State of the blog

Every so often I like the summarize what's happening on this blog, what to expect in the future, and so forth. The big news in October was the installation of a new template, which I think is looking good, working well, and I haven't heard many complaints. The new Disqus-powered comments have been a particular success, and I've settled on the "flat-style" (comments underneath one another) instead of the "hierarchical style" (which looks snazzier, but eats up space).

A special thanks to everyone who's taken the time to join the Disqus community, too -- although I must stress that non-members can comment just as easily. The more the merrier! I was pleased to see the Heroes 3.4 thread beat a blog record for quantity of comments, too! That was nice. Any outstanding "problems" are minor and specific to certain browsers, so aren't really worth mentioning, or even fixing in some instances. Internet Explorer likes to space thing a bit differently compared to FireFox, for e.g. No biggie.

Finally, it might be unrelated to the new look, but the number of subscribers has rocketed. So, thanks if you're reading this in an RSS feed reader -- but please drop by the actual blog to check out the new template occasionally. The number of site visitors has also doubled in the past fortnight, so that's great to see.

As usual for the time of year, DMD is dominated by TV reviews as the new Autumn schedules cranked up. I always try and strike a balance between US and UK reviews if possible, but my personal taste does mean a slight emphasis on US output in these later months.

So, here's the Top 13 shows I'm watching (or watched, but gave up on), in ascending order of brilliance:

13. The big, early drop for me was THE MENTALIST (CBS, Wed), which surprised me because the pilot was a highlight of the new season. Simply put; I really like Simon Baker in the lead, but I disliked how post-pilot scripts had his character messing around with tricks and hypnotism to solve crimes. I will be sure to check-in with this show when Five show it here in the UK, because it could easily improve very quickly. But, thanks partly to a hectic blogging schedule just now, I decided to let this one go early.

12. The biggest TV car-crash has been LITTLE BRITAIN USA (HBO, Sun/BBC1, Fri), the American spin-off to Matt Lucas and David Walliams' already overrated sketch show. A textbook example of why comedians should keep evolving, the once hilarious series was already dying a death on British screens after a poor third series and turgid Christmas specials, but this US-centric series is a whole new level of crude, unfunny boredom.

11. A guilty pleasure of mine has been STRICTLY COME DANCING (BBC1, Sat) in recent years. Admittedly, I only watch to ogle the sequinned girls, but what's wrong with that? That's what made Baywatch the most-watched TV series in the world! We're in the middle-stages of the competition, where I once again find myself growing bored and drifting over to live X Factor at times. Hopefully the voting will keep the sexiest dancers involved to keep my interest, but with the loss of Lilia, Hayley and now Ola, it's not looking good.

10. CHUCK (NBC, Mon) isn't on my repertoire of published reviews just now, but I am keeping an eye on season 2 and writing reviews in preparation for its UK broadcast on Virgin1. I have no idea when they'll show it, but I'd like to think it'll be as soon as Sarah Connor appeared on their horizon. But they may be waiting until their repeat of season 1 is done with, so give it a few months.

9. Of the brand new network shows in the US, I'm quite interested in MY OWN WORST ENEMY (NBC, Thu). The "Jekyll & Hyde meets James Bond" series suffers from a ridiculous premise and cloudy handling of the situation, but there's enough here to keep me watching for now. I really enjoyed episode 4, so this show could move up the chart if they get confident and keep the surprises coming.

8. I was very interested in seeing LIFE ON MARS (ABC, Thu), the US remake of the treasured BBC fantasy '70s cop drama. After a handful of episodes, I don't think it'll ever beat the original, or even keep its background mystery trundling along for the 60+ episodes all US dramas aim for, but it's far from a total disaster. In some ways it improves on the BBC series (better production detail, stronger actors for Annie and Ray), but I'm disappointing by the miscasting of Harvey Keitel as Gene Hunt, and the background hum of class division in the UK original can't be replicated as well on US soil.

7. MERLIN (BBC1, Sat) has become a big hit for the channel (despite its timeslot wobbling around anywhere from 5.55 to 7.30pm). There were some faltering baby-steps, but it's showing signs of life now. I like Colin Morgan, Anthony Head and Richard Wilson in particular, but it really needs to develop the other characters (especially Katie McGrath's Morgana) and let audiences know if it intends to dovetail with established Arthurian legend one day. Oh, and in a post-Potter world, kids need more than glowing eyes and brief telekinesis to impress them.

6. The HEROES (BBC2/BBC3, Wed) are back with an improved third season that still creaks more than it should. The fact it's fast and fun helps a lot, but it's a shame the writers are so clueless about the core issues that prevent Heroes working as well as it did in season 1. I'm watching at the US-pace, but posting reviews a week later for the benefit of British fans. I'm good like that.

5. The ratings may have plummeted in the US, but I'm glad TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES (Fox, Mon) has Fox's backing for a full 22-episode season. I know this spin-off mystifies some and annoys others, but I think it's cleverer and more entertaining than the idea of a Terminator spin-off would have you believe. Great to see Virgin1 have started showing this in the UK, about a month behind the US.

4. Against my gut expectations, I still enjoy PRISON BREAK (Sky1, Tue) because I've learned to accept it -- warts and all. It's usually ridiculous and illogical, but it has enough commitment and entertaining performances to keep me glued. Sometimes you need to watch some brainless, macho trash with zero pretensions of greatness. Sky1 show the series a day after its US premiere to curb illegal downloading, too -- which deserves some applause.

3. DEXTER (Showtime, Sun) hasn't been as riveting as previous years, but it remains very watchable and recent revelations were good enough to raise my interest level several notches. It's just a shame the series won't hit British screens 'till next summer on FX. UK fans don't want to wait 9-10 months -- they'll just turn to illegal downloads, you silly schedulers.

2. I'm loving Alan Ball's vampire drama TRUE BLOOD (HBO, Sun) more than I expected to based on the awkward pilot. It's rapidly become one of my weekly favourites, and is easily the most consistent series of everything I'm reviewing on DMD. It is arriving on FX in the UK next summer, which is great... but, only if you have FX. Cracking stuff, regardless. I hope Channel 4 get the terrestrial rights, because this deserves a bigger audience.

1. There's no doubt in my mind that BREAKING BAD (FX, Sun) is the best show on-air right now: superb acting, great premise, compelling story, meticulous writing. It hasn't put a foot wrong. Even its weaker episodes are excellent, while the rest are frankly superb. Cranston so deserves that recent Emmy it's unreal. The only annoying thing is that it's tucked away on FX, so most people have no idea it's even on. Hopefully it will perform the Dexter-like trick of getting picked up by a terrestrial channel (BBC2 seems a good fit), and word-of-mouth will spread the love. Honestly, this is top stuff. The finale is this Sunday at 10pm.