Ioan Gruffudd finally outed as Welsh on Ringer

So fine Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd has been pretending to be English on the CW’s Ringer for 19 episodes now. His character speaks with an English accent, has an English name and keeps going back and forth to London on business.

Of course, Ioan is Welsh. Here he is speaking Welsh with former Cardiff flatmate Matthew Rhys from Brothers and Sisters and Gethin Jones from Blue Peter:

See – proper Welsh.

So how delightful was it that despite the fact his character is obviously English, they decided to make him Welsh in this episode of Ringer, albeit somewhat unusually:

Huh. Apparently, to Juliet, his own daughter, being Welsh means having a stiff upper lip and underplaying everything. Why should this be?

  1. Do Americans have literally no idea about the Welsh at all, presumably never having bothered to watch Torchwood (oh, lucky people), and assume they’re the same as the English?
  2. Do Americans have completely differently stereotypes about the Welsh than the English do?
  3. Does Juliet simply have no idea about her heritage?
  4. Is there in fact an American expression, “Don’t be so Welsh about this” (or similar), that I was previously unaware of?
  5. The scriptwriters originally had it as ‘English’ and Ioan got them to change it?

Anyone want to venture a suggestion?

Monday’s “Dragon Tattoo’s Nyqvist’s US show, Julian McMahon spying and Carlton Cuse checks into the Bates Motel” news

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Review: Netflix (UK)

Netflix on PC

Netflix in the US is a massive force. Kind of like Lovefilm, it has a TV and film DVD rental service as well as an online streaming service, but it makes so much money, it can now afford to make its own programmes, including a remake of House of Cards with Kevin Spacey.

Now it’s come to the UK. Available on your laptop, your Apple TV, your iPad, your iPhone, your PlayStation, your Wii and probably your cooker as well, Netflix is simple to use, integrates well with social networks, and delivers a true multi-platform experience, all for £5.99 a month.

It’s just a shame there’s bugger all to watch on it.

Continue reading “Review: Netflix (UK)”

Competitions

Competition time: win the Complete Torchwood Collection on DVD!

The Complete Torchwood

Howdy, happy people. No sooner is the last competition over, then a new one begins, this time courtesy of those good people at the BBC Shop. Look, I’m an official reviewer:

BBC Shop Badge

They send me things that they think I’d like to review, based on the content of this ‘ere blog, and then I review them (editorially independently, of course). And then I’m free to dispose with them as I wish. And I wish to give them away to you happy people. So as we lead up to Christmas, I’ll be giving away all kinds of lovely goodies at the rate of one a week (maybe even more).

This week, I’m giving away The Complete Torchwood Collection – yes, every single episode of Torchwood from all four series on 18 DVDs, complete with all manner of extras. Normally, it’ll cost you £61.27, at the BBC Shop it’ll cost you £40.50, but if you win the competition, it’ll be free!

And yes, long-time readers, they looked at the blog and thought I’d love me some Torchwood. Seems implausible, doesn’t it?

Now, I’ve reviewed pretty much every episode already, so rather than rehash all those reviews, I’m simply going to list them all. Feel free to relive my growing frustration, dismay and sarcasm during season 1! Enjoy my slight surprise when it gets better in the second season – then experience again the frustration when it goes bad again, usually when Chris Chibnall is let loose on the scripts. Relive my bemusement at Children of Earth and surprise at how good it is… in places! And then watch as I decide enough’s enough and the first episode of Miracle Day is simply too bad to be watchable… and I’m proven right in countries around the world where Pro-Celebrity Cat Shampooing beats it in the ratings by the final episode.

Anyway, assuming my reviews and sarcasm haven’t put you off the entire series – or the series itself for that matter – the entire box set of Torchwood episodes will be sent to the UK reader who responds with the best (not insulting) answer to the following question:

Why did my reviews not put you off wanting the box set?

Don’t forget to include a valid email address when you leave your reply. You’ve until 11.59pm GMT on Friday to leave your response and I’ll let you all know who won on Monday when I’ll announce the next competition… your chance to win series six of Doctor Who DVD, so stay tuned.