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.