More TV Families

11 days into 2011 and here are some of my highlights for the year so far ...

Parenthood - Given that Brothers And Sisters future isn't looking too promising at the minute, could this show end up filling a respective void? Possibly. It's certainly has the same type of tropes as the Walkers with the Bravermans being eerily reminiscent to them in ways and it's certainly got an impressive cast with Peter Krause, Lauren Graham and Craig T. Nelson to name but three. The opening episode saw Sarah moving back in with her parents and dealing with an unruly daughter while older brother Adam found out his son had aspergers and younger brother Crosbie learnt he fathered a child from a previous relationship while flying mother Julia is definitely Sarah Walker by another name. Overall, definitely worth looking into.

Primeval - I've never been into this series and watching the first three episodes of the fourth series made me realise why. It's not particularly awful but for some reason, it just lacks spark and even though I generally don't mind the characters and the new setting with The Ark, I'm not that emotionally invested in the series. Connor/Abby are okay, Jess is a bit too perky, Becker's just there and I'm not sure what's up with Matt but I don't think he's a baddie. Lester is probably the most standout character with Philip being the least interesting of the bunch. On the plus side, I am enjoying the time travel lady that appeared in the last episode I watched.

Mrs Browns Boys - Ah, Brendan O'Carroll. It's amazing how well he plays the role of an older Dublin woman with a dysfunctional mouth and a potty mouth to boot. If you've never seen this live on stage or any of the DVDs released, then you're in for a treat with this series. The humour is typically Irish, so it'll be interesting to see how it fares on the BBC when it airs but it's definitely one to watch.

Come Fly With Me - Another show from Matt Lucas and David Walliams, it's not a bad effort but some of the jokes aren't as original or as funny as they might have been seven years ago. The characters are a mixed bunch and none of them would've been out of place on Little Britain either, which is possibly not the greatest thing either. On the plus side, it's better than their last show and I do like Lindsay Duncan's narration as well.

This Is England 86 - I meant to get back to this one at some point. I watched the rest of the episodes over the Christmas and I really have to admit that even though it's not the best thing I've seen on TV, it was definitely a good series. The ending was a bit dark for my liking but here's hoping that Channel 4 commission another run of the series soon.

- Brothers And Sisters Season 5 airs on More4 from January 20th at 10pm. However the series has not been renewed for a sixth season. It hasn't been officially cancelled either.

- Glee's superbowl episode will feature an unique performance of Thriller and while an upcoming episode will (unfortunately) feature a song from Justin Bieber, an episode won't be dedicated to him. Plus Gwyneth Paltrow's back for two episodes to romance Will.

- Paola Tubay has signed up for True Blood, playing a recurring character Antonia.

- ABC has renewed Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Modern Family, The Middle, Cougar Town and Castle.

- Adrian Pasdar has landed a two episode arc on Castle.

Katherine

The Vampire Diaries continues to get better each week. Last week, Elena copped onto the fact that something was amiss with Stefan and this week after learning about him and Damon's true nature, she elected to dump Stefan. Granted she'll probably be back with him in the next episode but I liked that her reaction to the supernatural world was done in a mostly realistic manner. Nina Dobrev however was a lot more fun donning the Katherine role of the episode, the vampire responsible for manipulating and making both Stefan and Damon into the vampires they are. Looking forward to seeing more of Katherine as well as the newly sired Vicki, whose struggles with her new unlife could be very interesting in the next few weeks.

Merlin, after a nine month wait finally returned to BBC1 on Saturday and it felt like it had never gone away. While the previous year had played it a little too safe for my liking, it does loo like this year won't be doing the same thing. It could be argued that Morgana might have revealed herself too early as a baddie but I am certainly enjoying the havoc that both her and Morgause are brewing up - driving Uther mad, invading Camelot and also leaving Merlin chained up in a forest with various nasties. Of course, the dragon appearing ensured that Merlin wouldn't meet a grisly end anytime soon but aside from that (and Gwen having nothing to do), this was a fantastic opening episode for the new series.

What is it with this Checkmate lot - don't they ever watch television? If Waller is that desperate to get superheroes on her side, why doesn't she just ask them for help instead of kidnapping them like she attempted to/succeeded with Oliver and Chloe this week? Smallville's ninth season is getting closer to it's end and after episodes involving Scottish entities and Lois still desperately needing a clue, last night's episode was a welcome change of pace. Tess is at something of a crossroads as a character and I have a feeling that she's going to lose out, regardless of what side she chooses to allign herself with. Shame because I like Cassidy Freeman and want her to stick with the show for it's last season at least.

Ooh, remember a time when Channel 4 did dramas? Sometimes it can be hard to forget because too often, it's makeover shows that seem to dominate the schedules too often and apart from Shameless and Skins, This Is England 86 finally gave us something gritty(ish) to gawp at. The movie isn't one of my favourites but there are some good actors on this show and the characters are mostly likeable. I might need to see another episode or two before I'm totally sold on this series though but it's a promising one.

- It turns out that Luc will become an underwear model in the second episode of Brothers And Sisters fifth season.

- Here's Glee's take on Empire State Of Mind ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfjv4IZFLUo and expect Barry Bostwick and Meatloaf in The Rocky Horror Picture Show episode.

- Both Michael Gladis and Kevin Alejandro are set to appear in the new season of Law And Order: SVU.

- Matthew Lilliard will be appearing in House, playing a bass player struggling for years. He's scheduled for one episode of the new series.

- John Schneider will be appearing in Desperate Housewives, playing the father of Brian Austin Green's character, Keith.