THE PACIFIC: Part Six

WRITERS: Bruce C. McKenna, Laurence Andries & Robert Schenkkan
DIRECTOR: Tony To

[SPOILERS] War changes people; sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Sledge (Joe Mazzello) was a religious country boy dreaming of war, and now he's realizing war's not fun it's terrifying, has taken up smoking, and has earned himself the macho nickname "Sledgehammer" (a moniker to live up to?) It really helps that Sledge is such a plain-faced everyman, because he's a blank slate we can project on as an audience, which helps you feel closer to the drama. The Pacific's done a poor job with its characters in my estimation, but thankfully a few are starting to stand out from the pack at last.

The assault on Peleliu's airstrip was the focus of Part Six, which gave us more of the gritty action that ended Part Five. It's the shot of adrenaline this miniseries needed, because now the characters are being shaped in the fires of war, and that's just more entertaining to see unfold. I'm still disappointed by how The Pacific's drama doesn't click with the prologues of archive footage, though. This week, the preface setup the idea that this mission was undertaken in sweltering heat with no drinking water. In the actual hour's drama, the lack of water may have been mentioned a lot, but I never got the sense that everyone was all that thirsty (where were the cracked lips?) and the sense of humidity was missing. A few scenes of heat haze across the landscape may have helped, or dripping sweat from the troops.

More characters came into sharper focus this week, which was good to see: from "Snafu" (Rami Malek), the disquieting marine we met stealing gold teeth from a Japanese corpse, who actually felt more human in his interaction with buddy Sledge; grizzled Sgt "Gunny" Haney (Gary Sweet) was back playing the kind of alpha male the marines now find amusing behind his back; and Captain Haldane (Scott Gibson), the sort of decent leader you need to keep morale up, who's prepared to do anything to make sure his men get through this nightmare.

The action sequences were good, if nothing remarkable. It still puzzles me that the price-tag of this miniseries is a stratospheric $150m, but I can only assume they're saving the bulk of that cash for the final run of episodes. It's also unfortunate that CGI has become so commonplace in war drama's, because there's a glaze of artificiality to sequences nowadays. Whenever there are scenes involving ships and water it's particularly obvious how much just exists in a digital space, which distances you from the reality. Some of the CGI has been used very well in The Pacific, but there are regular lapses that make my eyes roll. Again, with a budget of approx. $20m per episode, that's disappointing.

Overall, Part Six was definitely a strong episode that offered more entertainment than usual, and I'm glad the characters are beginning to take shape. The moment when a marine started screaming from a nightmare and had to be killed to stop him giving away their position was a grim reminder of how far people will go to keep the majority safe, too. Leckie (James Badge Dale) was less integral than usual, but after heroically recovering a radio he found himself badly injured and taken to a medical ship to recover, reacquainted with "Runner" Conley (Keith Nobbs), the soldier who nicknamed him "Peaches". I realize the show is half-based on fact, but I sure hope Part Seven doesn't again slam on the brakes with an episode set aboard the floating hospital. I think it's about time The Pacific got down to business after half a season of teasing.

Asides

• It's notable how little we've seen of the Japanese on-screen. I guess it's intentional, but it's a little strange to me. The only Japanese faces we've had a good look at are either injured and dying or already dead.
• Also interesting to see Sid return to the Sledge family home to assure them their son Eugene will be fine, as he was clearly lying and doesn't think a sweet boy like Eugene will last a day. I wonder what the Sledge's will make of their boy when he, hopefully, returns home from war. I don't think he'll be quite the same kid anymore.

3 MAY 2010: SKY MOVIES PREMIERE/HD, 9PM

BREAKING BAD 3.7 - "One Minute"

WRITER: Thomas Schnauz
DIRECTOR: Michelle MacLaren
GUEST CAST: David Costabile, Mark Margolis, Daniel Moncada, Luis Moncada, Nate Mooney, Ruben Munoz-Soto, Victor Munoz-Soto & Michael Shamus Wiles

[SPOILERS] And you thought last week's episode was great. "One Minute" was a frankly remarkable hour packed full of incredible performances, capped with a stunning climax that elicited so much tension I'm still picking fingernails out of my sofa arm. I haven't felt so gripped by something on TV for a long, long time.

We began with a fun flashback to the '80s, to see the Mexican cousins (Louis and Daniel Moncada) as little boys playing in the garden of a sprightlier Tio (Mark Margolis), fully communicative and ambulant as he took a phone call about a "dirty South American" he's nicknamed "Chicken Man" who's just starting up in the drug's business. A man we of course know in the present as Gus, whose narcotics career went north as Tio's health went south. Earlier this season I suggested they flashback to Tio when he was in full health, so this was like a prayer being answered. I wonder if there will be more to come, perhaps explaining Tio's relationship with Gus and showing how he came to be stuck in a wheelchair.

There's wasn't much point to this flashback, other than to give us the names of the Cousins (Leonel and Marco) and to see the moment that perhaps formed their entire lives; when Marco broke Leonel's toy and Tio, hearing Leonel say he wants his brother dead as punishment, proceeded to dunk Marco's head in a water cooler and almost drown him. "Family is all" sneered Tio, after had Leonel successfully broken his grip with a punch to the nose. It's a lesson the boys clearly took to heart.

Back in the present-day, the focus of this episode was Hank (Dean Norris), who's become a truly fascinating and compelling character in his own right. I've always thought Norris is excellent in this role, and the writers have clearly decided to give him better and more complex material to work with this year. Here, Hank risked flushing his life down the toilet, after racing to Jesse's (Aaron Paul) house straight from hospital, incensed over how Jesse apparently evaded capture in the RV by hoax-calling him about his wife's safety. In a moment he immediately regretted, Hank savagely beat Jesse to a pulp on his floor, hospitalizing him with ugly facial bruises.

And from there Hank had a terrible day, to put it mildly. If Jesse pressed charges over the "unprovoked" attack, which he's very likely to do, Hank's career would be dead and his life ruined financially. Saul (Bob Odenkirk) is overjoyed that Hank acted so carelessly, because the photo evidence of Jesse's injuries will keep the DEA off their backs about the RV now, but Walt's (Bryan Cranston) unnerved by Jesse's scary determination to teach Hank a lesson by "ruining his life until the day he sticks a gun up his mouth and pulls the trigger just to get me out of his head." Even worse, Jesse plans to keep cooking meth when he's discharged -- believing he's now untouchable because of recent events and, if caught, he'll tell the cops all about "Heisenberg" so it's in everybody's interest to see that he's protected.

As Hank stared into an abyss, he at least made something of an emotional breakthrough with Marie (Betsy Brandt). The scene of them both quietly entering an elevator together, cutting to Hank weeping uncontrollably on Marie's shoulder inside, before exiting fully composed as if nothing had happened, was beautifully done. It may have been a brief, private unburdening of the stress Hank's been under for months, but it was a valuable release valve for their marriage. I also found it interesting that Hank was prepared to save himself and his marriage by telling the truth at an inquest, and accept the consequences of his actions. That's the difference between Hank and Walt, who would probably be scheming to save his own skin in Hank's shoes, rationalizing whatever self-serving decision he makes.

Skyler (Anna Gunn) was eager for Walt to help his brother-in-law out by talking to Jesse, but Walt underplayed his relationship with "Pinkman" (having heard Jesse's bitter thoughts on the matter already) and even reminded Skyler that Hank's "not currently" family. Of course, for all his standoffish attitude, Walt does have a heart and knows Hank doesn't deserve what might become of him, so he had to find a way to make Jesse drop his legal action. And what better than to give Jesse the opportunity to partner him at the "super lab", for a 50/50 split of the $3 million he's going to earn in a few months?

Interesting to see poor Gale (David Costabile) given short shrift at the super-lab, too -- just so Walt felt better about getting him replaced by Jesse. I sensed that Gale's just a stooge planted there by Gus, anyway. It feels like he's been told to be the "perfect" lab assistant, and is changing himself accordingly every working day -- here, Gale had stopped wearing sandals in the lab, as he's picked up on Walt's professional nature. Gale thinks, or hopes, that "this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship", but he's very wrong. Walt's quick to wrongly accuse Gale of a silly mistake that cost them gallons of wasted product, and soon persuades Gus to let Jesse come aboard as a replacement. I was expecting this move to happen at some point, as the Jesse/Walt relationship has been divided for so long this season, but it's still a shame that Costabile's role isn't going to amount to much.

In an episode of great performances, Aaron Paul possibly edges it as Jesse with two scenes at the hospital: the earlier rant about destroying Hank's life, and the moment he refuses Walt's offer of a partnership ("I want nothing to do with you... ever since I met you, everything I've ever cared about is gone.") It's been said that this episode will be Paul's submission for an Emmy, and it's not hard to see why. He doesn't have a major role in the episode, but he chews on Thomas Schnauz's dialogue like it's pieces of gristle stuck between his teeth. Absolutely mesmerizing. And, in typical Breaking Bad style, despite Jesse flatly and wisely turning down Walt's once-in-a-lifetime offer, he reneges on his decision almost immediately by phone call. Perhaps Jesse was being pragmatic and knows a share of $3 million is preferable to ruining Hank's life for relative pennies, or maybe it's as simple as the fact Walt admitted that "your meth is good... as good as mine." Jesse's just a kid who craves fatherly approval, right?

Throughout it all, the Cousins were preparing to kill their new target: the previously off-limits Hank. Primarily this involved retooling with weapons (including a free sample of a hollow-tipped "Black Death" bullet) from a loquacious trucker's vehicle, and suiting up with two bullet-proof vests.

And finally, the intense five-minute climax, with Hank having been suspended for admitting he assaulted Jesse, but thrown a lifeline when his boss tells him there's a rumour Jesse's decided to let the matter drop. Buoyed somewhat, we catch Hank getting inside his SUV in a supermarket car park, whereby he's called by an anonymous tipster with an electronically-altered voice, warning him that "two men are coming to kill you... you have one minute" -- a call he tries to convince himself is a prank, but his gut says otherwise...

And what can you say about what follows? A pure masterclass in tension from director Michelle MacLaren that gave me palpitations. Hank scanning the shoppers nearby for signs of danger, knowing his gun's been confiscated, before finally spotting Leonel in his rear-view mirror as he shoots out his back window and gets a bullet in the arm, triggering Hank's survival instinct as he reverses his SUV into Leonel and pins his body to another parked car. Then Marco firing shots at Hank from the side side, approaching to help his squirming brother, shooting an innocent passer-by, then unloading at Hank just as Hank grabbed Leonel's fallen gun and empties its chamber into Marco's chest. But of course, it has no effect because of the vest he's wearing, affording Marco the chance to shoot Hank twice in the chest and stand over him for the kill shot... before deciding that would be "too easy", and leaving to retrieve his silver axe for bloodier, more personal vengeance. This giving Hank time to reload Leonel's gun with the "Black Death" bullet Marco had dropped, and firing it into Marco's head before he could raise his axe for the fatal blow.

We leave the blood-soaked scene with a mixture of relief, excitement and numbness. This really was a terrific action sequence, one of the best I've seen executed on television, made all the sweeter because the threat of the Cousins has been so expertly built up and you didn't really believe they'd fail against an unarmed man. And despite the fact Hank's a core character, it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that he'd be killed as a mid-season shocker, so everything about this sequence felt utterly unpredictable. Even the fact the Cousins were wearing bullet-proof vests slipped my mind in the heat of the moment, meaning it was doubly excruciating when Hank's first gunshots had no effect on Marco.

Overall, there are no superlatives to do justice to those final moments, and everything prior to that was rock solid character building. This was the kind of episode that reminds me why I love the long-form storytelling of television, where spending so much time with characters results in pay-off that can strikes a hammer to your heart. You're feeling every sting of pain and anguish these characters are going through now, and it's simply stunning to watch. If you're not watching Breaking Bad, you're missing the best thing on television.

2 MAY 2010: AMC, 10|9C

THE WIRE: The Complete Second Season (2003)

My long-awaited review of THE WIRE: SEASON 2 is now live as an exclusive for Obsessed With Film, if you'd like to check it out. As always, I encourage your comments to discuss this season in greater depth (either here or over at OWF, whatever's easiest.)

"There’s no denying The Wire’s a noteworthy achievement in the annals of TV crime drama; it’s plotted with intricacy, acted with skill, and almost documentary-like in its refined realism. It’s also an infamously tough viewing experience because there’s little exposition or guidance for viewers — you’re simply dropped into Baltimore and expected to keep up like a native. Trouble is, while I find it refreshing that a US drama expects (nay, requires) its audience to work for eventual reward, I still find it a problem that The Wire’s intentionally such a bastard to get a grip on." Continue reading...

24, 8.18 - "9:00AM - 10:00AM"

WRITERS: Chip Johannessen & Patrick Harbinson
DIRECTOR: Milan Cheylov
GUEST CAST: Gregory Itzin, Jürgen Prochnow, Reed Diamond, Graham McTavish, John Boyd, Bob Gunton, Necar Zadegan, Brad Fleischer, Joseph Kamal & Jack Shearer

[SPOILERS] This episode ranks as one of the most dialogue-heavy hours of 24 in a long time, but it laid a lot of cards on the table and gave three actors their best material this year. 24's not really known for its acting (although it's had some excellent actors doing great work on occasions), but watching Gregory Itzin, Cherry Jones and Kiefer Sutherland reminded you that 24 can have a "quiet" hour that doesn't feel tedious.

To recap events quickly: Logan (Itzin) threatened Novakovich with exposing the Russian government's involvement in the day's attacks on President Hassan, in order to get his country back to the peace treaty agreement; Jack (Sutherland) learned from Bazhaev (Jürgen Prochnow) that Dana (Katee Sackhoff) knows who killed Renee, and heads to CTU to interrogate her; Logan heard about Jack's investigation and was forced to tell President Taylor (Jones) about what the Russians have been up to, but convinces her to keep quiet in order to let the "greater good" of the peace treaty happen as planned; Taylor arrived at CTU to relieve Jack of duty personally, fearing he'll expose the Russians and foil a chance for peace; and Jack decided to go rogue by escaping from CTU custody and stealing a chopper.

As I said before, Itzin, Jones and Sutherland were all doing good work this week, each character given something interesting to play. Logan was back his snake-like ways of dirtying the morality of situations (I love how he rationalizes bad ideas), Jones showed some chinks in her armour by agreeing with Logan's plan to let Dalia (Necar Zadegan) sign a peace treaty with the country responsible for her husband's murder, and Jack was forced to commit treason and ignore the orders of his President because he's so convinced he's right and wants justice for Renee. All very good, interesting character moments, at least in terms of 24's playground. There wasn’t much else going on this week, but I enjoyed seeing an hour that skilfully recalibrated the storyline and put the goodie-two-shoes President in a very difficult position.

Asides

• Why isn't Logan still under lifelong house-arrest these days?
• I forgot to mention it last week, but Logan's advisor Jason Pillar is played by actor Reed Diamond, who had a similar role on Dollhouse.

2 MAY 2010: SKY1/HD, 9PM

TV Picks: 3-9 May 2010 (Justified, Luther, Midsomer Murders, Strike Back, and more...)

MAY DAY BANK HOLIDAY

She's Amazing (Sky1, 8pm) Angela Griffin looks at the people taking part in Cancer Research's Race For Life.
Dive, Dive, Dive (BBC4, 9pm) Series looking at submarines. Hosted by Robert Llewellyn.

TUESDAY 4th

Theo's Adventure Capitalists (BBC2, 8pm) Series about British companies trying to expand into the markets of India, Brazil and Vietnam. Hosted by Dragons' Den's Theo Pathitis.
The Boats That Built Britain (BBC4, 8.30pm) Tom Cunliffe charts the history of British seafaring.
Luther (BBC1, 9pm) Crime drama about a detective battling his personal demons. Stars Idris Elba & Paul McGann.
Children's Emergency (BBC1, 10.45pm) Eight-part series about the Children's Acute Transport Service.

WEDNESDAY 5th

Midsomer Murders (ITV1, 8pm) Murder mystery series.
First Time Voters' Question Time (BBC3, 8pm) Special election debate special. Hosted by Dermot O'Leary.
Strike Back (Sky1, 9pm) Action drama based on the novel by former-SAS soldier Chris Ryan. Stars Richard Armitage & Andrew Lincoln.
Timothy Spall Somewhere At Sea (BBC4, 10pm) The actor and his wife sail around the UK.
Justified (FiveUSA, 10pm) US drama series. Stars Timothy Oliphant.

THURSDAY 6th

Britain's Greatest Machines (Five, 8pm) Series looking at the country's most notable machines and discoveries. Hosted by Chris Barrie.
Channel 4's Alternative Election Night (Channel 4, 9pm) Irreverant take on the election night. Hosted by David Mitchell, Lauren Laverne, Charlie Brooker & Jimmy Carr.
Autism, Disco & Me (BBC3, 9pm) Documentary about a family with three autistic kids.

FRIDAY 7th

How To Live A Simple Life (BBC2, 9pm) Three-part series about Peter Owen Jones, a part-time vicar who tries to avoid consumerism for a year.

SATURDAY 8th

SAS: The Real Story (Channel 4, 8pm) Series documenting the history, myths and secrecy of the SAS.
Nation On Film: VE Day (BBC2, 8.30pm) Documentary about life during WWII, using footage shot by both amateurs and professionals. Narrated by David Suchet.

SUNDAY 9th

Radio One Night: When Moyles Met The Radio 1 Breakfast DJs (BBC2, 9pm) Documentary about the impact Radio 1's famous breakfast show slot has had on the UK for the past 40 years. Current breakfast DJ Chris Moyles meets his predecessors, who include Mike Read, Mike Smith, Simon Mayo, Steve Wright, Tony Blackburn, Zoe Ball & Sara Cox.

FRINGE 2.20 - "Brown Betty"

WRITERS: Jeff Pinkner, J.H Wyman & Akiva Goldsman
DIRECTOR: Seith Mann
GUEST CAST: Lily Pilblad, Michael Cerveris & Leonard Nimoy (voice)

[SPOILERS] Despite its hype as a "musical episode" (a la Buffy's "Once More With Feeling"), Fringe's "Brown Betty" was actually no such thing. There were only four brief outbursts of singing, none of which drove the story forward. This was more a visualization of Walter's (John Noble) imagination while high on drugs and sorrow over son Peter's (Joshua Jackson) disappearance, telling a fantastical noir detective story to Olivia's (Anna Torv) niece while he minded her in his lab. It was amusing, and I'm glad Fringe has added another string to its bow (stealing a trick from The X Files' own "comedy episode" format), but the whole thing felt a bit laboured.

As mentioned, Olivia's niece Ella (Lily Pilblad) was dropped off at Walt's lab, meaning he had to entertain her with a story that merged the fanciful with truths about his life, career and emotional attachment to Pete. In some ways "Brown Betty" felt badly-scheduled, given last week's shock ending when Peter learned he was stolen from the parallel universe, but I'm glad writers Jeff Pinkner, J.H Wyman and Akiva Goldsman at least found a way to make this whimsy feel connected to Walt's mental state.

Said story was entertaining enough, although because it was for the benefit of a child character it felt more immature than I'd have liked. It reminded me of Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow spliced with Spy Kids-esque humour/peril, with the "Candyman" song from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, and featuring the core cast of Fringe. Olivia was a lipsticked gumshoe detective, Broyles (Lance Reddick) was a piano-playing informant, Walter was a genius paraplegic in a Hammer Horror-meets-Fisher Price lab of paraphernalia (working on making corpses sing!), Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) was pretty much herself, The Observer (Michael Cerveris) was renamed "The Watcher" and spoke more freely as Nina's hitman (wouldn't it have been more fun if he was a chatterbox?), Peter was a supposed thief who had literally stolen Walter's "glass heart", and William Bell even appeared in animated form on a TV (further evidence that casting Leonard Nimoy may have stoked geek fires, but it's made little sense from a production standpoint.)

I really don't have much more to say about this. It was cute, there were some fun moments, but compared to X Files episode of this nature it was sorely lacking. It was far below the work of Vince Gilligan and Darin Morgan when they worked on The X Files crafting similarly quirky ideas, mainly because it lacked much intelligence. It was just an amusing little romp where the cast got to play dress-up, disappointing me in many ways. And given the fact Darin Morgan was a consulting producer on Fringe last season, it just reminded me how unfortunate the show was to lose him without ever utilizing his Emmy-winning talent. He'd have worked wonders on a story like this, with far more incisive jokes and subtextual delights. As it stands, "Brown Betty" was just a diverting lark.

29 APRIL 2010: FOX, 9/8c

DOCTOR WHO 5.5 - "Flesh And Stone"

WRITER: Steven Moffat
DIRECTOR: Adam Smith
GUEST CAST: Alex Kingston, Iain Glen, David Atkins, Darren Morfitt, Mark Monero & George Russo

[SPOILERS] The concluding part of the "Time Of Angels" was even more tense than last week's preface, and simply because it ended in a rational way left me feeling relieved and satisfied. So many Russell T. Davies-scripted episodes of yore failed to deliver a convincing pay-off, but writer Steven Moffat's scripts were always the exception and he's lost none of his touch.

Continuing immediately from last week's cliffhanger, The Doctor (Matt Smith), Amy (Karen Gillan), River (Alex Kingston) and their band of soldier-clerics find themselves stuck to the bottom of the Byzantium spaceship –- having escaped the encroaching Weeping Angels after The Doctor managed to trigger the overhead ship's gravity field and pull them skyward to temporary safety. From there, "Flesh And Stone" essentially boiled down to an extended chase sequence up through the Byzantium, taking in its "oxygen factory" of artificial trees (a forest of "treeborgs"), with the Angels in staccato pursuit thanks to the flickering lights.

Adding an extra twist was the surprising decision to tackle this year's motif of the glowing crack that's been following the TARDIS since it appeared in Amy's bedroom in "The Eleventh Hour". I say surprising because nu-Who has previously kept the season's motif unexplained until the finale, but Moffat has wisely chosen to subvert expectations and give us an information dump mid-way through. The crack is, as many suspected, the aftermath of a terrible event yet to occur in The Doctor's timeline; damage to space-time which has the power to "unwrite" time wherever it appears –- hence Amy's inability to remember the Daleks just recently, and possibly many other troublesome issues of Doctor Who canonicity.

"Flesh And Stone" was a very good, furiously-paced action-adventure -- partly because its core was a simple chase/siege story, allowing the setpieces and performances to breathe around it. Smith put in a winning performance as The Doctor, able to show an angry and impatient side to this latest incarnation, and it was great to see The Doctor take charge of the situation more overtly. Consequently, River Song was pushed into the background as a result of the Doctor taking the lead, which did feel a shame, but we at least got to discover some of her backstory. Turns out she was a prisoner of the clerics, arrested for the murder of a very important man (The Doctor?), and trying to accrue leniency by helping Father Octavian (Iain Glen). The mystery of River Song will no doubt continue for awhile yet, as she leaves the story in handcuffs but will apparently return when "the Pandorica opens" (i.e the finale, right?)

Overall, I have no major complaints about "Flesh And Stone", although there were a few instances when gobbledegook got the better of the writing and Moffat started playing unfairly with his own established lore. A sequence when Amy (eyes closed to prevent an Angel possessing her mind) was able to move through a group of fleeing Angels in the forest, didn't make any sense knowing that the Angels are free to move and attack if they're not being viewed. A line was spun about those Angels acting on instinct as they fled, and were assuming Amy could see them, but I didn't buy that for a second. Since when did "assumption" come into play? Last week, the Angels were turned to stone simply when viewed through a video-feed! And despite the beautiful creepiness of a moment when the Angels move in "real time", why did they still resemble stone statues? I thought they only turned to stone when viewed?

Still, there was plenty to enjoy here; from The Doctor's one-liners ("I made him say comfy chair") to the surprising denouement when Amy ravished The Doctor in her bedroom after returning home from this adventure. It was so bizarre to see Amy throw herself at The Doctor that part of me can't quite believe it stems entirely from her character's infatuation with "the raggedy Doctor" and there's something else going on –- not least because Amy's alarm-clock read "26.06.2010", which is a date The Doctor feels particularly troubled by now. Has taking Amy away with him on an adventure somehow caused the crack that's now chasing them down across space and time?

Asides

• There's a fun theory floating around that we actually saw two versions of The Doctor in the forest, because in one scene The Doctor spoke with Amy before he left to be with River while wearing the tweed jacket he'd lost beforehand. A continuty error? Maybe. But if you watch the scene, The Doctor's dialogue does sound like that of a future-version who's just arrived through the time-space crack to help Amy. Or are fans reading too much into a production goof?
• River Song mentions the opening of the Pandorica (as she did in "The Silence Of The Library"), which The Doctor was told has already happened by Patient Zero in "The Eleventh Hour". I'm not sure why The Doctor dismissed River's tease out of hand, rather than look intrigued that the Pandorica was mentioned for the third time. Maybe the Pandorica dialogue in "Eleventh Hour" wasn't written until after this episode was filmed?
• Steven Moffat came up with the idea for the "crack in the wall" motif after he noticed one above his son Louie's bed, shaped like a smile. Louie also suggested this episode's title. I sense another writer in the family...
• The date of 26.06.2010 "coincides" with the scheduled airdate for series 5's finale (unless Eurovision delays it.)
• Filming took place in the 14-acre Puzzlewood, part of the Forest Of Dean, for nine nights in July 2009.
• I just wanted to mention that Doctor Who's notoriously overblown music sounds a lot better on BBC HD, on account of the fact its Dolby Digital 5.1 mix does a better job of evening out the dialogue and score.

1 MAY 2010: BBC1/HD, 6.25PM

Next time...

HAPPY TOWN 1.1 - "In This Town On Ice"

Over at Obsessed With Film, my column gets underway with a review of ABC's new mystery-drama HAPPY TOWN, from the triumverate behind the failed Life On Mars remake. I hope you'll check it out, as all my premiere/finale reviews will now be hosted by OWF. Be sure to leave a comment either there or here. All feedback is much appreciated, as always.

"... comes laden with clichés (it opens on a full moon with canoodling lovers in a car, of course), familiar actors given rote characters, and plenty of baggage for the enlightened. You see, the last time Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg put their minds together it was for the short-lived US remake of Life On Mars, which concluded with a finale so excruciatingly inept that it's impossible to have faith Happy Town will lead anywhere logical and worthwhile." Continue reading...

ASHES TO ASHES 3.5

WRITERS: Tom Butterworth & Chris Hurford
DIRECTOR: Jamie Payne
GUEST CAST: Lee Ross, Nicholas Gleaves, Roy Hudd, Camille Coduri, Robert Wilfort, Joseph Long, Jack James & Geff Francis

[SPOILERS] This episode tested my patience with its weak investigation storyline and, despite some layering to the wider mystery of what happened to Sam Tyler, I find myself caring less and less. I just can't shake the feeling Ashes To Ashes is about to take a big dump all over Life On Mars' divisive but resonant finale. I hope the writers' explanation is strong enough to make series 3 look much stronger in retrospect, but we'll just have to wait and see.

This week, Gene's (Philip Glenister) rival from his Manchester days arrived in London, a cocky DCI by the name of Litton (Lee Ross, overacting) who was meant to be a brasher dinosaur than Gene but came across as just an oily caricature with a jutting jaw and comedy moustache. Litton's down south trying to locate end-of-the-pier comedian Frank Hardwick (Roy Hudd), who stole money from a police pension fund. Oh yes, big stakes.

To cut a long a tiresome story short, the presence of Litton and his right-hand man DI Bevan (Nicholas Gleaves) made their equivalents Gene and Ray (Dean Andrews) feel like they've gone soft since leaving Manchester, and there was clear antagonism between Litton and Gene that Keats (Daniel Mays) exploited by cooperating with Litton's investigation just to annoy Hunt. Alex (Keeley Hawes) felt the blunt force of Litton's misogyny, but also came to suspect that Bevan was instrumental in covering up what really happened to Sam Tyler three years ago, acting on behalf of Gene.

The focal storyline with Hardwick was so thin and prosaic that it was a struggle to stay engaged with, especially with Ross and Gleaves giving broad performances that reminded me how daft and pantomime Ashes To Ashes can feel at its worst. This was exacerbated by the fact a backdrop to the whole episode was a very unconvincing charity event, which saw Chris (Marshall Lancaster) body-popping, an uninspired Blue Brothers routine, and a duet for Ray and Shaz (Montserrat Lombard) singing "Danny Boy". All moments best scrubbed from your memory.

Whenever's there's such a tepid storyline, I usually rely on the clues to the overarching mystery to conciliate my disappointment. Here, Gene burned Sam's leather jacket and case-files in a steel drum, Ray saw the same panorama of stars that Shaz and Alex have witnessed recently, and it became clear that Bevan did know something incriminating about what Gene did (or didn't do) that resulted in Sam's death -- so much so that Gene was forced to shoot him dead. A few things to chew on there, certainly, but was it worth the effort? The show will be over with in three weeks, and there's never enough firm evidence to construct fresh theories from. I've had three pet theories in play since series 1 about how Ashes To Ashes can end, and the show has done very little to dissuade me from them.

Overall, I just found this very weak. I appear to be in the minority for disliking series 3 (amongst the online community), but many of my friends are likewise finding Ashes To Ashes difficult to care about now. I hope there's a stunning finale planned, because the show deserves to end on a high -- especially as the creators risk defacing Life On Mars by binding the two shows together for its third act.

Asides

• I'm going to pray that Ray's line about "astronauts" after seeing stars isn't of deeper relevance, and was perhaps just a dig at the atrocious ending of ABC's Life On Mars remake (where the characters were revealed to be futuristic astronauts travelling to the Red Planet on a "gene hunt", ho-ho.)
• Ray's "Danny Boy" performance was perhaps something of an in-joke, as actor Dean Andrews is actually a very good singer.
• I've enjoyed seeing how paperwork and procedures (the bane of Gene's way of life) are slowly creeping into the police system this series. It was fun to see a tape-recorder being used in an interview room to prevent police brutality, which Gene inevitably poured tea over.
• They shot Ben Elton! That has to be one of the strangest moments in Ashes To Ashes history, having an actor play a well-known '80s comedian and have him shot. I guess Tom Butterworth and Chris Hurford didn't like Blackadder or The Young Ones.
• I'm sure Montserrat Lombard's a lovely, sweet person in real life... but the character of Shaz and her insipid voice really makes my eyes roll. She's awful on this show.

30 APRIL 2010: BBC1/HD, 9PM

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: May 2010 (Book Of Eli, BSG The Plan, Daybreakers, Ninja Assassin, The Prisoner, Sherlock Holmes, True Blood S2, Up In The Air, Where The Wild Things Are, and more...)

3 MAY

Caligula [D] [B]
Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds [D]
Samantha Who: Season 1 [D]
Taking Woodstock [B]
The Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day [D]
The Prisoner (2009) [D] [B]

10 MAY

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan [D] [B]
It's Complicated [D] [B]
Nowhere Boy [D] [B]
Paul Blart: Mall Cop [B]
Toy Story/Toy Story 2 Box-set [D] [B]
Where The Wild Things Are [D] [B]

17 MAY

Atonement [B]
Minority Report [B]
Ninja Assassin [D] [B]
Pride & Prejudice [B]
Sherlock Holmes [D] [B]
The Road [D] [B]
True Blood: Season 2 [D] [B]
True Blood: Season 1 & 2 [D] [B]

24 MAY

44 Inch Chest [D] [B]
Did You Hear About The Morgans? [D] [B]
Facejacker: Series 1 [D]
Fonejacker Series 1 & 2/Facejacker Box-set [D]
Precious [D] [B]
St. Trinian's 2: The Legend Of Fritton's Gold [D] [B]
Up In The Air [D] [B]

31 MAY

Armored [D] [B]
Daybreakers [D] [B]
The Book Of Eli [D] [B]