Argumental
2x02 (30/3/09 edition)
In which Rufus Hound summarises four years' of Doctor Who's arc plots in one very long sentence. Impressive.
The Wire
1x01 The Target
With BBC Two airing The Wire rather late at night, I'm intending to watch every episode the next day -- so, the episode that was actually on TV this evening was 1x02 (just in case this has confused you).
For my thoughts on this episode, look here.
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Articles
David Cronenberg Making Plans For Eastern Promises Sequel by Eric Ditzian
(from Movies Blog at MTV)
I've yet to see the highly acclaimed Eastern Promises... but now I know the big twist ending, thanks to this article. And Cronenberg himself has warned against this! Bastard news article writers.
Anyway, if you've not seen it, let the title and following quote satiate your interest:
"“We are going to have a meeting very soon between me, [screenwriter] Steve Knight and [producer] Paul Webster to discuss what the script would be,” Cronenberg said. “I have some very strong ideas about what I would like to see, but I would like to hear what they have to say as well. And then after that, if all goes well, Steve goes away and writes a great script. If we all like it, we make it.”"
First Footage of Sherlock Holmes Shown At ShoWest! by George 'El Guapo' Roush
(from Latino Review)
Sounds pretty cool -- despite the involvement of Guy Ritchie and Jude Law, and potential irreverence to the source material, I'm still quite looking forward to the film. At the very least it will be Interesting.
Here's a Poster Featuring Downey As Sherlock Holmes... by Merrick
(from Ain't It Cool News)
That's quite a cool poster too, if you ask me.
Okay, Hot Toys Is Getting Absurd
(from Topless Robot)
This new 'Heath Ledger's Joker' action figure is mad. Not only is it freakishly accurate, not only is it crazily accessorized, but its eyes move. No, really, they do. Check out the full article for more on that.
(from Movies Blog at MTV)
I've yet to see the highly acclaimed Eastern Promises... but now I know the big twist ending, thanks to this article. And Cronenberg himself has warned against this! Bastard news article writers.
Anyway, if you've not seen it, let the title and following quote satiate your interest:
"“We are going to have a meeting very soon between me, [screenwriter] Steve Knight and [producer] Paul Webster to discuss what the script would be,” Cronenberg said. “I have some very strong ideas about what I would like to see, but I would like to hear what they have to say as well. And then after that, if all goes well, Steve goes away and writes a great script. If we all like it, we make it.”"
First Footage of Sherlock Holmes Shown At ShoWest! by George 'El Guapo' Roush
(from Latino Review)
Sounds pretty cool -- despite the involvement of Guy Ritchie and Jude Law, and potential irreverence to the source material, I'm still quite looking forward to the film. At the very least it will be Interesting.
Here's a Poster Featuring Downey As Sherlock Holmes... by Merrick
(from Ain't It Cool News)
That's quite a cool poster too, if you ask me.
Okay, Hot Toys Is Getting Absurd
(from Topless Robot)
This new 'Heath Ledger's Joker' action figure is mad. Not only is it freakishly accurate, not only is it crazily accessorized, but its eyes move. No, really, they do. Check out the full article for more on that.
The Wire 1x01: The Target
The Wire arrives on the back of 7 years' (yes, 7 years!) worth of massive hype. Is it as good as everyone says?
On the strength of one episode, it's hard to tell. Some series' brilliance strikes you clearly after just one episode -- The Wire is not one of those series. This makes it a bit of a struggle to see why it's so widely acclaimed as the greatest TV series ever made. Equally, fans go on about how it takes time to get into and the story is really spread across many episodes (as if 24 didn't do that even earlier, and numerous series haven't used the same idea since; or, indeed, as if we aren't used to long multi-part adaptations of fiction), so I'll give it more of a chance yet.
This has raised some interesting points for me, however. As many fans are keen to tell you, The Wire is more like a novel than traditional TV, actually telling one story over all 13 episodes of the season. Of course, as I've noted above, this is a much-imitated style nowadays -- it's exactly what legal thriller Damages does, for example -- but The Wire really does it: where other shows still try to make each episode function in itself somehow, this doesn't matter to The Wire, where you're served one thirteenth of the drama.
Is this a valid use of the form? By which I mean, should it actually see the episodic format as a virtue and make each episode moderately self-contained (as Damages does). If it wants to tell one long story, why isn't it a novel, where it is theoretically uninterrupted? (Of course few people read novels in one sitting, but you're aware it's one whole work, whereas a season of 13 episodes is, in one way or another, 13 separate but connected works.)
I don't have an answer to any of this, but it's something I'm wondering. We'll see how things progress over the next 12 hours.
On the strength of one episode, it's hard to tell. Some series' brilliance strikes you clearly after just one episode -- The Wire is not one of those series. This makes it a bit of a struggle to see why it's so widely acclaimed as the greatest TV series ever made. Equally, fans go on about how it takes time to get into and the story is really spread across many episodes (as if 24 didn't do that even earlier, and numerous series haven't used the same idea since; or, indeed, as if we aren't used to long multi-part adaptations of fiction), so I'll give it more of a chance yet.
This has raised some interesting points for me, however. As many fans are keen to tell you, The Wire is more like a novel than traditional TV, actually telling one story over all 13 episodes of the season. Of course, as I've noted above, this is a much-imitated style nowadays -- it's exactly what legal thriller Damages does, for example -- but The Wire really does it: where other shows still try to make each episode function in itself somehow, this doesn't matter to The Wire, where you're served one thirteenth of the drama.
Is this a valid use of the form? By which I mean, should it actually see the episodic format as a virtue and make each episode moderately self-contained (as Damages does). If it wants to tell one long story, why isn't it a novel, where it is theoretically uninterrupted? (Of course few people read novels in one sitting, but you're aware it's one whole work, whereas a season of 13 episodes is, in one way or another, 13 separate but connected works.)
I don't have an answer to any of this, but it's something I'm wondering. We'll see how things progress over the next 12 hours.
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