A Bit Of A Huge Roundup

This is going to be a little short but over the last two weeks, there have been some good shows to watch over.

Lip Service - Pretty interesting finale. I'm not gonna lie that I didn't see Cat/Frankie happening because it was pretty obvious that was going to go there and it'll be interesting to see if Cat does choose her ex-girlfriend over Sam. I did also like Frankie's mystery being resolved and it was nice to see Tess sort out her friendship with Ed, get a good acting gig and spark up a relationship with Finn. Pun intended. Hoping this series returns for a second run.

Merlin - what is it with Uther trying to crush other people's love interests? First, he ended up banishing Gaius's one, Alice after it was revealed that her hand was being forced by a Manticore and thanks to Morgana's scheming, he almost ended up having Gwen executed as well. I have to admit to enjoying Merlin using a disguse in order to save Gwen and give both Uther and Arthur a piece of his mind. Now, I need to go and catch with last night's episode.

Thorne - I really enjoyed the last two episodes of this series but I'm hoping for a little more of an oomph if we get a next series. Thorne's guardianship over Charlie and his scenes with his father, Phil and Ruth were fantastic but Sandra Oh was surprisingly disappointing as Sarah Chen and I wasn't too sad to see her killed by Martin. Overall, a worthwhile addition to Sky1's staple.

Accused - Christopher Eccleston and his gritty dramas, eh? He certainly seems to enjoy them and the start of this six-parter from Jimmy McGovern was a decent stab at something for Monday nights. Each week sees a court case and this week saw Eccleston's character steal money to pay for his daughter's wedding and ending up getting six years as well as having his affair quietly revealed in the background. Certainly not a good day for Willy.

The X Factor - Well, in the last three weeks, we've had TreyC, Aiden and Paije all fall to the sides whilst Katie Waissel and Wagner have triumphed yet again. Having weeks dedicated to both Elton John and the Beatles certainly has been telling but at this point, I just know that either Matt Cardle or One Direction are going to win this, so it doesn't matter what controversy Katie generates, though to her credit, she did a cracking version of Help.

I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here - Maybe it's a form of twisted karma but for a woman who examines other people's poo for a living, Gillian McKeith certainly has managed to become a figure of fun and scorn for the general voting public and her fellow teammates. Personally, while I'm not glued to this series, I am finding the excess picking on Gillian a tad too mean and I don't even like the woman.

The Apprentice UK/Irish Versions - Mmm, I'm watching the Irish more and actually enjoying it more. We've lost misery guts Tara and moronic Dave (while still being lumbered with patronising git, Jamie) and with any luck, Will will develop a personality and Michelle will win the bloody thing. As for the UK versions, I wasn't too sad to see the departures of either Alex or Sandeesh to be honest.

Brief Catchup

I will get up to speed on more UK television later in the week but for now, here's a brief rundown on three programmes from last week.

Lip Service - Interesting third episode. I don't know whether I should love or loathe Sadie as a character. While I don't care about her stealing Becky's necklace (sorry, I find Becky annoying), I didn't like that she exposed Lou's affair with Tom, even after said affair destroyed her relationship with Tess. I think both Tess and Frankie need to watch out for her. As for Jay and Hayley doing ketamine - there's a lesson to be learned there. Frankie's ongoing research is a lot better than most her scenes with Cat, which rightfully got a firm reality check at the hands of Sam this week. At the halfway point of this series, I definitely do find myself enjoying it more and more.

Single Father - I have to ask, was there really any doubt that Dave would have fathered the rest of Rita's kids and similarly was there any doubt that Lucy in the end would choose Dave over her own biological father? No on both accounts but as a final instalment to the mini-series, it was a satisfying ending to everything. Okay, I could've done without Sarah revealing that she had planned to get pregnant when she slept with Dave but overall, this was a good ending to an enjoyable if not wholly original series.

Thorne: Scaredycat: Okay, the first instalment to this new series and it's not the best. I'm still enjoying the series overall and David Morrissey is the best actor for the role of Thorne but I found Sandra Oh deeply annoying as Sarah Chen and as for the murders of some prostitutes, well, it's not as gripping as the first killer we encountered, is it? Still, the next two episodes could change everything. One thing I did like was Thorne looking after the young lad whose mother died and both Thorne and Phil dealing with the consequences of nearly being exposed for Frank's murder. Tughan still might catch them out though.

Sunday Catch Up

I know I put up a blog two days ago talking about these two shows but I wanted to use this one to talk about their respective third episodes.

Single Father - I liked the third episode arguably more than the first two put together, the pace was somewhat better. Dave pretty much seems to be in a terrible predicament of not knowing if any of the kids he's had with Rita are biologically his and Sarah sensibly got annoyed when Dave admitted that he slept with her after learning of Rita's ongoing contact with Stuart. I don't know if I've just seen Rupert Graves playing so many jerks (excluding Sherlock) over the last few years but I really don't like Stuart all that much and the trailer for the finale suggested that him and Dave are both going to go head to head over custody of Lucy as well. After three well written and interesting episodes, I only hope this mini-series gets the ending it deserves.

Thorne:Sleepyhead - I didn't like this ending as much as I hoped I would've. I think it's because while the reveal of Frank's son being the culprit made sense, it just felt a little too dragged out and Tughan's steadfast hatred of Thorne could become just as irritating as it's potential for further storylines. He knows that Thorne killed Frank and both Phil and James managed not to blab about it - for now. The use of flashbacks and intregrating the characters in them for Frank's murder were done particularly well. That being said, while Allison's ending made more sense here than the book's version, I don't think Anne was as utilised as she was in the first instalments. Still, Scaredy Cat starts on Sunday and Sandra Oh showed some great potential in the ads for it.

Siblings Reunited

Okay this is going to be brief runover of what I've seen in the last few days and sorry for the delay.

Merlin - Two very interesting episodes here. With the first one I've seen, there was the return of the fairy creatures from the first season and a young woman named Elena, who sensibly did not want to be Arthur's suitor. Top marks to the writers for keeping the goofiness at the right level and for the sympathy drawn for Elena. As for the second episode, nice to see Gwen's brother and the return of Cenred but I would like the Morgana/Morgause stuff to move a little more forward now.

Lip Service - I really do like this show. Okay, so the comparisons to The L Word probably won't end soon but it's certainly more believable and less elitist take on lesbian culture and the characters are definitely interesting to watch. Frankie's not too likeable but she's fascinating and it's hard not to lovbe/feel bad for Tess, given that Lou's pretty much messing her about and she lost her job after impersonating a child psychologist badly. Plus Cat's burgeoning relationship with Sam is nice to watch as well. Not really too bothered about Jay and Ed or Becky - yet.

Thorne: Sleepyhead - Going on the second episode alone, this is definitely taking a different route than the books, which isn't a bad thing. Thorne and Phil's fractured friendship over an old secret is definitely interesting and it was nice to see some of Holland's home life as well as a means for Allison to try and communication with Thorne and Anne but the cliffhanger at the end of the first episode seemed resolved a little too quickly, even if a fair amount of time passed for Tom. I'll comment about the last part of Sleepyhead in a later blog.

Single Father - I'm not going into hyperbole about how this is a brilliant show but the hype surrounding it is certainly justified, that I will admit. Taking Dave to the levels of seeking out Lucy's bio-dad and then sleeping with Sarah after learning that Rita had one secret too many did all make sense, even if it was terribly predictable. The acting in this, especially from the youngsters does continue to impress but I can see some difficult decisions ahead for Dave in the next two episodes.

The X Factor - Ah, the last two weeks of this have been fun. In the space of four shows, we've lost Storm Lee, Diva Fever and John Adeleye (the latter I was sad to see go) but more importantly, we've also had Cheryl plug her latest rubbish song as well as a totally manufactured feud between her and Louie to endure. Um, guys, this show is about the contestants, not the judges. Speaking of contestants, I find it hilarious that for all the negative publicity she's generated that Katie has still managed to be saved for the last few weeks. And my sister keeps nagging me about the greatness of Mary Byrne. I get it, already - Dublin should be proud.

The Apprentice - Ireland/UK Versions - I'm beginning to think that I need to seperate these two because at the moment, I'm enjoying them in equal measures and find myself supporting certain candidates and bemused by others. In the UK version, Shibby bemused me but his bad decisions with the task made it just for Alan Sugar to give him the boot, whereas I also find myself a little taken with Jamie. The Irish version makes me wonder why Dave hasn't been booted out but I guess it had been fair for Caroline to get the chop over the ad fiasco, even if her comments about certain people coasting along might be true. Either way, I bet BBC1 and TV3 are very happy with the ratings for these shows nonetheless.

- Keith Carradine has been cast as Penny's father in an upcoming episode of The Big Bang Theory.

- Robert Englund will be guest starring in next week's Halloween themed episode of Chuck.

- Kristin Davis is set to star in upcoming NBC series, The Happiness Project about one woman's quest for true happiness.

- Mariah Carey is being rumoured for the US version of The X Factor.

- Chandra Wilson has recently directed an episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Wildcards

Merlin has had a mixed couple of weeks, especially with the last two episodes I've seen. Gwaine gave us a dashing knight who got exiled from Camelot, even after saving Arthur's life from two disgruntled thugs using magic to disguise themselves as knights but The Crystal Cave was an episode where a lot actually happened. Merlin tried to change the future but instead his interference caused it and Morgana herself became more incensed with rage when she learnt that Uther was her actual father and made a few more failed attempts to kill him. Somewhere in these last two episodes - Arthur, Gwen and Gaius had middling roles, the Dragon became irritated with Merlin's authority and Morgause was a surprising voice of reason with her volatile sister. The season is having a hit and miss quality but it's still better than mostly everything else that airs during the weekend.

Sky1 deserve a medal for bringing Thorne: Sleepyhead to the small screen. If the first episode alone is anything to go by, this is going to be a fantastic series. David Morrissey is brilliant in the leading role and the ongoing plot with the killer trying to get his victims into a state of locked in syndrone is just as creepy to watch as it was to read and I've read the book. The ending where Thorne got attacked in his own apartment by the killer desperate to connect with him totally took me by surprise. I can't wait to see where this further goes and the supporting cast as also brilliant.

There's been so much hype for Single Father over the last couple of weeks that I wasn't sure if I would end up liking it myself but you know what? I did and them some. David Tennant definitely is a masterful actor and his depiction of Dave's anguish over the death of his wife and trying to keep his family together is certainly a performance that's deserving of major awards within the next year. The writing's not particularly original but it's utterly believable and there's a brilliant cast here, especially Suranne Jones and the actors playing Dave's children are very good as well. I think the kiss between Dave and Sarah was a little rushed at the end of the episode (even if 10 weeks passed since Rita's death) but overall, this is another series I'm looking forward to for the next three weeks.

The Apprentice - well, I've been watching both the UK and Irish versions of the show and it just goes to show that both versions continue to entertain me. Last week's premiere of the UK one showed that Alan Sugar can still startle the bejesus of the show-offs vying for a position in his company. Dan Harris wasn't soon packing his bags after blundering in the first task and there's already a departure of another contestant for personal reasons as well. The Irish version in the last two weeks saw both Niamh Humphries and Kieran Walsh getting the boot through their own incompetence and misfortune. Still though, I'm actually surprised that scheming Tara survived Bill Cullen's wrath this week and then I remember that the argumentative madam makes for interesting TV. Well more interesting than Panos's all too familiar fear of power tools.

If I read more about Cheryl Cole being the most hated woman in Britain because of The X-Factor, I'll scream. I don't remember her generating this amount of hate when she beat the crap out of a toilet cleaner all those years ago, so it's interesting that not putting Gamu through has earned her such grief. Granted both Katie and Cher messed up and shouldn't have gone through but fans tends to go overboard with these sort of things. The use of wildcards was predictable though but the exits were interesting. How did Belle Amie and Katie Waissell fare better over Nicolo Festa and FYD? Oh well, I guess congratulations to Mary Byrne, whose version of It's A Man's Man World really did bring the house down. I always worry when I find myself agreeing with Louis Walsh but even I couldn't fault his hyperbole of the Tesco worker this week. Still think it'll be either Cheryl or Dannii who'll snag the victory this year though.

- Christopher J. Hanke is playing the guy that Scotty cheats on Kevin with in Brothers And Sisters. Richard Chamberlain is also guest starring as a love interest for Saul. Ryan Devlin is also playing a grad student who might interest Kitty.

- Glee's Rocky Horror Picture Show episode will air on FOX from October 26th.

- HBO have announced that William Hurt, Cynthia Nixon, Paul Giamatti, Topher Grace, Ed Asner and Billy Crudup will appear in upcoming adaptation of Andrew Ross Sarkin's best seller Too Big To Fail.

- Katerina Graham has admitted that Bonnie may be getting a love interest in the second season of The Vampire Diaries.

- Kristin Bell is being linked to NBC's upcoming remake of The Munsters.

First Look: Thorne

The last thing we need on TV is another cop show and while Thorne might not sound like the most innovative of things, it's actually quite enjoyable - well, the source material certainly is at least. But I'm hoping by tomorrow I can say the same of the series too.

Mark Billingham has written at least 10 books at the point about the character of DI Tom Thorne and over the next six weeks, the series version will play out Billingham's first two books, Sleepyhead and Scaredy Cat and as a reader, I cannot wait to see how it unfolds.

The victim of locked in syndrone is a creepy enough premise and certainly brings the foundations of Thorne going against his own team in order to try and catch the girl's assailant but what I liked about Thorne in the books I've read is how fleshed out he is as a person and I hope that translates with the series as well. Natasha McElhone is a great actress but her character - Anne Coburn was a little older in the book from what I recall and it should be interesting seeing Aidan Gillen as Phil Hendrix, the gay pathologist, given that he's one of the strongest characters in the books apart from Thorne.

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

Thorne airs Sundays at 9pm from October 10th.