Another new American import debuts on small screens here in the UK this weekend, namely E4’s The Class. The channel has been cheerily advertising the reunion sitcom for a while now (see trailer below), trying to compare it to its perennially popular station stable mate Friends. Both revolve around a group of white, late 20somethings and their madcap antics, with The Class even coming courtesy of David Crane, a creator of Friends. But how much further the similarities stretch might never be fully realised as The Class was cancelled after only season in the US.
Set in Philadelphia, the comedy stars more Brits trying to crack America in ex-Eastender Sean Maguire and Doc Martin’s Lucy Punch and starts with the former high school chums coming together for one of their number’s engagement party, only for things to go horribly wrong. The Class received a mixed critical reception in its homeland where it was Emmy nominated and picked up a People’s Choice Award for favourite new TV comedy. Six o’clock seems like an odd timeslot to launch a new sitcom but for those that miss Chandler, Monica, Ross and co. maybe The Class will be a pleasant diversion until the Friends repeats start at 7.55pm.
His last TV acting gig might have been four years ago, but actor Nick Berry has turned down the chance to return to Heartbeat. The offer was for a special one-off appearance as part of character PC Phil Bellamy’s exit plot. Berry formerly played PC Nick Rowan (pictured right with former co-star Niamh Cusack as Kate) in the sleepy Sunday night nostalgia-fest, and enjoyed seven years on the show from 1992 to 1998 before his character emigrated to Canada.
An ITV source reveals: “We tried to persuade Nick to return for Bellamy’s exit but he declined. We thought it would be a good idea as Bellamy and Rowan were pals when the show started in 1992. Nick didn’t want to do it as he’s busy with his production company and he’s happy doing that.” The new series of Heartbeat begins next month and will see a new bobby on the beat to replace the departing Bellamy.
Comedy panel shows are popular, as are puppets, and so new channel Dave (formerly UKTV G2) have gone and combined the two in their first commission for the recently re-branded station. ‘And Then You Die’ is the cheerily named show to be hosted by puppet Barrie Stardust, which like other fault-finding fests such as the Grumpy series, will look at the disappointments of modern life.
Over to Dave to explain: “Host Barrie Stardust is joined by a panel of star comedians. But Barrie is a host like no other… not least because he happens to be a puppet! Each round of the show is based on life’s terminal failures, disappointments and annoyances. But this is no gloom-fest… And Then You Die can always see the funny side of being miserable.”
As a naturally sleepy person, staying up til 11.30pm on a Sunday night is quite the effort, but when it comes to The Sopranos I’m prepared to spend my Monday yawning a lot. For the first few episodes of this, the second part of the sixth and final season, I was quite disappointed. The show seemed uncharacteristically laboured and desperate to undermine each of Tony’s significant relationships (maybe to build to an unpredictable ending), but in the past few episodes it’s decided to get its groove back.
After the Grim Reaper decided to make a shock appearance claiming Chris last week, came another will-he-won’t-he-die scenario, this time with Tony’s son, the troubled and depressed A.J. The gloomy fella had been so lost since his fiancée Blanca ditched him, and that combined with his disillusionment with his new chums, led him to jump into the family’s swimming pool with a plastic bag over his head and a cinder block attached to his foot. Fortunately, he had misjudged the length of rope, and it was long enough for him to struggle above the surface and remove the bag. Unable to move with the weight of the cinder block, A.J. cried for help until Tony returned home to dive into the water and save his son. Phew!
In many ways it feels like the pint-sized pop princess hasn’t even been away, such has been the media’s constant surveillance of her throughout her cancer treatment, but now as Kylie gears up to release her first album in four years, she is planning an hour-long ITV special. The programme will see Kylie shake her ass and belt out classic tunes from past and present, though don’t expect to see former flame Jason Donovan in the audience (apparently the two have fallen out over allegations in Donovan’s autobiography that Minogue dumped him for former INXS front man Michael Hutchence – ooer!)
Kylie is clearly looking forward to the show (no announced air date yet): “Working with ITV on this special has been an incredibly exciting experience. My creative team and I are preparing a fabulous evening with a mixture of old songs, new songs and lots of surprises thrown into the mix as well.” While ITV are similarly thrilled by what is sure to be a ratings hit, with their controller of music and events, Guy Freeman, explaining: “We are delighted to be bringing Kylie to ITV1 in what will become the must-see TV event of the Autumn.”
Where to start with a season review of Dexter? The impressive writing? The fantastic acting? The brilliant location work? I could go on and on. Dexter should be the blueprint for all other debuting shows. It devoted the pilot episode to a meticulous and thorough introduction of our central character, giving only scant details on the supporting cast and it was this commitment to the audience’s understanding and familiarity of Dexter Morgan that guaranteed our undivided attention for all subsequent plotting.
Once we had come to appreciate the complexities of his serial-killing (he only offs those who ‘deserve it’ – a move that in itself defies most of television’s moral conventions), he could push the boundaries of what we could accept. I practically willed him to murder girlfriend Rita’s nasty ex-husband Paul. Imagine that, a nice girl like me. That’s the magic of Dexter.
Since Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant announced that the Christmas special for Extras would be the sitcom’s swansong, it seems like every celebrity from George Michael to David Tennant has bagged a role in it. And now with the release of the show’s trailer, we can see which familiar faces are going to pop up in the festive frolics, alongside regulars like Barry to get us chuckling.
As the show will be one of the undoubted heavy-hitters of the Beeb’s Christmas line-up, they are doing all they can to keep the trailer from appearing on sites such as YouTube. Instead, to get your first look at Clive Owen turning his nose up at Maggie Jacob’s (Ashley Jensen) prostitute or a mocked manly hug, follow the link here. Enjoy!
Noticing that Living has picked up another new US import, I was all eagerness to present it to you Scoopers. That was until I found that it was cancelled in America (by FOX) after just one season. There is much Internet distress at this decision, one that many believe was reached not due to the poor quality of the programme but declining ratings after yo-yo scheduling. But enough on the (perhaps premature) demise of the show and more on what we can expect from its 14 episodes here in the UK. The name is far from cryptic so you would be on to a winner if you suspected some legal eagles.
Justice follows a dream team of lawyers – Ron Trott (Jack Bristow in Alias), Luther Graves (Kareem Said in Oz), Kerr Smith (Jack McPhee in Dawson’s Creek) and Alden Tuller (soon to be seen in Private Practice and Lost) who are the go-to-guys for big, controversial cases at law firm TNT&G. Each episode follows one case from start to finish, with the climax provided by the truth behind it. The show was popular for keeping its focus firmly fixed on the case, rather than any bed-hopping by the characters and was applauded for being less gimmicky than many of a similar ilk. But comparisons with House, CSI, Law and Order and The Practice have failed to save this series from the network’s chop. Another emerging classic lost or deadweight cut loose?
Last night was the eleventh of the first round matches and it was a more exciting affair than some of the recent ones. That’s not to say that the teams were the best we’ve seen so far, that they were populated by boffins that could teach Stephen Fry a thing or two – simply that the contest was a lively and unpredictable affair. Just what fans (who are happy just to get the odd question right and enjoy a fleeting moment of self-satisfaction) want from the academic face-off.
Paxman introduced us to the teams from Jesus College, Cambridge and the University of Exeter and after the necessary preamble it was time to get quizzing. Oh goodie.
After the mid-season high of the ferry crash saga, Grey’s Anatomy seemed to suffer a bit of a low last night. It had invested so much energy and intensity into the three episode story-line that it felt a bit tired and exhausted afterwards, as though it needed to put its feet up and have a nice sit down. Sadly for us, the show limped its way through a rather slow and sorry hour that saw me roll my eyes in annoyance on more than one occasion.
Now that her mother is no more, Meredith began to accept her other side of the family: sad-sack dad Thatcher and perky step-mum Susan. The uncomfortable attempts at family bonding were dreary and non-eventful, a pale shadow of the emotionally fraught relationship between Meredith and mother Ellis. Why they killed off this character I don’t really understand. Did they think they had played it for all dramatic possibilities or did they simply want to give Meredith a whole new set of domestic dilemmas? Regardless, the new alternative is going to have to pick up speed it if hopes to emulate any of the former relationship’s intrigue.
- Quentin Tarantino has rejected an offer to direct an episode of Heroes as he hasn’t watched the sci-fi phenomenon. Articulate as ever, the Pulp Fiction director said: “They were trying to get me to do one. I haven’t even seen the f***ing show. What the f*** is Heroes?” Have you not been reading TV Scoop Quentin? [The Sun]
- The BBC might not like her anymore but Moira Stuart is set to receive a special honourary salute from the Screen Nation TV and Film Awards. Known as the ‘Black BAFTAs’, Stewart will pick up the Edric Connor Inspiration prize when the ceremony is held next month. [Digital Spy]
- With Sky boasting most top-level sports and ITV nabbing the leftovers, the Beeb have announced plans to broadcast the Super Bowl. What was the tiddly-wink championship already taken? [BBC]
- New lads channel Nuts TV had a pretty underwhelming debut on Wednesday night, averaging 9,000 viewers. Though aimed at saucy young fellas the average age of the viewer was 42. That’s more dad than lad. [Broadcast Now]
Hollywood seems to love the graphic horror genre known as ‘gore porn’ or more succinctly, ‘gorn’ at the moment. With endless movies featuring gruesome torture and murder (see the Saw movies – or if you have any sense – don’t) littering cinemas, Christopher Moltisanti is clearly on to a winner with his new mafia/ slasher flick Cleaver. Having been his pet project for a while now, Tony’s protégé finally got to unveil his work at the film’s premiere.
Carmela was upset with what she saw onscreen: a chubby mob boss with a taste for white bathrobes and ordering his crew from his basement. Mmm – sound like Tony? Her mood worsened when the cinematic Tony, as played by Daniel Baldwin in the absence of Sir Ben Kingsley, got it on with his minion’s fiancé. Was this scene a direct reference to Tony and Adriana? Carmela certainly thought so, and her suspicions were further aroused when the boss was killed by his subordinate, depicting what she labelled Chris’s ‘revenge fantasy.’
Last week’s ending to Grey’s Anatomy was just great. If I was a cartoon character (which I’m not altogether sure that I’m not on some days), my jaw would have hit the floor and my eyes poked out on stalks as Meredith was told by Denny Duquette and bomb disposal expert Dylan that she, like them, was dead. The revelation was an incredible finale and I then spent the next seven days in eager anticipation of when GA would be back on my telly.
Picking up where the second part finished, we rejoined Meredith and some other notable dead folk (Liz, her mother’s former nurse, Bonnie one of her most notable patients and her dog, Doc) as she struggled to come to terms with what was happening. True to his training, Dylan was all for explaining things to Meredith in a forceful, direct fashion but Denny intervened, believing a more compassionate, understanding route was possible. Dylan raged that they were running out of time and couldn’t waste a moment, while Meredith looked on confused. What were they talking about and why was time of the essence?
I was quite prepared that my hour spent last night watching new Living TV comedy/ drama Men in Trees would be time wasted. Recent new US shows that I have taken a gamble on, such as Dirt, The New Adventures of Old Christine and Lovespring International disappointed, and as per the aftermath of a break-up I am now consciously avoiding them in fear of any ‘what happened to you, I thought you liked me?’ questioning.
Moreover the trailer was kinda cutesy and I feared that the Anne Heche star vehicle would be another one of those saccharine efforts that American TV just loves: the quirky girl (often quite clumsy) looking for love and finding it in the most unexpected of places. Well it turns out that I was pretty much right, but was pleasantly surprised by how well it worked. Am I turning soft in my old age or could there actually be something about Men in Trees?
For us ladies interested in all things Grey’s Anatomy, American network ABC have just the thing: a ‘which character are you most like?’ quiz. I know that the show has some male fans, but sadly the quiz only includes the six central female characters: Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, Miranda, Callie and Addison. Maybe if you boys fancy yourselves with long pretty hair you could have a go, or perhaps invent your own with the male leads. Bigoted and bullying? Aha – you must be Isaiah Washington!
The questions tax you on your attitude to work, children and family and pictures of the lovely ladies pop up to entice you. Are you ambitious and work-obsessed like Cristina or a ‘people person’ (*puke*) like Izzie? Always prepared to sacrifice myself for the greater good at the Scoop, I had a quick stab at the quiz myself. And who am I? Thankfully not Meredith. She might have McDreamy but that doesn’t stop her being McFeeble. Bored at work – why not try it yourself by clicking here.
Why do all words that imply something to be risqué make me laugh? Racy, raunchy, saucy – they all sound so embarrassed and self-conscious, so horribly British, like something my gran would say to describe a bit of kissing. Well these toe-curlingly repressed descriptions have been wheeled out for David Duchovny’s new series Californication. The show sees the former Fox Mulder as Hank Moody, a struggling writer with a predilection for the ladies and has been upsetting folk down under.
Australian sponsors have pulled their commercials from being sandwiched between scenes of full frontal nudity and underage sex, and now religious groups are encouraging more advertisers to follow suit. The show has received great reviews in the States since it premiered last month, though is broadcast on the cable channel Showtime there which includes other more adult-oriented programmes such as Weeds, Brotherhood and Dexter. A shame that some people are not satisfied to just reach for their off button, but want to see the show off the air.
Hidden away in the murky depths of Living TV’s programming schedule is the return of the lesbian drama The L Word. Back for its fourth season, The L Word often suffers from that most ingratiating of labels: ‘a cult.’ For industry bods that means a marginal audience that can be neglected (it doesn’t start til 12am!) but should mean a committed viewership that shouldn’t have to suffer late nights to enjoy their favourite programme. What else are Living TV showing that they can’t shift in their planning – repeats of Most Haunted or Jerry Springer?
This teaser trailer for the fourth outing comes courtesy of American network Showtime and reminds us of our old favourites and introduces interesting new faces (is that Cybill Shepherd in there?) With Shane back in L.A., Helena minus her mum’s money and Kit hitting hard times – the girl’s don’t skimp on the action, even if they do on the clothes sometimes.
Is Nigella doing an under-the-table deal with Waitrose by endorsing the supermarket chain on her new BBC2 show Nigella Express? She certainly doesn’t need the money, after all what would she spend it on but more food and those horrible long, black, jersey skirts? However viewers who tuned in for the domestic goddess’s new show on Monday were surprised by the numerous supposed plugs and have complained in their numbers. Do some people watch TV just to find something to complain about or do the moaning Minnies have a point?
Firstly, Nigella was seen brandishing a packet of Waitrose pork chops. Secondly a peak into her packed fridge revealed further Waitrose goods. Lastly she took a taxi to her local branch of the store. Eagle-eyed viewers/ supermarket saddos like me could easily spot that she wasn’t slumming it with Ian Wright in Asda. Oh no, Nigella is cheerily middle-class and so suitably scoffs on John Lewis food.
The third season of House came to a close on Five last night (*blub*) with a double-bill. I don’t know why they aired two episodes back to back though as it wasn’t a two-parter, just the normal self-enclosed instalments we’ve come to know and love. That’s not to sound ungrateful – House is brilliant and any time I spend with those characters is precious, I just wish Five hadn’t felt the need to rush through the final moments. Even though I’m already writing news on the cast for next series (see the story here), I so wanted the third season to end correctly.
The first episode entitled ‘The Jerk’ saw a chess whizz kid admitted to the hospital having violently attacked his gaming opponent. While the victim suffered wounds that would easily heal, Nate, the jerk of the title had severe head pains that House and his team struggled to diagnose. With an inability to censor his dialogue, 16-year-old Nate was obnoxious and rude to all his attending physicians and ignored his mother when she would attempt to intervene. Was his mean and inappropriate behaviour a symptom of his condition or was he simply a bit of a brat? If only we had a genius doctor that could help…
TV seems to be the natural home for all Hollywood actresses over 40 at the moment, with Glenn Close fronting a new legal drama called Damages. The show debuted in the States but mere weeks ago and already the Beeb have liked enough of what they’ve seen to stump up some license-payer’s money for the programme.
The show, which co-stars Cheers wig-wearer Ted Danson is directed by TV veteran Allen Coulter (Sex and the City, the Sopranos, Rome) and will be broadcast from early 2008. Surprisingly, it is reported that it will air on BBC1 rather than hidden away on BBC2, but maybe that’s what comes of splashing out over £150,000 per episode.
From:Set The Video: NASA: Triumph and Tragedy, BBC Two, Wednesday, 24 June, 9pm