Sunday, January 27, 2008
Brothers in harms
WINCHESTERS! Supernatural, ITV2, 9.15pm Labels: ITV2, Supernatural, TV
We almost missed the return of our favourite hot-brothers-hunting-demons series (a list of the other series in this genre is available upon request*) because ITV seems to have been running the same generic "coming soon" trail for ages without really specifying what they mean by "soon". Unless they've replaced it with a more definite trail recently and we've just not seen it, in which case: sorry for unnecessarily besmirching your reputation, ITV. But we do watch your channel a lot, so if we didn't see it, lots of other people won't have, so just think about that, eh?
Anyway, Sam and Dean Winchester are back for a third (albeit somewhat brief, due to the US writers' strike) season, despite having solved their ultimate quest at the end of last season. To the surprise of everyone who thought this arc was going to go until the very end of the show, the dashing brothers Winchester managed to slay the Yellow-Eyed Demon that killed their mother (and also Sam's girlfriend, and also, indirectly, their father), but not before it managed to open the very literal gates of Hell and unleash all many of nasty-looking demons. So their work isn't quite over yet, because they've got to clean up the mess they made. Oh, and also, there's the slightly thorny issue of Dean only having a year to live, because Sam was a doofus and got stabbed in the back and died and Dean got teary in a manly sort of way and made a deal with a Crossroads Demon (who has nothing to do with Jane Asher, just so we're all on the same page), who agreed to revive Sam as long as Dean agrees to carp it in a year's time. Crappy deal, admittedly, but still probably better terms than most mortgages right now, so we can understand Dean's willingness to sign up.
Dean's dealing with his fate in very much the way you'd expect Dean would - by getting laid as often as possible. Disapproving Sammy is disapproving, obviously, and is secretly looking for some kind of loophole that will get Dean out of his deal with the Devil's lackey, because he doesn't want his big brother to die. Awww. Unfortunately, this first episode is not really up to the high standards this show set itself in season two - it's a bit plodding and obvious and a bit (dare we say it) Charmed. There's also the appearance of a stridently annoying girl with a magic knife at the end of the episode, who's obviously going to be very important this season. (Don't hate her too much, though; she gets significantly awesomer in a few episodes' time.) So ride this one out, because things improve significantly by around episode three, and episode five is fucking great. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the pretty.
*No it isn't.
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Friday, September 14, 2007
So it's come to this: another selection box post
Labels: BBC2, Channel 4, Gethin Jones, Heroes, high school musical 2, ITV1, Living, Rugby World Cup, Supernatural, The IT Crowd, The L Word, TV
We find ourselves in one of those unfortunate situations where it's 11:57pm on Thursday night and we still haven't really found anything in Friday's TV schedule that compels us to write about it at length. This may be related to our having gotten all giddy earlier today upon learning that Gethin Jones will be taking part in the new series of Strictly Come Dancing and will therefore probably be wearing extremely tight trousers at least once. It was hard to focus on much else after that.
So, with apologies for the lack of focus in this update, let's have a quick flick through the things that you might be tempted by. Living's got a new episode of The L Word at midnight, marking Cybill Shepherd's first appearance as secretly bisexual (whoops! Spoiler!) new character Phyllis. Those of you with a keen interest in sport may be interested in the Rugby World Cup Live coverage on ITV1 from 7.30; those with no particular interest in sport may still just want to stare at the thighs. That's perfectly acceptable.
There's The IT Crowd on Channel 4 at 10.00pm, which rather amused us last week, and new character Ava in Supernatural on ITV1 at 11.00pm is treated to a vision of the future that enables her to see the inside of Sam's guts. We regret to report that his innards are not nearly as pretty as his, um, outers. And it's not tonight, but don't forget that BBC2 is running a catch-up of Heroes from the beginning tomorrow night and Sunday, if anyone's slipped behind.
To conclude, here's a terrifying deleted scene (or part thereof) from High School Musical 2 that we just can't stop watching on YouTube. We think it might be amazing, but we might never reach a definitive conclusion on this one.
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Friday, August 03, 2007
Oops...we did it again
We really have to apologise for our disgracefully unprofessional behaviour this week, since this is the second time that we've ended up gallivanting down the pub in the evening instead of writing our previews. If it helps at all, we had a lovely time and are now slightly inebriated, and to top it all off, we're still here writing this in the wee small hours before we go to bed, such is our devotion to you. We love you guys. Awwww. But that might be the drink talking. Labels: BBC2, Channel 4, Five, Grumpy Old Women, ITV1, Star Stories, Supernatural, The Shield, TV
So, given that we're a bit on-the-hoof again due to our lack of preparation, but also because there's frankly bollock-all worth discussing at length on tonight's telly, we're going to do a Bambi-esque gambol through various programmes at speed again, just like we did on Tuesday. It's kind of more fun this way, actually, but we'll try not to get too reliant on this as a fallback all the same. First of all, on behalf of our lovely flatmate, we're going to recommend The Shield on Five at 11pm, because it's one of her favourite shows. This may or may not be related to the broadness of Vic Mackey's shoulders and arms, but we don't know for sure; you'll have to ask her yourselves. For those of you who like your cop shows gritty, look no further, because everyone in this reeks of Eau de Corruption, and it's all the more fantastic for it. This week, the Strike Team find their position compromised by the death of a city official's daughter. We assume that the kicking of asses and the taking of names will follow shortly.
Elsewhere, there's a new Star Stories on C4 at 9.30pm, delivering a spoof on the irrepressible Tom Cruise (and on that subject, what the hell is up with Katie Holmes this days? Why does she dress like a fifty-year-old? If you know, please explain that to us), which should be good for a laugh. BBC2's got a new series of Grumpy Old Women at 10pm, and just because we can, we're going to invite you to watch our guilty pleasure: Supernatural on ITV1 at 11.00pm, where the unspeakably beautiful Sam and Dean Winchester deal with a necromancer, while angsting prettily about their unresolved daddy issues in their spare time.
That's it, then. Apologies for the brevity, and we'll see you back here on Monday, with freshly-ironed clothes and newly-polished shoes, as is our custom. Have a lovely weekend!
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Thursday, February 22, 2007
Amber means go
VAMPIRES! Supernatural, ITV2, 9.00pm Labels: ITV2, Supernatural, TV
Okay, so recommending Supernatural again suggests a little lack of inventiveness on our part, perhaps. But we needed to write something today and frankly we didn't feel like writing about any of the other rot that was on tonight, so you're getting this again, like it or lump it.
Besides! This is a great episode, and there's a special reason to enjoy it in the form of former Buffy star Amber Benson, so if you missed the first showing on Sunday then we strongly recommend you catch it tonight. A spate of human decapitations and disembowelled cattle leads Sam and Dean to suspect demonic activity, so they head off in the Metallicar (which has been restored, by the way, and that first shot of her sweet, sweet chassis rolling over the hill is the very definition of feelgood TV) to investigate. Sure enough, they happen upon a sect of vampires (the leader of which is played by Amber, according to our memo from the Ironic Casting Division) and another hunter - but of course, not everything is as it seems.
Amber Benson is great in this episode playing an entirely un-Tara-like character, and if you're one of the people who tunes in for the horror and suspense rather than the plot and the mytharc and the fine physical presences of Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, this is a good episode to watch because of some spectacular vampire death scenes. Seriously: blood everywhere. It's frickin' awesome. Also, if you're planning to watch the rest of the season, there are some very important ongoing plot details in this one to set stuff up for later in the season. Because believe it or not, there's depth in this show. Despite how much we go on about The Pretty. Depth and Pretty, in sweet cohabitation. It's a beautiful thing.
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Friday, February 02, 2007
Reasons to be cheerful
WINCHESTERS! Supernatural, ITV2, Sunday, 9.00pm Labels: ITV2, Supernatural, TV
Hello readers. For once, we're not going to talk about something you should watch on telly today, but rather something you should watch on Sunday. Normally we would have made a normal post today and another on Sunday, but we're going away this weekend so we're getting ahead of ourselves. Now, there are a multitude of reasons why you should watch season two of Supernatural, and we're going to list a few of them below.
1. Jensen Ackles is not exactly ugly.
2. Neither, for that matter, is Jared Padalecki.
3. And the car they drive around in (nicknamed Metallicar by the fans) is also a thing of beauty.
4. Mmmm, gun porn. In your face, Torchwood. (Yes, we know guns are not big or clever. But there's something deliciously wrong and yet ohsoright about watching Dean Winchester clean his arsenal. So to speak.)
5. Sam and Dean are on the hunt for the demon that killed their mother and also killed Sam's girlfriend, like this:
6. They also like to take out various other demons they might encounter on the way, because they're nice like that.
7. Being something of a completist, the demon also tried to kill Sam, Dean and their father John at the end of last season by smashing a bloody great truck right into Metallicar. (And even when we re-watch that scene knowing what's coming, it still makes us jump because it's incredibly well done.)
8. As a direct result, Jensen Ackles spends pretty much the entirety of the season opener dressed like this:
9. Basically, it's all macho, gun-toting, demon ass-kicking fun...
10. ...with a bit of a girly, touchy-feely and slightly homosexual subtext of angsty brotherly bonding.
And on the basis of that, who wouldn't want to be the filling in a Winchester sandwich? Hmm. It occurs to us that we've made it sound like a trashy show that's only worth watching for The Pretty. And while we'll admit there is the occasional dire episode that's only saved by the charm and acting talents of Messrs Ackles and Padalecki (and for two such handsome lads, they're no slouches in the acting talent department either, which makes a refreshing change), the second season is fleshing the show out nicely and developing some nice depth and mythology for itself. If you're anything like us, you'll find yourself glowing with pride and saying "oh, boys!" out loud in the misapprehension that they can actually hear you. You may also find yourself screaming "Just fucking HUG already!", because seriously? It's long overdue.
Anyway, picking up where season one left off, Metallicar is a crushed mess and all three Winchesters are currently looking like very pretty yet horrendously bloody corpses. Except, it's probably not a spoiler if we tell you that all three of them survived the crash. Problem is, there's something far worse in the hospital for them to contend with. Something that might well change everything. DUN DUN DAH! We don't want to say anything more detailed than that, lest we spoil it for you, but let's just say you need to see this episode if you're to understand the emotional arc of this season. See, we told you there was depth.
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