Trailer: HBO's TRUE BLOOD - season 6

HBO know how to put together a good trailer, and this has certainly benefited True Blood in the past. Every season of the show always looks amazing when you condense the best bits from a half-dozen episodes into a minute or so. The official trailer for season 6 is no exception, although it's noticeable this season doesn't seem be offering anything new. Season 3 had its werewolves, the fourth had witches, the fifth gave us vampire overlords and a goddess, but now it's just 'humans versus vampires' (which has been bubbling along in earnest from the days of the pilot, really). Still, there's Alexander Skarsgård's bare chest and Deborah Ann Woll in a schoolgirl uniform, so on that shallow level it's still bringing the goods...

TRUE BLOOD returns 16 June on HBO.

This summer: ANGEL and BUFFY catch-ups

We're approaching the so-called 'summer season' where many US TV network shows go off-air, but this rarely means we're entering an entertainment wasteland. UK TV still rolls on unhindered, and even US TV tends to fill June, July and August with new shows these days (especially on cable).

However, it's perhaps a good time to resume my popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer catch-ups, by moving into the show's fourth season. And I've decided to mix them with Angel catchups from its inaugural year, because the narrative of those shows intermingle. I'll be using this as my guide for covering each show, so you can refer to that if you wish, and even follow along.

Competition Result: PLEBS DVD

Thanks to everyone who entered my competition to win one of three copies of ITV2's sitcom Plebs on DVD. I asked the question '... what is the name of the [show's] gormless slave character?' and everyone correctly answered 'Grumio'.

The three randomly-chosen winners are:

Kim Plant, Shropshire
Pete Aighton, Cullompton
Dean Gerstel, Barnsley

Congratulations! You will each receive your DVD shortly. Many thanks to all who entered!

HANNIBAL, 1.6 - 'Entrée'

We're just over halfway through Hannibal's first season and, as you've no doubt realised, I'm a massive fan. This show's writing, its sinister tone, dingy atmosphere, slick visuals, and great performances play directly to my darker tastes. I can see why it's struggled to find a big audiences on a mainstream network like NBC, but I'm hoping it's financially viable for them to continue with it. And if not, hopefully another channel will pick it up, because it doesn't deserve a one-season lifespan.

Teaser: CBS's UNDER THE DOME

#UndertheDome teaser, you stand accused of gross overused of the #Inception BRRRRRAAAWWRWRMRMRMRMRMM youtu.be/JTqtPVHXBgo

— Dan Owen (@danowen79) May 1, 2013

Click here to bring that epic feeling to YOUR life.

MAD MEN, 6.5 - 'The Flood'

To its credit, Mad Men has always kept a focus on its own characters and has rarely used 1960s history in an easy and lazy way to create some drama. Quite a few events of the decade have been allowed to pass by, often without much comment. But there are obviously going to be exceptions (like season 3's JFK assassination episode "The Grown Ups"), and now this season's handling of another public figure's murder: pacifist civil rights campaigner Dr Martin Luther King.

MSN TV reviews: Sky Atlantic's BANSHEE, ITV's THE JOB LOT and VICIOUS

Over at MSN TV today: it's a triple-bill of reviews, starting with Sky Atlantic's US import BANSHEE about a jewel thief posing as a small-town's sheriff; continuing with ITV's new sitcom VICIOUS about an ageing gay couple played by Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi; and concluding with ITV's other new sitcom THE JOB LOT, about the employees of a city job centre...

Banshee is executive-produced by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, True Blood) and airs on male-skewing Cinemax in the US, which sets up all kinds of contradictory expectations. Cinemax's existing hit Strike Back (a co-production with Sky, who originated the franchise) is arguably the best action series on-air, so I was interested to see what the channel could do with something with more substance and levels.

Continue reading 'Banshee' at MSN TV... (You can also listen to my audioboo.)

Vicious has already been given the accolade of a Christmas special by ITV, so expectations were perhaps unreasonably high. ITV isn't revered for its sitcoms (which have been stuck in the doldrums for the past few decades), so perhaps they just got overexcited by the fact Vicious isn't deplorable.

Continue reading 'Vicious' at MSN TV...

Airing immediately after 1970s-style sitcom Vicious on Monday evenings, I was amused to find The Job Lot's theme tune also evoking memories of that bygone era; Bring Me Sunshine will forever be synonymous with Morecambe & Wise. Similarly to Vicious, The Job Lot feels outmoded and creatively predictable, but my guess is ITV are trying to woo an older audience who don't have much time for modern sensibilities.

Continue reading 'The Job Lot' at MSN TV...

Competition: win ITV2's PLEBS on DVD!

ITV2's hit comedy Plebs arrives on DVD and Blu-ray today, and I have three DVDs to give away to lucky readers, courtesy of Universal Pictures.

The six-part comedy is set in Ancient Rome and follows the exploits of three ordinary young men from the suburbs (Tom Rosenthal, Joel Fry, Ryan Sampson), as they try to find employment, have sex, and climb the social ladder.

To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the following question:

In Plebs, what is the name of the gormless slave character?

(a) Stylax
(b) Grumio
(c) Obelix

To enter, e-mail me your answer, remembering to include 'Plebs' in the subject header and your full name and address (so your DVD can be dispatched if you win).

This competition ends on 3 May 2013 @5PM (GMT) and is only open to citizens of the UK and Ireland. Full Terms & Conditions can be read here. The three winners will be chosen at random from all of the correct entries. Good luck!

TV Picks: 29 April - 5 May 2013 (Banshee, Community, Four Rooms, The Job Lot, Vicious, Would I Lie To You?, etc.)

Below are my picks of the week's most notable TV shows, premiering/returning to British screens...

DOCTOR WHO, 7.10 - 'Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS'

It has a title that evokes a thrilling Jules Verne adventure, and that's mostly what we got with Stephen Thompson's "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" (hereafter "Journey"); an eagerly anticipated episode because it promised to show us areas of the TARDIS beyond the console room. Most people know a thrifty BBC budget is what originally constrained Doctor Who's iconic time machine, leading to the master-stroke of it appearing outwardly smaller, but it became something of a running joke that you rarely see much of the interior, either--most notably with the frequent mentions of it having a swimming pool during Steven Moffat's era. And while there have been occasions where ancillary rooms or corridors were glimpsed (most notably during 'The Doctor's Wife' last series), "Journey" finally took viewers deep into the TARDIS, with The Doctor as a quasi-Willy Wonka guide and rescuer, and it was mostly worth the wait after half a century.