New year; new TV. All the US hits (and flops) are heading our way for broadcast, having been snapped up by various channels. UK-made stuff is also debuting this winter, so I thought I'd cast my eye over what you can expect DMD to be reviewing in 2008's first quarter:
Bionic Woman is looming on ITV2, but I'll continue my reviews at the US pace when it returns -- for what's likely to be a premature wrap-up in the face of bad ratings and the Writers' Guild Of America (WGA) strike. Unless NBC are waiting to see what reaction/ratings are like overseas, which might help extend it -- strike-willing.I didn't like Chuck's Pilot, but I might give the series a go when it starts on Virgin 1 soon. I like the idea of a comedy where geeks and the CIA come together to solve cases, so expect some reviews... until it loses me.
Dirt returns for a second season on 2 March in the US. If Five have kept the rights for the show, it'll probably be months before we see it in UK, though. I found Dirt surprisingly enjoyable, but I'm not sure I liked it enough to watch episodes in advance of the UK. There are only 7 episodes anyway, because of the WGA strike. We'll see. It depends how busy I am, and how many reviews are already being written in March.
Of course, Doctor Who is back in spring (probably late-March) for a fourth season, with Catherine Tate as the Doc's regular companion. Fans are preparing for a bad year already -- mainly because of Tate's unpopular presence, ill-feeling after the poor Christmas special, and an underwhelming/unsurprising trailer. Every season has involved reinvention (new Doctor, new companion), but Tate's character was introduced in a special and they're running out of iconic baddies to revamp. Can a rumoured return for Dalek creator Davros save the day? Little wonder a fifth season has been pushed back till 2010...Lost returns for its fourth season in the US in a few weeks, but I'll only be reviewing episodes after they air in the UK on Sky One (a week later.) Sadly, there are only 8 episodes in the can, of the scheduled 16. A necessary evil because of the WGA strike...
Louis Theroux is back on tomorrow with the first of two new documentaries. "Behind Bars" has him visiting the San Quentin State Prison in California, and "The Hunters" finds him investigating the hunting industry of South Africa.
Moonlight, the vampire detective drama that was initially panned by TV critics, is coming to Virgin 1, although a date is to be determined. This series may be indebted to genre shows like Angel, but it has been surprisingly well-received and has won a second season. I think I'll give it a go, particularly because the similarities to Angel won't bother me as much -- as I never saw any of Joss Whedon's Buffy spin-off.
Forensic fairy tale Pushing Daisies is heading for ITV1, so I'll link back to my earlier reviews for the first few weeks, and resume them at the UK pace. It's a fun show, if a little nauseating at times.The awful Primeval somehow scraped a second season, so I'll be casting an eye over ITV's dino-action later tonight. An astounding improvement on the mad-but-fun concept, or another witless load of special effects thrown on the screen? Wait and see...
Prison Break's third season resumes in a few weeks, with Sky One a week or so behind US airings. I'll be reviewing them at our pace, but it's a shame there are only a handful of episodes filmed because of the WGA strike. It'll be over again, indefinitely, in about 5 weeks...
Supernatural comedy Reaper starts on 23 January, airing on E4. I reviewed the fun-but-floppy Pilot last year, and it didn't make me desperate to watch more. But I'll give it a chance to develop now it’s on TV.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles finally arrive on FOX in the US, with Virgin 1 scooping the UK rights to the Terminator TV series. I have already reviewed the better-than-expected Pilot, and will definitely review the full series. This show is likely to be reviewed at the US pace, unless Virgin decide to show episodes a week after, not months later...Torchwood moves to BBC2 on 16 January for its new season, so I'll be seeing if any criticism has been acted on for its new run. Will it give us the "adult sci-fi" it promised, without relying on gay kissing and swear words to make its point?
No definite word on 24 yet, but it's increasingly likely to return in the autumn because of the WGA strike. But even that's not guaranteed if the strike goes on through summer. FOX at least understand that airing a handful of completed episodes, and then pausing indefinitely, would be suicide for a real-time juggernaut like 24. Be patient.
Battlestar Galactica has also been affected by the WGA strike quite badly. There are episodes ready to air, with the show expected to return in April in the US. But, once they've been shown... we'll have to wait for resolution. Frustrating for a series in its last year, hoping to pay-off all of its storylines.
And, oh yes, I'll be reviewing the Knight Rider "backdoor pilot", on NBC in February. Great, good, bad, or excruciating -- it'll be a fun review to write. Fingers crossed for a Battlestar Galactica-style revamp, not a Bionic Woman-style restoration.
I really fell behind with Californication last year, so I'll try and resume those reviews. I know season 1 has finished on Five now, so it's a shame I let it slip, but there you go. Other commitments got in the way.
I'm not sure when Heroes is back on, but BBC2 have the rights in the UK now. The first season only finished just before Christmas, so they might keep it on the back-burner till summer. Or even autumn, knowing the BBC. By that time, most fans will have downloaded season 2, or have been passed pirated copies at school. Oh well. There's a slim chance BBC2 will start Heroes' second season in the spring (after Torchwood?) Don’t hold your breath, though... as it's not very good, anyway.
Incidentally, Dexter's first season is coming to ITV later this month, which is great news for viewers who don't subscribe to The FX Channel and missed it last year. I'm a big fan of the show, no matter how much critics say it's overrated nonsense. Let's hope the even-better second season is snapped up by ITV, too.
There may be others, but those are the big shows I'm very likely to be reviewing every week. Quite daunting. Of course, because of the WGA strike, many US shows mentioned above will only run for half their intended seasons, so we'll likely get to March/April and face a summer drought of US TV ourselves...
