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Post by fenris on Jul 25, 2007 14:50:30 GMT
Has anyone been watching Jekyll on BBC1? I originally tuned in as I'm a huge fan of the story and thought that the amazingly talented Stephan Moffett would bring a fresh and modern twist to the tale. Boy I wasn't wrong, it has had surprises all along and Jimmy Nesbitt has now made it onto my official (mental) favourite actors list. Jekyll has a great cast. In addition to Nesbitt, there's Denis Lawson (in his first major role after both his wife and daughter died of cancer a couple of years ago), former Coupling regular Gina Bellman, and the lovely Michelle Ryan. Michelle is currently filming in the States, playing the title role in the new Bionic Woman series.
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Post by fenris on Oct 6, 2007 15:06:00 GMT
There was a wonderful little series called Murder in Suburbia that debuted in the UK on ITV1 back in 2004. Shown in a primetime slot on Saturday evenings, it was dismissed by the critics, but enough people watched it for the show to be renewed. The second (and final) season was screened in 2005. In total, twelve episodes were produced. The second season of Murder in Suburbia is being repeated by ITV3 on Wednesdays at 21:00, starting on 10/10/07 with the supernatural-themed episode 'Witches'.
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Post by fenris on Oct 8, 2007 19:00:56 GMT
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Post by fenris on Dec 18, 2007 0:32:13 GMT
Michelle Ryan is currently filming in the States, playing the title role in the new Bionic Woman series. It's just been announced that the new Bionic Woman series has been cancelled mid-season. Here's a link for more information; www.hollywood.com/news/Bionic_Woman_Cancelled/5016339
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Post by orokiah on Dec 18, 2007 12:13:59 GMT
It's just been announced that the new Bionic Woman series has been cancelled mid-season. I was looking forward to that too. Ah well. Be interesting to see what Michelle Ryan does next. Since that's off the menu, the TV show I'm awaiting the most in 2008 is ITV's Moving Wallpaper and its sister show, Echo Beach. It's a great concept by one of Britan's finest writers, Tony Jordan (creator of Hustle, co-creator of Life on Mars and long-time EastEnders scribe): a comedy about the creation of a soap, with tongue in cheek cameos and actors playing OTT versions of themselves, followed by the soap itself. It's full of in-jokes and crossovers, and developments behind the scenes that translate through to the soap - like Susie Amy's character 'Suzie Amy', a fame-hungry actress who'll do anything for success and gets her part expanded week after week thanks to the 'special understanding' she has with the producer. As a brainless hour of entertainment it looks unbeatable.
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Post by fenris on Dec 18, 2007 19:54:33 GMT
I've heard about Echo Beach and Moving Wallpaper. Sounds like a fascinating experiment, and I'll definitely be tuning in. From what I've read, although viewers should ideally watch both shows to order to appreciate the subtle in-jokes and references that cross back and forth between them, ITV are apparently keen that Echo Beach should also work as a 'serious' soap opera which can be watched in isolation. My guess is that while soaps are a tried-and-tested commodity, ITV regard a fourth wall breaking series such as Moving Wallpaper as being something of a gamble. If Echo Beach proves popular but it's viewing figures don't carry over to Moving Wallpaper, I suspect that Echo Beach will be renewed and continue as a conventional soap opera, while it's sister show is quietly cancelled. I was looking forward to that too. Perhaps you still can, orokiah. Despite yesterday's announcement that Bionic Woman had been cancelled, today NBC are saying that it isn't. Confusion reigns. See link below; community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Bionic-Woman-Completely/800029476
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Post by Bexerika on Dec 20, 2007 20:33:12 GMT
i saw jekyll - loved it. but im a really big fan of Robin Hood (durhh) as its the only thing i watch anymore thats not on the internet.
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Post by orokiah on Feb 9, 2008 13:50:13 GMT
An air date's been announced for Being Human, part of the BBC Three drama pilot season. It starts on Monday 18th February at 9pm on BBC Three. Press pack (contains spoilers) is here. Plot description from Radio Times: Contemporary supernatural drama about George and Mitchell, a pair of perennial outsiders. Working in the anonymous drudgery of the local hospital, they live lives of quiet desperation - because Mitchell is a vampire and George is a werewolf. Deciding to turn over a new leaf, they move into a house together, only to find that it is haunted by Annie, the ghost of a woman killed in mysterious circumstances. As a threesome, they deal with the challenges of being supernatural creatures, bonded by their desire to adopt the lifestyle of their neighbours - humanity.I've been looking forward to this since it was first announced. It looks very promising - and Adrian Lester playing a sinister vampire has got definite appeal.
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Post by fenris on Feb 10, 2008 15:38:25 GMT
When I first heard about Being Human, I assumed it was a quirky, offbeat comedy, but apparently it's a serious drama, which makes it all the more intriguing. I've read a quote (can't remember where I saw it) from the actress who plays the ghost, in which she said it's basically about three people with problems: the vampire's an addict, the werewolf has a life-effecting medical condition, and the ghost is an agoraphobic.
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Post by orokiah on Apr 1, 2008 12:48:31 GMT
Zone Thriller has begun showing weekend double bills of a series called In Deep, which starred Nick Berry and Stephen Tompkinson as undercover detectives Liam and Garth.
It was something of a precursor to Murphy's Law, but with a buddy cop feel to it, and the added complication of Liam's struggle to juggle his career with his family; leading to the guys' regular sessions with Fiona Allen's police psychologist, who became more involved in the action in series three.
Despite the subject matter it was never really as dark or gritty as it wanted to be, although it did hit the mark on occasion. The episodes where Garth infiltrated a paedophile ring were especially hard hitting. The more reckless member of the team, Garth tended to immerse himself in the job in a ruthless pursuit of justice, and there was a constant fear that he would go too deep, too far, and never recover. The twosome did get a sidekick in series two: rookie undercover cop Kelly, who was initially portrayed as a potential love interest before - in what the makers probably fondly imagined was a great twist - turning out to be a lesbian. It could have marked an interesting new direction for the character, but she wasn't all that interesting to begin with, and not surprisingly, didn't return for series three.
The highlight was the final episode of series two, in which Liam's wife (played by Lisa Maxwell, best known now as a regular on The Bill) was killed off, falling victim in her own home to a murderer Garth and Liam were chasing. It was one of the finest and most shocking moments of television I've ever seen: easily on a par with the much-mentioned deep fat fryer incident in Spooks. It left the show, if not really on a cliffhanger, then on the question of where it could go from there. With the consequences of Garth and Liam's work hitting home - literally, and in the worst possible way - the message was clear: no one was safe.
Inevitably the only way was down. Although there was an interesting reversal between the characters in the third series - the grieving Liam becoming the unstable one, with Garth forced to assume the steady hand to stop him going over the edge - it never quite hit the heights reached by the previous two and a fourth series never materialised.
Nick Berry didn't seem all that suited to the role of the hard man, and Stephen Tompkinson's Scouse accent was occasionally a bit suspect. But it's a fantastic show. It originally aired on BBC1 from 2001 to 2003, and despite being released in Australia, has never had a DVD release in this country. It's great to see it back on air after all this time.
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Post by fenris on Apr 1, 2008 18:34:23 GMT
I remember In Deep, mostly because it enabled Lisa Maxwell to reinvent herself as a serious actress. She'd previously been known as a comedy performer (including a brief stint as a Hill's Angel in The Benny Hill Show), and during the mid-Eighties to early Nineties had been a near-permanent fixture in BBC1's light entertainment programming, serving as a regular cast member in The Russ Abbot Show, The Les Dennis Laughter Show, The Joe Longthorne Show, and The Late, Late Breakfast Show. She was eventually rewarded with her own primetime series, The Lisa Maxwell Show, which she used to help an all-female team of scriptwriters break into television. Sadly the experiment failed and due to poor ratings it only lasted one season. Maxwell then tried her luck in America, and was cast in Daphine in Frasier, only to leave the series before filming began, due to disagreements over how the character should be portrayed (she was replaced by another former Hill's Angel, Jane Leeves). Returning from the U.S., Maxwell got the In Deep role and has never looked back.
Regarding In Deep, I was never really a fan of the series, mostly due to the presence of Nick Berry, who's always in my opinion relied on his pretty boy looks to carry him, as opposed to whatever talent he has as an actor. I seem to recall that Stephen Tompkinson's character got beaten to a near-pulp every week, while Berry never received so much as a scratch. I used to wonder if Berry had it written into his contact that he was to remain good-looking at all times.
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Post by orokiah on Apr 24, 2008 13:34:15 GMT
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Post by fenris on Apr 24, 2008 13:46:54 GMT
Ya-hoo!! Great news! Fingers crossed that they'll be able to bring back all of the original cast, especially Andrea Riseborough.
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Post by fenris on Mar 8, 2009 14:55:34 GMT
Have just found out that the first season of Murder in Suburbia was released on Region 2 DVD a month ago. How did that slip past me? Have just found out that the second season of Murder in Suburbia was released on Region 2 last week; www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/B001L7XNLO/ref=dp_image_text_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=283926&s=dvdI'll definitely be getting this. As I've commented previously in this thread, Murder in Suburbia was screened in 2004 - 2005 (the same two years that Hex was broadcast) and the opening episode of the second series - entitled 'Witches' - contains so much Hexiness that it's practically an unofficial crossover. Despite failing to attract much of an audience during it's initial broadcast, Murder in Suburbia now enjoys a healthy cult following on-line, and remains especially popular amongst the femslash community. Just over a year ago, I actually began writing a short Hex/ Murder in Suburbia crossover fanfic, set between the second and third episodes of Hex's second season. Entitled 'The Usual Suspects', it had Ash & Scribbs arriving to Medenham to investigate Cassie's disappearance, and trying to establish if there was any connection with Thelma's 'suicide' several months earlier and the recent deaths of Felix and the security guard. I intended the story to be a character study, with the two detectives interviewing the likes of David Tyrell, Jo, Roxy, Leon and Ella, and therefore examining the Hex regulars as seen through the eyes of outsiders. Throughout the story, Scribbs would have commented on how items from her lunch kept disappearing (a hint that Thelma was sitting in on the interviews) and there would have been a scene toward the end where Thelma invited herself into one of Ash's dreams, dropped a few sad and cryptic clues about Cassie's fate, and advised the policewoman to examine her feelings for her partner. I never finished it, but may get around to it one day.
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Post by orokiah on Mar 10, 2009 23:33:20 GMT
Just over a year ago, I actually began writing a short Hex/ Murder in Suburbia crossover fanfic, set between the second and third episodes of Hex's second season. I've never seen Murder in Suburbia, but I like the sound of that. Crossover or not, there's a lot to be mined from an investigation into the many deaths, disappearances and bizarre goings-on at Medenham. Shame they almost totally ignored that side of things in the show. It might have given David Tyrel more to do for a start.
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