I'm still making aesthetic refinements to the blog; some you may notice, some you won't. I'm also considering dropping the "guest cast" list from review posts, which is extra hassle to compile and I'm not convinced it's required. I think the new four-star system is working out well -- do you agree? It's easier to determine summative quality with four stars instead of five, no? 2-stars is exactly average, so everything above and below that is at-a-glance easy to see how much I liked or disliked something.
I've also been experimenting with a logo for DMD (see above), which is something I've never had for the blog, but now think would be useful. It's an easy way to identify and promote DMD visually, for different purposes. I'm not totally inexperienced at creative things like this, but if anyone reading is a professional who'd like an unpaid job designing a funky logo for DMD, please get in touch! I'd be eternally grateful. Brainstorming ideas from readers also welcome in the comments. Any thoughts on the in-progress logo above?
As for reviews, there soon won't be much I'm covering here every week! Doctor Who wraps up soon; I'll try to stick with Persons Unknown, but I can feel my interesting slipping enough to ditch it; so True Blood and Spartacus will be the only major series I'll be reviewing every week, until Rubicon arrives in August. Speaking of which, I have Rubicon's first episode to watch (AMC "sneak peeked" it last Sunday), but I may wait until the series properly gets underway before reviewing it. Why force a month-long wait on yourself? Were AMC aiming for a Glee-style wait between episode 1 and 2 to build interest via word-of-mouth?
As mentioned previously, I have Outrageous Fortune's pilot to review before its US remake Scoundrels airs. I may even do a comparison-style review. I'm also still working through a Firefly box-set (but it may take awhile, because LoveFilm aren't sending me discs very quickly), and a seasonal review of The Good Wife should appear in Jul/Aug. I'm also very behind with Justified, but slowly making my way through that series now. I dug the pilot, but it's surprised me how entertaining it is for a fairly episodic cop show. The IT Crowd is also back on 25 June, so I'll be covering that.
Oh, and if anyone was wondering why I didn't review Dappers (the third drama pilot from BBC3, following Pulse and Stanley Park) this is why: it was god-awful and I turned off halfway through. And I never review things I didn't watch in their entirety, as it's not fair. Maybe the second half was fantastic? But a butch-looking Lenora Crichlow doing a broad West Country accent while pushing a baby stroller around town and shoplifting? Not for me.
There wasn't much response to my box-set review of In Treatment, but I suppose that's an under-the-radar series not many people have seen, and a few years old now. Still, it was nice to hear from a few readers via email and Twitter that my review encouraged them to go rent it themselves.
I may also start doing more "capsule" movie reviews (i.e brief, 400-word reviews of films, in batches of three), as a way to fill summer. It all depends on time, but that'll be easier to do than full 600-1000 word reviews of individual films. Alternatively, I've started doing 140-character reviews on Twitter for films I don't have the time, or inclination, to review any deeper.
A quick reminder that Dexter's fourth season belatedly arrives on FX on 27 August, a ridiculous 11 months after it premiered in the US. And broadcasters wonder why so many Brits download TV? Even for glorious HD, not many fans will wait a year for new episodes of Dexter. Must do better, FX! Like thousands of others, I'm more excited about season 5 on Showtime in September.
Finally, you do know DMD has a Facebook page, right? That's a great way to get blog updates while on the move, via a smart-phone. Not many people have joined up (only 26 last I looked), but maybe that's because I haven't promoted it much? Oh well, popular or not, it's a handy addition that doesn't cause me any extra work, so I'll keep it going. Use it if you think it'll be helpful, fun, or just to support the idea.
