Posts Tagged: tv

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5
Jan 10

What I watched in 2009: TV Shows

Since it seems to be the season for best of 2009 retrospectives I thought I should get in on the action. First up, here’s my top 5 for TV Shows for the year that was.

  1. Arrested Development. I know, it’s like six years old, but I finally got around to watching all 3 seasons of this awesome series. The quality of the comedic writing is simply amazing. There are so many set-ups for the ultimate joke which you don’t see coming. And the clever yet subtle tie-ins with previous episodes make it well worth a couple of re-watches.
  2. True Blood. I didn’t think I would get into this series, especially in an industry so saturated with Twilight piggy-backs. True Blood is more than “just another vampire show”, it’s raised the bar for this genre by just being so damn compelling. The Season 2 story was a bit slow for a while and Bill Compton’s incessant chivalry makes me want to puke or just stake the guy, but apart from that it’s great.
  3. Battlestar Galactica. This series wound up this year to a semi-surprising climax with it’s 4th and final season. I’m glad it didn’t go longer as even Season 3 was starting to suffer from “filler bloat” which is where they pad out the main plot with pointless episodes to stretch it to 22 episodes or whatever. BSG remains in my opinion one of the best shows OF ALL TIME.
  4. Heroes. What can I say, I’m a sucker for punishment when it comes to this series. Season 4 has introduced some new characters, mostly original. Still has a good amount of mystery but the overall plot is pretty obvious. I used to watch Heroes for the powers but these days they’re a dime a dozen. Now I watch for Sylar, the evil antagonist who is really the only character that still has balls. He knows what he wants. He wants to kill everyone with powers, steal their powers and rule the world as the only one with powers. I respect that, you know. Too many characters these days are just lolly-gagging around while they “discover” their “destiny”. Snooooore.
  5. The Big Bang Theory. This show was hella funny even if it does reinforce geek stereotypes. Then there was S02E07 where Sheldon is a complete bastard prick. That turned me off the show because real people would not accept his behaviour, nor even care enough to react. They would simply ignore him or get a restraining order. The artificial construction of Sheldon’s character became even more apparent to the point where I stopped believing and started being angry at the writers. This has happened before and it’s an edge I am only rarely pushed over, but when I am it’s not pretty. But if I can ignore that one episode, it still makes my top 5 for the year.

So what have I missed? Did you watch anything last year that I don’t know about? Besides Dexter and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which are both on my to-watch list.

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5
Dec 09

ABC’s New Invasive Popups

Shame ABC! Shame!

What have you done?! I can understand the need for invasive TV popups on a *commercial* station which relies on advertising revenue. With the growing popularity of PVRs which have ad-skipping capability, the traditional ad-breaks will become less effective.

But there is NO excuse for this shit on a publicly funded TV station! Kill the popups, ABC or kill your reputation as Australia’s only respectable broadcaster.

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4
May 09

Lawrence Leung’s Script Your Own Adventure

I *really* wanted to love Lawrence Leung’s satirical TV series, which recently screened on ABC. His Rubick’s-loving, MacGyver-worshipping nerdy persona has great potential to be a real cult hero. Leung could have excelled as a no-holds-barred ubergeek on a heroic quest in the name of all geekdom, but instead he dawdles through nine weeks of unfulfilment in denial; on quests for mediocre pursuits.

The show has some funny moments, and is not lacking in casual entertainment value. Its nostalgia almost sucked me in completely, but it just wasn’t believable enough. Really top notch satire exhibits such a sharp truth that leaves the viewer roaring with laughter at the uncanny accuracy, take The Hollowmen for example.

In an effort to amplify his own self-perceived lameness for the purposes of comedy, Leung’s “adventures” turn into overwritten, overacted stereotypes, most of which have a predictable outcome.  Perhaps the show sits too precariously on the fence between reality TV and transparently scripted comedy.

To illustrate, think of how Flight of The Conchords makes no attempt to masquerade as a factual documentary. The whole series is so obviously scripted, so it fits nicely into the category of “sitcom” and the audience is comfortable. Summer Heights High is the same. Despite its opening title claiming authenticity, the supporting characters treat Lilley’s creations just as they are written; instead of reacting to their mildly unsettling surreality, as we do as the audience. It has long been said that great humour comes from truth, but that’s what’s lacking here.

With one foot in the reality camp, Leung encourages the audience to see his character as a real person. Maybe that’s what he wants, but its not him, its the “made for TV” version of him, who has been artificially altered. I’m sure a lot of the script draws factual inspiration from Leung’s childhood, but its the interactions with other characters that most lack authenticity. While the Chaser-style stunts have some initial shock value, we know that in reality, premeditation is required if you want to achieve the desired follow-through.

For example, you don’t rock up to a stranger’s house and start waxing his floors and car Karate Kid style. You approach him and sell him the show’s agenda, give him a few lines and then start filming. This ensures the quality of “drama” matches your preconceived ideal. However, one stunt I could not accept was rocking up to the front gate of MacGyver creator Lee David Zlotoff’s home for an “impromptu” interview. Seriously, he would just call the cops or tell you to fuck off.

We also see evidence in the school teacher reunion scene of the discontinuity inherent in these stunts. You can just about pinpoint the exact edit. The scene starts off with Leung being the sweet genuine guy with an innocent agenda. It rapidly switches to the reality induced by an off-camera explanation and script run-through.

So they set it all up beforehand. That’s fine and dandy. What grates here is the slimy attempt at presenting obviously prearranged sequences as reality. The result is that we see through their veil and the humour simply drains away.

Rush out of the bushes with all the urgency in the world, shake those cameras as hard and convincingly as you can. Blur that man’s face so we think he’s actually a real person. Sorry mate, I’m just not buying it.

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22
Jan 09

My Uncle, My Father

What happens when two cousins who love each other very much approach documentary film maker Tom Chandon to film their wedding video? He tries to shoot a humanitarian film about the couple’s struggle to have society and their family accept their forbidden love.

Wednesday nights on ABC or download from the website.

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6
Jan 09

Goodbye Charlie

I was shocked to hear over the Christmas break that one of the hosts of Top Gear Australia had quit and would be replaced by James Morrison. The news reports confirm that Charlie Cox has indeed left the show.

“Although reluctant to be leaving, Cox said he was quitting the program due to lack of time.

As a director of 10 British and Australian companies, as well as a broadcaster for the BBC for the last decade, Cox admitted his professional priority isn’t Top Gear Australia.”

He was fun. But you know, I think James Morrison will be so much better! All reports say the man has serious motoring passion. Bring it on!

On another spinoff related note, I was excited to discover that Sabine Schmitz was one of the hosts of the German Top Gear equivalent (called D Motor). She rocks!

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9
Nov 08

The Green Rambo Rabbit

There is one Christmas I will always remember. It was the year my parents caved after plenty of persistent pleading and finally bought me the full version of Epic Games’ Jazz Jackrabbit – complete with the Christmas levels. In the subsequent months I spent countless hours immersed in this game, which at the time was the best platformer I had ever seen. And not least because of the catchy music, some of which is still in my MP3 collection today.

Now it’s been a while since I played Jazz Jackrabbit but all the nostalgia came flooding back when Good Game recently interviewed the game’s creator Cliff Bleszinski for their History of Epic Games segment. I had always read the names in the opening credits with a sense of wonder, like “Hmm, I wonder who those Arjan Brussee and Cliff Bleszinski guys really are. They sure do make a swell game.” So I always had a great deal of respect for these faceless names. When I watched the interview I was gobsmacked to discover that Bleszinski was only 18 when Jazz was released! I can safely say that he now sits along side Peter Molyneux in my “Heroes of the Games Industry” category. Speaking of which, I should really play Fable 2 now that I have it.

Oh and here’s a video of Jazz Jackrabbit.

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1
Nov 08

Financial Crisis got you down?

Not to worry. Dr. Rudi and Sigourney have a rather ingenious solution to your money troubles.

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27
Oct 08

Top Gear Australia test track

If you’ve visited the excellent Wikipedia page about Top Gear Australia, you’ll know the test track is actually located at Camden Airport, about an hour’s drive from Sydney. In tonight’s episode, Steve mentioned that there was a map of the Top Gear Australia test track on the SBS website. He was correct, and here it is reproduced in a non-flash PNG format.

But I couldn’t just leave it there. Here’s a nice big PNG of the track from Google Earth. Enjoy.

Sorry, I couldn’t be stuffed overlaying the actual diagram but you get the idea.