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The telly: mid-season update
It struck me the other day that, since Sky+, I have, like many others with this or similar digital recording device, opted out of television. We simply programme in that "series link" and watch its booty at our leisure. "Real time" has no meaning. Not working in an office, there is no water cooler around which to discuss "last night's TV" anyway, so what does it matter if I watch Life On Mars on Tuesday night or not? (In point of fact, Life On Mars' series link is set for the BBC4 repeat, so we're a week out with it anyway.) I have The Yellow House recorded - John Simm as Van Gogh - but may not watch it until September. It's there if I should get the urge. I realise this is just a futuristic extension of what used to be called "videoing things", but the ability to record two things at once, while watching a third recorded item back is what truly emancipates the viewer. (Unless, of course, having that many hours' worth of backed-up telly is a tyranny of its own. It's certainly less messy than piles of unlabelled tapes. And the threat of "going over something" - how quaint that sounds now - is removed. I don't wish this to sound like an advert for the recording service I use - others are available.) Anyway, to the point: we're midway through three currently unmissable US imports, and although you may be ahead or behind, this is where we are at (ie. spoilers alert):
The Wire 7/13
Season Four proving as strong as the others, and managing to skilfully balance the corners and the cops with the school. McNulty is pretty much AWOL, due to him settling down and everything. We miss him. But the way they've pushed the likes of Prez and Herc forward, putting Greggs into midfield, while allowing Freamon and Daniels to slip into the back four takes guts that no other long-running show can claim. Omar is doing a deal with Bunk, Namond is mainly just saying "Fuck you" to his teachers. Poor, fucked-looking Bubs is being robbed by his own kind and failed by his protege Sherrod, who has swapped his big white tee for a flak jacket and has turned into that rare thing, a corner boy who takes drugs. And Carcetti is almost-mayor. It's the most ambitious of all the seasons in its scope, and some of the characters have been sacrificed for it, but you can't take your eyes off it. Outstanding.
Heroes 8/23
Mohinder, back in an India that looks a bit like California, is having dreams about his dad. In fact, there are a lot of dreams, including one in which Peter tells Richard Roundtree that he loves him, which was sweet. Isaac is being put back on the smack in order to save the cheerleader with his illustrative skills. Hiro and Ando, improving their English all the time, almost met Syla in a diner. Mika tried to call his mom but got Jessica instead, who's now very much "in the room". Matt, who reminds me of Johnny Dee, and Audrey the FBI woman who was in Blair Witch Project II, almost get burned by a hero who's on his way to Guantanamo Bay. This is a thoroughly engaging series, albeit still somewhat caught between two tonal stools, one of those that would be difficult to slap a certificate on if it were a film. It's sci-fi fun, with darkness on the edge of town.
Nip/Tuck 11/16
Thought Season Four was ending the other week, not having kept up with the numbers, but the one in which Conor had his surgery, which felt like a closer, was not. And now another false ending, with Sean's family finally hightailing it after one of those "novelty" eps, set in the future, with all the characters aged. It was a treat, that only a show as camp as this could pull off. Since the very beginning of this captivating, if glossy, show, I've been waiting for the writers to run out of plastic surgery plotlines. And they never do. Just when you think they've wrung everything out of the characters, they raise the heat another notch. (I expected Christian's gay doubts to go further, but no. Having said that, no supporting character or minor storyline ever actually goes away, so never say never.) It's been great having Peter Dinklage in this series as Marlo (that's two US series with a Marlo), and the stunt casting has been exceptionally strong, with Brooke Shields, Larry Hagman, Rosie O'Donnell, Jacqueline Bisset, even Melissa Gilbert as a patient with a loving relationship with her dog. You need Nip/Tuck as an antidote to The Wire.
I fully expect now to bombarded with pleas to watch House or Shark or 24. Fire away, but bear in mind, that's as much telly as a household can take at the moment. It is, like the Sky+, pretty much full.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 7:30 AM
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We've been exactly the same since we got our Sky HD box.
However for final episodes (Life On Mars especially) we have to make sure we watch them on the night because, as sure as eggs are eggs, someone the next day will blurt out the ending.
I don't entirely trust series links because they occasionally disappear from the planner, especially if it's not on one week due to overpaid people kicking spherical objects around a piece of grass.
Thank goodness for repeats, which is why it's not a good idea series link the repeat showing if you can help it.
Sky+ is a distant far away dream for me. I'm not sure if I should ditch my Murdoch-hating principles over it and fork out the extortionate costs so I don't have to sit through another episode of Help! My Dog's As Fat As Me! again while I eat my dinner.
Luddite that I am, I am too mean to get Sky+, and still haven't worked out how to get my video (yes, that's right, VIDEO) to tape shows from my Freeview box. I still also listen to tapes and vinyl on my thirteen-year-old Sony hi-fi as it's so old, I can't connect it to my fairly ancient computer to burn all the tracks onto iTunes.
I need to get hip to the 21st century.
Funny you should mention House as it has become a bit of a must see for me. I love the interactions between House and the other characters and best of all, the mystery element of the strange symptoms leading to the eventual diagnosis. Just like you, Andrew, waiting for the writers to run out of plastic surgery plotlines, I keep wondering how many more weird and wonderful symptoms the scriptwriters of House can come up with. I would also love to know from anyone with a medical background if these illnesses could actually happen. I tend to feel that they could because I'm sure that thorough research would have gone into the show first. Anyway, a highly enjoyable show for me.
Working in an office is no guarantee of a water-cooler moment discussing any of the above shows - at least not in the office I work in.
They prefer Hollyoaks as it's 'more real' to the sci-fi fantasy of Life on Mars and the like.
As an aside, any chance of reviewing DVDs of Homicide: Life on the Street and NYPD Blue?
Oh, and watched all on NGO now. Hilarious stuff, glad it's getting the recognition it deserves.
I know exactly what you mean about sky+. It becomes second nature to simply schedule shows to the hard drive. Before long, you have an extensive library of TV shows waiting to be watched, but just little time to see them. It is not unusual to delete shows from the device without even viewing them.
You know how some sky channels (such as Discovery, UK Gold etc) have dedicated +1 hour stations to allow us to catch up on shows; wouldn't it be good if the BBC had +1 day channels using the same concept? Too many times I find out I've missed a great BBC Four documentary that aired the previous evening.
We're struggling to fit in watching everything. We have a BT vision box (we trialed it, so it cost nothing!), which initially i didn't trust, but we now have weeks worth of CSIs, Kidnapped, Life on Mars and NCIS, as well as lots of music like Live at Abbey Road. In fact I just checked, and there is 53 hours of stuff. We also have two 24 box sets, and two series of Early Doors to watch. I need to retire. Or give up sleep. Imagine what I'd be like if I had all those Sky channels and not 'super-council' TV, or a freeview box as it's known ('council' TV of course being the five basic channels!).
I don't know how people can watch so much telly. The last thing I watched was This Life +10, and before THAT, Eurovision last May. I had to go to my friend's house to do that. Sure, I watch a lot of films on my laptop, but I feel so much freer since giving TV up. It used to stress me out, sort of. Doesn't it feel oppressive having so much to keep up with? It's all purposely addicting, you know.
Battlestar Galactica. Honest. Nuffink like the silly nonsense from the late 1970s. Instead it's a reflection of modern day society, and probably the best show about politics since Bartlet left office.
Boy, there is too much to watch - but that's the great thing about the shiny discs in boxes.
Kidnapped is turning out to be a corker. Cancelled in the US, so there are only 13 episodes. C4 is showing them as double bills. The odd thing is, because of the way the story plays out, if they showed one episode a week, I probably would have given up. Two together - running one into the other - works so much better.
If you get a chance, watch Homicide: Life on the Street. But if you get DVDs, go for the Region 1 boxset with all seven years. What Fremantle are doing over here is a bloody disgrace.
Glad you're still on track with The Wire. Since co-creator Ed Burns became a teacher after re retired from the Baltimore PD it really has the inside track.
This sounds exactly like my house where I have 8 episodes of Heroes to catch up on, 3 Life on Mars. Thankfully up to date on Adam Curtis docs and 24. But The Shield started again this week and the final episodes of The Sopranos start on Sunday...
And now depending which box you have (HD and in the future 3rd Gen Sky+ Boxes) Sky send stuff to your box overnight. At least they come advert free! We did get Lost and four brilliant Tom and Jerry Cartoons this week.
Of course if the box had not failed to record this weeks Life on Mars we would be totally happy!
Ian
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