small-screen

And Then There's TORCHWOOD

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:02:07 +0100

I don't know...as we wait for the rest of season 6 of NEW WHO (that's the rebooted DOCTOR WHO) we are increasingly horrified by the dystopian sci fi of TORCHWOOD. The last TORCHWOOD toyed with the idea of sacrificing the least desirable children (the ones who don't study and grow up to become looters) to alien drug addicts. This time no one can die except Captain Jack Harkness (the main character) and so the world leaders have decided to just incinerate the really sick people who should have died, Category 1s they call them. Two weeks ago we watched one of the new main characters burn up in one of these chambers, this week, we witnessed another character's almost mortal wound being reopened. Ugghh! There are only 4 more episodes and we still don't know who is behind it all...except that they want Jack. As always with TORCHWOOD, it's a bit uneven, but still better than the first season. I do hope they get back to Wales though, how I tire of southern California. Jury's out, it's all going to depend on the resolution.

Jason Isaacs and CASE HISTORIES

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:51:11 +0100

I'm so fond of Jason Isaacs portrayal of worn out ex-cop Jackson Brodie in the recent BBC CASE HISTORIES that I downloaded the most recent novel STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG onto my IPad. Yes I am a cross media consumer just like they want me to be. The book, delightful. It's not a who-dun-it in the Agatha Christie sense. It's a novel with a puzzle at the center. The series broadcast in the Spring of 2011 captured that well and Isaacs was, as alway brilliant with his 48 year old six pack. It's not this version of Jason:

but rather this version:

really...are they the same person? Which is why Isaacs is a sought after actor, really able to change accents, looks everything. He's got an American series coming up that's already gotten great buzz...looking forward to it.

Speaking of RPJ: SILK, WHITECHAPEL, and CAMBRIDGE SPIES

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:44:33 +0100

I just read an interview with Rupert Penry Jones and had to agree with him about the disappointment regarding his failure to really break into big screen stuff. I mean he is a pretty boy with an interesting face, although I'd gauge that he is only beginning to not look like a boy...he just has a young look. Perhaps that's hindered him. He's one of those actors who always popped up as the prince charming in the 90s (COLD COMFORT FARM, a must see for a great cast including a pre-UNDERWORLD Kate Beckinsale.)

Here he his for those of you who have no idea who I'm talking about:

The dispatch of RPJ from MI-5 was so shocking that I went wandering around the web for some more stuff. I had seen him as the evil Grimaldi to David Tennant's Casanova in the BBC CASANOVA, but there he was the sour and stoic rich villain, he's just got that look. He also turned up in the most recent PERSUASION as Captain Wentworth, where I thought he might have been a tad too good looking but I'll give it another look see.

I went back further in time for CAMBRIDGE SPIES, about the endlessly fascinating Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean and Athony Blunt. All four met at Cambridge were Marxists and went on to spy for Russia in the 30s, 40s and 50s. The first 3 defected while Blunt managed the Queen's art collection as well as the Courtauld Institute, the place to study Art History. I mean this is a great story, lots of books, movies etc. Anyway RPJ plays Maclean the weakest link, the first to be uncovered and to defect to Russia where he supposedly led a pretty nice if, less luxurious life. He does have to share the pretty boy mantle with Toby Stephens as Philby, although when you look at pictures of the real Philby I just don't see it.

Next up: SILK. I'm a lawyer who only likes certain kinds of lawyer shows and this is one. Here we've got a lady in the lead, a crack, top notch Barrister who specializes in criminal work (anything else would be too boring for TV.) She's in chambers with RPJ and some others and there is lots of in-fighting, affairs and of course guilty clients. RPJ is an aging playboy who isn't quite a good as the the woman but they're almost like best friends. It was a 6 parter and has been picked up for another series.

I most recently finished watching something called WHITECHAPEL. A kind of creepy detective thing made up of episodes focussed on a single case. The setting is contemporary London, East End but the cases are connected to famous cases of the past. So the first three episodes involved a copycat of Jack the Ripper, the second involved the famous Kray Twins. RPJ plays a prep school DI with a serious case of OCD who has fallen off of the fast track and into a squadroom of motley underlings. So good I'm looking forward to the next series.

Watch I'm Watching Now: MI-5

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:06:07 +0100

So probably 75% of what I discuss on this blog will involve British accents as I have an obsession with BritTV. It all started with Monty Python and Masterpiece Theater and it's just expanded thanks to Netflix which seems to have almost any Brit TV thing you'd like. I stumbled upon Doctor Who, Catherine Tate, IT Crowd and I could go on and on.

Right now it's MI-5 which I just heard is finally going to wind up it's run with this yet to be broadcast season. Why? I started watching it because I like Matthew MacFayden (sort of ) and Keeley Hawes (definitely!) and it's about spies. But if there is anything glamourous about spies or being a domestic spy (our version of the FBI) you the viewer will be disabused. This particular unit Section D is run by Peter Firth (long ago of TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES) and the Officers come and go, and when I say go, that usually means up in an explosion or down in a hail of bullets.

I'm on Season 8 which means I've seen MacFayden's character retire, and Hawes character packed off to Chile. In addition to Firth there is always a male lead and female lead who take turns being the Senior Officer. MacFayden's replacement was the lovely Rupert Penry-Jones who is no longer with us, replaced by Richard Armitage. I'm missing RPJ but I've looked elsewhere and found him in 2 very interesting programs to be discussed later. Anyway almost every episode of MI-5 gets to the 10 minutes left with a bomb to diffuse, so it can be anxiety producing. But I'm almost done.

Welcome to the Small Screen Blog

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:56:26 +0100

I'm calling this small screen because I watch most TV on my computer or IPad and I stream
via Netflix or other locations. I don't subscribe to cable and I would gladly pay for the
opportunity to stream premium channels directly to my outlet of choice if I didn't have
to deal with all of the other basic cable junk.

So I'm a TV junkie, just not a channel surfing TV junkie. Stay tuned.