Britain's Got Talent Semi Final 3

Forget the fact that semi final's in any other competion would have ended after the second show, as semi finals normally consist of the final four over two matches. Putting that aside tonights show as Simon put it could be car crash TV, thank goodness for another Semi Final.

Up first were Harmony who were brilliant apart from the fact they couldn't harmonise. Very energetic nice dance, shame about the singing part of the performance. Again Amanda proved she was severly lacking in any kind of ability to judge. She thought the singing was excellent, she wasn't pleased when Simon critisiced the singing immediatly.

Piers has found his second act for his new management company joining DJ Talent is Kay the man who plays the saxophone,.......without a saxophone. He makes the noise with mouth and nose. This is one of those joke acts that get through for public humiliation, not great but strangely entertaining. Simon hated it and buzzed straight away, as the big boss makes me wonder why he allowed this guy through. Oh yeah the public humiliation part.

The third act on stage tonight The Ballroom Dancing Siblings, not their official name. A pretty nice routine, not outstanding, but ok. They are hopeful but.......

Simon doesn't like it he makes another girl cry, he's on fire!!!

Fourth up is Swansea schoolboy Shaeenennnenennnnn Jagoglekojoosaodjeiiijriiiiy. A talented kid but will prove to be incredibly annoying I imagine. Could this be another one that Simon makes cry.

Starts to sing and seems to be off the beat of the track.

Wow this kid lacks stage presence...his feet are glued to the floor. I don't like him, good vocal so the praise is gonna be crazy good, standing ovation from Simon.

Piers thinks it is the best singing performance in the Semi Final, better than Boyle? The world will not be pleased!

Amanda loves it as well, she pins his ability on something in the Welsh water. He is better than Tom Jones apparently.

Simon think Shaeen is a contender for the title. Here we go again, Dancing prodigy last year Singing prodigy this year!

Whoever has to follow that won't be happy.

Oh it is 3 farmers with wheelbarrows doing some strange free running esque dance with wheelbarrows.... but it is 3 farmers, they did well considering they had to fit in practice round their 12 hour a day jobs. 2 buzzes from Piers and Simon, of course Amanda loved it! She bloody would.

Next up is Liverpool dance troupe with a political message. They've just tributed it to two dead kids. Can't see any critiscism here. Big production, impressive, but to me it seemed repetitive.

Simon loved it, Piers thought the message was great and liked their passion. Amanda..who cares what she says!!! This could get lost in the mix, middle of the show performance having followed Shaeen, could be tricky, they may sneak through in second place. Compared to Flawless and Diversity not as good.

Up now is Floral Highnotes a unique act to say the least. A man arranging flowers while a woman sings opera. She's good, can't really judge the flower arranging, not really a "talent" I am familiar with. It is possible the crowd are booing! Simon has buzzed them. Yeah there is a lot of booing.

Piers likes the culture aspect, he has a dig at Simon again, about the 4th time tonight. Piers thinks the act is right up The Queen's street.

Amanda of course loves it!

Simon is about to unleash......Simon wants the flower arranger to make a car!!!!! yes he said it. He thinks even he could have made the arrangement the flower guy made, i'd have to agree with him. Simon is on the money tonight.

Up now is Stavros Flatley, as it stands I think the second place will be between them and MD dance troupe the ones with the political message. Here we go final act, hillarious if they get through!

The judges seem to love it but it is a fat man and is son dancing a cross between irish dancing and greek dancing, enjoyed the Greek music. It is meant to be comedy dancing, didn't make me laugh. Though they are brilliant people, great guy's. We shall see.

The phone lines have just opened, Prediction: Shaeen is a lock, and I expect the rule of last to go on stage is guarenteed a passage to the final will continue with Stavros Flatley.

The results are in..........

The winner of this Semi Final is ..........Stavros Flatley???????? Wow!!!!!!!! Love it!!!!

The next two acts with the most votes to go to the judges decison are......

Shaeen and MD

Simon chooses..... (He's gonna makes someone cry here no matter what) MD

Amanda chooses........Shaeen

Piers chooses............. Shaeen...he made some girls cry.. high drama

Ha ha Simon did make Shaeen cry sad his friends have gone out.

Finalists are Stavros Flatley and Shaeen the wunderkind singer.

BGT The Finalists so far

Susan Boyle




Diversity



Flawless



Shaun Smith

BGT Semi Final 2

A theme running through tonights show was the incessant chatter from the judges that Susan Boyle had better watch out, she has competition. Well does that ring true in tonights 2nd Semi final? the answer would be a resounding no! As Simon said himself there was a lot of junk out there tonight, among the junk was a drag fat man, nervous guy, not so hot honeyz, and DJ funny but no talent. There were a couple of acts in the middle though they had talent were not amazingly entertaining, The Ventriloquist and the Magician. A nice name for a pub, watch your woes dissapear as you drink our finest ales.

That leaves us with Sean Smith X Factor avoider and Flawless the dance act that made a mistake. Can these two if they go through really contend with the populous internet sensation Susan Boyle.

The likely hood would be these two going through tonight as I wait for the results. The Geordie duo have announced the phone lines are now closed so we don't have long to wait.

The First Semi finalist through to the final with the most votes is...................................................


No surprise it is Flawless!

The two acts fight it out for the judges decision are...........................................................................


Shaun Smith and Gareth Oliver..... This should be interesting.......I can't see anything other than a clean sweep for Shaun here, they really loved him.

Simon goes for............... Shaun

Piers..................Gareth, he likes the more variety style act.

Amanda............ doesn't like making young people cry, so goes for Shaun.

Shaun is in the final!


Gareth a gracious loser, wishes Shaun all the best for the final and will vote for him, a class act.

The question that arises again is anyone going to stop the juggernaut that is Boyle!

What do you think?

S.Darko.

Ok so i took the plunge and spent just over an hour and forty minutes of my life engrossed in the sequel to 2001's cult classic Donnie Darko; this decision was mostly brought on by seeing Donnie Darko on BBC2 last night and remembering just how enamored i was with it when i first saw it.

Some films are just ripe for sequels Donnie Darko was not one of them; and this horrible clunky botch job proves the point explicitly. 

S.Darko follows Donnie's sister (Daveigh Chase reprises her role) who has left home distraught at her brothers death; she goes on a road trip (I think?) with her friend. This is all i could fathom from the plot because as soon as the pair end up in small town America the film spews off into a weird student film inspired territory from which it never returns. 

The script is utterly appalling; and the acting is abhorrent, its not often you have to turn away from the screen in horror at the sheer ineptitude of the performers.  Ed Westwick is without doubt the worst culprit (he's that guy from Gossip Girl) He plays the same character in this; he's that good looking guy with stubble who takes 3 second pauses between words "so.... you wanna.... have a good.... time." It's horrible. 

There are small nuances from Donnie Darko like the rabbit head and the word "Darko." That's about it. 

And when you think it couldn't get any worse Nathan Scott from One Tree Hill turns up and throws in the worst performance by an actor i've ever seen, it was like he was taken out of a hospital 10 minutes after a serious brain operation and told to read lines. He looks like he has no idea what the film is called let alone his characters motivation. IT IS HORRIBLE. 

I can't even begin to stress how bad this film is, its apocalyptically bad; its Scream 3 bad; its got Elizabeth Berkley in it bad. 

Donnie Darko certainly challenged with its intelligence; this is so down right stupid it challenged my will to live. 

Please please don't watch this. 

0/10

BGT SBOYLE SPORTS

The Britain's Got Talent semi finals began tonight and we have no doubt who the producers are supporting. Susan Boyle was in the favorable position of performing last. The sheer gaul of BGT to make this decision and think we the viewer are not aware that her position was anything other than a producer's selection is shocking. Does she really need any more help?? She has already had 100 million viewers on youtube, has appeared on Oprah and has had name drops on South Park and The Simpsons. She is a guarentee to win the competition which is a shame for all the other acts who think they are even in with a chance. With Susan Boyle known around the world Simon cannot wait to milk that cash cow. Her moments of madness may put that to end we will see. She seems a bit body popping mental.

All of the above was reaffirmed when the results for Semi Final 1 were revealed and Boyle was the act with the most votes and is through to the final.

The judges choice revealed more than just the second finalist. In a straight shoot out between talented dance troupe Diversity and sickly cutesy future x factor loser Natalie Okri the judges were split. Piers went for the flawless Diversity and their intelligent storytelling in their dance sequence. Amanda Holden went for Okri, what did we learn? Amanda Holden clearly bases her decisions on cuteness and not talent, she fears the hard decisions.

The night was saved when Simon made the decision that everyone wanted...... he made a little girl cry. Forget about the brilliant Diversity going through.....Simon made a little girl cry.

On Britain's Got More Talent the house band was the brilliant The Brett Domino Trio. I was still holding hope that they were in the Semi Finals but alas no. If I ever get a chat show they will be my Paul Schaffer.

Glee Pilot Premiere

For those looking out for the next American import to rival and compete with the likes of One Tree Hill, Smallville, Gossip Girl look no further than Glee. The pilot of the show aired last night in the U.S. and will be hitting the screen in the fall, it is well worth the wait. It surpasses the aforementioned completion, it is an intelligent fresh look at high school melodrama. It also surprised me with the humour content it was genuinely funny, it has a sharp tongue and has well rounded characters with a depth that shone through in the pilot. I look forward to the autumn when this show returns full time.

Glee

The new show from Nip Tuck creator Ryan Murphy starts on the 19th. Pulled in by the original teaser trailer featuring the power ballads of all ballads Journey's Don't Stop Believin'. This show as the potential to be the next big show, harnessing the incredible popularity of High School Musical and jamming it into a more adult framework. Time will tell whether Don't Stop Believin' will bookend the ending of one great show (The Sopranos) and the beginning of another. However it does have all the ingredients; high school cliques, Jock with a heart and a soul for singing, tracy flick esque high achiever, sassy black girl; crippled kid; a caring teacher, caring teachers nutty wife and the brilliant Jane Lynch as a sardonic Cheerleading coach.

The business savvy people at Fox have made the smart move of debuting the show after the finale of American Idol which regularly pulls in 20 million plus viewers. Combined with the move to release the songs sung in the show on I Tunes directly after the show finishes someone should be making some cash/money.




It could become as hard to miss this show as it is to be water boarded.

BBC's Infamous Snooker Broadcast 1997

It's Dragons Den... but not as we know it (or like it)

Dragons Den is a top Program.  The combination of straight talking, frankly arrogant millionaires with sweaty cheap suited northern monkeys making a fool of themselves with terrible inventions is hard to beat.  You know what they say... If it aint broke don't fix it. 

Well the BBC have tried to fix it, ok so they haven't taken Dragons off the TV and a new series will be returning soon with exactly the same formula, but they have created a online only spin off which is as dull as four day old dishwater. 

I watched about 15 minutes of the first episode and i knew exactly what i was dealing with, the dragons den formula with rotten production values and a couple of complete no marks as "Dragons." 

It's kind of hard to explain why i don't like this show, its the same as the one i do like, but it had a CBBC feel, especially the grainy establishing shot of the "pitchers" in a lift. It was kind of like they were being held captive by a terrorist. 

The first pitcher was a complete moron; his invention was a couple of wheels stuck to the bottom of a chair, so people with disabilities could "tuck themselves" under the table after sitting down.  The only thing going for this was the word "disabled," everything else about the "invention" was a joke. 

I would happily have paid the guy the full amount just to get out of my sight! 

I guess if you've got half an hour spare, or your at a loose end this is a decent pithy filler, but otherwise its drab, and theres "bonus" content from Dominic Byrne (who the F is that?!) He looks and sounds like a bald Rufus Hound (that rhymes!) and he's even less funny (i know, hard to believe right.) 

One to avoid... mainly. 

6/10

Glenn Beck How Crazy American News Can be!

Fox news has developed over the last 8 years the reputation as the mouthpiece for the George W. Bush administration. However since the emergence of Obama and the democrats in all forms of U.S. governance then Fox News as come out as the extreme anti normal opinion. Now anything they disagree with is now A) Socialism B) Fascism C) SCARY!!!!
When was some socialism a bad thing, looking around the world the U.K., France and Canada seem to be ok with our socialist healthcare system. Though it does seem like Gordon Brown is an evil dictator.
Anyway take a look at this clip from the Glenn Beck show. Remember this is meant to be a show on a news network. This will be the first in a series of pieces analysing Fox News and how it delivers it's news.

Fischler Finally Gets His Break

I knew it would happen; I've been waiting for it to happen for a long long time now; and i couldn't be more delighted that it has. Patrick Fischler has finally hit the big time.  The actor popped up over the last fortnight in two fantastic episodes of LOST as Dharma worker 'Phil,' and he's also been hilarious as Jimmy Barret in this season of Mad Men.

I first noticed Fischler as a video store clerk in the film Ghost World and since then i've been hooked, looking out for his quirky cameos all over the place, secretly yearning for him to actually take on a leading role, something he would easily be capable of. 

Though his two most recent stints aren't his first shots at the TV big time, their certainly his most notable, and they couldn't be more different. On Mad Men he's a shlocky comedian, insulting everyone in his path and incredibly difficult to control. His Lost role is far more understated as the increasingly suspicious and expressive Phil. He plays both roles with just the right amount of quirk, something he possess in spades. 

Even with his growing acclaim, i will probably best remember him for his incredible turn in Mullholland Dr. As a man afflicted by a waking dream, check it out! 

American Idol final .....13?????

We have the final 13 for American Idol and we already know who will win.

Without trying to be cynical - the blind guy has got it wrapped up. There was blind guy on Big Brother UK last summer but he avoided winning by being a complete asshole. We Brits seem more than happy to put someone to the sword regardless of their situation.
But America I doubt would vote a blind man off. Especially as he is a nice chap. So as long as he doesn't drop any F or N bombs then congrats to Scott Mcintyre.

Advert Anonymous

Ever get the feeling you've made a huge mistake? Duffy has, i think it probably came after she watched the world premier of her new Diet Coke ad, which, without a shadow of a doubt, is one of the most nauseating two minutes i've had the pleasure of watching so far this year.

Questions:

1) What is she wearing? The most unflattering outfit i've ever seen, did she pull this out of Kate Bosworth's wardrobe, a size zero she is not

2) What is wrong with her face? I've seen Duffy before but i've never noticed that she looks like a demented clown.

3) What is that noise? Apparently It's Duffy's voice; She has sold millions of albums and won Brit Awards a plenty, but this is ear bleeding stuff, a strangled cat is being far to kind.

4) Why is she riding a racing bike? It's ridiculous, whoever pitched this must have been on a bender with Amy Winehouse the night before.

5) Why does she ride through a supermarket? It's irrelevant.

Verdict: 0/10 - The worst, most pointless advert i've seen this year, and I'm surprised its come from a billion dollar company like coke... they should know better. Duffy should issue a full and frank public apology for this, and until i get one I'm not sure i'll drinking much coke.

Conan O'Brien signs off from Late Night

Friday night saw Conan's final appearance as the host of Late Night.  The following clip is a video of Conan's favourite skit from his 16 year tenure.

Freaky Eaters (BBC Three, Saturday 7pm)

The new season of Freaky Eaters started last week, and to be honest its the kind of show i usually avoid; I can't stand shows where 'psychologists' 'treat' 'people' by 'confronting' them with their worst 'fears.'  BBC Three is actually a huge culprit, Spendaholics for example was a complete mess of a show.  How does filling a room with potatoes and saying "this is how many potatoes you could have bought with the money you spent on that dress" cure anyone? It doesn't. 

The difference with Freaky Eaters is at least you can laugh your head off at the poor sap who can't put a vegetable past their lips without gagging. This episode was no different it was hilarious.  It was about Bolton lass Nikita who was addicted to Bacon and Burgers; supposedly brought on by a mugging. The show consisted of scene after scene of Nikita trying to eat different foods before gagging and spitting them out. I think you'll agree this is just the kind of TV you want to settle down with over a nice take away.

Turns out Nikita used to enjoy signing as a child; cue one of the most humiliating, cringe inducing, but frankly laugh a second scenes i've seen on television this year. They make a now heavily overweight and under-confident Nikita dress up in a prom dress, take her to the clothes show in Birmingham, and have her sing "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. 

Guess what, she can't do it, she bursts out in tears while small utterances and squeaks emerge from her gullet, it was kind of like watching her eat. More to the point what in gods name has this got to do with an eating disorder. After i stopped laughing, i suddenly started to feel an incredible remorse; what has this poor lass done to deserve being humiliated on television in-front of thousands of people.  Passing this kind of tat off as Psychology is bordering on offensive. If it wasn't such good TV i'd be writing to the Daily Mail. 

This episode is still available on Iplayer as we speak and i highly recommend a watch; plus you get to see the greatest town in Britain in all its filth encrusted glory. 

7/10

Conan O'Brien

Coninuing our tribute to Late Night with Conan O'Brien here is  a look at Conan giving a lucky audience member a tour of 30 Rockefeller Centre.

Conan runs through 30 Rockefeller Center - watch more funny videos

Another great clip; How Conan and the gang kept their sanity during the writers strike.

Conan O'Brien Plays Rock Band - A funny movie is a click away

Conan O'Brien

As Conan's tenure on Late Night comes to a close before he moves to the coverted Tonight Show we are going to take a look at some highlights from his 16 years as king of late night.

Important Things With Demetri Martin

Demetri Martin first came to the worlds attention on Comedy Centrals The Daily Show. He was the youth reporter and investigated all things yoof in his segment Trendspotting.
He now has his own series on Comedy Central wednesdays at 10pm called Importnat Things With Demetri Martin. 

Here is a brilliant segment from one of Demetri's early appearances on The Daily Show.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Trendspotting

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

Coleen's Real Women and Media Nepotism

After flicking around the tv schedule the rags to riches story that is Coleen Rooney jumped out at me. The first thought that came to me was, if Wayne Rooney the ubiquitous footballer had his own show Wayne's Real Men that would be the greatest piece of tv since well Coleen's real women. Whereas Coleen looks to make the "average" woman the catwalk queen, I feel Wayne's hunt for the next great shakespearan actor amongst home and away football fans could be gripping.

The question arises from Coleen's show - is what makes a woman attractive? In this episode she pits her "real women" against the professional models to decide who might have the chance to advertise magnum ice creams. First of all these "real woman" are all beautful women - how real the experiment is may be questionable, are magnum merely using the show for promotion, well of course they are.  However this show demonstrates something intersting. This show demonstrates the imporantance of opportunity.

Throughout the media industry who gets work and careers appears to be all about opportunity, who you know and who they know. 

Coleen for example, who it appears is natuaral on camera and as presenters go she is not at all bad. She has however got the job purely because of opportunity. She happened to grow up in the same area of Liverpool as part neanderthal part footballing genius. Wayne was fortunate to avoid any serious injury and sailed his way to the top of his profession. Coleen his long term girlfriend and now wife went along for the ride. As fame drew itself to Wayne so it did for Coleen, she slowly grew her profile by just existing. She seemingly developed an everywoman profile which appealed to a brethren and was enhanced by Wayne's indiscretions. In being Wayne Rooney's girlfriend and becoming famous she had opportunity thrust upon her from all angles. 
She comes from a poor background and with no familar legacy in media and has become a sucess. She is now passing this on to the "real women" in her show.

Nepotism is rampant in media, as represented by Richard and Jusy's erstwhile "doing it on my own" daughter Chole, who took up a job on their show on channel 4 and now as a reporter on their barely watched "new position". According to a report in the Daily Mail "Chloé claims she has the talent to succeed despite her name. She told BBC Breakfast: 'When it occurred to me that I wanted to go into TV, it was a proper decision because if I said yes the nepotism claims would start storming in."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1132142/THATS-got-lingerie-contract-Chlo-Madeley-parties-night-away-low-cut-LBD.html 

She has the audacity to claim it is not nepotism but then  accepts jobs on her parent's shows. If we were in the same position we would surely all take every advantage of the opportunity we were given, it is a shame she cannot admit it herself.

I think everyone has an ability in some form to create a place for themselves in the media industry whether it be behind the scenes or infront of the camera, if given the chance. I have experience of this myself going for a job with virgin media television. Though I didn't get the job I asked about work experience, they told me that they rarely gave that out and if they did it was for relatives of those who already work there.

It remains to be seen whether Chole will make the most of the opportunity presented to her by her parents, if she doesn't no doubt Carol Vorderman's children will be waiting in the wings to seize their opportunity.

Snog, Marry Avoid (BBC Three, Mondays)

The second season of 'Snog, Marry Avoid' started on BBCThree last night (yeah, i missed the first season as well!) It's basically a show of that game you played in school, where you'd sit on a bench and say to your mate "would you hit that?" about every girl that walked by. Unfortunately this show isn't that basest; but its entertaining non-the-less. 

It revolves around dragging a load of deluded Jodie Marsh wannabes, in front of a 'computer' to slag them off to high heaven about their orange skin, before giving them an incredibly underwhelming Rikki Lake style 'make-under.' In the mean time they ask a bunch of horny blokes off the street if they would Snog, Marry Avoid the subject; all of them say avoid. 

Last night was interesting only for the fact that they had Chantelle Houghton from Celebrity Big Brother as one of the victims. I simply had no idea what a mess this girl had made of herself. I remember her as a naive blonde who disgraced herself by marrying that muppet who walked off Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Now she looks like Jodie Marsh's little sister, complete with disgusting fake breasts, bright orange 'tan', greasy hair extensions and painted on eye brows. 

They attempt to make her look 'normal' but its impossible, she is too far gone. What a waste of money, though im sure it sold a few copies of Zoo.

6/10

Dollhouse (Fridays Fox)

Joss Whedon's latest venture 'Dollhouse' premiered across the pond last night, and i have to admit i was fairly excited about seeing the pilot. Whedon is certainly a man with talent; something he displays in the last few seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which, despite its quirky birth, turned into a dark and compelling series by the time it finished a few years back. 

Dollhouse has Wheadon in his element; Sci-Fi. It revolves around a group of Girls (and men i believe, though i couldn't tell in the Pilot) who are implanted with differing personalities and skills to allow them to carry out various missions at the behest of 'clients.' These missions could be spending a night with a guy or as we saw in this episode, rescuing the daughter of a rich business man. 

I couldn't have been more underwhelmed by this show; the star Eliza Dushku is nice enough to look at, but this is a role that demands she pull off many different personalities, and when she has her memory wiped, she must be robotic blank canvas. She can do neither, she simply doesn't have the range. Ironically I'm sure Sarah Michelle Geller would have been much better. 

The other "doll" is none other than Katya Kinski from Neighbours, who is one of the worst actresses i have ever seen in my life; how she has managed to command such a role should be documented in history books. That or she has a personal relationship with Whedon that hasn't yet surfaced. 

The show is all over the place, and the all important set up flashes by like lightning, it left me feeling totally confused and uninterested.  When Dushku, or 'Echo' as she is known in the series, takes on her first mission she is simply identical to the vacuous personality free 'doll' she plays when stumbling around the 'dollhouse.'  Shows live and die by their casting, and unfortunately i suspect this show will fall on the sword before we see its second season. 

There are some nice performances, Harry J. Lennix is brilliant as Echo's 'Handler' (hmm kinda like watchers in Buffy) and Rushmore Alum Olivia Williams throws down a solid turn as the manager of the operation. 

It's not enough though, make no mistake this was weak, uninspired nonsense.  A good looking cast does not make up for a lightweight story and terrible acting. As with 'Fringe' i certainly won't be rushing back to see another episode of this tat. 

4/10

Phoenix evokes Kaufman

Joaquin Phoenix is one of my all time favourite actors, but if his 'career transition' moves in the way i hope it does then he will almost certainly go down as a Hollywood legend.  Phoenix appeared on the fantastic David Letterman show this week looking disheveled, unkempt and frankly homeless.  He mumbled through one word answers and chewed gum throughout.  He gave the aura of a Hollywood A lister who has hit the hard stuff and gone into complete and utter meltdown. Lets face it the guy has form, he did spend a period in rehab for alcohol addiction a few years back, but if the hushed stories coming from 'sources'  who are 'close' to Phoenix are to be believed then this is all part of an elaborate hoax, which will make up part of a 'mockumentary' to be directed by Phoenix's brother in law Casey Affleck. 

Analysing the video, i suspect you could form an opinion either way; there are certainly moments in the video where Phoenix is supressing laughter and at the end of the interview Letterman is heard to say "good job" before the actor removes his shades and starts a conversation; on the other hand, Letterman certainly appears to grow tired of the skit by the end of the interview and his chewing gum comments certainly were not throw away. I haven't seen him smash a guest to pieces like this since his infamous 90's interview with Marilyn Manson.

This isn't the first time a performer has gone about his business this way; who can forget Andy Kaufman and his infamous stunts and skits which made him a huge star in the States.  He even appeared in eerily similar fashion on the Letterman show many moons ago....

Christian Bale interviews George W. Bush

A Bale of Bush - watch more funny videos

Generation Kill, Sundays, 10pm, FX.

Generation Kill continues tonight and it is turning out to be another sublime piece of television from HBO. Written and produced by the creaters of The Wire it follows a group of marines who are at the forefront of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. If you haven't seen The Wire then get on that quickly, if you have you will be familiar with the open end forumalic style of the show. Unlike most U.S. shows the structure of the episode doesn't have to adhere to adbreaks and the need to wrap each episode up in 1 hour. Generation Kill like The Wire is a novel and each episode is a chapter, which unfolds steadily and at its own pace. Doing so allows incredible characterisation and evolution of the world on screen. Generation Kill is based on the book of the same name which was adapted from a series of editorials in Rolling Stone magazine written by Evan Wright. Wright was inbedded within the marines and his accounts of war provide an unsanctioned view of the reality and hardships that these marines had to fight under. The lack of equipment is staggering (No desert camoflage, not enough batteries to operate night equipment to name two) The ineptitude of superior officers is horrifying. It is a stunning series that should now be the barometer of all future tv or film projects based on the Iraq war.

Highlight of the Past Week (BBC Breakfast)

Open your ears and enjoy the moment the BBC 'mistakenly' played Christian Bale's now infamous rant unedited in the early hours of the morning. 

The reaction of the flabbergasted 'news readers' is hilarious. The clip is followed by a groveling apology, clearly designed to ensure the Daily Mail and its pompous middle class twin set and pearl morons didn't start a virulent hate campaign, as they have done with Jonathan Ross and Carole Thatcher.

Kitchen Nightmares USA (Channel 4 9PM)

Wow, It's been a bad few months for Gordon Ramsay. A year or so ago Ramsay was the crown prince of British TV chefs; loud, brash, but ultimately an entertaining personality and an incredibly talented chef. Fast forward a few months and he's been revealed as a love rat ripe for a roasting on the casting couch of Jeremy Kyle. His adultery has not gone down well, and to be honest i wouldn't be surprised if he slowly melts off our screen gradually in a slow painful death; that would be a shame because despite his misgivings off screen, i do enjoy watching him on the screen. 

It got worse for Ramsay last week when his 'Great British Nightmares' vehicle, part of Channel 4's underwhelming 'Great British Food Fight,' caused a flood of complaints for the sheer amount of swearing pouring out of Ramsays gullet.  I'm not offended in the slightest by swearing; but to be honest 'Great British Nightmares' was a patched together, poorly made show, that gave free reign to some really unsavoury characters who swore more than Joe Pesci in Casino. 

Kitchen Nightmares is usually a great watch; seeing Ramsay transform the fortunes of a run down restaurant into a success story in a couple of weeks, and in the process creating some quality cooks is a joy to see.  Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the nauseating American version of the show.  

Since when did Gordon become a counsellor? The American show has him spend more time in dimly lit back rooms giving relationship advice to broken families and trying to save marriages on the brink, than actually teaching these deluded 'chefs' how to cook. 

In tonights episode he actually gets a son to write a letter to his dad, this is in between his usual impromptu demonstrative rants to camera in a back alley while the kitchen behind him explodes.

The show only comes to light when Ramsay gets in the face of a complete dunce of a chef who blames Gordon because he couldn't cook a fried egg.  Like many of these modern 'reality' shows real liberties are taken with the editing, creating situations and events that clearly didn't happen; its so obvious a ten year old could see the plot holes. 

Get Ramsay back in the Kitchen and out of the bloody Samaritans and we might just save this guys career before it explodes in all our faces. 

6/10

Mark Dolan Worlds...... and me

Whilst watching a dire merseyside derby in the F.A Cup replay, I flicked around to numb my boredom of what is normally a great game. Mark Dolan who I am familiar with from Balls of Steel and I briefly saw a part of the first in this series - which followed child geniuses. This time Mark was meeting the worlds most enhanced women. Yes you are asking the right question, Why? Well apparently Mark is very interested in the vacuous world of gigantic breast augmentation. Mark wanders along like a kid on a field trip to the natural history museum, gawping in amazment and feighing interest in equal measure. What strikes me most is this is Louis Theroux on valium -  the topics aren't outrageous, he asks questions, but they never provide anything innsightful. He comes across as a nice chap but you are left wondering why he is even there. His background is in comedy, so maybe this is a complete genius show I am not getting, where he is mocking everyone in his films. The one thing he seemed to establish in his closing monologue was that these women were being pushed by men. The epitome of this theory was represented in a very short man with a very large complex, highlight of my viewing was Mark standing opposite short man asking him if he was trying to act out his fantasies. The man who had a permanent scowl may or may not have been amused by this.

Advert Anonymous

WOW!!! This is just awful - these are supposed to bring joy according to the tag line. The problem is when in you make one of the most iconic adverts of all time, the gorilla ad set the bar too high. You cannot follow this up with a bunch of cars driving around an airport, then two brats raising eyebrows. Fallon are a great creative agency but after such an amazing advert with the Gorilla ad you have to be on the top of your game to keep that kind of quality up for a whole series of ads. Perhaps sticking with the animal theme would have been wiser, animals doing amazing things would have brought more smiles to people and help relate back to the original iconic ad.
Ideas that come to me now that would tie in with the animal theme are as follows.

1) A giraffe. Start on a close up on the eyes which slowly pulls out to see a giraffe wearing a helmet and sat in a race car with it's limbs poking out. Racing lewis hamitlon or in the desert breaking the sound barrier. Or driving a delorean before reaching 88 and travelling through time - we see the Giraffe's life in fast forward before returning to present day in the desert. To the music from this video



2) A lion. Close up on the lions eyes. Slowly pulling out to reveal the Lion stood in the doorway of an airplane high up about to sky dive. The lion jumps and starts to perform a series of skydiving stunts. With this music to accompany it. The Lion to jump from the plane on 16 secs.



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Todd Carty living legend

With such a busy weekend of tv action here is the fourth update today.

Todd Carty is fast becoming the tv highlight reel for 2009 by himself. Here is another clip of his magic.

The Office

In my opinion, as much as I like the UK version it's U.S. counterpart as surpassed his ancestor. Last night after the Superbowl the latest episode aired with an opening scene which was one of the funniest scenes in any Office episode on either side of the Atlantic. With the office failing to listern to Dwight (The Fire Marshall) regarding fire safety Dwight resorts to teach his colleagues a lesson by setting up a real life simulation. It is a must see.




Here is an Office extra:

Superbowl 43 off the field

Despite many highlights on the field, there were a few off it too. On the BBC's coverage lead presenter Jake Humphreys struggling forever and an age with the pronunciation of Steeler QB Ben Roethilsberger. Though he did manage to pronounce pundit Rod Woodson's name correctly an area he failed with last year when legend Jerry Rice was the pundit for the BBC.

However the greatest moment of this Superbowl and possibily any Superbowl in history was a moment so perfect, so random that words can not describe. The surprise is that it didn't take place on the field during the game but in the Half time show. Thank you Bruce.

Superbowl 43

After last years miracle in the final minutes from Eli Manning and David Tyree how could we top that? Yet Superbowl 43 matched last years majesty with an exciting match up with Arizona coming back from a 13 point deficit to lead with just a few minutes remaining. At half time and into the 3rd quarter the Cardinals looked out of it but rallied with some incredible catches from Larry Fitzgerald leading Arizona on the brink of history. 
However with enough time on the clock Big Ben drove the Steelers down the field in an 8 play 78 yard drive with a final pass to Santonio Holmes who pulled in a fading pass in the back right of the end zone in spectacular fashion. Holmes has been the Steelers dangerman throughout the playoffs and seeled the victory by somehow getting both his feet down in bounds as he fell out with three Cardinal defenders nearby. Larry Fitzgerald has to feel hard done by for losing out on the MVP which invariably goes to a player on the winning team. Larry played a stellar game, though marked out of it for the first half the offence worked well in the second half and it was Fitzgerald who produced two moments of magic to take his team into the lead. Number 11's second touchdown giving him the record for most touchdowns in post season moving ahead of the legendary Jerry Rice. The night belonged to the Steelers and in a rare occurance neither the Coach Mike Tomlin (The Youngest coach to lead a team to Superbowl Victory), Big Ben or MVP Holmes laid the victory on a assist from God. It was great to see them thank their fellow players and the people of Steeler Nation.

See the highlights here.

Paris Hilton British Best Friend (ITV2)

Paris Hilton is as shallow as a muddy puddle on the side of the road, so when i tuned into her new 'reality' show, this time based in London, i thought i knew exactly what to expect; Paris walking around London (we get that) Paris spouting inane slogans like "bitches" and "Bestiesss" (we get that too) and a really formulaic mess of a show which is part Beauty and the Geek part Americas next top model. Well i got it right it is all them things! But somehow it was strangely entertaining, mainly due to some excruciating voiceover from Hilton, and some hilarious on the spot insults to the contestants. 

The show is basically just a load of women (most of them hideous to look at in daylight) and one man (gay of course!) partaking in 'challenges' to impress Paris. I have to single one of them out as she looks like a drag queen who has mated with Herman Munster her name is Layla (one to look out for, total total rotter) 

The first challenge is for the contestants to stand infront of Paris and have her judge their hair and 'look.' Trust me this was hilarious. Naturally these people think they look like supermodels, so when Paris Hilton rips into their terrible hair extensions they fall to pieces like recovering alcoholics. 

Whats worse is Paris gets 3 total and utter no bodies to "interview" her "besties;" one of the panel is Mark Durden Smith who sits on the panel like a washed up commercial actor who may or may not take one too many pills later on. They they ask the contestants boring questions and the airheads (and the gay!) respond with long pauses and one word answers, naturally talking doesn't come easy to these kind of people, considering their all surgery enhanced page three models or Mickey Mouse students from gutter towns. 

This show ridiculously shallow and bordering on offensive; it's so bad its good. 

I'm off to find out what on earth TTYN means. 

7/10! 

LOST "Jughead" (Sunday 9PM Skyone)

Lost continued at quick pace this week with the episode "Jughead;" like "The Lie" before it, Jughead actually moves the story forward alot more than most would expect of Lost. The biggest complaint i hear about the show from "non viewers" is that "nothing is ever revealed." In honesty that is rubbish; i have been suprised though, at the amount of secrets that are being revealed. In this episode alone we learn of Desmonds new born son (Named Charlie, though i thought Jughead might have been more appropriate) We learn that Charles Widmore was once on the Island as an other (interesting, but the reveal was slightly unremarkable) and most interestingly IMO we were told Widmore has funded Daniel Faradays research for most of his life. 

I didn't quite grasp the implications of this; surely Faraday is unaware of the grander picture of Widmores plan; he seems far too aloof to be revealed as a 'villain.'

This episode was focussed totally on Desmond and the islanders, Jack, Kate, and the rest of the Oceanic Six didn't appear and the episode probably suffered for it. As much as i like the periphery characters their stories don't quite have the gravity of the familiar ones. Though i'd love to see more of Miles and Charlotte they've been dominated by Faraday so far this season, and i hope they are not ostracised or god forbid killed. 

Desmonds story flowed along nicely and his pursuit of Faraday's mother came to an abrubt end at the end of the episode but we all know it won't end there, one for the future for sure.

The on island stuff was fine enough but the confrontation with "Jughead," a nuke from the 1950's was truly mundane; when the islanders were once again transported Charlotte had a severe hemorrhage (She needs a constant!) and left us wondering if she will survive (surely she will!) 

This was one of them Lost episodes that moves the story along nicely; but doesn't pull up any trees in the excitement stakes. It has to be truly terrible for me not to like an episode of Lost so predictably i thought it was good. 

8/10! 

Crimes Againt Cinema Take 6

Jack Bauer taking names!!!!

If you are not following the U.S. schedule of television you should avert your eyes and wait until you have seen the latest episode on SkyOne on Monday 2nd of February.



The following takes place between 1.00pm and 2.00pm. We are already into the 6th episode of the excellent 7th season and we continue from the last episode where Jack Bauer shot the neck of FBI agent Renee Walker and then proceeded to bury her alive. For those worried this season was about Jack reinacting the stunts of David Blaine you can relax, it was merely to keep the trust of terroist facilitator David Emerson.

In the opening minutes of the episode 3rd and 4th members of Jack's A-Team Chloe and Bill came to Walker's rescue after being alerted to her location by Jack - when and how he did this is the mysteries of 24 we love, like how Jack never needs to go to the toilet. Alas Walker was safe and well and taken to the terrorist rendevous exchange. Meanwhile Jack and Tony failed to play it cool and Emerson finally came to his senses and realised that CTU wasn't a breeding ground for future domestic terrorists and pulled a gun on Tony. In a matter of seconds and skillful shooting Jack and Tony turned the tables and took control of the situation, ready to put their ambush plan into action. With the A-Team combined plus Walker they set about readying themselves for the Mutombo-Diamond exchange. Chole fits a tooth transmittor to Matobo and we are ready to go. Jack and Tony foil the attempts of Dubaku to gain the Matobo's and his Diamonds and their plan is working prefectly. At this stage we are all wondering who the FBI insider is, if it turns out to be Walker that would be retarded, it wouldn't make sense. More likely a possibility would be her boss or the creepy Milo wannabe Hillinger, who I have just realised plays recurring nutty art house Director Billy Walsh on Entourage.

Elsewhere in the episode I have an issue. For some reason it takes nearly 45 mins for the secret service agent to get around to finishing of the job of making it look like the First Gentlmen has partook in a murder suicide with his dead sons ex fiancee. What on earth was he doing in this episode???? Just admiring the view? well he paid for it in the end - the muscle relaxant wore off the worst secret service agent in history is possibly no more.

I hate the President, they have turned her into the perception of what a sexist mysogenoust would see. She is useless indecisive and fails to listen to advice, she has let her emotions take control of the situation. Added to this the actress has the most annoying voice in the history of 24 U.S. Presidents and is closely rivaling Sherry Palmer as my least favourite 24 woman.

She refuses to heed the warning of Dubaku and he crashes some planes - she still fails to act - leading the secretary for sefence to resign and leaving her Chief of Staff and the head of Homland security to plan behind her back a way of changing her mind with the use of her husband.

As she drags her feet Dubaku has chosen his next target and the poor victim is nowhereville Ohio. You can't blame Dubaku he has warned her numerous times. It is very clear that again Jack Bauer is going to get little help from the powers that be.

Crimes Against Cinema take 5

OMFG! Gossip Girl is Back.

What do you get if you take The OC, remove all the quirks and the few likable characters, add a ridiculous voice over by Kristin Bell and set the whole thing in New York. Yep Gossip Girl. I never thought anything would ever make me nostalgic for the O.C, but some how Gossip Girl manages to do just that; When i see the ridiculously good looking ambiguously aged actors cast in half light pouting their way through meaningless scripts, i actually yearn for Ryan's predictable fist fights and the obligatory appearance by the music worlds flavour of the month.

To be honest this is the first episode of Gossip Girl that i have ever watched; and i probably won't go back for my second slice; and lets face it, this program isn't aimed at me; its aimed at 13/14 year old girls who use txt speak and bitch about girls at school all day using internet lingo; the script is so contrived it even references the culture it knows is watching (The voiceover at the end says "xoxo," i mean come on) And anyway the O.C definitely wasn't aimed at me and i still watched that.

This program goes to far, and at the same time doesn't go far enough; it wants so desperately to be edgy yet can't have any swearing or any real sexual scenes for fear of alienating its audience; characters will reference things like "getting drunk," and "hooking up" but i only saw one sip of alcohol drunk and the actors pouting lips got in the way so it just dribbled down his chin and on to his 10,000$ suit. 

For some reason despite the characters in the O.C being ridiculously spoilt, rich brats, i still found time for them; in Gossip Girl i just want to kill them, they prance around in designer tat (sex and the city lite) and play croquette at lavish dinner party's. The problem is the interest in all this opulence is lost as soon as they open their mouths; lest we forget all the characters are complete "bitchaes" to each other anyway and that grated. 

Best bit of this episode had to be when an English "Lord" revealed his true identity, after posing as a yank. Of course his adorable British accent gets him laid. (yes i've just booked a one way ticket to new york on expedia in case your wondering) 

Lame, Lame, Lame. xoxo

Greatest Moment in TV History

There are no words that can do justice to this clip. Quite simply, it is funny.

Superbowl Preview

This sunday sees the greatest show on earth come to our screens as the Arizona Cardinals take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Tampa, Florida.

The most feared D in football take on the surprising offensive powerhouse in this years NFL final spectacle.

The Cardinals have defied all expectations after coming out of the weakest division with a 9-7 record and going on to the superbowl. It is their first visit in the playoffs for well over 50 years and if victory is the result it will be a true cinderella story.

The Steelers can make their own bit of history as Mike Tomlin the second year coach would become the youngest coach to lead his team to a superbowl victory.

For those in the U.K. those with out Sky television will be treated to the ineptness that is the BBC's coverage of a sport they show no interest in bar the showpiece event of the infamous superbowl. If you have Sky watch it their with the legend that is Kevin Cadle.

LOST "Because You Left" (Sky one Sunday 9PM)

As season openers of Lost go Because You Left, the long awaited season 5 opener, ranks highly, though having being spoilt by previous opening scenes this one was less than thrilling it has to be said.  The revelation that Daniel Faraday is a Dharma worker attempting to drill through to the mystical wheel that 'moved' the island was interesting; but didn't evoke the incredible thrill i felt after watching the superb season 2 opener which revealed the inside of the hatch. 

The episode catches us up with the Oceanic Six who have been, it is revealed, off Island for three years, and are still struggling with their various afflictions, when Ben demands they all return to the island or risk an incredible catastrophe. We see Hurley and Sayid team up to disastrous effects; and an unlikely pairing of Jack and Ben doesn't go a whole lot better; though disappointingly it leads to the shaving of Jacks infamous "junkie beard.' 

Kate is still living a lie, looking after 'son' Aaron though one plot point for the future is revealed when lawyers demand she give a blood test causing her to baulk and leave home.  Who is behind the law suit will surely drag on throughout this season (someone representing Claire?) 

The real interesting stuff happens on the island; where Sawyer et al realise the effects of the islands move; they are now stuck within a series of 'Flashes' which transports them to various times in the islands history, or indeed, future. The writers now have infinity to play with, a clever move; expect to see the islands transported back to when the four toed statue is complete in the near future. 

The episode certainly sets up the rest of the season nicely; and it was lovely to see a television heavy weight back in the fray; but i can't shake that feeling that it didn't quite have the 'punch' of previous season openers. 

Your Country Needs You (Saturdays BBC One)

There's something about the BBC one "talent" shows that make them incredibly difficult to connect with; with X Factor and the admittedly terrible Britans Got Talent, there is a distinct knowingness inherent within the show that what they are doing is ultimately a money making exercise slapped on the screen to give gorping saturday night pizza munchers something to laugh at while they order their meat feast.  With BBC one everything is just a little to serious, and in turn a really painful watch. 

Last nights episode of Your Country Needs You, (why? i don't know!) was definitely the worst yet. The show revolves around the concept that if Andrew Lloyd frog face writes the Eurovision song England can somehow manage to win; despite the fact that the whole thing is a complete un-winnable farce. 

The acts were plucked from various arenas; the streets, panto, the stage, the pub circuit; and let me stress it really shows. Never have i seen a talent show where the acts have less talent that the audience watching; in fact, the wooping and screaming from the audience is actually more in tune that the singing that went before it. 

The worst of all the acts is definitely the above pictured "Twins" (yes thats really the moniker they've chosen) They look like two brain dead actors playing bit parts in a Paris Hilton film, and their singing is as flat as Andrew Lloyd Webber's face.  What's more annoying than the terrible fair served up is the wooden and lying judging panel, who sit with moronic smiles smudged across their faces hailing the talentless schmucks as the next Tom Jones or Sugababes. 

Your country needs you! As the weeks go by I'm starting to see why! Because they NEED some singers with talent, so they can ditch the signing face aches they've already aquired. 

One to Avoid! 

Friday Night Lights

Some shows we discover through the high profile advertising campaigns used to draw in viewers, some we discover through word of mouth and then there are some we discover by complete accident.  I recently found Friday Night Lights, now this is a show that has been on U.S. screens since 2006. However I was more familiar with it predecssor the Peter Berg Directed and Billy Bob Thornton starring film of the same name. 

As has become a common theme in the UK every year a handful of shows from the U.S.A. get picked up that fly and do really well. There are those shows that get picked up that are awful. Then there are those that the powers of be clearly have no idea how to market or use in their schedule, Friday Night Lights is one of those.  As I think back now and after researching this I can confirm, FNL was picked up in the U.K by ITV, but they really didn't know what to do with it. FNL was broadcast on 4th string ITV channel ITV4, now a male skewed channel bring sporting highlights and anything with an Andy Mcnabb and Ross Kemp soul. So the thought process must have been as follows: we have a serious drama based around sport this will be perfect for our male skewed audience. Wrong! If someone had took the time to actually watch this show they would realise that the sporting side of this drama, the American football is merelya narrative flux for each season. Football isn't the story the people and their lives around it are.

FNL is an adaptation of the original book and 2004 film of the same name. The TV show is set in the small town of Dillion, Texas where the small community come together every friday night to support the high school football team. In this part of Texas football is life and those past and present earn a prestigious status akin to the gladiators in Roman times.They are the stars and the heroes of the everyday folk in Dillion.

We are introduced to the show as new Coach Eric Taylor is taking on a team with great history. THe local community unsure as to whether this new comer is capable to take over a team with such a proud tradtion as the Dillion Panthers. We are introduced to the Back up quarterback Matt Saracen, a supposed loser never going to grace the field, he lives with his grandma and has to resort to getting lifts from his hyper intelliigent friend Landry. Landry wonders out loud as Matt reads the local paper featuring star quarterback Jason Street. Street as he is known is set for a bright future and is ranked as the best high school quarterback in Texas and is being scouted by top college teams like Notre Dame.  The other star of the team is Brian "Smash" Williams the fast talking brash loudmouth running back of the team. Hi nemesis of sorts is fellow panther and full back Tim Riggins. Three things Tim loves are beer, football and women normally in that order. One thing he doesn't like is Smash. As Tim says " That dude could be Santa Claus and I still wouldn't like em".  Tim lives with his brother good hearted who looks out for Tims best interest. Tim dates Tyra Collette Tim likes the simple things in life and declares that he wants to 1 percent of best friends streets NFl earnings and run a ranch in Texas for them He sees life in Texas in the future as a good one and toasts to Street "Texas forever". Street dates Lyla Garrity, cheerleader and daughter of car dealership owner and Panther fanatic Buddy who is one of the boosters who raises money for the team and harbours a great amount of influence and power for everything Football in Dillion.

Coach Taylor is supported by a doting wife and daughter who Matt takes a shine too, though she vows she never dates football players. Coach Taylor who has coached Street at all levels of his playing career is under great amount of pressure as expectations are incredibly high for a team with the top quarterback in the state. 

When Friday Night arrives things get off to a good start as the Panthers score. However they struggle against the counter plays, the trick plays of changes of direction and cannot contain the offence of their opponents Westerby. At halftime Street displays his excellent ability by relaying to the coaches the defences they are facing and what the team is struggling with In the second half as Westerby take a ten point lead 24-14, Street forces a pass and it is intercepted, the Westerby player is returning the ball for a touchdown, only Street is between him and the potential winning touchdown. Street attempts to make a tackle. 

This is where the real depth of FNL begins and instigates the dramatic storylines that make this show great. In the tackle Street makes he takes a big hit he forces the ball free and the Panthers recovers it but he lays prone on the ground unable to move. Everyone rushes onto the field an ambulance is called. Street has broken is back he will be unable to walk again. A once bright carreer is ended and everyones life is sent into turmpooil. Coach Taylor is now without the star player that makes his team tick, the pressures on him now even greater and his families livelihood.

Jason has to deal with his new found disability. His girlfriend Lyla try's to hold on to the future they had planned together. Riggin's feeling unwarranted guilt blames himself. Tyra who has shown affection towards Street in the past starts to question her life and where it is going, she doesn't want to end up uneducated like her Mom and stripper sister Mindy. Smash still with bravado but deep down worries that a failure of the Panthers will see him fail to move on to a top college and then a pro career and hence not being able to provide for his family. Matt Saracen is confronted with being thrown into the spotlight of being QB1 and dealing with the expectation and pressure from a baying crowd, he has to follow in the footsteps of a giant.

The journey that the show takes us on is vast heartfelt and harrowing but never leaves the viewer feeling unsatisfied. Everything is stellar about this show and it wouldn't be amiss from being held up there with pantheon of shows like The Wire. It is a shame that due to the ineptness of ITV that only series 1 has been shown on British TV. Just because the sport is American Football shouldn't override the fact that this is an incredible drama series. It should have been given a prime time or popular slot, if so I have no doubt it would have done well. It is a shame not as many people get to enjoy this show. I pray for fourth season in the U.S. it all depends on ratings of course. Perhaps HBO may take kindness on this series if NBC/DirectTV refuse to continue the show. HBO as seen with The Wire, never fails to support talent and quality.

LOST is Back... Big 'Time'...

Rejoice! Lost has finally found its way back on to our screens after what seems like a ridiculously long hiatus; the length of which was no doubt influenced by the frustrating writers strike which caused a complete shut down of most quality American dramas and thus in turn destroyed the lives of many a fan; me included.

Lost was back last night in the states (airs on SKYone in the UK later this week) with a two hour season opener which reacquainted us with our favourite losties, on, and off the island. 

The First of the two episodes dealt mostly with on island shenanigans, while the second part was a slower more concentrated look at how the "oceanic six" have coped with "lying" about the true nature of their island exits. 

Was i impressed? Yes... Both episodes we're thumbs up all round, with the first hour just slightly ahead in the entertainment stakes. There were also a couple of nice surprises with an on island reprise for Ethan, and a great Cameo appearance by the long lost Ana-Lucia.

A proper "blow by blow" review of the two episodes is upcoming, but for now, its great to see one of TV's heavyweights back with a bang.