Brief Catchup

I will get up to speed on more UK television later in the week but for now, here's a brief rundown on three programmes from last week.

Lip Service - Interesting third episode. I don't know whether I should love or loathe Sadie as a character. While I don't care about her stealing Becky's necklace (sorry, I find Becky annoying), I didn't like that she exposed Lou's affair with Tom, even after said affair destroyed her relationship with Tess. I think both Tess and Frankie need to watch out for her. As for Jay and Hayley doing ketamine - there's a lesson to be learned there. Frankie's ongoing research is a lot better than most her scenes with Cat, which rightfully got a firm reality check at the hands of Sam this week. At the halfway point of this series, I definitely do find myself enjoying it more and more.

Single Father - I have to ask, was there really any doubt that Dave would have fathered the rest of Rita's kids and similarly was there any doubt that Lucy in the end would choose Dave over her own biological father? No on both accounts but as a final instalment to the mini-series, it was a satisfying ending to everything. Okay, I could've done without Sarah revealing that she had planned to get pregnant when she slept with Dave but overall, this was a good ending to an enjoyable if not wholly original series.

Thorne: Scaredycat: Okay, the first instalment to this new series and it's not the best. I'm still enjoying the series overall and David Morrissey is the best actor for the role of Thorne but I found Sandra Oh deeply annoying as Sarah Chen and as for the murders of some prostitutes, well, it's not as gripping as the first killer we encountered, is it? Still, the next two episodes could change everything. One thing I did like was Thorne looking after the young lad whose mother died and both Thorne and Phil dealing with the consequences of nearly being exposed for Frank's murder. Tughan still might catch them out though.

Sunday Catch Up

I know I put up a blog two days ago talking about these two shows but I wanted to use this one to talk about their respective third episodes.

Single Father - I liked the third episode arguably more than the first two put together, the pace was somewhat better. Dave pretty much seems to be in a terrible predicament of not knowing if any of the kids he's had with Rita are biologically his and Sarah sensibly got annoyed when Dave admitted that he slept with her after learning of Rita's ongoing contact with Stuart. I don't know if I've just seen Rupert Graves playing so many jerks (excluding Sherlock) over the last few years but I really don't like Stuart all that much and the trailer for the finale suggested that him and Dave are both going to go head to head over custody of Lucy as well. After three well written and interesting episodes, I only hope this mini-series gets the ending it deserves.

Thorne:Sleepyhead - I didn't like this ending as much as I hoped I would've. I think it's because while the reveal of Frank's son being the culprit made sense, it just felt a little too dragged out and Tughan's steadfast hatred of Thorne could become just as irritating as it's potential for further storylines. He knows that Thorne killed Frank and both Phil and James managed not to blab about it - for now. The use of flashbacks and intregrating the characters in them for Frank's murder were done particularly well. That being said, while Allison's ending made more sense here than the book's version, I don't think Anne was as utilised as she was in the first instalments. Still, Scaredy Cat starts on Sunday and Sandra Oh showed some great potential in the ads for it.

Siblings Reunited

Okay this is going to be brief runover of what I've seen in the last few days and sorry for the delay.

Merlin - Two very interesting episodes here. With the first one I've seen, there was the return of the fairy creatures from the first season and a young woman named Elena, who sensibly did not want to be Arthur's suitor. Top marks to the writers for keeping the goofiness at the right level and for the sympathy drawn for Elena. As for the second episode, nice to see Gwen's brother and the return of Cenred but I would like the Morgana/Morgause stuff to move a little more forward now.

Lip Service - I really do like this show. Okay, so the comparisons to The L Word probably won't end soon but it's certainly more believable and less elitist take on lesbian culture and the characters are definitely interesting to watch. Frankie's not too likeable but she's fascinating and it's hard not to lovbe/feel bad for Tess, given that Lou's pretty much messing her about and she lost her job after impersonating a child psychologist badly. Plus Cat's burgeoning relationship with Sam is nice to watch as well. Not really too bothered about Jay and Ed or Becky - yet.

Thorne: Sleepyhead - Going on the second episode alone, this is definitely taking a different route than the books, which isn't a bad thing. Thorne and Phil's fractured friendship over an old secret is definitely interesting and it was nice to see some of Holland's home life as well as a means for Allison to try and communication with Thorne and Anne but the cliffhanger at the end of the first episode seemed resolved a little too quickly, even if a fair amount of time passed for Tom. I'll comment about the last part of Sleepyhead in a later blog.

Single Father - I'm not going into hyperbole about how this is a brilliant show but the hype surrounding it is certainly justified, that I will admit. Taking Dave to the levels of seeking out Lucy's bio-dad and then sleeping with Sarah after learning that Rita had one secret too many did all make sense, even if it was terribly predictable. The acting in this, especially from the youngsters does continue to impress but I can see some difficult decisions ahead for Dave in the next two episodes.

The X Factor - Ah, the last two weeks of this have been fun. In the space of four shows, we've lost Storm Lee, Diva Fever and John Adeleye (the latter I was sad to see go) but more importantly, we've also had Cheryl plug her latest rubbish song as well as a totally manufactured feud between her and Louie to endure. Um, guys, this show is about the contestants, not the judges. Speaking of contestants, I find it hilarious that for all the negative publicity she's generated that Katie has still managed to be saved for the last few weeks. And my sister keeps nagging me about the greatness of Mary Byrne. I get it, already - Dublin should be proud.

The Apprentice - Ireland/UK Versions - I'm beginning to think that I need to seperate these two because at the moment, I'm enjoying them in equal measures and find myself supporting certain candidates and bemused by others. In the UK version, Shibby bemused me but his bad decisions with the task made it just for Alan Sugar to give him the boot, whereas I also find myself a little taken with Jamie. The Irish version makes me wonder why Dave hasn't been booted out but I guess it had been fair for Caroline to get the chop over the ad fiasco, even if her comments about certain people coasting along might be true. Either way, I bet BBC1 and TV3 are very happy with the ratings for these shows nonetheless.

- Keith Carradine has been cast as Penny's father in an upcoming episode of The Big Bang Theory.

- Robert Englund will be guest starring in next week's Halloween themed episode of Chuck.

- Kristin Davis is set to star in upcoming NBC series, The Happiness Project about one woman's quest for true happiness.

- Mariah Carey is being rumoured for the US version of The X Factor.

- Chandra Wilson has recently directed an episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Wildcards

Merlin has had a mixed couple of weeks, especially with the last two episodes I've seen. Gwaine gave us a dashing knight who got exiled from Camelot, even after saving Arthur's life from two disgruntled thugs using magic to disguise themselves as knights but The Crystal Cave was an episode where a lot actually happened. Merlin tried to change the future but instead his interference caused it and Morgana herself became more incensed with rage when she learnt that Uther was her actual father and made a few more failed attempts to kill him. Somewhere in these last two episodes - Arthur, Gwen and Gaius had middling roles, the Dragon became irritated with Merlin's authority and Morgause was a surprising voice of reason with her volatile sister. The season is having a hit and miss quality but it's still better than mostly everything else that airs during the weekend.

Sky1 deserve a medal for bringing Thorne: Sleepyhead to the small screen. If the first episode alone is anything to go by, this is going to be a fantastic series. David Morrissey is brilliant in the leading role and the ongoing plot with the killer trying to get his victims into a state of locked in syndrone is just as creepy to watch as it was to read and I've read the book. The ending where Thorne got attacked in his own apartment by the killer desperate to connect with him totally took me by surprise. I can't wait to see where this further goes and the supporting cast as also brilliant.

There's been so much hype for Single Father over the last couple of weeks that I wasn't sure if I would end up liking it myself but you know what? I did and them some. David Tennant definitely is a masterful actor and his depiction of Dave's anguish over the death of his wife and trying to keep his family together is certainly a performance that's deserving of major awards within the next year. The writing's not particularly original but it's utterly believable and there's a brilliant cast here, especially Suranne Jones and the actors playing Dave's children are very good as well. I think the kiss between Dave and Sarah was a little rushed at the end of the episode (even if 10 weeks passed since Rita's death) but overall, this is another series I'm looking forward to for the next three weeks.

The Apprentice - well, I've been watching both the UK and Irish versions of the show and it just goes to show that both versions continue to entertain me. Last week's premiere of the UK one showed that Alan Sugar can still startle the bejesus of the show-offs vying for a position in his company. Dan Harris wasn't soon packing his bags after blundering in the first task and there's already a departure of another contestant for personal reasons as well. The Irish version in the last two weeks saw both Niamh Humphries and Kieran Walsh getting the boot through their own incompetence and misfortune. Still though, I'm actually surprised that scheming Tara survived Bill Cullen's wrath this week and then I remember that the argumentative madam makes for interesting TV. Well more interesting than Panos's all too familiar fear of power tools.

If I read more about Cheryl Cole being the most hated woman in Britain because of The X-Factor, I'll scream. I don't remember her generating this amount of hate when she beat the crap out of a toilet cleaner all those years ago, so it's interesting that not putting Gamu through has earned her such grief. Granted both Katie and Cher messed up and shouldn't have gone through but fans tends to go overboard with these sort of things. The use of wildcards was predictable though but the exits were interesting. How did Belle Amie and Katie Waissell fare better over Nicolo Festa and FYD? Oh well, I guess congratulations to Mary Byrne, whose version of It's A Man's Man World really did bring the house down. I always worry when I find myself agreeing with Louis Walsh but even I couldn't fault his hyperbole of the Tesco worker this week. Still think it'll be either Cheryl or Dannii who'll snag the victory this year though.

- Christopher J. Hanke is playing the guy that Scotty cheats on Kevin with in Brothers And Sisters. Richard Chamberlain is also guest starring as a love interest for Saul. Ryan Devlin is also playing a grad student who might interest Kitty.

- Glee's Rocky Horror Picture Show episode will air on FOX from October 26th.

- HBO have announced that William Hurt, Cynthia Nixon, Paul Giamatti, Topher Grace, Ed Asner and Billy Crudup will appear in upcoming adaptation of Andrew Ross Sarkin's best seller Too Big To Fail.

- Katerina Graham has admitted that Bonnie may be getting a love interest in the second season of The Vampire Diaries.

- Kristin Bell is being linked to NBC's upcoming remake of The Munsters.

BBC Winter Lineup - My Highlights

By tomorrow, it will be October and the BBC have finally shown us their winter lineup. There are a lot of interesting shows that I'll talk about more over the next few days but here are the four that I really want to see the most and yes, I'm a walking cliche

Accused: Christopher Eccleston was fantastic a couple of months ago as John Lennon in Lennon Naked and now he's back in this six part drama. Christopher appears in the first episode, playing a drug dealer awaiting to hear his fate in the dock. Later episodes will feature Mackenzie Crook, Peter Capaldi as well as Marc Warren, Juliet Stevenson and Andy Serkis. A date has yet to be confirmed.

Single Father: Expect the explosion of fangirls in the next few weeks because David Tennant is finally back on UK television in this four part series from Mick Ford. Tennant plays a photographer named Dave, whose life is turned upside down following the death of his wife in a road accident as he raises their four children and falls for his wife's friend, Sarah (Suranne Jones). Normally it wouldn't be my thing but I'll give it a go and it starts on October 10th 9pm for four Sundays on BBC1.

Christopher And His Kind: I'd be lying if I didn't say I was looking forward to this one. Matt Smith playing a gay writer - Christopher Isherwood certainly appeals to me the most of these other projects from actors who've played/currently play the Doctor and hopefully there'll be some pretty good guy on guy stuff to boot. BBC2 will be airing this one in late October.

Doctor Who - Christmas 2010 Special: I love that the Moff man isn't overly big on spoilers but I wish we would get an episode title for this one already. Both Michael Gambom and Katherine Jenkins look great and the clips in the BBC trailer seem to back up the fact that this special will be a take on A Christmas Carol. And there better be plenty of Amy and Rory as well as the Doctor playing Christmas ghosts.

BBC Autumn/Winter Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MokbmWgArN4