Small Screen: Hannibal: The Pilot Review
Posted on Friday April 19, 2013, 09:47 by Stephen Carty in Small Screen
 Quid pro quo, dear Clarice. What was your reaction – be honest now – when it was first announced that a Hannibal Lecter prequel TV show was in the works? A dismissive sigh? An audible groan? A dismissively audible sigh-groan? An angry forum rant about how the character should be left alone? All of the above? All of the above whilst guzzling a nice Chianti?
Such scepticism could be forgiven, of course, given the diminishing nature of Hannibal's screen returns. Like many discerning film connoisseurs, I’m a big champion of both Michael Mann’s Manhunter (the first Lecter film, starring Brian Cox as ‘Lecktor’) and Jonathan Demme’s Oscar-winning The Silence Of The Lambs (which saw Anthony Hopkins propel the character into pop culture consciousness). But after a trio of increasingly disappointing outings - Ridley Scott’s underwhelming Hannibal; Brett Ratner’s uninspired Manhunter re-do Red Dr... Continue reading... Comment Now (6 comments)
Back To TopSmall Screen: House Of Cards: Our First Reaction
Posted on Tuesday February 5, 2013, 11:57 by Olly Richards in Small Screen
 The opening salvo in Netflix’ televisual revolution is predictably glossy, starry and expensive. But the streamer’s first move into original programming is also bravely adult, reaching for its audience with smart dialogue, tangles of political backstabbing, and slow burn storylines. It’s gunning for the prestige of HBO, not the ass ‘n’ action of Starz. And it’s a killer first blow.
Based on the British mini-series of the same name, now some 23 years old, itself adapted from Michael Dobbs' novel, House of Cards chronicles the slithering rise of Francis Underwood, a US congressman denied the position promised him by a newly-elected President. Not one to let even the slightest of betrayals go unpunished, Underwood begins a scheme that will destroy as many people as necessary in order to achieve what he wants. He’s the most dangerous creature in Washington, a man of great pettiness and almost limitless power. Underwood is brought to life by Kevin Spacey, grea... Continue reading... Comment Now (9 comments)
Back To TopSmall Screen: Arrow: The Pilot
Posted on Monday October 15, 2012, 17:09 by Stephen Carty in Small Screen
 As anyone who persevered with (read: suffered through) Smallville's final years will attest, one of the highlights of its disappointing later seasons was The Green Arrow and his promotion to recurring regular status. As such, it's hardly a major surprise that The CW have chosen to use DC Comic's Emerald Archer to fill the small-screen-superhero void left by Tom Welling's Teen Of Steel. Since, however, I've found myself caught between sceptical cynicism and 'that could actually work' optimism. In the end my vacillation is actually quite appropriate, given that the pilot of Arrow (no 'Green') is solid and rather promising in some ways, but frustratingly underwhelming and unsatisfying in others.
While showrunners Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim were recently responsible (read: guilty) for penning DC's big-screen stab at Green Lantern (no wait - come back!), they've been thankfully vocal in distancing Arrow from Smallville. Wisely opting for a new, unrelated take, this isn't a spin-... Continue reading... Comment Now (9 comments)
Back To TopSmall Screen: TV Review: Homeland Episode 1
Posted on Tuesday October 9, 2012, 18:28 by Stephen Carty in Small Screen
 While I caught the Homeland bug last year like many of you, I had a reservation. Not one about the first season itself, which offered compelling, moreish and unpredictable (yet credible) drama, but about the show's longevity. Built around a riveting is-he-isn't-he concept, the series was initially driven by the ambiguity surrounding a rescued soldier who might be a turned-by-the-baddies sleeper agent. And while most people would just sit back and enjoy this unreservedly, I found myself worrying that the concept couldn't be stretched for more than a season.
Happily, it seems like I was wrong. It's early days but even the latter stages of season one moved beyond the simple premise into a more stretchable will-he-won't-he situation - and the show remained gripping regardless. With season two's feverishly-awaited opening, The Smile, showrunners Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa concentrate on setting things up for the run ahead, but they do so in a way which suggests that Homeland is far f... Continue reading... Comment Now (6 comments)
Back To TopSmall Screen: Empire Visits Fresh Meat Season 2
Posted on Tuesday October 9, 2012, 17:11 by Phil de Semlyen in Small Screen
 University life can be fraught. When you’re not navigating around a mountain of dirty dishes or scratching out an essay under the malign influence of Pot Noodle, there’s a full-blown identity crisis to cope with and no bloody teabags to help you do it. Take Kingsley, Fresh Meat’s resident geology-turned-drama-turned-geology-again student. “He’s gone away for the Christmas holidays and come back as a self-styled ‘jazz man’,” erstwhile Inbetweener Joe Thomas tells Empire. “And he’s definitely overreaching.”
Sure enough, Kingsley’s new look for season two of Channel 4’s award-winning comedy involves some egregious knitwear and a Tony Almeida-style soul patch that quickly sees him dubbed ‘Patch Adams’ by housemates Vod (Zawe Ashton), Howard (Greg McHugh), Josie (Kimberley Nixon), JP (Jack Whitehall) and Oregon (Charlotte Ritchie). And, as McHugh explains, he’s not the only ... Continue reading... Comment Now
Back To TopSmall Screen: Does Elementary Cut The Mustard?
Posted on Thursday September 27, 2012, 16:46 by Stephen Carty in Small Screen
 If, like me, you can’t get enough of the BBC’s addictive-as-heroin Sherlock (seriously third season, hurry up), then you probably aren’t holding out much hope for CBS’s American interpretation of Arthur Conan Doyle's source material. Putting aside the brilliance of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ version for a moment, there’s also the little matter of Guy Ritchie’s big-screen interpretation, meaning that Elementary faced the potential problem of Arthur Conan Doyle fatigue. Take into account the poor track record of Americanisations of British shows, and things weren’t looking too good.
But all in all though, the pilot isn’t too bad. Undeniably, it plays like a fairly standard cop procedural and you get the feeling that future episodes will quickly move into the tried-and-tested case-of-the-week format, but it’s nowhere near the disaster many of us feared. While showrunner Rob Doherty’s script doesn&rs... Continue reading... Comment Now (11 comments)
Back To TopSmall Screen: Dallas: Changing Of The Guard
Posted on Friday September 21, 2012, 17:18 by Stephen Carty in Small Screen
 As much a surprise to you as it was to me, I recently found myself ridiculously excited about the return of Dallas to our screens - perhaps not to the same extent as John Barrowman, but excited nonetheless. I know that as a ‘serious’ film and television journalist I should be focusing my attention on more highbrow upcoming fare. But while I’m eagerly awaiting the likes of Rian Johnson’s Looper, PTA’s The Master and Terrence Malick’s To The Wonder (even though, apparently I’ve been cut out of the latter), god damn I found myself energised by the prospect of returning to Southfork.
“What’s a Southfork?” I hear you say, like Logan asking Professor X what a Magneto is. Well, it’s the sprawling ranch on which Dallas was set, and Dallas was the series ruled the airwaves as the biggest prime-time soap in the world during the '80s. It revolved around the Ewings, a wealthy and dysfunctional Texan family in the oil business who were constantl... Continue reading... Comment Now (2 comments)
Back To TopSmall Screen: The Newsroom: First Reaction
Posted on Thursday July 12, 2012, 15:30 by Stephen Carty in Small Screen
 While the same could said to some extent about most storytellers, your ability to enjoy Aaron Sorkin's work very much depends largely on your response to his signature style. Returning to the small-screen after a successful stint penning some rather fine feature films (including The Social Network and Moneyball), Sorkin's new HBO drama – which follows the behind-the-scenes happenings of a fictional news team – boasts all the recognisable Sorkin touches that we've come to expect from the celebrated screenwriter. Set in yet another high-pressure workplace, it’s intelligent, idealistic and populated with quirky mouthpieces who burst into speeches which – it will surprise absolutely nobody to discover – concern integrity. As such, fans of his work will find plenty to like.
Certainly though, the reverse is also true. Though Sorkin's unique voice won him universal (and thoroughly deserved) acclaim with The West Wing (nobody really watched hi... Continue reading... Comment Now (12 comments)
Back To TopSmall Screen: House: The Final Finale
Posted on Friday May 25, 2012, 14:15 by Stephen Carty in Small Screen
 Whilst my love for House is such that I’ve wittered on about it right here on this very blog before (hell, it even sneaks a mention in my Twitter bio), a steady decline in quality over the last few years meant that I approached the final episode with mixed feelings as well as a large box of tissues. On one hand, you could argue that the show should have ended a few seasons back, but on the other television just won’t be the same without Hugh Laurie’s stubbly, Sherlockian diagnostician, easily one of the most compelling characters to ever grace the small screen.
Regardless, after eight seasons this was the end. No more Massive Attack kicking in after the obligatory cold open. No more lightbulb moments after 38 incorrect diagnoses (give or take). And, save for a limp, crapola spin-off which nobody wants, no more Princeton-Pla... Continue reading... Comment Now (11 comments)
Back To TopSmall Screen: True Blood: Season Four - What A Witch
Posted on Thursday May 10, 2012, 17:18 by Helen O'Hara in Small Screen
 So how are we feeling about True Blood these days? I have to admit, season four was something of a letdown for me. I mean, it's still entertaining, particularly when Lafayette was involved in anything, or Jessica. But so few of the rest of the cast seemed to be having fun, and many of them seemed to be forced to play against their strengths, and what with the show hitting DVD so that you can all have a look, let's consider what's been going on. Season Four spoilers, incidentally, follow throughout.
Take, for example, Alexander Skarsgard's Eric, struck with amnesia and rediscovering life alongside Sookie. In the books, it worked rather well for the big fierce manipulator to be suddenly reduced to powerlessness and then to finally get into Sookie's pants by dint of not endlessly contriving at same. Somehow here, however - not helped by Skarsgard's horrendously parted "innocent" hair - he just seemed a bit silly. Which has the knock-on effect of rendering Sookie's inability to resist hi... Continue reading... Comment Now (13 comments)
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