Sorry to continue to bombard all you nice people with Walking Dead news but things just seem to be moving along so rapidly recently, anyway...
I've been reporting on quite a bit of news regarding The Walking Dead. It started with the initial news that a series was being considered and then that Darabont was being brought on board to direct a pilot that if successful would get the show green lit and in the last few days some casting tidbits here and there.
If only you knew!
Well a few short hours after the Johnny Lee Miller Rumors comes news that AMC has officially green-lit a whole season for The Walking Dead and not just a pilot. The long and short of it is that the show will run SIX, One Hour Long Episodes that will constitute a first season. One would imagine that if its successful that it will be picked up for additional seasons. The show is also set to premiere during October of this year (filming begins in June) just in time for AMC's annual Fearfest.
It's all coming up Aces so far regarding The Walking Dead's transition from comic to television.
Here's the Variety Article:
AMC has given a series greenlight to "The Walking Dead," the Frank Darabont-helmed adaptation of the Image Comics series by Robert Kirkman.
AMC has ordered a total of six episodes of the series that revolves around a group of survivors of a zombie apocalypse. Darabont penned and directed the pilot and will exec produce with Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd of Valhalla Motion Pictures and David Alpert of Circle of Confusion, which will be funded entirely inhouse by AMC parent Rainbow Media. Charles Eglee, a seasoned TV drama showrunner, has also boarded the project as an exec producer.
"Dead" is targeted to preem in October, dovetailing with Halloween and AMC's annual "Fearfest" two-week marathon of horror and thriller pics.
Jon Bernthal ("The Pacific") has been cast in a lead role. The series revolves around police officer Rick Grimes, who leads a group of human survivors on a search for a safe home in a world overrun by zombies. AMC greenlighted production of a "Walking Dead" pilot back in January but ultimately decided to go straight to series after hearing Darabont's vision for a six-episode arc, and because of the desire to tie in with "Fearfest."
"He's taken the baseline road map of the underlying material and just blew it out to the next level," said Joel Stillerman, AMC's senior veep of programming, production and digital content. "There's stuff in there that will make the people who love the comics very happy and some surprises in there as well."
AMC prexy and g.m. Charlie Collier noted that "Dead" marks AMC's first foray into full ownership of one of its series. "With Frank and Gale and their entire team invested in this project, we also wanted to be fully invested in this project," he said.
Stillerman added that the property is likely to have "huge international value."
We know who's playing Shane but this show will live or die by it's Rick and today there is word on who is the front runner to play the lead in The Walking Dead:
Casting is underway for AMC's "The Walking Dead" TV series as Jon Bernthal ("Eastwick", Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian) was announced to be playing Grimes' partner and friend Shane in the Frank Darabont directed pilot episode. Adding to the story, Bloody Disgusting learned exclusively that Jonny Lee Miller (Hackers, Dracula 2000, "Eli Stone") is the frontrunner (in talks) to play "Rick Grimes", a police officer who leads a group of zombie survivors in search of a safe place to live during the apocalypse. As mentioned earlier, shooting begins this May on the pilot with hopes of it turning into an ongoing series. Those of you who are fans of AMC's "Mad Men" know exactly how good this could be.
I have got to say I'm floored! If this casting ends up happening then it's just another reason for me to love this show before an episode has even been produced. Johnny Lee Miller is very underrated IMO, he's been in my favorite movie of all time (Trainspotting) as well as two of my biggest guiltiest pleasure movies of all time (Dracula 2000 and Hackers) so needless to say I'm pretty happy right now.
Looks wise he's not the Rick I was picturing but I'm sure the make-up department can manage, acting wise Miller is the tit's and can get the job done. Shooting for The Walking Dead is set to start in May for a Fall premiere. Exciting times...
AMC's is making a pilot of the FANTASTIC Robert Kirkman comic The Walking Dead, thats old news by now but its still sounds so cool.
Anyway the new news is that it seems casting has begun (or has begun to be announced) and the first victim of the undead is Jon Bernthal (Night at the Museum 2,Eastwick) who will be playing Rick's partner Shane. For those oh you who have read the series you know the kind of character Shane is and his story and for those that haven't he's an interesting character to be sure and will likely figure heavily into the pilot/series if it gets picked up.
With a hair cut and a five o'clock shadow this could work!
I'm so happy this show is getting made, I'm so happy Frank Darabont is writing and directing the pilot/producing the series, I'm just sooo damn happy! I trust AMC to make a hell of a show considering the original stuff there turning out now. Once this sucker hits the airwaves I will have a new favorite show!
Well then watch this interview with new stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan and after some talking you get a nice little clip. Got the video from Blogtor Whothe best source for your Doctor Who needs.
Cant believe some lucky SOB's got to watch the first episode all ready and the fact that Matt and Karen just watched episode 12...So jealous. Actually I'll be jealous of Matt Smith til the day I die as he gets to be in such close proximity to Karen Gillan all the time (SWOON)
So I’ve been looking for something to review for those interested that you havnt perhaps seen yet, I’m too far behind on Movies and TV at the moment but I did happen to watch a pilot for a new British comedy starting David Cross and Will Arnett both of Arrested Development fame. The show has had a pilot episode and has since been picked up for a full 6 episode series and will be co-produced by British and American forces so it may very well air in the U.S. eventually, anyway on to the review.
The show tells the story of Todd Margaret (Cross) who basically plays along with his new Boss (Arnett) whom has mistaken Margaret for a completely different kind of individual then he really is. After the little bluff on Todd’s part he is given a (seemingly) fantastic job in London selling energy drinks which according to Arnett “is like fucking crack to these people”. So Todd breaks all his ties (he has none) and heads off to start his new life in London.
Once he arrives we get the standard ignorant American in a ne country jokes such as trying to pay for his taxi with Dollars instead of Pounds. It’s the common kind of situation but Cross plays it in a very timid and funny way. After some scenes in a café Todd heads to his new office ready to introduce himself to his new co-workers only to come to the realization that the only workers are himself and one other employee named Dave (Russell Tovey) who is only interested in making Todd look like more of ass then he is already doing on his own.
We get a couple of more scenes of Todd trying to adjust to British life with the (un)assistance of Dave which leads to more trouble. Eventually the duo end up in a diner and Todd starts to sip down energy drink after energy drink and thus begins one of the funniest scenes to grace my computer screen in some time. I won’t ruin anything here but it gets pretty outrageous and Cross plays it perfectly. The episode ends with Todd lying on the floor of his room after the longest day of his life simply saying, “Oh man, this sucks” but show does anything but.
David Cross is one of those comedians who I could have cared less about a few years back but once I gave the guy a chance I really learned to love his style and in my mind Will Arnett is one of the funniest guys in America, his voice alone makes people tremble in fear. Also special mention should be made about Russell Tovey who plays a much different kind of comedy part then he plays in say Being Human. He is playing a straight up jackass but its funny; I only hope that when the series continues the two grow some kind of bond no matter how superficial.
Just type in the words Todd and Margaret in your local torrent search if you’re a American who has no access to it. I mean just watch the clip above and try not to laugh.
Just a quick update on my part. Watched all of the FINAL Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and I ALMOST lost it when Conan gave his little goodbye speech. If he cried I would have followed suit. I look forward to watching Conan again in September!
(Goodbye CoCo)
The show was the perfect send off. A perfect monolouge, TOm Hanks being awesome, Neil Young, Will Ferrall performing Free Bird with Conan on guitar and Conan's last stand...just classic. I would buy it on DVD if it ever came to it.
What did everyone else think of the final Tonight Show worth watching?
I'm sure by now most people have heard that Robert Kirkman's insanley good comic series The Walking Dead was set to get the series treatment over at AMC with insanley good director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption)taking over the Writing and Directing duties (at least for the first episode) and now it looks like things are starting to progress.
AMC has just officially green lit the pilot episode of The Walking Dead!
The snippet below doesn't really say when to expect anything but since it's officially green lit we can all rest easy knowing that we will at least have one episode of a zombie television series. I trust everyone involved and AMC has a great track record up to this point. I don't want to get to excited but it's hard not to.
From Variety:
AMC has given greenlights to two drama pilots, "The Walking Dead" and "The Killing."
"The Walking Dead" is based on the comicbook series about survivors of a zombie apocalypse by Robert Kirkman. Frank Darabont penned the adaptation and is on board to direct. Gale Anne Hurd of Valhalla Motion Pictures and David Alpert of Circle of Confusion will exec produce with Darabont and Kirkman.
"Walking Dead" revolves around a group of survivors, led by a police officer, who travel the country in search of a safe home.
Working with people like Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd is the right way in for us to deliver a project of distinction in this genre," AMC prexy Charlie Collier said.
Sinatra’s Top 14 British Television Shows (Part 8)
And the best British Television Show EVER (that I’ve seen) IS…
*drum roll
It’s
The Peter Serafinowicz Show
I would like nothing more than to not have to say anything about this show because it was such a hit in the states but that isn’t the case (YET) so instead it is my pleasure to tell you about one of the funniest shows ever.
The Peter Serafinowicz Show was a sketch comedy show that aired on BBC2 during 2007-2008 and stars if you can wrap you noggin around this one Peter Serafinowicz who you probably know from Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, and Couples Retreat as well as the voice of Darth Maul in Episode 1 (you know, “at last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi, At last we shall have our revenge”) amongst other things. I’ve been a fan since back when I was originally exposed to Spaced in which he played Duane Benzie (paintball scene=classic) and have since tried to watch whatever he’s in. Anyway the show is filled with a mixture of sketches poking fun at pop culture as well as many original creations. The writing is fantastic, you can imagine everyone just having a great laugh coming up with the ideas and I can’t imagine the sheer number of outtakes that must have occurred during production, I know I’d be laughing non-stop.
The show had a limited run of one six episode series and a Christmas special but thankfully Serafinowicz continues to put out videos on various sites like Funny or Die, he also is one of the better celebrity Twitter…ers or is that Tweetist? It’s always a joy to open up Twitter and read some Q and A’s, if you are a Twitter user I suggest adding him @Serafinowicz. The way this review is going you’d think I was on the guys P.R. team or something but trust me when I say the show is just that BRILLANT!
How did I find out about the show? Glad you asked. Well a faithful night of boredom and channel surfing led me to see a Pink Darth Vader while changing stations, I did a double take and stayed glued to the telly for the remainder of the episode and from then on it was history. The show had a run on G4 in 2008 and man I have to say thanks G4 for once I enjoyed some programming on your station that didn’t involve Olivia Munn in skimpy outfits.
I can’t even begin to get into specifics regarding the various skits that are on this show but maybe I can give you some bullet points:
Darth Vader in Love
BRIAN BUTTERFIELD
Acting Masterclass (“It looks like a sausage”)
Robotic talk show host
Game show parodies
KITCHEN GUN!
And that is really just the beginning, it’s insane that they fit as many different ideas into the limited run as they did. If anything said above interest you in the least you need to watch this show!
Oh did I mention that Serafinowicz is a man of seemingly a million voices? Well he is. A lot of what makes the show work is Serafinowicz’s vocal manipulations aka Impressions and what not. He is a dead on Michael Caine, spot on Ringo Starr, Perfect Kevin Spacey and again its just the beginning. If you want an idea of what he can do check out some videos on Funny or Die!
I don’t wanna gush more than I have or anything but yeah the show is basically perfect, at least for me. I like to think it was tailor made just for me and my comedy style and sense of humor but that would be selling it short, The Peter Serafinowicz show should appeal to anyone who fancies a laugh. Each and everyone of my friends that I’ve introduced it to have loved it.Hell me and a few friends quote it almost daily.
So yeah watch it. Sadly your options are limited as I don’t think the show runs on G4 anymore (could be wrong) and the DVD is just about to come out in the U.K. (link below) which would mean any U.S. release would be a ways off if at all which truly is a shame. If you have a player that can watch the R2 then import this sucker (I plan to) and if not see what you can find online for clips and what not. Really love the show and look forward to Serafinowicz to start and become someone big in the U.S. already with roles in Shaun and Couples Retreat he will soon be playing Paul McCartney (check out Head Lice if you have any doubts) in the CG Motion Capture remake of Yellow Submarine. Can’t wait to be able to say I was one of the first lucky Americans to be a Serafinowicz fan only to be disbelieved by the new converts!
I bet you thought you were getting 2 and 1 didn't you? I do tend to be a bit tricky when it comes to countdowns. Maybe I'll post #1 later or maybe I'll save it for tomorrow even though that would push British Invasion Week to 8 days...TIME WILL TELL
Sinatra's Top 14 British Television Series (Part 7)
#2. Spaced
How could any list be made without including Spaced? I’d imagine any person whom identifies themselves as a Nerd has heard of Spaced and know of its greatness, if not read on and learn.
Spaced tells the story of two twenty-something’s who pretend to be a couple in order to get an apartment. Daisy Steiner (Jessica Stevenson) and Tim Bisley (Simon Pegg) are the two main characters of the show, Daisy is a “writer” and Tim is am aspiring comic book artist however both are not really reaching their life goals. The series largely follows the adventures of Tim and Daisy as they live their lives through a series of bizarre and surreal events. The duo grow as people and by the end of the entire 14 episode run you feel like you’re a member of Tim and Daisy’s circle of friends.
Besides Pegg and Stevenson Spaces stars Julia Deakin (playing landlady Marsha), Mark Heap (playing artist Brian), Nick Frost (playing Tim’s best friend Mike) and Katy Carmichael (playing Daisy’s friend Twist). All the supporting cast could have shows based around their individual lives and I’d watch each of them. Whether its Brian’s bizarre heterosexual/bi-sexual/homosexual art world adventures to Mike’s army adventures (or mis-adventures) the show is filled with little bits that you wish were expanded upon.
(WATCH THE ENTIRE FIRST EPISODE)
The show excels at referencing pop culture in a way that no show I’ve ever seen has done before, especially in a show like this. Most of the references revolve around science fiction and fantasy but that’s not to say it’s those two entirely quite the opposite in face, Spaced takes on almost every kind of genre out there and turns it on there heads in the name of comedy. The show benefits from using these references with various surreal visual and events that will make you question whats reality and what isn't, it's almost like asking if they can hear Stewie on Family Guy or not (at least back in the day when the show was FUNNY). It could be flashbacks, zombie attacks, gun fights or dozens of other varying situations but whatever it is Spaced excels at whatever it tries.
You also can’t mention Spaced without praising Edgar Wright (the man directed Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead and the upcoming Scott Pilgrim!) and his flair for directing. I only wish there were more directors out there with such a unique sense of style but if that were the case it would cease to be unique I guess. Wright’s scene transitions in particular have always been somewhat hypnotic and I was glad to see he kept the same style with his first two films and I wonder if Scott Pilgrim will continue the glorious tradition.
Spaced is fantastic which I’ll admit is a word I’ve used to death during these reviews and it won’t be the last time it’s used but the word fantastic is the best way to describe it. Hopefully you have been exposed to Spaced in some form of another (I feel like most have had the chance by now) but if you haven’t please, please, PLEASE watch it! Again the series only runs 2 seasons for a total of 14 half hour episodes so you’re not losing a large chunk of your life or anything. You can purchase the series on DVD on Amazon which didn’t happen until recently. I myself own both the U.K. box set as well as the U.S. one, hell you can never have too much Spaced.
Also bonus points for introducing me to JAFFA CAKES...MMMmmmmmm Tasty
Sinatra's Top 14 British Television Shows (Part 6)
#4. Man Stroke Woman
After looking at my initial top 14 list some chances were made, Being Human made a jump up a spot in the last round and Man Stroke Woman jumped down from the 3 spot (see below) to the 4 spot but there is no knock against this hilarious sketch comedy show here it’s just after thinking a few things through I went with it at 4 but anyway I digress.
Man Stroke Woman is an absolutely hysterical sketch comedy show which revolves around the world of relationships. You may think to yourself how funny can a relationship comedy show be, well you’d be surprised.
The show has a fantastic cast with Nick Frost, Amanda Abbington, Ben Crompton, Daisy Haggard, Meredith MacNeill and Nicolas Burns. I can’t say enough about how well the cast work, they just click on every level you could hope for a sketch comedy show. The show packs in dozens of short skits per episode with the actors playing various characters in each, you may think that with such a rapid fire format it may get old seeing the same six people in almost every skit but it never does. I never tire of seeing any of the six leads in any skit. It’s hard to think of a skit that doesn’t make me at least smirk.
The how runs the now standard6 episode seasons and ran for 2 full series so yeah 12 episodes in total which like most of the comedy shows on this list is pretty good as the jokes don’t run out, it goes out on a high note although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want more episodes. The show has been released on DVD in the U.S. which is nice; you can get the entire 12 episode series for less then 20 bucks on Amazon which is a steal. You need to do yourself a favor and watch this show if you value laughing at all.
OMG Doctor Who isn’t numero uno on the list!?! Well it still makes the top three which is fantastic considering the series is considered a children’s show (at least it was). There isn’t too much I can say about Who that hasn’t been stated elsewhere, I feel like I wouldn’t be adding anything new to the equation by restating how fun the show is.
If you haven’t been exposed to Doctor Who it runs on BBC America and is available on DVD. The new series has run 4 series and a year of specials with a 5th series set to start in the fall and that’s not to mention the 20 plus years of classic episodes featuring the first 8 Doctors. I’d like to say I’ve seen all the classics but I haven’t, I’m a new Who whore but I have been getting into some classic episodes recently and despite the lack of state of the art special effects they still have a certain kind of charm that makes the show enjoyable. I’d suggest if you only know Who from the new series and are in need of something to watch then go back to the classics if you haven’t seen Who at all the new series might be a bit easier to swallow.
Sinatra's top 14 British Television Shows (Part 5)
#6. Primeval
We go from Superheroes to Comedy and now we hit the Sci-Fi themed double. Primeval is a science fiction show following a group of characters on the lookout for anomalies which are basically tears in the fabric of time which allow creatures from the past and sometimes the future to cross into our time and cause all sorts of havoc. Sounds like a good time right?
What makes or breaks a show like Primeval is first and foremost the creatures and how they look, luckily the CG employed in the show is pretty high quality for a television production. You know that they aren’t real but they look good enough so that you can just sort of go with it. The cast of human characters are all good in their roles with standout attention going to Andrew-Lee Potts as Connor and Abby Maitland (of S-Club 7 fame) as Hannah, the two just have great chemistry (probably due to the fact that they are a real life couple) and are really likeable.
As far as actually story goes Primeval is actually pretty interesting. Basically Dinosaurs and other such beast are traveling through anomalies into our time and a team is put together to stop them before they cause too much trouble. As the series continues through the second series the monster of the week formula starts to fade in favor of a larger story which is much welcomed. As you can imagine Time Travel means some interesting stuff happens along the way.
The show has run 3 full series so far and was originally was not picked up for a 4th. If that had stood I would have been really pissed as the 3rd season ends on a massive cliffhanger but luckily the show has been picked up for a 4th AND 5th series so ideally they plan it out and don’t get ahead of themselves in the story department.
The shows 3 seasons are out on DVD in the U.S. and it has been on BBC America in the past so it’s not really an out of left field kind of show. The show has also been optioned to be turned into a movie in the U.S. which is an interesting concept but I don’t see it ever coming out and if it does I don’t see it working as the idea really is better realized in a television format. I would suggest getting your hands on it if you haven’t seen It already as it’s an easy show to just turn on and lose yourself in.
I had originally had Being Human at 6 and Primeval at 5 but then I watched the second series premier and it got the bump. This is another science fiction show which leans a bit on the supernatural side of things, actually it more then leans on it considering the show is about a Vampire, Werewolf and Ghost living together.
The show follows the day to day lives (or deaths) of John the vampire, George the Werewolf and Annie the Ghost. The 3 live (again not sure if we can actually say live?) together in a house in Bristol while trying to maintain a normal life (?) which as you can imagine is not the easiest thing for such a diverse group. The 3 leads are FANTASTIC in their roles; the pilot episode originally had different actors in the roles of Mitchell and Annie but they were replaced which no offense to the original actors was the right move to make.
The story line for the first series involved a vampire plot to take over the world, that’s the bullet pointed version anyway, there are lots of fun revelations along the way and lots of the standard stories you’d expect from this kind of genre are turned on there head. The second series has just started and has ratcheted up the awesomeness of the show several notches, like honestly I thought the first series was awesome and then the 2nd series premier just upped the ante.
The show has some amazing effects, especially the werewolf transformations which have defiantly taken a page from the American Werewolf in London book which is THE book to take a page from if you were doing such a thing. The vampires are a different kind of vampire then your used to as are the ghost, actually the ghost’s take the most liberties in terms of changing up the same old same old.
The show is only available on DVD in the U.K. though I expect that to change soon as the show has aired on BBC America and is pretty popular, another show that is awesome and deserves to be watched and loved. I look forward to every new episode they plan to produce and dread the U.S. SyFy Channel remake that has been announced. WATCH IT!
Sinatra's top 14 British Television Shows (Part 4)
#8. Big Train
Big Train is a sketch comedy show in the vein of Monty Python. The show takes every day situations and makes them funny by adding an element of insanity. For instance one skit involves two employees at an office who don’t really get along and it just so happens that the two employees are Jesus and Satan, so you see what I mean?
The show stars a lot of familiar faces from the world of British comedy; the big names that stand out are Catherine Tate and Simon Pegg. Despite the limited run (2 series, 12 episodes total) there are an insane amount of memorable sketches including the aforementioned Jesus/Satan office scuffle, “wanking” being banned, a postal worker with a grudge and an animated stare down that is used in every first series episode.
I don’t want to go into any details on the skits because that would obviously take away half the fun of watching the show. What I will say is that the cast is able to jump in and out of various characters and for the most part always deliver a hilarious performance. Are there skits that don’t work? Sure but that’s true of any show of this nature. It’s not like SNL where basically everything falls flat, the good FAR outweighs the bad in this case.
Like I said it’s only 12 episodes (30 minutes each) and luckily it’s available on DVD in Region 1 so you have no excuse to not watch it. If there is one kind of show I feel benefits from these limited British runs its sketch comedy because they go out on a high note before things get stale. Give it a go.
What is there to say at this point when it comes to the original Office? I’d imagine that this show is the most recognizable name on this list when it comes to comedy. By now you know the story, a sort of mockumentary following the day to day running of a paper distributor and the diverse group of characters that inhabit said company. All is overseen by the dim witted manager David Brent or the UK Michael Scott to those of you who know nothing about this version of the Office.
The show again only runs 12 total episodes over 2 series plus a Christmas special that wraps up the story lines. The man plot is similar to the early U.S. seasons as you may imagine. We see that Brent runs his office in a very unique way; he’s childish and craves attention. Unlike the U.S. version where Michael somehow never gets into real trouble the U.K. version takes a more realistic look at how a manager who act like Brent does would be handled by the upper management.
We also have the Jim/Pam love story EXACTLY only with Tim and Dawn. There’s also the Dwight character in the form of Gareth so all the main bases are covered if you’re a fan of the U.S. version.
As similar as I’m making the show sound they are actually pretty different beast. The U.K. version is a lot more personal and a bit more believable. Also unlike Jim and Pam who have become annoying with an air or arrogance to them Dawn and Tim are actually likeable characters. I hate how in the U.S. version it’s like anyone who isn’t Jim or Pam just isn’t important in the pairs world, it’s like they hate their life at work and dislike most of their co-workers while Tim and Dawn seem to at least be having a good time.
I suppose if the U.S. version had ended after a season or two I wouldn’t have so much Jim/Pam hate but sadly it’s not the case. At the end of the day I really enjoy both versions of the show in different ways and I think if you’ve seen the U.S. and not the U.K. you need to resolve that and see where the ideas came from.
The show is aviable on Amazon and many retailers as well as airing on Adult Swim (which is fantastic of them) so there are many, MANY ways to gain access to the show. Watch it!
Day two of B I W week is here with two new recommendations for your consideration:
Sinatra's Top 14 British Television Shows (Part 2)
#12. Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares
Let me first state I LOVE GORDON RAMSAY. To me Ramsay is the rage that has built up inside of me all my life manifested and yes I would imagine my rage to be British. A former Footballer (soccer player) Ramsay eventually fell victim to injury and turned to cooking only to become one of the world’s most recognizable chefs and as such has been given a slew of reality shows. Kitchen Nightmares is by far the best of the bunch.
Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares is a reality television show which follows the world famous chef as he travels to different restaurants that are in need of his assistance. Ramsay normally has to contend with a horrible menu and an owner(s) that are not much better. He heads to the failing restaurants for a period of one week. Throughout the course of the week you can learn to count on a few things. First he is going to hate the food and call for a new menu that is “simple”, second he is going to have words with the owner, lots of loud words and third the restaurant will normally get a make over and a nice boost due to the celebrity chef being around.
I’ll be honest I was never a fan of Gordon Ramsay before seeing the show, in fact if anything I just thought he was a jerk from the little exposure I’ve had of him (mostly from commercials for Hell’s Kitchen) but after watching Kitchen Nightmares he grows on you, in fact that jerk-ness is still around but is much more charming (I suppose that word works) as it seems that he genuinely wants to help these restaurants succeed and yes I realize it could all be an act but a guy can dream right?
Ramsay is just a blast to watch. He’s loud, obtrusive, OUTRAGOUS and won’t take the bull that many of the stubborn owners throw at him.
The show has been running for several years and even has an American version due to Ramsay’s increasing celebrity status in the U.S. New episodes have just started airing on BBC America which is nice but sadly they are more of the American version. If you ask me the British version of the show is a much better watch. Maybe it’s because I feel stubborn British people are more acceptable then stubborn American’s, all the American owners on the show are just asses and not in the fun way like Ramsay, but at least for the most part Ramsay puts them in their places.
Kitchen Nightmares is a fantastic show as is Gordon Ramsay’s other show The F Word but I didn’t want to make this list to Ramsay heavy. If you are a fan of either without having seen the other then give whichever you haven’t seen a watch and if you haven’t seen either then you have your next couple days planned out for you. Loads better then any of the garbage on the Food Network, sit down relax and watch Ramsay shout at people and warm your heart.
You can grab the shows various seasons on DVD or watch it daily on BBC America either way if your not already a viewer you soon will be.
The short (6 Episodes) series Jekyll is as you might expect a retelling of the classic tale of Jekyll and Hyde though the show is more a sequel then a straight up retelling. Sure you have your nice enough man who turns into a psycho path but that’s basically where the similarities stop.
The show stars James Nesbitt (Millions) as Tom Jackman and his alter ego Hyde and boy what a job he does. I had never seen Nesbitt in anything prior to watching this but after it I made it a point to seek out more stuff with him. The two characters look basically similar (subtle changes to the hairline and body identify the change) yet Nesbitt successfully acts in two COMPLETELY different roles. Jackman is very much a damaged family man whom distanced himself for their own protection while Hyde is like a child, a super strong, super insane child. Both are completely different sides of the same coin which I realize is a pretty clichéd thing to say about a Jekyll/Hyde show but damn if it isn’t the truth.
The story involves all sorts of fun bits including secret organizations, cloning, conspiracies and the like. I’d probably go into more detail if I could remember it all but really the 6 episodes are just so packed I wouldn’t do the show justice.
If I have one problem with the show it’s that we are left wanting more and in fact are teased that there is more to come but alas the show was never brought back which is a shame. Oh need another reason to give the show a chance? Well it’s written by Steven Moffat who wrote a few of the best episodes of the New Doctor Who series and is now that shows head honcho, the man knows dark sci-fi drama.
The show ran on BBC America a bit ago so some may have seen but if not luckily for our home viewers Jekyll has actually been released on DVD here in the states so I’d suggest you go buy it, you can get it from Amazon for 22 bucks (link below) and is worth every penny. What ever you do give the show a shot, what’s the worst thing that’s going to happen, you lose 6 hours out of your life and you waste that much time a day on the internet, right?!?
And British Invasion Week is upon us, so without further ado lets get on with the show:
First let me start with a DISCLAIMER, I am no expert on British media but I do feel like I’ve been exposed to more than your average person and as thus my opinion is exactly that MY opinion I’m just trying to spread the word on some fun shows that you may or may not have heard of. That all being said take a seat, grab a pint and enjoy!
Sinatra’s Top 14 British Television Shows (Part 1)
#14. Grownups
For a show titled Grownups the content is actually pretty juvenile but it’s a very amusing kind of juvenile. The show tells the story of a group of people in their mid to late twenties living the kind of life that’s somewhere between high school and adulthood, the time we you choose whether to grow up or continue partying for just a little longer.
Grownups takes the form of a sitcom and as thus you get the kind of humor you’d expect. It’s not a bad thing far from it the jokes all seem fresh which is probably mainly due to the fact that there jokes from another country but for the most part they all make sense and will get a chuckle.
The cast of characters are pretty fun for the most part. Sheridan Smith stars as Michelle who is the kind of girl that would rather party all night and go home with a different guy everyday then focus on her career and get her life in order, those aren’t really likeable traits but something about Smith makes you like her, maybe it’s the shrill voice of hers but there is something oddly attractive about her. The other characters that back up Michelle are Claire (Michelle’s man crazy boss), Dean (Michelle’s egotistical boyfriend), Grant (The hopeless romantic) and the stand out of the show Mike or as you’ll come to know him as DJ Mike played by Rob Rouse. Mike is the kind of man-child character that you’ve probably seen a thousand times but his actions and his DJ Mike songs just work and get me to laugh every time.
The show has so far run 3 series running a total of 22 episodes, I originally watched the 2nd and 3rd series on television while I was in the U.K. and it hooked me enough to buy the Region 2 release of the first series which I finally watched not to long ago. This review mostly refers to the first series as characters leave and new characters are introduced as the series progresses but many of the new characters are just as funny as the older ones, although I have a problem with Mike only being in the first.
The show has yet to be released in the U.S. and I don’t really see it happening anytime soon so do yourself a favor find a way to watch it (I've included an Amazon.co.uk link for importers with a region free player) if your looking for a sexually charged sitcom about growing up and living life. Sure it’s kind of (really) stupid at times but its all in jest and you’ll laugh a few times for your troubles, give it a go.
This is one of a few shows on the list that has a bit of a following in the U.S. due to the fact that it runs on BBC America. For those not in the know Top Gear is about Cars, lots of sweet F’ing cars!
The show is presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May whom are all funny in their own right and work well off of one another. The group put together various segments about a number of different cars every episode. We see the group test driving cars, racing cars, modifying cars and well anything else you can think of they do it to cars.
The show originally started in 1977 and reached its peak in popularity is the 90’s before being relaunched in 2002 by the current crew. Many popular segments have been introduced over the years including “Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car” which just like it states places a celebrity in a car that didn’t cost and arm and a leg and let’s them complete a lap around a test track, the times of all the celebrities are compared to see whom is the fastest.
Another main stay of the show is The Stig, an anonymous, helmeted race car driver who test drives many expensive cars around a test track in order to compare times with other super priced cars (sounds a lot like the celebrity segment I know).
I’m in no way a “Car Guy” but I just love this show. The three hosts are fun to watch and seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs (and who wouldn’t) and the show never seems to hit a slow patch. The show is so popular in fact that much like many popular U.K. properties the United States is readying it’s own version that may or may not see the light of day.
You can currently watch Top Gear basically daily on BBC America and several seasons are available on DVD in the states (for a change) so give it a go as it beats a lot of the same kind of programming you’d see on say discovery or travel channel.
Anyone reading this is unlikely to know what the show Misfits is, the one word answer is its Awesome but let me elaborate a bit. Misfits is a live-action superhero drama that has just concluded its first series on E4 (a British television station) The show can best be described as Heroes meets The Breakfast Club, interested yet? You should be!
Misfits tells the story of 5 teens working community service for various crimes who get caught up in the middle of a freak storm only to be given powers, I’ll admit the idea of being struck my lightning and getting superpowers isn't anything new but the storm itself is realized onscreen in an interesting way. The characters we follow are Nathan (The Comic Relief), Simon (The Shut in), Kelly (The Tomboy), Curtis (The Sports Star) and Alisha (The Party girl) to go into to much detail about the characters and their various personality traits would be taking half the fun away from actually watching the show so I will leave it up to you to watch and discover the fun of the 5 fantastically realized characters.
The show isn't really about Superheroes as much as its about the group coping with their powers as they try to cover up a murder. They aren't superheroes and they aren't setting out to be (a problem Heroes had) but they do bump into the occasional powered up folk here and there. The powers themselves are a lot different then you’d expect, its not all flying around and shooting lasers out of eyes its more subtle, think Heroes in it’s first season. We've got Time Travel, Invisibility, Thought Reading and an awesome twist on the “Don’t Touch her” Rogue ability. There are some out there powers that other characters have and one of the main cast doesn't realize their power for some time but again I wont say anything as the show NEEDS TO BE WATCHED.
As I mentioned the show just finished its first series (season) in the U.K. and has thankfully been picked up for a second. This being a British show you wont be getting 20+ episodes, instead you get a very concise 6 45 minute episodes but all 6 episodes are fantastic to think of it I can’t think of anything I disliked about the first season minus the fact that its ONLY 6 episodes. The production value is top notch considering the rather low (I assume) budget. The powers are simple enough so that the producers didn't need to break for them to be effective. The soundtrack is fantastic including the shows theme song “Echoes” by The Rapture (download it now!).
In case you couldn't tell I highly endorse this show. The show is what Heroes should still be, namely good. Heroes first season set a high mark for Superheroes on television but by the second season that bar began to dip, Misfits on the other hand climbs the bar of Heroes first season and builds it up even higher. Hopefully Misfits doesn't suffer the sophomore slump that started Heroes down it's doomed road. Some advice I have for the makers of the show, don't give everyone and their mum a power!
Torrents are your friends when it comes to finding it, no word yet on if it will come to a station like BBC America so if you’re going to wait for it to hit U.S. airwaves you may be waiting a while. If you find yourself jaded from Heroes like so many out there and are looking for a super powered fix then look no further then Misfits.
I remember a time before Doctor Who entered my life. I had always seen snippets here or there on various internet message boards and nerd related websites. I scoffed at the how as some stupid low budget British children’s show until the day I caved. Like so many shows and movies I said I’d never watch only to view and love Doctor Who entered into my life with The Fires of Pompeii which admittedly was an interesting doorway into the world of The Doctor. About 3 weeks later I had caught up on 3 and a half series and gleefully awaited each new installment until tonight, tonight I dreaded the new episode as it would be the end of David Tennants brilliant run as the 10th Doctor.
I entered the first part of The End of Time a bit spoiled. I had seen various clips, read articles and done my research. It may have been because of this that the first part was a bit of a let down, wait let down is the wrong phrase the first part was just was not what I was expecting. Sure all the major players were there including John Simm as The Master who ever since his appearance in The Sound of Drums has become one of my favorite actors making his return half the reason I was so excited, also returning was Bernard Cribbins playing Wilf and a better companion the Doctor may have never had. I mean I loved watching Billie Piper running around as much as the next guy but the emotional punch that Cribbins got me with throughout The End of Time was felt in the depths of my gut. So what was different? I can’t really put my finger on it, it just felt different but not in a bad way, sometimes different is just different.
So story wise its pretty simple The Doctor knows hes going to die and The Master shows up which is not making matters any better, this is followed by The Master being “hungry” and needing to constantly eat (everything from burgers to people) to sustain his own life thanks to a miffed regeneration of his own, though it was not a Time Lord regeneration as much as it was a wacky Russell T Davies magical conjuring. Then The Master uses some alien technology to turn the entire human race into copies of himself which he dubs (in what is the best use of the phrase in history) “The Master Race” and then it ends with the entire Master filled planet and only The Doctor, Wilf and Donna (who is elsewhere) remain unchanged. Things looked pretty dire and the world was left a week to wait and see how it would all end.
Fast forward a week and I found myself watching the conclusion, a super sized 80 minute epic Doctor Who event. I’m going say right now that Timothy Dalton as The Lord President was just so fun to watch, you could really tell he enjoyed the hell out of playing a Doctor Who villain and hammed it up with the best of them. The episode it self was nicely paced as the various events that threatened the earth were dealt with leaving a little over twenty minutes for The Doctor to stew about his impending regeneration. There was some stand out scenes including an escape with The Doctor strapped to a table being pushed down stairs only to remark “Worst Rescue EVER” which got me to chuckle and a scene with Tennant and Cribbins just talking which got me to tear up (must have been the dust in my room) which was the second such occasion in the two episodes.
The “He will knock four times” prophecy has been tossed around and we were basically led to believe several different interpretations of it but when he finally knocks…WOW did not see that coming and Tennant’s monologue afterwards nearly had tears down my face for a third time but I manned up…finally. As I said this is no rushed regeneration, The Doctor has time to claim his “reward” as he puts it and that’s exactly what the last few minutes are used to do. Visits to his old companions brought back memories of series past. We get one last visit to Wilf at Donnas wedding (another scene that Cribbins pulls at the old heart strings), Martha and Mickey “freelancing”, Verity Newman (in a surprisingly emotional scene), Sarah Jane, Rose (Like Always!) and in my favorite bit good old Captain Jack in a space bar right out of Star Wars. All in all the scenes were the perfect way to express a man on the verge of death, I mean if able to I’d like to see my friends and loved ones one last time before I go, the look on The Doctors face each time was perfect and then it started.
The faint gold glow emanating from his hand soon spread to his body, residual regeneration energy started to leak and we got one final line that really made you feel for this incarnation of The Doctor, “I don’t want to go” and I don’t want you to go either! But we don’t all get what we want and within a few seconds David Tennant’s face morphed into Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor and a new era had begun. We were then treated to a little scene with the newly regenerated Doctor which helped introduce us to the young chap filling the giant shoes of Tennant and for the most part I liked the energy he brought to it, I’m not about to write of Smith before even seeing him play the part and I hope other fans of the show give the kid a fair shake.
At the end of time David Tennant is done as is Russell T Davies, the two men responsible for filling my life with Who and making me feel like a kid again. I will miss you both contributing to this fantastic show, Allons-Y and GERANOME!
