TV of 2011

2011 is nearly over, and it's time for me to reflect on the televisual year that was. One thing to note, looking at my list, is that this wasn't a great year for American TV. Having said that, I haven't seen Once Upon A Time yet or American Horror Story, both of which look like they could be good. But out of what aired in 2011 on British TV, here's my top 10, in reverse order for added tension!

10. Misfits series 3

This is much lower down my list than it was last year. Lets be honest, Misfits lost some of its mojo in series three. Was it because Nathan left? Maybe not. Joe Gilgun stole the entire series as "the new guy" Rudy, with his inventive split-personality power, cheerleader phobia and love of frozen treats.In fact, it was the power-swapping that really messed up the show. Their powers were demoted from clever metaphors for the personalities to just a side-note that can be swapped when they need new ones. The new powers, bar Curtis' gender-swapping ability, left little room for exploration. The series makes the list for a few genius things alone: Rudy, Kelly's delivery of "fucking Nazis", the zombie episode and the brilliant, brain-hurting, tear-jerking finale that makes you instantly want to rewatch series 2.

9. Smallville series 10

Here's where it all ended for Smallville, that loyal little show that's been with me my entire adult life. Clark Kent finally donned the red and blue and Lex Luthor returned from the dead (and conveniently lost his memory). Some characters unexpectedly died and some unexpectedly survived. Just about anyone who ever had a role in the show returned, and even if Darkseid was a complete wash-out, who cares? We got Brainiac 5, Emil Hamilton singing Elvis, Hawkman being awesome, Jimmy Olsen returning (and looking an awful lot like his big brother), Michael Hogan back in an eye patch, Justin Hartley dressed as a showgirl and the Superman theme tune. Good times.

8. The Shadow Line

A compelling, grown-up drama, billed (optomistically) as the British Wire. It's not that good, and in fact it occupies a stylised universe all of its own rather than The Wire's brutal realism, but it boasted one of the best casts of the year including the scene-stealer of 2011, Stephen Rea as the unexpectedly terrifying Gatehouse. The resolution was a little odd, but it kept you guessing until the very end with its nicely cyclical twist. In the words of BSG: "All this has happened before..."

7. The Crimson Petal and the White

My obligitory period drama of the year. This dark, disturbing drama is only three episodes long but it will change the way you look at Victorian dramas. It out-Dickens Dickens in the misery stakes and shows just about every character you care about being totally screwed over by the patriarchal Victorian system. Romola Garai's got to be a shoo-in for a BAFTA for her role as justifiably vengeful prostitute Sugar.

6. Fresh Meat

My comedy-drama of the year, this proves that I was onto something all those times that I said someone should make a show about students. Okay, so Kingsley and Josie let the side down a little, but Howard, Oregon, JP and Vod are surely four of the characters of the year. Jack Whitehall surprised everyone by being good (especially since he had the difficult job of making a posh twat loveable) but Zawe Ashton deserves all the plaudits for her intoxicated, bewildered, rambling Vod. It's a rare show where the girls get to be as funny as the boys.

5. The Fades

This was the most exciting new British series of the year and it still doesn't have a second series commissioned. Yes, it loses points because the nerdy banter between the two teen leads is from circa 1999, but a mundane 'I see dead people' show evolved into a daring, morally complex, thrilling drama. Characters drop dead all over the place, Iain De Caestecker and Daniel Kaluuya made a hell of an impact and Angelic Neil was easily the most bat-shit crazy character of the year. If it doesn't get a second series it'll be an outrage.

4. Merlin series 4

This series marked a watershed for the family-friendly show that's grown up with its audience (and cast). The world of the show was turned upside down with episode 3 and gave the show a much-needed shake-up. It's not 'safe' anymore - characters die, betray and get hurt. It still has the odd weak episode and it's a shame that the focus seems to be moving away from Merlin and the compelling Colin Morgan and towards Arthur, but this was their best series yet.

3. Being Human series 3

This was the final series of Being Human as we know it. After the disappointment of series 2, this series really stepped up a gear with Robson Green surprising everyone as a suspicious werewolf, Mitchell going to alarming lengths to protect his dark secrets, and the ticking time bomb that is amnesiac Herrick in the attic. Series 3 was 6 episodes of pure tension with a heart-wrenching finale that brings everything back to the central relationship between the werewolf, the ghost, and the vampire who, try as he might, was always just a little bit less human than them.

2. Doctor Who series 6

The Moffat/Smith dream-team really hit their stride this year, with Matt Smith just getting better and better, Karen Gillan finally making Amy likeable and Alex Kingston and Arthur Darvill doing sterling work. This was the year of the River Song mystery, but it was two intelligent, powerful stand-alone episodes by Neil Gaiman and Tom McRae that the series will really be remembered for.

1. Game of Thrones

The most addictive, compelling new show of the year, stuffed with cliffhangers and jaw-droppng shocks (for those of us who haven't read the books). It's fantasy in the same way that BSG was sci-fi, in that it's really about politics and human nature. It's gorgeous to look at and boasts an amazing cast (albeit one that gets killed off at a rate of knots), and is the best show on TV for playing 'spot the obscure British TV actor' (it's Chris from Skins! It's that bird off Hollyoaks! It's... Jerome Flynn?!?) I'm eagerly anticipating series 2.

Doctor Who vs Sherlock: FIGHT!

It's BAFTA time again, the day in the year where Jimmy McGovern clears a spot on his shelf for yet another gong while fans of cult shows bemoan the lack of awards glory for their favourites. But last year the mold was broken when Misfits walked away with the Best Drama Series trophy. I think that might just be the first time a British sci-fi show has actually won our highest TV honour, and it has increased my interest in the BAFTAs. If Misfits can win, anyone can. The Best Drama Series category is chock-full of my favourite shows: Sherlock, Misfits, Being Human and Downton Abbey. (I'd like to see Being Human pick it up for a brilliant third series and in honour of it's wonderful first series, for which it wasn't even nominated. But I think this one will be between Downton and Sherlock. Any would be a deserving winner though.) I'll also be interested to see if Robert Sheehan and Lauren Socha stand any chance in their acting categories (what clips of them will they be able to show at 8pm? Nathan trying to lick his own balls?) but I was sad to see Russel Tovey miss out on a nod, again.

But the category everyone is excited about in Best Actor. Mainly because Doctor Who and Sherlock are going head to head, with both Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch nominated alongside Jim Broadbent and Daniel Rigby. But we don't care about them. This is the Doctor versus Sherlock Holmes, people! It's a Christmas special dream! Let's take a look at the contestants:

Matt Smith - The Doctor

Believe it or not, this is the first time a Doctor Who actor has been nominated for the role. Does that mean that Matt Smith is better in the role than Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant were, or just that BAFTA are now finally acknowledging that sci-fi acting is still acting?

Frankly, he's brilliant in the role. (Whether he's better than the others is a discussion for another blog). His is a completely bonkers performance. He somehow embodies childish exuberance and ancient weariness at the same time and never reads a line quite how you'd expect him to. He is a sheer force of nature and finally proved that he can do the serious stuff as well as the comedy with his heartbreaking performance in The Doctor's Wife, looking utterly bereft as he says "hello" to his TARDIS for the first and last time.

But will voters be able to see past the fact that this is essentially a children's programme? Smith's performance could be a bit too off the wall for some tastes and the fact that he doesn't have a huge body of work behind him to show his range could dent his chances. Plus, some people could say that based on interviews he's pretty much just playing himself. So far his performance in series six is even stronger than last year, so maybe he deserves to win it next year instead.

Benedict Cumberbatch - Sherlock Holmes

I'm rewatching Sherlock at the moment and remembering just how bloody brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch is in the role. Magnetic, commanding, intelligent - like Matt Smith, you can't take your eyes off him. It's not until a second viewing that you realise how good Martin Freeman is too in the less flashy role of Watson. Cumberbatch makes a character with very few likeable traits absolutely loveable and has surprisingly good comic timing.

He also has the advantage of being a two-time BAFTA nominee. He's got the CV to back up his nomination and prove his (very impressive) range and with his strange, angular face he's the poster boy for a new generation of great British character actors.

Putting him at a slight disadvantage is that Sherlock was on TV almost a year ago and he might not be fresh in voters' minds, whereas Matt Smith is galavanting in front of them every Saturday night. Also, his performance in Sherlock is inseperable from Martin Freeman's. The show and the performances are utterly dependent on the chemistry between the two of them. It would be hard to honour one performance and not the other.

If it was up to me and a gun was at my head I'd give the trophy to Cumberbatch. But only if I could give it to Smith next year, soley for The Doctor's Wife. Of course, after all this speculation the award will almost certainly go to Jim Broadbent, because who doesn't love Jim Broadbent?

Either way, there's going to be a man in that hall tonight who wins no matter how it all turns out:

Steven Moffat: The Man of 2010. Congratulations!

Kapow Sunday: The Con, erm, Carries On!

Day Two Sunday was the crazier day of the two, mainly because Helga and I went dressed like this:

Once we got there, it was the coolest thing ever. Getting there on the Tube at 9am on a Sunday in those outfits was a little... weird. By the end of the day we didn't care, and were quite happily walking into McDonalds with top hats and proton packs. Kapow made these things normal, which is another reason I love it so much!

First stop on Sunday was the Misfits panel. (Technically, it was the Misfits and Skins panel, but we don't speak of that.) After the disappointment that was the Merlin panel, Misfits was a breath of fresh, funny and foul-mouthed air. Iwan Rheon (Simon) was charming, witty and unsettlingly smiley compared to his on-screen alter-ego, and Lauren Socha was basically everything you'd hope for from Kelly ("What do you get shouted at you in the street?" "I dunno. Mostly people just like my accent, so I get 'wank-uh' a lot."). The panel included such gems as the revelation that Lauren's brother (Being Human actor Michael Socha) was nearly cast as her love interest Nathan, the reveal that the powers-dealer will be back in series 3 and develop a romance with Kelly, and Iwan discovering that the button on his desk still played the Batman theme from the pros vs fans gameshow. He proceeded to press it everytime the Skins girls were answering questions. (I may have been to blame for this disruption. I was in the front row and I told them about the buzzer.)

The panel also brought some very bad news: Robert Sheehan has left Misfits. Not leaving: left. The Christmas special is the last episode he'll appear in. He'll be written out in an online short before series three arrives in Autumn, and said short will also introduce his replacement, the as-yet uncast Rudy. Will this be the death knell for my beloved show? The other characters are all very strong but Nathan was the lead, and Robert Sheehan brought to the role a brilliant mix of bravado, vulnerability and a willingness to be filmed rubbing sunblock on his arse crack. Producer Petra Fried was keen to point out that it was Howard Overman who created Nathan, not Robert Sheehan, and they're all sure that he'll strike gold again with the new character. But still, a moment of silence for Misfits as we knew it, and the glorious Nathan. He tripled himself.

Okay, that's enough silence. Look, I got to meet Simon and Kelly!

They look a little alarmed by the costumes.

Misfits was the only panel we attended on Sunday (missed Toby Whithouse talking Being Human. Damn! Apparently Mitchell is definitely dead.) Instead, we spent most of the rest of the day queuing, this time for a Dave Gibbons signing. Being an excellent daugher, I stole my Dad's copy of Watchmen and got it signed for him.

So for me, Sunday was a day for meeting people and a hell of a lot of cosplay! I met Con-Buddy No. 2 Andy in the Gibbons queue, along with Cosplay-Buddy No. 1 Huntress:

(Come on Gail Simone, you know you want this Birds of Prey team-up to happen)

After the Gibbons signing, we managed to queue-jump for John Romita Jnr, leaving me gutted that I'd left my Mark Millar-signed Kick-Ass at home. Helga got the writer/artist double on her copy and I've never seen her so excited. Incidently, JRJR had to leave his scheduled signing early in the morning, so he came back in the afternoon unscheduled and signed until everyone who wanted his John Hancock had it. Legend.

Sunday also gave me my iconic comic con moment, running between the cosplay parade and the Gibbons queue, holding my top hat on my head like a slutty Artful Dodger while Con-Buddy No. 1 Alex yelled "the queue's moving and it's moving fast!" at me. I won't lie to you - running while in a superhero costume makes you feel extra heroic. If only I had a cape.

By the end of the day a bunch of my follow cosplayers had invited us to the pub with them for a post-con drink. And this is just the best thing about Kapow. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, happy to chat about what you were in to and playfully rib you over your choice of favourite Green Lantern. It's a 5,000-strong community of potential friends. The image of anti-social Comic Book Guys just doesn't ring true anymore. The crowd at Kapow was young, mixed gender and fun - so long as you don't try to cut in front of them in a queue. I had a brilliant time and I'll be booking my tickets for next year as soon as they become available.

Here are some more pics to end on:

You can't really see him here, but God bless the bloke who came as Blue Beetle! (He's behind one of the Ivy's) Me and Judge Dredd swapping hats.

Who ya gonna call?

Just chilling after the con.

There are far too many pics to have up here, and I'm sure there'll be a few pics of Zatanna knocking about on other people's blogs and Twitters. Give me a shout if you spot any!

But for now - Kapow, thanks for the memories!

TV of 2010

2010 has been a rubbish year for just about everything except TV, and it's been a pretty damn great year (for once) for British TV! Here's my top 10 of 2010, the only criteria being that these are all shows that screened for the first time this year in the UK, so I might be a little bit behind the US shows.

(Incidently, if I was including all the programmes I saw for the first time this year number one would be The Wire, since I finally got the box set this year. People aren't exaggerating when they say it's the best show ever. Go watch it.)

10. Being Human - Series 2

Series 2 showed a drop in quality from the first series, but it was still must-see TV, and Russel Tovey is never less than heart-breaking as the werewolf trying desperately to lead a normal life and just getting werewolf Tourettes for his efforts. This series also introduced the wonderful Ivan (yay!) then killed him off (no!). If they'd let him live, this might have been higher on my list.

9. Nurse Jackie

This strange little beast - half-hour episodes but not a sitcom - has been overlooked a lot but is one of my hits of 2010. Edie Falco makes Jackie a real, flawed person, both hero and villain at the same time and the supporting characters were all fantastic. Jackie saying "fuck you" into the severed ear of a rapist before flushing it down a toilet was one of my TV moments of the year.

8. Ashes to Ashes - Series 3

A2A may be Life on Mars' jealous cousin but it finally hit its stride in its last series with the addition of the devilish Jim Keats and boosted roles for the supporting cast. But it only really makes this list for an ending that beat Lost to it - and did it better too. Although it did take me two viewings to get over my anger that - SPOILER - everyone was dead and to realise that it was actually the best ending they could have done.

7. Downton Abbey

This was a hell of a surprise - an ITV costume drama that was actually good. It was great fun, a soap for posh people, treading just the right line between class politics, romance and back-stabbing. Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton and Hugh Bonneville flew the flag for classy acting but the real stars were a scheming gay footman and his bitter ladies maid sidekick.

6. Mad Men - Series 3 & 4

British viewers got two series' of Mad Men this year thanks to the BBC rushing out series 4 before the rights switch to Sky in 2011 (boo!). Series 3, in particular, was sublime, shaking up the entire format of the show, finally giving Don and Betty their big confrontation (and a divorce) then dodging expectations to pull a light-hearted heist caper out of the bag for the finale. I found series 4 slightly weaker, but Don's arc was fascinating and The Suitcase, a near two-hander between Don and Peggy, was beautiful television.

5. True Blood - Series 2

Some say it was better than series 1. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it was damn good, mainly for the following reasons: Jason's adventures with the Fellowship of the Sun, the line "smite me, motherfucker!", Godric, Bon Temps unlikely A-Team, the adorable romance between Jessica and Hoyt, and of course, Eric. Lovely, bastard, naked Eric. Yum.

4. Glee

Had the quality not dipped in the second half of the first series, Glee would have been higher on my list. It's an absolute phenomenon and deservedly so. The mix of near-the-knuckle jokes, weird adults, high school cliches, soap opera plotting, song and dance and Sue Sylvester is spot on - when they get it right. I worry that it's getting too kiddie-friendly for its own good, but at the top of its game it's the best and most original US show of the year.

3. Misfits - Series 2

While Being Human's second series was a slight disappointment, Misfits managed to actually be a step up from its first. As filthy and funny as ever, it became darker and delved deeper into its own mythology without sacrificing tone or losing what we love about it. Simon became an unlikely sex symbol, Alisha became a good character and Robert Sheehan continues to be the best youg actor on TV. It also pulled off one hell of a game-changing cliffhanger. Nice work guys.

2. Sherlock

This makes the list almost on the strength of its first episode alone, which was the most perfect hour I saw on TV all year. Benedict Cumberbatch was magnetic as Sherlock and Martin Freeman surprised everyone. The two of them have been the best bit of casting all year - up there with Matt Smith as The Doctor - and the programme lives and dies on their chemistry. Mark Gatiss also somehow got away with giving himself the plum role of Mycroft. Luckily for him, he was good.

1. Doctor Who - Series 5

We all expected great things from Steven Moffat and he delivered on all fronts with a great series arc, wonderfully written episodes of his own (The Eleventh Hour and A Christmas Carol stand out), a great choice of guest writers (Richard Curtis and Simon Nye surprised with their episodes), and guest actors (especially Sophie Okonedo and Tony Curran). But the one thing we weren't expecting was for Matt Smith to be that damn good. Karen Gillan let the team down a little, but Alex Kingston is wonderful.

Those Glorious Freaks

So, another series of Misfis has been and gone, neatly sidestepping the Difficult Second Season Syndrome which beat Heroes into submission.


I've ranted before on this blog about how superior American TV (especially sci-fi) is to British TV. But Misfits is the one thing giving me hope at the moment. Not only is it great sci-fi, but it could only have been made in Britain. Torchwood's glossy visuals and sexy stars suggest that it wishes it was American (they must have blown all their candles out at once because that wish has come true), but Misfits wears its nationality with pride in every reference to Eastenders, every use of the word "wanker", every explicit sex scene that would never get past the US censors, every evil Jesus.

Misfits is set in a world miles away from the tea-drinking cricket-playing pleasant green countryside of England Through American Lenses. But anyone who lives in this fine ASBO-ridden country will tell you that Misfits is far closer to the truth than the too-grim Eastenders, or the too-cool Skins, or the too-twee interpretation offered in Ugly Betty's ill-advised 'London' jaunt. It just also happens to contain superheroes.

Misfits simply couldn't have been made in the US. Well, I guess it was made in the US. They called it Heroes. But I have a feeling Misfits will be the one I remember the longest. Where Heroes grew poe-faced, crawled up its own backside and introduced a new Nightmare Future every series, Misfits has kept its sense of humour and, most importantly, its sense of the ridiculous. In one episode, time-traveller Curtis received a glimpse into the future in which they are all costumed superheroes. Later in the series Curtis caught up with his own future, and learnt that they were actually just at a costume party. Misfits is forever sneaking up on superhero cliches, then giving them a wedgie and running away.

Howard Overman is a brilliant writer, one who snuck out of virtually nowhere and clobbered us over the head with a work close to genius. I think it's now safe to call him the New Steven Moffat (although Moffat never had an obsession with people fucking melons). It also helps that Misfits has landed one of the best young casts ever collected. Each of the main characters are potentially unlikable. Curits has thrown away his whole future and still not gained much humility, Alisha is a shamelessly manipulative slut, Kelly is a violent chav, Simon is an actual psychopath and Nathan is, in Curtis' oft-repeated description, a prick. And yet we love them all, even when Nathan is trying to get a sweet and innocent healer to touch his infected penis.

Lauren Socha and Iwan Rheon are great as Kelly and Simon - she manages to dig beneath the scraped-back hair and Argos jewellery to find real heart and strength while Rheon makes the creepily unpredictable Simon the show's best wild card. But the real star is Robert Sheehan, stealing the show every week as the frankly vile but always hilarious Nathan, while giving the character a depth not even Nathan himself is aware of.

My only worry going into series 3 after that brilliantly game-changing cliffhanger is that it might be their final series. After all, how long is Channel 4 going to keep hold of that cast and that writer? We may have to say goodbye to such gems as "Save me, Barry!" and "I tripled myself", and British TV will become a cold, dark place again.

Well, we did invent the damn thing...

Some time ago, shocked by the realisation that all my favourite shows seemed to be American, I promised a blog in honour of quality British TV. And us Brits do make good TV. Cheaper and shorter than the Yanks, yes, and we have the noteable disadvantage of Tamzin Outhwaite, but good nonetheless. Especially at comedy. For those who lament the diminishing quality of post-Monty Python/Fawlty Towers/Only Fools and Horses/Blackadder British comedy, I draw your attention to the following: Gavin and Stacey, Pulling, Peep Show and The Inbetweeners. Yep, we still know our funny.

But the one thing I did moan about with British TV was the lack of decent sci-fi and fantasy. If I wanted to see someone battle the forces of evil, America was my only port of call. Which was frustrating, because we should do great sci-fi (or lo-fi, at least. Budgets aren't up to much these days). When Doctor Who returned to our screens, the UK was pretty much a fantasy-free zone. It was a huge hit, of course, but it still took a while for the success to be picked up by adult shows.

Torchwood obviously came out shortly after Doctor Who, but I reckon the faith in grown-up sci-fi actually came from the brilliant Life on Mars. It wasn't showily sci-fi/fantasy, and was more Sweeney than X-Files, but it showed commissioners that so long as the series is good, viewers will not be scared off by a sci-fi concept. Thank you, Matthew Graham et al.

After that, British sci-fi/fantasy began to enter something of a golden age. There were plenty of mis-steps (Demons, Survivors, Paradox), but the fun and under-rated Merlin continued Doctor Who's good work in the family market. Torchwood, after two series of being entertaining, occassionally promising but mostly one giant missed opportunity, got Russel T Davies back at the helm and did the shockingly brilliant Children of Earth, posing devestating moral dilemmas alongside aardvark slime monsters and showing us and the Americans what modern, adult sci-fi should be all about.

Then, of course, we have the frankly sublime Being Human and Misfits. Two shows that took "why hasn't this been done before?" concepts and created the two best programmes of 2009. Toby Whithouse's brilliant vampire-werewolf-ghost houseshare comedy-drama nearly didn't make it, but its ace pilot created such an online fanbase that the BBC were forced to back-track and commission it for a series. They lost two cast members in the process, but managed to cling onto Russel Tovey - who was probably the only one the show couldn't have managed without - and pick up Aiden Turner in the process, whose sexy Mitchell is probably responsible for about quarter of the viewing figures. Series two experienced some problems, with many fans complaining that it had lost much of its comedy and charm, but the fact is that series two is just in a different genre to series one. Whithouse pulled a James Cameron on his series. The knock-about, occassionally dark comedy drama of the first series has morphed into a grown-up drama and thriller, which was necessary if the show was going to evolve.

Howard Overman's Misfits was a revelation. Everyone was expecting Skins-meets-Heroes, and that's exactly what it was. Only better. Funny and witty, with humour derived from character rather than wacky situations, as well as horifically dark. Come the finale, one character is having lunch with a dead body in a freezer, for God's sake. I'd like to see Heroes try that. The cast were magnificent, with at least three surely destined for stardom. Nathan, Simon and Kelly are spot-on marriages of writing and acting, creating three rounded people, all charismatic, irritating, loveable, scary and unpredictable all at once. The show even tackled that most tricky sci-fi subject, time travel, and pulled it off with aplomb, even adding a great, unexpected consequence on right at the end.

Being Human is now plowing towards its grand finale (will Mitchell survive? It's looking a wee bit unlikely, isn't it?) and Misfits is returning later in the year. But Torchwood, despite it's first-class series three, is showing no sign of getting a series four. The BBC doesn't have the money, especially with Stephen Moffat apparently going wildly over-budget on his new Doctor Who. In fact, RTD has left these shores for LA, and it is now being reported that if Torchwood does continue it will be as an American show. Damn, just as the UK was looking to be getting a hang on this sci-fi malarkey the recession comes along and wrecks it all. But then, if the Americans are starting to pick up our shows (a US remake of Being Human is on the cards), then maybe we finally are showing them how it's done.