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.
Friday, 26 February 2010
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Cheque, please!
After some recent rejections and failures on the writer front (I'm an aspiring script writer) I've decided to cut loose and live a little by way of shaking off that pesky writer's block. So last night I put on my glad rags and hit the town for a mate's birthday. And, as everyone knows, a birthday party is second only to a houseparty when it comes to copping off with friends-of-friends.
I got chatting to a lovely guy, who of course was already endorsed as not-a-psycho by our mutual friend, and inevitably as the drinks and compliments flowed I did my usual trick of launching myself at him under the pretense of "can you help me carry the drinks back from the bar?" My friends cheered and pointed (although thankfully left their cameras in their bags this time) and gave me their seal of approval. Until one of them uttered the fateful words: "Doesn't he look like you ex?"
Is there are a faster way of turning a girl off than being told that you have just pulled the doppelganger of the bloke you were pretty sure you were over? It's fair to say I lost interest after that. But that's not the worst turn-off I've ever had:
There was the guy who spilt his drink - and then licked it up off the table.
One guy told me I reminded him of his sister shortly before making a pass at me.
One time, mid-snog, the bloke said "I knew I was going to have you as soon as I saw you" - suffice to say, he 'had' nothing more after that.
There was the bloke who had a poster of Beaches on his bedroom wall.
And, worst of all, anyone who says that their favourite programme is 'I'm a Celebrity'.
Best turn-on? The guy who, when I asked him what he liked to read, squirmingly admitted "Batman." A man after my own heart.
I got chatting to a lovely guy, who of course was already endorsed as not-a-psycho by our mutual friend, and inevitably as the drinks and compliments flowed I did my usual trick of launching myself at him under the pretense of "can you help me carry the drinks back from the bar?" My friends cheered and pointed (although thankfully left their cameras in their bags this time) and gave me their seal of approval. Until one of them uttered the fateful words: "Doesn't he look like you ex?"
Is there are a faster way of turning a girl off than being told that you have just pulled the doppelganger of the bloke you were pretty sure you were over? It's fair to say I lost interest after that. But that's not the worst turn-off I've ever had:
There was the guy who spilt his drink - and then licked it up off the table.
One guy told me I reminded him of his sister shortly before making a pass at me.
One time, mid-snog, the bloke said "I knew I was going to have you as soon as I saw you" - suffice to say, he 'had' nothing more after that.
There was the bloke who had a poster of Beaches on his bedroom wall.
And, worst of all, anyone who says that their favourite programme is 'I'm a Celebrity'.
Best turn-on? The guy who, when I asked him what he liked to read, squirmingly admitted "Batman." A man after my own heart.
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Musical TV Moments
Raise your hand if you thought Glee would be a twee High School Musical cash-in. Yep, me too. Raise your hand if you watched it anyway. So did I. Now finally, how happy were you when they threw in their first filthy joke? Who would have thought that what the viewing population was crying out for was an all-singing-all-dancing feel-good teen show with blow job gags?
But it got me thinking about all the great musical moments in television over the years that prove that, maybe, someone should really have thought of doing Glee a long time ago.
So here’s my count down of my top 10 musical moments on TV. The only criteria is that the music must have featured within the action, not just on the soundtrack.
10. Skins – Wild World
Skins series one ended in a classic cliffhanger, with everything coming to a head in the last five minutes and Tony getting hit by a truck for good measure. Then, as you’re preparing for the credits to roll, the actors instead turn to camera and start singing along to Cat Steven’s Wild World – including Tony, bleeding on the curb. A classic example of Skins doing what it does best: steering clear of convention.
9. Six Feet Under – Claire hates office work
In series five of Six Feet Under, artist Claire found herself trapped in a creatively-sapping admin job that, worst of all, required her to wear tights. She dealt with it by climbing onto her desk and lamenting panty hose via song: ‘You Ride Up My Thighs’ to the tune of ‘You Light Up My Life’. It’s a fantasy sequence, of course. But who hasn’t wished they could liven up the office with some song and dance?
8. Scrubs – Guy Love
Scrubs has always loved a good musical interlude so it was inevitable that they would do a musical episode. And it was surprisingly good, with showstoppers including the poo song (explaining why doctors always ask for a stool sample), but the highlight was JD and Turk putting their enduring bromance to music.
7. Gavin and Stacey – American Boy
James Cordon and Ruth Jones obviously love a singsong, and they put some sort of musical moment into every episode, but the most impressive has to be Smithy and sister Rudy performing the rap from American Boy, complete with dance moves and harmonising.
6. Friends – Copacabana
As series two draws to a close, Rachel realises that there isn’t a single thing she can do to make Barry’s wedding even more humiliating for her. So she gets on stage and sings Barry Manilow’s Copacabana. There’s something gloriously triumphant about it.
5. Glee – Push It
This was the moment that you realised that Glee was not what you thought it was. The goodie-two-shoes of the glee club decides that sex sells, so she gets the club to perform Salt ‘n Pepper’s Push It at the school assembly. Jaw-droppingly inappropriate and absolutely hilarious. Altogether now: “Holla!”
4. Buffy – It Got the Mustard Out!
Once More With Feeling was the Buffy episode that began the fad for musical episodes in TV, and Glee has even acknowledged its debt to Joss Whedon by handing him the director reins for an upcoming episode. The best bit about Buffy’s extravaganza was the everyday things being put into song – like a man celebrating the good work of his dry cleaners, and a woman arguing with a traffic warden (“This isn’t right, it isn’t fair/There was no parking anywhere”).
3. The Simpsons – See My Vest
Far and away the greatest of The Simpsons’ songs, as Monty Burns indulges his love of all things fur: “Like my loafers/Former gofers/Either that, or skin my chauffeurs.” All to the cheerful tune of Be My Guest. Even Bart is left nodding his head and humming along afterwards.
2. This Life – ‘Love is in the Air’
What a way to end a series. The gang are all at Miles’ wedding reception, and in great TV fashion it’s all going horribly wrong. Rachel has revealed Milly’s affair, Egg is sobbing in a toilet and as Love is in the Air reaches its chorus Milly storms across the dance floor and punches the scheming Rachel in the face. In the words of late-arrival Warren: “Outstanding”.
1. Queer As Folk – It’s Raining Men
What began as a series about gay men having a laugh gradually became an affecting tale of unrequited love between best friends. Vince and Stuart loved each other, bickered, tried to stay apart for their own good, but in the end they couldn’t resist. So instead they made a run for the podium and danced joyously to It’s Raining Men. Who wasn’t grinning for a full 24 hours after seeing that?
But it got me thinking about all the great musical moments in television over the years that prove that, maybe, someone should really have thought of doing Glee a long time ago.
So here’s my count down of my top 10 musical moments on TV. The only criteria is that the music must have featured within the action, not just on the soundtrack.
10. Skins – Wild World
Skins series one ended in a classic cliffhanger, with everything coming to a head in the last five minutes and Tony getting hit by a truck for good measure. Then, as you’re preparing for the credits to roll, the actors instead turn to camera and start singing along to Cat Steven’s Wild World – including Tony, bleeding on the curb. A classic example of Skins doing what it does best: steering clear of convention.
9. Six Feet Under – Claire hates office work
In series five of Six Feet Under, artist Claire found herself trapped in a creatively-sapping admin job that, worst of all, required her to wear tights. She dealt with it by climbing onto her desk and lamenting panty hose via song: ‘You Ride Up My Thighs’ to the tune of ‘You Light Up My Life’. It’s a fantasy sequence, of course. But who hasn’t wished they could liven up the office with some song and dance?
8. Scrubs – Guy Love
Scrubs has always loved a good musical interlude so it was inevitable that they would do a musical episode. And it was surprisingly good, with showstoppers including the poo song (explaining why doctors always ask for a stool sample), but the highlight was JD and Turk putting their enduring bromance to music.
7. Gavin and Stacey – American Boy
James Cordon and Ruth Jones obviously love a singsong, and they put some sort of musical moment into every episode, but the most impressive has to be Smithy and sister Rudy performing the rap from American Boy, complete with dance moves and harmonising.
6. Friends – Copacabana
As series two draws to a close, Rachel realises that there isn’t a single thing she can do to make Barry’s wedding even more humiliating for her. So she gets on stage and sings Barry Manilow’s Copacabana. There’s something gloriously triumphant about it.
5. Glee – Push It
This was the moment that you realised that Glee was not what you thought it was. The goodie-two-shoes of the glee club decides that sex sells, so she gets the club to perform Salt ‘n Pepper’s Push It at the school assembly. Jaw-droppingly inappropriate and absolutely hilarious. Altogether now: “Holla!”
4. Buffy – It Got the Mustard Out!
Once More With Feeling was the Buffy episode that began the fad for musical episodes in TV, and Glee has even acknowledged its debt to Joss Whedon by handing him the director reins for an upcoming episode. The best bit about Buffy’s extravaganza was the everyday things being put into song – like a man celebrating the good work of his dry cleaners, and a woman arguing with a traffic warden (“This isn’t right, it isn’t fair/There was no parking anywhere”).
3. The Simpsons – See My Vest
Far and away the greatest of The Simpsons’ songs, as Monty Burns indulges his love of all things fur: “Like my loafers/Former gofers/Either that, or skin my chauffeurs.” All to the cheerful tune of Be My Guest. Even Bart is left nodding his head and humming along afterwards.
2. This Life – ‘Love is in the Air’
What a way to end a series. The gang are all at Miles’ wedding reception, and in great TV fashion it’s all going horribly wrong. Rachel has revealed Milly’s affair, Egg is sobbing in a toilet and as Love is in the Air reaches its chorus Milly storms across the dance floor and punches the scheming Rachel in the face. In the words of late-arrival Warren: “Outstanding”.
1. Queer As Folk – It’s Raining Men
What began as a series about gay men having a laugh gradually became an affecting tale of unrequited love between best friends. Vince and Stuart loved each other, bickered, tried to stay apart for their own good, but in the end they couldn’t resist. So instead they made a run for the podium and danced joyously to It’s Raining Men. Who wasn’t grinning for a full 24 hours after seeing that?
Thursday, 7 January 2010
TV: Keeping Me Sane Since 1999
I like TV. Some might say too much. But depending on my mood, TV has various functions in my life. There's the social function, where I will watch The X Factor at a mates house, gossip all the way through it and only pay attention to heckle talentless pretty boys. There's the bonding function, as seen in the whole separate language my Dad and I have, derived from the world of our favourite TV. There's the time-filling function, valuable for staving off boredom or being temped to do something useful, like housework. And, of course, it's an addiction. I just have to tune in and find out what happens next, even with something like Heroes, which, let's face it, is basically pants these days.
But for me TV fulfills another function - it keeps me sane. When I have a problem that just can't be fixed no matter how much I think about it, I turn to box sets. Classic escapism. Okay, this probably isn't to be recommended when you have a problem that actually can be fixed. I once spent two weeks watching Battlestar Galactica in a Scarlett O'Hara-esque attempt to think about my problems at a later date, only to solve them all in five minutes flat when I turned my attention to them. Still, time spent following the fleet is never time wasted.
But whenever things are getting on top of me, there's nothing like TV to switch my brain to calm mode. When my cat was run over the day before my GCSEs started (oh, many years ago), Numfar's Dance of Shame on Angel cleared my head and let me focus on revision again. And this week, with my Grandma in hospital and 20 foot of snow and a broken trainline between me and her, I resorted to Doctor Who. Gran is now on the mend, and I felt much better for a week of being lulled to sleep with dreams of the lovely David Tennant rather than nightmares about death and mortality.
So, have I found a savvy way of coping with life, or am I just avoiding the issue? Maybe I'm just a cold fish and other people can't forget family illnesses with one buzz of a sonic screwdriver. Am I alone in utilising this coping method? It's cheaper than therapy, if nothing else. Although at uni, repressed exam fears and an overdose of Carnivale led to nightmares of being chased by Clancy Brown. Maybe I need to be limited to two doses of escapism a day.
But for me TV fulfills another function - it keeps me sane. When I have a problem that just can't be fixed no matter how much I think about it, I turn to box sets. Classic escapism. Okay, this probably isn't to be recommended when you have a problem that actually can be fixed. I once spent two weeks watching Battlestar Galactica in a Scarlett O'Hara-esque attempt to think about my problems at a later date, only to solve them all in five minutes flat when I turned my attention to them. Still, time spent following the fleet is never time wasted.
But whenever things are getting on top of me, there's nothing like TV to switch my brain to calm mode. When my cat was run over the day before my GCSEs started (oh, many years ago), Numfar's Dance of Shame on Angel cleared my head and let me focus on revision again. And this week, with my Grandma in hospital and 20 foot of snow and a broken trainline between me and her, I resorted to Doctor Who. Gran is now on the mend, and I felt much better for a week of being lulled to sleep with dreams of the lovely David Tennant rather than nightmares about death and mortality.
So, have I found a savvy way of coping with life, or am I just avoiding the issue? Maybe I'm just a cold fish and other people can't forget family illnesses with one buzz of a sonic screwdriver. Am I alone in utilising this coping method? It's cheaper than therapy, if nothing else. Although at uni, repressed exam fears and an overdose of Carnivale led to nightmares of being chased by Clancy Brown. Maybe I need to be limited to two doses of escapism a day.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
TV Moments of the Noughties
I spent a large part of the noughties intending to be young and cool just as soon as this episode of Angel ends, so I feel I'm well placed to make a (highly subjective) Top Moments list. I'm like Channel 4. Or a female John Cusak (which I guess would be Joan Cusak...) Before anyone makes any outcries of protest, I'd like to preface this by adding that I have never seen The Wire or The Sopranos. I am suitably ashamed of myself.
Villain of the Decade
Sherri Palmer - 24.
Somehow, her self-interested scheming was more boo-hissable than Nina's out-and-out evilry. (It's like revelry - 'cept evil)
Hero of the Decade
Mr Bennett - Heroes
Peter Petrelli may be the official hero of the show, but we all know Mr B would kick his ass.
Babe of the Decade
Trisha Helfer - Battlestar Galactica
I'm a straight woman and even I know she's hot. The woman walks like she owns the patent on legs.
Hunk of the Decade
Jensen Ackles - Supernatural
Come on, have you seen the guy?! And he does funny!
Guest Star of the Decade
George Clooney - ER
They all said it couldn't be done. But not only was Gorgeous George's return completely unstarry, it was also upstaged by Carter and Benton's reunion. Now that's class.
Unsung Star of the Decade
Nathan Fillion, of course.
Why he isn't headlining tentpoles I don't know. He's the new Harrison Ford.
Pilot of the Decade
Dexter
It's all there, right from the opener, and it maintained the standard. Special mention to Desperate Housewives, who gave us a hell of an opener.
Finale of the Decade
Six Feet Under
There can be no more perfect end to a show about death.
Credits of the Decade
True Blood
The greatest Emmys upset since Michael C Hall went home empty-handed. Again.
Soundtrack of the Decade
Life on Mars
From that very first spine-tingling David Bowie moment, it was a cracker.
Special Effects of the Decade
Sam flies into battle - Battlestar Galactica
By series four we had seen countless BSG space battles, but through Sam's newbie eyes it all seemed grander and more immediate than ever.
Scare of the Decade
The Weeping Angels - Doctor Who
Their real faces sent even desensitised kids diving for the sofa cushions.
Fight of the Decade
Echo and Ballard - Dollhouse
Not a great show. But this was a great fight.
Shock of the Decade
Boomer shoots the old man - Battlestar Galactica
Who the frak saw that coming?
Visual Gag of the Decade
The blind guide dog falls into the bin - Arrested Development
Just one moment from a show packed full of them.
Weeping with Laughter of the Decade
"Where's Puke Point Three? WHERE'S PUKE POINT THREE?!?" - Peep Show
Also: "Who wants some of my chair?!" Being Human proves that being a werewolf does not immediately make you a superhero.
Romance of the Decade
Turk and JD - Scrubs
Because it's Guy Love. Between two guys.
Comedy Creation of the Decade
The entire Bluth family - Arrested Development
Including Tobias. Or possibly especially Tobias.
Death of the Decade
Mark Greene - ER
Grown men now cry at the first bars of Over the Rainbow. Although special mention to the (huge number of) Joss Whedon deaths: Joyce, Tara, Fred, Cordelia... He is the undisputed king of the death scene.
Randomness of the Decade
Smile Time - Angel
"I know, let's turn our leading man into a muppet!" Somehow, this became televisual gold.
Unwatched Show of the Decade
Carnivale
Why?!? Watch it, you unenlightened fools! It's brilliant!
Geek-Out of the Decade
Lex Luthor kills his father - Smallville
"No-one will even remember your name" Lex tells Lionel as he shoves him out of a window. That's because he renames the company Lexcorp! WAAA! Then Michael Rosenbaum left the show. All seems a bit of a waste now.
Cartoon of the Decade
Justice League
No, seriously. Kim Possible was good too. Oh, and what's that show about that family man...
Period Drama of the Decade
Cranford
It's lovely. But this time I also have to give equal credit to Mad Men, which makes me want to go back to the 1960s, resent my husband and drink myself into elegant decay.
Pleasant Surprise of the Decade
Misfits.
It was good.
Unpleasant Surprise of the Year
Joey.
It wasn't.
Most Quoted Line of the Decade
"What's occurin'?" - Gavin and Stacey
Trickier to quote that you'd think. The Welsh accent is a bitch.
Most Quoted Line in the Follow the Nerd household
"Surprise, motherfucker!" - Dexter
I still sometimes use this as a telephone greeting.
Actor of the Decade
Michael C Hall - Six Feet Under/Dexter
Take that, Emmys! Anyone who can completely inhabit two roles that could not be further apart deserves a big gold star in my book. What he does is extraordinary.
Actress of the Decade
Felicity Huffman - Desperate Housewives
She steals the show and beats her botoxed co-stars over the head with it.
Well now I feel bad - there are hardly any British shows on this list! Hmm - I'll make up for it by dedicating a blog to brilliant British TV soon. In the meantime - criticise my choices to your heart's content!
Villain of the Decade
Sherri Palmer - 24.
Somehow, her self-interested scheming was more boo-hissable than Nina's out-and-out evilry. (It's like revelry - 'cept evil)
Hero of the Decade
Mr Bennett - Heroes
Peter Petrelli may be the official hero of the show, but we all know Mr B would kick his ass.
Babe of the Decade
Trisha Helfer - Battlestar Galactica
I'm a straight woman and even I know she's hot. The woman walks like she owns the patent on legs.
Hunk of the Decade
Jensen Ackles - Supernatural
Come on, have you seen the guy?! And he does funny!
Guest Star of the Decade
George Clooney - ER
They all said it couldn't be done. But not only was Gorgeous George's return completely unstarry, it was also upstaged by Carter and Benton's reunion. Now that's class.
Unsung Star of the Decade
Nathan Fillion, of course.
Why he isn't headlining tentpoles I don't know. He's the new Harrison Ford.
Pilot of the Decade
Dexter
It's all there, right from the opener, and it maintained the standard. Special mention to Desperate Housewives, who gave us a hell of an opener.
Finale of the Decade
Six Feet Under
There can be no more perfect end to a show about death.
Credits of the Decade
True Blood
The greatest Emmys upset since Michael C Hall went home empty-handed. Again.
Soundtrack of the Decade
Life on Mars
From that very first spine-tingling David Bowie moment, it was a cracker.
Special Effects of the Decade
Sam flies into battle - Battlestar Galactica
By series four we had seen countless BSG space battles, but through Sam's newbie eyes it all seemed grander and more immediate than ever.
Scare of the Decade
The Weeping Angels - Doctor Who
Their real faces sent even desensitised kids diving for the sofa cushions.
Fight of the Decade
Echo and Ballard - Dollhouse
Not a great show. But this was a great fight.
Shock of the Decade
Boomer shoots the old man - Battlestar Galactica
Who the frak saw that coming?
Visual Gag of the Decade
The blind guide dog falls into the bin - Arrested Development
Just one moment from a show packed full of them.
Weeping with Laughter of the Decade
"Where's Puke Point Three? WHERE'S PUKE POINT THREE?!?" - Peep Show
Also: "Who wants some of my chair?!" Being Human proves that being a werewolf does not immediately make you a superhero.
Romance of the Decade
Turk and JD - Scrubs
Because it's Guy Love. Between two guys.
Comedy Creation of the Decade
The entire Bluth family - Arrested Development
Including Tobias. Or possibly especially Tobias.
Death of the Decade
Mark Greene - ER
Grown men now cry at the first bars of Over the Rainbow. Although special mention to the (huge number of) Joss Whedon deaths: Joyce, Tara, Fred, Cordelia... He is the undisputed king of the death scene.
Randomness of the Decade
Smile Time - Angel
"I know, let's turn our leading man into a muppet!" Somehow, this became televisual gold.
Unwatched Show of the Decade
Carnivale
Why?!? Watch it, you unenlightened fools! It's brilliant!
Geek-Out of the Decade
Lex Luthor kills his father - Smallville
"No-one will even remember your name" Lex tells Lionel as he shoves him out of a window. That's because he renames the company Lexcorp! WAAA! Then Michael Rosenbaum left the show. All seems a bit of a waste now.
Cartoon of the Decade
Justice League
No, seriously. Kim Possible was good too. Oh, and what's that show about that family man...
Period Drama of the Decade
Cranford
It's lovely. But this time I also have to give equal credit to Mad Men, which makes me want to go back to the 1960s, resent my husband and drink myself into elegant decay.
Pleasant Surprise of the Decade
Misfits.
It was good.
Unpleasant Surprise of the Year
Joey.
It wasn't.
Most Quoted Line of the Decade
"What's occurin'?" - Gavin and Stacey
Trickier to quote that you'd think. The Welsh accent is a bitch.
Most Quoted Line in the Follow the Nerd household
"Surprise, motherfucker!" - Dexter
I still sometimes use this as a telephone greeting.
Actor of the Decade
Michael C Hall - Six Feet Under/Dexter
Take that, Emmys! Anyone who can completely inhabit two roles that could not be further apart deserves a big gold star in my book. What he does is extraordinary.
Actress of the Decade
Felicity Huffman - Desperate Housewives
She steals the show and beats her botoxed co-stars over the head with it.
Well now I feel bad - there are hardly any British shows on this list! Hmm - I'll make up for it by dedicating a blog to brilliant British TV soon. In the meantime - criticise my choices to your heart's content!
Monday, 28 December 2009
Daywalking
Here's pretty much all you need to know about me: I'm a girl, I'm in my mid-20s (24 counts as mid, right?), I have a professional job, and I'm a total geek. Not a computer geek, mind, so expect plenty of glitches on this blog. Apologies in advance.
No, my geek leanings are more in the sci-fi/fantasy/comics/TV/films area. Positively socially acceptible, right? If you're a bloke, yeah. The 'Seth Cohen' mold of geek, if you like. Quirky, yet handsome. Someone who has seen every episode of Star Trek (yes, even Enterprise) and still finds time to work out. But where do us female geeks (feeks?) fit in?
I'm not a Goth. The word 'executive' in my job title rules out that form of self-expression (as does my laziness when it comes to make-up and my fear of body piercings). I don't walk around in 'Kneel Before Zod' t-shirts, although I do have a Vote Petrelli badge and a Join the Colonial Marines poster. I might not fit the cliche, but I am most definitely a nerd. I can talk confidently about the Wolfman/Perez era Teen Titans comics, tell you Buffy's home address and sing Red Dwarf's Tongue Tied from start to end, complete with dance moves. But I also love Ugly Betty, can quote whole passages of Shakespeare and secretly quite like The Saturdays (they make catchy pop, okay?!).
I practically lead a double life. Most of my friends know I like my Joss Whedon, but very few know about the comics thing. And as for blokes, if they're not put off by the academic geekiness, their smile starts to become a little strained when they spot my Batman collection. Sometimes, I even manage to look half-way cool, like this:
But most of the time, I look like this:
I am a daywalker geek. You wouldn't know it to look at me. And this blog is for all you guys and gals who struggle along with me, being forced to hide your geekiness during the boring nine-to-five that we have to call 'real life'. This is for everyone who laments the trauma of having to hold a conversation with your workmates about Cheryl Cole when you'd much rather be talking True Blood.
You are with friends here!
No, my geek leanings are more in the sci-fi/fantasy/comics/TV/films area. Positively socially acceptible, right? If you're a bloke, yeah. The 'Seth Cohen' mold of geek, if you like. Quirky, yet handsome. Someone who has seen every episode of Star Trek (yes, even Enterprise) and still finds time to work out. But where do us female geeks (feeks?) fit in?
I'm not a Goth. The word 'executive' in my job title rules out that form of self-expression (as does my laziness when it comes to make-up and my fear of body piercings). I don't walk around in 'Kneel Before Zod' t-shirts, although I do have a Vote Petrelli badge and a Join the Colonial Marines poster. I might not fit the cliche, but I am most definitely a nerd. I can talk confidently about the Wolfman/Perez era Teen Titans comics, tell you Buffy's home address and sing Red Dwarf's Tongue Tied from start to end, complete with dance moves. But I also love Ugly Betty, can quote whole passages of Shakespeare and secretly quite like The Saturdays (they make catchy pop, okay?!).
I practically lead a double life. Most of my friends know I like my Joss Whedon, but very few know about the comics thing. And as for blokes, if they're not put off by the academic geekiness, their smile starts to become a little strained when they spot my Batman collection. Sometimes, I even manage to look half-way cool, like this:
But most of the time, I look like this:
I am a daywalker geek. You wouldn't know it to look at me. And this blog is for all you guys and gals who struggle along with me, being forced to hide your geekiness during the boring nine-to-five that we have to call 'real life'. This is for everyone who laments the trauma of having to hold a conversation with your workmates about Cheryl Cole when you'd much rather be talking True Blood.
You are with friends here!
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