Tuesday 2 September 2008

TV

God, the Devil and Bob
1x05 Neighbor's Keeper

Mutual Friends
1x02 Episode Two
So, here's a comedy-drama, which, as we now all know, means it's neither very funny nor very dramatic. Except, sometimes, it is quite funny... just not funny enough to be a full-on comedy. But the drama's utterly pathetic, as if they knew it wasn't funny enough to be a comedy so decided to make it a comedy-drama. And thanks to it being a comedy-drama it's an hour, because I think they now want it to be more of a drama. But it gets dull after an hour, and would be better in a shorter dose. All this considered, it's a bit of a muddle.

Outnumbered
1x06 Episode 6 [2nd watch; season finale]
Unlike Mutual Friends, this is flat-out excellent. Certainly one of the best sitcoms ever made, perhaps plainly one of the best programmes ever made. As well as being completely hilarious every episode, it also manages higher levels of pathos and proper drama than most dramas, never mind comedies. The fact it's not broadcast in a prime time slot to greater acclaim and larger audiences is surely a crime against the viewing public. A second season airs on BBC One at the end of the month -- make sure you see it.

Articles

Don LaFontaine, voice of movie trailers, dies
(from Mail.com)
"LaFontaine has been a fixture in Hollywood for decades, working on about 5,000 movie trailers. Much of his fame stems from his trademark movie-trailer catch phrase, 'In a world where...'"

Review of Disaster Movie by Glen Ferris
(from Empire Online)
"a possible hazard to brain cells, the only thing this offensive dross gets right is the title."

Twilight Series Halted, Read Stephenie Meyer's Midnight Sun Draft by Brad Brevet
(from RopeofSilicon)
"Midnight Sun, which would retell the Twilight stories only this time from the perspective of Edward. However, her draft found its way online... and she has decided to stop working on the story indefinitely... Meyer goes on to say the draft is incomplete, "the writing is messy and flawed and full of mistakes"... I thought that was her M.O." Ha ha.
I have to say, not only does the series sound rather crappy, but Meyer appears to be a dreadfully annoying J.K. Rowling wannabe who's probably decidedly bitter that she's not as big as Rowling and gets even more slated by those critics who have actually heard of her.

Some other articles read today can be found here and here.

Not the end for Young Bond?

The fifth and final book in Puffin's Young Bond series, By Royal Command, finally hits UK bookshelves tomorrow -- based on the preceding books and the hints that we've had about this one, it should be a good read.

Author Charlie Higson has been doing the rounds to promote the book, and it seems that this may not be the final book after all...

Take a look at:

Charlie Higson Talks Young Bond And Beyond by Devin Zydel
(from CommanderBond.net)
Covering the final book, the forthcoming SilverFin graphic novel, the potential for film adaptations, and what Higson has planned next ("basically 28 Days Later for kids").

Charlie Higson On The Future Of Young Bond by Devin Zydel
(from CommanderBond.net)
"The most intriguing aspect of the interview is Higson’s reply when asked if By Royal Command represented the end of the Young Bond books: ‘No. I'm taking a break for the time being.’"

And for the full version of the above:

Charlie Higson Interview - BBC Breakfast
(on YouTube; originally from BBC Breakfast)

"this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing"

Exclusive: Ritchie Talks Sherlock Holmes by Glen Ferris
(from Empire Online)
I'm growing increasingly, but still cautiously, optimistic about this film.

Though this report is slightly more worrying:

Downey’s Holmes To Be “Bad-Ass” by 'Cybergosh'
(from UGO MovieBlog)
"Sherlock Holmes will be turned into a “bad-ass” martial arts expert in Guy Ritchie's hard-hitting new film... Robert Downey Jr. tells British newspaper The Sun, “I’ve got to spend some time with Guy and I love his take on it. We’re both martial arts enthusiasts and in the original stories of Sherlock Holmes, he’s kind of a bad-ass and a bare-knuckle boxer and studies the rare, fictional martial art of baritsu. If you look baritsu up, they can’t even really tell you what it is, so it gives us a lot of leeway.”" Hmm...