Downton Abbey (ITV, 2010)

Kind of pushing the blog envelope since the local broadcaster's up to ep
four but when I finally deigned to try the pilot on the PVR - BLAM I had
to get the rest of it anon because it's just bloody AWESOME.

A bit of a fairy tale but SO WHAT. Loved it.

Roll on the northern hemisphere autumn.

Route Irish (Ken Loach/Paul Laverty, 2010)

What a score. Though looking at the number of funders at the beginning,
I've promised myself I'd see this (again) at the upcoming film festival.

The parentheticals are in case I don't get around to watching this.

But I'm chuffed to score it. "It's a Free World..." was a
disappointment at the fest a couple of years back. "Looking for Eric"
has slid off my radar - likely because I don't care for football.

But Ken has been my man since "Riff Raff" so I'm in there, like. So I
should broaden my horizons, really.

Damn

I've run out of titles that are currently playing.

I'll do some memory lane trawling. Could be fun.

Monroe (ITV, 2011)

James Nesbitt as a neurosurgeon.

For some, that thought might cause some people to wet themselves with
laughter but I'm one of those people in the world who hadn't seen "Cold
Feet" - until recently.

And thankfully AFTER "Monroe".

Is it a "House" knock-off? I suppose. If you're totally without
imagination. (Did he have an addiction? No. Was he witty? Yes. Was
there a fourth [of five] act[s] music montage? No, thank fucking god.)

I enjoyed this more than Hugh Laurie's vehicle largely because... it
wasn't "House". Though it has been years since I tried "House" and,
having figured out its formula and tired quickly of it, moved onto "The
Wire" or some such REAL bloody telly.

Try it. Preferably if you didn't like Nesbitt's constant mugging in
"Cold Feet".

Law & Order: Los Angeles (NBC, 2010-2011)

Watched the pilot with growing disappointment last year and, on hearing
that Skeet Ulrich dies AND Alfred Molina gives up his DA-ing AND
Terrence Howard joins the party, I tuned in like a rubber-necker post
drive-by.

The seeds of disappointment at the pilot, assumed forgotten and lost,
poked me in the eye within minutes of the fatal ep beginning. Or maybe
I was just hungry. Either way, I felt like I'd just been scammed by
some neighbourhood kid.

I'm still grieving that the original L&O was canned after twenty loyal
fucking years so don't really care for this sunny/tanned/tailored
pretender. After all, the city of angels is already well cared for by
"The Closer", "Southland" and "Boomtown".

Modern Family - Season 2 (ABC, 2010-11)

All good things come to an end, don't they?

Not as strong as the first season - there are more weaker eps than last
season (but seriously, a weak MF ep still kicks shit out of most other
boxfare out there) - but this half-hour of familial mayhem is a welcome
weekly escape.

Just saw that it's been renewed for a third season. Ooo-rah.

On the Vera Double-up

I prepped an email and postdated it.

I checked my email client and the blog itself around the preordained
time of departure and saw no sign of it.

I doubted my doubtable memory and emailed it.

And THERE IT BLOODY IS.

... It's nice to see emails take a while to get places. Reminds me of
the good old days when hair was big, VGA was cutting edge, and email was
a bit of a toy.

Vera (ITV, 2011)

I coulda sworn I had a draft post about this show. Coulda SWORN. Anyhoo --

Brenda Blethyn is DI Vera Stanhope in this telemovie style series of
detective mysteries which is very... sub-Morse, and sub-sub-Miss Marple.
I love Brenda like a distant crazy-bitch aunt but a collection of tics
does not a complex character make.

And is it really a mystery if your heroine cop works her way through the
list of suspects, accusing each of them of the murder/s, realising that
it wasn't possible, until she gets to the final remaining suspect who
conveniently confesses?

Bwah.

Vera (ITV, 2011)

How can you bleedin' go wrong with Brenda Blethyn?

By doing characterisation through tics rather than action. By being
sub-"Morse", sub-"Miss Marple" - actually, by assuming that your
audience don't know little detective/mystery-genre details like, ooh,
due process, or police procedure.

Made the mistake of watching the first few minutes of a later ep. A
woman prisoner is being transported someplace. In a sedan with a lone
prison officer who's driving. And whose door is clearly unlocked.

WHAT WORLD DO THESE FUCKING WRITERS LIVE IN?

Exile (BBC, 2011)

From the creator of "State of Play", Paul Abbott, though written by
someone else.

With the lead from same mini-series, and lead of numerous other shows
like "Life on Mars" and "Sherlock". (Okay, he was a co-lead in the latter.)

A disgraced journalist is forced to look after his dementing father and
discovers some truths that belie his life as he's known it.

The Ever Forgetful Mother from "Green Wing" really stood out -
particularly with such a thankless role.

The rest? Undone by dialogue for people who need spoon feeding, and a
conspiracy that's unconvincing and unsatisfying.

Mediocre.

Breaking In (Fox, 2011)

"It's gonna be like 'Sneakers' - a heist in 22-minutes every week."

"But with Christian Slater."

Hey I like Slater. Been a fan since "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and
have never really seen the Jack Nicholson connection.

No, serious.

Okay, I kind of wanted to like this show but it was too... undemanding.
And the fanboy in-jokes are fun, but they an entertaining half-hour do
not make.

CHAOS (CBS, 2011)

The guy from "Six Feet Under". The guy from "O Brother Where Art Thou".
The guy from "Now and Again". And some Scotsman. Or an Englishman
doing a scottish accent.

Hilarity has not followed these four riders of CHAOS.

It was going to be just one ep but I was feeling generous.

Serve me right.

Come Fly With Me (BBC, 2010)

The boys from "Little Britain" are certainly lasting longer - and
travelling further - than Harry Enfield. Pretty good for one half of
which who used to wear a onesie.

The UK reviews were pretty dismissive of the show but I liked it. In
enforced one week doses even though I had all the eps.

I miss the Chicken Lady from LB, but.

Nurse Jackie - Season Three (Showtime, 2011)

Has it been three seasons already?

These 30-minute eps rock as the excellent Edie Falco (hey, I've loved ya
since "Law & Order", honey), her tight supporting cast, and the writers
make mincemeat of medical drama tropes and standbys.

Maybe not the best simile but TOO LATE.

We're over half-way through this season ALREADY?

GodDAMNit.

Episodes (Showtime/BBC, 2011)

"Green Wing" holds pride of place in the library. Stephen Mangan and
Tamsin Greig - hoorah I remembered some actual names! - are gold in GW.

They're not said valuable metal in "Episodes". Two eps in and I
couldn't really be bothered to be bored/insulted by its inane
situational comedy.

It's not Mangan and Greig. The concept's interesting enough. It's the
writing that suck. How stupid do you fucks think I am?

I'll get around to watching the rest, but seriously? There's better
laughs to be had elsewhere.

Justified - Season 2 (FX, 2011)

The last thing I expected with this amiable modern-day western was to
cry at the end of almost half of the eps in this season.

WTF, dude.

Surely it wasn't just because of the variations on damsels in distress
(an exaggeration, but in the same neighbourhood, if you know what I
mean) throughout this season. Mags. Aunt Helen. The Tomboy. What
perfectly formed characters with which to identify, if not necessarily
sympathise. They did some regrettable things, but they meant well by
them. As for the Hero Marshall and the Ex-Wife storyline? Got a bit
ridiculous. But the relationship between the Hero Marshall and his
nemesis-like Former Mining Buddy is electric and deeply satisfying to
watch play out.

I think I've really taken this okie district to heart - all credit to
showrunner Graham "Speed" Yost and his writers room. If "The Shield"
captured the dank and corrupt essence of James Ellroy's LA Quartet,
"Justified" equally deftly captures Elmore Leonard's world of
well-meaning not-necessarily-too-smart cops and robbers transported to
hicksville.

My favourite show for 2011.

The Shadow Line (BBC, 2011)

A dead gangster. A newly returned detective. A businessman trying to
stay afloat.

Things seem to be happening in threes in crime dramas lately - qv "The
Killing" - but I bet it's an old trope for crime shows where they want
to be more than just about the case, ma'am.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is the newly returned 'tec with a bullet lodged in his
skull. Christopher Eccleston is an entrepreneur who's set up a legit
business for his shady colleagues to use as a front. And Rafe Spall is
providing an intriguing performance as 'the psycho baddie' - intriguing
in how one dimensional he so far seems to be, as well as the hope
(though there haven't been any hints or clues dropped yet) that there's
more to him than Brion James stares and whiplash expression changes.
Of note to date: ep 2's car chase that devolved to a foot chase that
was actually really exciting - on par, dare I say, with Bigelow's foot
chase in "Point Break".

Must have more.

Bill Hunter - 1940-2011

Hunter was a familiar face on Kiwi television sets when I grew up.

His presence in films like "Muriel's Wedding" and "Strictly Ballroom"
grounded the stories for me - a gruff old bugger, but with a heart of gold.

And when he showed up in "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", he became a
favourite actor to watch out for.

Travel well, mate.

Why

Why the potty mouth?

Because I can. Because this is my blog.

Mostly because I have another, more serious blog where I have to watch
my manners.

AMC

Writing about "The Killing" just before reminds me that I wish I'd tried
the Danish first, but. I think I was trying to learn from getting bored
shitless by "Wallander" (the Brannagh one, not the Swedish original),
and because I've adored the AMC output so far ("Mad Men", "Breaking
Bad", "The Walking Dead" and "Rubicon" [I miss you]) I thought, 'I'll
just try the pilot' and five minutes in, there was no turning back, cuz.

Cynics out there would mention that it's only a matter of time until AMC
trips over itself but I say to them, EAT SHIT AND DIE, because it's
going good at the moment, and I'm a believer, goddammit.

What

So... what's the point of this blog?

It's so I can write about shows I'm watching, regardless of their
origin, without fear of threats from lawyers, you dig?

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour - Pilot (CBS, 2011)

Disclosure: I don't watch "Criminal Minds". I sat through an ep in the
first season but have absolutely no recollection of what I saw but I do
remember thinking at inopportune moments, 'My name is Inigo Montoya.
Prepare to die.'

Just saw the pilot of this with Forrest and Janeane and numerous
Beautiful People.

Unfortunately it wasn't one of those shows where the talent transcended
the premise and material.

Ah well.

I continue to hold out hope for the return of David Soul's team in "Unsub".

The Killing (AMC, 2011)

So far, this show is so good, I've already acquired the original Danish
Forbrydelsen, and though I'm tempted to watch them side by side,
my gut tells me that's a Stupid Fucking Idea.

Can't help thinking of The Wire with this show: the One Good Cop
trying to do her job; the Good Hearted Politician trying to run a clean
campaign; and the Removal Man with a History trying to live a good
life. The repetition of good in the preceding sentence suggests a theme
for this show: first do no harm. But it being drama, there's some harm
coming, I've been fed some red herrings, and those three are going to
have interesting things happen to them.

Mm-hm

Could my last post have any more typos?

I'm using the email-to-blog feature because I want to be nimble and
agile and quick with my posts and thoughts whether you like it or not.

I'll try and be more careful when typing up the email.

The Good Wife - Season 2 (CBS, 2010-11)

I want to know, WHERE THE HELL DID THIS SHOW COME FROM?

Bonus demand: WHY AREN'T THERE MORE SHOWS LIKE THIS?

Y'know, for an audience that can think, that can connect the dots, that
can read the subtext - y'know, and audience like ME.

Sure, what with all the will-they-won't-they shenanigans between The
Good Wife and the Hot Shot Lawyer with a History of Season 1 threatening
to draaag on into this season, then with Lela the Lesbian's (sorry,
honey, can't remember your 'real' character name) little arc plus all
the disturbing signs of her preparing to commit suicide, AND a freaking
state's attorney's election - this show almost out-plots THE WIRE with
all the shit going on (but it does have 23 eps to play with) - but this
sentence is so long, I've almost forgotten my intended destination:
this is glib but apt - "Everything changes. Nothing changes."

I shit you not.

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour (CBS, 2011)

I was looking forward to my boy FORREST WHITAKER and my TV/film squeeze
JANEANE GAROFALO turning up once a week on my screen and catching loser
psychos after killing One Innocent Victim Too Many but have just heard
that it's been cancelled.

Shit.

Wasn't THAT bad, was it?

Yo

Y'know, just having that title dates me, I think.  An adult who's using some Eighties lingo.

Fuck.  Lingo.

This blogging shit is a nightmare.

I'll give it a go, but.