TV update

I'm behind in TV far far behind.

I've got episodes of Boardwalk empire, Treme, Blue Bloods, Six Feet under, Single Father, The Accused, Outcasts piling up around me. Its not that I'm not watching things, we're really yomping through things that we get from love film but I'm finding it hard to balance the time in order to keep up with things that are being broadcast.

Deep breath.

I need a to-do list and a list of what's on the Sky plus box I need to watch…

And because it's been a while since I wrote anything about a show I'm watching let me give my reaction to Outcasts.  I'm more or less caught up with this one.  I've seen the first four episodes and I'm yet to connect with it. 

My completely biased opinions are thus:

I really enjoyed the first episode, plenty of Jamie, who was a bit nuts and a little bit scary but utterly compelling and despite everything I liked his character, rather a lot. And what do they do with him?

Well that would be a spoiler but it isn't good and I'm sure the people on Carpathia heard my wail of NOOOOOOOOOOO.  I understand that from an actor's point of view Jamie Bamber didn't want to end up getting typecast as just a sci fi guy and turning up in another post apocalyptical drama.  Because let's be honest Outcasts is never going to live up to the awesomeness that is BSG.

The characters who are left are not likeable. Hermione Norris' character makes me want to maim rigid skinny blond women, the president is dubious beyond belief. There are the internal cops - Cass who is kind of dumb and the feisty woman who maybe a woman, but she's not all that.  Ivanova from Bab 5 and Starbuck and Admiral Caine, hell even Kat would kick her skinny behind. Then there's Eric Mabius from Ugly Betty whose like Gaius Baltar in negative, where Baltar is English sounding and corrupt. Julius Berger is American and corrupt. He's even cultivating his own quasi religious cult following. Plus to rub salt into the wounds he looks like Jamie Bamber enough for me to get excited and then get depressed again because it isn't him.

I can't see that the characters are rounded enough, and its not that they aren't all shades of grey they are all dubious, they seem fixed in their little boxes and I can't see any development happening.  The drama just isn't good enough, the plot isn't strong enough.

Conversely, I re-watched the first episode of Six Feet Under recently and it still feels as amazing as it did when I saw it for the first time. Ok I can't compare directly, it being a straighter drama. But the character plotting in that show was just dizzyingly good. It sucked me right back in completely.

The other thing I want to talk about is Being Human which does Vampires Werewolves and Ghosts with a decidedly British feel. Now onto it's third series and just over halfway through it’s a wonderful show which raises questions  about what it means to be human especially when you are other. It's at times stark with blackness and other times hilarious often seconds apart.

I need more time.