Filed under: Clip, Comedy, Drama, SPECIAL FEATURES, Thriller, trailer/advert | Tags: barb, big love, bill, bill paxton, chloe sevigny, ginnifer goodwin, henrickson, henricksons, margene, nicki
...Just be good to me..
When you think the American Dream – big family, nice house and healthy bank account spring to mind, right? If you multiply them by three you get Bill’s family.
Born a mormon in a polygamist compound, he is used to this way of life. But it wasn’t always this way – he was thrown out in his teens and went on to live a normal life with his beloved wife, Barbara and two lovely children. Unfortunately, Barb got sick and found out she was unable to conceive again. So, as you would, they decided to take a second wife, Nicki. She took care of Barb and the children and had some of her own.
This set-up would seem enough for any man to cope with as a lover and provider. Cue, Margene – the innocent, sexy and slightly wild daughter of a Las Vegas bar girl. These three wives love the bones off their man and take care of their family as a sisterhood – Barb being the leader.
Slightly uncomfortable for an audience that is unfamiliar with the polygamist ways, this is still strangely addictive. Lifestyle choices aside, this ever-expanding family outcast from their mormon roots have many normal issues that any unit or institution would have. We watch as they try and cope with normal family problems and all evils and sin that come from the ‘righteous’ compound, run by prophet Roman Grant (Nicki’s Dad).
Confused yet? Agreed – it is a pretty complicated storyline and I think this is where they fall short. Below, is a complete summary from youtube. I could write for yonks about all the different characters but that would take all night. You wonder if there is the need for such complexities.
Saying that, the acting is superb and the characters have many dimensions to them. One of my favourite’s is Nicki Grant, the middle wife played by Chloe Sevigny. She is prim and proper and the only wife brought up on the compound. Her behaviour is rigid and her sexuality suggests frigidity, but it turns out there is a wild side to her just dieing to get out. Secretly, she takes the morning after pills, goes undercover at the courts to help her Dad escape jail and falls in love with the very man trying to prosecute him.
If you liked Sopranos, you will enjoy Big Love. For it has all the stylised shots, complex storylines and unusual dynamics that make it a pleasure to cut yourself off from your own life for an hour.
Filed under: Comedy, GENRE | Tags: 30 rock, alec baldwin, Jack McBrayer, Jane Krakowski, liz lemon, nbc, scott adsit, tina fey, tracy jordan
We come together, 'cause opposites attract
Many shows have tried to cover the production side of television and failed. For instance, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip had conceited dialogues and overly cheesy character interaction. And Kelsey Grammer’s Back to You was difficult to warm to, with boring characters and predictable punchlines. So it is refreshing to find a show like 30 Rock.
These days, many of us live and work in a multicultural environment. It’s becoming more of a rarity that birds of a flock fly together. So 30 Rock’s ensemble cast, has hit a very relevant nail on the head for our time.
Set in 30 Rockerfeller Plaza, it revolves around the production of a sketch show called The Girlie Show (TGS) starring quirky Jenna (Jane Krakowski) and Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan). TGS is a sketch show.
The main character is the head writer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) who is still single in her late thirties, trying to juggle the demands of her cast and fellow writers and cope with her boss. He is the ever ambitious, always trying to be ‘friendly’ , Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) with almost as much popularity as The Office’s David Brent. Sounding like the movie-trailer voice-over guy, his comic charm is emphasised by his deep, husky voice as he perpetually offers her witty constructive criticism.
Y'all can see me on the tv!
All of the characters become increasingly three dimensional through their budding but strange relationships. You will find it hard, not to be endeared by the friendship between Jack and the simple southern NBC page, Kenneth (Jack McBrayer). Both of them share a love for working in television and are the yin and yang of everyday management.
My main criticism is the delivery by some of the actors. Even though, it’s really funny and well written, it sometimes sounds stale and over-rehearsed. Almost as if they are waiting for some canned laughter to slip in there somewhere.
Saying that, I’ve yet to watch series 3 that promises many interesting cameos including Jennifer Aniston, Oprah and Steve Martin. Perhaps this award-winning comedy will excel itself, yet again.
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, GENRE, SPECIAL FEATURES, trailer/advert | Tags: Anna Paquin, fx networks, hbo, new orleans, telepathic, True Blood, vampires
"Delicious to taste but doesn't satisfy a true appetite"
Goodbye (and good riddance) to Buffy and Angel, we don’t need your shallow, try-hard, overacted reruns anymore. Vampires have got a whole new look with HBO’s True Blood and it’s dripping with an apt macabre and seriously steamy style.
From the creators of Six Feet Under, this sexy new drama serves up a world where vampires are now citizens and living among us. This is thanks to a Japanese scientist creating synthetic blood called True Blood that is sold like a pack of beers in gas stations or a hot toddy in bars. Understandably, many are still apprehensive but there are the ignorant and nasty few who go that one step further.
Blood is red, Veins are blue...
Based in a small town in New Orleans, our story centres around a telepathic waitress, Sookie (Anna Paquin) who falls in love with her neighbour, a lonely vampire, five or six times her age, Bill. There are frequent murders occurring and the prime suspect is her horny, dumb brother, Jason. So she sets out to clear his name with the help of her new man.
The funny thing is, that True Blood is the real world sugarcoated in fresh blood, so to speak. It seems to reflect society with the moral issues it flags up. Such as the severe prejudice many hold against the vampires and the few that accept and protect them. V (vampire blood), the new trendy drug can take you to new psychedelic heights or repair you. So some humans will drain a vampire, just to get their fix or make some money.
The creators have combined an intricate fantasy world combined with the real one for you to get lost in. Enhanced by an above average cast and occasional slashes of timely humour, this is worth watching. Although not appealing to everybody, there are also quite a few vehemently graphic sexual and violent scenes. But don’t get too high expectations. It’s not always that thrilling and the cliffhangers are often an anticlimax.
True Blood has already finished in America and has just been commissioned for a second series. Alas, UK viewers will have to wait until summer 2009 and that is only if you have FX Networks. Otherwise, box set recommended.
Unlike America with their Friends, Will and Grace and other hits, us Brits are not known for our sitcoms. But every now and again we come up with a winner. Outnumbered focuses on your average, middle-class family called The Brockman’s.
Mum, Sue (Claire Skinner) is a stay at home mum and a part-time PA. Dad, Pete (Hugh Dennis) is a full time history teacher. They deal with their three children Karen, Ben and Jake with typical patience, tolerance and love. And watching them keep this up is a big part of the hilarity. The rest of the time they are dealing with the most self-obsessed sister of all time, Sue’s Dad who has dementia and many other obstacles in the way of family bliss.
Whether you like children, have children or are children you will be able to identify with this family comedy. Partly improvised, it is intriguing to anyone to watch these children’s raw creativity. And the pure entertainment comes from watching the actor’s playing the parents respond. On quite a few occasions you can see them struggle not to corpse.
As good quality as The Office, it’s filled with irony and proves the fact that sarcasm is definitely not the lowest form of wit. Not surprisingly, Outnumbered comes from the creators of Drop the Dead Donkey and is just as sharp at portraying realistic relationship dynamics.
The final episode is on BBC1 on Saturday 27th December but if you want to watch the whole series, just check out BBC Iplayer.
Filed under: Clip, Comedy, Game Show, Reality Television | Tags: Britain's Got The Pop Factor... And Possibly A New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly On Ice, Cat Deeley, Chapman, Fox, Peter Kay, spoof, Waterman
I have a strong suspicion that Peter Kay made a bet with Simon Cowell that the general public will buy into absolutely any gimmick at Christmas time. The Bolton Comedian hasn’t written anything in four years and then all of a sudden comes up with this one-off spoof of all the talent shows on television.
It was about time somone took the piss out of the mass of civilian-entertainment series we have on now, from X factor to Strictly Come Dancing. But what a letdown this was – it could have been so much more.
You all know the secret behind legendary spoofs such as Spinal Tap and Best In Show is how deadpan the actors can be in ludicrous situations. But the performances in Kay’s attempt were stiff rather than satirical. This includes the judges Dr Fox, Peter Waterman and Nicki Chapman and the host, Cat Deeley – what was she thinking??
Celeb cameos Paul McCartney, Lionel Blair and Rick Astley gave little enhancement but were, actually, not the highlight. The most entertaining part was the medleys. For instance Geraldine sang Born to Run which turned into Born Free, then Free Nelson Mandela…ella..ella…ey…ey..under my umbrella…and then….well look at the youtube clip below. The funniest thing about the entire event is the title. The saddest is Geraldine’s album already on sale and her dull single, ‘The Winner’s Song’ appearing at number six in the charts.
If you’re in a bad or grumpy mood and want something to moan about, download this.
Filed under: Documentary, Reality Television | Tags: Channel 4, Dawn Porter, Documentary, geisha, Japanese
Excuse me for being so rude; it was not me, it was my food
Part of Dawn’s consistent charm is her genuine struggle to overcome these hardcore challenges she sets for herself. This time it’s to learn the life of a giesha girl in just one week. To do so she must go through rigourous training requiring a high pain threshold, resilience and determination.
If you’ve ever read Memoirs of a Geisha, you’ll have images of a lonely life away from your family with harsh training. Modern geisha is similar but without the brutal beatings and solitude. Dawn, or shining chrysanthemum, as she’s known, describes it as being similar to the army.
You can see her point which makes you respect these immensely subservient but perfectly disciplined women very much.
Dawn seems very uncomfortable from the start. The first stage is kneeling – it hurts Dawn so much that she finds it hard to get up. The Geisha ladies help her up and it looks like they’re really bonding. But as she concludes from her week’s journey, it is more a case that this is a sisterhood where they all support each other – it’s in their nature.
Unlike the novel where she is forced into this life, these girls want this lifestyle. Why? Dawn says, “….to live a dream and become a piece of living art.” This brings her to raise the question of what the men are wanting from the geisha world.
She talks to an American man who is an avid fan and client. He enjoys it because there is no disappointment – he knows he is not getting lucky – but falls in love each night anyway. He shows a thick file of name cards – he says he doesn’t own a house because of them. The enjoyment is all about the wooing for him. Admittedly, as a single girl myself, this was nice to hear. Where I’ve always thought men were just about sex – this made me happy that actually men do like the wooing too.
Dawn Porter; Geisha Girl is an enjoyable hour, with little snippets of Geisha history from the world wars; pretty kimono’s and the delicate hair jewellery; and our Brit chick doing her best to keep up. Dawn begins this Japanese journey coming across as an obnoxious winge-bag but leaves the openminded learnaholic that we all love. As she says herself it is a fascinating week. But I wonder how it helped her on her quest to find true love.
One hilarious highlight is when she describes herself as a giant oversized geisha monster as we see her sit down next to an ickle Japanese business man (little Dawn being twice his size). When she admits that she’s not enjoying it, is uncomfortable and now even in a bad mood with the camera man, you can sympathize. I mean I don’t know about you but I can’t even handle heels!
Filed under: Clip, Documentary, Reality Television | Tags: abstinence, christians, Colarado Springs, cutting edge, fundamentalists, purity ball
And they called it Papa love
To most Europeans a purity pledge is an unusual occurence. In fact, some would consider it a small cult practice. But actually one in six American girls make the promise to remain a virgin until their wedding day, or even wait for their first kiss. And this cutting edge documentary talks to some of the fathers and daughters before and during a purity ball in Colarado Springs.
They seem more like vanity pledges for the father than a pledge of abstinence for the daughter. One father explains, “Wouldn’t it be great to say that you’ve only ever kissed one man?” Honestly? No! Then his daughter explains the process she will have to go through: find an appropriate guy…bring him back to meet her father…have chaperoned dates or if they are lucky, spend time alone as long as the parents are in earshot. Like a stag, you wonder if the father would only approve of someone who won’t threaten him.
One of the mother’s makes a good argument – she doesn’t want her children to catch sexually transmitted diseases or get cervical cancer. It doesn’t justify the control and restraint over these children but it is easier to see her logic than her husbands.
Father and daughter sign the pledge
Until you hear Jessica’s story – a girl who didn’t manage to stick to her pledge and eventually got pregnant. Her story is heart wrenching, especially when she innocently explains how she had sex (at 19), “It just happened.” Making the important point: sex is natural and if you try and deny it to consenting adults, there could be consequences.
If you take for granted that we live in liberated times (especially women) then you should catch this on the Channel 4 website (click picture for link). If you ever moan that your dad doesn’t give you enough love or attention – WATCH THIS! When you see the eerie, cringeworthy way the fathers looking adoringly into their daughters eyes, you will never complain again.
Filed under: Clip, Comedy, Game Show, Panel Show, Repeat/Rerun | Tags: celebrity panel show, current affairs, Have I Got News For You, HIGNFY, hilarious, Ian Hislop, ode to Ian, Paul Merton, political satire
Here they come, the informative ones
I have a confession - I’m in love with Ian Hislop. Please don’t cringe but it’s true. Despite his short body, nik nak head and smug facial expressions, I find him very sexy. He is the James Bond of brains. You know that he could talk his way out of any bad situation with his charisma, intellect and sense of humour. He is also committed, being the only person to appear in every single episode of Have I Got News for You. Anyway – gush over!
For those unfamiliar with the show, it’s another top British celebrity panel show. The format: a satirical look at current affairs. Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye and Paul Merton, comedian are regular panelists whilst the host changes each week and has included everyone from Brian Blessed to Jeremy Clarkson.
Just ending its 35th series, our resident political mockers are partnered each week with a guest panelist from the world of journalism, politics or comedy. This is great because obviously these three schools offer a very different perspective on the world, so very episode is original.
One of the best rounds is The Odd One Out. This consists of four pictures that are all connected in some preposterous way, except one of them is (shockingly) the odd one out. For instance, you have the Cheeky girls, Sacha Baron Cohen, Prince Charles and Vlad the Impaler. The odd one out is Sacha Baron Cohen because he had rented property in Transylvania (to film Borat), the rest own property. Another great one is when all of them have been attacked by a dog except for one – he had been killed by his dog.
Have I Got News For You is one to watch with your partner with a nice cuppa tea. Grown out of Newsround? This is actually a great one if you want/need more know how on politics but just haven’t got the attention span for the news yet. So, if you’ve just got out of Uni and need to rear yourself off Teletubbies, flick on to Dave and give this a go.
For the slightly older members of the hard working tax-payers (in your 20s and 30s), this will lighten your news-filled anxious head. Or maybe you’ll merely appreciate the basic function: it’s hilarious. Here is a recent montage of Ann Widdecombe as guest host.
Trivia: HIGNFY is to be rebranded into the UK version of the US website the Onion.
More Trivia: The BBC has signed it up for 38 series.
Filed under: Cooking, Documentary, Reality Television | Tags: chef, Cooking, Jamie Oliver, kitchen skills, learning to cook, ministry of food
Pensively taking on a nation
The cheeky geezer chef from London, Jamie Oliver, has enthusiastically taken viewers on many a mission. Most memorably the strenuous creation of his new London restaurant and the fight to re-educate Britains school children to why Turkey twizzlers are bad for you. No one can deny that he has found his niche as the UK’s political tv chef. The concept behind his new series, Jamie’s Ministry of Food is a bit like a massive pyramid scheme for the nation: he has taught a small group of people in Rotherham and they have to pass on these skills to a small quota of friends with the intention of keeping the chain going.
The idea is great but will he really be able to pull it off? Bringing water to the boil may be simple for Jamie but can our general public pass these types of things after just one lesson? Can he really keep our interest long enough to steer away from ready made meals. I think it’s going to take a lot more work than that. But, although I am intrigued to find out what happens, I’m not sure I’ll be watching avidly.
No escape from the Oliver
It’s undeniable that he has a good affect on the nation but I find Jamie quite irritating, very cocky and a little hectic. He reminds me a bit of Madonna – a complete exhibitionist with a great business sense. Already he has launched the book, Ministry of Food(£12.50). It wouldn’t surprise me if there is some other forms of merchandise on the way – MoF mugs and plates perhaps?
Saying that, I love his website and the Channel 4 one (click on picture). They are easy to use and means people can look it all up in their own time. I really like that he gives a list of basic utensils, including a colander and a non stick frying pan. Just in case you don’t know what these are, he has photos. Genius. Some of you may laugh but I think it is that type of simplicity that may win the hearts of our culinary dummies.
Filed under: Documentary | Tags: Channel 4, Dawn Porter, mail order bride, More 4
The look for love is in her eyes
She has the public girl school charm of Daisy Donovan but with a sincerity and sophistication that sets her apart. Usually hands on with her journalistic approach, open-minded Dawn Porter is an inspiration to anyone interesting in society at all. For instance, her first documentary show you what happens to you, if you take all steps necessary to be a size zero (starving for two months). You always get to follow her through an incredible journey, sitting in awe on your sofa at the lengths she’ll take. Although she was just a spectator and inquisitor on Mail Order Bride, it still has that quality to it.
Dawn Porter; Mail Order Bride is part of a Channel 4 series concerned with finding love and our diverse perspectives on it. The whole episode centres around a coach full of American men and their trip for a week in the Ukraine to find love through a mail order bride agency.
It’s terrifying some of the men out there – I’d love to blame it on the fact they’re American but I’m pretty sure there are plenty all over the world. There’s nothing wrong with a man who can’t find love in their own home, unless it’s because they’re unhinged. And there are a few on here that will scare you more than a villain in a thriller.
There’s Kevin, the trucker who drives round America with a mattress in the back for one night stands. Morbidly obese, reeking of BO with pongy breath, he manically chuckles at himself that he would sleep with anyone. He describes himself as a big kid who enjoys watching Hannah Montana (an American show for young teenage girls). And Marc, the short, plastically enhanced business with three divorces under his belt. At the party he tries to win the affections of beautiful Irena, an interior designer. When she moves on to talk to someone else, he comes across as egocentric, highly dellusional and slightly psychotic as he tries it on with Miss Porter.
Isn't this a great pic??
One highlight is Dawn’s interview with the agency director. It puts the whole thing into perspective whilst raising some interesting questions. She points out that Ukraine’s economy has gotten stronger since joinign the EU. Which makes you wonder why these girls want to move to America (especially after meeting the US representatives). And then she becomes very defensive when asked about Kevin who is clearly a little odd – and that’s putting it mildly.
All in all this is very enjoyable – nosing into other peoples alternative lives is great fun. But I wonder if there could have been a bit more depth to it. She has proved herself a wonderful journalist but what about some more gritty investigation? But perhaps that is her trick – you always want more.
If you are endeared by Bridget Jones and are interested in anything to do with love, sex and relationships, then try and catch the next one. She’s like the popular girl from your school days – stylish, intelligent and gutsy. It’s also a great remote control flick option to let your boyfriend know you’ve had enough of Top Gear.
