TV Picks: 31 March – 6 April 2014 (About a Boy, Bates Motel, Crimson Field, Da Vinci's Demons, Graham Norton Show, New Worlds, The Trip to Italy, etc.)

Below are my picks of the most notable shows, returning/premiering on UK screens this week...

HANNIBAL, 2.5 – 'Mukōzuke'

written by Ayanna A. Floyd, Steve Lightfoot & Bryan Fuller | directed by Michael Rymer

Another terrific episode, as the fallout of Dr Katz's descent into Lecter's (Mads Mikkelsen) cellar-dungeon inspired big changes in Wills (Hugh Dancy) plan to prove his innocence and make Lecter pay for his crimes. A small part of my had hoped Katz wouldn't be killed because Lecter had some professional respect for her, but evidently nobody escapes seeing his inner sanctum. Poor Beverly was strangled, sliced into separate vertical chunks, then displayed in an Observatory like a Damien Hirst exhibition. Regular characters die fairly regularly on TV shows, but I can't remember the last time a death felt so troubling because of the sickening show Lecter made of the kill.

MSN TV: Watch's BELIEVE

Today over at MSN TV: I've reviewed the premiere of NBC's BELIEVE, which had its UK premiere on Watch last night...

There was a time when having J.J Abrams name attached to anything was a guarantee of quality, but those days appear to be behind us. At least when it comes to TV. His earlier successes of Felicity, Alias, Lost, Fringe and Person of Interest have since been tarnished by huge flops such as Undercovers, Alcatraz and Almost Human. Clearly his film career's taking priority, but he seems to be happy to lend his name to increasingly less projects. Oscar-winning Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity) is a less-known quantity when it comes to the small screen, but on the evidence of Believe, I'm disappointed he's half responsible for something that feels so retrograde.

Continue reading at MSN TV...

Teaser: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

I don't mind admitting I was a pretty big fan of the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles back in the late-'80s and early-'90s (yes, the UK censor replaced the world Ninja from the title*) I'm not alone in this because the cartoon was a real phenomenon of the time, and that was the driving force behind my pre-teen fandom. The merchandise was also pretty cool and the live-action films entertained me as a youngster (ignoring that horrendous third one).

ANGEL, 2.5 & 2.6 – 'Dear Boy' & 'Guise Will Be Guise'

DARLA: But I'm still me. I remember everything, Angel. Everything we did, everything we can do.

Angel follows Buffy the Vampire Slayer's lead in demystifying its biggest mystery suspiciously early in the season, as "DEAR BOY" disclosed the return of ex-girlfriend Darla (Julie Benz) to Angel (David Boreanaz), then had the two draw their battle lines in the sand. A big disappointment was realising how pointless Darla invading Angel's dreams like a sexy Freddy Kruger ultimately was, seeing as her plan in this episode didn't seem to hinge on that in the slightest. Why did she bother?

Sky to simulcast GAME OF THRONES season 4 premiere

I'm a fan of Game of Thrones, but I won't be staying up until 0100hrs on Monday morning to watch the fourth season premiere. During their launch of the popular fantasy drama, Sky announced that the first episode will be simulcast with HBO's East Coast airing, before its usual broadcast on Monday at 2100hrs.

Trailer: 24 - LIVE ANOTHER DAY (Full)

Fox have released a full trailer for the return of 24 in the "event series" Live Another Day, which gives us a much clearer look at the storyline and some of the new characters. They're not reinventing the wheel here, as it involved an assassination attempt on the US President (only in London), but I like the idea Jack Bauer's now a Jason Bourne-like thorn in the CIA's side, on James Bond's home turf. Tate Donovan also looks promising as the Chief of Staff, while the lovely Yvonne Strahovski's going to putting some of her Chuck training into overdrive. Oh, and Chloe appears to have been watching a little too much Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. No sign of Stephen Fry as the UK Prime Minister yet, which hopefully isn't a concern.

24: Live Another Day premieres 5 May on Fox.

HANNIBAL, 2.3 & 2.4 – 'Hassun' & 'Takiawase'

"I've given my life to death" - Jack Crawford

Hannibal turns into a court room drama for "Hassun", as Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) gets his chance to plead his innocence to a judge and jury—or, at least to begin with, his insanity. The writers obviously have a lot of baggage from season 1 to square away, so this season already feels like it's going to be less reliant on twisted serial killers and the cat-and-mouse game between Will and Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) that fuelled much of season 1. And that's absolutely fine with me; I just wish this court room drama had been punchier. Instead, the episode felt a little locked into the show's default mood of a waking nightmare and things started to drag a little.

TV Picks: 24-30 March 2014 (Alan Carr: Chatty Man, Believe, Endeavour, Great Barrier Reef, Masterchef, Rev, The Voice Louder on Two, etc.)

Below are my picks of the week's most notable shows, returning/premiering on UK screens this week...

COMMUNITY, 5.10 – 'Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'

written by Matt Roller | directed by Joe Russo

This was a decent sequel to the all-time classic "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" from season 2 (when the show was arguably at its creative peak), and yet obviously didn't quite manage to surpass it. Some things worked in the episode's favour this time—as the stakes involved a mere background character known as Fat Neill last time, whereas this story was about Buzz (Jonathan Banks) reconnecting with his middle-aged nerd son Hank (David Cross), and the actual storyline and sound design of the group D&D session was an improvement.

Dan's Media Digest is 8 years young

It's a little mind-boggling to realise Dan's Media Digest is 8 years old today. It honestly feels like only yesterday I was surprised it had lasted 3 years (without me getting bored or losing patience), and had actually started to accrue some regular readers and robust page-hits.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, 5.5 & 5.6 – 'No Place Like Home' & 'Family'

WILLOW: I can't help it. I just have all this involuntary empathy for Dawn, 'cos she's, you know, a big spaz.

I wasn't expecting "false sister" Dawn's (Michelle Trachtenberg) mystery to be explained this early, and in some respects I'm disappointed because Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a lot of hours to fill and it felt like a fun enigma deserving of a longer tease. But instead, "NO PLACE LIKE HOME" busts everything wide open, and also introduces a super-villain referred to as The Beast, whom I'm aware is actually named Glory (Clare Kramer) and will be this season's Big Bad.

TV Picks: 17-23 March 2014 (Louis Theroux's LA Stories, Parkinson: Masterclass, Sport Relief, W1A, The Widower, etc.)

Below are my picks of the most notable TV shows debuting/returning to UK screens this week...

Intermission: 17-23 March

It's time for another short break!

As long-term readers will know, this means less daily blogging (between 17 and 23 March), although I won't rule out finding time and the inclination to review something, or post a bit of cool news. The only certainties is that a new TV Picks will published Monday morning, and Thursday will see another brace of Buffy the Vampire Slayer catchups.

The two regular reviews planned for this period (Community, Hannibal) will possibly have to wait for a following week double-bill, and potential pilot reviews for NBC's Crisis and The CW's The 100 probably won't happen.

COMMUNITY, 5.9 – 'VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing'

written by Donald Diego | directed by Tristram Shapeero

I liked this episode, although it was my least favourite of season 5 so far. I didn't find either storyline very involving or hilarious, but everything rolled along pleasantly and (for those in-the-know) it featured some left-field guest roles.

Pilot review: FROM DUSK TILL DAWN – THE SERIES

Back when writer-director Quentin Tarantino was riding high on the double-whammy success of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, he teamed up with Desperado director Robert Rodriguez for a Tex-Mex B-movie that was half fugitive gangster film and half bonkers vampire horror. From Dusk till Dawn (hereafter FDtD) wasn't a huge success upon release in 1996 (making $25m from a $20m budget); but it gained a cult following on video, only to sour the goodwill with two atrocious straight-to-video follow-ups. On that note, it seemed evident FDtD was a one-off cult gem to be savoured by fans of either director. I count myself as being amongst the movie's vocal fans, so didn't want this unlikely TV remake to crash-and-burn. And it didn't, although it certainly confused me...

INSIDE NO. 9, 1.6 – 'The Harrowing'

As the episode's title suggests, the final instalment of Inside No 9 was a straightforward horror with flashes of comedy. Considering how much of this series has felt like an evolution for Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's writing, thanks to the extra doses of maturity, I don't begrudge them having some fun with a story and characterisations that felt less of a stretch—and something of a loose throwback to their League of Gentlemen days.

ANGEL, 2.3 & 2.4 – 'First Impressions' & 'Untouched'

ANGEL: Why are you so good to me after everything I did?
DARLA: Because... you and I are one.

It seems Angel Investigations are using the once-haunted Hyperion Hotel as their new base of operations, which certainly gives the show a cool new interior to use every week—although renting such a huge property filled with dozens of unnecessary rooms doesn't make much sense. It's overkill, but I'm glad Angel's demon-hunters have a grandiose HQ that ensures you have to take them seriously, on some level, and there was an attempt to make it seem plausible by involving nerdy millionaire David Nabbit (David Herman) as a financial advisor.

Amazon announce their pilot-to-series commissions for 2014

I'm not sure why Amazon really bother with their annual pilots idea, where they produce 10 pilots (5 for adults, 5 for kids) and ask viewers to vote for the ones that will become full series orders. This year they released sci-fi mystery The After, family drama Transparent, cop show Bosch, comedy-drama Mozart in the Jungle, and sports sitcom The Rebels in the adults category. And after weeks of voting and social media campaigning (in certain quarters), Amazon today revealed they'll all become series... um, apart from Natalie Zea-starring The Rebels.

MSN TV: BBC1's THE MICHAEL McINTYRE CHAT SHOW

Over at MSN TV today: I've reviewed the premiere of THE MICHAEL McINTYRE CHAT SHOW, where the popular stand-up comedian hopes to follow in the footsteps of Graham Norton, Alan Carr, and Jonathan Ross...

I'm pleased there's a new face in the late night chat show arena as the UK's started to stagnate with the big three of Graham Norton, Jonathan Ross and Alan Carr and the periodic appearances of Paul O’Grady. Occasionally, the BBC likes to throw a new face into a week night chat show to see if they sink or swim. It's fair to say Rob Brydon's show barely kept its head above water, but it feels more likely audiences will take to comedian Michael McIntyre. As a format, it isn’t easy to make the chat show look distinctive.

Continue reading at MSN TV...

TV Picks: 10-16 March 2014 (The Americans, Astronauts: Living in Space, Bang Goes the Theory, Law & Order UK, Live From Space, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Michael McIntyre Show, Shetland, etc.)

Below are my picks of the most notable shows premiering/returning to UK screens this week...

Trailer: 24 - LIVE ANOTHER DAY

Fox have released the first trailer for 24: Live Another Day (the miniseries "event series" revival of their popular action thriller), which sees Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) defeating terrorists in London during a diplomatic visit from the President of the USA (William Devane). This is only a 34-second glimpse at the new show, but it looks comfortably familiar. I don't expect them to reinvent the wheel with 24:LAD, but perhaps they'll manage to grease some gears: thanks to the halved number of episodes (less filler, the opportunity to jump dull periods) and the location shooting in the real-life UK capital (the show has always filmed in Los Angeles, even when events were supposedly set in Washington D.C and New York).

What do you make of this trailer? 24: LAD returns 5 May on Fox, and soon after on Sky1 in the UK.

HANNIBAL, 2.2 – 'Sakizuki'

written by Jeff Vlaming & Bryan Fuller | directed by Tim Hunter

The conclusion of the premiere's story was equally good and very satisfying; opening on one of the most horrifying sequences the show's ever done when kidnapped Roland Umber awoke in the killer's grain silo, and realised he had to tear his own fused flesh apart in order to use his limb and escape. That whole sequence was masterful horror, with the killer chasing Roland through a cornfield to the edge of a cliff above a river... crowned by a soul-crushing ending, as Roland made a leap of faith and battered himself to death on the rocks below. In the creepy world of Hannibal, victory doesn't come easy.

BBC axe BBC Three; youth channel to end transmission autumn 2015

Things happen fast in the world of entertainment. What started as rumours based on a brief comment from BBC Director General Tony Hall resulted in the loss of BBC Three days later. The digital channel that began life 11 years ago will shutdown in autumn 2015, to be remodelled as a "new and innovative online service", if the BBC Trust approve.

Video: Can Anyone Understand TRUE DETECTIVE?

HBO's True Detective has made a name for itself because of its haunting strangeness and, well, occasionally unintelligible Southern accents. E!'s The Soup have nicely spoofed the latter, in a video starring Joel McHale (as Matthew McConaughey) and his Community co-star Jim Rash (as Woody Harrelson). Enjoy.

COMMUNITY, 5.8 – 'App Development and Condiments'

written by Jordan Blum & Parker Deay | directed by Ron Schrab

I've always loved how Community runs with an outrageous concept and somehow makes it feel oddly plausible. "App Development and Condiments" concerned the Yelp!-like beta-testing of an addictive smartphone app called 'MeowMeowBeenz', which allows users to rate their social interactions on a five-point system. In typical Community style, the popularity of the app skyrocketed over night—even turning technophobe Buzz (Jonathan Banks) into an avid user—and Greendale College soon became a caste-based society.

INSIDE NO. 9, 1.5 – 'The Understudy'

written by Steve Pemberton & Reece Shearsmith | directed by David Kerr

The penultimate episode of Inside No9 felt like a companion piece to "Tom & Gerri" (only with Reece Shearsmith's character suffering a cruel ascendancy, instead of a miserable descent). "The Understudy" was set behind the doors of dressing room number 9, belonging to boorish West End actor Tony Warner (Steve Pemberton), currently the lead in the Duke of Cambridge Theatre's production of Macbeth. Tony's a loud, obnoxious, egotistical, selfish man whose talent casts a big shadow; although his bravado tends to mostly eclipse submissive understudy Jim (Shearsmith)...

ANGEL, 2.1 & 2.2 – 'Judgment' & 'Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been'

LORNE: Oh you know what I'm talking about. In this city you better learn to get along, 'cause L.A's got it all. The glamour and the grit, the big breaks and the heartaches, the sweet young lovers and the nasty, ugly, hairy fiends that suck out your brain through your face. It's all part of the big, wacky variety show we call Los Angeles. You never know what's coming next. And let's admit it folks: isn't that why we love it?

I'm told Angel becomes a much better show once you're past the first season (which I didn't think was terrible), but I didn't find this premiere especially great. I expect premieres to lay out a season's table, to some extent, but "JUDGMENT" didn't seem to do much that felt fresh, beyond introduce an almost-literal lounge lizard called Lorne (Andy Hallettt). It didn't even pick-up with season 1's finale, as Angel's resurrected "maker" Darla (Julie Benz) was only given a token scene to confirm you weren't seeing things last time. The only noticeable change was the bigger presence of street-wise vampire-killer Gunn (J. August Richards, also added to credits), as he met Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) and Wesley (Alexis Denisof)—but even his introduction actually happened last season.

LOST, TRUE DETECTIVE and TRUE BLOOD actors join NBC's CONSTANTINE

NBC already found their Constantine in Welsh actor Matt Ryan (avoiding the ire of comic-books who grumbled about an Americanisation of the character in the Keanu Reeves-starring movie), but now they've cast the other regulars...

Poll: should the BBC axe a digital channel to save money? [updated]

Update: this poll was extraordinarily badly-timed, unfortunately, as it now appears BBC Three is for the chop. Feel free to instead leave a comment about this.

There's a rumour BBC3 or BBC4 will be axed soon, as the easiest and fastest way to recoup £100m-worth of savings for the Beeb by 2016. BBC3 costs approximately £85m a year to run, so it's strongly rumoured the BBC will look to turn it into an "online-channel"" accessible through BBC iPlayer. Hey, the kids all love their Netflix streaming, so that makes sense... right?

It's March, so I'm watching...

It's impossible finding time to review everything I watch on a daily basis, so here are my broad thoughts on the TV shows I'm watching every week, started queueing on my TiVo, or have dropped from viewing, as of 3 March...

TV Picks: 3-9 March 2014 (37 Days, Gogglebox, King & Maxwell, Mary Berry Cooks, Rake, etc.)

Below are my picks of the most notable shows, returning/premiering on UK screens this week...

Twitter'd: GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)

Below is yesterday's live-tweet of childhood favourite GHOSTBUSTERS, inspired by the passing of writer-star Harold Ramis and the fact this supernatural comedy turns 30 this summer...

HANNIBAL, 2.1 – 'Kaiseki'

written by Bryan Fuller & Steve Lightfoot | directed by Tim Hunter

I don't think many people expected a television prequel for the Hannibal Lecter franchise to work as brilliantly as it did, but NBC's Hannibal was one of the best dramas produced last year and—with Breaking Bad now a fond memory—has succeeded it as my favourite TV show. It's simply a masterclass of tension and tone, while being particularly adept at visualising the grotesque, and in communicating the feeling of a true waking nightmare. Everything about this show oozes class and confidence, and based on season 2's premiere I'm pleased last year's finale doesn't appear to have upset the apple cart.

COMMUNITY, 5.7 – 'Bondage and Beta Male Sexuality'

written by Dan Guterman | directed by Tristram Shapeero

After a month's hiatus, Community returned with another good episode, although something of a patchwork of ideas thrown together. One thing I've noticed this year is how the show is giving a lot of material to second-tier characters, perhaps in an effort to cope with the losses of Pierce and (just recently) Troy. So while this episode wasn't a big one for Annie (Alison Brie) or Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), the others each had an opportunity to shine, including Professor Duncan (John Oliver).

MSN TV: BBC1's JONATHAN CREEK - 'The Letters of Septimus Noone'

Today over at MSN TV: I've reviewed the series return of BBC1's long-running 'whodunit' JONATHAN CREEK, starring Alan Davies & Sarah Alexander...

Last year's Jonathan Creek Easter special was terribly clichéd and spoiled by a ludicrous explanation so my hopes weren't high for the beginning of this fifth series. And to be honest, there was a good deal of pointless clutter in opener The Letters of Septimus Noone; David Renwick didn't appear to have a deep enough story to last the hour, so threw in ancillary mysteries to fill time. This gave the episode an unbalanced feel, so it became difficult to settle into — especially as no victim appeared until 20 minutes into the hour. Renwick then made the odd decision to reveal the explanation to the audience ahead of Creek himself.

Continue reading at MSN TV...