Why Was I Too Snooty For The Fades?

This post has been edited and republished as there were errors on the original posts. By errors I mean Blogger decided to delete the first half so it didn't make sense. Bastards.

As I grow older and more wiser I realise that I'm a bit of an idiot and this became even more apparent when I watched The Fades. The Fades was a television show that aired on BBC3 way back in 2011 and featured some familiar faces including Natalie Dormer, Joe Dempsie and Ian De Caestecker and followed Paul (De Caestecker) who was haunted by dreams of an impending apocalypse and also saw fades, which are essentially ghosts. Due to his abilities he was labelled as an Angelic, but his powers exceeded the ones of the other Angelic's around him and he was tasked with stopping the looming apocalypse that he had been dreaming of. So basically it was a show that was tailor made for me yet I didn't watch it. I sat through the whole of ITV's Demons which was abysmal but I missed this beauty.

I first took notice of the show few months ago when I was wikipedia-ing (it should really be a verb) a lot later than I should have been and stuck it on my very long watch list. I never actually thought I'd get around to watching it because I felt that there were more worthy things to watch on it but last week I decided to bump it up as there's only six episodes and I doubted I would actually watch it all. I figured it'd be more of a teen drama with some supernatural elements, and more about the main character getting laid and saving the world would be a side story. Boy was I wrong. The only thing about this show that even slightly points towards teen drama is the fact that some of the characters are teens but that's it really. Sure theres a bit of romance but it dealt with a lot of adult themes like loss, grief and sacrifice. I love my supernatural dramas and I think that British television tends to mess up that genre a fair bit, The Fades is probably the most enjoyable supernatural drama I've seen on British television in the last couple of decades and you can trust me because I have done my research.

The Headless Horseman Returns. Again.

I did want to title this 'The Headless Horseman Rises Again' but it felt like it was too soon after my Gotham post so I decided to go for returns. It doesn't feel as good, I should really think ahead when titling posts. Anyway, It's a dark day when it's towards the end of September new shows have premiered but I can't be bothered to write about them. Heck I can barely be bothered to sit through them. It makes me put more faith in the shows that I already watch just because I have no alternative. I can't drop shows because I have nothing the replace them with! Pretty much all of the new show this years seem terrible! It's because of this I put off watching the series two premiere of Sleepy Hollow, I didn't want the disappointment. So did I really need to worry?

*Spoilers ahead*

Well yes and no. We'd finished off the first series with Abbie stuck in purgatory and Crane being buried alive by his son, so naturally I was on the edge of my seat and desperate to know how on Earth they got out of that mess. I knew that Crane would find a way out, probably quite swiftly but what I really wanted to know was how Abbie was going to leave purgatory. I'm an expert in the subject because of my years of studying Supernatural so I know that it's not an easy place to bust out of. Well initially the audience are led to believe that the first episode back is set a year later. So basically we missed Abbie breaking out of Purgatory. At this point I regretted falling in love with Sleepy Hollow a year ago. They took the easy way out and went for a time jump? Seriously? Will we be getting hints about what happened throughout the series? I wasn't prepared for that.

Peaky Blinders Series Two Sneak Peak: Who Did This To Us?

We're only a few days away from the return of Peaky Blinders and the BBC have decided to tease the fans a little bit more by releasing a new sneak peak, check it out below:

Following the teaser that we got a few weeks ago we can tell that the Shelby dodgy dealings have escalated from the antics we saw in season one from Billy Kimber. So perhaps this is who Tom Hardy will be playing, the person that bombed out the Peaky Blinders pub. You don't cast a person like Hardy and not put him in a pivotal role so it's only natural that he will be Tommy's new nemesis. If this is how he's being introduced into the show then I can already tell that his character will be fun. It already seems as though series two is going to be bigger and better than the first, with their world of crime being expanded and dealing with the fallout of Campbell and Grace at the end of the first series. Seeing Tommy going up against Chester Campbell and whoever Hardy is playing is seems like it'll be riveting and I do hope my expectations will be met (I'm sure they will be). 

We haven't heard too much about Grace after the end of the last series so perhaps that's confirmation that she is no longer with us. It was pretty obvious but I did take a liking to her so I was in denial, but I can only deny it for so long. Because of what Tommy and Polly are wearing in the clip I get the feeling that they'd just come back from a funeral, possibly Graces? But why would Polly go to her funeral? Just to support Tommy? Well I guess we'll find out on October 2nd! Bring. It. On.

Live Long and Blog!

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Gotham: The Rise Of James Gordon

Another week, another comic book adaption. Except that Gotham isn't really, instead of documenting the exploits of the caped crusader that we've all grown to love through Nolans Dark Knight trilogy (and the Burton films for the people that are over the ages of 20) Gotham tells the story of a young James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) as he attempts to clean up the city, starting with the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Most of you will recognise McKenzie as Ryan Atwood of The OC fame but he managed to flex his acting muscles a fair bit on Southland and it's great that he gets to take centre stage on a show that people will actually watch. While watching the show I didn't get distracted by Ryan Atwood playing with guns, I was enthralled by the righteous James Gordon trying to clean up the city. Within five minutes of Gotham McKenzie made me forget his unfortunate beginnings (come on, The OC wasn't even that good) and I was enamoured by James Gordon, I fell in love with him within minutes and I eagerly await what comes next for him.

I'm pretty sure that this is the only Batman adaptation that side-lines Batman but the show doesn't feel worse off for it, it actually feels like a more fresh take on the series. We have seen the character of Batman being done to death and I'd say that supporting players and villains within the series are quite intriguing so it's quite surprising that it's taken till now to have a show that explores them. I mentioned before that the show follows the future Commissioner Gordon but in the pilot we are also introduced to young incarnations of Oswald Cobblepott/Penguin, Edward Nygma/The Riddler and Selina Kyle/Catwoman. The introduction of these characters so early on is a tell tale sign that the show won't go exactly the way of the comic books as the lore has already been broken by Selina Kyle witnessing the murders of Martha and Thomas Wayne. I'm sure that DC fan boys will be up in arms about this but to me it shows that the show runners have balls, and the characters are interesting so it'll be nice to see what they do with them.

My Netflix Weekend: Amber

I explained earlier about how Netflix had killed my social life by giving me brilliant things to watch, and after engulfing Southcliffe and having some lunch I switched my attention to Amber, a series that Netflix recommended to me. I'm starting to believe Netflix knows me better than I know myself. Amber is an Irish mini-series that follows the story of a 14 year old Amber Bailey who goes missing and the efforts made by her family and others to try and find her, and like Southcliffe the audience witnesses their attempts to rebuild their lives. After watching Amber I realised that Netflix has not only helped me discover new shows, but it has also helped me discover that I'm really into doom and gloom. In my defence was raised in Britain which is home to the Kitchen Sink dramas! Nothing good ever happens here unless its a sitcom, and even they can get dark occasionally. Back to the point of the post, check out the trailer for Amber below:

Southcliffe focuses on a man on a mass murder spree and the effects of the people around him so it would be easy to think that it would differ greatly from Amber, but it is actually quite similar (probably why the geniuses at Netflix recommended it to me). In Southcliffe Morton's murder spree is what triggers the events of the series but it is mainly about the people that are left behind, how they deal with the tragedy. The same could be said for Amber, it's advertised as a crime drama and we do get some insights into the police work and clues to what may have happened to Amber but in my opinion the show is more about the people that she's left behind. We get to watch those closest to her, mainly her parents Sarah (Eva Birthistle) and Ben (David Murray) as they embark on their respective searches for her, and how they deal with it when the trail goes cold. Not only do we see how the lives of her loved ones are effected by her disappearance but complete strangers are as well which we see in episode three with Charlie (Dan Li) who's life is damaged when all he wanted to do was help her (I won't go into it too much, I'd quite like you to watch rather than give you the highlights).

My Netflix Weekend: Southcliffe

Netflix has a lot to answer for, ever since I've had access to it my social life has gone down the drain which is a travesty because it wasn't exactly active in the first place so now it's completely vanished. Honestly, I think I've forgotten what the outside looks like, and I can't quite remember what the polluted air smells like. Secondly, my lack of sleep. Seriously, after a few hours Netflix should just shut itself off and not take into account objections of the users, just for the health of the people that sit on the computer for twelve hours straight. It's like a love hate relationship for me, I hate it for depleting my free time but I love it for what it gives me in the time it takes. I like to think I'm on the game when it comes to television but Netflix has made me realise I'm not, so I've spent many hours watching things that I didn't during their initial run. This past weekend one of them was Southcliffe.

Southcliffe is a four episode mini-series set in a small town called Southcliffe where one of it's residents, Stephen Morton (played superbly by Sean Harris), goes on a shooting spree. The show focuses on how the people of the town are effected by the events of his actions, the loss of their loved ones and the attempts to rebuild their lives. Due to the shows non-linear manner it also gives the audience an insight into the reasoning behind Morton's actions and the deterioration of his mind set due to the isolation and ridicule he gets from other Southcliffe residents. Take a look at a short trailer below:

So How Was What Remains?

So I've had an eventful weekend, I've pretty much been watching mini-series after mini-series. I'd like to say that it was time well spent, until I watched the last 20 minutes of What Remains. What Remains is show about a possible murder that aired on the BBC last year, and follows the lead detective Len Harper (played by Shameless' David Threlfall) as he tries to find out about the death of Melissa Young. Could it be a murder? And more importantly, why did no one notice she was dead?

          

The show strays a little from the regular 'whodunnit' storyline we get from detective dramas as the audience is unaware of how she died, it could of been an accident, nobody is certain, apart from Len's gut anyway. I feel that although the death of Melissa is the driving force of the show, it is about so much more. We get to explore the uneasy relationships with the characters living in the apartment building, including Kieron and his unruly son (I say unruly, I find him downright creepy), the abusive relationship between Peggy and Elaine (played by Indira Varma, I've honestly hated every character she's ever played) and let's not forget the trusted Joe who has a secret woman living with him. Initially the only somewhat normal characters within the show were Vidya and Michael (Russell Tovey, I wish he wasn't gay) and even they get sucked into the exploits of the neighbours.

So I Finally Watched The Stag (aka The Bachelor Weekend)

We haven't exactly been deprived of stag/bachelor party movies since The Hangover was released and exceeded everyones expectations and it seemed as though we'd a new genre of stag/hen movies. Of course we've had The Hangover sequels, one of which was essentially a carbon copy of the originally, A Few Best Men and even female led films such as Bridesmaids and The Bachelorette. That's all well and good and happens all the time in the industry (we all saw the influx of vampire films/television after Twilight), the only problem is that in my opinion not many of the ones released have actually been very good. I had hope for The Bachelorette but all those characters were so darn unlikeable and I was hoping A Few Best Men would be a really good British Comedy but it just fell flat. In fact the only one that didn't fall flat and outdid my estimations was Bridesmaids. 

Bridesmaids was advertised as a female version of The Hangover which is my opinion was the worst thing about the film as a whole. Sure The Hangover was funny but thats all it was, there was no in depth storyline, it was just about men that got slaughtered, then Ken Jeong showed up and hilarity ensued. Bridesmaids was adored by audiences and critics alike because it went beyond the drunken antics of a soon to be bride and her bridesmaid and instead expanded the story and looked into their lives more than The Hangover did. It was funny, had a solid storyline and a stellar cast and deserved better than to be called the female version of The Hangover. Now, I didn't start writing to insult The Hangover, I just simply wanted to discuss The Stag (aka The Bachelor Weekend in the US). You can take a look at the trailer below:

Supernatural Season 10 - Deanmon Rises

In just under a month season 10 of Supernatural will be beginning on The CW, and this is the teaser that we've been giving. I love Dean Winchester and I have done since day one but in all honestly, Demon Dean or Deanmon looks like he'll be a hoot.

                   

Theres been so much angst over the past few years that its quite nice to see someone having fun, even if it is Deanmon (I could get quite used to saying that) that's having the fun while Sammy tries to get his brother back. Since season 4 we've explored friendships between Winchesters and Castiel, and since last season we've had more time with Mark P. Shepherd's Crowley so it'll be nice to see some more of that going forward. Of course it'll be nothing like their friendship with Castiel, I'm assuming that there will be plenty of control issues and double crossing. Crowley couldn't control the Winchesters when they were human, does he really think he'll be able to control a Winchester Knight Of Hell? It'll be riveting to watch.

I can't forget Sam and Castiel whom we get snippets of in this trailer. They'll be wanting their Dean back and it seems like Castiel will have given up while Sam keeps looking, we know how stubborn Winchesters are. Watching Deanmon seems like it'll be fun but and I hope it does last for a while and isn't over with within a couple of episodes, but I do hope to get Dean back for Sam and Castiels sake. I hope to Chuck Shurley Supernatural that the writers don't make me love Deanmon as much as I love Dean. I'd like to say that it's impossible for that to happen but they are the people that made me love Dean in the first place. Either way, BRING ON SEASON 10!

Live Long and Blog!

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White Collar: Neal And Peters Bromance

A while back I wrote about my top 5 fictional BFF's and after binge watching White Collar I realise I left Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke off of the list, a list that they should probably be at the top of.

*Spoilers for season five below*

For those of you who haven't watched White Collar before I'll just give you a brief summary, Peter (left) is a FBI agent who has caught Neal (right) who is a thief/ forger twice. They come to an arrangement where Neal works for the FBI as a criminal informant whilst wearing an anklet and Peter is his handler. Hilarity ensues. The show is going to begin its sixth and final season in November and I figured it was the perfect time to reflect on Neal and Peter's relationship and how it has evolved over the course of the past five years.

What Is Binge Watching?

So I read recently that watching three episodes of a television show is classed as binge watching, and because I'm all tech-savvy now I decided to tweet about it! I even learnt how to embed! EMBED! Granted, it's not actually that difficult but please allow me to have the small victories.

Apparently binge watching is watching 3 episodes of a TV show in a day. I could do that in an hour.

— The Tharminator (@Tharmim) September 1, 2014

That isn't me being sarcastic, I could genuinely do that. I have genuinely done that. A sitcoms running time is around 20 minutes long, so I've gotten through three of them in an hour no problem so I don't see watching three episodes of a television show as binge watching. Binge watching usually ends up with us looking a bit like this:

Apart from the fact that we probably don't look that great to begin with, so in actual fact we'll end up looking worse. Over the course of this past Sunday and Monday I watched seventeen episodes of House Of Cards. Seventeen. That my friends is binge watching. I essentially watched over a years worth of television (I think the time frame the show covered was over a year anyway) in about thirty six hours. I watched what should have been weeks/months worth of tales of political corruption, sordid affairs, drug/alcohol abuse and murder within the space of two days! I did take a bit of a break though to watch some Harry Potter but I jumped straight into House Of Cards again as soon as I was done with that. The only reason I haven't finished it all off is because if I start again I won't stop and I can't function without sleep like I used to.

Calling All Marshmallows For Play It Again, Dick!

It's been seven long years since the end of Veronica Mars, seven years of campaigning for a revival, a movie spin-off, a kick-starter campaign and finally earlier this year devoted Marshmallows got what they were waiting for. A Veronica Mars movie with one final mystery to wrap up the franchise. But if you watch the movie you'll realise it wasn't one last mystery, the movie did leave room for the franchise to go on. They may have wrapped up Carrie Bishops murder but we still have questions about the future of Weevil and what the hell is going on with Celeste Kane? Who knows if the questions will be answered, the film didn't exactly break box office records as it was a limited release but Marshmallows are a pretty persuasive bunch so maybe we'll get another movie in about seven years. One thing is certain though, the Dick Casablancas will be living on in Play It Again, Dick.

The Evolution Of Covert Affairs

I wrote earlier about Falling Skies and about how it didn't grow and evolve. Many shows fail to do this, Covert Affairs is not one of them. I recently went back and watched the first couple of episodes of it and although I still enjoyed it it feels like a completely different show to the one that exists now, it's managed to leave behind the light and fluffy feel of the earlier seasons and become a more serious, serialised drama.

Theres nothing wrong with how it was originally, it was a decent piece of television. We followed the protagonist, Annie Walker, as she attempted to balance her new position at the CIA with her personal life with her family life. She was also investigating the disappearance of her lost love, Ben Mercer, who turns out to be a former CIA agent. Sure it had an on-going storyline but in all honesty it didn't really matter whether I'd missed an episode or not. It was episodic as many shows tend to be early on in their run, but it went on for a lot longer than it should have. It only really lost it around season 3 I think, when it became a highly serialised show with so many twists and turns that you couldn't even miss five minutes, let alone a few episodes.