TV Ratings: BREAKING BAD, season 4 (AMC)

The fourth season premiere of Breaking Bad broke a record for the AMC show, with a total of 2.6 million people tuning in for the tense "Box Cutter". This includes 1.5m people in the lucrative 18-49 demographic, and is a massive 30% increase on the third season premiere's numbers. This suggests the show is catching on with more people, thanks to extremely positive word-of-mouth. Breaking Bad is actually one of very few shows that's become more popular with each passing season, too.

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Are you watching the spellbinding DYNAMO: MAGICIAN IMPOSSIBLE?

Which is the best magic show on television? BBC1's Magicians, the series presented by Lenny Henry where celebrities assist illusionists with big stage tricks? ITV1's Penn & Teller: Fool Us, where various British magicians try to perform a trick that will hoodwink the titular American double-act, hoping to win a money-can't-buy performance in Las Vegas if they succeed? No, it's probably Watch's Dynamo: Magician Impossible, showcasing the street magic of Bradford-born conjurer Steven Frayne (aka "Dynamo").

The series owes a huge debt to the 1997 TV specials Street Magic and Magic Man that introduced the world to US magician David Blaine, as it follows almost the exact same template. Dynamo could even be mistaken for Blaine's shorter, younger, British brother—only without the pretentiousness and Messiah complex. We can only hope Dynamo doesn't also start performing ostentatious endurance challenges like standing on an enormous column, being encased in ice, or spending 40 days and nights stuck inside a plastic box.

Magician Impossible's format is unquestionably derivative, with Dynamo performing magic to American and British members of the public on streets, mixing it with cameos from celebrities that range from Misfits actor Robert Sheehan and boxer David Hayes, to footballer Rio Ferdinand and popstar Natalie Imbruglia. But while the show isn't as revolutionary as Blaine's (back when the idea of street magic was new and exciting), the quality of tricks and skill of Dynamo are equally as impressive.

There are often a handful of astonishing moments in each hour-long show. My favourites so far being a climactic sequence where Dynamo walked on water across the Thames (a stunt that became a tabloid news story), or the moment Dynamo stepped behind a jacket held in front of a shop window and walked through the glass onto the street outside. Almost every trick feels fresh and confounding—like the moment he rubbed a woman's wrist-watch tan line and moved it to her upper-arm, or when he balanced a guitar on two chairs, removed one, and the instrument remained suspended in mid-air.

Magic's at its best when it's close-up, personal, and seemingly impossible to achieve given the circumstances (no stage, no moody lighting, no huge props, no sexy assistants). The concept and format of Magician Impossible may be nothing new, and has arrived almost 15 years behind Blaine's trailblazing series, but when the quality of magic is this high it's churlish to complain. Plus, while Blaine's spaced-out weirdness was once a key part of his appeal, he's since turned into something of a pop-culture joke because of his fixation on ludicrous endurance stunts, whereas Dynamo (despite even stealing some of Blaine's quirks, like the phrase "I just want to try something...") is a far more personable and likable fellow.

If you haven't been watching Dynamo: Magician Impossible because it's on a relatively obscure digital channel, you've missed a trick. And boy, is that an understatement!

Dynamo: Magician Impossible / Watch (Virgin 124 & Sky 109) / Tuesdays, 9pm
This is a sponsored post.

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Review: BREAKING BAD, 4.1 - "Box Cutter"

The best show on television returns with a virtuoso premiere, this one simmering with tension and glowing with confidence. Like Walter White's (Bryan Cranston) peerless recipe for crystal methamphetamine, Breaking Bad's operating at 99% purity now the writers know precisely what works, and—more importantly—how to squeeze every last drop of juice from each hour.

"Box Cutter" opens with one of the show's occasional flashbacks, often employed to give guest-stars a chance to reprise dead characters. That proved to be the case here, too, as we found chemistry nerd Gale (David Costabile) giddily opening giant packages containing the so-called Superlab he's going to be operating for local drug kingpin Gus (Giancarlo Esposito). It was a nice reminder of how amiable and childlike Gale was, before the show truly began by continuing from the third season's climax—with Jesse (Aaron Paul) shooting nice-guy Gale in the head, in desperate to ensure Walt's indispensability to Gus as the Superlab's numero uno. From there, the episode was something of a slow period of uneasy clean up: Walter held hostage in the Superlab by jaded assassin Mike (Jonathan Banks), only alive because he managed to make himself irreplaceable in the nick of time; Jesse found and taken back to the Superlab by Gus's minion Victor (Jeremiah Bitsui); and all four awaiting the return of Gus himself to see how Gale's murder will effect their working relationships.

Elsewhere, we caught up with Skyler (Anna Gunn) as she drove Walt's car from her house to his condo, fearing their son (RJ Mitte) will take it as a sign his parents are getting back together; a conclusion her sister Marie (Betsy Brandt) has already jumped to while visiting. Skyler's often a character just skirting events, but there are increasing signs she's going to become a more dynamic and vital part of the show now. It helps that she now knows Walt's cooking meth to make a fortune before cancer kills him, and there was a great sequence in this episode where Skyler's own skill as a liar came in handy—as she managed to convince a locksmith she lives in Walt's condo so she could get inside to look for her missing husband. To me, it feels that Skyler's headed towards becoming accepting of her husband's vocation (perhaps even enjoying some of the lifestyle it brings), at least until her eyes are opened about just how dangerous this life really is.

A brief scene also revealed the status of Walt's brother-in-law Hank (Dean Norris), who's now bedridden and undergoing physiotherapy to regain his mobility—having been paralyzed last season when the Mexican drug cartel's twin enforcers tried to kill him. Hank's story is continuing down the path of eroding his masculinity, in contrast to how weedy Walt's story is turning him into an alpha male. Norris is wonderful in this role, and seeing macho Hank reduced to spending his days bidding for rocks and minerals online, and having to be helped onto a bedpan by his dedicated wife, was heartrending stuff. I just hope the show finds a way to get Hank back on his feet soon, because while making him an invalid delivers  emotional drama (and something for Betsy Brandt to play), I prefer it when Hank's proactive and looking for the mysterious "Heisenberg" and his renowned blue-meth.

The confidence of this episode came from very simple things like the measured pacing and, at times, almost total lack of dialogue. Simple sequences like Skyler returning Walt's car are shown in unusually long takes for TV, often with just the thrumming soundtrack for company. It's far from tedious or pretentious, just oddly mesmeric. You're suddenly giving the tiniest of scenes a great deal of thought and feeling of importance, as they appear to be trying to show you something deeper than what's obviously happening. In this episode, there was a feeling that everyone apart from the core characters were out of town, or—in lawyer Saul's (Bob Odenkirk) case—closed for business. Even Walt Jr was holed up in his bedroom playing music for most of the episode, as Albuquerque became a strange little ghost town for the hour. A place constantly under the microscope of that impressive sky.

Of course, the best example of the show's self-belief was in the moment when Gus finally made his entrance in the Superlab. A taciturn man at the best of times, he had everyone quaking in their boots as he calmly slipped into protective overalls and floated around Jesse and Walt with the blade of a box cutter knife in one hand. Poor Walt could only talk in an effort to make Gus see sense, while fearing for his life, trying to appeal to Gus's common sense over any feeling of vengeance. The tension was drum tight, almost as if the air had been sucked out of the room, and the release came in one of the most horrendous scenes the show's done: Gus slicing open the neck of stooge Victor, arm clutching his head and choking him out, as arterial blood spattering Walt's jeans. Gus is a man of few words, but indelibly memorable actions.

But as Walt says to Jesse in a diner afterwards (once they melted Victor's corpse into a plastic barrel with Hydrofluoric acid), their actions killing Gale has merely bought them time. Gus will be looking to replace the troublesome, unruly Walt, and when he finds someone equal to Gale, their lives will under threat once again. Walt knows they have to start planning their move before death comes a-knocking, but a shell-shocked Jesse's just clutching to a naive belief the worst is over and it'll take Gus years to find a replacement he can trust implicitly.

Overall, "Box Cutter" was a great episode of an even greater series. This hour was chiefly concerned with resolving the issues left dangling from season 3, so it doesn't feel like season 4 even began until the diner scene. The denouement suggests the cops investigating Gale's murder will find his "Lab Notes" journal, which will undoubtedly have clues about the whereabouts of the Superlab, how it's run, and who owns it. But if the net's closing on Gus, can Walt find a way to escape this associated danger, while perhaps ousting his callous employer?

Fascinated to see how this season develops.

Asides

• Loved the match-cut from a pool of blood being cleaned with a mop to someone at a diner swirling a splodge of ketchup with a french fry. Darkly amusing.
• Nice callback to season 1's "Cat's In The Bag...", when Walt and Jesse disposed of their first body using Hydrofluoric acid in a bathtub.

written by Vince Gilligan / directed by Adam Bernstein / 17 July 2011 / AMC

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TRUE BLOOD, 4.4 – "I'm Alive And On Fire"

The problem with "I'm Alive And On Fire" is that spread about fifteen minutes of worthwhile development across almost an hour, and we already know that this year's storylines are again of varying quality. It makes for an off kilter viewing experience, as any scene/idea that entertains is usually followed by a dumb clunker that drags things down. I haven't made my peace with this fact, as memories of the comparatively slick and well-plotted first two seasons are still in the back of my mind. Are those days long gone, never to return? Is True Blood repeating the mistakes of Charlaine Harris's books, or are these problems of its own making because it refuses to remove deadweight characters?

This week, gang-raped Jason (Ryan Kwanten) escaped from captivity after persuading an underage girl to free him, doing his best Schwarzenegger impersonation to evade the were-panthers; Bill (Stephen Moyer) met Portia's (Courtney Ford) grandmother and discovered that Portia's his great-great-great-granddaughter after seeing the family tree; Marnie (Fiona Shaw) tried to help Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), Tara (Rutina Wesley) and Jesus (Kevin Alejandro) find a spell to restore Eric's (Alexander Skarsgård) memory, before Pam (Kristin Bauer) punishes them; Sam (Sam Trammell) discovered that girlfriend Luna (Janina Gavankar) has a daughter and a jealous werewolf ex; Tommy (Marshall Allman) returned home to see his mom, only to be recaptured by his evil dad Joe Lee (Cooper Huckabee); Arlene's (Carrie Preston) baby wrote "BABY NOT YOURS" on a wall in red crayon (so the kid's possessed by the spirit of its homicidal Cajun daddy?); and Alcide (Joseph Manganiello) helped Sookie (Anna Paquin) look after Eric, who enjoyed some time in the daylight having fed on the blood of Sookie's fairy godmother.

It's hard to summon much enthusiasm to review this week's episode, which was a fairly weak hour of piece-moving and time-wasting. I'm bitterly disappointed we're returning to the story of Tommy's bumpkin family (written so broadly it's a wonder they don't each have one tooth), who were one of season 3's biggest misfires. I guess that's what happens when writers aren't paying attention to what the fans respond to, as I can't understand why they're raking over old ground.

The idea of Sam's relationship being complicated by his girlfriend's daughter and ex-boyfriend feels extremely tedious, too. Why are we supposed to care about Sam's romance, which appeared out of nowhere three episodes ago? There's been no meet-cute, no courtship, no sense that these people are made for each other. Like so many storylines on True Blood, it's just stuff for the show to do because it has characters who would otherwise be hanging around like spare parts.

Sookie and Eric's situation didn't really develop from last week, but at least Alcide's involvement in the story was more logical (required to help wrangle a drunken Eric), and Sookie was atypically grownup about how she's dealing with events.

The only bright spots were the fact Jason's escaped from the clutches of Crystal (Lindsay Pulsipher) and her crazy family (it's a baby-step in the right direction), the reveal that Bill committed incest and is related to the Bellefleur family was icky and another interesting way to explore the problems facing vampires that live beyond a normal lifespan; Skarsgård's charming performance as amnesiac Eric; and some movement on the mystery of who's possessing Marnie, via a flashback/dream where we saw a young woman being burned at the stake for witchcraft. I assume this woman was killed and now has a score to settle with various people (descendants of those who killed her, or maybe vampires in general). I'm quite enjoying the ease with which blundering Marnie can sometimes turn the tables on characters like Eric and Pam, who are so used to being top dogs.

Overall, "I'm Alive And On Fire" was the worst episode of this season—which shows promise in a few areas, but mostly hasn't learned anything about why season 3 was considered a disappointing, ungainly flop. It's a real pity, because if someone could whip these stories into shape, and remove the excess baggage of redundant characters and pointless subplots, some of this may actually be fun. Instead, it's just irritatingly inconsistent, and that's being kind.

Asides

• I had to laugh at the stupidity of Sookie taking Alcide outside onto her porch, so as not be overheard by Eric indoors, considering the porch clearly made it even easier for Eric to eavesdrop from his cubby hole below!
• Was there any point to Tara being revealed as a cage-fighter with a lesbian girlfriend in the premiere? Is she going to come out to her friends soon? Is her girlfriend going to turn up?
• How long until Jason turns into a were-panther? Will he embrace this transformation, perhaps becoming the so-called Ghost Daddy of Crystal's family and leading them to a better life? But isn't it a shame we could be losing another human character? If Jason really does turn, it's like the writers don't believe a character can be interesting unless they're in some way supernatural.
• Will Luna's werewolf ex-boyfriend be anyone we've met? Or is there yet another new character on the way? Considering the fact her name's clearly an allusion to "lunar", does she have a deeper connection to werewolves than she's been letting on?
• Have you ever stopped to consider just how many storylines involve characters being captured and escaping? Seriously, think about it. Nearly every single character has been kidnapped and held captive: Lafayette in Eric's dungeon, Bill kidnapped by werewolves, Tara tied to a bed by Franklin, likewise Jason with Crystal's family, etc.) And now we can add Tommy to the list. Is this the show's storytelling default? The loss and restoration of power is likewise a theme that gets recycled all the time.

written by Nancy Oliver / directed by Michael Lehmann / 17 July 2011 / HBO

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Channel 4 buy HOMELAND, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, ALLEN GREGORY, NEW GIRL & APARTMENT 23

Channel 4 have bought the UK rights to Showtime's new thriller Homeland, about a FBI Agent (Claire Danes) trying to prevent a terrorist act, that may be perpetrated by a US war hero (Damian Lewis) recently returned from the Middle East. The series, based on an Israeli drama, comes from Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, producers of 24. Homeland premieres this autumn in the US, but its UK debut hasn't been revealed yet.

In addition, Channel 4 have also bought two US animations: Fox's Allen Gregory (about a boy being raised by his gay dad and his life partner), featuring the voices of Jonah Hill and French Stewart, and the cartoon version of cult movie Napoleon Dynamite. E4 will also air the Fox sitcom New Girl (starring Zooey Deschanel as a woman getting over a breakup), and ABC's Apartment 23 (a comedy about two disparate female roommates living in New York, co-starring James Van Der Beek).

Do any of these shows pique your interest? I'm hopeful that Homeland's going to be good because of the talent involved, but can't say I'm very interested in any of those other shows. I may tune into Napoleon Dynamite's pilot, if only because it sounds so bizarre to have adapted a dreadful cult movie into a King Of The Hill-styled cartoon series.

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TV Picks: 18-24 July 2011 (The Cape, The Hour, Richard Hammond's Journey To The Centre Of The Planet, The Rob Brydon Show, Show Me The Funny, Sons Of Anarchy, etc.)

THE HOUR - BBC2, TUESDAY, 9PM

MONDAY 18th

PICK OF THE DAY Show Me The Funny (ITV1, 9pm) Brand new stand-up comedy competition where 10 contestants compete to win £100,000 and a nationwide tour. Hosted by Jason Manford. Judges are Alan Davies, Kate Copstick and guest Jimmy Tarbuck. (1/7)
The Celebrity Apprentice USA (BBC1, 11.35pm) Series 7 of the US reality business gameshow; a celebrity version featuring Lennox Lewis, Piers Morgan, Gene Simmons & Stephen Baldwin. Continues Wednesday. (1/13)

TUESDAY 19th

Wildlife Patrol (ITV1, 7.30pm) Fly-on-the-wall documentary series into the daily activities of Wildlife Crime officers. (1/6)
The Sex Education Show (Channel 4, 8pm) Return of the series looking into sex. (1/6)
Richard Hammond's Journey To The Centre Of The Planet (BBC1, 9pm) Science documentary using special-effects to explore the depths of the Earth. (1/2)
PICK OF THE DAY The Hour (BBC2, 9pm) Brand new drama set in a 1950's newsroom during the Suez Crisis. Written by Abi Morgan. Starring Dominic West, Ben Whishaw & Ramola Garai. (1/6)
Kellie: The Girl Who Played With Fire (BBC3, 9pm) Documentary about a 22-year-old woman who suffered facial burns as a 2-year-old.
Body Of Proof (Alibi, 9pm) Season 1 of the US crime drama. Starring Dana Delaney, Jeri Ryan & Nicholas Bishop. (1/9)
Britain Through A Lens: The Documentary Film Mob (BBC4, 9pm) Documentary about political activist John Grierson, who was tasked in 1929 with making a feature about the herring industry.
Twenty Twelve (BBC2, 10pm) Terrestrial premiere of the BBC4 mockumentary about the London Olympics preparations. Starring Hugh Bonneville, Amelia Bullmore, Olivia Colman, Jessica Hynes, Karl Theobald & Nicholas Gleaves. (1/6) [episode 1 review]
iTunes Festival Highlights 2011 (ITV1, 11.20pm) Highlights of this year's iTunes music festival. Featuring Adele & the Arctic Monkeys. (1/8)

WEDNESDAY 20th

The Corrie Years (ITV1, 7.30pm) Documentary on Coronation Street's most famous and dramatic storylines from across its 50 year history.
Sherlock (BBC1, 8.30pm) Repeat showing of the modern-day Sherlock Holmes series from Steven Moffat & Mark Gatiss. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman & Una Stubbs. (1/3) [reviews]
Bristol On Film (BBC4, 8.30pm) Documentary about the port city's industrial heritage.
Botham: The Legend Of '81 (BBC2, 9pm) Documentary on the legendary English cricketer Ian Botham.
Regional TV: Life Through A Local Lens (BBC4, 9pm) Documentary about the rise of regional broadcasting in the UK during the '50s and '60s. Featuring Michael Parkinson, Angela Rippon & Martin Bell.
Jamie: Drag Queen At 16 (BBC3, 9pm) Documentary about teenager Jamie Campbell, who always wanted to be a drag queen.
PICK OF THE DAY Sons Of Anarchy (5USA, 10pm) Season 3 of the US drama about a motorcycle gang. Starring Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal & Ron Perlman. (1/13)
Franklin & Bash (E4, 10pm) Season 1 of the US law drama. Starring Mark-Paul Grosselaar, Breckin Meyer & Malcolm McDowell. (1/10)

THURSDAY 21st

PICK OF THE DAY The Cape (Syfy, 8pm) Season 1 of the US superhero drama. Starring David Lyons, Summer Glau, Keith David, David Frain & Jennifer Ferrin. (1/10) [pilot review]
Alex: A Life Fast Forward (BBC3, 9pm) Documentary about 21-year-old Alex Lewis, who was diagnosed with bone cancer before his 18th birthday and that it's likely to prove fatal very soon.
The Big Gypsy Eviction (BBC1, 10.35pm) Documentary about the dispute between travellers and the local council over their presence on Dale Farm.

FRIDAY 22nd

PICK OF THE DAY The Rob Brydon Show (BBC2, 10pm) Series 2 of the comedy chat show. Presented by Rob Brydon. Guests are Matt Lucas, The Scripts & Nina Conti. (1/7)
My Favourite Joke (BBC1, 11.05pm) Series where some of the UK's top comedians reveal their favourite joke. Featuring French & Saunders, Les Dawson, Jack Dee, Jo Brand, Rhod Gilbert, and many more. (1/6)

SATURDAY 23rd

PICK OF THE DAY The Space Shuttle's Last Flight (Channel 4, 7.30pm) Documentary on the history of NASA's space shuttle programme, which is now coming to an end after 135 missions.

SUNDAY 24th

Holiday Hijack (Channel 4, 8pm) British holidaymakers are shown the darker side of vacations, with a look at how some resorts impact the local environment. (1/6)
PICK OF THE DAY Sugartown (BBC1, 10.25pm) Comedy-drama set in a northern seaside town. Starring Tom Ellis, Philip Jackson, Shaun Dooley, Sue Johnston, Miranda Raison, Sally Dexter, Georgia King & Paul J. Medford. (1/3)

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THE TRIP heads for Italy

According to the British Comedy Guide, The Trip's co-producer Andrew Eaton has revealed a second series is being made, to be set in Italy. Eaton let slip the news during a BAFTA talk, where he was joined by stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon at Latitude Festival's Film & Music Arena.

The first series of The Trip aired last November on BBC2, where it lost half its 2 million viewers over a six-week run, although it was critically-adored and has retained a strong fan-base. The series, directed by Michael Winterbottom, was also re-edited into a movie that became a success in North America at various film festivals.

The show saw Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing exaggerated versions of themselves (as they did in Winterbottom's movie A Cock & Bull Story), as Brydon accompanied Coogan on a tour around the Lake District, sampling meals at posh restaurants for a Sunday newspaper column. It's not yet known if this concept will form the basis of series 2, albeit with a switch to sun-kissed Italy, but that does seem very likely.

What do you think? Did you enjoy The Trip last year? I did. Or were you one of the million people who abandoned it during its run? Have you seen the movie version? Will you be tuning into an Italian follow-up, or are you only interested in watching clips on YouTube (some of which became very popular around the world)?

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