Top TV Pairings Part 2

I've decided to extend this a little bit to include 10 other shows before going into the other 25 I have as my favourites.

Dollhouse - Victor/Sierra

The show might have lasted two seasons but Joss Whedon managed to give us at least one couple worthy of rooting for. Both Victor and Sierra had the best chemistry with each other and definitely were the couple to watch on this shortlived series.

Will And Grace - Will Trueman/Vince D'Angelo

After spending the first five seasons flitting between boyfriends, the writers finally gave Will someone who complimented him and while him and Vince had their ups and downs, it's a credit to the series for this great relationship.

The L Word - Bette Porter/Tina Kennard

Relationships in this series were ten a penny but Bette and Tina were definitely the long haul relationship of the series, both with it's good and with it's bad moments. Still, they were definitely the best of a mixed bunch of couples on this series.

Alias - Sydney Bristow/Michael Vaughn

Bucking something of a trend here, Sydney and Vaughn for me were actually a pretty good couple. Sure we could've done without Lauren during S3 or Vaughn's fakeout death for most of S5 but other than that, I liked these two.

Shameless - Kev Ball/Veronica Fisher

The not so married but chaotic couple were a joy during the first three years of the series and while both Dean Lennox Kelly and Maxine Peake seem to be constantly getting decent roles after leaving the series, I do sometimes miss the pair.

To Skin Her Or Not To

And here's another TV jumble of the stuff I have been watching the last fortnight.

V: I don't know why but I am actually enjoying this series a lot. Yes, there have been better updates on classic sci-fi shows but for some reason, I think this one is really finding itself rather nicely. The last two episodes have certainly seen Anna at her gloriously manipulative best, all the while trying to prove Diana wrong at every turn and it's nice to see how desperate Lisa is becoming to not turn out like her mother. The fifth column stuff took a gory turn with Erica and company's torture of a Visitor agent (even I had a hard time watching those scenes) but overall, I am really hoping that this show actually pulls a miracle and bags a third year. I can wish, right?

Desperate Housewives: Oh, Beth Young - I started off not liking you and over the last few episodes, feeling quite bad for you. The housewives were bitches to you, your husband callously delighted in telling you he killed your aunt and your mother heartlessly disowned you. Beth's solution to all these woes - shoot herself in the hospital so that Susan can get a kidney. Pretty strange way of going about things but not for this show. And to be fair, this was also in an episode where Susan and Mike shagged in the woods, Gabby and Lee competed with their kids in a talent show, Lynette pulled a childish prank on Renee and Bree basically bullied everyone into getting tested for Susan. The funny part was that this was also the second episode of the season as well as being the show's 150th episode too. Imagine that!

The Walking Dead: It's weird how long it's actually taken me to watch this show. FXUK have aired it twice already and Channel 5 started it on Sunday, so I finally decided to catch up with it. Was it worth it? I guess so. There was a lot I liked here - the main cast are likeable, Andrew Lincoln is a good everyman hero type with Rick Grimes, the zombies look great and there's a genuine menace in the air as a result of their invasion, so overall, I think I could be hooked to this show. The next couple of episodes will be the decider for me.

Shameless US: I'm going to have to eat some humble pie here because for over the last few weeks, the US version of this popular Brit one has actually gotten better. The cast have certainly found their groove (okay, maybe not Steve/Jimmy but everyone else has) and the stories being retold are working very well too. Also, while the image of a punked out Karen shagging Frank and putting it online is one that I can easily do without (along with this version of Monica, whose as bad as her UK counterpart), I am rather pleased that this series has gotten a second run. I like Kash way more in this one than in the UK one and Kevin/Veronica are definitely the better pairing in this show too.

Being Human US: Not a bad slew of final episodes here and like Shameless US, this one has certainly come leaps and bounds as well. I'm glad that the series went and bumped off Marcus, Rebecca and Bishop like the UK one did but I am surprised that we're getting the werewolf baby plot with Josh/Nora so quickly, given that we have yet to see the fruits of both George and Nina's labours. As a gang though, Josh, Aidan, Sally and Nora are also coming along rather nicely too and I did like the subplots of Aidan's relationship with Selene as well.

Boardwalk Empire: This series really seemed to go by so quickly, didn't it? I watch pretty much most of the first season as I could and I definitely got why the show has become as acclaimed as it had been. The characters are certainly rich and multi-layered and if we ever needed a successor to The Sopranos, then this show certainly fills that void and the last scene with Nucky and Margaret was an interesting ending for the first year.

- Jonathan Groff is reprising his role as Jesse for three episodes in the last throes of the second season of Glee. Holly will also be singing Adele's Tuning Tables when the show returns next week.
- Expect another child added to the Walker clan as well as the return of Tyler in the last four episodes of Brothers And Sisters. Plus an incredibly terrible retcon concerning Sarah.
- Robert Sheehan will not be returning for the third season of Misfits. Instead a new character called Rudi will be introduced, though the role has yet to be cast.
- Desperate Housewives will be coming back for an eighth season, according to new reports and Vanessa Williams will also be sticking with the series.
- Kathy Griffin will be guest starring in an upcoming episode of Drop Dead Diva.
- An advertising company have had to apologise after placing ads for The Walking Dead next to a funeral parlour.

Searching For The Lack Of Love

And if you can spot what or where that title comes from, you're a genius.

Skins UK: Okay, so far, I really do believe that this series is showing so much improvement. So, why are ratings and Twitter hits less big for the series then? It's a puzzler. The new generation continue to be interesting and both Mini and Liv had some pretty damn interesting episodes between them. Much as I found Mini's double standards towards Nick and Liv frustrating, I hated her for the way she chose to deal with it in regards to Liv. As for Matty and Nick being revealed as brothers - nice one. We were lacking siblings and with that taken care, we can see where their dynamic develops in the next four episodes. The trailer for the second half of the season certainly promised a lot of awesomeness to come our ways. Ratings or not, this show is certainly back to being it's fine self.

Glee: In the space of nine days, I've managed to see three of the current US aired episodes of the series and this one was a bit weird but good. I hated every bit of Justin Bieber related nonsense in this one and if I never heard a song from that kid, it'll be a moment too soon. On the plus side, I did enjoy the breather from Kurt/Blaine, loved Sue's attempts of sabotage before she headed off to join Aural Intensity, the diva-off between Rachel and Mercedes was amusing and I did like Sam dumping Quinn, though I can't see him and Santana lasting long. Only thing I had issue with was that Rachel raised a good point about doing an original song and everyone shot her down without giving her a chance. That was definitely a sour point in this episode.

The Big C: Okay, it's been airing on More4 for the last fortnight and I wasn't sure about watching this show but I'm kind of glad I gave in. Laura Linney is a fine actress and her character Cathy's plight with cancer is certainly tackled in interesting enough ways - kicking out her husband, making new friends, attending weird support groups and riding tandem bikes (a plot that was better done on The Simpsons many moons ago) but while the series has a sense of humour not too dissimilar to Weeds, it's probably going to take some more episodes for this show to 'wow' me if I'm being honest.

Shameless UK: As I continue to watch this current eighth season on and off at different times, a thought occurs to me - it's seen better days. Even though the writing/acting still outclasses it's American version (hardly a difficult task), I don't think there's much else the show can really go to be honest. How many times do I need to see carl shagging every available within breathing distance? How many loonies are going to appear to cause trouble for an episode (in the last few for Libby, Patty and Lillian)? And how many more fecking times are the writers going to treat Mickey's sexuality as a joke? I keep hoping that Mimi's latent homophobia was either a bizarre from her to get Mickey to open up about being gay or it would be something for him to man up against her but that's never going to happen. Five seasons in and it's no longer funny. How can anyone in the Maguire family not know Mickey is gay? Are they brain dead or something? And new neighbours the Powells aren't shaping up to be that interesting an edition to the series.

- Amber Benson is returning to Supernatual but it's not known if she'll be reprising her role from 2006 in the series or playing a new character.
- Adrianne Palicki has been cast as Wonder Woman for an NBC pilot.
- Expect Santana's bisexuality to be a focus in an upcoming episode of Glee. Blaine is also set to question the nature of bisexuality in an episode too.
- Jennifer Carpenter has admitted that she's ready for her character Deb to find out about her brother's dark side in Dexter.
- BBC are moving sci-fi drama, Outcasts to a late Sunday slot after the series began to slip in the ratings.
- Ioan Gruffud has joined the CBS pilot, Ringer, featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Nester Carbonelli. He'll play the husband of Siobhan.

Thriller Superbowl

And here's another TV blog to savour with some of the shows I've been catching up on over the last few days.

Bedlam: Ooh, SkyLiving decide to do a spooky series and while this show will win nothing in terms of originality, it is rather decent. Okay, so maybe there's plenty of gratituous shots of Theo James's character, Jed Harper in states of undress but the spooky goings on of an old asylum called Bedlam and Jed's mission to deal with the ghosts along the way is interesting enough. The rest of the characters are a mixed bag so far, though Will Young is pretty decent as the nerdy Ryan. It's not the best thing I've seen but there's definitely potential there at least.

Being Human US: Okay, I am beginning to fall out of love with this series. It's not like the last two episodes haven't been uneventful (Sally's mulling over Danny/Bridget, Josh meeting both Ray and Nora/the Nina character in this one and Aidan dealing with both Garrity and Rebecca's bloodlust) but it's beginning to take itself a little too seriously for my liking. The reason why the Uk version works so perfectly is because there's a sense of fun attached to it. This show could do with implementing that a lot more, otherwise it's just going to be like any other vampire themed show out there.
Glee: It's been two months since my last fix of the series and the show's come back fighting with two bizarre but brilliant episodes in it's own right. The superbowl episode definitely saw Sue going too far with the cannon antics but I did like the temporary truce with the Glee and Titans for the Thriller bit and points for attempting to humanise Karofsky, though it's going to take more than this for me to sympathise with him. The Valentine's episode was a lot better though, especially with Santana in full bitch mode (exposing Finn/Quinn sneaking around by giving the former mono was an extreme move) and heck, even Blaine was made somewhat more believable as well but less of the Dalton numbers because they're not overly adding to the series at the moment. Oh and more of the Rachel/Mercedes/Kurt sleepovers and Puck's pursuit of Lauren.

Skins US: Another set of mixed episodes here, I'm afraid. On one hand, there was Chris's episode, which was completely the same as the UK version but surprisingly, nearly as effective. The actor playing Chris in this one is the only male actor on this version that can actually act and I'm liking the friendship between Chris and Daisy as well. Unfortunately the Cadie episode was a hot mess that bored me senseless and the less said about Tony's fixation on Tea, the bloody better. Here's hoping Stanley's episode is a cracker this week.

Secret Diary Of A Call Girl: Not a bad second episode, actually a lot of fun. Amusing to see that Belle's client this week was one that needed his homosexuality confirmed but what was more interesting was the introduction of Ben's mother. I was expecting her to be a harridan, so the more liberated version we got here was a nice surprise. I'm not sure if Belle and Ben will actually last but the pool scene at the end is certainly making me hope so.

Shameless US: In Ireland, the second and third episodes have aired and I can safely say that this show is not improving. The storylines aren't flowing as well as they did in the UK version, like Frank in this one being sent to Canada wasn't as funny as his UK version being shipped to France and Steve is just boring in this one too. William H. Macy is a great actor but he's just miscast as Frank and the last two episodes almost seemed to emphasise that point even further. Here's hoping that this show does improve soon though, because there are some signs of it becoming good.
- Michael Rosebaum will be returning for the series finale of Smallville. Great news, right?
- Stockard Channing has joined NBC magical based series, 17th Precinct from Ron Moore.
- Wentworth Miller has joined the cast of ABC drama, Identity which sees a police unit dealing with identity theft. Didn't ITV do that last year?
- Hilarie Burton is becoming a regular for the third series of White Collar.
- A previously known gay character on a US show may become bisexual. The shows that are possibly it are True Blood, Glee and Southland but which is it?
- The second half of Desperate Housewives seventh season will continue on RTE2 from March 1st. I assume Channel 4 will air it around then as well.

Music To Go Deaf By

Okay, there will be two TV jumble blogs this week. The second will be up on Friday/Saturday.

Skins: I am really liking the fifth series a lot right now and this was another great episode. Even though I am not a heavy metal at all, I did enjoy Rich throughout this one and it was nice that him going deaf gave him more of an appreciation for Grace and her ballet. I wasn't surprised that they didn't hook up just yet, seeing as we've got six more episodes to go but I can wait. It's also nice to see a continued friendship between Grace, Franky, Alo and Rich, even though it's clearly rubbing Mini up the wrong way though. Still the series does need to develop Nick, Liv and Matty though.
Primeval: After a pretty disappointing fourth season, this episode sure as hell was something of a wimper. After Jenny's lacklustre return in the previous episode, I was hoping that Danny's would be a better effort but it wasn't. It also didn't help that him, Ethan/Patrick and Emily all decided to go into anomalies as well towards the end of the episode. The reveals of Matt being from the future and Philip being a baddie should've made more of an impact but who didn't see them coming? Here's hoping the fifth series is a lot better than this.

Secret Diary Of A Call Girl: Um, interesting first episode, liked the antics with the lawyer. This show is coming to an end and it's still managing to be both racy and ludicrous in equal measure. Of course, Stephanie would be in the cushiest prison going and of course Belle would be roped into being a guardian to Poppy and a madam in one fell swoop. Not that I'm complaining but it just wasn't much of a shocker is all. On the plus side, it does seem that progress between Belle and Ben is also being made. So, she'll choose him over her profession by the finale, yes?

Shameless: I've been watching the 8th season on and off and while the show has had better days, it still shows how bloody inferior the US version is nonetheless (just watched the second episode of that). Monica's return wasn't the greatest of things but if it helps keep Frank with Libby, then I guess it served a good purpose (and I liked the Doctor Who spoof as well). It does seem that the Maguires continue to be more vocal than the remaining Gallaghers though. In recent episodes, we've had Jamie/Karen reunited, Shane/Kelly pulling scams, Mickey humiliating teachers and Mimi battling serious insomnia and nearly endangering baby Cilla. Not too keen on the new neighbours but I do like Lillian's new girl though. Overall, the series isn't as good as it used to be but it's still one of the best things that Channel 4 produces nonetheless.

Marchlands: Not one but two spooky new series on TV (I have to catch up with Bedlam later in the week), I wasn't overly impressed with this one to be honest. It's not a bad series as such and it definitely has an interesting cast but it just didn't jump out to me to be honest. I liked that there was a story that's connecting three generations but the series is lacking something. Maybe the next few episodes will be stronger.

- Debra Messing is apparently being lined up for a musical pilot called Smash about a group of people who decide to stage a broadway show about Marilyn Monroe.

- Smallville's two part finale, will be titled, erm, Finale Parts 1 and 2 and will air on the CW on May 13th.
- Glee will be doing a sex education episode. It's the one that returns Holly and has Santana discuss her bisexuality as well. Oh and Kurt/Blaine aren't happening any time soon, folks.

- Brothers And Sisters 18th episode of Season 5 will feature the death of Ida as well as Justin's 30th birthday.

- Grey's Anatomy's musical episode will revolve all around Callie, who is recent US episodes has been revealed to be pregnant by Mark.

- Rose McGowan will play a violent grifter in an upcoming episode of Law And Order: SVU.

- NBC have reported to have given the greenlight to their own version of Prime Suspect.
- Paul Adelstein will direct an upcoming episode of Private Practice. Both Nicholas Brendan and Alex Kingston will also be appearing in future episodes as well.

EPISODES (TWO) ON SHOWTIME

In their second week, Californication and Shameless continued to look very good, sharp, original, surprising, and enteraining.

The big surprise was episode 2 of Episodes, which was much sharper and funnier than the pilot first episode.

The US And Their Remakes

Or I was going to say - Jesus, America, Can't You Think For Yourselves? In the last fortnight the UK versions of these shows have been promoted/are back on screen and their American versions have also hit the airwaves, so what's done well?

Being Human: I was cautiously optimistic about this series. The cast looked great, the tone was promising and while the trailers were hardly breathtaking, I actually thought this would translate well with an American take. Guess what? I was kind of right. Not only has it done it extremely well for SyFy but I actually managed to sit through the entire first episode without constantly comparing it to the UK series. Some of the changes were nice - particularly the addition of a gay sister for Josh and the trio themselves - Aidan, Josh and Sally were all likeable. I might not be as emotionally invested in them yet as much as I am with Mitchell, George, Annie and Nina but if this series keeps up to the high standards of the opening episode, I could be. And Bishop is certainly a great villain. Marcus, not so much.

Shameless: For Irish viewers, this starts on RTE2, 9.55pm from January 27th (amazing, considering that channel's inability to air the UK version up to date) and after watching the pilot, it lacks the charm of the UK version. The casting's good, but William H. Macy really does have his work cut out because he's the weakest of the bunch but the storylines in the opener don't play out as compellingly as the UK series and the anarchaic spirit isn't as felt in it either. The acting's fine though, so hopefully it'll improve as it progresses and it must be decent enough if both Joan Cusack and Alison Janney are playing the Sheila and Monica roles in this one.

Skins: I really wanted to like this one and I partially didn't mind it, but it seems that this one will definitely get the axe if the Parents Television Council get their way. Bryan Elsley has done his damndest to try and make this work, but the acting's bloody patchy at best. None of the male cast members are particularly good and Tony is a rather unconvincing ringmaster in this one. Tea so far has the most potential as a character and I'm looking forward to her episode but overall, the UK version is starting next week with Generation 3 and chances are, that will be much better to watch.

So, predictions - Being Human is likely to get a second year but both Shameless and Skins have hardly wowed with ratings and the controversy with the latter could actually do it a lot of harm. Also MTV have their own version of The Inbetweeners due for later in the year and I have a feeling that someone will try to tackle Misfits within the next year as well. Oh, America - when will you ever learn?

CALIFORNICATION & SHAMELESS - WINNERS

Emmy Rossum
At the Hamptons International Film Festival, 2009
Photo by Eric Roffman


Showtime led off the Winter Season with three premieres.

The Season Premiere of Californication was as wild and wacky as we've come to expect from this continually surprising and entertaining show.

Episodes was not too appealing. Neither the characters, nor the actors, nor the jokes, nor the story, nor the script were particularly compelling. Matt LeBlanc, "Joey" from Friends, who will be on the show as himself, had more face time in the previews than in the story. The most interesting moments of the show came when an old fat British actor played a scene as himself -- and it worked -- then played the same scene in an American accent and it did not work. Comedy is indeed mysterious.

The Series Premiere of Shameless was quite extraordinarily complex, surprising, depraved, and interesting. Acting was excellent -- Emmy Rossum gets better and better each part she plays: she's in Emmy territory here. Top billed William Macy, though, had little to do but snore. He literally slept through most of his appearance. (NOTE: Irrelevant, but I like how the tilt of the "l" in "shameless" shifts from the beginning to the end of the show.)

Two out of three... Pretty good! Sundays are now committed.

Here's a video interview we did with Emmy Rossum at the
Hamptons's International Film Festival in 2009 --

http://qporit.blogspot.com/2009/11/emmy-rossum-dare.html

Shameless and Skins US - First Trailers

Well, January 2011 is going to be interesting. Not only will Channel 4 and E4 be air the latest series of the regular editions of Shameless and Skins but both Showtime and MTV will airing their versions around the same time. Trailers for both shows have been released.

Shameless - I'm not sure I'm feeling this version. Sure, I'm aware of the fact that if a network had taken this on, it would've been sanitised to the nth degree but William H. Macy isn't shabby enough to be a convincing Frank Gallagher. However, Emmy Rossum is pretty perfect looking as Fiona (and a bit of a ringer for Anne Marie Duff) and the fact that they've cast age appropriate actors for the respective roles of Lip, Ian, Debbie, Liam and Carl is also a relief and there's also Allison Janney. Still, though it won't be a patch on the UK version, though US viewers can find out from January 9th. More4 will be airing it in the spring of 2011.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2nAnpNouEM

Skins - Like Shameless, this version is sticking to the faithfulness of the first season and again, I'm grateful that they've cast people who actually look like teenagers but I'm not sure if I want to see the US version of a character as unmemorable as Mad Twatter. Tea is probably the only real unique selling point about this version and if MTV can somehow not make this come across as a scripted version to Jersey Shore, I'll be even more grateful. Oh and Sid/Cassie in this one are Stanley/Cadie. Plus Jal is Daisy in this one, Anwar is Abbud and Effy is Eura.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0k8U_7Z6ns