I Have in my Hand a Piece of Paper

With all the furore over the 100-day writer’s stirke in the US, one of the shows that apparently got hit pretty hard was Heroes. The shortened 11-episode series began here in the UK with the first two episodes “Four Months Later…” and “Lizards” getting their premiere on BBC2 and the frankly stunning BBC HD channel. Getting to enjoy the show so long after our American cousins got to see it (along with the illegal BitTorrent’ers this side of the Pond) means that I have already got to hear a fair amount of spoilery information and a fair amount of reviews: The Word has not been good. “Nowhere near as good as season one” and “a genuine disappointment” were two of the phrases I stumbled across that led me to slightly dread what I was about to see.

The acid test though, is when you finally get to see it for yourself. There were bad bits, to be sure… [note: deliberate use of phrase "...to be sure" as homage to the Irish accents in the Peter Petrelli sequences that were appalling in van Dykian proportions]. Other less than impressive bits include the overly dull scenes of Parkman’s domestic troubles in his new role as Molly’s guardian, although I guess that this has the potential to become quite interesting when the anti-Company plan being created by the newly-promoted police detective along with Suresh and Bennet gets going. Who else shouted “Ned. Ned Ryerson?!” when Stephen Tobolowski showed up as the Company man during Suresh’s lectures?

Hiro’s troubles in ancient Japan seem a little forced, although the era (especially in HD) is sumptuously recreated and Claire’s attempts to settle in to the new school seem like a step back for the character. Most fascinating was probably the sequences with Hiro’s dad along with Ando and Matron Petrelli with the death-by-hoodie of Sulu Hiro’s dad, being quite a surprise even though I very much doubt that will be the last time we see him… sci-fi’s funny that way. Strangest of all were the brother and sister combo of Maya and Alejandro: simple question… what was that all about?

So far, so business as usual for Tim Kring’s tale. The challenge remains, as it did in season one, to successfully tie these disparate plot threads together into a cohesive whole. They almost pulled it off in season one, but I fear (from the spoilers) that the forshortened season will result in disappointment later.

The Importance of Missing Football

One of the less satisfying aspects of this blog in its previous incarnation was my attempt to record a diary of every programme I was watching on the telly.  Not every flick of the thumb during regular channel hopping sessions as I would work my way through the multitudinous offering of the Sky World package, of course.  Instead, the main programmes that I had tuned into were devotedly recorded (well, I wasn’t even that devoted to be honest) and early diarising even attempted to give the shows marks-out-of-ten.  It was a suitably flawed idea that warranted being canned relatively quickly.  So, here in this brave new world, I’m going to try something different.

I shall endevour to record what has entertained me on certain “occasional days” but only on those days when being entertained has been high on my personal agenda and when the other little aspects of life haven’t managed to interrupt or disrupt proceedings.  This will allow me to be much less structured as I don’t have to keep up-to-date and I don’t have to limit myself to televisual entertainment.  At the weekend, as a case in point, the Other Viewer and I had booked tickets to the theatre to go and see “The Importance of Being Earnest”.  At the time we booked them, I had no idea that such an important England football match would be on at the same time, the fact that England weren’t involved in this match was neither here nor there if you were to believe the press though.

So, here was the entertainment from the weekend just gone…

• Journeyman (Episode One).  A cross between Quantum Leap and Goodnight Sweetheart that has the potential to be quite good.  You can tell it’s science fiction because the speed and accuracy that the star of the show enters text into his iPhone is clearly fantastical.
• Heroes Unmasked.  We’re not actually watching Heroes again on BBC2 after seeing all of series one recently on Sci-Fi.  However, we’re watching the Anthony Head-narrated companion documentary and, although it’s pretty same-y from week-to-week, it remains interesting.
• Lead Balloon is back for season two but the opener failed to sparkle up to the standards that season one reached.  Jack Dee was his usual brilliant self but something was a little wrong, I think may be it was because the finale was just a little spiteful.
• Scotland v Italy.  Despite missing the thrill of Israel v Russia, I did manage to catch Scotland’s vallient efforts, they really didn’t deserve to the lose the match  but the tables don’t lie and it was never realistic that they could finish above either France or Italy.  Hopefully, it signals a return to better times for the resurgent Scots.
• The Importance of Being Earnest.  A simple production at the Chichester Festival Theatre starring Penelope Keith as the perfectly cast Lady Bracknell where the marvellously witty script was left to take centre stage.  The whole cast were interestingly understated in their approach, which was a refreshing change from the typically o.t.t. display that usually accompanies the play.
• Here in the UK we are up to episode 17 of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’s one and only season on More4.  It continues to entertain here at Fazzinchi Towers and I still can’t see why another series wasn’t warranted, I guess we just have to wait to see what Aaron Sorkin does next.
• The Class is a new US sitcom… “from the people who brought us Friends”.  It ticks a few of the same boxes because the characters seem to be more important than the situations but it could do with a bit more comedy in the situations.
• Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker – part 4.  I dug out an old black and white episode from the Lost In Time boxset and it served as an object lesson for anyone who complains at the plots in the new series.  Good fun though.
• NFL Live.  Dallas Cowboys 28 vs 23 Washington Redskins.  I have rekindled my interest in the NFL since going to the Wembley match-up a few weeks ago and it’s good to see my team on form.  Four touchdowns  for T.O. was the highlight (sorry, Martin)

So that was my weekend, how was yours?

Cheerleader saved…. Check!

And so, Heroes has concluded for UK viewers on the Sci-Fi channel but before you can say “My name is Hiro Nakamura” it starts all over again on BBC2 next Wednesday. If you haven’t seen it, you really should and, with a bit of luck, the BBC’ll show it show it in proper widescreen, so that Claire (above) doesn’t look like her amazing power is being unflatteringly stretched out to Oompa Loompa- like proportions.  The final episode, “How To Stop An Exploding Man”, brought proceedings to a satisfying close.  It didn’t quite have the wow factor that had I came to expect from numerous episodes throughout the series but it was still great to see all the major players descend upon Kirby Plaza for the showdown with Sylar.  There were also a nice number of intriguing developments that may or may not be a clue to what’s on the horizon for “Volume 2: Generations”, e.g. Molly’s suggestion that there is another evil hero out there who knows when she “looks” for him; the re-appearance of Charles Deveaux who seems to be much more of an important chracter than previously thought; Sylar’s dissappearance at the conclusion of the final battle was a bit of a shock to me although I’m quite happy that this deadly character is not gone forever; and, finally, the first look at Volume 2 as Hiro transports himself way back in time to come face-to-face with Kensai (who looks suspiciously like Hiro’s dad).

I guess that the big question now is whether the second series can live up to (or even exceed) the standard of this one.  We won’t get to watch it until it exclusively airs on BBC2 but I can’t wait.  The BBC are also showing a Heroes documentary that will accompany each episode and gives me a good excuse, if one were needed, to watch it all again.

Should Have Watched This Ages Ago 

Well, I’ve been a little slack at updating this site of late… I think it’s down to a combination of work (which is unusually busy) and the longer days of our glorious (ahem!) British summer that has resulted in less PC-time at home.  So much so that I haven’t even reviewed the final episode of Doctor Who yet, shame on me (or may be that’s shame on them for introducing Dobby The House Elf into Who folklore).  Also, sitting in my ever-growing inbox of “Reviews Pending” I have Jeckyl, Talk To Me, Longford, Live Earth and Diana Memorial concerts, Brothers and Sisters, True Dare Kiss, a whole of Heroes installments, My Name Is Earl, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and The Thick Of It.  If I’m being honest I don’t think that I’m going to be able to catch up on anywhere close to that lot, although I could challenge myself to craft a little catch-up retrospective series as I’ve done before.   I know that you’re dying to know who got the nod for Show of The Week while I’ve been away.  Well, week 26 the award went to Longford.  Despite getting its original airing months ago, it had been set on the Sky+ planner for an age (such is life in the days of the PVR), but when the Other Viewer and I finally got to watch it, it proved to be bloomin’ excellent and worthy of the praise and awards heaped upon it.  In week 27, the gong went to new US import Brothers and Sisters, which has been engaging as much for trying to remember all the character names as it has for its snappy dialogue and overly beautiful, Hollywoodness.  Consider normal service resumed… well, at least until my summer holiday

Would You Jump For Joy?

Well, despite the unseasonal weather that usually manages to keep folk indoors and works wonders for viewing figures, I have been (once again) extremely remiss when it comes to keeping up with the TV schedules.  This week there was plenty of opportunity to see highlights of the almost-annual mudfest known as Glastonbury.  The Arctic Monkeys headlined on Friday night and were quite marvellous (especially their Diamonds Are Forever cover) and the Fratellis were pretty good too.  For the first time in years I actually felt a pang of regret for not trying to get tickets.  Heroes and Doctor Who put in very turns as both seasons continue to delight but it was the return of My Name Is Earl that was my highlight of the week.  It seems to be quite effortless in its comedy and delivers laugh out loud moments with astonishing regularity.

• Sun 24th Jun: My Name Is Earl “Jump For Joy” (8/10), movie Confetti (6/10)
• Sat 23rd Jun: Talk To Me “Episode 2″ (7.5/10); Doctor Who “The Sound of Drums” (8.5/10)
• Fri 22nd Jun: Talk To Me “Episode 1″ (6.5/10); Glastonbury 2007 (Fratellis, Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys… 7/10); 8 Out Of 10 Cats (6/10)
• Thu 21st Jun: Hustle “Conning the Artists” (7/10)
• Wed 20th Jun: No TV
• Tue 19th Jun: Heroes “.07%” (8/10)
• Mon 18th Jun: My Name Is Earl “Very Bad Things” (8/10); House “One Day, One Room” (6.5/10) and “Needle in a Haystack” (7/10)

Save The Cheerleeder, Save The World

Just how did Heroes get to be so good?  We’re just 12 episodes in to the story here in the UK, which I guess puts us about half-way through the first “volume” (rather than sticking with “series” and “episodes” to describe the unfolding story, Heroes refers back to its comic-book heritage with “chapters” and “volumes”.  It’s a nice touch).   However, despite the relative brevity of the series, it would seem that there is already a rich heritage to the show.  Regular (and observant) viewers are rewarded with a deeper experience and those who venture online can find even more cool stuff like an official webcomic from NBC and the Heroes 360 Experience (links are into Wikipedia, for the spoiler-phobes like me).

On screen, we’ve just seen “Godsend” that introduces a certain Chistopher Eccleston into the mix as an invisible man who meets up with Peter Petrelli.  With so many heroes to keep track of, it is a story that keeps you wanting for more.  You get treated to a scene with one character and then it cuts away to another… as a viewer I get torn between wanting to go back and find what happens to the first but intrigued at what is unfolding with the second.  It really is cleverly woven together and when the characters get to meet up in the most unexpected of ways, it is invariably fascinating.  Of course, ask 100 people who their favourite Hero is and 95 times you’ll get the answer “Hiro”.  Played by the delightful Masi Oka, Hiro is one of the most refreshing characters to have graced sci-fi for years but don’t let that distract you from the multitude of other great characters on the programme, with the exception of Isaac Mendez and Niki/Jessica I could watch ‘em all day.