What Else Is Everyone Watching At The Moment?

[DreamDangerously]

Heroes rocks.

I really enjoyed the season finale for Supernatural I thought it was a strong second season.

[fenris]

Was watching the pre-race coverage for the British Formula 1 Grand Prix earlier today, with ITV1's pundit (and former F1 driver) Martin Brundle talking to various celebrities who were hanging about on the gird. There was a wonderful moment when he was interviewing three members of Girls Aloud, and standing just behind them was one of the grid girls (models who have to wilt under the blazing sun for an hour or so before the race begins, holding up signs identifying each driver's place on the starting grid) who was staring daggers at them. Clearly not a fan.


And on a completely unrelated note, there's a new series starting on Channel 4 this coming Tuesday (10/07/07) called Cape Wrath, which sounds intriguing. It's already being screened in the U.S. on Showtime, under the title Meadowlands. Have any of our American members seen it, and if so, what are your thoughts?

[fenris]

Have found a press release from BBC Three, about their Autumn schedule. Here's the details about three new pilots that might be of interest to Hex fans;

Danny Cohen, Controller of BBC Three, today announces the commission of bold new drama pilots to transmit later this year. A combination of hot new talent and established names will produce the pieces, which cover a wide range of maverick tales set both in the present day and the future.
Danny Cohen comments: "I'm very excited by the fresh feel of the drama pilots that we've commissioned. They are bold, vibrant pieces that draw together emerging talent with some of the strongest voices in British drama. These pilots are the first step in the development of a new generation of youthful drama series for BBC Three."

Being Human follows three young flatmates and the traumas and tribulations of co-habiting. The extra challenge for them is that one of them is a vampire, one is a ghost, and the other, a werewolf. Produced by Touchpaper TV (NY-LON) and written by Toby Whithouse (Doctor Who, Torchwood), Being Human films in September in the Bristol area.

Things I Haven't Told You is a dark thriller by young writer Lisa Mcgeeset in a sixth form of a school where every student has a dark secret and a twisted life. Produced by Tiger Aspect (Robin Hood), the story follows events after a girl's disappearance and an inquisitive light is shone onto her friends' movements.

The Six follows a group of six teenage strangers from different walks of life whose lives interconnect in and around the streets of London. From the wrong and right side of the tracks, lives connect and unusual friendships form as sex, lies and intrigue await for the group. Produced by Shine Productions (Hex, Sugar Rush), The Six is written by Howard Overman (Hotel Babylon).

[fenris]

orokiah said:

So Life On Mars is over - anyone got any thoughts on the sequel, Ashes To Ashes?

It's been announced that former Spooks actress Keeley Hawes will be the female lead in Ashes to Ashes. Here's a link to the BBC press release;

www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/07_july/03/ashes.shtml

[Beattie~Babe]

Being Im off work at the moment, Im doing the entire Daytime telly thing at the moment ......
So Ive watched both series of Hex (back to back), House MD (Series 1 & 2 ) & Stargate SG1 (right from the very beginning) ..... mixed in with whatever else is on during the day.

[fenris]

fenris said:

There's a new series starting on Channel 4 this coming Tuesday (10/07/07) called Cape Wrath, which sounds intriguing. It's already being screened in the U.S. on Showtime, under the title Meadowlands.

Cape Wrath has really started to grow on me. When it started being screened, it was described as being 'dark and disturbing', but as far as I was concerned, it wasn't really (mind you, my definition of 'dark and disturbing' does seem to be set higher than most people's). But it was well made, with a good cast, and although I didn't think the series' premise (a small town in which everyone is on the Witness Protection Programme and living under new identities) was a bit gimmicky and not all that intriguing, I found the show entertaining enough to keep watching. And I'm glad I did.

The end of the fourth episode shown on Channel 4 last week (I'm not watching the E4 screenings, which are a week ahead) suddenly indicated that what's really going on is a lot weirder than has previously appeared. Plus, 'Cape Wrath' - which I'd previously assumed was just a forbidding-sounding but ultimately meaningless title - was actually referred to in the show itself.

Looking forward to seeing where the series goes from here.

[Beattie~Babe]

I really,really,really wanted to like Cape Wrath, but I just couldnt get into it .... I dont know if Ive developed a short attention span or the programme but I just found myself wanting to do something else, which is a shame as it has such a stella cast.

[fenris]

Apparently viewing figures for Cape Wrath were disappointing, both here and in the States, so a second season is unlikely. If so, I think it's a shame. Admittedly I didn't care much for the 'Who Killed Jack Donnelly' storyline that dominated the early episodes, nor the subplot about Evelyn and Dr. York, but something about this show kept me watching. And having pulled the rug out from under us halfway through the season, the final shot of the last episode did so again, revealing that we haven't even scratched the surface regarding what's really going on in Meadowlands. Here's my theory;

It was revealed that Ormond was working for those who run the Cape Wrath experiment. The fact that he was watching the Brogans prior to the fire that resulted in them having to move to Meadowlands indicates that the family had already been chosen to participate in the experiment. The fire was staged to provide the excuse needed to move them.

I think Cape Wrath is being bankrolled by various North American & European governments and/or corporations. Meadowlands is intended to be a perfect microcosm of typical western society, and people are selected to go there because they fit a particular psychological profile. Some of the inhabitants (such as Brenda and Jack Donnelly) are genuinely under witness protection, but for the majority, their contact with criminals or decent into unlawful activity was carefully faked and stage-managed by the authorities, in order to place them in Meadowlands. Unable to leave, the inhabitants of the town are a captive community whose responses can be studied and analysed, like laboratory mice in a cage.

My belief is that the intention of Cape Wrath is to find a way to keep the population of entire countries peacefully under control. The aim of the experiment is to programme them so they don't ask questions, believe what they're told, mind their own business, don't protest, don't riot, don't commit crime, buy what products they're told to, vote for whoever they're told to, etc.

[fenris]

Channel 4 have officially announced that Cape Wrath won't be renewed for a second season. Damn shame. Although the first season had it's problems, it laid the groundwork of the show's premise very effectively, and the last scene in the final episode strongly indicated that - had the series continued - any future storylines would wandered deep into sci-fi/fantasy territory.

[orokiah]

Watched Coming Down The Mountain last night, a really good little one-off drama written by Mark Haddon about a teenager coping with his resentment towards his brother, who had Down's syndrome and whose needs constantly seemed to take precedence over his own.

Spoilers follow for anyone who didn't catch it or recorded it (apparently it got walloped in the ratings by The Queen on ITV1):

I thought it was fantastic, a really interesting subject for a drama. The central conflict seemed to be resolved a bit too neatly - the way David and Ben ended up as best buddies and the family was reconciled felt a bit contrived, but ultimately it was a feel-good Sunday night drama aimed at sending you to bed with a smile and it did just that. If it had been a series then the sensitive subject matter would probably have been treated with a lot more complexity.

Some of the acting felt a bit ropey too, especially by whoever was playing David and Ben's mother. She paled in comparison to the fantastic Neil Dudgeon and the actor who played Ben. I also thought they overdid the sheer insensitivity of the parents, to the extent that I was willing David on to abandon his plot to murder his brother and just do in his parents instead.

Overall though I loved it. I thought it worked brilliantly as a coming of age story, and although lots of it was predictable the few bits that weren't really grabbed me - in many other dramas Alice would have turned up at the end for a romantic reunion with David instead of becoming basically his pen pal. I wasn't expecting David to go the whole hog and actually push Ben off the mountain either.

[fenris]

I've snapped up loads of DVD boxsets in the last couple of weeks. I've already mentioned on other threads that I'd purchased Ultraviolet and Funland, and last weekend I wandered into my local WH Smiths and bought the early 80's BBC series The Nightmare Man for only £5.00, and The Quatermass Collection (which contains the surviving two episodes of The Quatermass Experiment, plus Quatermass II and Quatermass and the Pit in their entirety) for just £12.00.

Have watched Quatermass II over the last two nights. Despite the fact that it was first screened over fifty years ago, it still holds up remarkably well. It's interesting to compare with the American sci-fi TV shows that were being produced at that time, such as Captain Video, Space Patrol, and Tom Corbett: Space Cadet - all full of gee-whizz heroics, and clearly inspired by the Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Brick Bradford newspaper comic strips and cliffhanger serials of the Thirties.
In contrast, the earliest British sci-fi television was much darker, adult and pessimistic. Bernard Quatermass is no handsome jut-jawed space ranger, but a weary, middle-aged scientist, and rapid advances in science and technology are portrayed not as being boons to mankind, but as something to fear. If you're looking for a Year Zero - a point at which British science-fiction television began - Quatermass is it.

The Quatermass series were written by Nigel Kneale, who had the ability to merge science-fiction and horror in a unique and highly effective manner, yet somehow make it seem easy. Kneale was also a man ahead of his time: in his Sixties TV play The Year of the Sex Olympics, he not only invented the concept of reality TV, but predicted it would initially be hugely popular, and would eventually have to resort to ever-increasing sensationalization to maintain it's popularity.

The interior scenes in the Quatermass shows were performed and broadcast live, while exterior scenes were pre-filmed footage shot on location, which were edited inbetween the live scenes to give the actors time to move to another set or change costume. While watching Quatermass II, I noticed an instance in the first episode where the actor playing Quatermass fluffs one of his lines, but he instantly recovers. Otherwise I didn't spot any other mistakes. Rather more annoying, the actress portraying Quatermass's daughter clearly isn't used to this new fangled acting in front of TV cameras lark, and keeps dramatically turning and staring into the middle distance everytime she's given some lengthy dialogue, as though trying to project to the back row of a theatre. But this doesn't detract from what was (and still is) some truly classic sci-fi television.

[Beattie~Babe]

I've had a bit of a vintage re-run lately as well ....

I watched the original ' Hitchikers Guide' today, and had forgotten quite how much I loved watching it the first (and second ...... and third) time round. An absolute must for all 'cult' sci-fi lovers, and IMO a much better adaptation of the books than the remake.

On the cult TV line .... Ive been watching Blakes 7 & Space 1999 on DVD. Again absolute premium viewing for all British sci-fi lovers.

Id forgotten about the original version of 'Quatermass' .... I have only seen a couple of episodes from the original series and have only seen 'Quatermass & The Pit' & the last 'Quatermass Experiment' film (David Tennant / Jason Flemming) version.
I do like 'vintage' sci-fi, but I think this is a bit too vintage for me.

[matt]

Blakes 7 > Old Dr. Who.

[aquarius]

Torchwood just premiered here on BBC America this past Saturday and that was pretty good. Basically we're gearing up for the new TV season here and I'm waiting for the season premieres of CSI, Law & Order, and Battlestar Galactica more than anything. A couple of new shows will be starting this month, Moonlight which is a vampire show, and The Bionic Woman.

Waiting impatiently for BBCA to show the next season of Life On Mars but they seem to be taking their sweet time.

Still enjoying the last season of Doctor Who, too. The episodes just seem to keep getting better and better.

[fenris]

fenris said:

Last weekend I wandered into my local WH Smiths and bought the early 80's BBC series The Nightmare Man for only £5.00.

Watched all four episodes of The Nightmare Man last night. It's set on a remote Scottish island, in which the local police (all four of them) have to cope with a series of murders in which the victims are being torn limb-from-limb. They can't expect any help from the mainland, as radio contact is becoming intermittent, and travel is impossible due to a vast fog bank that's not going to lift for several days. And if things weren't bad enough, evidence clearly shows that the killer isn't human...

Originally broadcast on BBC1 in 1981, The Nightmare Man was never repeated (not even tucked away on satellite) or released on VHS, and therefore gained a quiet but respectable cult reputation over the years. When it was finally released on DVD a couple of years ago, it was the first time the series had been seen for a quarter of a century.

So, was it worth the wait? Well, yes. The Nightmare Man holds up quite well, in it's own, quiet, understated way. The series' scriptwriter Robert Holmes was a Doctor Who veteran, and in the first episode, as the island setting and the main inhabitants are introduced, it understandably seems similar to the establishing scenes in a Who story from the Tom Baker/Peter Davison era ('Horror of Fang Rock' being the best example). I kept having a nagging feeling that the Tardis was about to materialise...

But this soon passes as the series' characters step into the fray. In fact, if you wanted to, you could regard The Nightmare Man as a 'Doctor-free' tale in the same vein as the New Who episodes 'Love & Monsters' and 'Blink' - a story in which the Doctor fails to turn up as scheduled, and so the supporting cast are forced to roll their sleeves up and deal with the otherworldly threat themselves.

Perhaps the most interesting and refreshing aspect of The Nightmare Man is that the Beeb would never dream of commissioning it these days. It's a combination of monster movie and slasher film in which people are violently dismembered - but it was shown pre-watershed, and considered as being family entertainment at the time. Yep, those were the days, I miss them so...

Incidentally, amongst a cast packed full of familar character actors was Celia Imrie, now known as a regular co-star of Victoria Wood, for appearing in the movie Calendar Girls, and currently playing Nicholas Lyndhurst's mother-in-law in BBC1 sitcom After You're Gone. But back in 1981, Ms Imrie was quite a fetching young red-headed starlet, and for some reason the costume department kept putting her in very flimsy low-cut tops.