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Post by fenris on Mar 7, 2008 20:02:51 GMT
An impressive little subplot in the third episode of Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Having assumed new identities as brother and sister, John and Cameron enroll at their new high school (there's a nice scene in which Cameron has problems getting past the metal detector, until a quick-thinking John tells the security guards that she's got a plate in her head). A graffiti artist is spraying a series of pictures on the walls all around the school, which the viewer (but not the characters) realises is slowly revealing that one of the female pupils is having an affair with a teacher. The student in question, distraught that her secret is about to become public knowledge, climbs to the roof of the gym and prepares to jump. Now, we've seen this situation in numerous other series, and we all know how it turns out - one of the heroes makes their way to the roof and talks the potential jumper away from the edge. And so I was fully expecting John or Cameron to save the day, with the smart money being on the latter. But no - John does indeed want to help the girl, but Cameron prevents him: she won't risk him drawing attention to himself. And while he's trying to argue with her, the girl jumps... and goes splat on the school car park.
Based on that sequence alone, it's clear that The Sarah Connor Chronicles is substantially bleaker than the usual American TV shows. This is a series in which the world is messed up, the heroes make hard choices as a matter of daily routine, and people die.
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Post by fenris on Mar 28, 2008 14:54:41 GMT
Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles continues to provide an entertaining sixty minutes each week. One of the most admirable things about the show is that it's been designed to only be understandable if you're very familiar with the Terminator mythos established in the preceding movies. If you don't already know from those films who these characters are and what they're trying to achieve, then Sarah Connor Chronicles will be incomprehensible to you. And while it's true that the Terminator movies are extremely popular, it's standard practice in the American TV industry to try to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, and avoid alienating or confusing any potential viewer. So to see a show that's specifically aimed at a relatively niche audience, with no concessions made for anyone else, is quite refreshing (and somewhat brave, considering the ruthless bear-pit that is U.S. network television).
All the regular actors are still giving solid performances (no slackers in this cast), but it's Summer Glau who continues to steal the show each week.
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Post by fenris on May 29, 2008 18:38:05 GMT
Have just found out some bizarre but intriguing news about Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Joining the cast in the show's upcoming second season, playing a regular character, will be Garbage singer Shirley Manson. Now I'm a HUGE fan of Garbage and the truly amazing Ms Manson (trust me, you haven't lived until you've see the band play live, with Shirley in full unstoppable flight), but considering she doesn't have any previous acting experience, her casting is a surprise, to put it mildly. But so far the producers of Sarah Connor Chronicles haven't put a foot wrong, and if they have faith in Manson's acting abilities, then I'm looking forward to seeing what she can do. Here's a link to more info; www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i3f3a21456cba6a51d83c08fd4184999d
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Post by fenris on Jun 26, 2008 13:03:40 GMT
A new satellite channel that may be of interest to Hex fans was launched earlier this month. The Paranormal Channel (Sky channel 212) is owned and run by Most Haunted presenter Yvette Fielding and her husband Karl Beattie. They've reportedly sunk £1.1 million of their own money into getting the channel started. It's currently mostly broadcasting vintage documentary series such as Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World and Strange But True, but there's also a handful of new programmes, plus the occasional horror movie (last night - 25/06/08 - they screened the Vincent Price classic The Bat). Judging by the channel's trailers, a few horror TV series will also be broadcast. Here's a link to their official website, which unfortunately consists of just a single page at the moment, with no programme schedules; www.paranormalchanneltv.com/
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Post by fenris on Aug 2, 2008 16:41:30 GMT
Today I've spent some time with my parents, who have been transfixed watching the Womens' British Open golf on TV. Unfortunately I don't really like any sport, and golf in particular bores me to tears. But - slipping into shallow male mode for a moment - at least I've been able to enjoy the charms of American player Natalie Gulbis; images.ballhype.com/uploads/photos_large/2008/04/24/natalie_gulbis
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Post by fenris on Sept 5, 2008 19:13:18 GMT
Have just found out some bizarre but intriguing news about Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Joining the cast in the show's upcoming second season, playing a regular character, will be Garbage singer Shirley Manson. Here's a link to an interview with Shirley Manson, in which she discusses her move into acting and her role in Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles; www.mania.com/mania-exclusive-shirley-manson-interview_article_87142.html
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Post by WarrenWitchesRule on Sept 11, 2008 20:07:46 GMT
Thought I'd post this here, as I'm not sure if there's an actual thread for Supernatural. Anyway in the new season apparently they've got two Angels coming into the storyline Cassiel and Uriel who are described as 'Julian McMahon with wings' type of beings (one for the ladies then). Along with Azazeal/Azazel in the first few seasons, it seems to be starting to take on more of a 'Hex' like approach.
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Post by DreamDangerously on Sept 11, 2008 20:27:24 GMT
cool. I really enjoyed series 3 of supernatural. I'm loving the expanding mythology and story arc.
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Post by WarrenWitchesRule on Sept 11, 2008 20:35:53 GMT
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Post by fenris on Sept 16, 2008 19:30:32 GMT
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Post by fenris on Oct 15, 2008 19:34:18 GMT
The Paranormal Channel (Sky channel 212) is owned and run by Most Haunted presenter Yvette Fielding and her husband Karl Beattie. They've reportedly sunk £1.1 million of their own money into getting the channel started. It's currently mostly broadcasting vintage documentary series such as Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World and Strange But True, but there's also a handful of new programmes, plus the occasional horror movie. Judging by the channel's trailers, a few horror TV series will also be broadcast. The Paranormal Channel (which has moved to Sky channel 201) is showing some classic vintage programmes at the moment: Thirties cliffhanger serials Flash Gordon (Hail Ming!) and Undersea Kingdom, and the Sixties anthology series One Step Beyond.
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Post by orokiah on Oct 22, 2008 17:21:22 GMT
Britannia High, the Fame meets High School Musical brainchild of Arlene Phillips, starts this Sunday at 6.15pm on ITV1. The series producer and lead director is Hex's Brian Grant.
The first episode is already available to view on the ITV website, and although I'm probably far too old to appreciate it fully...it's not bad. It was so sugary in parts it made my teeth hurt - especially the imaginary pop video - but it's hard not to like something that's trying so hard. It's poptastic, cheesy and predictable, but still a glossy bit of Sunday evening fun. And they're promising edgier, more emotional storylines in later episodes, which will hopefully move it away from the cliches and into a slightly more original take on the genre.
There's the ever excellent Mark Benton to add some class, and of the kids I thought Sapphire Elia of Dream Team fame was the standout as the queen bitch of the school, Claudine, who's already looking ahead to the day her name is whispered in the same breath as those other famous divas, Madonna and Mariah Carey.
ITV seem to be throwing every resource into backing Britannia High, and it's being hyped and cross-promoted to death. But the songs are annoyingly catchy, the cast can actually act, and riding on the fame-obsessed crest of The X Factor, I think it might well be a hit for them.
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Post by fenris on Nov 22, 2008 15:38:15 GMT
Am currently enjoying the second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Virgin 1. I can't really better a comment made about the series in the latest issue of Death Ray magazine - the showrunners are managing to produce an action movie every week on a TV budget.
Shirley Manson's acting abilities have been criticised on other forums, but in my opinion she's been fine so far. The naysayers seem to be forgetting that she's playing a robot masquerading as the ruthless ice queen CEO of a large corporation, and as such she shouldn't be displaying much emotion.
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Post by DreamDangerously on Nov 23, 2008 13:24:04 GMT
Charlie Brooker did the most hillarious segment on Britannia High on Screenwipe this week. His summary of the characters and the HSM inspired dance routines is priceless: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkQk0ANtlHAthe song at 1:07 is my favourite bit.
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Post by fenris on Nov 27, 2008 20:12:34 GMT
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