Monday 11 May 2009

TV

Argumental
2x06 (4/5/09 edition)
Theoretically there are another six or seven episodes scheduled for this series of Argumental, though it's not listed this week. Perhaps Dave are playing at ITV's game and making two series out of one.

Ashes to Ashes
2x04 Episode Four
A surprise mid-series conclusion for what looked to be this year's story arc. I do love it when series wrongfoot the viewer in this way, especially when it means things aren't dragged out interminably.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Broken Saints
Chapter 22 Revelation
Pretentious and complicated this episode, but there are some nice ideas and good plot twists buried among the waffle.
Though in episode terms only 8% remains, there's still nearly two hours of it -- 17% -- to go (i.e. a fair bit).

Damages
2x12 Look What He Dug Up This Time
Another round of twists. It's still not close to being as good as the first season, but it has its moments. Maybe the finale will have something more to offer.

Articles

The 25 Greatest Sci-Fi Shows Ever! by Jake Rossen
(from Wizard)
A very unusual and consequently intriguing list. By far the correct choice for #1 though.

Weekend Report: Star Trek Prospers by Brandon Gray
(from Box Office Mojo)
BOM are usually quite clinical in their reports. Nothing wrong with that -- they're reporting box office numbers and all we want are the facts. But the veil slips in this one, as author Gray takes the chance to have a several paragraph rant about Star Trek's fanbase-alienating ad campaign and the public perception of it as an unpopular geek niche. Clearly a disgruntled fan then. Comes across a bit like the scene where Kirk and Scotty first arrive on the bridge if you ask me, with Gray as Spock -- if you've seen it I'm sure you'll get what I mean.

new review at 100 Films

For your lunch hour reading:

Star Trek (2009)
“These are the voyages of the Apple iEnterprise.” ...the over-zealous critical reception is Star Trek’s biggest problem: while it is certainly satisfying in some areas it’s also lacking in others, but it seems most of the world’s critics are closet Trekkies, able to seize upon an above-average film and hail it as the Second Coming. It will come as no surprise when I say it isn’t.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

There are currently 14 new films in the review pipeline at 100 Films, not to mention two shorts, a film I've previously seen, and an alternate cut. As ever, updates here as and when they're posted.

new review at 100 Films

Airplane! (1980)
The main problem with watching Airplane! for the first time now is that it occasionally suffers from its own popularity... [It] combats these almost-faults in two ways: one, it is irrepressibly silly, which in this case is a very good thing; and two, it has an incredibly high joke rate.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

There are currently 15 new films in the review pipeline at 100 Films, not to mention two shorts, a film I've previously seen, and an alternate cut. As ever, updates here as and when they're posted.