Soap Discussion - July 2013

Last blog for the month and it's a soap one.

Coronation Street: It's been a mixed month for the show. With dreadful storylines including the badly handled race plotline with Lloyd and Paul and Tracy/Rob vs. Peter/Carla, it's a good job that David's growing vendetta towards Nick and the reveal of Hayley having cancer have been more prominent. The latter storyline is certainly poignant, showing the beginning of the end for easily the best partnership on the show and if watching the storyline is hard now, it's going to be worse as the months progress. I really am going to miss Hayley as a character.

EastEnders: Pretty boring month to be honest. On the plus, both Max and Lauren took themselves off screen and it's nice that Jean has been given a romance as well but aside from Ian scheming against his family, Carl continuing to pile on the pressure and Alfie and Roxy getting engaged, very little of interest happened. The fire at Scarletts seemed unnecessary and the Dexter/Ava/Sam plotlines were pretty boring as well. With the confirmed exit for Lorraine Newman, hopefully the show will get itself back in order and be a bit more interesting over the next few months.

Emmerdale: Oh Gennie - talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, eh? It's amazing that in nine months Cameron has now bumped off three characters but Gennie's death needs to be the one that becomes his undoing and preferably soon as well. As exits go, it was violent but not as violent as some people seem to be making out though. I liked Gennie but the actress wanted a good exit and the show gave her one here. Other than that this month we also had Brenda shaving her head and the hand fasting ritual with her and Bob and of course, Cameron and Debbie sleeping together again. Definitely one of the show's strongest months.

Hollyoaks: A pretty good month as long as you're Browning, Ste, Sinead, Trevor, Nancy/Darren/Sienna or a Roscoe. Other than that, underuse for everyone else but still a good month. Trevor is shaping up to be a better baddie than Browning ever could be and Sienna's tearing apart of Darren and Nancy has been pretty interesting as well to watch. A part of me also feels a bit bad for Ste and Sinead but given that most of their actions are self-inflicted, it's hard to sympathise that much to be honest though. In terms of the gay couples on the show - George and Vincent seem imminent (great storyline with the latter by the way), Esther/Tilly are nice and so are John Paul/Danny at the moment. Also, the sooner Will is uncovered as Texas's killer the better because Ash seems inches away from being bumped off by her psycho boyfriend.

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My Review of True Blood's 6x07: "In The Evening"

Written by Kate Barnow
Directed by Scott Winant

Nora (to Eric): “My death shall be my own.”

I’m not sure if that’s exactly what happened but in terms of exits, Nora did go out quietly but sadly though. I’ve enjoyed the character and while I feel we could’ve gotten some more development from her had she lasted a bit longer, it’s hard to deny that at the moment the show is probably killing off the right characters in order to clear the decks and further some storylines.

Nora’s death will unlikely be in vein as well. Eric’s anger towards Bill being unable to save her will more than likely continue to drive a wedge between them and it won’t be long before he ends up in that room along with Jessica, Tara and Pam as well as James too. At least this episode gave us a flashback to Eric and Nora’s first meeting in 1665 London (with a brief King Charles cameo), though disappointingly a lack of Godric in it.

Nora told Eric that he had both Pam and Willa to live for and she was right. I’m also wondering that if having Nora, the writers might hold off on killing either of Eric’s progenies for the time being. Although slightly underused in this episode, both Pam and Willa had their enjoyable moments in this episode.

I liked that Willa was able to take Pam on verbally and that the latter was even civil enough to come up with a logical plan in relation to the Hep V spiked blood bottles. I also liked that Pam insisted Willa told Tara and Jessica about the blood being spiked as well. Things like that can make Pam a bit more endearing to watch as a character. The other endearing thing was her therapy session with that prat of a shrink. Pam knows exactly what he wants to hear and she’s using it to her advantage. It’s hard not to be impressed with Pam for that.

Keeping with the impressed for a bit but for the wrong reason, there’s also Sarah Newlin. She spent a few moments grieving for Burrell before assuming control of his operation and placing Jason in mortal danger as well. With Burrell being dead and Warlow not doing much villainy, it’s eerily good to see Sarah step up to the plate and be a nasty piece of work. I think Maryann, Marnie and Salome would all be impressed with her work so far. Probably Marnie the most though.

As for Jason – he might be in a pit of female vampires waiting to tear him apart but at least he has Tara protecting him. While I do wish Tara was getting a bit more to do this season, it’s great seeing her protective and sensible side coming out to play. If anything this season has only further justified why making her into a vampire has been the best thing for her character. Although she’s obviously going to have problems keeping Jason safe with that head vampire, Violet wanting him as a snack though.

Of course being a vampire has also been good for Willa and two episodes in, it’s also showing us that James is perfectly capable of being a compassionate bloodsucker too. I liked that he did question Jessica wanting to have sex with him before he actually agreed to it and he does seem to be a good romantic option for her at the moment too. Basically, can we keep him?

Also, if we can keep James, can we please get rid of Alcide’s numbskull pack and that bitch Rikki as well? I don’t know what the hell happened to her between seasons, but having her capture Nicole and her mother just angered me and if Alcide doesn’t step up to the mark and take her out, I will be pissed off. Jackson was right about being a lone wolf and Rikki just proved it as well.

The show is bumping off characters and personally I think Rikki needs to be next in line. At least then the Alcide I liked in the previous three seasons can return at last. Besides, even the writers at this point must have twigged that the wolves are the weakest part of the whole storyline this year. They just don’t work and I hate seeing Sam being ostracised from his own town because of them too.

Last but not least – nothing really happened with Sookie and Warlow in this episode other than debates about courting. It was her scenes with Arlene and Bill that had more going for them instead. Bill raised a fair point about using Warlow’s blood and though Sookie didn’t seem keen on the idea, I think she saw where Bill was coming from though.

Also in “In The Evening”

This was a great episode for Rob Kazinsky – he literally was just naked in it for about two scenes.

Eric (to Bill, re Nora): “If you are God, please heal her for me.”

Sarah kissing Burrell’s head was a scene I could’ve done without. I did find her elocution lessons tape rather amusing though.

Sarah (to David): “When God’s message is this clear, I am truly an unstoppable woman.”

Sam (to Nicole): “My friend died. Not being there is not an option.”

James was punished for not shagging Jessica by having his fangs smashed in by the looks of it. I don’t think he’s that old a vampire as he seemed to be referring to his father in the present tense.

Jessica (to Jason): “You can’t stop bad things from happening to me. We don’t live in that kind of world, I’m sorry. All you can do is go and be the sweet, wonderful man you are.”

James: “Don’t you have any good news at all?”
Jessica: “Nope.”
James: “Damn. I feel like a fool.”

Bill and Andy had a pretty tense moment in this episode. It did seem like he was threatening Andy against hurting Jessica. Arlene’s reaction to Bill being able to walk in the day was priceless though.

Eric (to Bill): “Do you need to hear me say the words? I believe you. I believe in you. I believe that you are divine.”

Arlene: “You’re walking in the daylight?”
Bill: “Yes.”
Arlene: “Fuck me.”

Standout music: Led Zeppelin’s “In The Evening” of course.

Tara (to other vampires, re Jason): “Back off bitches.”

Chronology: From where “Do You Feel Me?” left off.

Great episode. “In The Evening” might not have had the excitement of the previous two episodes but it certainly wasn’t a dull one either. Nora’s death was another in a long line of needed kills and it will be interesting to see if Warlow can vamp up and how low Sarah will go to fulfil Burrell’s plans as well.

Rating: 8 out of 10

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Assured Destruction

It's a short run down of some programmes that I've watched but here it goes ...

Defiance: This has been a decent but slightly lacking first season. Let me point out that I intend to watch the second season and while I enjoyed a lot of the events over the last few episodes such as the wedding, Nikki's downfall, Stahma/Kenya's affair, Irisa fulfilling parts of her destiny and Datak predictably winning the mayoral vote over Amanda, I still feel the show needs to be a bit more adventurous. In a lot of ways, even with some of the machinations going on, the show still hasn't moved into gripping television just yet. Hopefully though it will next season.

Skins: Well, it's been three episodes since I last discussed this show and to be honest, I am not enjoying this final series at all. It's not that the episodes are awful but they just feel uneventful. Fire Part 2 gave us a pretty annoying ending for Effy, Naomi and Emily while the two-parter Pure did nothing to Cassie except give her her a lame triangle, some pretentious rubbish with photography and an unexplored subplot with her family and a stalker to boot. I am beginning to wonder if this six part series would've been better focusing on a character per episode, instead of giving three characters a two parter each. I can only hope that Cook's story, Rise ends the series on an interesting note.

The Americans: I really love this show but what I don't love is that it airs on a Saturday after one of ITV's terrible talent shows though. Like Homeland, this series deserves a better day to air and better promotional material as well. At least eight episodes have aired now and the show has gotten better and better. Philip and Elizabeth are compelling to watch, especially given that now they seem unable to maintain their arranged marriage but it's the likes of Claudia and Stan who are just that tiny bit more interesting though. Claudia has been quite the fly in the ointment for the Jennings since she was assigned to be their handler and Stan's relationship with Nina has been gripping to watch too. I can't see it ending well though. Nina has casualty written all over her.

The Returned: And the series that has continued to dominate Twitter every Sunday night has only gotten better and better. Tomorrow night might be the finale but over the last three weeks we've gotten backstories for the likes Serge, Lucy and Adele and more importantly we've had the town become aware of Camille being alive, Victor choosing not to seek vengeance against the man that wronged him, more stuff with Adele and Simon as well as Julie and Laure and Lena's back getting healed as well. It's going to be interesting to see how the finale will top all the brilliant and surreal stuff that has happened so far.

- Indira Varma has been cast as Ellaria Sand in the fourth season of Game Of Thrones.
- Naveen Andrews will be playing a Victorian version of Jafar in the spin-off Once Upon A Time In Wonderland.
- Sean Maguire meanwhile will be replacing Tom Ellis as Robin Hood in Once Upon A Time.
- Though it's first season has yet to air, Starz have already commissioned a second season for Black Sails.
- UK viewers can watch the final eight episodes of Breaking Bad on Netflix from August.
- Summer Glau will be in the second season of Arrow while Caity Lotz has been cast as Black Canary for the show.
- Luke Roberts has been cast in upcoming CW series, Reign as Simon Westbrook.
- Michael Vartan will be appearing in the second season of Bates Motel, playing George a love interest for Norma.
-  A spin-off for Supernatural is currently in the works with the CW. It'll be based on a character who will be introduced in the upcoming ninth season.
- Channel 4 will air the second season of The Returned in 2014.

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My Review of Dexter's 8x04: "Scar Tissue"

Written by Tim Schlattmann
Directed by Stefan Schwartz

Deb (to Dexter, re Harry): “I think I know how he felt when he killed himself but he only got it half right.”

Well, it had to happen, didn’t it? Of course with the way Deb has been spiralling and unable to deal with her guilt over LaGuerta’s death would she do something extreme. The strange thing was that although trying to drown her and Dexter in the car was shocking, it wasn’t surprising.

In fact, what’s probably more surprising was that it took her to watch the wrong DVD from Vogel’s sessions with Harry in order to prompt her into doing such an extreme action. I’m actually glad though the end of the episode resulted in both Deb and Dexter being spared but that rift between them has certainly widened all the more.

Dexter went to lengths in this episode to prove that his caring for Dexter wasn’t just because he needed her to see the good in him and Vogel spent a good portion of the episode trying to tear it down. I don’t like that Vogel seems a little hell bent on separating Dexter and Deb from each other but her scenes with both of them this week were definitely the highlights of the episode.

With Deb, it was nice/bizarre that Vogel took her to the shipping crate twice where Maria was murdered in order to ‘help’ Deb. Deb admitting that she originally dreamed of shooting Dexter was a good foreshadowing moment for the ending of the episode but the second time, Vogel convinced her that she was right to protect her brother after all. It’s just too bad that the combination of the wrong DVD and Elway’s rant about family got in the way of that.

As for Dexter himself – he turned on Vogel here but only after learning that she was keeping notes on him with their recent encounters. Dexter had a right to be annoyed with Vogel for that but why was he shocked though? She’s still kept her recorded sessions with Harry, so if anything Dexter should’ve seen this coming as well.

Also his promise of breaking away from Vogel probably won’t last long either given that Dexter messed up with catching AJ Yates as well. I don’t know what possessed Dexter to show off the way he did at the hospital but aside from the episode making comparisons with Dexter and Yates, I’m still not sure if he’s the Brain Surgeon. The episode seemed to indicate that he might be though.

The other thing episode indicated more vocally though was the fact that Vogel has a thing for grooming/mentoring serial killers into ‘heroes’. Yates seemed to be a failed attempt judging by his reaction to learning about Dexter and the latter is someone that Vogel has only just about managed to keep her under her control but for how much longer though? I think one more false move and Vogel will end up regretting getting on Dexter’s bad side.

Also in “Scar Tissue”

Yates was played by Aaron McCusker, who UK viewers will recognise as Jamie Maguire from the original version of Shameless.

Vogel: “When you shot Dexter, how did that make you feel?”
Deb: “Better. Worse. I don’t fucking know.”

Jamie and Quinn are still having problems in their relationship over Deb. I really care though I did like Quinn defending Deb’s honour and his scene with her this week. However Dexter did seem keen on Jamie’s friend, Cassie in this one.

Dexter: “When I do what I do, I have to know everything.”
Vogel: “Sorry for the oversight.”

Yates (re Dexter): “Vogel, she found herself a hero.”

In this episode alone, Masuka found out that he had a daughter named Nikki. I think we could’ve done without him trying it on with her though.

Deb: “How do I make it right?”
Vogel: “By accepting that you’re a good person who was forced to do a terrible thing and that you made the best of an impossible situation.”

Dexter (to Vogel): “You were experimenting on me with Harry and you still are. I’m nothing but a lab rat, just like Yates.”

Chronology: It’s been a week since the events of the previous episode.

“Scar Tissue” is a pretty solid episode, though I think the ending was more impacting along with any scene involving Dexter, Deb and Vogel. The rest at this point still feels like padding, especially with the tedium of Angel and the sergeant exam but overall, still a great episode.

Rating: 8 out of 10

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Doctor Who - Top 50 Companions: Part 5

And now we're half way through the Top 50 list of Doctor Who companions and it's a rather diverse bunch I'm listing here.

26: Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson)

We've never really had a dark companion on Doctor Who and while future companions such as Jack Harkness and River Song would have a little ambiguity about them, it was Fifth Doctor companion, Turlough who really could've been the first antagonist companion we've had. He nearly came close to killing the Doctor at the start of his tenure and by the end of it, they were solid friends. Turlough was definitely an interesting combination with the Fifth Doctor and Tegan Jovanka.

27: Captain Mike Yates (Richard Franklin)

Okay maybe another slightly ambiguous companion or maybe a more misguided one? Pertwee's era was probably the most successful for companions and considering that we had an even female/male ratio of them, it's amazing how brilliant the lot of them are. I quite liked Mike's reserved attitude, occassional dry wit, misguided sense of wanting to do right before his inevitable redemption of sorts in Planet Of The Spiders as well.

28: Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)

Zoe Heriot - how I love thee. This is a young woman who wrecked a computer in The Invasion by proving just how much smarter she was than it and while Jamie didn't seem as smitten with her as he was with Victoria, it was the dynamic with these two and the Second Doctor that became one of my favourites. Plus her and Jamie's exits in The War Games set up a precedent we'd later see with Donna Noble.

29: Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling)

Okay, so Victoria could scream a little and be a bit more afraid at times than other companions but if there's one reason she deserves to be on the list, it's definitely for that scene about family with the Second Doctor in The Tomb Of The Cybermen. Oh and the fact that she's bloody fantastic as well.

30: Paternoster Gang - Madame Vastra/Jenny Flint/Commander Strax (Neve McIntosh/Catrin Stewart/Dan Stewart)

Okay, I'm aware this is cheating in a Top 50 list but I couldn't exclude any of them from it and bundling them together seemed like a logical choice here. With this trio we've got a katana wielding Silurian, her Victorian wife and maid and of course, a certain Sontaran whose general bloodlust hasn't been quelled just because he's a butler. A spin-off with these three (either television or audio) seems pretty inevitable but for the time being, they're some of the best allies both the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors will have in their tenures.

Part 6 of this list will go up tomorrow.

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When The Simpsons Met The Griffins

Well, it's been in the news for the last week - The Simpsons and Family Guy are crossing over for an episode due to air in 2014.

For Family Guy's upcoming 12th season (which will also feature Ashton Kutcher and Peter Dinklage in later episodes), the Griffins will meet their Springfield counterparts with castmembers Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith and Hank Azaria as the Griffins take a roadtrip and end up in Springfield with some alliances and clashes expected with Homer/Peter, Marge/Lois, Bart/Stewie throughout the episode. The episode itself will go by the title of The Simpsons Guy too.

I have to admit, I'm not really sure of this. Both shows aren't as good as they used to be and crossovers don't always work. Plus, I have an urge to fast forward through the Peter/Homer scenes as well. Then again, it might actually be the very thing both shows could do with at the moment but it's hard to deny that it seems more like a publicity stunt for two shows that don't have the impact that they used to though. It's also been confirmed that Cleveland will return to Quahog and a member of the Griffins will die at the end of the upcoming season and be replaced by a new family member too. Is it too much to hope that it's Peter?

More News: http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/07/18/simpsons-family-guy-crossover-episode/

Family Guy's 12th season will air Sundays at 9pm on FOX from September 29th.

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Comic-Con 2013: True Blood

Last of my Comic-Con related blogs and it goes to the glorious True Blood of course...

And here are a large portion of the cast. Not pictured was Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer but they were also present during the event and while the cast were on fine form, it was the releasing of a trailer for the second half of Season 6 and here it is ...

We've already seen Jason breaking into the vampire camp to rescue Jessica and given Bill has just murdered Burrell, it seems that chaos is coming big time for both vampires and humans in the next few episodes. Sarah looks she's on the warpath and Jason seems to be pretty messed up here.

As for Jessica, she might not have slept with new vampire James (Luke Grimes) but it definitely looks like he's going to be having sex with her pretty soon. It's already been rumoured that James is a character will be a regular in Season 7 and given that he made a great impression this week, I can't wait to see some more of him. And to think he was Ryan in Brothers And Sisters not so long ago.

As for Sookie and Ben/Warlow, we've already seen them having sex and bondage times in the last episode and despite his protests of not caring, Bill certainly doesn't seem that pleased with Sookie's new choice of lover either. Then again, he's also desperate to stop his own visions from coming true and being begged by Eric in order to cure a dying Nora as well.

Other clips in the trailer see the likes of Arlene, Steve and Andy all looking miserable for various, Warlow being bitten by Bill, Pam talking about humans wanting to be devoured, Rikki smacking Nicole (who also shares a shower scene with Sam), some Sookie/Sam interactions, Sarah declaring herself as a powerful woman, Lilith getting pissed off with Bill and Tara trying to protect Jason. Overall, it looks like more deaths are coming in the last four episodes.

Season 6 Comic-Con Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuCySSwrp-4
Comic-Con Panel: http://www.spoilertv.com/2013/07/true-blood-full-comic-con-2013-panel.html

Season 6 of True Blood continues to air Sundays at 9pm on HBO and will air for UK viewers on FOX later in the year.

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