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Feb. 26th, 2009 @ 11:38 am Being recommissioned
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Hurrah! The BBC have now confirmed it: Not only is Being Human returning next year for a second series, but it'll be slightly longer than Series 1, with a total of 8 episodes. Obviously BBC3 Controller Danny Cohen had to pitch in with some gibberish,
"It's also a very important staging-post in the successful development of home-grown young drama on BBC Three."
er, OK, but mainly it's what we've been waiting for, Series 2 on the way! But now it makes Sunday's upcoming Series 1 finale all the more nerve-wracking: Will all three leads survive to return next year?

Meanwhile in utterly unsurprising news over on ITV1, Demons has been cancelled. I see they've opted to go with an excuse about Philip Glenister not wanting to return for a second series, rather than admit what everyone knows: The show leaked viewers like a toddler with diarrhoea. Because it was bloody awful.

So a great fantasy series will return; a terrible, cynical attempt to manufacture a fantasy series won't. If I didn't know better I'd start to think TV commissioning followed some kind of logic.
Jan. 18th, 2009 @ 10:55 am Attack of the breakdance dogs
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Just in case anyone was wondering if I'd be doing a Demons review this week: I'm afraid Episode 3 lost me as soon as the hoodie dog demon things started doing contemporary dance stylings in the car park instead of fighting properly.

Although I did leave the TV on in the background long enough to go "Really? You find a bomb and your unconscious friend, you have plenty of time to get her away to safety, and instead you look for a book on bomb disposal? Really? And the first one you find just happens to have step-by-step instructions on defusing exactly this kind of bomb? Really? And even though you find the answer with a minute to spare you still wait until there's 2 seconds on the clock before actually cutting the wire because that looks more dramatic? Really?"
Jan. 10th, 2009 @ 10:19 pm Madge of honour
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This week's second episode of Demons was a marked improvement on the first. Yes, it actually didn't make me want to eat my own liver. It was called "The Full Enchilada" so the try-hard episode titles are present and correct I see. This time the phrase had to be repeated several times during the episode, in an attempt to make people think it actually had any relevance to the story.

( Cut for spoilers, a shocking lack of nipples, and a child called Madge. No, really. Madge. )
Jan. 7th, 2009 @ 08:01 pm Never mind the quality, feel the perkiness
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So I'd been half-looking forward to, half-dreading Demons, ITV's attempt to snag some of the Doctor Who audience by making a Lidl Buffy. I figured even if I didn't end up making this a show I reviewed every week, at least I'd try and write something after the opening episode. This was scuppered a bit after actually watching the damn thing, when I was stunned into silence. And not in a good way. But [info]emohawk9000 asked for it, and apparently I do do requests, so brace yourselves as I try to work out what the hell they were thinking.

Now, me posting pictures of topless young men from TV shows is hardly a novelty, but the nipples are usually just a pleasant bonus, not the sole reason to watch the show. Sadly this isn't the case here - these perky babies are all Demons has going for it.

( Cut for spoilers, disbelief at ITV's shitness, and more nipples. Well technically the same nipples. )
Dec. 1st, 2008 @ 02:48 pm All of your demons will wither away
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With both Merlin and Sarah Jane winding down, will this be the next subject of my weekly TV reviews?

Why, it's that thing that used to be called The Last van Helsing until they remembered it was going out on ITV and that title would require people to have read a book. So now it's just called Demons, which must have taken many hours and many focus groups. Actually, I bet it did.

On the plus side, the Lidl Buffy looks good from the trailer, starring as it does Christian Cooke's nipples, Philip Glenister's attempt at an American accent, Mackenzie Crook's prosthetics and Richard Wilson's SORCERY! On the minus side, it's on ITV. Yes, ITV did manage to produce Lost in Austen, but can they really manage to be not-shit twice in one year? I guess we'll wait and see.
Oct. 2nd, 2008 @ 01:22 pm Lidl Buffy
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Oh, so that's what happened to ITV's much-trumpeted The Last Van Helsing (only it might not be called that now) - it got moved to early next year. Regardez.

It was clear from the initial rumours about the show that it was going to be a Buffy clone, but did they have to make it so obvious? Teenager with a mystical legacy has to fight vampires and demons with the help of a transatlantic mentor called Rupert, while keeping it a secret from Mum. Nah, I'm probably just imagining any similarity, innit.

That bloke there is Christian Cooke, who was supposed to be the resident totty in the Sontaran episodes of Doctor Who Season 4, but got his thunder stolen somewhat by Evil Genius and his tight purple T-shirt. Philip Glenister is playing an American, which may or may not be why we don't hear him speak in the trailer. Oh and that looks suspiciously like Richard Wilson in the role of Richard Wilson, with his wig left over from Merlin. A lot of it seems to have come from the Torchwood episode with the creepy fairground. And since The Automatic's "Monster" is only a couple of years old, it must have been used in trailers for monstery stuff a ridiculous amount considering how unoriginal the choice seems.

Still, it could be good despite the terrible handicap of being on ITV (Lost in Austen managed it, somehow.) And it looks like it'll be scheduled opposite Robin Hood so I'll probably watch it. Unless Allan-a-Dale starts taking his shirt off a lot, obvs.