HBO lockdown Bad Girls for a remake

This news is slightly old, but for those who aren't aware of it, Alan Ball is producing an HBO remake of UK women's prison drama Bad Girls, with help from Eileen Gallagher, who co-created the original series which ran for 8 seasons from 1999-2006.

However, Ball isn't running the show; he has handed the reigns to Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl, Six Feet Under) who will be showrunner. Apparently she is a big fan of the original series and doesn't want to stray from the original stories, at least while they are good - the series lost the plot a little during the last couple of seasons.

I have no doubt Alan Ball, Nancy Oliver and Eileen Gallagher will create something really special, but I'm worried about casting. Obviously the feel will be quite different as the element of 'bogan' will be lost with the remake - an aspect that can really only exist in the UK and Australia. Most of you probably won't know what the fuck I am talking about - but hopefully a couple do. The characters I am worried about the most are Shell Dockley and Yvonne Atkins, hypothetically, the rest could be casted fairly easily.

I was originally worried the series would be too campy, and not as serious as it should be. But the dynamic was held greatly by the original series, for the majority of the show. Now that I know Alan Ball can handle camp (True Blood) and Nancy Oliver is a big fan of the show, I have been put at ease. Now I really don't mind what they do with the series as long as the casting is good - a serious character-study, a campy over-the-top soap-opera, or a mixture of both like the original, as long as it's good!

What do you think the transition will affect? Have any favourites to play a character in the remake? Let it rip down below!

Hopefully it will be hitting the screens next year. However, HBO are developing A LOT of shows at the moment, and eight will be picked up, so we just have hope and pray to the made-up man upstairs Bad Girls will be one of them. If you haven't seen the original series check it out with an open mind - it is fucking badass, to say the very least - but seriously, it is really good. Also, there is a REALLY good interview with Eileen Gallagher on her thoughts of the remake below!

http://www.afterellen.com/people/2008/6/eileengallagher

True Blood - S01E12: You'll Be The Death Of Me

Alan Ball's decision to use a teaser or cold open on True Blood was a very wise one. They are not required to use them on HBO as there are no ad breaks but True Blood uses this marketing tool which has developed into an artistic decision (and a fine art) to its full potential, as did The Wire. The other show that employs it famously is Buffy - both vampire shows, however, Alan Ball has admitted that he has not seen Buffy, or read much vampire fiction, for that matter. Anyway, the last shot of the teaser is Sookie assuring Jason that she is close to finding out who the killer is. Off this, the camera focuses off Sookie and Jason and on Renee. This is a very neat directional technique that often doesn't work for me but was used perfectly by Ball. Thinking about it, Ball's direction was so well thought out and executed in this episode and was definetely the best of the season. The worst may have been the last episode, directed by Nancy Oliver - she makes up for it with fantastic writing in just about everything she has done, and I hope she will continue it when she becomes showrunner for Bad Girls next year on HBO.

Anna Paquin's acting seemed considerably better this episode, not that it was bad to begin with, but there were some iffy moments - perhaps this can be credited to actors director Alan Ball. I know it sounds like I jerk off over him seven times daily, but he really deserves all credit given. Poor Sookie, she has been through so much this season, and has done a pretty good job of being the most unlikeable character. I hope we can like her a bit more next season - she really seems to be backseat to Jason and Tara sometimes, which still worked out great - no problems there.

One of the most intriguing things about the last two episodes has been Maryanne. Intriguing because we don't know what the fuck she is or what the fuck is going on... Why does she do that shaking thing? What is she? Why does she walk the nighttime lonely road accompanied by a pig? What does she want with Tara? How does she know Sam? What does she want with Sam?

I really hope Lafayette isn't dead, but it looks like that will be the case. I really thought something was being set-up for him with that politician guy - but it was ended quickly, and probably only employed to give us another suspect to pointlessly wrap our brains around until next year.

I wasn't too fond of the idea of Rene being the killer, but I liked the result - even if his motives were kind of weak and we didn't see much of his true character to help us acknowledge his motive. This show was just what the magical land of television needed, and I am looking forward to the second season, hopefully followed by plenty more.

And to wrap up I should like to add, Bill = Freddy Krueger, and Alexander Skarsgård is a tank.

The Life and Times of Tim

Has anybody been watching The Life and Times of Tim? The new animated late-night HBO show is created, written, directed, and starred by Steve Dildarian, who is known for creating some popular Budweiser commercials when he was an advertising copywriter.

I haven't seen all that much buzz on in the internet about this new show, and I'll guess that is has a very small audience that is growing each episode. HBO are probably fine with the low ratings, and expected it, due to the very late time slot they air it in (No doubt I'll take that back at some point).

The series has a very minimal and understated feel to it - similar to Dr. Katz and maybe Dilbert, but with obvious influence from Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The situations that Tim is put in are supposed to be the worst social situations imaginable - but the characters rarely conflict by means of shouting and getting terribly upset. Instead, they often cannot believe their eyes at what they have witnessed, and don't talk about it much, aside from a reaction statement. For example, Tim's girlfriend and her parents somehow forgive him for all of the horrible things he does or gets himself into, but still know what a douche he is. Tim is really a decent guy, and wants to be a decent guy, but people are constantly pushing and manipulating him into awful situations, which admittedly, he falls straight into after some hesitation and skepticism - sometimes it's like he knows that it is really not going to end well but still goes along with it for whatever reason.

I think that this series won't be for everyone, as the purposefully sloppy animation and tone takes a little bit of getting used to, but I see it reaching great heights if HBO give it some time to settle. If you are a fan of cringe-comedy or Seinfeld type humour then give it a shot. I'm glad I did.

Desperate Housewives - S05E03: Kids Ain't Like Everybody Else

Desperate Housewives has always had the coolest Big Bad's since Buffy, and Dave is no exception - in fact, I think he is the greatest so far. He is played to perfection by Neal McDonough (Tin Man, Band Of Brothers). I find him so utterly convincing and charming, except when it comes to McCluskey - he has blown his cover there - not that he doesn't have other tricks up his sleeve. Also, his last name Williams, is also shared by crazy maniac and now dead George Williams. Could he be back to avenge the death of his... brother? They are probably unrelated as he would be smart enough to use an alias if his real name was Dave Williams, but still.

Lynette has become so unlikeable this season, and that is saying something because she has always been treading the line between likeable and total bitch. Suppressing and whipping Tom and fucking with her kid on the internet are probably new lows for her. Dave trying to get close to Tom for ultimately sinister reasons is bad and everything, but the things he says to Lynette about Tom are absolutely true, and he seems to be genuinely helping him. It is hard not to like him, but when we see the result of his plotting I am sure my mind will be quickly changed. Anyway, Mike, Tom and Dave should get together and play some gigs at the Pizzeria - that is something I would not miss.

Danielle is back with a new husband who is a lawyer and Jewish, and Benjamin. Ultra-conservative Bree is surprised and revolted at Danielle's family being vegetarian, liberal and Benjamin being Jewish. So revolted that she decides to connive Benjamin into eating a hot dog which ends up all over their floor a while later. As a vegan I may be biased, but that was truly messed up. Bree is horrible for doing that. Her irrational opinions on vegetarianism are hilarious and true to life as well. Danielle finds out and they decide to leave - no more Benjamin. Orson blames Bree for losing Benjamin which has added more tension to their already strained relationship.

I don't really care much for Gabrielle's contribution, as far as I'm concerned she deserves to get ripped off by Andrew. And I am finding her quite boring and deserving of her punishment to low-class - although I feel sorry for Carlos, how could you not.

Another great episode to a so far great season. Dave's cliffhanging scenes are creepy, and always great. Much like Desperate Housewives episode closers in general really, but we know Dave is fucked up beyond belief and we are just waiting to see the man behind the Tony Robbins mask.

True Blood - S01E05: Sparks Fly Out

Bill appears before the town, and reminisces on his past and an early Bon Temps. Sookie goes on a date with Sam. Jason tries some more V. And Lafayette smacks down some white-trash.

For anybody who doesn't know, True Blood has already been picked up for a second season - this is very good news. Alan Ball has said hypothetically the series could last 8+ seasons, if they followed the book series.

This episode features some really great flashbacks that do not look tacky and have a genuine feel, unlike many other shows that flashback to the 1880's. They tell some really great back story of Bill: How he became a vampire, what happened to his family, and some of what happened in the battle at Bon Temps.

At the very end of the teaser of 'Sparks Fly Out', we see that dog staring at Bill with some dramatic music in the background. We have been beaten over the head with this over the duration of the series, and I think they are trying to tell us that Sam is a werewolf - or a cute dog, which might be cool in a Beethoven kind of way, but not in a rabid killing machine way - so we will go with werewolf. This episodes cliffhanger could be put down to this theory, which would be absolutely disturbing.

Jason continues on his sexcapades and may even be pinned for another murder in light of this episode. He takes V for the second time, but this time takes the recommended dosage so we get to see it in all it's glory. He hallucinates that sparks are flying out of the flowers of a bush, and that Tara is some sort of goddess at a waterfall.

Great episode! As usual I can't wait until the next.

Dexter - S03E01: Our Father

As always Dexter kicks off its season by laying down some foundation for itself to work on:

Dexter somewhat breaking free from Harry and developing his own code. It isn't the first time Dexter has promised to evolve, try new things, and break from the code. But we have never seen him go the whole way about it - I think we will this season as he seems to have banished Harry from his mind once and for all, although I am sure he will still pop up occasionally. He even dogs Harry's posthumous yearly birthday celebration with Deb, as he has moved on from Harry.

A new problem arises for Dexter when he unintentionally breaks the code, in a bad way, while out on a typical hunt. This injects new suspense into the show, since the last season tied off most of its plot strands. Jimmy Smits joins the cast as a recurring character, i assume. I am really excited to see him on the show; as I think he fits Dexter perfectly, and is just a great actor in general - he deserved a good role after Cane was axed. This episode gives a few hints as to a growing relationship between Smits as Miguel Prado and Dexter - it is never explicitly talked about, but at the funeral Dexter is at the coffin and from behind Miguel can see Dexter look deeply saddened, but really he is just stressed or guilty or something. Miguel Prado looks on at him for longer than one usually would. Some would say he is suspicious of Dexter, but I didn't feel that at all.

Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington, Rescue Me) joins the precinct, as a possible love-interest for Deb, a cop, and as an ambiguous character with a past, as Deb begins to find out from a bureau employee, Yuki Amado (Liza Lapira, Huff), who wants her cooperation with investigating him. But Deb won't rat on a fellow cop, yet.

The episode ends on a massive cliffhanger involving Rita, and in turn, Dexter. Great episode and I have no doubt this season will be just as great as the last two. Although, the first 2-3 episodes of the second season will be difficult to top.

Californication - S02E01: Slip of the Tongue

It feels awesome to have Californication back, and this episode does not disappoint. In fact, I think it is one of the best, if not the very best episode so far.

Tom Kapinos pens the season opener and David Duchovny directs - and does a fine job, as he did when he did a few episodes during The X-Files. We are tricked for a second into believing Hank and Karen getting back together was a dream, and that the wedding has not yet taken place, but we are quickly relieved of our anxiety when Karen wakes Hank up. In an interview, creator Tom Kapinos (Dawson's Creek) asks that in movies the guy gets the girl and they drive off into the sunset - but what happens after that? Apparently, that question will be answered throughout the next four episodes.

I'm not going to spoil too much - just that the gang head to an LA party, and there is a case of mistaken identity, followed by a run in with the law. Oh, and an appearance from renowned dickhead Pete Wentz. Tom Kapinos truly smashes him with words.

I really fucking love the dialogue on Californication. I loved it on Dawson's Creek too. This episode has some of the wittiest and funniest dialogue of the season. The actress who plays Becca is still as wooden as a block of wood, but as usual the rest of the cast's delivery is spot-on. Oh, and good luck to David in rehab, I hear from Tom Kapinos he is making a recovery.

Family Guy - S07E01: Love Blactually

I haven't watched family guy since early season five - but I thought I would check in and see what the season seven opener has to offer. This is a decent episode, and going from the thoughts people have on Family Guy season six I have observed - it may be an improvement.

Brian meets an atheist, liberal, and pretty all around 'hip' girl. As opposed to all of the girls he has been with lately who all have large flaws he cannot get past - but this girl seems fine for Brian. As they are about to seal the deal, Stewie tells Brian not to go through with it, as that is why all of his relationships fail - because they have sex too early. Cleveland also joins in on this story and may potentially reconcile and get back together with Loretta at some point soon. For the spin-off?

Something I noticed in this episode was a lot of pushing of liberal agendas. Apparently creator, Seth MacFarlane has been using Family Guy as a platform for these views for a while, and has become loud and persistent with them in recent times. I have no problem with these views, as I couldn't agree more for most of them - but this episode was the only time where it actually took me out of the show for a second and I realised that it was being ultra-preachy. One notable scene was the one in which Brian and Carolyn are having dinner and they joke about religion being stupid and God not existing for a considerable amount of time. I agree with them one hundred percent but it took me out of the show and I found it to be overly preachy. I have no problem with, and actually enjoy these views on Family Guy, but only to a certain extent - and where I don't have to think whether views are being pushed upon me, or if there is some left-wing agenda trying to be pushed by FOX.

I love the scene where Stewie keeps pronouncing 'ruined' 'rueened', and Brian, irritated by this, tries to correct him. It reminded me of the 'cool whip' scene in an earlier season. Chris and Meg nowhere to be seen - oh well.

Sons of Anarchy - S01E04: Patch Over

'Patch Over' is noticeably better than last weeks episode - if only for the fact that there is a bad-ass firefight. And it seems they have started to get a few of these long-term storylines in motion.

To my understanding, 'patch over' is where a smaller club merges with a larger and more established one. I think club symbols and labels being patched on the clothes of members and in their establishments is the meaning behind the term 'patch over'. Anyway, the club merges with a smaller club in Nevada and they celebrate with a party. But beforehand Jax and Bobby see a guy sitting on Jax's Harley. The guy admits to beating his girlfriend who is trying to take a picture of him and the Harley, so Jax beats his face and takes off with the girl - she happily obliges. The girl is given some sort of initiation by another girl from the club that recently merged with the Sons. When Jax's new girl sees the other girls being passed around like a bong, and the firefight between the rival gangs, she decides to leave with her old boyfriend - going back to her old life, and uncovering a harsh truth about a world she most likely fantasized about.

Jax searches out an old writing on a rock in Nevada where his father wrote something about his idea of the club, freedom, and the dream. Every episode seems to have a scene or two from this narrative thread, and will continue to challenge Jax - though I don't think we will see any big events happening from this at the moment, just little developments, gradual revelations, and after a while Jax might do something big with what he has learnt. So far it just seems like he is reading it, without adapting it - which he probably couldn't do yet even if he wanted to - maybe he has a little, but for the most part he is just living the life the other guys are.

The best part of this episode was the gunfight between the Sons and Mayans. Jax is being chased by the Mayans and leads them back to the others at the club. The Mayans waste no time and start shooting through the walls of the club, so the Sons quickly prepare and come out firing with pistols and shotguns. There are a lot of guns and a lot of gunfire, but only a few guys take hits.

The episode ends with Tara in the hospital looking upon Jax and Gemma with the baby, as she opens a letter containing a photo of Jax and his short-term Nevada girl having sex. I wonder how that happened? And who the hell did it?

90210 - S01E04: The Bubble

Either this episode is the worst so far, or I am getting a little bored of 90210 already. The only characters that are semi-interesting are Nat, Kelly, and Brenda from the old cast. As well as Dixon and Silver from the new cast.

Annie has been getting way too much screen-time, and her plots are very dull. Her chemistry with Ethan is boring, as is the whole love triangle set-up. Also, the other guy she likes is a shit actor which only makes matters worse. The story with Naomi's dad cheating on her mum is a tad less boring, but still uninteresting due to AnnaLynne McCord being the worst actress in the cast. Jessica Walter is given some decent screen time this week, unfortunately it is with Annie. She directs the play Annie is in until Brenda takes over. But the story isn't given time to develop, it is simply there one minute and gone the next.

I think a big problem with the show is the lack of drama. All of the conflicts tend to be resolved simply, for example; Dixon's money problem, Kelly and Brenda's 'fight', and Annie trying to win back the rich guy. There are on-going plot strands, for instance; Dixon not feeling like he fits into the family, the drug-addict kid, and Silver being homeless. All of these plots are mentioned very briefly when they are not being immediately dealt with, but there is no drama or tension surrounding them. This is the problem with the fast-pace of the show. We cannot care about Ethan and Naomi getting back together if we don't see them apart for very long, the most emotion and time spent on the plot is a simple close-up at the end of the scene where the character may have a sad face. They break up, and then it is mentioned again in a random scene that they aren't together anymore, then they will have the getting back together scene. We do not care. Give it some time - but not just time - give it some weight too, meaning more scenes.. This is a problem with nearly all of the stories on 90210.

Fringe - S01E02: The Same Old Story

Fringe follows up on its pilot with a story about a guy who murders prostitutes - to remove their pituitary glands! The episode consists of fast-aging, viewing images from the retina of a corpse (on your right), and an overdose on anesthesia.

I felt Anna Torv has become more comfortable in her character since the pilot. John Noble was even better than in the pilot - he deals the dramatic and comedic punches perfectly in this episode.

We see Walter forget what happened in the pilot - I think we might see him forget a lot more at some point. Also a different side of him is shown when he snaps at Olivia and Peter seems like he knows more than he is letting on about his father's condition. Peter may also be related to the mythology in some way - he might turn out to be a test or some kind of experiment - where's his mother? I liked Peter and Walter's short moment at the end - some nice sentimentality.

A decent episode, with a good ending - still, I expect better, and the way things are going, an exceptional episode may be right around the corner.

Mad Men - S02E07: The Gold Violin

Ken's story, The Gold Violin, represents this episode perfectly on a thematic level: Beautiful to look at, but there is no music.

There is Salvatore's marriage; functional, and there is mutual understanding, they look after one another - Sal operates on a level that most men of his time did not yet, and didn't for a long time; when Kitty is upset, Sal is completely understanding and knows exactly what to do, he even loves here, though not in the same way she loves him. This is all great but there is no music, or magic, due to his hidden sexual identity.

Don gets hired as the the public face of Sterling & Cooper, a new tux and Cadillac follow; these things are great, but what can they really do. As well as the Draper family, their picnic looks so perfect, but everything is founded on a lie, and operating under repression. When Don is confronted by Jimmy, the tux and Cadillac didn't help him one bit did they? I absolutely loved that scene - Don was nearly in tears, and I finally understand the point of Jimmy Barrett on Mad Men. I wonder if Betty knew that Don had been confronted by Jimmy about his affair - that would have made it feel much more awkward and real. As Don and Betty are driving home in the Cadillac in silence, Betty vomits - a cocktail of truth and champagne. Don has all of these nice things, but it is the vomit he is deserving of, and he knows it. Another interesting aspect - confirmed by Jimmy's observation, "Look at us. Over here on the kids table" - are the similarities between Jimmy and Betty. Both are somewhat 'childish' and immature, they both use their talents to get people to like or respect them; Jimmy's humour and Betty's beauty - even though Jimmy knows they don't really respect him -, and both have controlling and dominant spouses who regularly cheat on them.

While Don was at the car dealership he had a flashback to when he was a car salesman (humble new identity beginnings), as Don Draper at that point too. A woman came to visit him and told him that he wasn't Don Draper. Perhaps she was the recipient of 'Meditations of an Emergency' from the season opener.

Ken is invited by Salvatore for dinner with him and his wife. Salvatore was eyeing him all night, and probably invited him over so he could be close to another man. Also, I think his attraction has grown after reading his work and the comment Ken made about Cooper's new Rothko painting - this leads me to my next topic.

The new girl, Jane, charms the hesitant guys to go with her to check out Bert Cooper's new Rothko painting - Sal is surprised and impressed with her confidence. Jane also easily fends off Ken's advances on her. We are seeing that Joan may have a contender - I assume Joan started out in a similar way, and she did hire the girl... I think Joan simply feels threatened by her - so she fires Jane after finding out about them going into Cooper's office. Jane conveniently stops by Roger's office on her way out to say 'goodbye'. I believe she stopped in there knowing she could get her job back from Roger. Roger is either trying to get back at Joan, or wants to get into Jane's pants - hey, probably both.

Mad Men won four Creative Arts Emmys, Outstanding Main Title Design, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" won for Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series, and Outstanding Cinematography for a One-Hour Series. "Shoot" won for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series. They are up for five at the Primetime Emmy Awards, so let's hope they come back with a few.

90210 - S01E03: Lucky Strike

Before I get started - I know, I know, the picture on the right does not accurately represent the episode or the relationship between the characters presented - but it is awesome to see Jackie, Kelly, and Erin again after all these years - even just for nostalgia's sake - strangely, Ann Gillespie hasn't aged much at all - I thought she was already old in the 90's.

This episode is a big improvement over the previous two. Actual 'teen issues' are brought into the show with some storylines recycled from the old series or from another teen drama - all we can hope for is that they develop and conclude them well. Naomi's dad continues to pour money over her instead of time - it's probably cheaper in the long run. She then finds him having an affair with some woman. Silver has been living in a shelter for a few weeks after Jackie has been up to her old tricks again - she has relapsed into alcoholism. Silver could not live with her due to her verbal and physical abuse. Kelly finds out and has a word to mum-of-the-year. She is still being pursued by Ryan, and seems to give in to his advances. Annie is still facing the two-man dilemma and seemed upset when Ethan left with Naomi - oh, the drama - and bad performances from the three of them really only makes matters worse.

So I guess I will see how these storylines develop, but so far there has been nothing of any originality. One of my gripes from the pilot was that it was too fast-paced. It is a little slower, but could still benefit from a slight tap on the brake. On the bright side; Dixon and Silver could be an interesting couple, and more Jackie, Kelly and Brenda can only be good.

Has Brenda been at Kelly's looking after the kid since the pilot? Did Kelly kill Brenda? Did Brenda hide in a closet and hit her head, giving her full-body paralysis, as well as not being able to speak, and Kelly just assumed she went home?

Sons Of Anarchy - S01E02: Seeds

Okay, 'Seeds' is the real name for the second episode of Sons Of Anarchy, the first episode was named 'Pilot' - sorry for the confusion, there were conflicting ideas about the episode titles all over the internet.

Seeds continues as a very similar episode to the pilot; with little development, and the establishment of many of the same plots again - but I thought it was just as fun as the pilot - if not more - and had a good amount of emotion - specifically the ending.

Outside law enforcement find the bodies under the wreckage of the storage house. Clay decides they should have somebody killed out of town so the forensics team are delayed, giving them time to dispose of the bodies. Jax is unhappy with this and figures they can dump some bodies from a morgue (where he has a contact) out of town and make it look like they were killed. This seems like a lot more trouble than just ordering a hit - but the gang go for it - well done, Jax. This storyline is a lot of fun and features: grave digging, pissing off a policeman, and creating a fake crime scene, and an axe in the back of a guy's head.

Gemma has another similar run in with Tara - but they are slightly more aggressive this time. Gemma also runs into Opie's wife who doesn't have enough money to pay for her groceries. Gemma buys them for her but she refuses them (refuses the club) - she wants nothing to do with Sam Crow; as she said, she married Opie, not the club - she is a strong woman, and stands up to Gemma even when Gemma seems somewhat nicer and less pushy.

There is a local law enforcement guy, David Hale, who is bound to be the thorn in Clay's and the clubs side. Clay successfully attempts to keep his current aging police contact (Dayton Callie from Deadwood and John From Cincinnati) in the force for a little longer, but as Hale said, he is just delaying the inevitable.

This episode was just as good as the pilot, if not better. The ending had a very Sopranos-esque feel - the scene was happy, as the gang joined together for a group dinner with smiles all around - it also had that reflective quality that the Sopranos episode endings seem to possess.

Fringe - S01E01: Pilot

With all the hype J.J. Abrams has been receiving from Lost and his other projects - I'm pretty sure he only wrote a tiny portion of the Lost pilot and the third season premiere, and didn't even come up with the idea for the series - he has been snatched up by FOX to pull back the old X-Files fans, and recruit a whole new generation.

A plane is flying through an electrical storm, a man who seems to be very nervous pulls out an injector pen and uses it on himself - everybody melts. Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) an FBI agent motivated by her boyfriends critical injuries from a suspect seeks out the 'mad' Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) who may be able to cure the virus. The only way she can get to him is through his reluctant son, Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek), who does not have any contact with him anymore. To not spoil anything I will get to the main point: Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick from Oz, Lost, and The Wire), a superior to Olivia in the FBI, is first skeptical of her, but after her outstanding performance; offers her a 'fringe-science, unexplained phenomena division' - he thinks somebody is behind the many strange unexplained cases the FBI has.

Australian, Anna Torv, seems to be quite a strong actress but is unconvincing only for a few moments in the pilot - I'll give her time to get comfortable within Olivia Dunham. She also seems mirrored on other Australian actresses, such as; Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts - not that it is at all a bad thing - just a very obvious observation. Joshua Jackson is doing fine - except for a couple of comedic lines which I am not too worried about - anyway, they were pretty badly written. Which brings me to my next point; the writing. The pilot is plotted nicely, just as I am sure the mythology is too, but much of the dialogue is very obvious, and the way most of the characters interact is just very bold and direct. I won't comment on characters being one-dimensional or anything like that, because there are very few pilots that do accomplish this in the first episode, especially a show of this nature.

I really liked this episode, some of the humour caught me off guard and was hilarious, there was good acting from everybody, great production values, and a darkly humourous ending. I am looking forward to seeing what stories they have come up with for the season - and seeing if they can come close to rivaling the best of The Twilight Zone or The X-Files.

True Blood - S01E01: Strange Love

HBO tries to pull it's next big hit with True Blood - they've been trying to get a ratings winner since The Sopranos ended last year. There has been a multimillion dollar marketing campaign for the series - but did it all pay off?

I have no problem with HBO picking up True Blood, but trying to make it their new signature show is definitely pushing it - were none of them at Alan Ball's pitch meeting to them - or do they assume that because Alan Ball is producing it, then it must be fairly similar Six Feet Under. It was stated by Alan Ball himself that this series was a more than slight departure from his previous work - that's not to say that it is stupid television - he labelled it popcorn TV for smart people. But it doesn't have the immediate large-scale appeal that shows such as The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, and Sex In The City had. It seems much more suited or limited to have a small cult following, and HBO have never been big on them - with the exception of The Wire.

This series was adapted by Alan Ball from the vampire novels authored by Charlaine Harris. Ball wrote and directed the pilot episode - along with taking the helm of the show for the foreseeable future. True Blood is centered around Sookie Stackhouse who is played by Academy Award winner Anna Paquin, a barmaid living in Louisiana who can read people's minds. When Vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer) shows up at the bar she is entranced by him; due to not being able to read his thoughts. Vampires have been 'out of the coffin' for a couple of years due to a synthetic blood drink that was developed to fulfill all of their nutritional needs - so they can live normally in society - I'm sure a lot of them don't take to assimilation too well. Vampires that are prominent in society and the media claim that they just want to be understood, and have the same rights that any human has. This show will probably use Vampires as a metaphor for other minority groups: homosexuals, African-American's, even Aboriginals; if they decide to delve into the complexities of assimilation. Sookie is joined by her over-sexed brother Jason, played by Ryan Kwanten (Vinnie from Home and Away), and her 'Gran' that they live with. At the bar there is Sam Merlotte, the owner of Merlotte Bar, where Sookie works. He is 'secretly' in love with Sookie, but how could you keep anything a secret from somebody who hears others thoughts. There is also Sookie's loud-mouthed best friend Tara (Rutina Wesley - who replaced Brook Kerr from the pre-air pilot) who has a thing for Jason.

It is very hard to judge how this series will turn out, but, so far I like it; the acting has been good, and the direction solid. I can't say too much on the writing because everything is still very vague - is that a comment in itself? With Alan Ball in charge I will definitely stick around for the season. Those expecting Six Feet Under will be disappointed, but that isn't to say that it will have any less depth - as Buffy did in it's time: there was so much depth hidden under and around all that genre-busting and camp. HBO must have seen something in this... there was a full season order, that has already been shot.

90210 - S01E01: We're Not In Kansas Anymore & S01E02: The Jet Set

When did the slow-to-moderately-paced teen drama suddenly become uncool and unmarketable - oh yeah, when Gossip Girl premiered. That shit was pure luck - still very mainstream shows like Dawson's Creek and The O.C. were much better because they took their time on things. The pilot for The O.C. for example. It could not have been better - it was focused, had emotion, and took it's time. Apparently none of the execs took note at how Cane fell on its face right from the word go. There were so many characters, and so many stories... and the scenes were so short. The 2-hour 90210 premiere suffered from these exact same problems, but, with addition; way too much music - source and score (that awful, awful score). I swear the longest scene was a minute long - and anytime a scene went for more than 10 seconds; source music was added to the background - they must think that all kids today have ADD and learning disabilities - they do.

I'm not going to go through much exposition, because, to be honest, we would be here for the length of the pilot. Anyway, the basic premise is that the Wilson's: adopted son, Dixson (Triston Wilds from The Wire), daughter, Annie (Shenae Grimes from Degrassi), father, Harry (Rob Estes from Melrose Place), and mother, Debbie (Lori Loughlin from Full House), move to Beverly Hills from Kansas to live with their actress mother/grandmother Tabitha (Jessica Walter from Arrested Development). Harry is going to be the new principal at West Beverly High, and the kids will be attending. There is the bitch character, Naomi Clark (AnnaLynne McCord from Nip/Tuck), the jock, Ethan Ward (Dustin Milligan from Final Destination 3), 'quirky' journalism guy, Navid Shirazi (Michael Steger from The Winner), and Avril Lavigne pseudo-goth blogger, Erin Silver (Jessica Stroup from Reaper).

Yes, Erin Silver, for all of those who were avid watchers of the original series. I like it this kind of continuity, it adds a nice, comforting, layer and value to the show which wouldn't be there without it. The special guest appearances from Shannen Doherty (Brenda Walsh - how was drama school?) and Jennie Garth (Kelly Taylor), Nat (Joe E. Tata) and an upcoming appearance in episode 3 from Kelly's mother Jackie (Ann Gillespie) - I would love for them all to stick around - actually, I would love for them to kick all the new kids and just have all the old characters - but I will have to settle with what we have been generously given. Nat's appearance was very short, as he had trouble with a coffee machine - the peach pit is some kind of coffee shop now? Nat sold out - but he had a nice reunion with Kelly and Brenda, with a quick mention from Brenda that whenever Brandon thinks of Nat, he feels like a mega-burger - gee, thanks - after everything? I think the seeds have also been planted for an all too familiar Kelly, Brenda, Dylan replacement love triangle - or perhaps that was a wink at the old audience - I really hope so...

The plot with Annie and the rich guy wanting to take her out is very similar to a plot in season 1 of the original series, it was dealt with better on the old one - if only for the creepy factor - for those who remember it. The bitchy Naomi girls birthday party was fairly entertaining with a highlight being the dance with her boyfriend in front of everyone, right after she found out he was cheating on her - wouldn't that be horrible.

Some other problems I had with the premiere was that we weren't given reason enough to care about any of the characters. We were just thrown in there. Also I found the lacrosse team story to be very tired and run-of-the-mill - again, it probably didn't help that we couldn't care about the characters yet.

I will blog the next couple of episodes to see how things develop - but it is not looking good. Shenae Grimes' acting left something to be desired, but most of the blame can be placed on The CW for developing the series in such a way.

Sons Of Anarchy - S01E01: Seeds

Hooray! "Sons Of Anarchy" turned out to be more than an amateur beat-off to "The Sopranos" - I'm afraid I can't say the same for "Brotherhood".

Creator Kurt Sutter (The Shield) pens the pilot episode which just premiered on FX. Allen Coulter (The Sopranos) directs the episode masterfully, already defining the shows own look. 'Seeds' drew in an impressive 1.5 million viewers - in comparison to The Shields season opener which pulled 1.1 million.

At first glance the biggest strength for the show seems to be the cast. We have Charlie Hunnam (Undeclared), Ron Perlman (Hellboy, The City Of Lost Children), Katey Sagal (Married With Children, Futurama), Maggie Stiff (Mad Men) and Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files) and Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos). I was always critical of Charlie Hunnam, especially in Undeclared, until this pilot where I think he matured as an actor and has become great. What we have seen of Ron Perlman has been good, but we will have to wait a little longer to see how he really plays the character - he was in the pilot a fair amount of the time, but wasn't given any really great scenes.

The motorcycle club basically own the town of Charming in California - they are desperate and will do anything to keep drugs and developers out of their town to keep their way of life in tact. A white supremacy group are trying to push their drug trade into Charming, but the club will not let that happen, and the white supremacy group The Nords, will not give up that easily - I see this power struggle being a prominent theme in the season. The club are also involved in various illegal operations, including selling guns to other gangs. Jax (Charlie Hunnam) is the vice-president of the club and son of the tough family matriarch Gemma (Katey Segal), who is with Clay (Ron Perlman), the club president, and is somewhat of a step-dad to Jax. Jax's father used to be the president of the club, but was killed. Jax finds some of his fathers old documents that describe a very different motorcycle club which was more about freedom and peace than the current club. When Jax speaks to his mother of them, she tells Clay and they decide they must not let him slip away from the club. Out on a job, Clay tries to make Jax finish off a rival who is on the ground, to help secure Jax to the club even more. Jax's junkie ex-wife played by Drea de Matteo is pregnant with his baby, she overdoses while pregnant and the baby needs to be pre-maturely taken out of the womb. When Jax finds out about this he is pissed and goes looking for whoever supplied her with the gear. When Gemma finds out, things get much nastier than expected, as she takes a visit to see ex-daughter in law. The doctor who is looking after Jax's ex-wife is his old high school sweetheart Tara, who left Charming and evidently her old lifestyle behind for something better, "I'm not the same girl I was ten years ago", Gemma replies with "I am", and lifts up Tara's shirt to find a tattoo on her lower back, "I guess there's some things you can't change". Tara is now back as a resident at the hospital. Perhaps it is no coincidence she is back - it will be fun to see how her, Jax, and Gemma interact. Katey Sagal is so great in this role, I'm glad she has found a way to break free once and for all from Peggy and Leela, not that there is anything wrong with those characters, or her performance of them - good shows.

There are so many Shakespeare allusions in this script, mainly Hamlet, if the series continues to go down a few of these we are going to get some hugely gratifying endings. The series is very character-driven, but the story with The Nords and keeping Charming the way it is, should be promising too. One of my only problems with Sons of Anarchy are the first 'Seeds' that have been planted for the storyline with the guy out of jail who wants to go legit, but needs the money, and can't leave his family again. I know it could be dealt with nicely, but I have seen it a lot in "The Sopranos" and other films. Pretty weak criticism, eh?

I look forward to next week's episode - oh, and did anybody notice Tommy Flanagan from Braveheart, his facial scar gave it away for my girlfriend, but I only knew once I heard the Scottish accent. Am I slipping in my old age? Tune in next week to find out.

Mad Men - S02E06: Maidenform

I love that we get some focus on Duck this episode, he always seemed a very empty, boring, and underdeveloped character - It seems I was right, at least, about the empty part.

A heavy theme in Maidenform is about how the characters see themselves, and how they think they are perceived by others. Pete takes advantage of his position and sleeps with a vulnerable model - they go back to her place where her elderly mother is in the other room - creepy. When Pete returns home he gives himself a smug and satisfied look in the mirror - he is so proud of what he has done, he actually likes what he sees in the mirror - such a despicably childish character.

Betty bumps into Arthur at the war memorial day service and is embarrassed for him to know she has children. I think Betty wants to be desired on a more extreme and child-like level - Arthur is the second 'young' character to draw these kind of feelings from her. Off her exchange with Arthur she buys a bikini at the auction. When Don sees her wearing it at home he humiliates her by telling her he doesn't like it, it attracts attention, and it is desperate - Betty replies with "I didn't know that", before covering herself up. Don selfishly wants his wife to be one thing and somebody like Bobby to be the complete opposite. As Don keeps repressing and talking down to Betty, I wonder when she will suddenly crack, instead of half-rebelling - It will be a long time coming.

Roger organises a lunch between Don and Duck to resolve their issues together - However, Don says he doesn't have a problem with Duck. Don goes to see Duck in his office and Duck thanks him for keeping him with the company and asks Don to accept his apology - he acknowledges that he would be expendable anywhere else. Don accepts. Duck's ex-wife comes to drop his son and daughter, and their dog Chauncey off with him for the night but shows up early: she says he usually isn't good in the afternoons (due to alcohol) - Duck quickly dismisses it. Later, the children tell Duck that their mother is remarrying, and that Chauncey is being left with him - this upsets Duck. Many people have said that Duck did not like Chauncey - but I think he loved Chauncey. When the kids tell him he is being dumped with the dog he says that their mother can't make them do that, and that he learnt to live without Chauncey so they could have some consistency. Also, he is constantly communicating with Chauncey which I doubt he would do unless he cared for him. After all of these feelings of regret and remembrances of the past, Duck's professional and personal problems push him to have a drink - after struggling to stay sober for a while. His drinking probably ended his relationship with his family, and nearly destroyed his career at another job. While just about to take a drink from the bottle, he sees Chauncey staring at him - he cannot stand to see Chauncey looking at him, to be reminded of everything that he has lost, and what a vapid shell of a man he has become. He takes Chauncey down to the door and sends him out onto the streets of New York - so he can drink without being reminded of his past. Duck walks back up to the office with a furious expression on his face, as Chauncey waits at the door - barks - then turns and wanders off into the streets. Duck has chosen slow suicide as opposed to something immediate which I am sure he would have done otherwise.

Peggy finally takes some advice from Bobby and Joan. So far she has gotten herself very far, career wise, but things start to go downhill when she misses out on an opportunity at work, due to her not being told about a meeting at a bar - and not at all fitting in, even if she had attended. Peggy goes to Joan for assistance at work, but Joan tells her she doesn't understand the business in which Peggy is in - though, she is the master of her own turf. Joan advises Peggy to start expressing her femininity on the job to get ahead. Bobby advised her of this once before, and finally she does it - Peggy finds out about the guys going to a men's bar for a job related event she was left out of, and decides to dress up for it. The guys are surprised to see her there and dressed up. They warmly welcome her,Len gets her on his lap, asks her what she wants for Christmas, and tells her she has the best seat in the house. Peggy is quite taken aback by this but begins smiling shortly until she catches Pete's eye. Pete is upset that she is acting in this way - much like when she dances for him in the first season, and he says "I don't like you like this". Perhaps he doesn't like her reducing herself to this level. But, I think it is a parallel (one of the very, very many) with Betty and Don; Pete does not like Peggy being different to what he has pinned her down to as in his own mind - maybe there is also some jealously in there.

I think Don telling Bobby not to talk, parallels the scene at the end of the episode with his daughter, "I'm not going to talk. I don't want you to cut yourself". Don may realise this is the way he is treating the women in his life, he may be conscious of the fact he treats them the way he did. He tells her to leave - just like Duck got rid of Chauncey - he cannot handle his daughter being proud of him, and also cannot stand his daughter reminding him of how he treats the women in his life.

Kudos, Matthew Weiner. I have only touched on the complexities and nuances of this episode - fire up some discussion below if you wish.

Prison Break - S04E01: Scylla & S04E02: Breaking and Entering

Prison Break has switched it up again this season. From breaking out of prisons to break-in's of an Ocean's 11's style, they need to find six different bits of data in six different places this season - thanks to Homer's "The Oddyssey". Scylla was a six-headed monster and Odysseus had to sacrifice his team to defeat it. But Michael won't sacrifice his 'friends' - yeah, they are all friends now... except for Linc telling Mahone that after all this is over they will settle things - I guess they have to be friends to have a super-cool break-in gang, but it is lame, plot-driven, and doesn't respect the characters or the believability of the show (which is already dead to me).

The new characters are interesting, although there is our token straight-faced guy in a suit who kills people without hesitation again this season, actually, he kind of reminds me of Anton Chigurh on No Country For Old Men - only because they are both big, often calm, and deal out big hurts on people. The Asian nerd hacker guy Roland Glenn is annoying, he will probably just fuck things up for the brothers more than help them. His 'digital black hole' device has joined the ever-growing list of the little things of great importance. It apparently acquires any digital information within 10 feet, and Glenn built it himself. This device is how the group will get the six different bits of data. Naturally, I'm sure it will break, go missing, or get stolen at some point soon. Donald Self is by far the most interesting of all the new characters, many fans have been critical of his acting but I find his New York look and talk adds something special to the table, and he is also a little different a character than the previous newbies. The FBI handler is in charge of the Fox River "A-Team", and has provided them with the means to find the data to bring down the company. Self gives a warning threat straight out of the gate, "No games and no stunts: otherwise, I promise you, you’re gonna see a whole other side of me". Another interesting feature is his patriotism, “Some people still fight for this country. Maybe you’ve been too busy boosting car stereos and breaking heads to remember that.” This comment to Linc is interesting as he compares Linc's patriotism to his own. We know nothing of his back story or why he is so patriotic. I think Self can be trusted for the moment, but as soon as their goals change it is bound get messy.

I blame Brett Ratner for all of the funky quick-cut montage scenes in Prison Break. Nearly every time a strong feeling needs to be portrayed a quick-cut montage scene is quickly deployed, example: the aftereffects of Sara's torture and Michael's tattoo removal, not to mention his 'grieving process' last season in Sona. For those who didn't know, Brett Ratner directed the pilot episode and received an executive producer credit because of it, I blame every bad casting decision on him too - well, fuck it, I blame everything that is bad about Prison Break on Brett Ratner.

Michael was rubbing between his eyebrows much more than usual. When it was discovered that there were six separate sources for the information, and Michael performed the between-eyebrow-hold - I thought to myself; Scofers should really have had a panic attack or two by now. As it happens, blood drips from his nose in the next shot - not a panic attack; but far more interesting anyway. It's fun when you guess or think about things just before they happen - unless it isn't done subtly, which I think in this case it was, well, at least that is what I'm choosing to remember.

I'll be back for next weeks episode, but I can't guarantee I will stick around for the whole season, unless we have something better than 'Break-in of the Week'. On a positive note, it is better than Season 3.