On telly this week

[Link Prime]

A new Science Fiction series: Defiance starts tomorrow on the Syfy channel at 9pm.

Looks interesting...

I got three minutes into that show before I turned it off.  Utterly awful.
Did manage to watch all the way through eventually, and it is basically that dinosaur show from a year or so back, only without the dinosaurs so the budget stays low, and when they do finally have an action setpiece, it's completely CGI and on the level of a PS2 intro.

That's actually the most rave review you've ever written Prof!
Meant to check it out during the week, but never got round to it.
Don't think it'll affect the longevity of my sleep tonight...

[Mardroid]

I didn't mind it but it was a bit too soap operish.
The concepts aren't bad. I'll watch some more. I'm hoping the shorter time frame of episodes will tighten things up.

[Frank]

Alan Yentob's The United States of Television occupies BBC2's for-people-who-aren't-watching-BGT slot for the next month. It's themed around a single topic each week, but as it tries to fit the last sixty years into sixty minutes there isn't an awful lot of depth. The one saving grace is that the talking heads are mostly the people who are normally only names in the credits of your favourite programmes, and who you normally don't get to hear talking about other shows and what TV influenced their work.

It's about TV Dads this week, so it's mostly lightweight sit-coms until you hit the nineties and cable TV in the second half of the show and Chase, Weiner and Cranston all show up. David Lynch displays some truly awe inspiring hair, so I guess they'll be doing Twin Peaks in a subsequent episode.

[Spikes]

And if your quick, on ITV 2 +1; Shaun of the Dead -  Though it always seems to be on, i havent seen this in a good while.

[Steve Green]

On the horror theme...

Possibly Judges Burdis and Pal on CBBC Monday afternoon 16:30.

[Goaty]

Off topic, as twist to On Telly this week...

I am off to theatre tonight, as got ticket to see The Woman In Black, love the film not see it on stage before so could be interesting, and tonight got captioning screen which helpfully me.

[Goaty]

Ooh Drag Me To Hell on Channel 5 now, featured me as the Goat on it!

[Daveycandlish]

I remember the first time I saw Woman in Black on stage I had the aisle seat and rather early on during the show there was a lot of rustling behind me so I turned around to see... the woman in black ghosting through the auditorium - I jumped a mile! Great show.

[Frank]

Film Four, 01:25 am on Tuesday morning; The King of Marvin Gardens, Jack Nicholson's other collaboration with Bob Rafelson, after Head and Five Easy Pieces. It's currently doing the rounds at cinemas, so this is a great chance to save your monthly trip to your local fleapit for something with lazers and explosions in it. I'm ashamed to say I'd never even heard of the film before, so I can't say whether it's any good or not, but Nicholson didn't put a foot wrong for most of the seventies and it also features this year's Cannes Best Actor winner, Bruce Dern, and Hong Kong Phooey himself, Scatman Crothers.

[JOE SOAP]

I've watched ...Marvin Gardens about 3 times over the past 15 years or so and it's one of those they don't make 'em like that anymore films. It's Jack when he was in his actual acting phase - before the Shining - but it can be a hard nut to crack and much in the vein of Five Easy Pieces*, The Last Detail and Carnal Knowledge except he's the opposite of ebullient or being a sex-weirdo in this one. It only makes sense by the final scene so you have to stick with it. When you put all Jack Nicholson's work in the 70's together you see that he's actually grossly under-rated as an actor of range and depth- not helped by the parody he became of himself later on.


*If I had a Top Ten it would be in there.

[Frank]

*If I had a Top Ten it would be in there.

I'm treating that as a recommendation, and I'm going to let Nicholson off for getting fat and lazy. It must be difficult not to become self-indulgent when you're effortlessly cool, feted by your peers, and have the world's most beautiful women throwing themselves at you. Let's both give it a go and see how we get on; Richmond can be our control group.

[Sideshow Bob]

I'd agree with Mr Soap on that one, Five Easy Pieces is a great movie...
I wasn't too keen on Carnal Knowledge but loved The Last Detail...and numerous other Nicholson movies...

As for being one of the most under-rated actors' of his generation it's true...unfortunately......An absolutely fabulous actor of great range and talent, who since the 80's has virtually become a 'parody' of himself !!...
Understandable of course, when as Sauchie says "It must be difficult not to become self indulgent when you're effortlessly cool, feted by your peers, and have the worlds' most beautiful women throwing themselves at you "....It's a hard life for some...
Another great actor who also falls into this category is Al Pacino, who now resorts to 'shouty' parodies of himself.....A shame...

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

Did anyone watch that Human Swarm show?

Apparently when it's cold, more people buy soup.

That show was full of those kinda shocking revelations.

[Richmond Clements]

*If I had a Top Ten it would be in there.

I'm treating that as a recommendation, and I'm going to let Nicholson off for getting fat and lazy. It must be difficult not to become self-indulgent when you're effortlessly cool, feted by your peers, and have the world's most beautiful women throwing themselves at you. Let's both give it a go and see how we get on; Richmond can be our control group.

Where do I sign up??

[TordelBack]

Where do I sign up??

Isn't the control group the guys who don't get the drugs?