Okay… some television comments, as promised.
Big Brother—I’ve resisted! I resisted the first series almost completely; I wavered a little on the second; and last year, my resolve broke down very quickly and I watched most of it. (Obviously, Jade was robbed.)
Anyhow, this year, I’ve not watched it at all. Not a second. And I’m quite happy about that. In principle, I think it’s an idiotic concept that provides little genuine entertainment. Unfortunately, if you expose yourself to it, it’s almost impossible to not get hooked. The best bet is to avoid it altogether.
A few words on American import shows. In recent years, the Big Two UK terrestrial channels (BBC1 and ITV) have shown almost no American material on prime-time slots, or even close. I’m not sure why. The days when shows like Hawaii Five-O or Quincy would be shown at 8:00pm are long gone. Too many effing house makeovers and airport documentaries to fit in, I guess (read: unimaginative tat that is dead cheap to produce).
So Channel Five (or just five, as it’s now known) has become the place where you’re most likely to see US shows at prime-time. The wonderful CSI is on Tuesdays at around 9:00pm, and its Miami-based sister is on Saturdays, same time. CSI is huge; the number one crime show in the States. Why weren’t the Big Two interested? Their loss.
However, as far as ITV goes, there’s a slight sign of change recently. They have two US shows on during the week—not quite prime-time, but as close as we’ve seen for several years.
The first is Crossing Jordan, Tuesday, around 11:00pm. Jill Hennessy plays Jordan Cavanaugh, a Medical Examiner whose quest for truth invariably leads her to interfering with police investigations (and doing most of their work for them). So, basically, it’s Quincy with breasts. Only much better. Hennessy is really good. She’s attractive, but not a glamour queen, and strong and assertive without being a total cliché.
All the cast is solid. I guess my favourite is Miguel Ferrer, who plays Jordan’s boss, the slightly uptight Chief ME. I’ve always rated Miguel, although he’s often been given poor roles. He has a good acting pedigree; his father, José Ferrer, was one of the greats in his prime… Miguel looks strikingly like José as he gets older, and has inherited some of his talent to boot. On the whole, it’s a nice show; nothing spectacularly new or innovative, but strong on character, which always gets high marks from me.
The other item is Dragnet, now on its third revival (the original series started in 1951), Wednesday, 10:30pm. Ed O’Neill plays the new Joe Friday, and if all you know of him is his role in the appalling Married… with Children, you might think he’s a bad choice. He’s not. Friday is a thousand miles away from Al Bundy.
The show uses an odd mix of nostalgic elements that recall the original series (i.e. Friday’s deadpan voiceover) with contemporary crime themes. I wouldn’t expect it to work particularly well, but it mostly does, and maybe the touch of producer Dick (Law & Order) Wolf has something to do with that. It only debuted in the US a few months ago—so whether it’s a hit or not may still be up in the air.
Next time I talk about TV, I’ll delve more into home-grown material. I’ve rambled on enough for now!
I always thought that Miguer Ferrer should be playing Joe Friday whenever Dragnet was renewed, but Ed O’Neil does OK. One of the few new TV series that I’m actually following (Lucky being the other one)
Eh? Married..With Children was a truly great sitcom. For anyone nauseated by traditional ‘family dynamics’ in TV land, it was truly a blessing. Plus it has the legendary Katey Sagal (Leela in Futurama) in its cast.
Sure, there’s loads of nauseating, ‘safe’ rubbish out there, and I’m all for stuff that takes a dump on it. Nothing wrong with that.
The trouble with Married… is that its subversion was meant to be humorous. The idea might’ve worked if the humour bit hadn’t been accidentally left out.
married with children is a laugh, ya square mare
Comments are closed.