DRAMA
The 10 Best TV Shows Of 2011
Dec 29th
Yes, it’s that time of the year again where I pick my top shows of the last 12 months. Many shows – New Girl, The Borgias, Homeland, Nurse Jackie – almost made the list. But in the end there could be only 10… here they are!
REVENGE: There were shows this year with better writing, better directing and better acting. But NOTHING on our screens in 2011 was as ridiculously entertaining as Revenge, the season’s most surprising new hit.
Who would have thought that the primetime soap opera would make a comeback in 2011 and that its story of rich people receiving their comeuppance would seem quite so timely. Revenge has been perfectly played since episode one – hooking us into Emily Thorne’s grand plans to avenge herself on the Grayson family – led by the wonderfully icy matriarch Victoria (Madeline Stowe).
But Revenge has also done a wonderful job of surrounding Emily with a series of equally gripping storylines. There’s grasping social climber Tyler who’s gradually becoming more and more unhinged, bisexual billionaire Nolan who helps fund Emily’s schemes, reformed party boy Daniel who may be the key to Emily’s undoing and the Poison Ivy-like Amanda who’s out to cause a whole heap More >
American Horror Story: What Did You Make Of That Season Finale?
Dec 22nd
It truly is the time for show finales on our screens at the moment, as the year winds down and some of our favorite shows come to a close.
Last night it was the turn of American Horror Story, the gothic supernatural series that’s been scoring sizzling ratings for FX, and has already been commissioned for a second season. But what did you think of the show’s season finale?
I’ve been a fan of American Horror Story all season long, though I’ll be honest, it isn’t my favorite show on TV. I don’t think the series is as good as The Walking Dead, as ridiculously entertaining as Revenge or as smart as Mad Men or Game Of Thrones.
What Horror Story has done well is create – and sustain – a wonderful atmosphere of dread across the series. This is one seriously twisted show and probably the scariest TV series ever. From the famous ‘rubber man’ to the dismembered babies in the basement to the vengeful Hayden, Horror Story is a truly nasty show. And those opening titles – oh boy!
But I’m also starting to feel that American Horror Story is starting to get kind of crowded now. There are simply so many More >
Has Ringer Become Ridiculous?
Dec 5th
Don’t you just hate it when this happens?
You get into a show, investing time into a series and then just when you’ve passed the point of no return it starts to go south! Unfortunately that’s what’s starting to happen with one of my Fall favorites, Ringer.
I’ve been in DVR catch up mode this last week – and so I only just caught the Ringer Fall finale. And I hate to say it, but the Sarah Michelle Gellar saga is in imminent danger of collapsing under its own weight.
Okay so Ringer wasn’t exactly realistic from the start! The tale of twin sisters who swap identities after one of the twins goes missing, but guess what, she’s still alive and conspiring against her sibling – was never going to be believable TV. But I don’t mind suspending my disbelief to a certain extent for the entertainment value of a show.
But there’s crazy – and then there’s just plain insulting!
Dallas: The New Trailer
Dec 2nd
The pre-launch hype continues!
Even though it doesn’t debut until summer 2012, TNT are determined to make a big splash with their remake of the iconic primetime soap Dallas. Check out the latest trailer, which features some more scenes from the new show as well as a selection of soundbite heavy cast interviews (lit to within an inch of their lives!)
I’ve said before I’m not really a Dallas fan but I think the show’s makers are being very smart by featuring both new cast members AND several of the originals. In fact I was talking about this very topic just the other day with a network executive friend of mine. He felt that one of the reasons the new Charlie’s Angels failed was that it had no link to the past – and I think he could be right!
So will Dallas succeed? Well given that TNT has a huge middle American audience I’d say it stands a very good chance. Plus soap operas seem to be back with a vengeance, given the success of ABC’s Revenge. In fact I wonder if the broadcast nets aren’t kicking themselves a bit that they let Dallas slip through their fingers and head to cable.
Anyway More >
The Walking Dead: Finale Fireworks!
Nov 28th
Okay – now it all makes sense!
After a somewhat painful second ‘season’ (I know, we’re only halfway through), where at times it felt as though we the viewers were half dead ourselves, The Walking Dead roared back to life last night with one of the show’s best ever episodes – and an amazing finale scene.
You know the sequence in question – the final five minutes of the Fall season finale in which our team of survivors, led by the increasingly hardened Shane, released the Walkers in the barn and shot them dead in front of an aghast Hershel. But it was the final touching shot of long lost Sophia exiting the barn that carried the most power. Though we barely knew her as a character, it was shocking to watch Rick shoot the bewildered Sophia in the head, casting a whole new light on the Season 2 episodes so far.
In Production: Game Of Thrones – Season 2
Nov 21st
If you, like me, are hungry for more Game Of Thrones, take a look at this just released behind the scenes look at the upcoming second season…
I can’t really call this video clip a First Look or a proper teaser as it doesn’t reveal a whole lot – but it’s at least a vague taste of what’s to come.
Game Of Thrones was a show that really surprised me first time around. I’m normally not a fan of grungy, fantasy series but Thrones was so fascinating and complex and featured such terrific characters it was hard not to get sucked into the world. For me the series got better every single week – and it seems I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, with viewing figures climbing pretty much every week, ending on a high of 3.04 million.
My instinct is that Game Of Thrones will really explode in Season 2, in the same way that True Blood truly took off after its first season. The big challenge will be maintaining the show’s quality – and bringing the series’ more fantastical elements to life – remember Daenerys and her recently hatched dragons!
The second season of Thrones will launch on HBO in More >
First Look: House Of Lies
Nov 12th
We all know art imitates life – and it looks like we’re going to be seeing a lot of shows in the coming months that use the current financial crisis as a backdrop.
Hot on the heels of ABC’s hit Revenge (rich people behaving badly) comes House Of Lies – the new Showtime series that’s about the ’1% sticking it to the 1%’
Based on a book by Matthew Kihn titled House Of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch And Then Tell You The Time, Lies features a team of consultants who’ll go to any lengths to get their clients the information they need.
Leading the pack is Don Cheadle, another acclaimed actor heading to the small screen (and we wonder why movies suck so bad!) Then there’s Kristen Bell, a talented actress who in my opinion hasn’t quite found her career making role yet. Bell plays a ‘razor sharp, Ivy League graduate who works with Cheadle’. Cue plenty of snappy banter!
All sounds great on paper – but am I the only person who thinks this trailer really sucks. I didn’t laugh, or even smile, once – the characters seemed totally obnoxious – and I didn’t even find the show clever / More >
Can Glee Be Saved?
Nov 7th
As regular Remote Patrolled readers will know, I gave up on Glee a few weeks ago, after realizing that the current third series of the show simply wasn’t going to get any better.
Though I’d been a fan of Glee for it’s first two years I eventually felt so exhausted by the character inconsistencies, tiresome romances (yes that would be you Finn and Rachel) and Sue Sylvester, the most cartoonish character on TV, that I just had to bail.
But last week I gave Glee a brief second chance. Having followed The Glee Project over the summer I was interested to see how one of the winners, Damian, would fit into the show. But after just a few minutes the same old problems surfaced once again and I was out.
And it seems I’m not the only one. Since the third series began Glee’s ratings have fallen every single week. The season 3 premiere pulled in 9.21 million (down substantially from the 11.80 million who watched the season 2 finale), then hit 8.60 million, then 8.42 million and last week 7.47 million. By comparison the first five episodes of season 2 were all above the 11 million mark. Not exactly a hard trend to follow More >
Richard Recommends: American Horror Story
Nov 2nd
The Fall season is in full swing now – and what a season it’s been so far!
I don’t know about you but I’m feeling pretty spoiled for choice at the moment when it comes to TV shows – with a pretty stacked DVR that fills up every day. It’s quite a job keeping on top of all the great shows out there.
Best night of the TV week has to be Wednesdays – with Modern Family, Suburgatory, Revenge and The X Factor all essential viewing. And then there’s American Horror Story – the deliciously dark treat from FX that’s arguably the scariest TV show ever created!
I’ll be honest and admit that I was a little skeptical about Horror Story when I first heard about the show – mainly because of the series creator Ryan Murphy. Murphy’s Glee went off the rails alarmingly quickly and Ryan himself is a polarizing figure who doesn’t exactly do himself any favors in the PR department. I worried that American Horror Story would be too ridiculous and over the top and ultimately collapse under the weight of its own craziness.
The Walking Dead: MORE Walking, LESS Talking Please!
Nov 1st
(BE WARNED – SPOILERS ALERT)
Okay everyone – how are you all finding season 2 of The Walking Dead?
We’re only 3 episodes into the new season and already the AMC zombie series has given us some great, memorable moments. I loved the ‘herd’ scene in Episode 1, the shock ending in the same episode – and of course Episode 3’s OMG revelation of what happened on Shane’s trip to the zombie infested school (more on that scene in a moment!)
But I’m afraid I do have one pretty big criticism of the season so far – and I have a feeling quite a few of you out there are feeling the same way. Is it just me or has Season 2 been really TALKY so far?
Now I don’t mind slow paced shows. You’ve all heard me raving about Mad Men here on the site and that isn’t exactly a zippy show. And Homeland, which I’m also following at the moment, is also a pretty slow series. But for me, The Walking Dead has crossed over and actually become a tad – dare I say it – boring at times!
