Articles

Robin Hood tops Primeval in ratings by Neil Wilkes
(from Digital Spy)
"The return of Robin Hood beat the return of Primeval in the ratings... The BBC drama averaged 5.62m (25.8%)... Its ITV1 rival, also launching its third run, put in 5.27m (23.7%)...
Hood suffered from being up against Harry Hill's TV Burp... but when Primeval began Hood's audience jumped from 5.65m to a peak of 6.74m (29.7%) within five minutes.
The audience for Hood was roughly on par with that for the first episode of series two, which managed 5.76m... Primeval, meanwhile, was down around 500k on its second series premiere, which delivered 5.72m."
Clearly I wasn't the only one who preferred the Hood. Their overall closeness may not be enough to jolt ITV into moving them out of direct competition, sadly, though Primeval's drop from last year and Hood's spike when Primeval began might convince them...

Weekend Report: Monsters, Haunting Scare Up Big Business by Brandon Gray
(from Box Office Mojo)
But never mind them -- this is an "oh dear" update on Watchmen:
"Watchmen's rapid descent persisted, this time dissipating 59% to an estimated $2.8 million... The superhero drama did lose more than half of its screens and showings from last weekend, but there were still many more than enough to satiate any remaining audience interest. On its 21st day, it crossed the $100 million mark, but it was the slowest of any movie that opened to over $50 million to reach that milestone".

TV

HD on BBC iPlayer is rubbish. Keep reading to find out why...

Have I Got News For You
37x01 (24/4/09 edition; uncut repeat)
Hurrah! It's great to have HIGNFY back -- why can't it be on all year round?
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Primeval
3x05 Episode 5
Probably Primeval's most ludicrous episode yet -- and that's saying something. Riddled with plot and logic holes, which is a shame because the basic ideas here have such potential.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Robin Hood
3x04 Sins of the Father
I was quite excited by the prospect of using BBC iPlayer to watch content in HD legally. This was my trial run... and it was appalling. Playback frequently dropped as low as one frame-per-second and the compression was blocky -- not what you expect from HD! Ran out of time to finish it before HIGNFY was on so will have to catch the rest on regular TV iPlayer another time. So much for iPlayer, back to less-than-legal downloads it.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Primeval
3x01 Episode 1
ITV's Doctor Who rival is still nothing like as good, packed to bursting with cliches in both its action and its dialogue (there are whole sequences that go by without a single non-cliched line being uttered). It can be passable entertainment at times, but the sheer volume of niggling flaws have me literally shouting at the TV.
And I can't let a Primeval comment go by without mentioning Cutter's ridiculous new haircut -- or, rather, lack thereof. Someone fetch the trimmers!
Also, scheduling it against Robin Hood wasn't such a good idea, at least as far as I'm concerned (hence why I'm a week behind -- yep, it's Demons all over again).
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Robin Hood
3x02 Cause and Effect
Sword fights for no reason? Utterly implausible escapes? Action, action, action? Yep, Robin Hood has finally got it right! This is what I've wanted from the series from day one, and only rarely got before now. Hopefully it can keep it up.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Total Wipeout
1x09 The Total Wipeout Awards
I caught glimpses of Total Wipeout throughout its run. Essentially, it's people trying to run hard obstacles courses, failing and falling into water. And it's much funnier than it has any right to be. This is just a "best of" presented in a slightly different format -- don't worry, you don't have to suffer illiterate acceptance speeches if you choose to watch it.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Boy Meets Girl
Part 4 (of 4)
A moderately satisfying conclusion.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Primeval
3x08 Episode 8
There comes a point in every episode of Primeval these days where, however hard you're trying to take it seriously, you just have to give in and either let the poor writing and ludicrous plotting wash over you or start laughing at its absurdity. I've always been quite critical of Primeval, but increasingly this batch of episodes is making me long for the good old days of the first series.
Meanwhile, this episode, Annoying Brother finally gets in some proper trouble, though disappointingly survives. On the bright side this is his final episode... though the Annoying Government Baddies are back to replace him. It's like a relay race of irritation.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Lost in Austen: Part One

"Is she mad, in a bonnet or back in time?"

ITV clearly think they have a huge hit on their hands here, based on the constant promotion it's been getting in their ad breaks and across their chat shows and morning TV thingies. And it's easy to see why, considering the mix of formulas they've concocted.

Period drama? Always popular -- just look at the recent success of series like Cranford and Lark Rise to Candleford, as well as innumerable others in the history of television.

Jane Austen? Especially popular -- look at the esteem in which the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice is still held, the financial and critical success of the recent Pride & Prej film, and again the success of ITV's even more recent adaptations of Austen's three lesser-done novels; not to mention the two biopics in the past year (or so), Becoming Jane and Miss Austen Regrets.

Time travel? Most definitely popular -- look at the ratings-dominating success of the revived Doctor Who, the more moderate but not irrelevant success of Primeval, and, most pertinent to this example, the critical and ratings success of Life On Mars and it's sequel/spin-off, Ashes to Ashes.

Put all these together -- with a dash of Bridget Jones for good measure -- and you get Lost in Austen, which mixes a cut-price Austen-esque cast (this is ITV rather than the BBC, after all) and all the popular tropes of traditional costume dramas, with time travel tomfoolery and jokes about reality TV and pubic hair styles (I kid you not). Plot-wise, it comes across a bit like they wanted to do an adaptation of Pride & Prej, but thought it was either too soon (considering the film was all of three years ago, and that felt hot on the heels of the then-10-years-old TV series) or that an ITV audience wouldn't be all that interested, so have given it a big twist.

After the first, largely entertaining, episode (of four), it remains to be seen if it can pass beyond being a LOM rip-off / yet another Austen adaptation to become something of its own.

TV

Due South
2x05 The Promise [2nd watch]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
24x11 Episode 11
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Primeval
4x02 Episode 2
This episode starts ridiculously (seriously, if you found a lizard that big in your house, would you flush it down the toilet? I wouldn't) and doesn't improve. Business as usual then.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Swingin' Christmas
Something a bit different for Christmas, even if only a handful of songs were specifically Christmassy, and (one might argue) most of the others weren't well enough known. Still, a nice idea and an entertaining hour-and-a-half. The website includes a full list of songs performed, including details of what's in the medleys.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Wallander [film series]
The Man Who Smiled (aka Mannen som log)
The other Swedish Wallander: between 1994 and 2007, Rolf Lassgård starred in nine TV movies adapting Henning Mankell's novels -- i.e. the stories also being used for the Branagh series (the other Swedish Wallander adapted a Linda Wallander novel followed by original stories).
This, the first BBC Four have brought to the UK, is the sixth film, from 2003, which was adapted by the British series as the second episode of series two. This version is rather different to the British -- the ending is completely changed, for one thing -- and, having already seen two actors portray the role, Lassgård takes some getting used to. He's not bad, though he feels more like your standard TV detective than the more unusual stylings Branagh and Henriksson brought. Plus, although he was the first actor to play the part, he's perhaps come too late to the party for British viewers.

TV

Broken Saints
Chapter 21 Convergence
It's a fault of the moving-graphic-novel style of this that action sequences take about five times as long as they would in a 'proper' motion form, and dialogue scenes can be pretty drawn out too. It would be interesting to know how long the whole series would take to get through if created at 'real speed' -- even with all the overlong pretentious monologues left in I bet it'd be a good few hours shorter.
This episode features some stuff Actually Happening, which is nice, though it's not quite up to the speed of some of the late-teens episodes. There's also a genuine plot twist, which may be a first for the series. While not a wildly improbable one, it'll still need some explaining come the next episode.

Have I Got News For You
37x03 (8/5/09 edition; uncut repeat)
Half past two.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Primeval
3x07 Episode 7
Some really nice ideas in this episode, but almost all let down by Primeval's usual shortcomings. The army troops turning up at Stupid Gambling Teenager's house was exactly what I wanted though, so that was nice.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Ashes to Ashes
2x01 Episode One
Hurrah for the return of Ashes, the underrated Life On Mars sequel. Always a joy to have Gene Hunt on our screens and lots of intriguing mysteries to mull over for the next 8 weeks -- and, hopefully, an intended third (and final) season beyond that.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Graham Norton Show
5x06 (16/4/09 edition, uncut repeat)
Robot Graham = Best. Thing. Ever. Gillian Anderson's accent = tad odd, it must be said, but surprisingly British-sounding.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Primeval
3x04 Episode 4
Oft-predictable tosh, again, but rather spectacular tosh this week with a Great Big Dinosaur and chases around an airport and a helicopter and Nigel Marven getting eaten -- it's exactly what Primeval should be like.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Derren Brown: Enigma
Brilliant, as ever, though there are bits that, as ever, I wish he'd explain how they were done.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Just Good Friends
1x07 Moving In... And Out Again [season finale]

Horizon
Is Seeing Believing?
Happened to turn this on after Derren Brown. It's supposedly on iPlayer but doesn't seem to be working (perhaps because it's a repeat from October), which is a shame because it's fascinating and I'd recommend it.

Primeval
4x03 Episode 3
Even attempting to begin to enjoy Primeval requires the ability to switch your brain off. This seems to be a skill the writers have in abundance -- the plot holes and implausibilities are so numerous I gave up even noticing them by the end. And I remain unsure why I keep watching this series... probably a misguided, masochistic sense of "I've started so I'll bloody well finish".
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player soon.]

QI
8x15 Hypnosis, Hallucinations & Hysteria (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Wallander [film series]
Firewall Part 1 (of 2) (aka Brandvägg)
BBC Four jump to the eighth adaptation from the other Swedish Wallander (as you may remember, last time was the sixth), a tale that has also been adapted by the Branagh series -- though, as this is a two-parter, the British version was done in half the running time. I watched that version just over two years ago, so while I remember some details I have no real idea where this is going. Which is rather nice.

TV

Primeval
3x09 Episode 9
In which Surprise Future Lady turns up and starts spouting cliches like there's no tomorrow. Ironically. Then there's the uncomfortable marriage of a light-hearted plot (for the first half of the episode) and a Dark And Serious one (for the second), which they keep trying to pull off and never works. And to top it off, a cheesy final shot of the Team Walking Purposefully to the leader's Motivating Intention Speech while the Dramatic Purposeful Motivating Music sores. Oh dear.
In summary: Primeval's writing really does stink this series.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.

Robin Hood
3x09 A Dangerous Deal
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

2010 Unwrapped with Miranda Hart
This was rather good last year and doesn't disappoint this either.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

2010 Unwrapped extra
Some deleted sketches, sporadically available by the BBC Red Button service. While last year several of these merited inclusion in the main programme, this year they're more variable. A pair of Springwatch-based clips are quite good -- and can be watched here and here -- but an extended sketch about Lost Land of the Tiger is entirely laugh-free. If you'd like to subject yourself to it anyway, its in three parts here.

Just William [2010]
1x02 Parrots for Ethel
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
9x13 Christmas Compilation 2010 [special]
The usual MtW Christmas mix of best bits, outtakes and Christmas-themed new bits.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Primeval
4x01 Episode 1
Remember Primeval? It got cancelled (quite justly, to be honest) after the last series, then renewed as a complex co-production (the next series will premiere on Watch later this year before airing on ITV around this time in 2012).
So has this cancellation and longer production window (the last series was two years ago) improved the show? In short, no. If anything, it's worse. The writing's as bad as ever, but the new lead cast members are as cheap and tacky as they looked in photographs. Oh dear. Still, at least the CGI dinos are now even prettier in HD.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Upstairs Downstairs [2010]
Part Two The Ladybird
More Downton-esque plots emerge -- oh dear. Despite that, Upstairs Downstairs is still enough of its own entity to work and coexist with ITV's rival.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

BBC One Sessions
Annie Lennox
Like Duffy's at Christmas, I found myself watching this quite by accident. I'd forgotten just how many well-known songs Annie Lennox had been involved in, and the others were mostly very good too.
Was able to watch it on BBC HD, though mostly just listened, but when I looked up it did look prettier.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Graham Norton Show
5x03 (19/3/09 edition, uncut repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Robin Hood
3x01 Total Eclipse
Robin Hood and Primeval both returned tonight, foolishly scheduled against each other. I chose Hood to make a point, though will be sure to catch up on Primeval later. They clash again next week; hopefully after that one channel will see sense and move their programme out of the way.
As for the programme itself, it was nicely action packed. It's nice to see they've learnt this lesson, as it was sometimes lacking during the first season. Also watched it on BBC HD, which was quite nice.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats
8x01 (5/6/09 edition)
Far (far) from the best panel show on TV, but it has its moments.

Primeval
3x10 Episode 10 [season finale]
Look here for my thoughts on this episode.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Ashes to Ashes
2x06 Episode Six
Gene Hunt + nasty lone shark + car crusher = brilliant.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Robin Hood
3x08 The King is Dead, Long Live the King...
Another fantastic episode thanks to Toby Stephens' Prince John, who is beyond brilliant, and an epic confrontation in an abbey. The schoolboy squabbling of Robin's gang and a couple of niggling plot holes do hold the show back, but it's nothing like as weak as Primeval has been recently. That said, with Prince John leaving -- and half the cast also off at the end of this series -- things don't look that rosy.
(Yes, I'm a week behind.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Nature's Great Events
Part 4 The Great Tide
Despite some heavy similarities with the final episode, this is still a spectacular edition. And when it's those movie-action-sequence-esque bait-ball bits that are being repeated, I don't mind in the slightest.

Orangutan Diary
2x05 Episode 5
Despite this penultimate episode of the wildlife series airing almost three weeks ago, complete with a "next time" trail promising a resolution to the series, the BBC have only just scheduled a first airing for episode six. (Next Sunday, if you're interested.) Oddly, they still list the series as having 10 episodes. No explanation for that one.

Primeval
3x03 Episode 3
An episode of two halves, the first a light, fluffy, infinitely silly romp, the second dark and arc-plot heavy. It's a very odd disjunct, and feels a bit like the makers have tried to combine those two opposites in the way that Doctor Who does, but instead of blending them have just stuck them next to each other. It also featured a Very Significant Event... which, thanks to appalling ratings, will surely come as a shock to casual viewers who skip this one.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Demons
1x01 They Bite
My God, that's one of the worst title sequences ever! A dreadful -- and dreadfully inappropriate -- song stuck on animation that would barely pass as a DVD menu. Oh dear oh dear. And Christian Cooke needs a better agent -- he's ostensibly the star, yet his name comes third? Ha! And Philip Glenister's accent is variable and a bit am-dram; which is a shame because, obviously, he's great otherwise.
Still, the first episode did alright in the ratings (and by "alright" I mean it didn't do as well as Merlin (created by some of the same people, incidentally) or Primeval -- or Doctor Who, obviously... or even the Doctor Who Confidential announcing the 11th Doctor, which was on earlier that evening -- but still beat what was on BBC One at the time); and the concept, albeit all nicked from other places (mainly Buffy), has legs.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Eurovision: Your Country Needs You
Episode 2 (of 5)
And so it becomes your bog-standard talent show. Except, it must be said, with less talent than usual.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
5x13 Wedding Bell Blues

Live at the Apollo
4x05 (9/1/09 edition)
So what if nearly all the guests are regulars on Mock the Week? It's still funny. Also, an appearance by Lenny Henry, which seems to be something of a rarity these days.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Sandbaggers
2x02 Enough of Ghosts
Bloody Germans, eh?

TV

A lot of Grand Designs and Grand Designs Revisited. I have no idea which episodes, but I wound up sitting through quite a few.

Two snippets of Primeval 'news' though:

New star Jason Flemyng thinks the show is "sort of silly, but after the wedding...needs must!" And, posting on a fan forum, he adds, "guess you guys will be pleased though, its 10 eps....quality is sorta ok...think i just about get away with it... Its a bit silly,but it paid for the wedding!" High opinions there. (Sourced from here.)

Secondly, Ben Miller yesterday mentioned via his twitter that the show had been cancelled. There's been no other confirmation though.

TV

Battlestar Galactica [2004]
3x06 Torn

How I Met Your Mother
6x06 Baby Talk
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Mentalist
3x11 Bloodsport
Got fed up waiting for Five to bring this back post-Christmas, so I... acquired it...

No Ordinary Family
1x04 No Ordinary Vigilante
And now I've caught up with Watch. Super.

Primeval
4x06 Episode 6
What a load of tosh. And trying to play a completely unsurprising plot development as if it's the biggest twist ever? Oh dear.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

The British Comedy Awards 2010
A deserving bunch. Worked fine live on its new home too.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

No Ordinary Family
1x01 Pilot
1x02 No Ordinary Marriage
This has been going since last year in the States (of course), but started over here on Watch a week or two ago. I don't get Watch, so... yeah...
Quite a good start, I thought. Lots of potential. Poor Tate Donovan though -- originally set to be a regular, cut down to so little you didn't even see his face properly, with no proper dialogue. Unless he's set to make a Shocking Return, of course...

Primeval
4x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Band of Brothers
Part Eight The Last Patrol [2nd watch]
The roster of quite-recognisable young British actors in this seems never-ending. This episode, Primeval's Andrew Lee Potts joins the list.

Coronation Street
7/12/10 edition
8/12/10 edition
Whatever I think of soaps normally, there's no denying that this Big Dramatic Tram Crash Week has been incredibly well staged.
[Watch both episodes (again) at the above links.]

Doctors
12x160 The Living Gaylights
Doctors goes Bond-spoof-tastic. Not to everyone's taste, I imagine. You have to wonder what regular Doctors viewers thought if they tuned in without having seen any reviews...
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Due South
2x01 North [2nd watch]

Have I Got News For You
40x09 (9/12/10 edition; extended repeat)
I think this may be the last of the series (with next week's being a compilation). Boo.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

House
7x08 Small Sacrifices
That's it for House until the middle of January. Funny US scheduling antics...