Review: TROLLIED (Sky1)

Having already cornered the majority of the British marketplace when it comes to sports, movies and premium US drama, Sky are now making headway into domestic comedy and drama. Eight-part supermarket comedy Trollied is their latest venture (with Mount Pleasant, Hit & Miss, This Is Jinsy, and Spy still to come), ironically starring a few actors from Asda/Tesco commercials, set in the fictional north-west supermarket Valco. The store's tagline is "serve you right", but thankfully I wasn't left thinking the same thing to myself after watching it.

Jane Horrocks plays acting Deputy Manager Julie, a brittle woman covering for maternity leave but determined to keep the job, which means trying to impress Store Manager Gavin (Jason Watkins) at every opportunity. They're joined in the store by lonely heart butcher Andy (Mark Addy) and his laddish young assistant Kieran (Nick Blood); stuck-in-a-rut checkout girl Katie (Chanel); lazy, disobedient shelf-stacker Colin (Carl Rice); aged, dotty store assistant Margaret (Rita May); gossiping customer service duo Sue (Lorraine Cheshire) and Linda (Faye McKeever); and spaced-out trolley collector Leighton (Joel Fry).

They're a believable and amiable bunch of actors/characters, and certainly the prime reason to keep watching Trollied—which only suffers because it's at that embryonic stage where it almost has to empty its system of obvious supermarket-themed jokes (customers returning half-eaten produce, staff getting stage fright when asked to use the public address system, etc.) It'll be interesting to see how Trollied fares when it's exhausted that top layer of unavoidable japes the audience are almost expecting to hear, and is then forced to get imaginative and rely more on the characters for material that isn't tethered to the environment.

This is still a show where the familiar milieu is the star, see—partly because we don't know the characters that well yet, but I'm hopeful the writing will get stronger. There are definitely signs of potential greatness: such as the wonderful, easy chemistry between butchers Andy and Kieran. In particular, a scene where middle-aged Andy was challenged to chat-up a customer to prove he's still a virile man worked very well. Those characters also walked off with the premiere's funniest moment: having fun at Julie's expense with the homonym "interim-ing" and "into rimming". A laugh-out-loud misunderstanding that, frankly, kept me watching and actively willing the show to deliver a few more belly-laughs like that. None really came, but it wasn't a bad viewing experience. In fact, Trollied is already the best new British comedy I've seen in a very long time, but perhaps that just underscores how uninspired recent British comedies have been.

It's also nice to have a sitcom on TV that stands a real chance of becoming that rare thing in the UK comedy landscape: a show that speaks to multiple generations, thanks to how supermarkets are themselves melting pots for millions of different people. Younger viewers can attach themselves to the ennui of checkout operators, middle-aged viewers can enjoy the management shenanigans, and the elderly can enjoy seeing a few people their own age being represented. The supermarket backdrop also ensures a steady and ever-changing supply of one-off and recurring guest-star customers, albeit without much scope for big storylines because shopping's generally a brief activity.

Trollied certainly got the atmosphere of a supermarket just right, too. It was filmed on a replica set in Bristol, but you'd never tell. The performances were also good—although there were times when it felt like a few of the actors (Horrocks, Watkins) were playing things a little broader than their colleagues. Maybe some people were convinced this is the retail equivalent of The Office (seeing as they've even gender-reversed that show's Tim/Dawn/Lee love-triangle), while others are treating it as something more lightweight and cartoonish. Like a sitcom version of Coronation Street's Bettabuys storylines from the '90s, with gurning Reg Holdsworth and gangly Curly Watts. And to be fair, the show itself felt a little unsure what the tone should be. Fairly adult jokes about sexual acts like "rimming" suit the post-watershed 9pm timeslot it was in, yet the overall tone and style of the show was screaming family-friendly 8pm.

If Trollied can settle on what kind of show it wants to be, while also remembering that all the great sitcoms had complex characters you cared about or sympathized with, I envisage this working rather nicely when the birthing pains are over. I'm not sure the writing's good enough for it to become Dinnerladies-in-a-supermarket, but thanks to a strong premise and excellent cast, I think this could grow to become a perfectly decent and inoffensive sitcom.

written by Julie Rutterford / directed by Paul Walker / 4 August 2011 / Sky1

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Review: BEAVER FALLS (E4)

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Review: ALPHAS, 1.1 - "Pilot"

NBC's Heroes went into permanent eclipse years ago, but its vestigial influence on television continues. Syfy hereby launch another superhero drama hoping to capitalize on the decade's love-affair with people who've been touched by God. Alphas, created by Zak Penn (The Incredible Hulk, X-Men: The Last Stand) and Michael Karnow, is about a gang of individuals using their super-abilities to help the government solve various cases. It's a less imaginative version of The Champions, really. As pilots go, Alphas has a good one, aided by creative choices in how the characters are introduced and showing how their powers work.

Dr Lee Rosen (David Straitharn) is the group's Professor X analog, presiding over his "Alphas" and utilizing them on behalf of FBI Agent Don Wilson (Callum Keith Rennie). The gang themselves are comprised of the following: ex-Fed Bill Harken (Malik Yoba), who can trigger his "flight or fight" response to gain short-lived super-strength/speed and immunity to pain; Gary Bell (Ryan Cartwright), a young man with Asperger's Syndrome who can see every electromagnetic spectrum, meaning he can view audio-visual signals in mid-air; Nina Theroux (Laura Mennell), an attractive woman with the power to control minds by "pushing" her thoughts onto others; and Rachel Pirzad (Azita Ghanizada), a woman who can intensify each of her senses to give herself super-hearing/taste/vision/smell when required.

In the "Pilot", the Alphas are tasked with solving the murder of a police suspect who was somehow shot in the head from inside a closed interrogation room. The team reason that the hit was achieved by a sniper from a rooftop across town, aiming through an exterior air vent, which naturally means the culprit is someone with preternatural aim and accuracy (or "hyperkinesis). This eventually leads them to "bad boy" supermarket shelf-stacker Cameron Hicks (Warren Christie), a man we're introduced to hallucinating members of the public telling him it's "Time To Kill". It turns out Hicks is merely a pawn in someone else's masterplan, having been the victim of brain surgery that's turned him into a brainwashed assassin, and joins the team as their latest recruit.

There was plenty to enjoy about Alphas. I especially liked how they introduced the characters. There was no laborious setup about Dr Rosen's program, or subplots jostling to explain each characters' back-story and power. Instead, the group was already assembled from the start and the pilot showed each character's personality and ability during the flow of the story. I particularly enjoyed how super-villain Hicks was revealed to be an unwitting patsy before joining the good guys, as I didn't expect that to happen. It probably helped that I've largely avoided reading about Alphas before broadcast, as a simple outline of the regular cast would probably have spoiled the surprise.

Alphas' handling of its super-powers also avoided a problem that commonly ties shows like this in knots. Bill's super-strength isn't permanent and feels like it has a psychological toll when he uses it, Rachel loses her other senses when amplifying a particular one (leaving her deaf when using her super-sight, for example), Nina's ability to influence people isn't guaranteed to work on everyone she encounters, and Gary obviously has his Asperger's to contend with. It's so important to give superheroes flaws and weaknesses, and Alphas manages to get the balance just right. Throughout this episode, you're aware that this is a super-team with great power and skill, but also that they’re fallible and can't always rely on their gifts. When you compare this setup to that of Heroes, which was awash with God-like people who could never use their powers logically because it would end stories too quickly, it's clear the writers behind Alphas have avoided a trap.

However, while there's almost nothing here to actively hate (the mythology's strong, the concept succinct, the actors capable), Alphas is still just the latest version of a show we've seen numerous times. And not just in the superhero genre, as there are strong similarities here to A&E's Breakout Kings with the gang's dynamic and case-of-the-week format. I've seen so many TV shows about superheroes in the past six years that it no longer carries resonance or excitement, and unless there's a genuinely unique attitude or premise involved (see: Misfits), it's hard to feel passionate about a superhero show's future. At heart, Alphas is just another drama about a bunch of superheroes solving crimes under the tutelage of a wise mentor (sans capes and tights), and that's no longer fresh—no matter how well it negotiates the genre's tropes and pitfalls.

Overall, Alphas launched with a confident and intermittently creative hour, although there's nothing inspired about the concept, characters, or production style. I think long-term success rests on how well the writers keep the characters and their missions interesting. It could very easily slip into case-of-the-week monotony now everything's established, as I'm already sensing a procedural leaning to this show's makeup. And the problem with procedurals is how the formula can become predictable and boring, especially for the natural audience of superhero dramas, who usually prefer serialized storytelling. If the Alphas are chasing bank robbers, foiling burglaries, and finding kidnapped people every other week, I'm not sure how long those kind of stories can be told before audiences will get restless.

Still, on the merits of this episode as a well-formed pilot with appealing and creative elements, Alphas certainly warrants a few weeks of commitment to see what might develop.

written by Zak Penn & Michael Karnow / directed by Jack Bender / 11 July 2011 / Syfy

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Review: WILFRED, 1.1 – "Happiness"

A remake of a critically-acclaimed Australian series, writer David Zuckerman (Family Guy) adapts the bizarre comic tale Wilfred for American audiences. The concept is brilliantly simple: an ordinary guy realizes he's hallucinating his attractive next-door neighbour's dog Wilfred as a grumpy man in a dog costume (Jason Gann), and the pair become unlikely friends. In the original, the "ordinary guy" was exactly that, but the US remake chooses to make Ryan (Elijah Wood) into a social misfit and loner, introduced to us attempting to commit suicide after writing a fourth draft suicide note. I think it's intended to give us some form of explanation for why this fantasy's happening, as we're supposed to feel concern for Ryan's sanity, in addition to enjoying the symptom of his problem. And that's fine, I guess. It gives the show a somewhat darker edge, and Wood proved in Sin City that his feminine looks and turquoise eyes can be used for more unnerving ends. It's just a shame this one-joke comedy, for me, ran out of steam after 15-minutes.

And that's the key to this comedy. If you don't find the central premise consistently amusing, it won't be long before you're bored and wondering how they can possibly keep the ball rolling. The original series only produced a total of 16 episodes over two series (spread across three years), and FX will be producing 13 this year alone. On the evidence of this episode, I'm not convinced the show can go much beyond that time-span, as there's only so long you can poke fun at the idea of a dog that's been anthropomorphized in the head of a lcoal weirdo. It helps that co-creator Jason Gann (who played Wilfred in the original) is back playing the same character in this remake, as he knows exactly what's required and how to play a man-dog. Wilfred's essentially an Australian bloke who likes nothing more than smoking from bongs and doing typical canine things, like digging holes when he's anxious, and Gann makes for an oddly appealing co-lead. It already feels like Gann and Wood work as a double-act, but there still remains the issue of how long this concept can last...

It's essentially a pretty obvious and weak sketch idea, and even with Zuckerman in charge of the show (whose work on Family Guy is great training, as it too mixes traditional storytelling with sketch-like gags and a talking dog), I have a funny feeling Wilfred will counter problems fairly quickly. I was already over the concept's joke before this episode finished, and don't feel compelled to watch more. It doesn't take a genius to imagine the type of jokes we're going to be getting from this show, does it? Dogs have been staples of comedy for so long that we're all very aware of their foibles and areas of comic potential (peeing against lampposts, sniffing anuses, trips to the vet, neutering, burying bones, etc), and frankly I'm already bored with the idea of watching Wilfred undoubtedly tackle all of that—with the only twist being we're seeing a bearded Aussie in a silly costume as "man's imaginary best friend".

Overall, as much as I enjoyed some of the chemistry between Wood and Gann, I just can't see Wilfred becoming anything more than fleetingly amusing. Maybe it'll be worth sticking around for more, just to see how the show deals with various problems (the excuses for Wood to keep looking after a neighbour's dog, say), or if the show will be forced to become more creative and interesting once all the man-acting-like-a-dog jokes have been used up. I'm cautiously optimistic David Zuckerman has something in mind about how to prevent Wilfred becoming a repetitive bore, but after one 23-minute episode I think the joke's over for me.

written by David Zuckerman / directed by Randall Einhorn / 23 June 2011 / FX

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Review: FALLING SKIES, 1.1 & 1.2 - "Live & Learn" & "The Armory"

This Steven Spielberg-produced alien invasion drama makes some wise creative decisions, not least its acceptance that the genre doesn't need to be laboriously set-up nowadays. After a brief opening narration depicting an extra-terrestrial invasion using children's drawings, we're dropped into a familiar situation: a post-apocalypse, where survivors of a six-month-old alien attack are struggling to stay alive and mount some form of resistance. It's a spiritual follow-up to Spielberg's War Of The Worlds if he'd given us a pessimistic ending, imbued with a focus on character that evokes The Walking Dead and Jericho. It's unoriginal and largely predictable cable TV fare, but also good fun, unwilling to beat about the bush (a full-blown alien's sighted within minutes), and realizes long-term success rests on building a firm foundation of character.

History professor Tom Mason (ER's Noah Wyle) is our bearded protagonist, the second-in-command of a resistance unit known as the 2nd Massachusetts, comprised of "fighters" and a large group of civilians they protect. Prone to voicing morale-boosting historical analogies about their situation trying to defeat a superior enemy, Mason's accompanied by teenage son Hal (Drew Roy) and younger son Matt (Maxim Knight), but carries a deep sorrow because third son Ben (Connor Jessup) is missing, presumed dead. However, it's soon revealed that Ben's under the control of the alien "skitters": six-legged lizards who are interested in children, attaching a spinal parasite to them in order to control their minds. Shades of a sanitized Torchwood: Children Of Earth, no?

There are also nods the aforementioned War Of The Worlds remake, in how some of the aliens stomp around in bipedal machines referred to as "mechs", indiscriminately blasting humans and occasionally emitting a droning whine not unlike the trumpeting of Worlds' tripods. In fact, there's not much about Falling Skies that isn't reminiscent of other sci-fi, but it's appreciated how quickly the show announces the debts it owes and just gets on with telling its own story. There's no teasing what the aliens look like, or the design of their spaceships (which resemble skyscraper-sized cricket stumps straddling entire cities), as we're dropped into a show that already feels like it's aired a half-dozen episodes before the pilot.

Created by Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan) and involving the talent of admired writer-producers like Graham Yost (Justified) and Mark Verheiden (Battlestar Galactica), it's also a touch above most shows of its ilk, especially in how it deftly balances characters with action. There are some lovely touches to demonstrate the change in values of a post-apocalypse, too—such as a scene where Mason decides between Charles Dickens or Jules Verne books according to weight instead of merit. You might as well throw the Complete Works Of William Shakespeare on a bonfire right now. It was also interesting seeing how the itinerant community works: ad hoc school lessons in a field, brief moments of fun when a skateboard's found for the kids to play on, a precious cupcake used as a little boy's birthday cake, and the contentious fact the military get to sleep in houses because their welfare takes priority over the tent-dwelling civilians they're protecting, etc. Plenty of opportunity for infighting in the future, as we already learn that civilians are sometimes referred to as "eaters" by their protectors.

Falling Skies is immediately appealing because of the classic premise, Wyle makes for a strong hero with hopes and aspirations you can get involved with, there's decent support from Will Patton (as hard-ass Commander Weaver) and Moon Bloodgood (as a compassionate doctor)—who's no stranger to post-apocalypses after Terminator Salvation—and there's still plenty to explore in the show's mythology and background. A few flashbacks pre-invasion may be on the cards, who knows. Plus, unlike Survivors and Walking Dead, which have very depressing backdrops, there's a sense of hope in Falling Skies because the war's still in its infancy. This isn't a show following the remnants of mankind as the flame inexorably dims on humanity, but a drama where people still have a reason to fight and win back their planet.

Overall, it's most definitely derivative, features a few dodgy special effects because of budget limitations, and so far the female/black characters are wafer-thin personalities edging toward stereotype, but Falling Skies remembers to put character above visuals and crafts an effective two-part opener. I'm not convinced it's complex or fresh enough to elicit deep thought and fervid loyalty, but it should provide some entertainment.

Aside

• Spielberg's long-running in-joke with George Lucas continued here, with another instance of a Spielberg-affiliated project involving Star Wars toys. Check out the figurines used to plan strategies in an early scene...

written by Robert Rodat (1.1) & Graham Yost (1.2) / directed by Carl Franklin (1.1) & Greg Beeman (1.2) / 19 June 2011 / TNT

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Review: TEEN WOLF, 1.1 - "Pilot"

Australian director Russell Mulcahy made his name in the early-'80s with iconic music videos that got playtime on a then-fledgling MTV—which even launched with Mulcahy's "Video Killed The Radio Star". 30 years later he's the jobbing helmsman behind the channel's Twilight-wannabe adaptation of a silly curio from the year he was trying to drag a performance from Christopher Lambert in Highlander. Teen Wolf 2011 owes its namesake 1985 movie very little, as it's clearly more of an attempt to replicate the twin successes of Twilight and Vampire Diaries, with the aide of a funky-sounding title that's retained some pop-culture cachet.

16-year-old Scott McCall (20-year-old Tyler Posey) is our Californian hunky hero; another of US TV's alleged "everymen" who's already poised to adorn the inside of teenage girl's lockers the world over. There's consequently no huge transformation in social status for Scott after he's bitten by a wolf while helping his best-friend Stiles (Dylan O'Brien) find a dead body in the forest—having overheard the town's cops are in hot pursuit of a killer. As we all know, if there's a murderer on the loose, teenagers just can't resist trampling through a crime scene and potentially being mistaken for the killer by armed police in the dead of night, right?

The idiocy of this moment aside, Scott is duly bitten by the pursued killer (a werewolf) and goes through the usual changes we're overly accustomed to: suddenly being able to hear people talk over vast distances, developing super-reflexes he can use to impress his lacrosse coach, rapid healing, etc. Scott's sudden rapport with canines also endears him to high school newcomer Allison Argent (Crystal Reed) after she accidentally runs over a dog and Scott's on hand to tend to the pooch's injuries, leading to a first date at a pool party—scheduled on a Full Moon, natch...

Teen Wolf is an evenhanded, unremarkable addition to the "supernatural high school" subgenre, which has already gone through many permutations (Buffy's vampires, Roswell's aliens, Smallville's superheroes, et al), but offers very little that's fresh or invigorating. It's a magpie's nest of ideas, meaning there's little about this pilot that leaps off the screen and impresses you with its uniqueness. I suppose it's a relief the characters didn't spend forever wondering what's going on (Stiles' first theory for his pal's newfound skills is lycanthropy)—and, in a reversal of its namesake movie's intentions, Scott's transformation is played more as a curse than a liberating gift. He doesn't turn the attractive girl's head purely because of his superpowers (it's more his kindness), so his lupine powers are a barrier to him having a regular relationship and easygoing life.

Michael J. Fox's character became a local celebrity and basketball sensation who was (very inexplicably) a hirsute turn-on for women; while Tyler Posey's character isn't likely to announce his lycanthropy to the world (what, no van surfing this time?) and it's something that's a real danger to his loved one because it comes packaged with blood lust. The story is therefore not about realizing people should value you for who you are on the inside, but... um, being a werewolf has its ups and downs when you're a good-looking, horny teenager trying to bang the new girl in town? Oh, especially when your love interest's father (JR Bourne) is the main villain.

Mulcahy's career may have been in free-fall for the past few decades (lately reduced to a Resident Evil threequel and direct-to-video sequel The Scorpion King 2), but given his experience it's no wonder Teen Wolf looks surprisingly good for a TV pilot—echoing the woodland aesthetic familiar from the Twilight franchise, despite the fact the show's set in sunny California. There are no truly memorable sequences, however, which is a shame for any pilot wanting to make a big impression. Even Scott's first transformation in a bathroom felt strangely inert, mainly because they've decided they don't want to disgust girls by having Wolf-Scott resemble a lanky ape-man (a massive flaw in the original), an expensive CGI creature, or a monstrous Wolf Man biped. Scott instead morphs into a more angular, sweatier version of himself; with fangs and pointy ears giving him the look of a Thundercat, blessed with absurd red-on-black night-vision. The complete transformation even appears to wear off rather quickly, so in theory Scott just needs to lock himself in his bedroom for an hour every month—which is nothing for most teenage boys.

The performances are, much like the show itself, reasonable but lacking bite. The obvious danger is that once the novelty wears off (which will be quicker for such a prolific genre), audiences might not find Teen Wolf intrinsically enjoyable through the actors and their interactions. I'm not sure this ensemble's that interesting. Nobody's an embarrassment to celluloid, but there wasn't very distinct about Posey, Reed or O'Brien to get you excited about their characters or dynamic. Chemistry may develop, so it's by no means certain the actors won't find something in themselves that viewers will want to watch every week, but after the pilot there was nothing lingering in the air to tempt me back from a character perspective.

It's all familiar stuff, basically: young man receives superpowers, shares his secret with a quirky best-friend, falls in love with a stunning girl at school, has to defend himself from a jock who now perceives him as a threat to his own masculinity, blah-blah-blah. Throw in some mythology with a gang of Hunters who track and kill werewolves (why has nobody in California heard a wolf's howl before if there are werewolf exterminators in the area?), and you have a TV show that's exactly what you expect and nothing more.

If you want something original and edgy, look elsewhere. If you want comfortable familiarity, delivered by a fresh ensemble of sexy American actors, MTV have followed the recipe to create the next iteration of that.

written by Jeff Davis, Jeph Loeb & Matthew Weisman / directed by Russell Mulcahy / 5 June 2011 / MTV

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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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Rearview: 'PROFIT'; television's loss

I've been meaning to watch the feature-length pilot of '90s TV series Profit for some time now, and finally had the opportunity to recently. It passed me by as a teenager, but on reflection has inspired so many shows I enjoy as an adult. Profit is a 1996 Fox series that only ran for eight episodes, but had incredible prescience about a sub-genre of shows that would become hits in the next century. Many of its themes and style have since been popularized by Nip/Tuck and Dexter, making it clear Profit was a decade ahead of its time...

For the uninitiated, Profit concerns eloquent businessman Jim Profit (Adrian Pasdar), an employee for the multinational corporation Gracen & Gracen who bribes, extorts, blackmails and even kills to further his career. In the pilot, Profit is promoted following the death of G&G's Vice-President of Acquisitions, and immediately sets about uncovering a secretary's imperceptible embezzlement; information he uses as leverage to ensure her loyalty to him for additional "favours". In many ways this show is a remnant of the greedy '80s; a pastiche on yuppies who'll do anything to get ahead in business. It's actually quite amusing to remember it aired on Fox, which is owned by notorious media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

"If you want someone to love you, open your heart. If you want someone to be obsessed with you, close it." -- Jim Profit

Profit's basically a more sanitized take on American Psycho's Patrick Bateman. It would have been almost unthinkable for Profit's creators to make their character as psychotic as Bateman on network TV, but in a post-Dexter world I'm certain Profit could be remade with a tougher, stickier mindset. In fact, given the public mood about bankers and high-rollers, who led the world into a financial meltdown, Profit would probably be embraced today, with audiences cheering every time Profit vanquished another white-collar fat cat. So it's a pity this show arrived so prematurely, stuck in a '90s television landscape that wasn't ready for it, and couldn't afford to nurture it over time. It's an Emmy-winning cable series, born in the wrong time and place.

However, I can't be unashamedly gracious towards Profit. It's dated badly in some ways. Stylistically, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was created in 1989, as it lacks the sophistication and polish that The X Files ushered into US TV during the early-'90s. Together with the chintzy music, it occasionally feels like an old episode of Red Shoe Diaries with the sex cut out. It's staid and conventional, almost soap-like, without sharp directorial bite. It's also become unintentionally hilarious through prominent use of an intranet with Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML); basically sub-Doom graphics where accessing electronic files requires a 3D trip around a virtual office space via touch-screen. Whenever Profit defeats a business enemy, their grid-like avatar explodes into shards of pixels, as a half-naked Profit watches while eating a leg of chicken, shadows of his pet fish floating across his face! It's a shame this technical element of Profit, together with its outmoded office milieu, looks so amusing to modern eyes. There's an immediate comical quality to Profit now, which it never had when it was first broadcast.

The acting is also surprisingly poor, save for a pre-Heroes Adrian Pasdar, who's wonderfully unnerving and dangerous as Jim Profit, using his matinee idol good looks and pursed lips to give you creeps. He's a psycho Ken Doll come to life, occasionally giving you a jolt by breaking the fourth wall, and indulging in husky voice-over (another Dexter parallel) as he goes about his day. He has no confidant, so extreme voice-over is the unfortunate crutch of the series, deployed rather awkwardly at times. It's almost criminal that he's surrounded by actors that resemble pieces of cardboard, with the exception of Lisa Darr and An Officer & A Gentleman's Lisa Blount (who played Profit's southern stepmom, with whom he had a sexual relationship.) Quite a few scenes in the pilot sink simply because Pasdar's not involved, and the other actors just aren't good enough.

Overall, Profit is a fascinating curiosity for anyone who likes the current anti-hero trend in TV drama, as it's a precursor to shows that became pop-culture hits. It's just a pity the amoral Jim Profit didn't connect with audiences in the same way Dexter Morgan managed to a decade later, perhaps because the closest thing to a TV anti-hero in 1996 was still Dallas' J.R Ewing. A corporate shark was just too morally slippery back then; in the same year, Millennium and Profiler's investigators were on network TV trying to catch sociopaths and serial-killers, which was more conformist.

"When the smoke clears, and you get right down to it, only three things really matter: your faith, your fortitude, and your family. Good night." -- Jim Profit

written by John McNamara, David Greenwalt, John Shirley & W.K Scott Meyer / 1996 / Fox

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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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'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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'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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'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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'BREAKOUT KINGS' 1.1 - "Pilot"

Escape to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed the premiere of A&E's new crime drama BREAKOUT KINGS. Prisons! Criminals! Cops!

Originally a pilot script that was refused further development by Fox, Breakout Kings managed to find a home with the A&E network. Created by Nick Santora and Matt Olmstead, two prolific writers on Prison Break, Breakout Kings cleaves close to the fourth season premise of that defunct show. By-the-book CPA Agent Charlie Duchamp (Laz Alonso) and hotheaded detective Ray Zancanelli (The Wire's Domenick Lombardozzi) resurrect an idea to recapture escaped convicts by assembling a team of criminals with breakout experience themselves. As the marketing paraphrases, "it takes a con to catch a con"... 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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