Review: PRIMEVAL, 5.1

Burrow over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the series 5 premiere of PRIMEVAL, which  received its UK premiere on Watch last night.

As part of ITV's co-financing deal with BBC America, Germany's Pro Sieben and UKTV, that allowed the return of their axed sci-fi drama Primeval, it's UKTV's digital channel Watch who receive the British premiere of series 5. This results in mixed fortunes: loyal fans get new episodes mere months after series 4 ended on ITV, but it’s no longer accessible to everyone and isn't being simulcast in HD. It also strikes me as odd that Watch have moved Primeval from its customary Saturday timeslot, as I suspect they could have lured a sizable post-Doctor Who audience their way... Continue reading...

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Review: 'PSYCHOVILLE' 2.1

Solemnly march over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the long-awaited series 2 premiere of BBC2's horror-com PSYCHOVILLE, starring Reece Shearsmith & Steve Pemberton.

After an unreasonable two-year absence, only alleviated by last year's Halloween special, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's Psychoville finally returns for a second series of black comedy japes and spooky mystery. As a spiritual follow-up to The League Of Gentlemen's small-town horror, Psychoville may lack that show's insidious edge and pervasive atmosphere, but a more ambitious format (fully serialized plotting, wider scope) has helped carve it a complimentary identity. However, it's still less menacing and moody than The League ever was -- being more of a warped carnival of oddballs -- perhaps signifying that Shearsmith and Pemberton are mellowing in middle-age, or that colleagues Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson were the more macabre half of their comedy troupe.

I found series 1's finale of Psychoville unsatisfying, primarily because the story deserved a conclusion, but instead creaked as it tardily introduced a supernatural curveball (a magical locket owned by despotic asylum owner Nurse Kenchington), took telekinetic dwarf Robert into a ridiculous Hansel & Gretel riff, and ended on a big cliffhanger (nearly every character potentially killed in a fiery blast triggered by vengeful clown Mr Jolly's suicide vest.) With everyone's fate uncertain for years now, it's frustrating to realize an opportunity to cull redundant characters wasn't seized upon, as everyone survived Jolly's climactic explosion with only minor injuries -- such as deranged maternity nurse Joy (Dawn French), now sporting a neck brace. Bizarrely, only crazed bomber Mr Jolly was a fatality; his funeral procession opening series 2 on an amusingly absurd note, as brightly-coloured clowns descended on a bleak graveyard to bury one of their kind. A rubber chicken thrown on Jolly's coffin in lieu of a handful of earth... Continue reading...

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Review: 'DOCTOR WHO' 6.1 - "The Impossible Astronaut"

Time travel to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the series 6 premiere of DOCTOR WHO, "The Impossible Astronaut". Spaceman! Aliens! Stetson!

Steven Moffat's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. The episodes he wrote during Russell T. Davies' era of Doctor Who's revival buzzed with a complex playfulness that was mostly absent at that time in its history. As the incumbent showrunner he can indulge himself with similar takes on almost a weekly basis, and there were times during "The Impossible Astronaut" when you missed the show's simplicity and, to be honest, the narrative somersaults were too dominant. This is a show that, while still fundamentally simple and beautifully accessible (eccentric alien travels through Time and Space saving the universe with human companions), now revels in in-jokes, Cat's Cradle plotting, and geeky references. The good news is that most people watching can keep up, or want to try, but this was still a dizzying, hectic storyline -- and one that likely confused Americans the BBC so clearly want to convert into Whovians...

An unspecified time after series 5's finale, newly-married companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill), together with time-travelling enigma River Song (Alex Kingston) are summoned to the epic vistas of Monument Valley in Utah by cryptic TARDIS-blue letters supposedly sent by their mutual friend The Doctor (Matt Smith.) From there, things get complicated, as they're apt to with a script from Steven Moffat: involving the apparently irreversible death of one of their party by a creepy "astronaut" emerging from a lake, which necessitates a trip to the White House of 1969 to help President Nixon (Stuart Milligan) solve the riddle of a crank caller. Oh, and there are bizarre aliens at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue known as "The Silents", resembling alien Grey's that have had their mouths dunked in toxic waste before being sent to Saville Row for a tailored suit. Continue reading...

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Review: 'JUSTIFIED' 2.1 - "The Moonshine War"

Mosey on over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the season 2 premiere of FX's JUSTIFIED, which finally made its UK debut on 5USA last night. Marijuana! Man-trap! Gasoline!

The first season of FX's Justified was consistently entertaining, but only really found its voice when it started focusing less on crime-of-the-week plots and more on the ongoing story of violent bank robber Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) and his reprobate daddy. It wasn't the first show to change tact this way, as TV shows increasingly discover that audiences (especially cable audiences) enjoy watching one big story unfold over multiple episodes, rather than be fed a constant run of disparate stories that are resolved in an hour. A healthy balance is key, and Justified found equilibrium in the latter-half of its inaugural year. So it's a relief that the season 2 premiere, "The Moonshine War", spends most of its time setting up another ne'er-do-well family for US Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) to grapple with for 13 weeks, in a confident and assured opener to what promises to be another engrossing trip to Harlan, Kentucky...

A reprise of the season 1 finale's dying moments opens the premiere, with Raylan fending off Miami drug cartel bad guys with the help of frenemy Boyd, during a small-scale shootout in a remote hut, before dovetailing into a coda that wraps up loose ends from last year. Primarily, the Miami gangster who's been out to avenge the death of one of his men (whom Raylan shot in the pilot, resulting in his transfer to hometown Harlan), is dissuaded from continuing his vendetta, in scenes that felt like showrunner Graham Yost washing his hands of last year's ideas. It's a palette cleanser, before the new season's allowed to move on. Continue reading...

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'GAME OF THRONES' 1.1 - "Winter Is Coming"

Shoot an arrow over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the medieval epic GAME OF THRONES in advance of its long-awaited premiere (tonight on HBO, tomorrow on Sky Atlantic.) Beheading! Archery! Marriage! Incest!

Adapted from author George R.R Martin's admired opus "A Song Of Ice And Fire", Game Of Thrones has been eagerly anticipated by bookworms and enthusiasts of medieval fantasy since HBO first announced its development. Jokingly described as "The Sopranos in Middle-earth" by David Benioff, who's adapted this franchise alongside Dan Weiss, it's become one of 2011's TV crown jewels, although I remain suspicious the majority of its audience expect something overtly fantastical, which may cause disappointment if you're after a smallscreen Lord Of The Rings.

I haven't read Martin's novels, which puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to promptly understanding the universe presented, but Game Of Thrones shouldn't require knowledge of the source material if it's going to work as a television series, first and foremost. The show doesn't make many concessions to newcomers (beyond opening titles that sweep over an animated map of Westeros), and instead decides to drop you into this world and hope you'll want to keep up. I believe HBO have been offering televised primers, which helps -- but they're not something everyone will have access to, or even want to indulge in. The storytelling gamble kind of works, partly because modern audiences are accustomed to dealing with imagined universes at the cinema, and exercising patience with TV dramas like The Wire. But it's still true that after this first episode only a few characters have left an impression, only a few character's names can be recalled (a common problem with the fantasy genre), and it's not even clear what the overall story of Thrones actually is. Continue reading...

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'DREW CAREY'S IMPROV-A-GANZA'; whose format is it, anyway?

Improvise your way over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the first episode of DREW CAREY'S IMPROV-A-GANZA, a brand new improvised comedy show that reunites many stars from the American remake of Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Atrocious title aside, this improvised comedy gameshow is a worthier successor to Whose Line Is It Anyway's crown than BBC2's recent Fast & Loose, primarily because it's the same basic show with only minor differences. A svelte Drew Carey (host of Whose Line's US remake) ostensibly takes charge, supported by a bunch of all-star improvisers: Whose Line veterans Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Greg Proops, Chip Esten, Jeff David and Brad Sherwood, teamed with Jonathan Magnum and Sean Masterson from Drew Carey's Green Screen (a short-lived post-Whose Line improv show), and joined by Kathy Kinney and MADtv's Heather Anne Campbell.

The series was shot at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, giving Improv-A-Ganza the unshakeable feel of Whose Line Is It Anyway: Live In Vegas. It's pretty much the same format, just with a more impressive stage and trivial tweaking. The biggest change is the lack of a "host" to coordinate everything. Despite Drew Carey's name being in the title, the performers themselves marshal each game, venturing out into the audience to select volunteers to bring up on stage to get involved. The feel of a "live show" is increased by noticing most of the audience are drinking alcohol, and in the first episode Colin Mochrie gets more than he bargained for when he chooses a drunken woman to assist with a game, and the tipsy lady's inebriation ends up being the funniest part of the episode. Continue reading...

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'RUBICON' 1.1 - "Gone In The Teeth"

Crack the Obsessed With Film code, where I've reviewed BBC4's very belated premiere of AMC's conspiracy drama RUBICON, starring James Badge Dale. Crosswords! Chess! Four-leaf clover!

AMC's Rubicon was acquired by BBC4 last summer, but in the wake of initially frosty US reviews and cancellation, they've only just decided to air it. This presents British viewers with a familiar dilemma: should you invest time in a defunct US TV show, and one with an notoriously slow start and divisive finale? The answer is a cautious yes.

Rubicon is a 1970s conspiracy thriller transplanted to a post-9/11 world; meaning there are mobile phones, but not much reliance on the internet. Will Travers (The Pacific's James Badge Dale) is a prodigiously clever analyst for the American Policy Institute (API), which appears to be a think-tank connected to the CIA, tasked with poring through intelligence files. One day Will notices what he believes to be a clue hidden deep inside the crossword puzzles of various major newspapers, using a four-leaf clover as its key. The clues signify the three branches of government (legislature, executive, judiciary), but what does the fourth leaf/branch refer to? Continue reading...

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'CAMPUS' 1.1 - "Publication, Publication, Publication"

Enroll at Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the premiere of Channel 4's university-set comedy CAMPUS, from the makers of Green Wing.

I wasn't a fan of Green Wing, the semi-improved comedy based on scripts that were a hodgepodge of jokes, sketches and sight gags from a hive-mind of writers. It was an interesting way to produce a single-camera sitcom, and one that clearly found an audience, but I found its scattergun approach quite tiring. Many of Green Wing's writers are behind Channel 4's new comedy offering Campus, which won't escape "Green Wing in a university" branding, because that's exactly what it is. The uni's motto is even "with wings".

"Publication, Publication, Publication" was a 70-minute extension of the half-hour Comedy Showcase pilot from 2009 (including adverts), which basically means there was an awful lot of filler. But this filler is exactly what Campus thrives on, as it's really just an extended sequence of sketches and non sequiturs. Jonty De Wolfe (Andy Nyman) is the tyrannical vice chancellor of Kirke University, with ambitions for expansion inspired by the success of mousy mathematics lecturer Imogen Moffat (Lisa Jackson), who's written a book called "The True Story Of Zero". Jonty pressures English professor Matt Beer (Joseph Millson) into writing a similarly successful book, but the inveterate womanizer is too easily distracted to comply. Meanwhile, accommodations officer Nicole Huggins (Sara Pascoe) accidentally paid the entire staff twice, ruining the day for accountant Jason Armitage (Will Adamsdale), who's tasked with trying to recoup the money. Continue reading...

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'THE KILLING' 1.1 & 1.2 - "Pilot" & "The Cage"

Investigate Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the double-bill premiere of AMC's new crime drama THE KILLING, a remake of the acclaimed Danish TV series Forbrydelsen. Murder! Suspects! Police! Rain, lots of rain!

Denmark's 2006 TV series Forbrydelsen (The Crime) has been wowing a niche audience on BBC4 over the past few months, but here comes the inevitable US remake. Fortunately, it's from cable channel AMC, who have established themselves as the new home of high-quality US drama in recent years (owing to the success of Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead), so it'll come as no surprise to find The Killing is a tremendous remake, if currently slavish to the Danish.

"Who Killed Rosie Larsen?" It's a question that'll sound familiar to audiences who remember the media buzz surrounding Twin Peaks, another small-town murder-mystery show that had audiences wondering "who killed Laura Palmer?" in the early-'90s. The Killing is essentially that landmark David Lynch/Mark Frost series, minus its off-kilter ambience and surreal flourishes, here shepherded by Veena Sud (Cold Case), who cleaves very close to the Danish pilot for her Seattle-set remake. Continue reading...

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'THE BORGIAS' 1.1 & 1.2 - "The Poisoned Chalice" & "The Assassin"

Confess your sins to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the two-part premiere of Showtime's brand new historical drama THE BORGIAS, starring Jeremy Irons. The Vatican! Sex! Treachery! Holy moly!

US cable TV's latest foray into mischievous historical drama takes aim at the legendary Borgia family of 15th-century Rome; a dynasty of Spanish émigrés who rose to prominence in Renaissance Italy through despicable means, including patriarch Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (Jeremy Irons) succeeding Pope Innocent VIII by buying the necessary votes for St Peter's throne. Famously the inspiration for Mario Puzo's The Godfather novel, it's astonishing this family's tale hasn't been told more often on film/TV, although writer-director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) has tried unsuccessfully to develop a movie for many years. Now he's the hyphenate behind this luxuriant cable drama, afforded the tools to tell the story with greater depth and longevity. Continue reading...

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'CAMELOT'; Arthurian, on the rocks

Canter over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the first two episodes of Starz's CAMELOT, starring Joseph Fiennes, Jamie Campbell Bower & Eva Green. Swords! Horses! Magic! Boobies!

The Arthurian legend is one of the most enduring of English folklore; forever being retold, re-imagined and updated for new audiences. In recent times we've had the dubious historical accuracy of 2004's King Arthur movie, together with the family-friendly magical adventures of the BBC's Merlin. Having found surprise success with Spartacus: Blood & Sand, US cable channel Starz turn their attention to the Arthurian legend for a glossy co-production with GK-TV that broadly follows the classic Le Morte d'Arthur version of the story -- with a few alterations and flourishes. But does Camelot offer enough innovations to attract viewers who've been swamped by magic, knights, castles and swords since the turn-of-the-century? Continue reading...

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'THE KENNEDYS'; a tedious blemish on rose-tinted nostalgia

Head over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the first two-hours of controversial miniseries THE KENNEDYS (which begins next week in the US and UK), starring Greg Kinnear, Tom Wilkinson, Katie Holmes & Barry Pepper.

There's a reverence for John F. Kennedy that sits deep in the American psyche. It's commonly said that JFK's assassination in 1963 signaled the end of American innocence, while his administration has come to be seen, by some, as a modern-day Camelot. But time has a habit of whitewashing history, while it's human nature to grasp positives tighter than negatives. The Kennedys is an eight-hour miniseries (airing in four parts) that intends to show a different side to America’s First Family, as we see them rise to power while dealing with their personal and professional problems on the world stage. It became a controversial project earlier this year, after original broadcaster The History Channel refused to air it, claiming it wasn't "historically accurate" enough -- an excuse refuted by producer-director Jon Cassar (24), who publicly assured critics every script was checked by a historian for inaccuracies. Continue reading...

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'BORED TO DEATH' SEASON 1; mildly noirish, not very moreish

Tail someone over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed BORED TO DEATH's first season, which made its very belated UK debut on Sky Atlantic last night.

My expectations were perhaps too high for Bored To Death; based on its eclectic cast, an appealing premise, and the reputation of HBO. So my heart sank when the pilot, "Stockholm Syndrome" was shown to be such an uninteresting, humorless, lethargic chore that utterly failed to amuse... Continue reading...

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'GOOD DOG' 1.1 - "Pilot"

Move into Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed (at the request of Moretears) the Canadian comedy-drama GOOD DOG, starring Ken Finkleman as a crabby TV executive with a girlfriend half his age.

"In its opening scene, Canadian comedy-drama Good Dog directly references Curb Your Enthusiasm. Its lead character, neurotic TV producer George (Ken Finkleman), is planning an unnecessary trip to Los Angeles to get Larry David's blessing to use the title "Embrace Your Enthusiasm" for a planned fly-on-the-wall series about his life. It feels like a move intended to undercut criticism that Good Dog's a Canadian version of that HBO series, but one that doesn't really work. If anything, it just draws attention to the fact this is a poor man's version of the Emmy-winning Curb, and possible the worst comedy pilot I've seen in years." Continue reading...

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20 TV Pilots We Want To See [Obsessed With Film]

I have a special weekend feature published at Obsessed With Film, called 20 TV PILOTS WE WANT TO SEE. The concept is very simple: I've chosen 20 US television pilots currently in-development that, for whatever reason, I'm very keen to see. Many have exciting concepts and great writers/actors attached to them; a few just look like disasters-in-waiting. But I genuinely want to see them all.

As usual, if you have time, please leave a comment at OWF, or here if it's easier. What do you think of my picks? Did I forget to include any pilots you're looking forward to?

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'BECOMING HUMAN'; for whom the school bell tolls

Head over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed BBC3's BECOMING HUMAN, the 50-minute compilation of Being Human's online spin-off, starring Craig Roberts, Leila Mimmack & Josh Brown.

After the success of webseries Becoming Human (which attracted 1.5 million hits online), BBC3 were encouraged to stitch the eight episodes together into one 50-minute special that aired last night -- premiering the story's conclusion in the process. But I'm sure this was the Beeb's intention from the start, considering the production standards of the webisodes, and its clear intention to become a full-blooded TV spin-off to Being Human. Continue reading...

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'FRANKENSTEIN'S WEDDING'; the Creature's alive, but the live drama's dead

Stagger over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed BBC3's FRANKENSTEIN'S WEDDING, the horror musical broadcast LIVE from Leeds' Kirkstall Abbey last night, starring David Harewood, Andrew Gower & Lacey Turner.

There’s a sudden appetite for Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" to become a transmedia spectacle. Filmmaker Danny Boyle is currently directing an adaptation of the classic Victorian novel for the National Theatre (with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating roles as Frankenstein and his Creature), which was also broadcast to selected cinemas around the world. And last night, BBC3 delivered the horror-musical Frankenstein's Wedding (an modern spin on Shelley’s masterpiece), which went out live to the nation from Leeds’ Kirkstall Abbey, where 12,000 people had gathered to be part of the performance. Continue reading...

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'TWENTY TWELVE' 1.1

Sprint over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the first episode of BBC4's brand new docuspoof TWENTY TWELVE, starring Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes, Olivia Colman & Amelia Bullmore. The Olympics! A big clock! A giant sandwich!

The docuspoof/mockumentary format feels curiously old-fashioned suddenly. It's the perfect approach to take with BBC4's Twenty Twelve, which charts the efforts of an inept Olympic Deliverance Commission to promote London 2012, but there was something too safe and cozy about the whole endeavour. Almost like it's a part of the Olympic marketing and, with a future cameo from Lord Sebastian Coe himself, that's probably half-true. So, rather than deliver a scabrous and insightful criticism of the Olympic Games, Twenty Twelve is just a quietly mocking series that elicits the odd giggle. Continue reading...

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'MONROE' 1.1

Admit yourself to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed ITV's brand new six-part medical drama MONROE, starring James Nesbitt & Sarah Parish. Doctors! Brain surgery! Guitar Hero!

The "maverick doctor" is a staple of television, with the contemporary benchmark being Fox's House; a series ITV1's new medical drama won't escape lazy comparison to. But neurosurgeon Gabriel Monroe (James Nesbitt) isn't a grouchy Holmesian genius, just an egomaniac with a better bedside manner, and a repertoire of great lines like: "you're taking a knife to someone's head; the only difference between you and a psychopath is good A-levels." Continue reading...

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'FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER' 1.1 - "The Sofabed"

Drive round to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the first episode of Channel 4's new sitcom FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER, starring Tamsin Greig & Simon Bird. New Scientist magazine! Apple crumble! A sofabed!

Robert Popper isn't a name many people will recognize, but he's been involved with some of the better British comedies in recent years; most notably his co-writing of '70s school education film spoof Look Around You with Peter Serafinowicz, which even led to him working on a few episodes of South Park. Popper returns with his first solo project, Friday Night Dinner, which is another example of a recent trend to have sitcoms take place in a restrictive location. It even shares some conceptual DNA with Simon Amstell's Grandma's House, as they both involve young people mixing with their middle-aged Jewish relatives. Continue reading...

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