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Post by fenris on Feb 11, 2013 17:53:18 GMT
Clare Thomas' official website has confirmed that CBBC have commissioned a fifth season of Young Dracula, with Thomas reprising her role as Ingrid. Filming begins in April.
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Post by fenris on Jun 10, 2013 21:36:07 GMT
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Post by fenris on Jun 14, 2013 14:33:20 GMT
Information about the first episode of the upcoming third season of Luther, courtesy of Digital Spy; SPOILER WARNINGPlot details for the third season of Luther have been released by BBC One. Idris Elba returns to the detective series this summer for four 60-minute episodes, which will also star Warren Brown and Ruth Wilson. The BBC has confirmed that the first instalment of series three will feature John Luther (Elba) tackling a "twisted fetishist", who appears to be a copycat killer of an unsolved case from the '80s. However, the detective's priorities will be torn between that case and another, which involves a "malicious internet tormentor" found dead at his home.
The episode description reveals: "With so many people wanting the tormentor dead, Luther needs to apply brute force to a key witness for more information, unaware that every move he makes is being watched."
The first episode will also see the introduction of Sienna Guillory as Mary Day, a new love interest for Luther.Source |
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Post by fenris on Jun 20, 2013 16:23:41 GMT
Confirmation of a rumour that's been drifting around the 'net for the best part of a year; Idris Elba has revealed that the planned Luther movie will be an "origin story". A big-screen spinoff from the hit BBC drama would be adapted from show creator Neil Cross's 2011 prequel novel Luther: The Calling, Elba explained at a BAFTA screening last night (June 19th).
"If we do decide to make this film, the spine of the film will probably come from The Calling - which is the book - and that starts at the beginning of who Luther is and where he's come from," said the actor.
Elba added that he hopes the 'origin' movie will bring "a new audience for Luther but... also... keep the fans interested. It's a goal for Neil and I, for sure - we've talked about it at length. We haven't got into any sort of deal stage or anything like that, but it's certainly a goal. We did six episodes, then we did four, then we waited a year and a half and then we did another four. That's training our fans to gear up towards what could be either a film or maybe a television special and then a film."
Luther returns for its third series on Tuesday, July 2nd at 9pm on BBC One.Source (Digital Spy) |
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Post by fenris on Jun 30, 2013 15:01:34 GMT
I gave up watching Casualty several years ago, but it's sister show Holby City remains must-see TV, in my humble opinion. Two of it's many characters are particular favourites of mine: the first is Jac Naylor - brilliantly played by the wonderful Rosie Marcel - whom I consider to be one of the most compelling, complex, and intriguing characters ever seen on British television. Marcel has starred in Holby for nine years (there are only two actors who have been in the show for longer) and you can see why she's stuck with it: Jac is the kind of role that most performers can only dream of. (Useless bit of trivia: Marcel's dad directed Hawk the Slayer.) My other main favourite is Irish nurse Mary-Claire Carter (played by Niamh McGrady) who made her debut on the show in late 2009, and despite then featuring almost constantly for the best part of a year, was officially only a recurring character instead of a series regular. Gradually, her appearances became increasingly sporadic and eventually petered out. She was never actually written out, and I assumed that either McGrady had taken the decision to leave the show, or the writers had simply forgotten about Mary-Claire or run out of uses for her. However, she subsequently began to make occasional guest-appearances, falling into a pattern of turning up for one/two episodes and then disappearing for several months (the explanation for her lack of visiblity being that she was working in other parts of the hospital or on different shifts to the regular characters). Despite this lack of frequent screentime, the character developed a cult following amongst fans of the show, and in April this year that loyality was rewarded when Mary-Claire officially became a regular character, taking her place alongside the other main cast-members in the opening titles and having her name listed amid the regulars in the closing credits (the cast list for Holby is shown in three blocks: regulars, recurring characters, and guest cast appearing in just that episode). It's long overdue. Here's Niamh McGrady's own thoughts on her promotion; Holby City star Niamh McGrady has revealed that she is delighted to be a regular member of the cast. McGrady has played Mary-Claire in the show since 2009 but has only started being credited as a regular character this year.
McGrady said to Inside Soap: "I've done so many jobs between roles. I've been a cleaner, a waitress and I've worked in bars. Even when I was a semi-regular in Holby, I worked in a bar. People used to say to me, 'You're in Holby. What are you doing working in a bar?' I'm so happy to be a regular on the show - it's the best place to be in the world."
McGrady's character Mary-Claire currently has feelings for doctor Harry Tressler, unaware that he has kissed her friend Gemma Wilde.
McGrady said: "She's very keen on him. Ultimately, she wants more than a fling. To be honest, Mary-Claire is oblivious to the spark between Gemma and Harry. She gets on very well with Gemma. But if she knew that she'd kissed Harry, she'd have something to say. There is a lot of game-playing going on and it will be interesting to see how it develops."Source (Digital Spy) |
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Post by fenris on Jul 3, 2013 20:52:23 GMT
I can't help wondering if Neil Cross wasn't using this year's pair of two-part stories to pay subtle homage to Luther's ITV counterpart Whitechapel. The first season of Whitechapel focused on a Jack the Ripper copycat, the second on a pair of Kray twin wannabes. Cameron Pell (from Luther's first two-parter) was obsessed with unexplained Victorian-era entity Springheeled Jack, and the second two-parter's Dice Killers were identical twins. Coincidence? I've previously noticed slight similarities between plot elements in Luther and those in episodes of Whitechapel that had aired one/two years earlier, but had assumed it was just a strange coincidence. However... the opening two-parter of Whitechapel's third season, broadcast last year, concerned a killer who concealed himself inside people's homes and waited for the right moment to emerge from his hiding place and attack them. The first episode of Luther's third season was screened last night (2nd July 2013). It's main storyline? A killer is concealing himself inside people's homes, waiting for the right moment to emerge from his hiding place and attack them. Hmm... |
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Post by fenris on Jul 18, 2013 16:59:07 GMT
ITV4 are starting a repeat run of the classic American Seventies series Kojak, commencing on 22nd July 2013 with episodes shown every weekday at 15:00.
At the time it originally aired, Kojak seemed to be just another detective show in the same vein as Columbo, Cannon and other contemporaries. However, with hindsight it was actually a forerunner of police procedurals such as Hill Street blues, NYPD Blue and Homicide: Life on the Street, in that it portrayed police work as ultimately just a job: a relentless, never-ending treadmill. Every time Theo Kojak and his colleagues successfully arrested a mugger, arsonist, killer or racketeer, they returned to the office to find several new cases waiting in the in-tray. Each day just meant more of the same crap. It was an approach not seen in TV cop shows before.
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Post by fenris on Aug 13, 2013 15:01:03 GMT
Clare Thomas' official website has confirmed that CBBC have commissioned a fifth season of Young Dracula. Due to time constraints, I fell behind with posting reviews on this forum of the individual episodes of Young Dracula's fourth season, and eventually abandoned them altogether. Although unavoidable, this proved particularly unfortunate as it was undoubtedly the show's strongest season yet. Highlights included the surprise killing-off of major characters; some textbook examples of how to construct large-scale action sequences on a children's TV budget (an amazingly destructive battle between Vlad and Malik had the two of them crashing through walls & floors and plunging down the centre of a stairwell); and the best villain that Young Dracula has ever had, in the demented form of the season's 'Big Bad' Elizabetha, the Count's former lover and widow of his older brother. However, despite the fact that it's a British series that was successfully revived three years after being cancelled (How often does that happen?), has lasted five seasons and even spawned a spin-off show ( The Young Dracula Files), Young Dracula continues to be ignored by UK genre publications ('cough' SFX 'cough') that usually gush all over homegrown telefantasy without fail ( Doctor Who, Being Human, Misfits, Merlin, The Fades, The Sarah-Jane Adventures, In The Flesh, Wizards vs Aliens, etc). Grrr. Rant over. Anyway, Simon Ludders (Renfield in Young Dracula) has stated on Twitter that the show's fifth season will be shown on CBBC in January 2014. |
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Post by fenris on Oct 11, 2013 16:45:38 GMT
Kudos will be producing an Anglo-French remake for Sky Atlantic; Sky Atlantic is to remake Scandinavian crime drama The Bridge. French broadcaster Canal+ have teamed with Sky and Kudos Film and TV for a new adaptation. The Bridge focuses on a double murder investigation that follows the discovery of two dead bodies, sewn together and dumped on the border of Denmark and Sweden. The new version will reportedly transpose the scene of the crime to the point at which France meets Britain in the Channel Tunnel. begins on Sky Atlantic next Wednesday (16th October 2013) at 21:00. Clemence Poesy plays French detective Elise Wassermann (psychologically damaged & emotionally frozen, following the death off her identical twin sister) while Stephen Dillane portrays her British counterpart, Karl Roebuck. Here's the stylish trailer for the series... which contains no actual footage from the show at all. This is more like it: a short promo for the series with clips and talking heads. |
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Post by fenris on Oct 13, 2013 16:18:30 GMT
BBC Four's latest acquisition is The Bridge, a Danish/Swedish co-production in which detectives from both countries embark on a joint investigation when a body is dumped on the Oresund Bridge which connects the two nations. It's the Porsche-driving, leather trouser-wearing, higher-functioning autistic Saga Noren (the Swedish half of the show's investigating duo) who has attracted the most attention from reviewers & critics, and understandably so. She's a fascinating and immensely watchable character, a gift of a role for actress Sofia Helin. But Noren's Danish counterpart - amiable, unflappable, careworn family man Martin Rohde (played by Kim Bodnia) is almost as impressive in his quiet-yet-determined, non-showy way. reportedly begins on BBC Four in January next year. Due to their experience of working together in the original series, Saga Noren and Martin Rohde are assigned to another joint investigation between the Swedish & Danish police when a terrorist group causes a freighter to crash into the Oresund Bridge. Here are three teaser trailers for the series; Teaser 1Teaser 2Teaser 3 |
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Post by fenris on Dec 18, 2013 17:35:59 GMT
The Bridge II reportedly begins on BBC Four in January next year. Had been expecting BBC Four to repeat the first season in the run-up to the debut of the second, and was truly surprised when it didn't turn up in the schedules during November or December. But have just discovered that the Beeb no longer hold the screening rights to Series One - instead the entire season is exclusively available on Virgin On Demand. |
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Post by fenris on Dec 31, 2013 15:58:11 GMT
The Bridge II reportedly begins on BBC Four in January next year. The second season of The Bridge begins on BBC Four this coming Saturday (4th January 2014), with a double-bill of episodes starting at 21:00. Here's the trailer for the Swedish/Danish DVD release of Season 2. |
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Post by fenris on Jan 12, 2014 16:59:10 GMT
Simon Ludders (Renfield in Young Dracula) has stated on Twitter that the show's fifth season will be shown on CBBC in January 2014. Although I'm a fan of Demons, Wolfblood and Whitechapel (which finally went unashamedly full-genre in it's fourth & final season), in my humble opinion Young Dracula is the best homegrown horror/supernatural TV series since Hex ended. The fifth season begins on CBBC at 18:00 tomorrow (13th January 2014). |
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Post by fenris on Jan 18, 2014 0:41:20 GMT
In my humble opinion Young Dracula is the best homegrown horror/supernatural TV series since Hex ended. The fifth season begins on CBBC at 18:00 tomorrow (13th January 2014). Buggernuts. Actress Clare Thomas has mentioned on Twitter that the fifth season of Young Dracula (which began airing on CBBC last Monday) is the final one. Looking back on her Twitter account, some of the tweets she made when filming of the fifth season concluded in August last year indicate that the cast knew the show had come to an end. At least this means that the Beeb made a conscious decision to end the show on a high, rather than it being cancelled due to falling ratings. |
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Post by fenris on Feb 16, 2014 17:35:10 GMT
Channel Five operates on a fraction of the budgets that the BBC, ITV and Channel Four enjoy, so with original drama being incredibly expensive to make, Five's schedules mostly consist of documentaries, reality shows, imported Australian soaps and American crime series. However, last Wednesday (13th February 2014) I watched the debut episode of Suspects, Five's first commissioned homegrown drama series in several years (I believe their last such effort was the disastrous & short-lived attempt to revive Minder with Shane Ritchie). For anyone unfamiliar with Suspects, it's a police procedural filmed reality-style, with hand-held cameras and CCTV footage, often relying on natural light. Plus the dialogue is all improvised, with the cast just given a description of what needs to happen in each scene.
My verdict, based on the first episode, is that Suspects isn't as good as all Five's hype would have you believe, nor is it as revolutionary or ground-breaking as it's producers would like to think. But that said, it's a solid and worthwhile addition to an overcrowded genre, and is just about different enough to stand out (and on a purely personal note, I enjoyed seeing one of my favourite actresses, doe-eyed Amanda Ryan, make a guest appearance in this series opener). I'll be watching future episodes.
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