On telly this week

[Frank]

Neil Gaiman's about to interview JJ Abrahms about science fiction on Newsnight ... for some reason:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/tv/bbc_two_england/watchlive

[Charlie boy]

1:00am, channel "Viva"
Captain America (1991)

[CrazyFoxMachine]

...well on American telly anyway. Is quite an amazing discovery -

Dan Harmon of Community fame and Justin Roiland of House of Cosbys and other such bizarro animations) - comes Rick and Morty. For fans of Clone High and any other animation that has no business being as gloriously weird as it is.




You can watch the pilot for free here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMq3ozw7VME&feature=share

[TordelBack]

You can watch the pilot for free here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMq3ozw7VME&feature=share

On the basis of that pilot, this is a fun, crude and visually inventive re-working of Back to the Future.  For me there's something very wrong with Roiland's meandering extempore delivery as Rick, which makes every line twice as long as it needs to be, not really helped by a lack of chemistry with himself as Mort... Maybe these are kinks that'll work themselves out.

I'm also not sure why this couldn't have been pitched to include a slightly younger audience, a la Sanjay and Craig, rather than the Family Guy/South Park demographic again - the extended schoolgirl-boob-fondling sequence just seemed out of place in what could very easily have a broader appeal.

[Hawkmumbler]

Been watching new CN show, Steven Universe. Between tuis and Adventure Time, I have hope for CN again.

[CrazyFoxMachine]

On the basis of that pilot, this is a fun, crude and visually inventive re-working of Back to the Future.  For me there's something very wrong with Roiland's meandering extempore delivery as Rick, which makes every line twice as long as it needs to be, not really helped by a lack of chemistry with himself as Mort... Maybe these are kinks that'll work themselves out.

I'm also not sure why this couldn't have been pitched to include a slightly younger audience, a la Sanjay and Craig, rather than the Family Guy/South Park demographic again - the extended schoolgirl-boob-fondling sequence just seemed out of place in what could very easily have a broader appeal.

Fun and visually inventive'll do me. And I find Roiland's delivery very appealing. It's really not right, and that makes it different from every half-bit Seth Rogan on the comedy circuit. I hope it continues in a similar vein, although it's certainly not for everyone. Definitely Roiland's net animations are a little too weird for a long-form series - hopefully Dan will reign it in. As for the "pitching to a younger audience" I know what you're saying but it's a big market now the post-teen animation thing, and as someone who really thinks animation is (like comics) something that shouldn't just be aimed squarely at kids, I've no problem with Fox (grr) and Adult Swim doing more stuff like this. Although I agree it might be healthier to have an Adventure Timelike crossover appeal.

[TordelBack]

Although I agree it might be healthier to have an Adventure Timelike crossover appeal.

I totally agree that animation is a medium, and thus shouldn't be restricted to one age-group. The teens-and-up market has produced some great stuff (the wife and I laughed ourselves sick at parts of South Park's Black Friday storyline just the other night, even as that show struggles to find a single new joke), and since my eldest has hit a more aware 7 I'm suddenly conscious that even the venerable Simpsons isn't exactly all-ages.  I just think the premise and much of the execution in Rick and Morty would be eminently suitable for a slightly younger audience too.  But maybe that would kill the 'cool' factor for teenagers, what do I know, being so... very.... old.

On Roiland's voice performance, yes, thank goodness that for once it's not either of the Seths: it's just that it's so protracted that I find myself losing interest in Rick's lines before they're finished.   I will however eagerly watch more, if it surfaces on a channel I have.

[Dandontdare]

Tron and Tron Legacy double bill (with an hour of Mandela as an interval) - from 5.30 BBC2 tonight

[judda fett]

Psychopath night on Channel 4 tonight from 9pm. I took the test I'm 36% psycho, or maybe that was 36% okay and it's the other 64% to be concerned about? Anyway should be fun.

[Chris Tresson]

Psychopath night on Channel 4 tonight from 9pm. I took the test I'm 36% psycho, or maybe that was 36% okay and it's the other 64% to be concerned about? Anyway should be fun.

I almost forgot that was on! Cheers, Judda!

[Devons Daddy]

Interweb thingy will offer
Still open all hours
as must see tv for me.

[Chris Tresson]

Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners on channel 4 right now. The guy having his house cleaned is called Dusty Rhodes...

...He's just a common man...

[The Legendary Shark]

Watching Dave Allen on BBC2 - wow, I'd forgotten how funny he was and never appreciated his cleverness properly either.

.
Eg. After hours of argument with an atheist, the Pope finally cracks and says, "bah! You remind me of a blindfolded man in a darkened room searching for a black cat that isn't there!"
.
"That's exactly how I see you," says the atheist, "you also are like a blindfolded man in a darkened room searching for a black cat that isn't there - the only difference is that you've found it."

.
Genius!

[Chris Tresson]

The penultimate episode of Sherlock (that I've waited ages for and will be over by next week...)

[CrazyFoxMachine]

This week:

Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe is back on BBC2 tomorrow night and it looks to have dumped that ridiculous "discussion" segment that was so bad that the last episode of the first series even referenced how badly received it was with a time travel framing device. Looking forward to it - Brooker is always grand.

Next week:



House of Fools BBC2 on Tuesday night - it's the return of Vic & Bob in a studio-based sitcom format. Will be very surreal and likely to be brilliant - I have all the time in the world for them two.

"Bob is a man who is frustrated by the uninvited people who constantly fill his house. He has a hot date lined up and all he needs now is to get rid of all his unwanted house guests, so he can watch Conan the Barbarian with her in peace. Unfortunately, his lodger Vic has broken the telly."