DRAMA
Revenge: Are They REALLY Going To Kill Off Daniel?
Feb 11th
As you doubtless know by now I’m a huge Revenge fan.
ABC’s Wednesday night soap opera is just so darn addictive, fast paced and all round entertaining that it’s pretty much one of the TV highlights of the week.
But the next episode of TV’s best soap is also set to answer the show’s biggest cliffhanger to date. Who is the body on the beach? And are they really going to kill off one of the show’s biggest characters, Daniel?
If you’ve been watching Revenge from the start you’ll remember it began pretty dramatically with a mystery man shot to death on the beach while the show’s central villain Victoria Grayson hosted a Fire And Ice party just a few feet away. The party is in honor of our anti-hero Emily and her engagement to Victoria’s son Daniel. But of course we all know that Emily’s whole agenda is to bring down the Grayson family.
In the show’s opening moments we heard a gunshot, then saw a white tuxedo clad figure stumble and fall onto the sand. Moments later more gunshots followed, clearly at close range. Later we saw local bar owner Jack pulling the body across the sand before being disturbed by Charlotte More >
The River Hits Rough Waters!
Feb 9th
Uh-oh, it looks like ABC’s new supernatural suspense series is already taking on water.
By now you’ve probably heard about the ratings for The River, described as Paranormal Activity in the Amazon. In its Tuesday night premiere the Steven Spielberg produced series managed just 7.59 million viewers and a 2.4 18-49 share.
Now those aren’t horrible numbers. I mean we’re not talking NBC here (whose Parenthood pulled in less than 5 million at 10pm) – but there are troubling signs ahead for TV’s new horror show. For starters The River came in third in the demo in its time slot, behind New Girl and NCIS: LA. Then there’s the fact that it will likely lose viewers in future weeks. And most alarming of all – The River lost almost a million and a half viewers over the course of its 2 part, 2-hour premiere. And honestly – who can blame them!
First Impressions: Smash
Feb 7th
It was a big night for NBC last night, with The Voice and Smash both officially debuting hot on the heels of Sunday’s record Super Bowl numbers.
I’ll be talking about The Voice down the line – but first up let’s chat about Smash. After months of hype and non-stop adverts (I mean seriously, how much have NBC paid to promote this thing!) did the final product actually deliver? My verdict – kind of…
First up I have to mention that I actually watched Smash last week after downloading the pilot episode on Itunes. So I’ve had a few days to think about the show now. And my overall reaction is that I liked the pilot, but didn’t love it. But then to be honest I think it’s very difficult for a debut show to totally succeed straight out of the gate There’s always so much scene setting and character establishment that needs to be done in the first place. So I always give shows a few episodes to settle in.
Coming Soon: The River
Feb 3rd
When Does It Start: Tuesday February 7th at 9pm EST on ABC
In A Nutshell: It’s Paranormal Activity in the Amazon.
What’s It About: Dr Emmet Cole is a famed TV explorer on the adventure of a lifetime, when he goes missing deep in the Amazon. Presumed dead, the doctor’s emergency beacon is discovered 6 months after his disappearance, prompting a rescue mission led by his wife and son. But all is not what it seems…
To fund the mission his family reluctantly allow Cole’s cagey producer Clark to film the rescue with a documentary crew. The result – lots of shaky camerawork and Blair Witch Style spooky scenes! But what else would you expect from Oren Peli, the creator of Paranormal Activity. Oh and Steven Spielberg is the Exec Producer. Between The River and Smash it’s going to be a busy week for the superstar director.
First Look: The Game Of Thrones Season 2 Trailer
Jan 30th
Here it is – at long last the first ‘real’ look at Game Of Thrones, season 2.
Yep, no more teasers and on-set stills, this trailer features actual footage from the upcoming series, which I’d rate as probably one of the most anticipated shows of 2012.
I’m a big Game Of Thrones fan – which I have to say surprises me as I’m normally not into Lord Of The Rings style mythical series. And I have to admit it was touch and go for me during the first few episodes of Season 1. But then I think Game really found its footing and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Not much to say about the trailer at this stage as of course it’s still fairly vague. But we can already see that the teenage King Joffrey is still as repulsive as ever, things aren’t looking too good for the villainous Cersei Lannister, Daenerys is continuing to grow stronger as she morphs into the Dragon Queen – and Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion is the undisputed star of the show, especially coming off a slew of award show wins. Amazing how one role can transform an actor’s entire career…
Game Of Thrones returns on Sunday 1st April – More >
The 10 Best TV Shows Of 2011
Dec 29th
Yes, it’s that time of the year again where I pick my top shows of the last 12 months. Many shows – New Girl, The Borgias, Homeland, Nurse Jackie – almost made the list. But in the end there could be only 10… here they are!
REVENGE: There were shows this year with better writing, better directing and better acting. But NOTHING on our screens in 2011 was as ridiculously entertaining as Revenge, the season’s most surprising new hit.
Who would have thought that the primetime soap opera would make a comeback in 2011 and that its story of rich people receiving their comeuppance would seem quite so timely. Revenge has been perfectly played since episode one – hooking us into Emily Thorne’s grand plans to avenge herself on the Grayson family – led by the wonderfully icy matriarch Victoria (Madeline Stowe).
But Revenge has also done a wonderful job of surrounding Emily with a series of equally gripping storylines. There’s grasping social climber Tyler who’s gradually becoming more and more unhinged, bisexual billionaire Nolan who helps fund Emily’s schemes, reformed party boy Daniel who may be the key to Emily’s undoing and the Poison Ivy-like Amanda who’s out to cause a whole heap More >
American Horror Story: What Did You Make Of That Season Finale?
Dec 22nd
It truly is the time for show finales on our screens at the moment, as the year winds down and some of our favorite shows come to a close.
Last night it was the turn of American Horror Story, the gothic supernatural series that’s been scoring sizzling ratings for FX, and has already been commissioned for a second season. But what did you think of the show’s season finale?
I’ve been a fan of American Horror Story all season long, though I’ll be honest, it isn’t my favorite show on TV. I don’t think the series is as good as The Walking Dead, as ridiculously entertaining as Revenge or as smart as Mad Men or Game Of Thrones.
What Horror Story has done well is create – and sustain – a wonderful atmosphere of dread across the series. This is one seriously twisted show and probably the scariest TV series ever. From the famous ‘rubber man’ to the dismembered babies in the basement to the vengeful Hayden, Horror Story is a truly nasty show. And those opening titles – oh boy!
But I’m also starting to feel that American Horror Story is starting to get kind of crowded now. There are simply so many More >
Has Ringer Become Ridiculous?
Dec 5th
Don’t you just hate it when this happens?
You get into a show, investing time into a series and then just when you’ve passed the point of no return it starts to go south! Unfortunately that’s what’s starting to happen with one of my Fall favorites, Ringer.
I’ve been in DVR catch up mode this last week – and so I only just caught the Ringer Fall finale. And I hate to say it, but the Sarah Michelle Gellar saga is in imminent danger of collapsing under its own weight.
Okay so Ringer wasn’t exactly realistic from the start! The tale of twin sisters who swap identities after one of the twins goes missing, but guess what, she’s still alive and conspiring against her sibling – was never going to be believable TV. But I don’t mind suspending my disbelief to a certain extent for the entertainment value of a show.
But there’s crazy – and then there’s just plain insulting!
Dallas: The New Trailer
Dec 2nd
The pre-launch hype continues!
Even though it doesn’t debut until summer 2012, TNT are determined to make a big splash with their remake of the iconic primetime soap Dallas. Check out the latest trailer, which features some more scenes from the new show as well as a selection of soundbite heavy cast interviews (lit to within an inch of their lives!)
I’ve said before I’m not really a Dallas fan but I think the show’s makers are being very smart by featuring both new cast members AND several of the originals. In fact I was talking about this very topic just the other day with a network executive friend of mine. He felt that one of the reasons the new Charlie’s Angels failed was that it had no link to the past – and I think he could be right!
So will Dallas succeed? Well given that TNT has a huge middle American audience I’d say it stands a very good chance. Plus soap operas seem to be back with a vengeance, given the success of ABC’s Revenge. In fact I wonder if the broadcast nets aren’t kicking themselves a bit that they let Dallas slip through their fingers and head to cable.
Anyway More >
The Walking Dead: Finale Fireworks!
Nov 28th
Okay – now it all makes sense!
After a somewhat painful second ‘season’ (I know, we’re only halfway through), where at times it felt as though we the viewers were half dead ourselves, The Walking Dead roared back to life last night with one of the show’s best ever episodes – and an amazing finale scene.
You know the sequence in question – the final five minutes of the Fall season finale in which our team of survivors, led by the increasingly hardened Shane, released the Walkers in the barn and shot them dead in front of an aghast Hershel. But it was the final touching shot of long lost Sophia exiting the barn that carried the most power. Though we barely knew her as a character, it was shocking to watch Rick shoot the bewildered Sophia in the head, casting a whole new light on the Season 2 episodes so far.
