, I tell you.

I know it’s by no means a conclusive trend, and I know posh blonde women who hate SF, but apparently there’s a lot of them who secretly loves it. Including my wife (who’ll claim she isn’t posh, but we all know she is really). What’s up with the world?

UK TV

And the role of John Simm will be played by… Brad Pitt

27 July 2006 Rob Buckley 3 Comments

State of PlayA while ago, I was wondering where State of Play 2 had got to. It’s somewhere. I know it is. And I want it bad.

It looks more likely that the Hollywood adaptation of State of Play is going to arrive first, though. Today’s big surprise is that Brad Pitt of all people is apparently interested in taking on John Simm’s original role.

According to Variety, “Pitt is also circling Universal’s ‘State of Play,’ the pricey Americanized adaptation of the acclaimed British miniseries. Matthew Carnahan is writing the script. Pitt is interested in playing a journalist and former campaign manager of a fast-rising politician who unravels a murder conspiracy involving his former boss.”

Just can’t see it myself. Still, Pitt is very much trying to be an actor these days. He was also the one who ensured that Se7en retained its original downbeat ending, saying he’d walk from the project if a happier one were tacked on. So, we can only hope that he brings his power to bear and delivers us a State of Play movie that we can all be proud of.

Assuming he ends up doing it, of course. You know how fickle these stars can be.

UK TV

I want my State of Play 2 and I want it now

20 June 2006 Rob Buckley 8 Comments

State of Play

Paul Abbott is a talented guy. He’s written episodes of Cracker, created Touching Evil and Shameless and has more awards than ITV has viewers (give or take). Russell T Davies thinks he’s a God.

Legions of journalists have huge respect for Abbott for creating State of Play, the outstanding 2003 serial that introduced the world to the now much-admired Life on Mars pairing of John Simm and Philip Glenister. Although it portrayed journalists as a lying, shifty bunch, willing to obstruct the course of justice for a good story, we forgave it that slight flaw because we were the heroes who saved the day.

Its depiction of life at a newspaper was actually pretty authentic, except for the bit where Simm is allowed to lay out the page and compose his own headline at the end of the final episode, which would never happen – although he did mess it up, thus demonstrating why reporters don’t get to touch Quark, normally. The bit about who owned the copyright on the story because Simm was on a freelance contract actually makes those of us who are self-employed all giddy with delight (seriously. There was an article in the NUJ newsletter The Journalist about it by one of my old tutors, Humphrey Evans).

If you haven’t seen State of Play, pick up a copy of it on Amazon Amazon. You’ll be impressed to see Amelia Bullmore in a straight role and Marc Warren (from Hustle and Doctor Who‘s Love and Monsters) having a crap time of it as the slippery Dominic Foy.

Despite all the plaudits, a sequel has yet to materialise. Hollywood is all set to adapt the original. Last year’s South Bank Show profile of Abbott said filming on the sequel was to begin last June. But three years on, still nothing. The last we heard was in an interview with John Simm in the Daily Telegraph in January:

…and there is talk of a second series of the excellent State of Play. “The last time I saw Paul [Abbott], he was so caught up in writing Shameless that he’d only managed one or two episodes of the next State of Play. God, it would be great to work with him again.”

I hate to say this, but I don’t care about another series of Shameless. How much more is there to say on the subject? I want more State of Play!

What with Stephen Fry backing out of writing a Doctor Who episode, I have to say: “Writers: get your priorities straight. Give us what we want!”