Thursday, 11 April 2013

Monday Mornings

Network - TNT
Genre - medical drama
My rating - 2.5 stars out of 5

A new offering from David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, Boston Legal). It's a tv show based on a book written by Sanjay Gupta (MD)... Yes the one from CNN.



After only 2 episodes I feel the storylines have all been done before, by the likes of House or even Grey's, and they have been done better in the past.

The acting is leaving something to be desired and feels as though even the actors don't believe their portrayals.

I can't relate to a single character or support any of the decisions they make. It feels like I'm watching a 12 year old have an argument with their parents.  Characters all feel immature, selfish and otherwise hollow, with no endearing quirks so far.

All in all disappointing thus far.

Friday, 5 April 2013

The State of Television - The Post


I'm sure many of you have noticed the new direction the blog has been gradually taking over the last year.  I am concentrating more on blogging about some of the great television shows I have been watching.  By doing this I hope to inform you, my readers and anyone else who may stumble upon these pages, about the great television shows that ARE still being made.

Television can be and should be once again, a great institution in the home.  It should not be dressed up in a cheap mini skirt and heels, stuck on the street corner that is the Saturday night 8pm reality slot, and told to dance, sing or fake anything for it's money.  It's time to say we have had enough cheap thrills.  We want more.

More already exists!  Television is not just a world of reality shows where orange Z-list celebrities get semi naked and have fake "some scenes have been dramatized" relationships.  Television is still about good old-fashioned storytelling, in the most, and the GOOD part.  Don't be a slave to reality shows that leave little to the imagination, and send your brain cells into a deep coma.   Rather stimulate them into a frenzy with impossibly imaginative twists and turns of thrillers, such as "Scandal".  Test them to their intellectual limits with political dramas such as "House of Cards".  Make them feel alive with joy and the laughter provided by comic genius from shows like "Community" and "New Girl".

Sadly, some of these shows do not get the press the reality shows are afforded and as a result I regularly see decent shows getting cancelled and replaced by yet more low budget television.  "Ringer" cancelled after 1 season, "Fringe" cancelled after 5 seasons, "Zero Hour" cancelled during the first season.  These are just three off the top of my head!  There are many, many more and these are mostly shows that people haven't had the chance to even get to hear about yet.  That's where I am hoping this blog will begin to help fill the information void!

So if you are interested in finding out about some shows that I think you will enjoy, please feel free to subscribe and I will try to keep you all updated.

Thanks

NB - this post can be seen as a page on tangerine dreams at all times.  It remains there as a reminder of my mission!  Please feel free to access it by going to the tab at the top of the page.

Thursday, 4 April 2013

House of Cards

Genre - Political drama
Distributor - Netflix or online
My rating - 4 stars out of 5

This is a political drama rather than political thriller (as I would probably describe Scandal).
It isn't so much fast paced as fast talking. If you know nothing about American politics then you may struggle with some of the concepts and less so, the storylines (the same way detail can be lost in The Newsroom to a foreign, i.e. non American, audience).  Lets face it, the American writer does not write with a non native audience in mind, selling to other territories is just a bonus to them.
That aside, this is a fairly gripping tv show. I am yet to finish the season but I am liking what I've seen to date.  I'm finding myself recommending it, but I fail to be convinced if that is just because there are few shows separating the wheat from the chaff so far this year....


Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Red Widow

I plan to blog about this soon so watch this space!

I have decided that this poor effort of a show really isn't worth 2 posts.  I don't even think it is worth this one revised post!

Network - ABC
Genre - Boring sorry I mean drama?
My rating - 1 star out of 5

Bad acting, bad and predictable storyline, bad, bad, bad.

GIVE IT A MISS!