N.B. This entry should have gone online on Sunday, but immeasurable difficulties with our new Broadband connection has caused delays.
One of the central ironies of writing a TV related blog is that it leaves less time for actually watching TV. Combine this with me and the Duchess relocating to a new hate nest, TV viewing has been regrettably light this week.
With a mindful eye on the schedule, however, I managed to prioritise my workload, and was witness to the birth of televisual phenomenon Heroes, sneaking a couple of elicit after hours episodes of The Thick of It into the bargain.
Sweetened by a series of breathless reviews from my square eyed Comrades, I awaited the arrival of Heroes (BBC 2, Wednesday 9pm) with bated breath. This heavyweight offering from the other side of the Atlantic has been hyped as a sci-fi revolution of sorts, picking up where lost nose-dived and tipped as Spiderman without the spandex.
Going by episodes 1 & 2, I could be spending some serious downtime with this one over the next few months. The season opener begins on solid foundations as we are introduced to the central characters and given a taste of the action to come, and Heroes has plenty to play with. Making an appearance are a time travelling Japanese office worker, flying politico and his dead beat brother, an indestructible cheerleader, and future predicting junkie artist scum Isaac. There is also something weird about a reflection going on, and the pace is set by a pater-avenging Indian Doctor, while the cheerleader’s evil adoptive dad lurks ominously in the wings.
True to form, this is comic book TV, and expect faux philosophy, page turning plot-lines and a trash clash of good against evil as its bread and butter. Heroes does, however, give the impression that it offers something more than the standard American diet, and it will be interesting to see how the story develops and the characters interact. I have a feeling that the stars and stripes are going to creep in there somewhere, but even this could (possibly) be forgiven if it’s done right.
Occupying a 40 minute slot on BBC 2, Heroes is also mercifully devoid of big brand sponsors who can’t seem to resist offering mini-sketches which look like they were thought up by humourless advertising drones taking five in the chill out room of their open plan creative work spaces. It also means you can watch uninterrupted, and don’t need to spend 20 minutes of each episode as one of those little shit wipes target audience, reminding me why I should pay the TV license.
At the risk of turning this entry into a BBC love-fest, The Thick of It (DVD) is another good reason to pay your fees. Created by Armando Iannucci, this fly-on-the-wall political satire offers a scathing and irreverent take on the corridors of power.
I missed the series when it was on TV, and having recently splashed out on the box set (can it be called a box set if there are only two discs?) I’ve been savouring these babies slowly but surely. Set in the fictional Ministry for Social Affairs (“What the hell does that even mean?” muses Chris Langham’s character in one episode) the plot follows the daily mishaps of Minister Hugh Abbot as he lurches from one political crisis to another. There to help him along the way are ambitious aide Ollie, SpAd Glenn and pragmatic spoil sport Terri.
With a mindful eye on the schedule, however, I managed to prioritise my workload, and was witness to the birth of televisual phenomenon Heroes, sneaking a couple of elicit after hours episodes of The Thick of It into the bargain.
Sweetened by a series of breathless reviews from my square eyed Comrades, I awaited the arrival of Heroes (BBC 2, Wednesday 9pm) with bated breath. This heavyweight offering from the other side of the Atlantic has been hyped as a sci-fi revolution of sorts, picking up where lost nose-dived and tipped as Spiderman without the spandex.
Going by episodes 1 & 2, I could be spending some serious downtime with this one over the next few months. The season opener begins on solid foundations as we are introduced to the central characters and given a taste of the action to come, and Heroes has plenty to play with. Making an appearance are a time travelling Japanese office worker, flying politico and his dead beat brother, an indestructible cheerleader, and future predicting junkie artist scum Isaac. There is also something weird about a reflection going on, and the pace is set by a pater-avenging Indian Doctor, while the cheerleader’s evil adoptive dad lurks ominously in the wings.
True to form, this is comic book TV, and expect faux philosophy, page turning plot-lines and a trash clash of good against evil as its bread and butter. Heroes does, however, give the impression that it offers something more than the standard American diet, and it will be interesting to see how the story develops and the characters interact. I have a feeling that the stars and stripes are going to creep in there somewhere, but even this could (possibly) be forgiven if it’s done right.
Occupying a 40 minute slot on BBC 2, Heroes is also mercifully devoid of big brand sponsors who can’t seem to resist offering mini-sketches which look like they were thought up by humourless advertising drones taking five in the chill out room of their open plan creative work spaces. It also means you can watch uninterrupted, and don’t need to spend 20 minutes of each episode as one of those little shit wipes target audience, reminding me why I should pay the TV license.
At the risk of turning this entry into a BBC love-fest, The Thick of It (DVD) is another good reason to pay your fees. Created by Armando Iannucci, this fly-on-the-wall political satire offers a scathing and irreverent take on the corridors of power.
I missed the series when it was on TV, and having recently splashed out on the box set (can it be called a box set if there are only two discs?) I’ve been savouring these babies slowly but surely. Set in the fictional Ministry for Social Affairs (“What the hell does that even mean?” muses Chris Langham’s character in one episode) the plot follows the daily mishaps of Minister Hugh Abbot as he lurches from one political crisis to another. There to help him along the way are ambitious aide Ollie, SpAd Glenn and pragmatic spoil sport Terri.
The lynch pin of this series is without doubt, however, the PM’s Scottish “Policy Enforcer” Malcolm Tucker, who browbeats, cajoles and profanitizes his way through Whitehall like a tornado in a razor blade factory. With a visceral hatred of the Press and penchant for ruining careers (“He’ll be copy and pasting Hollyoaks extras tits in the the Sport by tomorrow”) you have to wonder how much Alistair Campbell there is in Tucker. Sharp, ruthless, and endlessly creative in his put downs, he satirises the spin and power politics of present-day Government to a brutal degree.
That’s what I call a Hero.
That’s what I call a Hero.
1 comment:
oh dear- one of those square eyed-comrades is me isn't it!!?
I'm glad you liked Heroes, if you ever do get caught not paying your TV licence you can always watch all of them for free on cucirca.com.(oh dear starting to sound like one of those adverts)
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