DOCTOR WHO, 7.13 – 'The Name of The Doctor'

written by Steven Moffat / directed by Saul Metzstein

His stories aren't perfect, but Steven Moffat has so much confidence and ostentatiousness as a storyteller I can't resist his tent-pole episodes. A few stretches of "The Name of The Doctor" even made actual sense, until Moffat wanted to wring something extra from a scene and it resulted in the usual sense of illogic.

Letterboxd: MACGRUBER (2010)

I've signed up to Letterboxd, which is a "social network for sharing your taste in film"; which basically means it lets people review, rate, and keep track of all the films they watch.

I encourage you to follow me there, or else follow me on Twitter where I'll be posting links to future Letterboxd reviews. Alternatively, you may have noticed a widget in the left sidebar of DMD, where I'll list my five most recent Letterboxd reviews.

By means of a special preview for people too lazy to click a link (they exist), below is my inaugural Letterboxd review of 2010 spoof comedy MacGruber:

My hope for an AUSTIN POWERS-style discovery of a comedy classic everyone ignored at the cinema was short-lived, with this laborious and unfunny '80s action hero spoof. Based on a Saturday Night Live character parodying MacGyver, Will Forte plays the eponymous hero who's called back into action, RAMBO III-style (or HOT SHOTS II-style?), to stop a terrorist played by Val Kilmer—whose name, Dieter Von Cunth, is probably the cleverest thing about this lame comedy.

Forte gurns and yells his way through a storyline that runs out of good jokes after 20-minutes, before the plot gives out 10-minutes later. It was a struggle to stay awake an hour in. Ryan Phillipe gives the film's best performance as MacGruber's reluctant sidekick, but all of its best moments are in the trailer, and the writing gets little mileage out of doing for '80s action cinema what AUSTIN POWERS did for '60s spy thrillers.

It doesn't even have a firm grip on its lead character; who's introduced as an all-American hero with the medals to prove it, but spends the entire movie being inept and infuriating the boss who lauded him. It's like a PINK PANTHER movie if Commissioner Dreyfuss went looking for the retired Clouseau, and had somehow forgotten what a clutz he is.

A weak SNL movie, which I guess is upholding a tradition rarely broken.

Trailer: CBS's INTELLIGENCE

Here's the trailer/promo for CBS spy-fi drama Intelligence, about an ex-Navy SEAL implanted with a microchip that gives him a mental link to the worldwide information grid (i.e. the internet, WiFi, telephone and satellite data.) "Six Million Dollar Man for the information age" is how it's being sold, but it also feels like a straight dramatic version of NBC's Chuck. Josh Holloway's a good pick for the lead, but his character doesn't 'pop' in this trailer like Sawyer did on Lost.

It'll also be interesting to see how this show operates, because on most spy shows the hero needs other characters to be his 'eyes and ears' from a surveillance van parked close by, but Holloway's character has less need for that type of backup. Incidentally, I much prefer these types of promos, that have cast/crew 'talking heads' simply telling us what the show's about, with clips giving us a flavour and feel of things.

Intelligence premieres early-2014 as a mid-season replacement on CBS.

Trailers: Showtime's DEXTER (season 8) and Fox's SLEEPY HOLLOW

After yesterday's blog about an effective 'Masterpiece' promo I enjoyed, Showtime have released the official trailer for Dexter's final season. It's a little bit spoiler-y and suggests some avenues the show may ultimately take to resolve itself. There appears to be a lot of character-based content for Dex and Deb this year, following the climax of season 7 (which is both appropriate and great to see), but not a lot else to get excited about... beyond the fact this show is building towards a definite ending, which is exciting in itself.

Of all the trailers that have been released for US network Upfronts presentations, I feel like I have to write about the one for Fox's Sleepy Hollow. God, this looks insane! Adapting Washington Irving's famous ghost story for television struck me as a difficult task, but the ways in which they've "broadened" the idea are plain ludicrous...

Teaser: DEXTER - the final season

How do you want to be remembered?

The eighth and final season of Showtime's Dexter is a little over a month away, so the publicity machine is awakening. We've already had a few brilliant posters (embedded below) but here's a clever promotion selling the idea of Dexter Morgan leaving a legacy. It's also a nice reminder of how enjoyable this show's been, for the most part. Yes, it made the unfortunate error of sticking to a successful formula for too long (i.e. Debra should have been made aware of her brother's homicidal tendencies around season 5), but I was very happy with the season 7's repair job. It'll be a challenge to end Dexter in a way that's both satisfying and surprising (haven't fans guessed every possible outcome by now?*), but I just hope the last leg of this show is a thrilling one.

Dexter returns 30 June. ( * I still think it should end with Dexter on Death Row, but considered a 'folk anti-hero' by the majority of the city's population. Anyone agree?)

HANNIBAL, 1.8 - 'Fromage'

This show is already very serialised, but "Fromage" almost felt like a third part of the "Entrée"/"Sorbet" two-parter, continuing the idea that Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) is consumed by loneliness and sees a chance of real friendship with Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), who can adopt his perspective but is different enough to be of interest. The 'killer-of-the-week' storyline also got closer than ever before to Lecter's secret life, as his idolising patient Franklin (Dan Fogler) revealed his friend Tobias (Demore Barnes) recently spoke of playing someone's neck like a musical instrument, before a trombonist was found with the neck of a cello rammed down his throat in order to play his vocal chords. Yeah, icky.

Everybody loves Riddick, right? A defence.

1999's Pitch Black was an inventive sci-fi actioner that introduced us to Vin Diesel, who mostly failed to capitalise on that promising start as a Hollywood action hero. I know he's part of the Fast & The Furious movies, which have somehow become box-office dynamite, but he only rejoined that franchise after solo projects xXx and Babylon A.D flopped at the box-office. And that's a pity, because I really like Diesel as an action star. He has a gravelly voice that could give Satan the willies, and is muscular without being too much of a Schwarzenegger-style cartoon.

MAD MEN, 6.7 – 'Man with a Plan'

The merger of ad agencies Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce and Cutler, Gleason & Chaough came with all the pain and power-struggles one could reasonably expect, with the empires of Don (Jon Hamm) and Ted (Kevin Rahm) groaning under the stress. Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) isn't happy she now has a smaller office, but is more indignant by Don's sly tactics in putting Ted in his place by getting him drunk in his office and sending him out to make a fool of himself in front of his staff, both new and old. The fact this only happened because Don was irritated a scheduled meeting wasn't deferred for 40-minutes because of his own avoidable absence just made it even more frustrating for viewers.

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN coming to TV

Film-maker Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Sin City) is launching his own television network later this year: the El Ray Network. It will be English-language, but target Latino audiences as a "home of kick-ass entertainment", according to Rodriguez himself. Spanish-language channel Univision will be handling the sales and distribution of the El Ray Network.

Anyway, the more interesting news is that Rodriguez already has two scripted dramas poised to launch his network: an action-adventure show by Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci (Fringe, Star Trek), and a TV version of 1996 crime horror From Dusk Till Dawn (which Rodriguez directed from an early Quentin Tarantino script and Robert Kurtzman story).

MSN TV: BBC1's FRANKIE

Over at MSN TV today: I've reviewed the premiere of BBC1's new medical drama FRANKIE, starring Torchwood's Eve Myles as a hard-working District Nurse...

The prospect of fighting more aliens after the wretched Torchwood: Miracle Day gets less likely with each passing day, so Eve Myles has wisely moved on, taking the lead in a new medical drama that plays more to her strengths. I know Eve has passionate fans in sci-fi circles but as Torchwood's Gwen Cooper, she was always a hair's breadth away from being a total embarrassment leaping around with twin handguns. Far more believable during Torchwood's down-to-earth scenes, she was allowed to behave more like a regular human being. Frankie gives Ms Myles a great showcase for her naturalism, and she's indeed very watchable as the flawed heroine of this new BBC drama.

Continue reading at MSN TV...