Why I Love Big Brother UK – #4

4. The Adverts

I might jut like UK commercials in general. They don’t seem as sloppy or as crude as American commercials. The Big Brother UK commercials are simple but fantastic. They know how to tease without giving to much away. A couple of weeks before the show starts they give little flashes of the eye like so:

Then to tease us a little more they get a bit longer.

Then we get a whole commercial.

And as of today the countdown:

This continues up until the premier day of the show. Tomorrow will be the nine days to go ad and then then eight days to go ad. It is just so simple and easy but it gets you excited for the show. Other notables ad campaigns was the Big Brother 8 one.

It gets you excited, shows a bit of the house, and leaves you wanting more. It is really hard to type this without just showing you. These ads are meant to get viewers excited and remind them that the show is coming back…so hopefully the great ad campaign this year will result in a great year. It really is a good ad campaign Though I did like the past two years I haven’t liked it as much as I liked the seventh series ad (below). It also shows how different the show is from American Big Brother or even Australian Big Brother. Each commercial captures their own version of the show in their own way and I think BBUK does it the best.

Why I Love Big Brother UK – #3

3. Tasks

Not all tasks are great but when the producers put a lot of time and effort into a task they are the most brilliant things in the world. The best tasks are those that take place over several days really change the way the house works. I think that is one of the reasons why I fell in love with Big Brother UK in the first place. In the third week of the show they had the temp agency task. Nikki became the personal assistant to Big Brother and not only had to sit in a desk in front of the diary room all day but had to perform various duties like getting tea and performing various desk jobs. Lisa had to clean up the house every morning starting at 6 am and this is after Lea and Sam were up all night as security guards and patrol the garden. It is just so crazy and funny. The house doesn’t need security guards it is just a silly task that they did in order to get a luxury food budget. Imogen had to be the bathroom attendant at night and give people lollipops once they were finished. It is just crazy.

The other amazing task this season was the prison task. After dividing up the inmates had to basically be in a jail all day while a few housemates played the guards. They had to check up on them, let them walk around the garden, and stay up all night keeping watch. Already it is a good task because it changed the house and forced people on different sides. The guards felt bad for the prisoners. However then Big Brother changed it up for the prisoners.  He gave them a cake and inside the cake was a key, a spoon, and instructions. There was a secret hideaway behind one of the headboards however they had to keep this a secret or they would fail the task.

Inside the secret room was paradise. Food, a bath, a garden etc. Anything you could imagine was in there. Plus when they were in the secret hideout they were given about a five minute warning before the guards would come back in creating a hilarious sequence of the prisoners scrambling back into the prison and pretending nothing was going on.

So pretty good right? But then they switched it up again and switched one of the prisoners for the guard. So the prisoner turned guard then had to pretend that he didn’t know about the secret hideaway. A very clever task and pretty soon the prisoners were now feeling bad for the guards.

Since then I haven’t been to amazed by tasks. Big Brother’s birthday was great in the eighth series as was the seven deadly sins or fake week. Last year was kind of atrocious though with really only the secret couple twist at the beginning or Cops and Robbers task where Dale had to escape over to the other side of the fence and steal a token. I have high hopes that tasks will be back up to snuff this summer

The State of TV: Spring 2009

With the network television season officially over it is time to say what I liked and what I didn’t like about each show I watched…which doesn’t include canceled shows like Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money. Those were covered back in the fall 2008 State of TV article. This article basically leads off from that and sees if any problems were fixed…of course my problems not the general audiences problems.

General: I’m excited about next year. There are a few new shows I am thinking of adding, nothing finalized yet. However I don’t think it was the most creative year for Upfronts. I try to think that the shows that made it to the air were the best so not to good in the brainstorming department. I also have to say overall the midseason replacements were weak. I liked Better Off Ted and Parks and Recreation but could not get into Castle or Dollhouse. I’m no whedonite though so maybe that is it. I wanted to like Castle bu I just wasn’t interested. Network TV in general I think is starting to become more and more like British tv. More and more shows are doing half seasons instead of one whole season over the whole year. Now shows like Desperate Housewives and procedurals don’t really need to do that but it is becoming a way of making the show an event (Lost, 24, American Idol, and next year NBC is doing it with more shows) . I think it will be a formula that will grow stronger and stronger. I don’t know if I am a huge fan of it. It sucks that there is no new Lost until January 2010 but it makes my anticipation greater for it. I still fell that this year was affected by the writers strike and hopefully now this it is over things can move on.

Private Practice

I’m not willing to spend money on buying this show on dvd, but will say that it is getting stronger and stronger. This whole season has proved how good a show it is…the only problem I can really see is how invested a viewer is in the characters. They seem real but if Christina Yang was in the same position as Violet was I probably would have cared a bit more. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I just don’t feel the same connection with them as I do with other shows. The season finale was extremely strong and all the episodes leading up to it were strong. This show kind of got the short end during the cross over. If it was supposed to lure more viewers over from Grey’s Anatomy then Shonda did a terrible job connecting the two because either it felt like a 2 hour Grey’s Anatomy episode or that the problems at the Oceanside Wellness Group seemed so far removed that it didn’t feel like a cross over. I don’t understand why they could have Baily or someone come down for an episode? The only other thing that threw me was the three month episode. I know they were speeding things up for Violet’s pregnancy but the whole thing was very jarring. Again they all seem very happy and it is a great cast. Great cliff hanger, one of the best of the season. Plus everything with Dell and his wife, Naomi leaving the practice, and Charlotte King trying to keep her job were all great storylines. I feel like this has better acting and better writing then Grey’s Anatomy, now I just need to be invested.

Better Off Ted

I love this show. I really do. I am so glad I started watching it on a whim because it turned out to be excellent. The whole cast is great minus maybe a few Andrea Anders moments. However she might not be as strong as everyone else, but it isn’t to say she is awful. I want people to watch this show when it comes back because it really is one of the best comedies. It is quick, smart, funny, and off the wall. How can you not like a show about that? How could you not like a show with Portia De Rossi in it. She is still kind of playing the no self awareness that she did in Arrested Development but her timing is so good and the character is different enough that it doesn’t matter. The season finale was excellent and you could tell the producers were pissed that they had to push their finale back a week for yet another presidential address. However it was worth the wait to have an episode that forced personalities on people like the Cat People. If I could get Veridian Dynamics commercials for the rest of my life I would.

The Amazing Race 14

I thought this season was on par with last season. Phil seemed to think it was one of the best but I thought it was ok. Maybe even not as good as last season. I just found the cast really unlikeable besides maybe Margie and Amanda/Kris. I also feel like Luke was shoved down our throats and if he wasn’t deaf he wouldn’t have gotten such a good edit. I’m not against him for being deaf I just didn’t see him as someone I really wanted to root for. That should ok, I shouldn’t just have to root for somebody because they have a disability. I do commend him though. He and Margie did have a great relationship and worked very well together. Plus good for him for being able to compete in his favorite show. He looked really upset at the end when they lost, which is to bad. That being said I would rather they have won then Tammy and Victor. Fucking Victor? Really? The guy who almost got him and his sister eliminated because he was so stubborn to turn around? They won? After two incredibly easy China legs for them. Granted they probably had just as much trouble as the other teams, because still making your way around another country is hard but they had a big advantage knowing how to speak the language. So after Kris and Amanda got out I was kind of just sort of non-phased with the rest of the cast. My favorites were gone. However I did like that the last leg was a bit more even then Nick and Starr just running to the end with no competition. I am really hoping the casting goes all out for next season. I really want to have some big rivalries and teams that fall apart. We didn’t have that with Jennifer and Preston getting eliminated first. I do have to give credit this season for the super mat meltdown. That fight was so intense between Margie/Luke and Kisha/Jennifer. I’ve never seen anything like that ever before. Margie got so mad…I loved it. Plus props to the new intro and updated look.

The Celebrity Apprentice 2

2 Hours? Did this show really need to be 2 hours. I think I would have liked this a hell of a lot better if the task wasn’t an hour and ten minutes and then we had 30 minutes of Trump talking to both teams and then 20 minutes talking with the losing team. Really? This did not need to be 2 hours and next year doesn’t need to be 2 hours. Is it also sad that I thought last years cast was better then this years cast? There might have been some bigger names and maybe I liked the freshness of last season (plus Omarosa) but I just kind of felt like their was a low of showboating and manipulation going on behind the scenes. Plus I was not a fan of Trump’s firings this year…last year besides the awful cutting of Carol Alt I was pretty much fine with his decisions but this year I felt like he really manipulated the show. Granted it is his show to manipulate but the firings need to make sense. This was the season of unlikeable reality show contestants. Jesse was too self righteous, Annie was to much of a know-it-all, Brande and Melissa were to shrill, Dennis was to crazy, Brian and Khloe just didn’t care, and Hershel was just annoying. Everyone else, besides maybe Tom Green, were either to obnoxious and awful or were hardly in the show to begin with. (Side Note: With the show being two hours long how did Tionne get almost no air time?)

I thought I could root for Joan but she really just became just as terrible as Clint and Annie by the end of this. Her whole little hissy fit when Melissa was eliminated also didn’t help. Plus it seemed inevitible that Trump would have her facing off against Annie at the end. I think that is what Trump is doing now. He is just looking to see who the final 2 could be. What kind of matchup he can have. It isn’t about who would be the best person to hire (or faux hire in this case) it is just about what Trump wants. I hated the whole alcoholic theme that followed throughout this whole season. I know you have problems with alcohol Trump but you should have fired Dennis for other reasons and earlier. Tom Green was the star of this season, in my eyes, and his attitude towards Annie was perhaps the highlight of the whole show. That is why the U.S. Apprentice pails in comparison to Sir Alan Sugar and the U.K. Apprentice. So really this show needs to be one hour and needs to have some people to root for.

Fringe

I should have had more faith in this show then I did way back in September and in the original State of TV article. The show has really grown on me and I find it to be one of my favorites right now. So much that I cannot wait for its premier September 17th. The show has worked on addressing a few problems I have. Still it is annoying that most of the Pattern problems we see take place in the Boston area but they did start connecting the plots and did start working on fleshing out characters like Astrid, Broyles, and Charlie. Plus Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson continued to improve as the show went along. The star of the show is still obviously Walter Bishop. Every episode I am waiting for a Walter Bishop moment (“Don’t Be Such a Prude. I’m sure Ms. Dunham has seen a penis before”). Plus like some other shows it can quickly go from a light hearted moment to a incredibly intense moment.

The show is visually stunning as well like in Bad Dreams with all those people standing on the edge of the building about to fall to their death. Or of course the season finale when we pulled out and saw that we were in the World Trade Centers.

The mythology is also going great and everything is connecting. The ZFT manifest and William Bell are of course some of the best secrets you want to learn ever since you heard about the Dharma Initiative. I want to learn more about the testing in Jacksonville and more about cortexziphan. Plus I love the case of the week thing and hope that they continue to do that besides opening up a can of worms at the end of the season. What a brilliant way to end this show. Not only is the original Peter dead, we learned that Walter has traveled to the alternate world, and then that the alternate world really is an alternate timeline. The huge iconic moment of seeing the World Trade Center standing and then putting 2 and 2 together and hearing the White House was destroyed is huge. I am so glad I found another show to be hooked to and I can look past the flaws of underdeveloped secondary characters and plots that happen only in Boston if the show continues to be just as creative.

Lost

Not as strong as the fourth season but definitely on the right path. The best part overall was Josh Holloway as Sawyer and all of his moments in the Dharma Initiative. That is perhaps my favorite arc. I just felt like this season was a set up season for the end. It was just a lot of exposition as we were getting everyone back to the island and back to the right time and searching for people and every episode we inched along just a little bit farther. Again not saying it was a bad season I’m just saying it was frustrating not really getting anywhere until the finale. There were a few big revelations with Jacob at the end, Locke is bad, Miles is Chang’s son, Daniel is Eloise’s son, and of course the statue…but I’m ready for the big questions to be answered now. Like why is this happening? What is the good vs. evil battle? What is the smoke monster? Why can the island heal people? When did Dharma start doing their tests? The numbers? I’m hoping we get some big reveals every episode next season. Bottom line this season wasn’t  bad and I am sure I am forgetting some moments that I liked I’m just ready for the final chapter and some “fricken answers.” Here are my recaps from this year.

Episode 1 and 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13
Episode 14
Episode 15
Episode 16 and 17

Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation has some work cut out for it. Most sites say get rid of the talking heads, I say they don’t have to as long as they can intertwine it with the rest of the show. Maybe it is because I know Poehler better then I did when I started watching the actors on The Office but the show doesn’t seem as real which is why I think the talking heads take away with it. Amy Poehler does an excellent job and I will follow her through thick and thin. I do like this show and it is a great edition to the comedy that is already on Thursdays. It isn’t up to par yet with 30 Rock and The Office but the pilot for 30 Rock and arguably the first season of The Office were pretty terrible. Parks and Recreation did have a nice finale though and it looks like it was taking a step in the right direction. The only person I really have any problems with is Aziz Ansari. He is just obnoxious and takes away from the rest of the great cast. I really think this show needs to work on some editing and some timing but that is about it. Not perfect but not awful. MORE AUBREY PLAZA!

The Office

The Office became fantastic this second half. I wasn’t to big of a fan of the show after Holly left. It just didn’t know where to go and things got boring and to serious. They were using awkward to much and not enough just comedic bits. It was just kind of annoying and really the show wasn’t that good. However they did this great arc this second half with Michael quitting Dunder Mifflin and starting the Michael Scott Paper company and the show had found its footing. Its finale was not one of its best but overall the second half of the season was much stronger then the first half. They changed Pam up, they changed Jim up. Dwight was different with not sucking up to Michael. They finally moved along the whole Angela arc. I am curious to see where that goes next. Especially since Dwight told his “best friend” to stop picking on her. Plus the Holly and Michael thing was sweet. I don’t think the baby that Pam is going to have will really come into affect to much. Pam will get pregnant but the baby isn’t going to come to work. Now it will be interesting where Pam ends up though if she has to have the baby. Plus I liked the little new arc they started with Phyllis with her husband’s secretary. Overall I am really happy that the writers and producers realized they were in a bit of a rut and decided to do something about it so quickly. Very rarely does that happen or if something does get fixed it isn’t until the next season. So great job to The Office for making the show come back together. Plus the post Super Bowl "Fire" is probably one of the funniest bits ever on the show and I love the new secretary. Can’t remember her name at the moment.

30 Rock

Not as strong as the first two seasons and I thought it was incredibly celebrity filled. I honestly think the celebrity exposure really took away from the show. I am glad there are more viewers but I felt like we lost a bit of the quality. The acting is top notch though. Kenneth, Jenna, Liz, and Jack are all amazing. Tracey does his best he can do and can at least play himself well. I just don’t think this finale really was at the same level as last years or the part before. I think that they don’t need to worry so much about the celebrities and they need to just worry about the show or really they will only have two years left in it. The other thing is, if they are going to have celebrities be the significant others maybe they need to work on keeping those big names around a little bit more. As soon as Selma Hayek or John Hamm really got into the role then they were taken away just as quickly. I feel like a broken record but I am glad I am watching this show and I hope it gets a few more seasons out of it. The acting and timing is top notch I just wish this season wasn’t so hit or miss. It is disappointing that they finally got noticed but then the show wasn’t as good as it was in its second and first year. Here are my quickie reviews I did earlier this year to the first 13 episodes.

Grey’s Anatomy

I wish I could have enjoyed this ending a bit more but Katherine Heigl just pisses me off so damn much. She got her way, she really did. She acted like a little bitch and Shonda wrote her a nice little brain tumor story so she could get an emmy. Really? Give me a fucking break. Katherine is overrated and a diva and I hope they kill her off at the beginning of the first season. That being said…if I ever have to see Denny again I might jump off a bridge. I wasn’t a big fan of his the first time around so why does he have to keep popping up. I hope the finale is the last we saw of him. Why would an actor keep coming back knowing the audience doesn’t want him around?

So put all the Izzie and Denny storyline stuff to the side. Lets talk rest of the show. I’m still happy with the way Meredith and Derek are going. Meredith is the most likable she has been probably since the first and second season. I’ve always liked her especially her dark side but it seems viewers weren’t to positive. I’m disappointed that Sadie left the show but glad that new happy Arizona is now in it. I will always be pissed that Erica Hahn didn’t stick around but Arizona is a good replacement. Arizona is great for both the Miranda and Callie characters. Miranda finally went somewhere new and so did the Chief. Finally those two characters weren’t doing much for so long. It is slightly unbelievable that Callie doesn’t have much money though. Sure, if you aren’t getting money anymore from your rich family it would be hard at first but Callie must have made something working at Seattle Grace.

Christina is still probably my favorite character. Sandra Oh does an excellent job with her year after year. Why hasn’t she won an emmy? She is so much better then Katherine. Just slowly keep developing her and Hunt and I will be happy for as long as the show stays on the air.

I’m disappointed what they did with George this season. They basically paid him a bunch of money to say a line each episode. It was comedic. In fact it paid off so much that when George was missing in the finale you didn’t really notice because he hadn’t been there the rest of the show. I hope he stays alive and Izzie goes but it seemed more like he was dying.

Finally great work with Sloane and Lexie. Slowly develop them as well and give both of the actors something to do and I will also be happy. What about Alex? I don’t care much for him so no real comment. The last few episodes brought this show in the right direction, it is just terribly frustrating with the whole Izzie cancer arc. I’d love for Dr. Swender to become part of the main cast though.

Survivor Tocantins

If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Great season of the show. Not up to the level that Gabon, Micronesia, or China were at but still it isn’t down there with the terrible Cook Islands and Fiji seasons (do you know some people even say that Cook Islands is their favorite season?). It became pretty obvious for awhile that JT was going to win this. I still can’t believe how stupid Timbira was and got all of themselves voted off. I’m also still surprised that JT and Stephen betrayed Taj so easily. I hated him but props to Coach because we will never have someone quite like him ever again. Excellent casting on him. Here are the links to my recaps from this season.

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Recap
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13

Desperate Housewives

Um…what happened? Really? The first half of this season was brilliant. I had no complaints in my midseason article on this show because there weren’t really any. The drama was good, the comedy was excellent and the five year jump really invigorated the series. However as creative as the season began it just sort of fizzled here at the end. Maybe they should have kept Edie around until the season finale (which was the lamest of the lame) and maybe they shouldn’t have made her final episode like the 100th episode. Plus if we were jumping five years into the future why did we need another Tom Scavo is in a mid-life crisis or Gabby is spoiled story? Didn’t Bree already have a divorcee storyline and didn’t Susan already go through other boyfriends? Are we back in season 1 and 2? I just don’t get it. They did bring Dana Delaney back from wherever she was hiding but only at the loss of Edie…which is a terrible mistake whether Nicollette Sheridan wanted out or not. Plus if they get rid of Orson…well their goes the amazing chemistry between Orson and Bree. Overall just do something different please! I just feel like all of the storylines they put into the show will fizzle out by November and we will get back to the same problems. Lynette will have twins well how will they be able to pay for them? So then Tom will have to get a job etc. Once their new little teenager skips town will Gabbi see that she is spoiled herself and doesn’t appreciate her home? If Bree gets more serious with Karl will Karl and Orson have a fight much like Rex and George did? Then will Bree be divorced and have neither of them? And will Susan ever get things right? Or will she be on and off with Mike for the rest of the series…answer is yes she will. For jumping ahead five years the writers just dug themselves into similar holes.

The two things that still are great…the comedy. It gets better and better as the show progresses. I find this show to be absolutely hilarious. Mrs. McKluskey! I love her so much and I hope she is in every season from here on out.

Family Guy

Not really sure what to say with this show. I seemed to kind of like it in the midseason but I am tiring of it a bit. Quit being so political Seth and just make a funny show. I realize you see that you have a platform and I even agree on most of your views but I don’t want to watch Family Guy so that you can tell us to legalize pot or that you are liberal. I watch Family Guy to be entertained and to laugh. It seems that either these episodes are way to heavy handed politcal wise or just suck in general. The last two episodes of this season were just awful. They just kind of sucked so much that I don’t even want to talk about them. A whole episode set in the 1700s (Peter as a strawberry was the only good part)? A whole episode set around Stephen King novels? Just extremely boring. There were a few in March I think I liked and I am eagerly looking forward to Something Something Darkside but the creativity needs to be kicked up a notch.

24

Better then season six not as good as season five. Renee brought some new fun to the show as did President Allison Taylor. Janis really brought nothing and I wish we had gotten more Chloe then Janis who just seemed like a pain in the ass and didn’t have anything to do once Sean was taken out of the show. I liked the overall theme of how far is to far to get what you want and why does Jack torture. Plus overall the plot flowed and we were kept with a new arc every few episodes. However this season seemed extremely disjointed like season three. If you aren’t going to plot out the whole season, and on a show like this I don’t know why they don’t…then you at least need to make it look like you did. I just felt like we were all over the place. From the device that took control of air traffic control, to the white house siege, to Tony being good and bad and good and bad, to Jack getting sick, to Kim getting captured. We were really just all over the place. Bill Buchanan’s death would have been a bit more epic for me if I hadn’t been spoiled by it. I’m sad that I don’t have much enthusiasm for this show anymore. It wasn’t like this season was bad, it was actually a huge step in the right direction I just don’t care much for it as I used to. This use to be my show, the show I would watch every week but I just am growing tired of it. But that is my problem and not the shows.

Everything Else

Um I quit Heroes. I watched the finale and was really happy with my choice. Celebrity Big Brother UK 6 was ok. I haven’t gotten around to watching Breaking Bad yet. I still want to finish the first season again before watching the next season. SNL I thought was better this year then it had been and I kind of dropped a lot of shows to make time for the regular shows I watched. So no more Jon and Kate Plus 8. No more Colbert Report (even though it is brilliant I have no time). I watched American Idol this year but I don’t really care if they fix it or not. Nor do I care enough to write about it. On to the summer!

Doctor Who Series 2 (2006)

So very happy that I’ve discovered this series. Really. I think my favorite thing about this is how you can go from a funny silly joke to feeling sad and dismal about things. I was really worried that I was going to have a hard time going through this with Christopher Eccleston gone but David Tennant did such a great job as well. Both are excellent and I’m not exactly sure if I prefer one to the other but I really did like what David Tennant brought to the role.

Again at first it was a little weird but once I got through “Tooth and Claw” I easily sort of accepted the new Doctor, much like Rose after that episode as well.

In fact that I think was the problem. “New Earth” and “Tooth and Claw” were the only 2 episodes that I just didn’t really like. I mean liked them but they were no where near as good as the 11 other episodes of the series. I guess I was on such a high after the amazing “Christmas Invasion” special. Wow! What a great way to get people excited for an upcoming season. They spent the whole first half of the special really just with Rose, Mickey, and Mrs. Tyler. The Doctor is to weak to even be awake. Then he comes out of it in the climax and you realize why David Tennant got the part. That will go down as one of my favorite episodes of tv ever. It was just a mix of fun, adventure, and also some sadness.

Ok, so once we got past “New Earth” and “Tooth and Claw” I think the show started to pick up in its second season. New Earth was interesting but it seemed like a rehash of season one and the show needed to go forward from there. Same as Tooth and Claw. They felt way to much like “The End of the World” and “The Unquiet Dead” in the first season…which I also think had a rough start getting going as well.

However once “School Reunion” and “Girl in the Fireplace” came around the entire season really began to pick up. “School Reunion” really started to develop Mickey and it was really neat seeing Sarah Jane.  It makes me want to go back and watch the classic Doctor Who series just to see her in action. All the references to old seasons makes me want to, no matter how err aged they might be.

“Girl in the Fireplace” was really just sort of heartbreaking for the Doctor. I hate it when they do stuff like in this show and Torchwood. they make you like a guest star so much and then they kill them off.

Now the “Rise of the Cybermen” and “The Age Of Steel” were not my favorite episodes. However they were very important overall to this season. So I probably should have paid a little bit more attention. I guess it was because they were really Mickey centric and I find the guy playing Mickey to not be the best actor. Though it was funny to have a smart Mickey and it was a great way to bring back Pete from the first season. It was also kind of sad at the end thinking that you were leaving this person and there was no way you could ever get back to them. I think that is what this show does so well is that you really do feel the despair in the show.

The second half of the season (series…season…whatever) was extremely brilliant. Each episode brought us to a new direction and were extremely compelling. “The Idiot’s Lantern” was smart and slightly terrifying taking peoples faces away and the whole “The Impossible Planet” and “The Satan Pit” were great religious and theological studies on characters especially that poor woman who was left right above the actual pit. To know you were stuck a thousand miles down and were going to suffocate to death with no one around has got to be a horrible experience.

My favorite episode might not even be one that even really featured the Doctor or Rose. “Love & Monsters” is one of those fun episodes where the main characters are the supporting ones and the whole story revolves around a someone who would really be the supporting character in a regular episode. It was just a really fun ride with LINDA and how they became a family and made a band and were all so happy together. Plus it was full of jokes (like the Scooby Doo door gag and the hint at oral sex at the end) that were just so silly and crazy. Mrs. Tyler was great in this and did a great job trying to woo Elton.

“Fear Her” was another interesting piece. Just take a simple concept and look at how much you can do with it.

And then of course was the ending of the season. I knew it was coming. I knew that Billie Piper had wanted to move on and Rose was going to be written out of the show. “Army of Ghosts” set this up and went into a whole different direction. I never thought we would be seeing a three way battle between the Doctor, the Cybermen, and Daleks! I thought the Daleks were gone and the Cybermen were a one time story thing. Little did I know how much “Rise of the Cybermen” and “Age of Steel” would play into this ending. Mickey returned as well as Pete Tyler.

The Dalek surprise really was great though as being the ultimate bad guy to come back and face the doctor, plus I think it is so silly how the Daleks move and react toward things. So in order to get rid of the Daleks and the Cybermen the Doctor must open the void and they would all be sucked in, unfortunately all that have crossed the void would also get sucked in unless they crossed back to the alternate world from those two earlier episodes. Now what I don’t understand is Jackie and Rose had to cross? Jackie had never even been to the other side so why couldn’t just Mickey and Pete cross and Rose could have just held on to the same contraption the Doctor did and Jackie could have kept the void open?

Either way it was really heartbreaking seeing Rose’s tearful goodbye to the Doctor who couldn’t even say I love you back to her. I felt just awful after seeing that. How devastating. I know Rose comes back in some form down the line so I’m not to sad but Rose ended up being a great companion to the Doctor. She was a little bratty at the beginning of the first season but I really grew to like her and it will be weird without her in the future.

I did love the little nod though to the Runaway Bride at the end…just like the end to the first season. I cannot wait to watch that special and then the third season come August.

Great season, I wish the DVDs were a little less because I would again pick it up in a second. It is just hard to justify putting down 60 dollars for only 13 episodes. I will one day…one day.

Why I Love Big Brother UK – #2

2. Evictions

So they’ve gone in right? But what happens at the end of their journey? Two or more have been up for nominations for the past few days the public has been voting for who they want evicted and whoever has the most votes is out. The whole night is leading up to this point. We first get a recap of the events that happened yesterday. Much like Davina doing house tour I believe this is just a great way to build the tension. Davina comes back ever so often during the evictions to remind us of the phone numbers and who the audience could potentially want out and what that might mean. Then once the daily recap is done Davina talks to the house.

This is a huge moment for the cast. They get interaction from the outside world and whoever goes will greatly change the landscape of the house for the next week. It is just like, once they are starting to get comfortable that someone is gone, then “pow!” the dynamics change because someone is gone. So all the tension and everything is leading up to this. More often then I like the person who goes isn’t that big of a surprise…but the cast has no idea who is going to win and it is almost always a surprise for them and when it is a surprise for the audience it is just ten times better. Granted I can’t vote for being in the United States but I think I would if I lived in the UK. It is the audience that decides who continues on…

Once the person is picked they usually have 30 minutes to pack up their remaining stuff and say goodbye to their fellow housemates. There is usually some sort of emotion. Happiness, sadness, glee, they can’t wait to go, they think it is to early to leave all leading up to Davina’s famous word, “I’m coming to get you” then there is a countdown and the person has about 30 seconds to get out of their and up the stairs back into the crowd that welcomed them in. They leave their fellow housemates who don’t really even know how to react and just sort of mosey on back to their seats and into the house.

The best part about the crowd is when they have real emotions to the person leaving. Huge cheers if it is someone they like or the biggest boos in the world if it is someone they dislike. Like last year for example one week Nicole got the most votes to go and got some of the loudest boos I have ever heard. Then the next week Lisa went and got the biggest cheers in the series so far.

The best part is to see the reaction of the person voted off. If the crowd hates them they are usually taken aback, but if the crowd loves them then they look like the happiest person in the world.

Then it is back down through the crazy crowd and to the paparazzi and inside for the eviction interview. The eviction interview is big enough of a moment besides the actual eviction that it might be best to save that for later.

Why I Love Big Brother UK – #1

With just 14 days to go until the tenth series I am  starting a new series of articles today based on why I love Big Brother UK. Few things first, yes I didn’t start watching until season seven, and yes the show seems to be in a bit of a slump but that doesn’t mean I can’t love it. I’ve gone back and seen everything from BB1 to CBB2 (so still missing out on three series and several of the Celebrity Seasons and other spin offs).

I find this show to be one of the best reality shows in the world (and as a US viewer extremely refreshing from our own BB). It isn’t the most high class but it isn’t in Flavor of Love territory. As the series progressed from the beginning it has kind of turned into throwing 14-16 crazy people into a house and seeing what happens…but that is why I love it. There is little to no strategy involved and if there is any I personally think it doesn’t alter the show to much. Yes there is obviously producer favoritism and twists to help certain castmates out but if you think this is the only show guilty of that you are quite mistaken. So in no particular order here is number one.

1. LAUNCH NIGHT

What is there not to love about launch night? It is an event like no other. Besides maybe a few minor spoilers, house pictures, and commercials we know next to nothing that is about to happen. The excitement comes right from the start. Davina says her quipy little phrase the crowd cheers and we go right into the NEW intro. Which I am always so excited about. The producers sure know how to put their graphics together especially in the recent seasons.

Then we get Davina talking about the rumors and then it is time to go into the house for the first time. The house tour is great, it is the first real look at the house from a different angle then the pictures. Davina talks about some of the features and some of the quirky little things around, possible hidden things. You start getting the big picture of where these people will be living. Then she brings us into the diary room, usually a huge secret as well (minus last year). However while you are excited about the house it really starts bringing the anticipation of who is going to be here. You want to see them now!

After a quick commercial break it is back the crowd outside. Signs, posters, energy, Davina is usually looking fabulous (and I love her over any other host, she may love her boring blokes and the relationships in the house but you can tell she loves hosting this show) as she teases us just a tiny bit more and then it is on to the housemates.  Whether the housemates end up being the next Nikki Grahame or the next Mohamed doesn’t matter at this point. The editors put together nice VTs for all off them. They say who they are, talk about themselves mixed with popular music… giving you and immediate reaction them. You either love them or hate them already. Sometimes you are in between but you have an idea of who this person is. It is like each person you get is another piece of candy and you start getting disappointed when you realize you only have two or three people left to see. Each person will change or affect the house  in some way whether they are boring or crazy. This is your cast for the summer and with or without a live feed you get some sense to how these people are.

Then immediatly they are thrusted out of their cars into the paparazzi and crowd either accepts them or already wants them to leave. Granted the crowd can be kind of annoying. It is panto and the crowd is easily swayed. However this indication doesn’t necessarily mean how that contestant will do. Sam and Amanda from the eighth series were booed when they came in while Laura was given pretty good cheers. Sam and Amanda ended up in second place while Laura was gone by week five.

Then our new guests head into the house, we see their immediate reaction almost no matter what. It is like they forget for a split second that they are on tv and take a moment to breath and think about what just happened. Then they start discovering the house and start talking with each other and things get more and more exciting as more and more people come in.

In recent series there is also an opening night twist. Whether it be all girls, no suitcases, or the secret couple twist from last summer leaving you hopefully wanting to come back for more.

There is another article tomorrow!

Upfronts 2009 – The CW

I think the original idea was for The CW to be a huge network but I feel like the UPN and The WB just canceled each other out.

Going into its fourth year The CW has kind of made a name for itself that isn’t former WB or UPN shows. Lets take a look.

MONDAY
8-9 pm: Gossip Girl
9-10 pm: One Tree Hill

TUESDAY
8-9 pm: 90210
9-10 pm: Melrose Place

WEDNESDAY
8-9 pm: America’s Next Top Model
9-10 pm: The Beautiful Life

THURSDAY
8-9 pm: Vampire Diaries
9-10 pm: Supernatural

FRIDAY
8-9 pm: Smallville
9-10 pm: America’s Next Top Model Encores

MIDSEASON: Parental Discretion Advised

The most interesting decisions are getting rid of Sunday nights and moving Smallville to Fridays. Even though The CW caters really to woman from 18-34 (why only that I have no idea) if it wants to remain competitive it really shouldn’t take out a whole night.

Moving Smallville to Fridays is an interesting idea. It can be looked at two ways…it is the shows last season so why not end it quietly on Friday or…lets try and build Fridays up into a night of tv. Which has become an interesting network idea. With ABC showing new episodes of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money on Saturdays this summer as well as CBS pushing Harper’s Island to Saturdays I think they are trying to make it slightly more viable. Same with Ghost Whisperer and Medium on Fridays. Will it work? Probably not, it isn’t the 70s anymore but it is an interesting move.

For not being a ratings juggernaut the CW actually has a fairly tight schedule with big shows every night of the week. Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, 90210, America’s Next Top Model, Supernatural, and Smallville are all of their big name shows and all on a different night. So lets take a quick (and I mean quick) look at their three new shows.

Melrose Place: I think in the same vein of 90210 really. Lets take an old hit and remake it for the current generation and hope that the ratings don’t fall like they did for 90210.

The Beautiful Life: Mischa Barton and Corbin Bleu? That is already reason enough to change the channel. It is about models sharing a place in New York….exciting stuff.

The Vampire Diaries: Hey Vampires are in right now! Lets make a tv show about them based on another book series!

Parental Discretion Advised: A girl who has gone from house to house as an orphan wants to be emancipated finds her frat house dad and radio show mom. A judge doesn’t give her her emancipation and they have joint custody of her. Sounds like a half decent plot but I’m sure it will go into a mess of teen drama angst in about three episodes.

Glee Season 1 Premiere “Pilot”

TV Blogs have gone crazy. Not to say that Glee didn’t have a great premier but there are problems with this show, but it seems like everyone likes how different it is that they are looking past these problems.

Now before I get anybody telling me “you didn’t see the extended pilot” well neither did the 9 million other people who watched the whole thing. And if the extended pilot is better then the pilot they aired then FOX should have put it online.

Here are my problems, the show started off way to quickly and was a huge mess. I really still don’t have any idea why Glee Club was restarted and why Will was so invested in it. He just heard that the previous teacher was kicked out and he decided to be in charge of it. Ok where is the motivation? Also the scene where the old teacher was kicked out for molesting went by so fast and so early in the pilot that I wasn’t even quite sure what was going on.

Granted the pilot did pick up as it went along and by the end I could see where the show was headed but I still feel like I don’t really know a lot of the motivations of the characters. Plus I would have jumbled around the ending a bit more. I think Will could have come back to the club after a “6″ or an “7″ performance. Not a nine. Showed that the group had some heart and were finally working together, not that they had a decent piece to present. Then after they came together they should have gone to that competition and seen how good the other schools were and how much they really had to work. Not “Hey Will we did great without you and we only need to do just a little bit more work to be amazing.” So why is Will even needed if Rachel and Finn can put together a better number then he could?

Jayma Mays, Jayne Lynch, and Stephen Tobolowsky stole the show and really are my own motivations to keep watching. Lea Michelle just seems like such a bitch in real life that it is very easy to dislike her character in the show. I don’t feel bad for her because she is obnoxious and full of herself. Am I supposed to root for her or feel happy that she gets eggs thrown at her? I feel happy. Plus if she is basing this off of Tracey Flick from Election then she needs to find some sort of heart because at Reese Witherspoon knows how to make you dislike Tracey Flick but still want to see what she does next (and secretly root for her tormenting Matthew Broderick). I don’t feel that for the character Rachel.

The second half of the pilot worked better but there are some things they need to work on to make me like this show a little more. Yes it is different but different doesn’t necessarily mean good. Plus I don’t like the message that High School is the best years of your life. Which is what Will kind of seems to think. It has a ton of potential and again I’m not saying it was crap. I enjoyed some of it, it just needs to be tweaked.

Upfronts 2009: CBS

CBS knows what it is doing. It may not be the most original network and usually when it takes a risk it is something in the Summer or isn’t that risky after all. I don’t watch anything on this network besides Survivor and The Amazing Race really (I am watching Harper’s Island though but that is gone after this summer).

Procedurals work. America and old people love them, they just usually aren’t my cup of tea. So lets take a look at their new schedule.

Fall

MONDAY
8-8:30 pm: How I Met Your Mother
8:30-9 pm: Accidentally On Purpose
9-9:30 pm: Two and a Half Men
9:30-10 pm: The Big Bang Theory
10-11 pm: CSI Miami

TUESDAY
8-9 pm: NCIS
9-10 pm: NCIS: Los Angeles
10-11 pm: The Good Wife

WEDNESDAY
8-8:30 pm: Old Christine
8:30-9 pm: Gary Unmarried
9-10 pm: Criminal Minds
10-11 pm: CSI:NY

THURSDAY
8-9 pm: Survivor
9-10 pm: CSI
10-11 pm: The Mentalist

FRIDAY
8-9 pm: Ghost Whisperer
9-10 pm: Medium
10-11 pm: Numb3rs

SATURDAY
8-9 pm: Crime Drama Encores
9-10 pm: Crime Drama Encores
10-11 pm: 48 Hours

SUNDAY
7-8 pm: 60 Minutes
8-9 pm: The Amazing Race
9-10 pm: Three Rivers
10-11 pm: Cold Case

MIDSEASON: Miami Trauma, The Bridge, Flashpoint, Undercover Boss, Arranged Marriage, Rules of Engagement

Again I am not to well versed in CBS scheduling. So this will be a thin little article (but just wait until I have to do the CW tomorrow). CBS’s comedy block is always strong, even if I think Two and A Half Men will turn into the next According to Jim. I don’t understand its popularity. It looks like Big Bang Theory got a nice cushy spot after it though and How I Met Your Mother (I lied I actually have seen a few episodes and this show isn’t bad) will now start the night at eight.

Two NCIS in a row? And two procedurals taking place in LA? Hmm odd. I read a quote somewhere though that NCIS: LA will be up against only reality shows so that is why they put it there. So smart move having a the only scripted show of the hour.

Good ploy by ABC saying they were going to pick up Old Christine because CBS is going to hold on to it causing them to not really be able to pick up another show.  Thursday used to be CBS’s powerhouse and slowly they’ve lost ground with CSI not doing very well. Survivor still holds strong going into its 19th and 20th season next year though and regularly beats out its competition. So no real surprise they kept these two where they’ve always at least been reliable. Adding the Mentalist there also doesn’t hurt and it will only be going up against Private Practice now.

I do have to say, though I don’t watch it, I am glad that CBS picked up Medium. I caught a bit of an episode a couple of weeks before and it isn’t awful at all and definitely didn’t deserve the treatment it got from NBC. So good job CBS picking it up and making NBC look like a fool. Putting it with Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs is a good decision, since these two shows are really the only Friday shows that do well.

I am a bit surprised they got rid of Without A Trace and The Unit. I thought both did fairly well. But I guess fairly well doesn’t cut it on CBS.

Now to the new stuff (as in I probably won’t be watching unless it is called Kid Nation 2).

Accidentally on Purpose: Um the story of a woman who gets pregnant by a younger man and then that is the show that is what the whole show is based on. Yup.

Arranged Marriage: Reality documentary show based on arrange marraiges, enough said. I don’t know who would want to do this. I know it isn’t a Married By America show and more of a documentary thing but still.

The Bridge: A police show where a person wants to become the head of the leader of the police union and has to deal with crimes.

The Good Wife: Doesn’t look that bad and Julianna Margulies looks like she is doing a great job. It just doesn’t seem that holding for me. I could see this as a movie and a pilot but where does it go after this? Do we just get muddled in procedural cases? I might actually try this out. If the procedural cases are dynamic enough from week to week and the personal stories are good for Julianna this could be a decent show,

Miami Trauma: A medical show…except this time all the patients are life and death cases.

NCIS: Los Angeles: NCIS spin off enough said. Though NCIS seems to have a little more heart then other procedurals this just doesn’t look much different from it.

Three Rivers: Medical show where people need transplants. Very exciting stuff.

Undercover Boss: I like this idea the high level executive goes undercover in the low level jobs and learn what their employees really think of them and do the grunt work. Could be a good one time watch, don’t know how they could make this a full time series after its initial run.

Upfronts 2009: NBC Part 2

NBC already announced their new shows so I am not going to comment on them again but just on their schedule for the 2009-2010 season. They have a lot of work to do this year here is their schedule.

Fall

MONDAY
8-9 pm: Heroes
9-10 pm: Trauma (new drama)
10-11 pm: Jay Leno

TUESDAY
8-10 pm: The Biggest Loser
10-11 pm: Jay Leno

WEDNESDAY
8-9 pm: Parenthood (new drama)
9-10 pm: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
10-11 pm: Jay Leno

THURSDAY
8-8:30 pm: SNL Weekend Update Thursday
8:30-9 pm: Parks and Recreation
9-9:30 pm: The Office
9:30-10 pm: Community
10-11 pm: Jay Leno

THURSDAY (after SNL ends)
8-8:30 pm: Community
8:30-9 pm: Parks and Recreation
9-9:30 pm: The Office
9:30- 10 pm: 30 Rock
10-11 pm: Jay Leno

FRIDAY
8-9 pm: Law & Order
9-10 pm: Southland
10-11 pm: Jay Leno

SATURDAY
8-9 pm: Dateline NBC
9-10 pm: Trauma repeats
10-11 pm: Law & Order: SVU repeats

SUNDAY
7-8:20 pm: Football Night in America
8:20-11 pm:Sunday Night Football

Midseason
(WINTER OLYMPICS  from February 12-28, 2010 will also be pre-empting some of this)

MONDAY
8-9 pm: Chuck
9-10 pm: Day One (new drama)
10-11 pm: Jay Leno

TUESDAY
8-9:30 pm: The Biggest Loser
9:30-10 pm: 100 Questions (new comedy)
10-11 pm: Jay Leno

WEDNESDAY
8-9 pm: Mercy (new drama)
9-10 pm: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
10-11 pm: Jay Leno

THURSDAY
8-8:30 pm: Community
8:30-9 pm: Parks and Recreation
9-9:30 pm: The Office
9:30- 10 pm: 30 Rock
10-11 pm: Jay Leno

FRIDAY
8-9 pm: Law & Order
9-10 pm: Southland
10-11 pm: Jay Leno

SATURDAY
8-9 pm: Dateline NBC
9-10 pm: Southland repeats
10-11 pm: Law & Order: SVU repeats

SUNDAY
7-8 pm: Dateline NBC
8-9 pm: The Marriage Ref (new reality)
9-11 pm: Celebrity Apprentice

Heroes gets moved down an hour to compete against both House and Dancing With the Stars? Really? Whose great idea was that? I don’t watch Heroes anymore but what a scheduling mess. However taking a note from 24 and Lost, NBC will have a one continues season of Heroes showing all 19 episodes back to back and it will be replaced by Chuck in the spring. Chuck seems to be this seasons Jericho with its renewal hopefully it can do well for its fans and be renewed for more then 13 episodes.

I also am again not a big fan of the Jay Leno at 10 pm. It just seems like NBC is trying to fill space. They took up five hours during the week and then have The Biggest Loser running for two hours as well as the Celebrity Apprentice running for two hours mid-season (and let me tell you I found the 2 hour Celebrity Apprentice episodes to be really boring and stretched out.)

If Parenthood becomes a hit NBC could have a strong Wednesday with SVU matching up with it. I know SVU is at least somewhat popular.

Thursdays are also another strong night for NBC with The Office and 30 Rock. Plus Community is looking good and I’m happy that Weekend Update Thursday is back. Hopefully it can do just as well even if there isn’t a presidential election. It also looks like poor Southland got bumped to Fridays which isn’t a good sign. Its ratings I don’t think have been that great but it seemed like NBC was really trying to pimp it out.

Good idea holding off Mercy until the fall. I personally think it is weaker between it and Trauma but the shows seem so similar it would be odd trying to promote both of them at the same time. The Marriage Ref sounds horrible just by the title and I don’t think that was previously announced and teaming it up with The Celebrity Apprentice won’t do wonders for Sunday nights against CBS, FOX, or ABC.

Kind of surprised that Medium didn’t get picked up after all since I was pretty sure it did and it seems there is going to be some controversy with CBS picking it up or not. Also it looks like Friday Night Lights won’t be aired till summer 2010 except on whatever it did this year? (Was it DirectTV?) It also looks like Deal or No Deal is gone as well as Howie Do It which is a little surprising to me. I thought NBC loved Howie Mandel? Of course I know nothing about it though since I don’t love Howie Mandel.