Hooked In

And here's a look at some of the shows I've been watching. Expect another one tomorrow.

Downton Abbey: A good set of episodes. This series definitely seems to have become more of an improvement to it's last one and the fallout from Sybil's death has been good to watch. It's nice for the show to find a way to keep Branson on board and the consequences of Thomas getting the wrong end of the stick with Jimmy should be interesting to see in the finale. I'm also liking that Edith is getting more to do, though some of the scenes with Matthew and Robert over running the estate have been less interesting to watch.

Homeland: This show is definitely not suffering from difficult second album syndrome. The last ten minutes of the episode, New Car Smell (I have to catch up with episode 5) were some of the tensest moments the show has produced and the resulting consequences of Carrie and Brody meeting up in the latter's hotel room once again, just a masterclass in excellent writing and acting from both Claire Danes and Damian Lewis. Oh and the subplots with Dana and her new love interest's father are also interesting to watch too.

Merlin: I'm finding myself a little less interested in this current series. Four episodes in and not much of real note has actually happened. Mordred has been a background character, the Knights - decent guy candy but not much else and there's a surprisingly amount of sparse interaction between Arthur and Gwen. The return of Uther seemed like a missed opportunity in some respects too while Morgana's continued scheming has gotten tedious to watch. I wish Merlin would just take her out though. I did like seeing Mithian again, though she wasn't as well served as her debut last series.

Once Upon A Time: Yes, I'm still enjoying this series. The last three episodes certainly haven't been boring, especially with the debuts of Lancelot and Hook, the reveal of Dr Whale (pretty obvious in retrospect) and Cora proving that she's a nastier piece of work than her daughter. That being said, much as I like that Regina is definitely making a concentrated effort to redeem herself and the bonding scenes with David/Henry and Emma/Mary Margaret, the show does need to dial down the need to connect virtually every backstory to Rumples at this rate because it's getting a little implausible. That being said, this season is shaping up nicely.

Switch: I know this show isn't a masterpiece in any way, shape or form but I find myself really enjoying it nonetheless. It might be a bit too fluffy at times but three episodes, I like the majority of the main characters (Jude, I'm a little mixed on) and the lack of big, complicated or existential storylines hasn't really deterred my enjoyment of it either. The last episode focusing on Stella getting over her antichrist of an ex-girlfriend was particularly funny and I'm not hating the triangle of sorts between Jude/Jerry/Grace but I think Hannah is still my favourite of these four particular witches.

- Felicia Day is returning to Supernatural for an upcoming episode. Here's hoping they don't kill her off.
- Arrow will introduce the comic character of Firefly in an upcoming story arc, played by Andrew Dunbar.
- CW drama, Cult will premiere on the station in January.
- Dallas will not be bringing back Pamela Ewing according to producers. The second season of the show premiere in January on TNT.
- Sarah Shahi will be appearing as a love interest for Taylor Kinney's character in Chicago Fire.
- NBC have not only decided to end The Office after nine seasons but they won't be picking up the proposed spin-off, The Farm either.
- Grant Gustin will be appearing as a privileged kid in an upcoming story arc for 90210.
- Burn Notice has been renewed for a seventh season.

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My Review of Dexter's 7x05: "Swim Deep"

Written by Scott Reynolds
Directed by Ernest Dickerson

Isaak: “I don’t know who you are.”
Dexter: “If you ever find out, you’ll regret it.”

Mmm, I’m not so sure if Isaak is going to be quaking into his boots just yet, Dexter. After all, this is a guy who managed to kill several people in a rival club without breaking a sweat. Even behind bars, Isaak is definitely something of an impressive enough threat.

I really liked that this episode didn’t waste time with Dexter and Isaak. Both of them managed to unnerve and outsmart each other in different way that I doubt jail is going to be a permanent destination for Isaak. After all, there’s an interesting collision course to be had with these two.

I might have tuned out during Isaak’s speech about his great uncle and grandfather but the one thing I did learn is that Isaak’s a patient man and he’ll definitely will do his best in order to get Dexter back for killing Viktor. I mean, he was conceited enough to even talk about taking out Deb and anyone else in Miami Metro who might have had a hand in killing Viktor as well for good measure.

I was hoping that there would be more of a reveal about Isaak’s grievance over Viktor’s death but this episode seemed to imply they were just friends and that was it. Still, I did enjoy the phone exchanges between the two of them and even Dexter letting Isaak know in no uncertain terms that he’s a serious threat too.

I’m glad that Isaak has emerged with a personality because the rest of the mobster/trafficking related elements of this season’s Big Bad arc are pretty uninspired to watch. George is still little more than a lifeless lackey and Quinn’s continued involvement with Nadia hasn’t exactly been compelling viewing to watch either.

Something that has been compelling however has been Deb’s reactions to learning more about Dexter’s other life. If last episode implied that she was accepting the Dark Passenger side of her brother a little too quickly, then this one confirmed that she actually does have issues with Dexter taking the law into his own hands.

She was disgusted with herself for realising that she had helped cover up more of Dexter’s killings and really annoyed with learning the truth about Mike’s real killer. It also didn’t help that she purposely had to get Angel to back down over the Alex suicide from last week and also watch Maria when it came to the latter’s private looking into a victim of the Bay Harbour Butcher.

Jennifer Carpenter gave one of her best performances in this episode and it was really hard not to feel for Deb, given that her loyalties to Dexter are compromising her own ethics and ability as his boss too. Dexter might want to try and keep things sweet with his sister but the cracks are definitely becoming wider with these two.

Last but not least – Hannah McKay’s a killer! I guess that makes her more similar to Lila than it does to Lumen but she’s also the best new character this season has offered and her scenes with Dexter continue to get interesting as well.

I loved seeing Dexter suss her out and I also loved seeing Hannah defiantly keeping up the charade of her innocence as well. That being said, it does look like she’s going to end up becoming a big threat to Dexter as the rest of the season continues.

Also in “Swim Deep”

I actually don’t remember Philip Barnes as one of Dexter’s victims. I’m gonna have to see what season his death came from again.

Dexter: “Life can be less complicated now.”
Harry: “You don’t believe that.”
Dexter (re Deb): “Why not? She didn’t abandon me.”

Isaak wasn’t exactly shy on informing Dexter about Louis’s death, though the latter had already done his research on that bit.

Dexter: “So you killed Louis?”
Isaak: “We had a conversation that ended abruptly.”

Dexter: “I have a plan, yes.”
Deb: “Does it involve you killing someone?”
Dexter: “I’m not killing anybody.”

The couple that Miami Metro had found on the beach, Dexter realised that Hannah had murdered the woman in an excited frenzy.

Hannah: “Look at us, talking blood and gore. Like we’re on a date, sharing our first sexual experience.”
Dexter: “I’ve got work to do.”

Dexter: “Everything you said is a lie.”
Hannah: “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”
Dexter: “And you don’t even care?”

We got some scenes with Harry in this episode as well as Dexter and Deb discussing old family vacations in this one.

Deb (re Isaak): “So we’re looking for the fucking Terminator?”

Chronology: Not long from where “Run” left off.

Another solid episode. “Swim Deep” definitely had some great moments, especially with Dexter, Deb, Hannah and Isaak. I am really enjoying this show once again.

Rating: 8 out of 10

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ITV Comissions Vicious Old Queens

Yes, of all the stations to commission a gay themed comedy, it seems that ITV are stepping into the fray with both Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellan starring as elderly couple in the show that's being titled, Vicious Old Queens.

The show will centre on both McKellen and Jacobi's characters living in Convent Garden and will run for 6 half hour long episodes and has been written by Gary Janetti, whose other credits include both Will & Grace and Family Guy.

Originally, Vicious Old Queens was intended as a one-off for SkyArts but it seems that the concept was strong enough to be made into a series. Here's hoping it's a good one for ITV1 because the casting is certainly a great coup for them already.

Press Release: http://www.comedy.co.uk/news/story/00000952/itv_gay_sitcom_jacobi_mckellen_vicious_old_queens/

Vicious Old Queens will air on ITV1 from April 2013.

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Soap Discussion - October 2012

Penultimate blog of the month and it's a soap one.

Coronation Street: A good month for this show. Even though Ryan is still painfully wooden and borderline brain dead, given how easily taken in he was by Tracy, I did find the scenes with him leaving Sophie to her fate rather effective and it's nice that after being underused for most of the year that Sophie now has an interesting storyline of her own. As for the stuff with Maria and Marcus, I don't like it to be honest, despite actually liking both characters and their friendship but I'm trying to keep an open mind here.

EastEnders: This week we had a Halloween party in the Vic but living in Walford, it's like that all year round. This month hasn't been that different what with Lola getting her baby taken off her and Phil Mitchell learning he's a grandparent (another thing for him to mess up then) while Christian and Syed's start to married life seems to be jinxed with both Danny and the latter ruining the family finances once again. Still, both of these storylines are better than the show's ill-adviced attempts of recreating the Sharon/Dennis storyline for 2012, via Lauren and the increasingly unlikeable Joey.

Emmerdale: Finally, an excellent month for the show and just in time for the 40th. Given how much of a bastard Carl King has become over the last few months, I'm not too surprised that he ended up being killed off. Though I am surprised that a character as gormless and dull as Cameron managed to do it. Still, the fallout of Cameron and Chas's uninteresting affair has been more exciting than the double weddings and births we've had this month. Hopefully, this means the show is finally back on track because this has not been a good year for it.

Hollyoaks: Okay, the bullying storyline with Esther has been one of the strongest storylines we've had over the last month and it definitely seems to be getting more severe but am I the only one who thinks Sinead has become the main instigator in this storyline? Other highlights have been Brendan and Cheryl visiting a counsellor, Nancy and Darren sorting their differences out, Riley's death, Rhys and Cindy's affair plot (though it's making Rhys into a right knob) as well as Lynsey's funeral and Doug and Ste coming to blows over the latter's horrid mother. Overall, an impressive month for storylines.

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My Review of Revenge's 2x05: "Forgiveness"

Written by Sunil Nayar
Directed by Matt Earl Beesley

Kara: “Somehow your father found it in his heart to forgive me.”
Amanda: “Wait, I forgive you too.”

I can’t be in the minority of people that’s getting a tiny bit bored of critics and certain fans acting like this show has massively devolved, right? I’m not saying that the second season of this soapy drama has been perfect but I get the feeling that some people are being a little too premature in dismissing the show and it’s newer story points this year.

I’ll admit that I still have some massive reservations about the Initiative plot, though if Victoria and Conrad see a half man, half demon machine creature named Adam, then they really should find somewhere safe to hide but I’m willing to at least see where the show goes with the plot before dismissing it out right.

So far, we’ve had a good few discussions from both Conrad and Victoria about the Initiative being brought back in their lives. In fact, Victoria’s genuine (for her) fears of them harming Daniel and Charlotte did manage to actually show that she isn’t entirely devoid of humanity but the most interesting plot concerning her this week came at the hands of Kara.

Can I say that I love how this show has moved quickly with Kara, in terms of bringing her to the fore? I honestly thought we’d have to wait until the end of this year for that to happen but in the space of five episodes, we’ve learned that Kara has bipolar, has tried to kill Amanda as a child, was committed to a hospital, pretended to be dead, married Gordon and took Aiden down with minimal effort and came back to reconnect with Amanda again.

In this episode, there was a delightful sense of cat and mouse between Kara and Victoria with both women being sickeningly nice to each other while trying to size each other up at the same time. Kara probably thinks the Graysons are responsible for Gordon’s disappearance and Victoria managed to realise that Kara had been trying to phone him as well.

All of these made for some terrific scenes but even they didn’t come close to the utterly gripping scenes between Kara, Emily and Amanda throughout this episode. I liked that Kara tried to make amends with Amanda and the latter chose to forgave her while Emily admitted that she wanted to but wasn’t there yet.

I think it’s almost a safe bet that at some point, Kara is going to realise who her real daughter is but for the time being, she’s trying to build a relationship with a woman who she thinks has given birth to her own grandchild. Of course, that didn’t stop Kara from actually reaching out to Emily in this episode as well.

Of course if things weren’t delicious enough, there was also Emily making amends to Amanda by actually confessing that she lied about baby Carl’s father. I liked that Emily did the right thing and admitted to Amanda that Jack was the father of Carl and I liked that Amanda forgave her too. It’s nice to see Emily realising the impact of what she’s put Amanda through and trying to do something right about it.

Something else that was also nice was the unexpected but delightful return of Mason Treadwell too. He’s back for less than day and he managed to suss that Victoria faked her kidnapping, grilling Kara on her whereabouts, made both Amanda and Emily uncomfortable and seemed to suss out that someone wasn’t who they were pretending to be. Suddenly Mason has become an even more dangerous character than before.

As for the rest of the episode – does anyone care about Jack being suckered into going into a partnership/selling his business to Kenny? I didn’t think so. Similarly, I’m sure more people are probably disappointed more than surprised that Padma has seemingly stabbed Nolan in the back and the Daniel/Aiden business scenes weren’t exactly the most gripping of plotlines. Still, they’re minor concessions for an episode that was predominantly interesting, though more with it’s female leads than it’s male ones.

Also in “Forgiveness”

David Clarke finally managed to come back in flashbacks when saving Amanda from Kara and later forgiving her at the hospital.

Emily (to Aiden): “I needed someone. You walked through the door. Don’t let it go to your head.”

I really hated that Padma lied to Nolan about not doing anything after seeing the David Clarke cheque. Bad show, Padma.

Conrad (re Kara): “You’ve got to get rid of her.”
Victoria: “Oh, on the contrary. I’ve asked her to stay for lunch.”

Nolan (re Edward): “I know he wasn’t murdered in prison or accused of a crime he didn’t commit, still he loved me.”
Emily: “I should’ve been there for you. I’m sorry.”

Not only did I love Emily apologising to Nolan for her insensitivity/not keeping him in the loop with Kara but I also loved her informing him about Padma’s antics too.

Padma: “Have I won something?”
Daniel: “Let’s see what we’re playing first.”

Mason: “The years have been kind, Kara, where have you been?”
Kara: “Away.”
Mason: “That’s one of my favourite places.”

Mason seemed to know that Amanda had a burn on her back but we’ve seen Emily’s back enough time on the show. I think maybe the writers should’ve thought something else up.

Emily: “You never know when or where you’ll meet your true love.”
Kara (re David): “He was only my first love. There’s a difference.”

Conrad: “Victoria, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife again?”
Victoria: “What is the matter with you?”

Standout music: A re-use of Angus & Julia Stone’s “For You” from the first episode of last season was nice.

Kara (re Amanda): “Do you think she’s really forgiven me?”
Emily: “I think she wants to.”

Chronology: From where “Intuition” left off.

A brilliant episode. “Forgiveness” was interesting and gripping and for me, even with some niggles about this season, I don’t think it’s really lost it’s edge. Kara’s definitely come leaps and bounds as well as a character and next week’s episode looks like a stunner.

Rating: 9 out of 10

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Saorview - Have You Switched Over?

For the last several months, RTE (mostly, thought TV3 and TG4 have also) have been doing their bit to remind people to switch over to the new way of viewing of television with the arrival of Saorview, the digital alternative, given that the auld analog was being switched off.

Well, it happened three days ago and to be honest, all Saorview offers are the basic Irish channels and a few not very good digital and radio ones too but as an Irish person who rarely actually watches the Irish channels at times (though I do like shows like The Republic Of Telly, Love/Hate, etc), I don't really think Saorview is worth that much to be honest.

Sure, a few months ago, my Dad got it for the sitting room but in the kitchen, we have the combi box, which actually has all the stuff Saorview offers, along with some of the UK digital channels, making the latter a more tempting proposition and of course, it means we're not looking at a fuzzy screen as many who haven't made the switch probably are.

So yes, my family and I have switched over (long before October 24th) but after inspecting both options, perhaps Saorview is something that offers too little but costs too much, especially for the more cash strapped of people.

What do you think of the switch over, Irish viewers?

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My Review of Dexter's 7x04: "Run"

Written by Wendy West
Directed by John Dahl

Dexter (to himself): “I don’t run. I make people run. However I do run if there’s a bull coming after me with an axe.”

Without a doubt, the above is one of the funniest lines ever uttered on the show as it matched the sheer ridiculousness of a bull helmet wearing Speltzer attempting to kill Dexter in one of the creepiest locations that the show has ever used. My compliments to the set department for that sheer stunning room.

I knew Speltzer’s outcome was going to result in death but what I didn’t know was that Deb was actually going to be okay with it. I’m not sure if I actually want Deb to accept Dexter’s killer urges. Her understanding them, sure, don’t mind that but accepting them is something I’m less sure of though.

Speltzer had to slip through the police and at the hands of brutal cops, Deb wasn’t able to make a confession stick with the guy. I liked that Dexter didn’t immediately thwart him and Speltzer proved to be a proper enough threat for Dexter to send Harrison away and rattle Deb at Mike’s funeral but at the same time, it was rather satisfying to see him get his comeuppance.

The staking method was an interesting choice for Dexter but his routine has had to change. Dexter could no longer take a slide sample and chop Speltzer into little bits for the ocean. Instead he had to stake the guy and burn him in a crematorium along with his slides collection, whilst telling Deb (after the fact) what he had done.

Deb’s gladness over Speltzer getting his just desserts was an interesting move for the character but I quite liked her questioning Dexter about Rita, Harrison and Trinity just that bit more. She wasn’t entirely off the mark with some of her comments but if this episode seemed to be an indicator, Harrison actually seems to be something of a well adjusted kid, given the circumstances of his life so far. Perhaps he won’t harbour something of a dark passenger in later years.

Keeping with the darkness – anyone else think Hannah McKay is a strange one? I love the actress in the role but her one scene with Dexter really did seem to make me think that she’s going to be a mash up of Lila and Lumen for him. Now that definitely could be interesting to watch as the rest of the season unfolds.

Another character I’ve actually found interesting in this episode was Isaak. Sure, he’s scary enough to force poor Alex into writing a confession pretending that he killed the stripper, the bouncer and poor Mike before having the guy kill himself but he seems to have something of an interesting moral code as well. I don’t think he was lying about promising to take care of Alex’s family as well, hence his interest in learning about them.

More importantly, I’m also curious about his relationship with Viktor. Were they related (siblings, father/son) or even lovers? It’s probably not the last one but Isaak’s keenness to avenge Viktor’s death certainly added some spice to this storyline over and I really cannot wait to see him and Dexter properly clash now. Even though I don’t think Isaak is going to usurp the likes of the Ice Truck Killer and Trinity for best villain, he is at least proving to be more interesting than Travis was last year, so nice one, show.

Also in “Run”

The bath scene with Deb at the start of the episode was a nice mirror to Rita but it could’ve done without the incest vibe with Dexter though.

Dexter: “Deb, will you? Will you be mine?”

We seem to have a new detective in Miranda, who was smart enough to deduce that Quinn was sleeping with Nadia. I hope she lasts longer than Mike did.

Dexter (re Trinity): “I figured out who he was before you did.”
Deb: “And you didn’t help us fucking get him?”

Deb: “Are you even capable of love?”
Dexter: “I love you.”

There wasn’t much progression with Maria’s storyline involving the Bay Harbour Butcher or any real mentions of Louis, apart from Isaak and George discussing him.

Isaak: “So, it’s Viktor’s fault he’s dead?”
George: “Uh yeah. He was a loose cannon, never listened. At least not to me.”

Deb: “Bad shit is gonna find you.”
Dexter: “And if that happens, I’ll handle it.”

Hannah mentioned Argentina in this episode. Now, there’s a spoiler for an upcoming story with her I bet and she’s helping Miami Metro find the bodies of Wayne’s other victims.

Dexter: “You look a little lost.”
Hannah: “Well, I haven’t been inside a police station in fifteen years. Still smells the same, like fast food and sweat.”

Masuka (re Alex): “We’ve got a white Russian on ice.”
Quinn: “Very funny.”
Masuka: “I’ll have you know I have a major following on Twitter.”

Angel seems to be the only more affected by Mike’s death than anyone else and he saw through the cover up with Alex as well.

Dexter: “It’s time for everyone to move on. Goodbye friends.”

Chronology: From where “Buck The System” left off.

Easily the best episode of the season. “Run” felt like a return to form for the show and it’s nice that the plotlines with Isaak, Hannah and the Dexter/Deb dynamic are all providing some interesting story moments throughout.

Rating: 9 out of 10

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