5 posts tagged “hugh laurie”
Surely absentee monarch is more fitting given that Jackson hasn't dominated the music scene for at least a decade. Perhaps his come back tour would have set the world alight or maybe gone out like a damp squid like the Spice Girls. Either way he leaves behind his music legacy, and the gossip columns (and news channels by the looks of it) will squeeze out every last column inch and soundbite from his death. I was never really into his music but I do have two memories. Firstly, is the ace Fry and Laurie sketch about Jackson, and secondly Javis Cocker rushing the stage at the 1996 Brits to protest again Jackson.
Tuesday is a boss night for staying in, and curling up on the sofa with a homemade desert (tonight it's bread pudding - there's a recession people!) and your honey. My top returning shows are House and NCIS. Oh Gregory House, I do adore you even if the actor playing you is forced to wear a hairpiece because this role came a tad too late in his follicle development. I just hope that this season they are able to find a way to integrate Chase and Cameron into the fold a bit more, and perhaps get rid of Thirteen as she is even more annoying now she is definitely dying of Huntingtons. After watching tonight's season premier I love that they have broken up House and Wilson. It looks as if House is going to have to start "wooing" Wilson in order to get him back. Now, NCIS is a complete guilty pleasure and is one step away from America's Next Top Model (I jest). Funnily enough the last season ended with the current original team being broken up (a la House) so we wil see how this plays out. My only anixeity from watching NCIS is that I worry about David McCallum since he is getting on a bit.
There is really only two new Tuesday shows that I am willing to court: Fringe and The Mentalist. I enjoyed the pilot of Fringe. It has the potential to be really good. I hate that people are comparing it to the X-Files because it is a completely different animal. I'll give it two more episodes and then make up my mind about whether or not it gets a season pass. The Mentalist looks like a slicker version of Pysch. Simon Baker is easy on the eye and Robin Tunney is fairly engaging but since I haven't seen the pilot yet so the jury is still out.
On Friday night I frog marched Alex to the movies as I was in need of an action movie, and Street Kings fit the bill. Yes, we could have seen Stop Loss or Smart People but sometimes (or on a fairly regular occurrence with me) you need a movie where stuff gets blown up by Keanu. Street Kings is not going to win any awards, the story is fairly obvious but it is a nice piece of escapism. Two things struck me whilst watching it, firstly the plot is lifted from Othello and secondly Street Kings is a Hong Kong police action film. Once I allowed those two pieces of information to wash over me the film became slightly less ludicrous.
Othello may not appear to be an obvious match to a film about rouge policemen, but bare with me as I try to explain. Othello is about power and distortion of reality. In brief, Iago is the chief manipulator, and poisons Othello against his wife Desdemona. Iago is able to distort the reality of all around him, he has Othello on a leash and it all ends badly. Very badly with a high body count. Now, Street Kings has a gang of policemen who operate above the law. The ring leader is Captain Wander (Forest Whitaker) who uses Detective Ludow (Keanu Reeves) as "the sharp end of the spear" to promote his own political ambitions. Ludow thinks he is fighting on the side of the righteous, that Wander and his team are fighting the good fight to clean up the streets not to fill their pockets. Wander is Iago, he has Ludow's head so full of lies that he doesn't know right from wrong, and who he should trust. This of course makes Ludow Othello (Keanu as Othello - I know!) and his Desdemona is his ex-partner Detective Washington. Wander convinces Ludow that Washington has squealed to Internal Affairs (that top copper is of course played my Hugh Laurie with his own hair line for once) about Ludlow and his card is marked. In an attempt to get to the bottom of Washington's betrayal he teams up with Detective Diskant (aka Cassio), and falls into very murky territory.
Entertainment Weekly gave Street Kings a C which I think is a little harsh. I'd rate it a B. To remark that Keanu is wooden is missing the point. We all know that Keanue is pretty face with a limited ability when it comes to the craft. This innocence worked in the Matrix trilogy and I think it works here as well. Ludow truly does not see that he is being played by all sides: the corrupt cops and internal affairs.
Between cable On-Demand and the internet I've seen a few of the pilots for the coming season, and I am really excited about how my 2007/8 TV schedule is shaping up. Let's be honest I really don't have all that much going on. My down time will basically be made up of studying, yoga and TV (with the occasional trip to the flicks) until the Boy Wonder returns at the end of the year.
After a dismal few years, I am actually planning on watching a few shows on NBC - shock horror! Though they appear to have been taken over by Brits as Kevin McKid (Journeyman), Damian Lewis (Life) and Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman) are all heading up new shows and fingers crossed none of them get canned as they all look quite good.
Below is what I'll be DVRing and praise the gods that we have the ability to records two channels simultaneously otherwise I'd be screwed! Though it doesn't help my jam packed Tuesday 9pm slot - I will have to start utilizing the TiVo box in the office for the Reaper overspill. I should point out that I wont necessarily be watching these on the official nights as I am going to be strict with my study schedule (at least two hours per night) and bless the DVR for not dictating when I have to watch my shows. And of course this is just my network shows doesn't include any gems from BBC America or Showtime (Dexter and Brotherhood start soon).
Monday
8pm Chuck (NBC) / 8:30pm Aliens in America (CW)
9pm Heroes (NBC)
10pm Journeyman (NBC)
Tuesday
8pm NCIS (CBS)
9pm The Unit (CBS) / House (Fox) / Reaper (CW)
Wednesday
8pm Pushing Daises (ABC) / America's Next Top Model (CW)
9pm Bionic Woman (NBC) / Kitchen Nightmares (Fox)
10pm Life (NBC)
Thursday
9pm Supernatural (CW) / CSI (CBS)
There are about half a dozen shows that I follow and without a shadow of a doubt Battlestar Galactica takes the top spot. In fact it annihilates the competition. Growing up in a pro-scifi environment I never realised the prejudice against this genre. It is a loss to those not tuning in; such a stellar ensemble cast, good writing and direction. You can tell that everyone involved cares and then there are the perks: Ron Moore's podcasts for EVERY episode, round table discussions, webisodes over the summer and a geeky music video (which I have watch an unhealthy amount of times today). The big themes running at the moment are Gaius Baltar's trial (I am confident that the silver tonged genius will get off) and the identities of the final five cylons. There is a lot of speculation on the boards but my guess is Saul Tigh... Only time will tell. My other top show at the mo is Supernatural. It has shifted up from guilty pleasure to highlight of the week, along side BSG and House (which has a BIG revelation coming about the gruff doctor's childhood tomorrow night!) - such is my exciting Manhattan life.
Supernatural has a Buffy crossed with early X-Files feel about it but with consquences. I am all about cause and effect, it's the Greeks what can I say. There is great chemistry between the actors playing the Winchester boys (Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki), plenty of sarky banther and classic rock references. The background is that their mother died in mysterious circumstances and their father dealt with it by becoming a hunter of all things supernatural. This of course leads to tension and resentment as the boys grow up. Sam (Padalecki) eventual leaves to go to college but is reunited with Dean (Ackles) to go looking for their missing father, and that is where season one begins. You need to watch it carefully as there are plenty of good genre cameos: the smoking man, Fred from Angel, Leoben from BSG and Tricia Helfer will be seen later this season!
Being a born again student has eaten into my couch potato time. There had to be cut backs and several shows on parole at the moment. Season passes could be revoked at any time for CSI, ER, Bones, Prison Break and 24. I am not buying into the ER resurgence, and CSI has lost its faux edge. I need to check to see if Danny Cannon is still exec-producer cos if not that might explain the gear shift down to medicoracy. To a certain extent I am enjoying Liev Schrieber as the mysterious fill-in whilst Grisolm treads the boards, he pockets his used coffee cup in a manner of someone with something to hide. Prison Break has got very blah since they crims escaped and I just can't see it going three seasons. If they tied things up neaty at the end of this seasons the principals would be free to head up other shows perhaps Wentworth Miller could turn up on 24. CTU should so hire Michael Scofield. I'll give up on Bones once I have seen the arc where Stephen Fry guests a shrink. How long till Fry & Laurie reunion?
And finally 24. Which totally lost it last week which introoduced last season's bluetooth man as Jack's Bel-Air dwelling brother - WTF. Everyone knows that Jack does not have family. He was bread in a lab and is a cylon; one of the final five.
