BBC stakes BEING HUMAN dead

BBC Three's highly successful supernatural drama Being Human has been cancelled by the BBC, after five series of 37 episodes and one popular North American remake. A few novels have even been published. That's an impressive feat for a relatively low-budget TV show that started life as a backdoor 2008 pilot, which only Russell Tovey survived when it became a full-blown series. The show even shed actors after three years, leading to a new trio of characters headlining the current final series.

Being Human's creator Toby Whithouse has written a blog about the demise of the show, which echoes much of my own thoughts. I think its time was up. The idea just isn't as fresh as it once was; and while I think the new characters have plenty of positives, you can't shake the feeling the show ended once the original line-up were gone. Indeed, part of me thinks Being Human sort of ended once Lenora Crichlow was the only leftover face from series 1. Everything since has been a strange kind of canonical reboot.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, 3.17 & 3.18 – 'Enemies' & 'Earshot'

Faith: No one can stop the Ascension. Mayor's got it wired, B. He built this town for demons to feed on, and come Graduation Day, he's gettin' paid. And I'll be sittin' at his right hand -- assuming he has hands after the transformation, I'm not too clear on that part. And all your little lame-ass friends are gonna be kibbles 'n' bits.

The end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's third season is in sight, and I must admit I'm getting a little restless. Half this season felt like an addendum to the second, and while the quality of each episode has generally improved... I just can't shake the feeling season 3's wasted a lot of time and hasn't found a Big Bad half as enjoyable as Spike, Drusilla and Angelus (David Boreanaz) were before. The Mayor's (Harry Groener) masterplan is intentionally kept vague, but the mystery is more frustrating than pleasing. "ENEMIES" was a curious installment, in that I had two distinct reactions to it...

MSN TV: BBC2's DANCING ON THE EDGE

Over on MSN today: I've reviewed the feature-length opener of Stephen Poliakoff's five-part miniseries DANCING ON THE EDGE, about a black jazz band trying to breakthrough in 1930s London; starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthew Goode, Janet Montgomery, John Goodman, Anthony Head & Angel Coulby.

The best period dramas reveal something to the modern-day viewer, often involving cultural differences. I must admit the idea of a mini-series about the fortunes of a London jazz band isn't something with inherent appeal, but Stephen Poliakoff's script was more entertaining and involving than expected. What's more, who could fail to be impressed by the cast assembled for this production? In addition to Chiwetel Ejiofor, there's Matthew Goode, the aforementioned John Goodman, screen veterans Jacqueline Bisset and Jane Asher, comedian Mel Smith, Buffy and Merlin star Anthony Head, Merlin's Angel Coulby and Doctor Who's Jenna-Louise Coleman. I liked how the story was very straightforward at heart, as this allowed for interesting character moments and a narrative with time to breathe.

Continue reading at MSN TV...

MSN TV: BBC3's BEING HUMAN (series 5)

Over on MSN today: I've reviewed the fifth series premiere of BBC Three's BEING HUMAN, which is the first with none of the original actors involved. Has this rejuvenated the supernatural drama completely, or is it the same old thing with different faces?

I was a huge fan of Being Human's first few series, and mostly enjoyed the third that concluded with Aidan Turner's departure. Last year was an important transitional period as Russell Tovey and Lenora Crichlow also left. Michael Socha's werewolf Tom was promoted to a regular character and Damien Molony's vampire Hal was introduced alongside Kate Bracken's ghost Alex. Ironically, The Trinity - the series five opener - marks the first episode with no connection to the original triumvirate, so I was interested to see if they would breathe new life into an ageing show. This premiere wasn't bad, but I think a good deal of fans will concede that Being Human's past its prime. It doesn't help that the original actors have departed, but a bigger problem is how the concept doesn't appear to have much juice left.

Continue reading at MSN TV...

TV Picks: 4-10 February 2013 (BAFTA 2012, Common Ground, Dancing on the Edge, Nashville, The Spa, Spiral, etc.)

Below are my picks of the week's most notable TV shows, premiering/returning to UK television screens. Feel free to leave a comment about what you will be watching, or if I've missed anything worth watching...

Twitter'd: THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2012)

It's the latest in my occasional series of live-tweeted quips about a movie I'm not passionate about reviewing properly. Click below if you'd like to read some random thoughts and jokes about THE EXPENDABLES 2, starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Jet Li, et al...

MSN TV: ITV's SPLASH! - Final

Over on MSN today: I review the final of ITV's celebrity diving series SPLASH!, having missed the semi-final the week before. (Don't worry, it still made perfect nonsense to me.) I'm so relieved this Saturday night water torture's over...

You have to give Splash! credit for maintaining an audience of over five million viewers, although it's perhaps less of a statement on the show's quality and more the lack of family-friendly entertainment in general. In the wake of the BBC axing Total Wipeout and Harry Hill's TV Burp ending, Splash! is the only Saturday night show you can plonk an eight-year-old and 80-year-old in front of without anxiety. That's not quite true of crude dating gameshow Take Me Out, let's be frank.

Continue reading at MSN TV...

Netflix's HOUSE OF CARDS (2013)

written by Beau Willimon (based on the miniseries by Andrew Davies and the novel by Michael Dobbs) / directed by David Fincher

There's two conversations to be had about House of Cards: the content of the show itself, and the unusual way it's been distributed. We'll start with the actual drama, which is a 13-part political thriller based on Andrew Davies' 1990 British miniseries that starred Ian Richardson as a devious Conservative trying to become Prime Minister—which was itself adapted from a novel by Michael Dobbs. In the US remake, Kevin Spacey (something of an Anglophile) takes the lead as Francis Underwood, the House of Representative's Majority Whip, who is unhappy when his efforts to install the next President go unrewarded with the promise of being made Secretary of State. Consequently, the ruthless Democrat plots revenge against President Walker (Michael Gill), Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez (Sakina Jaffrey) and the man who usurped him, Michael Kern—aided and abetted by his equally ambitious wife Claire (Robin Wright).

Despite being bankrolled by a company that make their money distributing other people's content, Netflix have sunk $100m into House of Cards and it's indistinguishable from prestigious dramas you'd expect from the likes of HBO. Anyone expecting a shoestring budget will be delighted by the production values, and it's clear that "Chapter One" benefits from having renowned director David Fincher behind the camera. He brings his gift for composition to the show and makes the camera-work look effortless, while imbuing it with an atmosphere and look comparable to The Social Network. I haven't seen beyond this episode at time of writing, but it'll be interesting to see if Fincher's standard-setting hour is maintained by some of the less feted directors involved—like James Foley (Glengarry Glenross) and Carl Franklin (Devil In A Blue Dress). I'm also looking forward to seeing if Joel Schumacher brings something different to the mix, or is happy to follow Fincher's example for the sake of continuity.

Yes, it's been a slow blogging week

Hello, dear reader.

I just wanted to fill people in on what's happening here at Dan's Media Digest. I haven't had much time to watch anything this week (poor me), which is why a number of things haven't materialised. Given the muted response to my first few reviews of Utopia, I've decided to keep that show as something to watch and NOT write about. For reasons of awfulness, I also won't bother trying to squeeze words out about The Following. I've also decided to watch Spartacus: War of the Damned at UK-pace for reasons of HD-ness (it begins 11 Feb on Sky1), and haven't had time to watch more Buffy the Vampire Slayer lately—so I'm going to have to take a short break from those season 3 catch-ups (a fortnight at the most).

But there is good news! I will definitely be covering Being Human again when it starts this Sunday (initially with the premiere for MSN), and might add FX's The Americans to my weekly rota if reader response is favourable. I will also try to review the pilot of House of Cards, directed by David Fincher, if I can get my hands on it (the whole first season is available simultaneously on Netflix today), and will be writing about the Dan Harmon-less Community and The Walking Dead whenever an episode inspires me. Looking a little further ahead, the pilot of ABC's Zero Hour and series 2 of Black Mirror will also be reviewed.

So, my apologies for the slow week in blogging, but these things happen. In the meantime... um, how about Merlin's Katie McGrath playing Lucy in the NBC/Sky Dracula TV show? Awesome. Oh, and if you have anything else to ask or suggest, this is probably the ideal place to do it below. Thank you!

TV Review: FX's THE AMERICANS

If Showtime's Homeland had been made 30 years ago, chances are it would resemble FX's The Americans. This new spy drama also leans on the recent US cable trend for anti-heroes (Dexter, Breaking Bad), asking us to invest sympathy in the double lives of Phillip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) Jennings—an apparently normal couple with two kids, who are actually KGB sleeper agents tasked to help defeat the United States from within. The Jenning's own children aren't aware of their parent's true identity, and behind closed doors Phillip and Elizabeth's marriage isn't even real—although Phillip would like it to be, given half the chance. It's a fascinating set-up for a drama, imbued with period details from 1981 (soon after Ronald Reagan became President and rolled up his sleeves over Cold War issues), but does The Americans have what it takes to become a long-running hit?