For anyone who hasn't figured it out yet, I am a little bit of a TV and movie addict. It's not really my fault, I swear. I blame it on graduate school - and my mom. For Christmas during my first year of school, she gave me a Tivo and a subscription to the digital recording technology. I started watching way too much TV to avoid the things I should really be doing - like working on my thesis project or editing video for my broadcast class or reading the newspaper for my current events quizzes.
My friend and I had all night classes the second semester so the Tivo made it easy to watch all the shows we liked such as "The Simpsons," or "The O.C." or "Grey's Anatomy." Tivo is the main reason I started watching "Law and Order: SVU." I could tape half a dozen reruns on the USA channel and then have them for middays when I got tired of working on my assignments.
When I finished school and got a real 9-5 job again Tivo made it easy to watch shows that were on at anytime. I could tape Food Network shows during the day or the Oprah Show. I used to never watch anything that came on after 9 p.m. - I like to read before I go to sleep and occasionally I actually get up at 5 a.m. to go to the gym - but now plenty late-night shows are part of my viewing schedule. And best of all, I never, ever watch commercials.
More recently my family added a Roku player to our list of tech TV gadgets. The Roku player is a little box you plug into the TV and connect to the wireless network that allows users to instantly play movies from Netflix or rent movies from Amazon.com. Not all DVDs on Netflix are available for instant play, but there is a decent selection. The quality depends on the speed of the Internet so this option is probably best for those with high-speed connections.
After finishing off BBC America's "Being Human" in one weekend - it was only six episodes long - I decided to try out "Dr. Who." Another of my BBC America favorites, "Torchwood" was a spin off of "Dr. Who." I've only watched the first episode of the 2005 version - the original started in 1963 - and so far it has the same funny, but sarcastic edge as "Torchwood."
The show stars David Tennant as Dr. Who, a man who can travel through time and space. In the pilot, he saves Rose (Billie Piper) from a pack of moving mannequins. Some American TV watchers may know Piper from "Secret Diary of a Call Girl," which I've never seen. I know Piper from "Top of the Pops" because she had a hit song out while I was in Ireland 10 years ago and the guy I had a crush on watched the show just to ogle her.
I have to watch a few more episodes before I can make a definitive decision about the show, but I've already got three seaons waiting in the queue on the Roku player!
Showing posts with label BBC America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBC America. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
A monster of a trio
While watching the "Torchwood," I started watching a new BBC America series called "Being Human." In it George (Russell Tovey), Mitchell (Aidan Turner) and Annie (Lenora Crichlow) are housemates who each have a secret. George is a werewolf who transforms every full moon into an uncontrollable animal. Mitchell is a centuries-old vampire who has given up drinking blood. And Annie is the ghost who haunts their house.
Annie is stuck in the house that she lived in with her fiance Owen since she fell down the stairs and died. She is shocked when George and Mitchell can see her, but she soon discovers they aren't normal human beings. The three decide to live together and to fit in with the regular human world.
Unlike the HBO series "True Blood," which also incorporates vampires and other supernatural beings, this show is much better at mixing humor and suspense. "True Blood" tends to stay in the realm of weirdness, but the BBC evokes more of a range of emotions. The gore is kept to a minimum, and though some of the special effects are weak, the writing is pretty good and the storyline keeps me interested.
For anyone into monster movies, it's worth a watch.
Annie is stuck in the house that she lived in with her fiance Owen since she fell down the stairs and died. She is shocked when George and Mitchell can see her, but she soon discovers they aren't normal human beings. The three decide to live together and to fit in with the regular human world.
Unlike the HBO series "True Blood," which also incorporates vampires and other supernatural beings, this show is much better at mixing humor and suspense. "True Blood" tends to stay in the realm of weirdness, but the BBC evokes more of a range of emotions. The gore is kept to a minimum, and though some of the special effects are weak, the writing is pretty good and the storyline keeps me interested.
For anyone into monster movies, it's worth a watch.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
'Torchwood' team fights more aliens in summer series
In July, the creators of "Torchwood" aired a five-day miniseries instead of a regular season of the BBC sci-fi show. I just got around to watching it this weekend.
The show has aired on BBC America for three seasons (it's available on DVD), and I started watching it from the beginning. I happened across a preview for it while watching "So Graham Norton," a very hilarious talk show with a very hilarious Irish host. The series premiere of the sci-fi show starts out with a bang as Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), a Welsh policewoman, somehow gets in the middle as Torchwood personnel are tracking down an alien life form. That's what Torchwood is all about - a secret Britsh government force that keeps aliens in check. It is based in Cardiff, in Wales, where Torchwood staff explain their is a rift in the space/time continuum. I just recently learned that Capt. Jack was a character on the British show "Dr. Who," which I've never watched.
The team is led by Capt. Jack Harkness(John Barrowman), an American with a mysterious history. Also on board are Dr. Owen Harper (Burn Gorman), and computer expert Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori). Oh yeah, and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd), who mostly makes coffee for the first season. Soon Gwen is recruited onto the team. The first season is mostly the team running around chasing aliens - and making out with lots and lots of people. Pretty much everyone makes out with everyone else at some point.
The Welsh accents are hard to understand so I often watched it with captions, and it took me a while to get over the large gap between Myles front teeth. But soon enough, I was a regular watcher.
Season two explained more about how each of the members where brought into Torchwood, and viewers learn a bit more about Jack. It also goes into more depth about Gwen's relationship with her fiancee Rhys (Kai Owens). But by the end, the team is fractured and the last episode seems like it could be the end of the series.
I was surprised when I saw a commercial for the miniseries. For five days, BBC America aired an hour and fifteen minute episode. Torchwood is left with three members standing as an alien life form begins to speak through all the children in the world. Torchwood needs to find out what is going on and how to stop the alien life force.
The first three episodes of the miniseries kept me on the edge of my seat. Especially good is Paul Copley who plays an old man who narrowly escaped abduction by aliens as a young child in 1965. He is the only adult whom is used as a communication piece by the aliens, and the Torchwood staff try to find out way. But their enemies aren't limited to just aliens - for reasons that are explained as the episodes go on, other government officials are out to get them, too.
Episode four lagged a bit, but episode five picked up speed as more and more people begin to realize what is going on and fight it. The end of the miniseries again seems as though it could be the end of the season, so we'll have to wait and see if it comes back again.
The show has aired on BBC America for three seasons (it's available on DVD), and I started watching it from the beginning. I happened across a preview for it while watching "So Graham Norton," a very hilarious talk show with a very hilarious Irish host. The series premiere of the sci-fi show starts out with a bang as Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), a Welsh policewoman, somehow gets in the middle as Torchwood personnel are tracking down an alien life form. That's what Torchwood is all about - a secret Britsh government force that keeps aliens in check. It is based in Cardiff, in Wales, where Torchwood staff explain their is a rift in the space/time continuum. I just recently learned that Capt. Jack was a character on the British show "Dr. Who," which I've never watched.
The team is led by Capt. Jack Harkness(John Barrowman), an American with a mysterious history. Also on board are Dr. Owen Harper (Burn Gorman), and computer expert Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori). Oh yeah, and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd), who mostly makes coffee for the first season. Soon Gwen is recruited onto the team. The first season is mostly the team running around chasing aliens - and making out with lots and lots of people. Pretty much everyone makes out with everyone else at some point.
The Welsh accents are hard to understand so I often watched it with captions, and it took me a while to get over the large gap between Myles front teeth. But soon enough, I was a regular watcher.
Season two explained more about how each of the members where brought into Torchwood, and viewers learn a bit more about Jack. It also goes into more depth about Gwen's relationship with her fiancee Rhys (Kai Owens). But by the end, the team is fractured and the last episode seems like it could be the end of the series.
I was surprised when I saw a commercial for the miniseries. For five days, BBC America aired an hour and fifteen minute episode. Torchwood is left with three members standing as an alien life form begins to speak through all the children in the world. Torchwood needs to find out what is going on and how to stop the alien life force.
The first three episodes of the miniseries kept me on the edge of my seat. Especially good is Paul Copley who plays an old man who narrowly escaped abduction by aliens as a young child in 1965. He is the only adult whom is used as a communication piece by the aliens, and the Torchwood staff try to find out way. But their enemies aren't limited to just aliens - for reasons that are explained as the episodes go on, other government officials are out to get them, too.
Episode four lagged a bit, but episode five picked up speed as more and more people begin to realize what is going on and fight it. The end of the miniseries again seems as though it could be the end of the season, so we'll have to wait and see if it comes back again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
