TeleChimp | TV Journalism

This show really isn’t afraid of doing what it wants.

Sometimes, shows become complacent and formulaic the point where it becomes a detriment.  And, whether it works or not, you have to give credit to those shows that try and change things up once in a while.

Hart Hanson and the Bones crew definitely shook it up to finish up the shortened third season of Bones.

I must confess I’m a recent convert to Bones.  I’m not usually into the crime scene shows, although I have been caught watching the original Law & Order.

But, with repeats on CBS, I switched over to FOX and caught the second-last episode of Bones (S03E14) and got hooked.

Initially, I was mostly intrigued by the shooting of Booth, one of the main characters.  I actually thought the bastards were going to make me wait until next year to see what had happened.  So I decided to do some catching up.  I obtained the first 2 seasons of Bones and starting watching. I found out that Bones has repeatedly put Brennan and Booth in harm’s way and the pair have always lived to tell the tale.  We’re not talking minor brushes with death, but Jack Bauer type survivals (being buried alive, captured by a serial killer, fighting a pipe-yielding bad guy with no weapon, being blown up, etc).

I’ll forgve them their tendency to almost-kill too frequently on Bones–I would do it too.  That’s because they lead to these tender moments between Brennnan and Booth that make the show great.  Their chemistry is what separates this show from every other crime drama on TV.  I think those 2-3 minutes every few episodes are the reason I haven’t got tired of show.

But those almost-kills create another problem and here comes my biggest gripe with Bones so far…it has no impact on their relationship in the following episodes.  Booth will save Brennan’s life in dramatic fashion one week and the next she’s very removed from him.  It’s like each episode they press a reset button and the characters have to build their relationship back up from scratch.  And they did exactly that this episode.

In the last episode, we were left wondering if  Booth would even survive after heroicly taking a bullet in the chest for Brennan.  Instead of continuing where it left off, we skipped ahead 2 weeks to a supposed funeral for Booth.  This might have worked on other shows that left the possibility of killing their lead characters open, but on Bones it fell flat.  I knew it was fake and it took away any emotion from the that scene.  It’s a minor grip for the show in general, but every time the overlook the emotions of dramatic events, I feel it’s a wasted opportunity.

I know a lot of Bones fans detested this episode.  Some hated this episode enough to write off the show for good.  I think those people are liars.  They’ll be back watching next season.  Another group of fans suggest that with all the inconsistencies in this episode that it will be revealed as a hallucination or dream sequence. I’m not like Hodgins, and so I take what was presented at face value.  Zack’s the apprentice and he won’t be back in the Jeffersonian in the near future.  Not to mention his motor skills will take considerable recovery.

Sure, there were inconsistencies, but I think that was an effort on the part of Hart Hanson et al to try and throw suspicision on as many false suspects as possible in order to keep the suspence going.  Everyone became a suspect in the episode with the frontrunners always a toss-up between Hodgins and Dr Sweets.  The writers certainly played those two characters odd behaviour to another level to paint them as possible suspects, but that’s always a good sign that it’s not true on TV.

I have to admit, I only figured out who it was when Hodgins made his discovery that lead levels concluded the killer lived in his neighbourhood.  It couldn’t be Angela, so it had to be Zack.  It’s unfortunate this decision wasn’t made in time to have Zack actually killing the person he supposedly killed.

Popularity: 3% [?]

While the show will air on Fridays this fall, The Good Guys will get a special series premiere screening this Wednesday prior to American Idol.

The last Fox series to receive such treatment? A little show called Glee.

The Good Guys stars Colin Hanks as Jack Bailey, a Chicago detective whose snarky attitude has landed him with Dan Stark as a partner. This aging cop is portrayed by Bradley Whitford and still lives off his glory days in the 1970s, where he rose to fame by rescuing the governor’s son.

Dan also drinks. A lot.

TV Fanatic will cover this show in depth, starting with the pilot episode.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Published on May 27, 2010

From today, you can see the pilot of BBC3′s horror/drama Pulse in its full goodness on the Internet. This is quite a bold move for the BBC, which is making a trio of pilots available prior to them being broadcast, and Pulse is the first out of the bag.

Why should you be interested in Pulse? An assortment of reasons. Firstly, it’s from the mighty pen of Mr Paul Cornell, a man whose television work alone has brought us the terrific Doctor Who two-parter Human Nature/The Family Of Blood. He’s the same Paul Cornell who gave the world Bernice Summerfield, and whose name you can find alongside Captain Britain and MI-13. And now, he’s turned his hands to Pulse.

The BBC has also put out a trailer for what’s easily the bloodiest show it’ll put out on any of its channels this year, and having seen this pilot, we can attest to its quality.

Pulse is shown on BBC Three on Thursday June 3rd, and if all goes to a plan, a six-episode season will be commissioned for broadcast in 2011. Please give the show your support: it’s not often we get a horror-themed television show on British television, especially not one as good as this.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Following Megan Fox’s somewhat abrupt departure from the Transformers franchise last week, there’s been much Internet speculation as to whom director Michael Bay would choose as a replacement.

Gemma Arterton, fresh from her appearance in Prince Of Persia, was thought to be in the running, while other names attached to the role included Miranda Kerr, Bar Refaeli and Brooklyn Decker.

Now, however, it appears that Bay’s selection is, in fact, none of the above. According to GeekWeek, the actor lined up to play the girlfriend role in Transformers 3 will be 23-year-old Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. If her name doesn’t sound too familiar (and we must admit, we hadn’t heard of her, either), she’s a British model whose great-great grandfather was politician Sir Herbert Huntingdon-Whiteley.

Other than the fact that she’s dating Hollywood hard man Jason Statham, Huntington-Whiteley’s acting CV seems rather thin, though her experience as a Victoria’s Secret and Pirelli calendar model probably makes her more than qualified to take on the role of Michael Bay’s eye candy in-residence.

Specific details of Huntington-Whiteley’s character have yet to be announced, but expect to see her draped over a motorcycle in a giant robot movie near you soon.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Chuck Versus The Living Dead

With this show now the proud owner of a shiny thirteen-episode season four, and an option on a back nine, those working on Chuck must be walking tall.

But that good news does also bring with it the whole question of where the show goes next? I mean, the concept must develop or die, I’d suggest.

If Chuck Versus The Living Dead is anything to go by, there appear to be those in the Chuck writing team who’d like the show to entirely morph into a serious spy drama. Because some bits of this week’s show were so Alias in places I wondered if Sydney Bristow herself would come gliding into view wearing an implausibly tight rubber dress and an outrageously red wig.

What underlined this to me was that the plot of the show is reworking the same idea as the first season of Alias, namely it’s not just being a spy that’s tough, it’s the impact on those around you that’s even harder. If this seems all a bit serious for Chuck, and it is borderline in some places, before it gets too out of hand they have Morgan Grimes and Jeffster on hand to remind us that this show was/is/can be a hilarious comedy.

The headline event this week is the reappearance of Scott Bakula as Mr. Bartowski Senior, lured back by The Ring’s manipulation of Ellie. With her planting bugs and telling lies, that makes Big Mike and Jeffster the only non-spies in the show!

I remember joking in an early review that, by the end of Chuck, everyone would be a spy, and by a quirk of weirdness that seems exactly where we’ve gone.

It’s the BuyMore characters that are the very spine of Chuck, though, and their often manic contributions are the highlight of most episodes. The bits they contributed this week made me genuinely laugh out loud, rather than the mumbled snigger that most allegedly funny TV can draw from me. The whole idea of Jeff and Lester breaking up their act and then Big Mike coming to manage their reunion was a masterstroke. But the scene where Mike explained that he was the missing ‘Rain’ from ‘Earth, Wind and Fire’ had me in hysterics.

They capped that piece beautifully when Mike handed Lester the gold stage costume, because, as he saw it, Lester has the ‘hips of a six-year-old girl’. This was pure Chuck magic, and I’m still chuckling now, hours later.

I suppose the strength of this show is that it can be intense, crazy and thoughtful, all within the space of 90 seconds, which makes it very entertaining. Where they’ll take this eventually, I’m not sure, but I’m glad they invited us along for the ride.

What it also demonstrates is the confidence everyone in front of and behind the cameras has in their product, and that they can still deliver strong entertainment going into a fourth season.

I’ve kept this review spoiler-free in most respects, but I do want to mention the appearance of a previously dead person at the end of the show. It will either be the catalyst for a suitably insane finale, or we’ll all regret that particular actor’s involvement in this show. Time will tell.

With only two episodes left in this season, I anticipate probably more drama than laughs, but the I’m confident we won’t be disappointed on either front.

Popularity: 5% [?]

There are a few ways to look at the jam-packed two-hour season finale of “Grey’s Anatomy.” It was a cleaning-out of a couple of characters that were going nowhere; it was a whirlwind tour through a bunch of long and drawn-out romantic story lines; and it gave several actors massive, Emmy-baiting showcases.

But mostly, it was an absorbing and suspenseful story that went just a little off the rails from the sheer amount of business heaped upon it.

It began with Gary Clark, who’s been suing the hospital over the death of his wife. He showed up with a gun and almost immediately did away with the little used Dr. Reed Adamson, one of the Mercy West imports, in the supply room.

More significantly, he shot Alex, who dragged himself into an elevator where he waited patiently to be discovered — much like Carter once did in the famous “Carter and Lucy get stabbed” sequence on “ER,” in the shadow of which this episode inevitably exists. When Reed’s body was discovered, the hospital went into lockdown.

Meanwhile, Lexie and Mark found Alex and dragged him into a conference room, where Mark cut him open and Lexie stuffed balled-up surgical gloves in his mouth to keep him from screaming. (Seriously, pretty intense, this whole thing.) Their battle to save Alex was on.

In the most harrowing story of the episode, Clark came into the room where Bailey was hiding with Percy and a patient named Mary (played by Mandy Moore). Bailey heard Clark ask Percy if he was a surgeon, and when Percy said yes, Clark shot him. So when Clark dragged Bailey out from under the bed (yikes!) and asked her if she was a surgeon, she lied and said she was a nurse. Once Clark left, Bailey’s battle to save Percy was on.

Meanwhile, Meredith was elsewhere in the hospital, happily learning that she was pregnant. But before she could tell Derek, Clark found and shot him as a horrified Cristina and Meredith looked on from the opposite walkway. (It must be said: It was a very nicely composed sequence). Meredith and Cristina’s battle to save Derek was on.

Down in the OR, Owen and Teddy were mid surgery when the lockdown began. They had to move the patient, making Avery the only one there to receive Meredith and Cristina when they brought Derek in. This left only Cristina to do Derek’s surgery.

But when Clark found them (he really got around), he put a gun to Cristina’s head and demanded she stop working on Derek. A horrified Meredith and a conveniently arriving Owen looked on as Avery bluffed Clark into thinking Derek was dead long enough for Clark to leave — and then, naturally, they saved Derek’s life anyway.

Alex was spared, too. Lexie barely survived an encounter with Clark herself, then announced to the half-conscious Alex that she loved him. This fact was not lost on Mark, who proposed to her last week. Lexie didn’t even mind when Alex briefly mistook her for Izzie in a state of delirium, so their relationship seemingly is on track.

Not everybody is so lucky: Owen picked Cristina over Teddy, but Cristina had already dumped him by then, so it’s not quite clear whether she intends to take him back.

But you can’t win them all. When Bailey heroically dragged Percy through the corridors of the hospital only to find that the elevators were stopped for the lockdown, she realized there was no way to get him to the OR and that he would die. She sat on the floor with him, cradled his head in her lap and stayed with him until he died. So that’s two Mercy Westers who didn’t find spots in the story and got themselves killed as a result.

Much of the episode worked, until one part that felt like it had been tacked on for no good reason: Meredith miscarried while all the madness in the OR was developing.

There was a lot to like about the episode: Bailey’s devastated explosion of temper at the elevators, Cristina’s speech to Meredith about how she herself couldn’t operate on Derek with Meredith in the room, and the scene in which Webber calmly talked Clark into killing himself to end the standoff.

But the miscarriage felt very much like an add-on, not quite earned. Having a pregnancy announced and lost in the same episode seems manipulative, and not really up to what was going on the rest of the time.

The other unsuccessful segment involved Arizona and Callie, who once again bickered annoyingly during an otherwise tense and serious story. They then got back together once again because they papered over their child issues again, with Arizona apparently agreeing to have kids even though she still doesn’t actually seem to want them.

All in all, it was a very well-done finale, but it got away from the writers just a little at the end. With the shooter seemingly everywhere you didn’t want him and everyone trapped with precisely the most dramatic person possible, it got a little ridiculous.

But in the end, the acting — including big nights for Chandra Wilson, Sandra Oh and Ellen Pompeo — carried it off.

Popularity: 20% [?]

With a title like Pain, it’s obvious that there’ll be some heavy drama in this episode, which may put some viewers off. Right from the opening scene, in which Lt Scott (Brian Smith) is having sex with Lt James (Julia Benson) emotional tensions are running high. Lt Scott tries to leave and Lt James takes it rather badly and bashes him over the head, leaving him dead on the floor.

In another part of the ship, Dale Volker (Patrick Gilmore) gets trapped in his room when his door doesn’t function, and it’s only when Sgt Riley (Haig Sutherland) opens his door from the outside that he can get out. However, it doesn’t take long for us to realize that these are illusions, as we see Lt Scott alive and well, and being entirely bewildered by his son appearing on board.

When it turns out that an alien tick has bitten into the heads of certain members of the crew, including Lt Scott, Dale Volker, Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque), Dr Rush (Robert Carlyle), Sgt Greer (Jamil Smith) and a few other members of the crew, the hallucinations become more of a problem.

Sgt Greer believes that another mutiny is about to occur, and under what he takes as orders from Col Young (Louis Ferreira), he takes unprovoked action.

All the while, Dr Rush gets increasingly freaked out by the fact that he thinks aliens have taken control over the ship, which has to be at least a little unnerving.

This is one of those classic sci-fi staples that has made appearances in many shows over the years including Buffy, Stargate Atlantis and Star Trek Voyager, and that, if you get right, can be brilliant.

Unfortunately, this episode is a little lacking in ingenuity and thought process.

For instance, the first scene in which Lt Scott gets murdered would be increasingly more effecting on the viewer if we didn’t see him a few scenes later alive and well. Dale Volker’s hallucinations, however, become more and more terrifying as the episode goes on, and it’s only a shame that they work out what’s going on early in the episode.

It’s in situations like this that a ‘red-shirt’ would come in handy. It’s something that Stargate Universe has done once before, in the episode which introduced them to the altogether different kind of alien life form they have come across in this series. The ‘dust devil’ in that episode was responsible for the loss of Cpl Gorman early in the series and made the threat to the crew all that more real.

Now, I know that, with a limited number of expendable background characters like we see on Destiny, you can’t afford to kill off a member of the crew every time there is an unknown threat. However, in situations like this, that very thing can sell the threat of the unknown so much more than it can without it.

Still, given that the ticks don’t take anyone’s life, and, in fact, only cast the illusion of doing so to a very limited number of people, the threat becomes relatively infantile and the impact of the hallucinations falters because of it.

Only in the first scene do we really feel like there is anything to worry about as, with a crew full of smart people and relatively good technology, they’re going to find a way around it within the 40-minute runtime.

However, we already know that the rules of the show can be changed, as in the episode Time, and that people can die from alien threats, as in the episode Water. So, the fact that this feels like a step down is disheartening.

It’s not bad, though. The quality we see here is higher than you can get in a lot of other shows on television right now, which is a testament to just how good this team is at making the show.

Even at their lowest hour, they can still make a good episode, no matter if the quality of the writing dips. It’s by no means a good reason to stop watching. In fact, the episode only goes to prove why it is worthwhile viewing.

By giving us this rather poor episode in comparison to the excellent standard we have become accustomed to, we see how this show could be weekly, and if it were at this standard every week, viewers would re-consider their fan status. As it is, this only goes to strengthen the efforts of Time and Human, which are arguably the show’s finest hours.

Of course, I would have preferred that the episode hadn’t been this weak and that this truly brilliant germ of an idea hadn’t went to waste as it has. However, I do still have faith that the quality will pick up, and that it’s only because this idea came from a wealthy pool of great sci-fi that it feels worse than it actually is.

In conclusion, probably the worst episode of the season to date, but given that it has some good points, it’s still worth a watch.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Meet the Griffins – Peter, the big, lovable oaf who always says what’s on his mind. Lois, the doting mother who can’t figure out why her son keeps trying to kill her. Their daughter Meg, the teen drama queen who’s constantly embarrassed by her family. Chris, the beefy 13-year-old who wouldn’t hurt a fly, unless it landed on his hot dog. Stewie, the maniacal one-year-old bent on world domination. And Brian, the sarcastic dog with a wit as dry as the martinis he drinks. The animated adventures of this outrageous family will have you laughing out loud.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Baywatch the nice and humanitarian service these Bunch of professionals as beach guards do for mankind, to this great Channel, before the frequencies

of this channel, Reached Indian shores, I Was familiar only with Odds and Evens, Ryan o Neal, Outlaw Josey Wales Duchess and the dirt water Fox, Inside Job of Henry Fonda, and Return of The Man called Horse.

These things kept me ignorant of the world. I used to think James Hadley Chase is a Genius to write such Good stories, Roger Moore wearing safari Suits is the ultimate in style statements or Dharmender Wearing Corduroy Shirts, Pants, Jackets are the Best things this world has to offer. Then I read and heard there is going to be a free Telecast of few hours From Singapore on Doordarshan A Network of channels called Star Network And this Network has Star World, The very first time I saw this Channel, I Was introduced to Baywatch the people the star cast of this nice program presented to the Indian Audience a show of milk of human kindness I could not believe the efficiency these professionals Of Baywatch displayed Diving into cold, salty sea water. Risking their own lives, saving lives of holiday makers Giving Artificial Respirations, unconcerned about the Risk of catching Some contagious disease. Their eye catching uniforms, their professional attitude left a deep impact on My impressionable mind, I was even allowed to look into their personal lives I could not help myself but admire their spirits, their approach their walks of Life.

My friends in college watched Baywatch they confessed to me for other Reasons than mine, their reasons were not worth a dime, they could not Influence me, I only watched this program to see the kindness in the Chest of these selfless souls. Who are doing a hazardous job like it’s Just another day at work. Ophra Winfrey was also my introduction from this channel, her tears, her Crusade, Her insights, her concern, Her Attention, Her alertness, her Compassion for the guest on the show made me addicted to this channel Ophra Winfrey Always reminded me of a Surgeon with a scalpel ready To make the incision in the patient body.

I have to mention Ophra as these were the 2 Gems I came to know about in The beginning thru Star World their Programs are a beautiful necklace of Many such Gems. I grew up watching FRIENDS growing old right In front of Me and becoming famous stars right in front of our eyes. Everybody Loves Raymond I believe this is true. I wished many a times and practiced to Stammer as nicely as perfectly like BOB NEWHART 911, Police Videos, and Americas Funniest Home Videos You Asked for It, Becker, all these soaps on Star World tickled me, I know star world and star network Gave blokes like me a Window to the outside world.

I am still fond of Star World, I am fond of Barkha Dutt I am fond of Simi Gerawal, sometimes I do use Remote control to take A peek at Poll Kholl on Star News or 17th re-run of Star Movie, overall my Favorite has bee The Star World. I am sorry to include all this in the review of Baywatch a review of just single program limits me. The pleasure I had from the channel itself must be Mentioned. Some channels force you to swallow programs down your throat, But Star World has been sensible they have purchased only widely accepted And popular Serials from other networks that saved them the trouble Of in-house programming and being original.

Instead of writing your own notes, just copy your notes from the best student In your class is a sure formula for success. Why dirty the hands, when there Are thousand others doing just the same? It sure saves a lot of headaches And backaches. Borrow and telecast. Relaxation has many name Baywatch, Star World is one Of them. I don’t get vomiting sensations watching Star World.

Popularity: 33% [?]

She’s graduated from St. Trinian’s, succumbed to the charms of 007, faced off against the Kraken, and will soon be seen, like, totally changing time in Prince Of Persia.
Now, Gemma Arterton faces her greatest test yet: six minutes with Den Of Geek.

How did you get involved in the film? Because we’re going back some two years, aren’t we? You’d done Quantum Of Solace by this point?

I think I’d just finished filming Bond. And I just got a phone call saying, “They want to meet you, the casting director wants to meet you for Prince of Persia.” And I thought, ‘Oh, okay.’ Because I have to say, I didn’t know about the game. And she said, “It’s quite a big deal.”

So, I went along and I met the casting director Susie Figgis, and she had a massive list on her table of other people that they were considering. And I sort of had a sneaky peek, so I knew who else was going up for it. And I thought, ‘Ooh, this must be a big deal then.’

And then she said,”‘Mike the director really wants to meet you.” so I came in and I did a reading. And I never really thought that I’d get it, to be honest with you, probably because I had seen that list. So, I sort of just went in there being myself, not too nervous, just being silly and funny. I had a really good meeting with Mike and he said to me later on that he knew then that he wanted me to do it, but it was just whether we can convince everybody that I’m the right girl for it.

It was exciting when I got it. I was in my little room in Bath where we were filming Tess of The D’Ubervilles, and my agent had tried to call me all night. I had, like, 25 missed calls. And I phoned her back and she said, “Why didn’t you answer your phone?  You’ve got Prince of Persia!”  And I just sat on my bed. I was in shock. Because I knew this was probably the part that was going to change things for me. And it’s weird the connotations that has on your life and your career. All of a sudden you’re given a phone call and that’s it.

Did you grow up watching Jerry Bruckheimer films? He’s dominated each of the last few decades – Top Gun in the 80s, Con Air in the 90s, the Pirates films in the naughties.

Yeah. You don’t even realise when you’re growing up who’s the producer on each film. And then you look at their CV and you think wow, they’ve just done these huge films.

For my generation it was the Pirates Of The Caribbean films I remember going to the cinema and seeing. The spectacle of them and how grand they were and fun. For me, it was just wow, I can’t believe it. Little old me from Gravesend in Kent is going to be in the next Pirates Of The Caribbean-style movie. It was an amazing thing to think that could that happen. [laughs]

It is a huge film but there’s a big British cast, giving it a Harry Potter feel. Or a Carry On. Did it feel like a family?

It did. And again that’s down to the casting director Susie Figgis. She’s brilliant at getting British actors involved who wouldn’t necessarily be in a Hollywood movie, like Toby Kebbell or Steve Toussaint. Which meant that even though it was this big Hollywood movie, it had this earthiness to it.

Also, aside from all the location shoots, it was filmed in London. I’d worked with a lot of the crew on Bond, so I already had a relationship with a lot of them and it felt more familiar. It wasn’t as nerve-racking as I thought it would be. And it was nice. I was able to go home. I could have a normal life while filming this crazy film.

And when you weren’t in London you were filming in Morocco. Can you have a laugh between takes in a desert at 120 degrees Fahrenheit?

Oh, I have a laugh anywhere I go. [laughs] I refuse to be serious. It was hot, but we all knew it was going to be hot. It was full on, especially for the crew.

I mean, us actors we get it easy. We’re fed and watered all day, but they were out there in the sun. At one point it was 50-something degrees Celsius It was ridiculously hot, but it was brilliant. And it was a British crew. They like to have a muck around. They take their job seriously, but they like to have fun. I think it’s important.

Why do a job that’s hard on yourself? You’ve got to enjoy it at the same time.

I read that there was a Snake Dude on set whose job it was to round up the snakes at the start of every day.

[Incredulously] Was there?!

He must have done his job pretty well, then.

Yeah, I didn’t know that guy was there. [laughs] There are all these snakes in the film, but I never came into contact with one because they always used the green sock. Which is the CGI snake, which is quite funny.

In the scene where I have a snake go over my body when I’ve been knocked out, I had the giggles. Because there’s this little green sock [laughs], which was stuffed.  And they had it on an invisible green string, and there was somebody that would puppeteer it. I’m lying there and this little green sock comes up my body. It was meant to be really, really scary and it was just really comical.

You’ve just done Alice Creed, which has recently come out. Was that a deliberate reaction, to do something much smaller and intimate?

Yeah, I think so. I never expected I’d end up in a film like this, or Bond, or Clash Of The Titans. I always imagined myself doing [Alice Creed] sort of films.

I always want to do things that are completely the opposite of what I’ve just done. It makes my job much more enjoyable. It was kind of the polar opposite, in terms of the budget and the style. It’s still good quality work, it’s just a very different discipline.

We had four weeks to shoot it, whereas on Prince Of Persia we had six months. So you have the luxury, or not. Sometimes having too much time and money is not a luxury in a way. But it was really interesting to go from one to another. I’m lucky I’ve been able to do both. I hope I can continue to do that.

Popularity: 6% [?]