Oh Sherlock, our Sherlock --- a spoilery-tastic reflection on "The Reichenbach Fall"

Spoilers - spoilers - so if you haven't seen the 'finale' of 'series' two, "The Reichenbach Fall", then look away now.



I said NOW.

Looking away? Waiting til you have seen the episode?

Good.


Oh flipperty-gibbets, WHAT a finale!

From the opening despair of John Watson visiting his psychiatrist ("I haven't seen you in eighteen months" - oh we know, we KNOW! [1]), and the streaming rain of tears outside her window... we were in for bumpy emotions. Dear lovely sweet John Watson, all military stiff-upper lip and rod-back, stumbled towards saying what he did not want to acknowledge: "Sherlock Holmes is dead".

We were promised "tears before bedtime" (thanks Mr Gatiss for the warning, though more importantly, thanks - *sob* - Mr Steve Thompson, whose pen delivered this 'final problem'.)

Those familiar with the original stories [2] will know that 'The Final Problem' is where and Holmes meets his doom at the Reichenbach Falls along with Moriarty. This modern re-working of Holmes took the demise and gave its modern setting twists galore.


There were nods to all manner of cultural reference points here: Moriarty (probably Andrew Scott's best performance in the role) channelled the spirit of Gary Oldman in Leon with his neck-cracking, classical music-listening criminal actions; and was it only our house that thought 'SETEC ASTRONOMY' at the mention of a code to break all codes? [3].

Additionally, where the original tale had assassins AFTER Sherlock, this re-visioning has the assassins protecting him (in a fashion). Of course, their ultimate and actual task is revealed to be far more horrific to contemplate - to kill three of those closest to Sherlock, should certain conditions not be met.

The role of the media was crucial in both creating and presenting Moriarty with a solution to 'The Final Problem' - given Holmes' massive public profile as a genius to rival Moriarty - not least in saving for the nation Turner's lost masterpiece 'The Great Falls of the Reichenbach', what should Moriarty do to rid himself of Sherlock Holmes?

And so Moriarty devises - in no small part thanks to the ineptitude of pompous brother Mycroft Holmes - a falling down to rival the fight at the Reichenbach Falls. To publicly undermine Sherlock's genius in the public eye - to make him seem 'human' - would have been one thing; but Moriarty engineers events through his alter-ego as Rich Brook, actor, to make it seem that Sherlock has been deliberately generating crimes to solve, faking the whole thing, even to hiring Brook to 'play' Moriarty.

Of course, the idea that Sherlock would go so far as to create crimes to solve and show off solving is a fallacy that the detestable Sgt Sally Donovan and the equally obnoxious pathologist Anderson eagerly believe in, overruling Lestrade's instincts to stand by Sherlock. I was fair shouting at the TV by this point saying "why do you believe them?!"

But then Holmes can be, inherently is, a show-off. Watson: “Don’t try to be clever. Intelligent is fine, but let’s give Smart Alec a wide berth.” Holmes: “I’ll just be myself.” He's caught too much public eye, but he can't help but be smart, to see the connections, to follow the trails. Sherlock cannot help but show the limitations of slower, normal human thinking: no wonder he baulks so viciously at Katherine Parkinson's not-fan/journalist: "You repel me" (a line she turns back on Sherlock when she is in thrall to Richard Brooks as the hired actor who has played Moriarty to Sherlock's ego).


It is not just about the dialogue though: it is in the performances as a whole that the elegance really shines through. Cumberbatch playing a rattled Sherlock is a glory to behold, but that it is acutely observed by the adoring Molly is a touch of tear-choking genius. Her recognition that he's sad, something she sees when no-one is looking, like her dying grandfather could not cover over either, is heart-rending, not least for the confused sense of feeling some emotion that Cumberbatch conveys in a twitch of his eyes. In the end, he asks a favour of Molly: by the culminating seconds of the episode - oh please tell me it is so - we should know what that may be.

Before then, there is the roof: Moriarty at his maddest, his most frustrated, and Sherlock at his most diminished, triumphant and then despairing. Caught in a lock-down, battling wits and nerve against each other, showing puzzles that were not and revealing puzzles 'unexpected'... Moriarty shoots himself to avoid 'defeat' (is he REALLY dead?), and Sherlock, knowing that unless his own body is seen, three of those closest to him will die [4] ... well, Sherlock shows his humanity and falls gracefully, thoroughly, to his death.

Or does he?

Sherlock talking on his mobile with a returned John Watson from his hoax errand (another nod to the original tale), is a masterpiece of dialogue, emotion and delivery, but after watching the fall, Watson is knocked over and crashes to the ground - he is at best dazed when absorbing the sight of his friend on the pavement, skull crushed and bleeding.

So we come to the final graveyard sequence [5]. If you weren't crying by now, then Watson's choking rebuttal of the lie was wondrous to watch, and his line "Don't be dead" was the final straw.

.....

.....

And then the final shot. Sherlock, watching John walk away from the grave.

Back for more?

I cannot wait to see what they do next.


NOTES

[1] Launched on an unsuspecting world in summer 2009, Sherlock has been an instant hit. How and why the BBC could not have foreseen that and re-commissioned the series on completion is baffling. Still...

[2] And if you don't know the original stories, go read them now! What on earth are you doing watching this stuff and not familiarising yourself with the origins of the character and concept?

[3] Go watch 'Sneakers'. Now. It's fab.

[4] Why Watson, Mrs Hudson and Lestrade (rather than Molly as the third)? Because Moriarty never really got the Molly thing: he wouldn't understand her maintained belief, to do anything to help Holmes...

[5] Again, no Molly... whatever she knows or does not know, whatever part she has played in what happened at the fall, she would not be able to bear being at the grave.

US viewers - look out for 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' on Masterpiece schedule of PBS

This week the UK got to see 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood', the latest of - incredibly - many versions of Dicken's unfinished novel.

The adaptation by Gwyneth Hughes was utterly suitably melodramatic, but it was also spectacularly entertaining. With a great cast it shone in virtually every respect but Matthew Rhys as John Jasper was stunningly tormented and yet not entirely hateable. A resolute air of grace also shone through Amber Rose Revah's performance as Helena Landless (see what Dickens did there with the orphan's surname? never one to pass up a naming opportunity was old Charlie boy).

And both the magnificent Ron Cook as Durdles and Alfie Davis as Deputy added the required dose of Dicken's humour.

Additionally, it looked wonderful - the cinematography (telephotography?) was beautiful, and the settings were used to great effect.

The narrative itself has all kinds of problems, as befitting its status as an unfinished work: finding a satisfactory solution to the myriad balls left metaphorically in the air by the author will always leave some unsatisfied, but Dickens himself was prone to bodged conclusions and abandoned subplots, so it seems churlish to moan at Hughes' efforts when dramatically as a piece of television these performances proved so entrancing and satisfying.

The USA, thanks to the wonders of PBS Masterpiece schedule, will get to see Drood - and the Xmas Great Expectations - over Easter (April).

Enjoy people: Drood is a treat.

TV of 2011 - highlights from the Rullsenberg/Roberts household

A bit early yet I know, and there have been other things I've enjoyed this year on TV, but these are my personal awards for the year. And you'll spot No Downton Abbey. Sorry. Not my cuppa, as much as I love the frocks.

Best International programme

Forbrydelsen

So back in January 2011 The Killing crept into our house and took our hearts. Sarah Lund for heroine of the year? Enjoying Forbrydelsen II but the roller-coaster of the first series swept us away.

Best Documentary

Educating Essex - Although this hit me during my erratic period of not blogging much, this was certainly documentary of the year without a doubt. Broke my heart every episode with its honesty and humanity (as I commented on FB). Best advert for comprehensive education ever.

Update: and an honourable mention for The Agony and the Ecstasy about the English National Ballet - beautiful and agonising in equal measure.

Best Fantasy Drama

The Fades - It almost felt too good to be true when it started. It was like it ticked EVERY possible box for Rullsenberg. Gothic horror? Check. Teen Drama? Check? Name-checks and hat-tips to fantasy, sci-fi, horror? Check, Check, Check. It could have been too formulaic for its own good, but instead it was charming and horrific in the best ways possible. A second series would be lovely - but this was too perfect to damage if it means a drop in quality.

• Honourable mention for Being Human season 3, which intermittently presented us with the sort of gory glory it should have had all through the season.

Update: Best Conspiracy Drama
The Shadow Line - although Hidden was very enjoyable, it was lightweight compared to the density of The Shadow Line. With wonderfully atmospheric music (courtesy of Emily Barker's "Pause"), sound and photography, along with some cracking performances - Eve Best, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Ecclestone, Stephen Rea, Lesley Sharp, Antony Sher, Rafe Spall and more - it proved a tense highlight of the television year.



Best ongoing series setting up for the future

Doctor Who - As you will know I applauded at the end of "The Wedding of River Song". After a season that included such pleasures as the super-creepy Silence, the magnificent Neil Gaiman's beautiful "The Doctor's Wife" (and its companion Confidential episode, a work of pure pleasure), the punch-the-air revelations of "A Good Man Goes to War", the madness of "Let's Kill Hitler" and all the heartache around Rory and Amy, well.... anyway, suffice to say I'm so excited by the prospect of the Xmas special it almost hurts.

ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILERS: Forbrydelsen (The Killing) concludes

And BREATHE....

Forbrydelsen - THe Killing. Heck: it's been a great 10 weeks. No spoilers people, just wanted to say that was REALLY gripping TV. And Spiral S3 replaces it next week! AND they'll be showing Forbrydelsen Series 2 later in the year. Lovely.

In Praise of.... Being Human

Spoilers, OBVIOUSLY, since there's a Season 3 episode 3 snippets clip embedded here, but I could not resist.



Awh, that was pretty great. Though how the "best bits" or "highlights" could exclude the CLASSIC "Oh My God, we're TWELVE" exchange between George and Mitchell is beyond comprehension! I know it's an oft-used concept (here we go again with the Buffyverse) but it was beautifully done.

At its best, Being Human is human and horrific in equal measure: glad it's back.

Getting rid of expensive dinosaurs: the Sky Sports saga

Anyone else get the idea that in some ways Sky Sports are quite glad to get rid of two expensive dinosaurs?

Gray and Keys were both costing a fair wack of cash.

And what's more, Sky Sports even (for one) get to (vaguely) look like they are on the side of the angels - standing UP against sexism! (Let's face it, Murdoch-corp are hardly known for their anti-sexist stances...)

The Killing - BBC4 (Saturdays from 23 January 2011)

Oh, this was an unexpected delight last night. The Killing - a cracking Danish thriller just started on BBC4 - slipped into our home last night and looks set to be one of the few things I will make an effort to watch/catch up on.

It was Cloud who spotted it listed in the schedules, and since we do have a penchant for Scandinavian writing/films/TV, we settled in to watch the first two episodes.

For a start, lovely to have a female lead --- BBC4, where is Spiral 3 while I'm on the subject of great female characters? - and I have to admit I'm always a sucker for a thriller with a political backdrop.

So, subject to using catch-up TV where necessary (because my weekends are pretty busy over the coming weeks), I'm going to be watching this. And loving it I think. Proper makes up for having no more Wallander to watch.

Going back to the 1960s with Zen

I can't be the only one who felt that, mobile phone usage aside, everything about the recent Zen television adaptation starring Rufus Sewell OOZED 1960s/early 1970s?!

Everything from the credits, to the music style, to the cinematography, to the use of split screens screamed Thomas Crown Affair, The Persuaders, Bullitt etc. It certainly isn't very challenging, but somehow it feels well done. Even the most predictable events of last night's finale for this short run stirred me to laugh and react.

Reviews etc
Herald Scotland
Guardian
Telegraph

Slings and Arrows: Season 1 episodes 1-3

Thanks to a colleague (Cheers Anthony!) I've been put onto a series from about 7 years ago called Slings and Arrows ---

Slings and Arrows is a Canadian TV series, set at the fictional New Burbage Festival; a troubled Shakespearean festival similar to the real-world Stratford Festival. The program stars Paul Gross, Stephen Ouimette and Martha Burns.
The blackly comic series produced three seasons of six episodes and was created and written by former Kids in the Hall member Mark McKinney, playwright and actress Susan Coyne, and comedian Bob Martin, the Tony-award winning co-creator of The Drowsy Chaperone. All three appear in the series as well.

I'd sort of vaguely heard of it, partly because I'd spotted it on the CV of Rachel McAdams (Time Traveller's Wife; Guy Ritchie's actually rather enjoyable Sherlock Holmes) and partly because it starred Paul Gross (Due South).

Knowing I'm rather fond of a bit of Shakespeare, Anthony thought I'd enjoy it and loaned me a copy of the first series on Region 1 DVD: sadly, my DVD player is one of the only ones in existence NOT to have a Region hack.

Still: YouTube comes in handy sometimes!

I've just spent the morning watching the first three episodes and chuckling loudly (Neil was next door busy on his computer) - for there is MUCH to delight in this series. As a behind the scenes portrayal of acting (especially Shakespearean acting) and the world of theatre, it is hilarious - aging actors, young actors, corporate sponsors, the use of Shakespeare in corporate training, prima donna adventurous directors, old rivalries, Hollywood incomers... brilliantly skewered.

It's highly recommended, either on DVD or elsewhere!

Books to finish reading in 2011

I started two books in 2010 that didn't get finished reading:

Rief Larson - Selected Works of TS Spivet

Mary Lovell - The Mitford Girls

I don't really know why either of these didn't make it to completion: the Spivet books is a visual treat and has a wonderfully strange narrative (I think it got lost under the bed for a while when I ran out of energy for reading in bed at night). Similarly, what is not to love about reading about the Mitford sisters?! A family whose biography must surely be in the televisual works for when Debo finally passes from this mortal coil - especially given the current passion for all things Downton/Upstairs etc... I have started this Mitford book twice, though the second attempt was only JUST before new year's eve so that maybe doesn't count.

Still: definitely two to make it through this year.

Rounding up on the festive period

Blimey, given we haven't even been to NZ this Christmas, it has been a pathetic show for blogging hasn't it? Last time I was able to get in - and yes, Internet facilities have been an issue at home and elsewhere - it was for a review of Hamlet starring the smoking man! (Not THAT one).

At this rate, I'll be back seeing it live (February when the National's production of Hamlet with Rory Kinnear et al hits Nottingham) before you'll get more from me.

And that will never do!

So, between my last visit to you we had an abortive trip to see Belle and Sebastian (singer had a cold so the gig got pulled 5 mins before the doors opened) and the rescheduled date is for .... well even the band aren't sure since they appear to have been consulting the 2010 calendar for a new date [NOTE: Wednesday was 2nd June in 2010 --- so they either mean Wednesday 1 June 2011 OR Thursday 2 June 2011].

Still, we did get to go to London for a long weekend before Xmas - hitting the snow with a vengeance and squeezing in much fun with a trip to the theatre (Season's Greetings at the National - more on that separately I hope, especially as it runs till March 2011) and to the pictures to see The Shop Around the Corner at the BFI. Lovely: proper sweet and sour as you can only expect from Lubitsch.

And then it was back home for a Xmas Eve screening of It's A Wonderful Life. I had a lovely day at the bar (no chuckling!) reading my book as Neil was at work. Plenty of tea and food kept me going till Neil arrived for the final screening of the cinema before Xmas - by the time we exited the place was shutting up shop.

Then it was an idle start to Xmas day with plenty of reading and only finally opening up presents about 3pm.

We settled down for Doctor Who at 6pm - most enjoyable (even if my inner geek couldn't help thinking about the Blinovitch Limitation Effect -- but not so much it stopped me enjoying the episode). Again - I will try and do a belated review for what it's worth.

Since Santa brought both Neil and I plenty of CD, book and DVD goodies, we're going to make a concerted effort this year to CATCH UP ON OUR EXISTING ACQUISITIONS rather than making new ones.

Hopefully this will resolve the ongoing hostage situation that is 'City of God' / 'Diva'. George and Sonia, we can only apologise for being so rubbish.

Single Father -- first thoughts

I didn't sleep last night.

Neither did Cloud.

I'm not sure if this was related to anything we did/ate/watched yesterday, but either way I didn't sleep.

So frankly I feel TRASHED.

But still: a hour of David Tennant being lovely, and romantic, and frustrated and weeping - worthwhile in my books.

The ratings were... okay, given Downton Abbey held firm and it was a competitive slot for attention from largely the same sort of audience.

But I think that Tim Dowling (incredibly - he's normally a bit glib for my liking) taps into the sharpest nerve for this drama: whether you can commit to such emotionally draining material.

For all sorts of reasons, various people I know watching Single Father found it hard. Frankly, I pretty much lost the plot only a few minutes in when Rita's lips move as she falls from her bicycle in her horrific and fatal collision with a police car, and Tennant - busy at his photography studio - (randomly, simultaneously) says "I love you too", out loud and to the bafflement of himself and those being photographed. That may have struck Tom Sutcliffe as melodramatic, but for me it worked.

If anything, the worst element of the whole piece - heightening melodrama in the worst possible way - was the music.

Blimey, made the worst of Murray Gold in Doctor Who seem positively subtle in his underscoring.

I wasn't the only one disturbed by the music:

The horrible background music, sort of sub-rock desperately trying to sound expressive, frogmarched you unceremoniously to whichever point of the emotional compass the director had decided he was trying to convey in each scene.

And again on the music:

However, quite a bit of the action was marred by blaring intrusive music, which obscured bits of dialogue and distracted from the measured direction and performances.

Anyway, by the end of the show I had a splitting headache from trying too hard not to cry. I should have just crumpled as Tennant so expertly portrayed.

At least it would have come without an over-done music score.

The long and the short of Television Series Dramas: a Medium Rob debate

Medium Rob's Question of the Week has spawned an extensive debate about the differences and merits of US vs UK television drama series formats.

One of the examples much quoted in the discussions has been Buffy - a series which long-term readers will know is close to my heart, not least because it was the impetus to the name I adopted here. Willow Rosenberg: shy and kooky, emotional and tough; when addicted, she is dangerous, but she's smart and cool ("nerds are still in, right?") and a redhead. Lisa Rullsenberg isn't a natural redhead, but she's a redhead by temperament and adoption. I HEART Willow.

ANYWAY: Buffy started as a mid-season replacement of 12 episodes and eventually ran for 7 series. A mighty 144 episodes. Were they all of equal quality? Don't be ridiculous. But for me, I can find something good, wonderful, true, emotional, and/or funny in every episode. Even 'Beer Bad'.(1)

As Rob rightly notes, even 'filler' episodes contributed value -

Didn't they explore the characters or move on story arcs a bit, something you might not want to do in other episodes because it would have diluted their focus?

Why was this possible? And is it related to the length of series?

My suspicion is that the writing, directing, scheduling and broadcast structure of American TV works differently to in the UK.

In the UK, work isn't ongoing DURING broadcast - leastways, not for the current season. Things may be in flux until filming happens, with writing and changes and new scripts being brought in etc (the RTD seat-of-pants DW 2005 season strategy) ... but things tend to be - special effects aside - 'in the can' by the time the series starts to air. This is probably a chicken and egg thing: because UK series are generally shorter, they tend to be 'done' before broadcast; because US series are longer, things will unfold and change over the course of a season whilst it is still being made.

What are the benefits of a longer season? Simply, more time. This can be both a blessing and a curse depending on the writing set-up. With a long series you are forced to develop longer, more complex and layered narratives. That isn't to say short series cannot do that, but there will be inevitable limitations of what you can do in 3 hours (essentially a 'play' structure) and in 13 hours or 22 hours (allowing for ads: a topic I'll pick up in a moment).

I always say to students, think about how LONG this has to be before you start gathering too much. Tailor at least some of your research or development of the narrative you want to tell to the length required: because writing something shorter that contains the same breadth as something longer --- and doing it justice (getting depth) --- is bloody hard and most writers can't make it work. Something has to give: detail, clarity of structure, range of materials covered, context.

So it simply becomes impossible for most TV writers to make something that is intended to be 6 episodes work over 22 episodes without a substantial re-think. So substantial that it can barely be the same thing. Being Human was the example given by Craig Grannell and it seems a fair point. It isn't that you can't make a good series on a similar premise but the shape makes the dynamic different: it also generates a different audience relationship.

There was a good battle in the comments between SK and Rob about the role of advertising and channels in the US (that is, differences with the subscription model). The thing is the UK is different from HBO etc, even if both have a lack of 'need' for ads. It's always interesting to see how UK TV transfers to the US (when the eps need cutting, restructuring; when the ad breaks appear and for how long). By and large, home-grown UK drama builds itself for its environment - whatever that may be.

In the US, the stretched out runs of mainstream coast-to-coast channels, with re-runs, season-breaks - not forgetting the sweeps process of course - all both generate and respond to audiences dipping in and out of long-running, attractive narratives.

And sweeps play a vital role for many TV series in the US. Almost without fail, I've picked up when a US series airing in the UK was hitting a sweeps point in its narrative (besides the obvious 'heading to season finale' thing).

So what can work about a shorter series? Punch. Focus. Attention to a smaller range of detail. That won't necessarily mean a smaller story, but it fits the shape given.

What happens when the shape changes? Well, sometimes you can end up with The Bill, which has probably tried as many formats as Doctor Who over the years (and not all successfully - in both programme's cases).

Rob remarks that

...Paul Abbott's argument isn't about quality - and the latest series of Shameless have been 16 episodes a throw, remember, so clearly he knows a thing about maintaining a certain degree of quality in long running shows. It's about familiarity.

Unfortunately, my response to that would be 'and is Shameless as good as when it started?' (2)

ANYWAY: what I'm saying is that I don't mind WHICH model is used as long as it works for what is being done (narratively). The shape itself doesn't have to be a problem as long as narratively the format works for whatever it is. Torchwood was a bit batty, and patchy, too often uncertain of its audience or purpose, but 13-eps in its first two seasons was fine by me. Restructured to 5 -- and screened appropriately (over 5 nights) -- it was a revelation of brilliance.

Some things are just a narrative that works perfectly over 6 episodes. Some want, need, should have 13. Or 21. Should we dismiss the usefulness of commissioning longer series? Not if that is what the great narrative a TV writer proposes deserves. Besides, has no-one ever heard of cancelled series? And a cancelled series doesn't have to mean it doesn't work - look at how Firefly revived sufficiently to generate a MOVIE for goodness sake from its cancelled/DVD sales.

Anyway - those are my thoughts.



(1) FYI I just howled with laughter reading this gem about Beer Bad from Wikipedia.

This plot was written with the plan to take advantage of funds from the Office of National Drug Control Policy available to shows that promoted an anti-drug message.[8] Funding was rejected for the episode because "[d]rugs were an issue, but ... [it] was otherworldly nonsense, very abstract and not like real-life kids taking drugs. Viewers wouldn't make the link to [the ONDCP's] message."[9]

(2) Mind, I have never really subscribed to the 'OMG-Shameless-is-BRILLIANT!' brigade. Not funny. Not weirdly heart-warming. Even if Abbott is writing from personal observation/experience as his starting point (though that was quite some way back now - Shameless has been running since 2004), the show has long since become a comfortable form of pornography about working-class life.

If people are bothered, I can probably expect some abuse about those remarks.

Things to note: Elections, BAAS and Friends

Election: god I want to hit things already. Look, the country is NOT broken, NI increases will NOT mean lost jobs, and the LIberal Democrats could promise the moon on a stick - they're STILL NOT going to be in power (at the very best, and it all depends on the vagaries of our voting system, they will have some roll to play to prop up whichever ailing government elected by a minority gets in). Am heartily sick of the slanging matches. I'll be voting Labour, okay. We have a good local MP who is responsive and fair - Nick Palmer - and I would like him back representing us come the day after the election. We're a straight Labour v Conservative seat at the national elections and there are a lot of small parties standing: not good. So I'm not going to faff about 'protest voting'. There are plenty of things I'm not wild about in terms of current policy, but ancestors died for my right to vote and I will use it as I see fit.

BAAS: away in Norwich for the next few days. This means I miss the next episode of Burn Notice on Fiver, the next Red John episode of The Mentalist on Five, AND 'The Beast Below' (aka the next great episode of the Moff-era of Doctor Who). Boo bloody hiss and thank heavens for catch-up TV. However, on the upside I hopefully will enjoy socialising with colleagues and listening to some fancy academic speak for 4 days. Woo!

Friends in need: I owe Helen L for her lovely gift of a new iPod cover, I owe George and Sonia a LONG overdue box of goodies, and I owe my precious friend Chrissie my endless affection for keeping in touch despite things being tough.

I'll get on the case on my return, honest.

Love ya guys.

Thoughts on top TV: the Guardian Top 50 TV drama shows and missing hobby-horse choices

Earlier in the week, the Guardian TV Club provided its list of the Top 50 TV drama shows of all time.

The list in full - with my own notes on whether I watched it [avidly, inconsistently], can recall it being on TV, haven't yet got around to it, or wouldn't really be bothered:

1. The Sopranos - watched, fairly consistently, til C4 started mucking around with the schedules and channels
2. Brideshead Revisited - barely recalled if I am honest
3. Our Friends in the North - avidly consumed and vividly stuck in my memory
4. Mad Men - *whistles* erm, haven't got around to this yet, for shame!
5. A Very Peculiar Practice - recalled as weird and grown-up
6. Talking Heads - watched some, but at the time felt to be an acquired taste. I think I needed to be older to appreciate
7. The Singing Detective - recognised it as important but didn't watch
8. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - watched
9. State of Play - gripped from start to (rather disappointing) finish. Since it stars the god-like Bill Nighy, it could do no wrong
10. Boys From the Blackstuff - recalled but unsure how much I watched it at the time
11. The West Wing - duh. Addicted. But C4 did nothing to help with its scheduling.
12. Twin Peaks - watched seasons 1 with Neil, lost the plot in s2 (rather like those making it)
13. Queer as Folk - I knew it was on, and have since seen lots of bits of the episodes, but for shame I still haven't watched the whole thing.
14. The Wire - it is an acquired taste, and probably one worth acquiring. Undoubtedly brilliant, ruined only slightly by the adulation heaped upon it.
15. Six Feet Under - again, ruined by C4 scheduling. Great whilst I watched it, but didn't pursue.
16. How Do You Want Me? - erm... great cast, but I'm not aware I ever watched this
17. Smiley's People - didn't knowingly watch this
18. House of Cards - addicted to all three series. I couldn't possibly comment any further.
19. Prime Suspect - interestingly the first and I think third series (with Peter Capaldi in a significant role) are the ones that have stayed with me most.
20. Bodies - I know many who loved this, but I never got into it. (see below for one reason why)
21. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - I think I watched it, but it hasn't stuck in my memory
22. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - I have a deep awareness of every episode which over-steps nerdy.
23. Cracker - Gripping and uncomfortable viewing at times, but
24. Pennies From Heaven - I was a bit too young to be watching, so just awareness at the time.
25. Battlestar Galactica - though the original version has its addicts, the new version hit a whole new level of awesome. Still rate the mini-series which preceded the series proper as some of the best TV ever. I haven't worked my way through the final season yet though.
26. Coronation Street - never really a soap fan, but had passages where I watched regularly.
27. The Jewel in the Crown - watched, with my parents
28. The Monocled Mutineer - half watched. Knew it was important
29. Clocking Off - watched the first series, and then lost track.
30. Inspector Morse - I must have seen all of them, yes?
31. This Life - Neil got me into this and we were slightly ahead of the repeats curve before everyone got one board with the show. It still tears my gut to recall Milly's furious punch on which the show ended.
32. Band of Brothers - never watched it, never felt a need to watch.
33. Hill Street Blues - addicted as I grew up.
34. The Prisoner - watched on DVD. Insane stuff - in a good way. I think.
35. St Elsewhere - Dipped in an out.
36. The L Word - never watched it and despite friends attempts to pull me in, I actually don't think I'm that bothered.
37. The Shield - Rev/Views may fall out with me for not having watched this avidly. I've caught some parts of some series (mostly with Forest Whittaker) but it didn't stick with me across the scheduling.
38. Brookside - never a fan, but occasional bits caught over the years. I recognise its importance.
39. 24 - series one, a work of astonishing invention. s2, a little more. S3 onwards, no Sky TV. Are there enough hours in the year to work through this many box-sets?
40. The Twilight Zone - of its time, a classic. Some of them STILL give the heebees.
41. Pride and Prejudice - I didn't watch this at the time, but somehow feel I have watched it since. A frothy reinvention of a classic.
42. Red Riding - bleak, bleak and more bleak. A difficult one to enjoy re-watching.
43. Oz - important, dark, violent. Should have watched it, but haven't.
44. The Street - erm, haven't actually watched it
45. The X-Files - I've mostly lost heart with such conspiracy-theory nonsense but it remains utterly watchable and was genius in its time (til Chris Carter got an 'its-all-about-God'-complex)
46. Bleak House - Loved it. one of the best recent Dickens adaptations for sure.
47. The Sweeney - watched it, even though it was 'naughty', whenever I could. Ground-breaking in its day, but Life and Mars highlighted how far we have come from those days
48. EastEnders - really? maybe I just don't watch soaps enough (at all these days) to get the importance
49. Shameless - tried to watch it, hated it with a fiery passion.
50. Grange Hill - important in its day, whenever that was. I watched it through school for sure.

Within two days, there was a piece following up the list acknowledging the vociferous complaints regarding omissions: for example, how could a list of top TV miss out Deadwood?

Missing shows and personal hobby-horses
Whatever criteria you use to create a Top 50 TV drama shows of all time - e.g. influential, ground-breaking, popular - to have a top FIFTY and have no sight of Doctor Who seems to be rather missing some kind of pretty crucial point. Perhaps they couldn't get past the idea that it was something other than drama as a genre, but that's just weak as an argument.

We'll let it go because otherwise we would be here moaning a very long time.

Amongst those the Guardian acknowledged (in responding to its readers' comments) were the following:
Deadwood
Edge of Darkness
I, Claudius
Dexter
Heimat

...and in brief:
Rome
GBH
Lost
Northern Exposure
Holding on
Homicide: Life on the Street

So what of the missing treats? From personal viewing, I'd definitely hold up Edge of Darkness from those first missing items - and I'd support the others as reasonable inclusions. Of the latter six though, I'm more ambivalent: GBH, possibly; Homicide - Life on the Street, certainly. And from a personal taste, Northern Exposure (especially its early series) and Holding On (even if it was 'Our Friends in the South') are worthy of places.

Here are just a few items I think are missing (*beware of possible spoilers on links*):

The Beiderbecke Affair - the trilogy if I can, though the first was the most wonderful

Cardiac Arrest - a show so brilliant it meant I always felt Bodies was a shallow follow-on

Casanova - perhaps the most perfect candy-box piece of funny emotional drama that RTD has produced.

ER - in its own way just as important as M*A*S*H* (also excluded) or St Elsewhere

The Kingdom - the Danish TV series. BONKERS stuff.

Life on Mars - for bringing us Gene Hunt.

The Sandbaggers - political and savvy. Great characters.

Spiral - we'll try and avoid getting into the UK/US-centric nature of the list, but it really did need to reflect a broader televisual world

Takin' Over the Asylum - funny and dark; the Psychos of its day.

Tutti Frutti - still brilliant after all this time. Great music.
A Very British Coup - thrilling stuff; the PM Broadcast when he goes off-script still makes me squeal with delight.

I'll also acknowledge some very much personal choices like Funland, NCIS, Middlemarch, Our Mutual Friend, and The Vice. Being Human will definitely make a future list I'm sure. And I'm personally deciding to treat the inclusion of 'Buffy' in the mainlist as the Whedonverse as a whole: Angel was certainly worthy of its own inclusion in my books, but I can understand its spin-off status. Firefly and Dollhouse are worthy as occasionally successful incarnations of Whedon's brilliant mind.

Any other thoughts people? I've probably missed a lot of gems, especially from pre-1980 and across the world.

TV Review: Doctor Who - The Waters of Mars: without spoilers / with spoilers

Last week would have been a real treat if I hadn't been poorly: Collision across 5 nights with lovely Douglas Henshall, a cello concert, a weekend away in Stratford with friend Helen Lisette, and topped off nicely with a dose of old-fashioned Doctor Who with David Tennant.

Still, all appreciated, including that last treat on Sunday night.

Spoiler free comments
Others have already added their remarks to the newspaper reviews etc: Medium Rob gave it a thumbs up, as have Stuart Ian Burns and Frank Collins over at Behind the Sofa (the two who are most inclined to be excitedly positively in their analysis and delight of current DW episodes).

For me, I liked that we got a rather successful echo of a Troughton-esque 'Base Under Siege' storyline, but with the added bonus of a brilliantly strong central female character. There was lots of running around - padding for the episode or homage to days of yore? - and even a 'cute' robot (I'd say WALL-E should sue but really it should be the designers from Short Circuit taking up the lawsuits). Since I utterly HEART Lindsay Duncan, she was of course awesome, taking the Doctor to task appropriately and with measure. Was the water scary enough? Yeah, and watching the Confidential afterwards it was interesting how smiling made it work better on every level. *Shudder*

Did the Doctor have quite enough to do? There was some loitering, but he more than made up for it by the last 15 mins. We're getting ready to say bye-bye to the Tenth Doctor and I'm already in pieces at the thought of what's to come.

Spoilers ahead








SPOILERS!

S


P


O


I


L


E


R


S


Spoiler alert!!!!!!
Scary, scary water monsters took second fiddle to the big darkness of the episode. Namely, Ten realising the significance of being 'Last of the Time Lords'. Who says he must be subject to the laws of time? The Time Lords, surely. 'And that's me' he thinks. And my word, on that realisation Ten lost the plot didn't he? Fantastic acting by Tennant as he tweaked the nuances of saying the same phrases he often uses - 'come on!' and 'I'm good' - and made them chilling and unnerving and scarily arrogant. Sidelined for much of the early part of the story - trying to pull himself away from the doomed Bowie Base and crew but not quite able to do so - he ends up ripping apart everything he has previously told himself he cannot, must not do. Definitely no one to hold him back; Adelaide Brooke hasn't enough personal history with him to do that. The Doctor saves the day and we feel cold and scared because we know it's just WRONG.

Is he even rid of all that 'Time Lord Victorious' power-rush when he tries to outrun the cloister-bell at the end? Never mind the knocking....

And the trailer. Blonde Master / evil skeleton Master? Rusty unable to leave the Noble family narrative alone. All manner of doom. Here's to January!

TV review: Collision reviews - first without spoilers, then scroll for spoilers

Spoiler-free comments
Collision had very distinguished cast, led by lovely Douglas Henshall (John Tolin), and with fine work as well from the likes of Paul McGann (Richard Reeves) and Lucy Griffiths (Jane Tarrant). With multiple storylines centred on a crash, tracking back and forth from before the crash to the event itself and then its aftermath and the investigation, it was of course a very British take on the Oscar-scooping film, Crash. I rather liked that film, but acknowledge its weaknesses and that it was very unpopular for winning the Best Picture Oscar over Brokeback Mountain.

Perhaps my liking of 'Crash' and my love of Dougie's performances meant I was more inclined to go with the narrative structure of this 5-part ITV drama (aired in other countries in two parts). With Horowitz in the driving seat - I've recently been watching some of his earlier work on Poirot - there were plenty of twists and turns, but I'm not sure how convincing it was in the end. Still, Cloud watched it with me quite eagerly, was keen enough to do a double-back on the ITV catch-up on Thursday when we missed the start due to having been out at a cello concert, and watched the finale in my absence. So that has to be worth something.

Personally, episodes 3 and 4 were the high points, but with one of the central storylines wrapped up by the end of ep4, there was a certain degree of anti-climax to ep5.

Anyone watching the show since it first aired a few weeks ago outside the UK (and that includes US viewers who get it on PBS Masterpiece Contemporary) will doubtless note that one core element of the plot from the ending would have made MUCH more sense had the drama been screened in Spring 2009 as originally scheduled*. That alone had me groaning slightly at the ending. But the explanation for the crash...? Sigh.

*I do try to not rant on about distribution issues, but there is something wrong about a UK developed drama starring UK actors not airing in the UK first (though I'd personally be happier with worldwide airing on simultaneous dates as much as is feasible).

My overall reaction: good. Not excellent, as 'Place of Execution' had been (or even 'Whitechapel') but a solid narrative that kept me watching to follow each storyline to its conclusion, even if some were more satisfactorily concluded than others.

Spoiler-version

SCROLL DOWN TO READ


S


P


O


I


L


E


R


S





BEWARE OF SPOILERS ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE!!!!!

Things I liked:
Dougie and his performance - nicely nuanced, though the relationships with both Ann (Kate 'WHAAAAT?!' Ashfield) and his daughter Jodie (Jo Woodcock - excellent performance from her) were a bit sketchy. Not having Jodie reappear in ep5 after the intense conversation with her father seemed odd. Felt the punch to the drunk driver when he forgave Tolin was very 'true' as a reaction as was Tolin's eventual remorse and moving on.

Lucy Griffiths getting on the train - hurrah. McGann may have been playing a fantasist shit but he gave her the inspiration to try to reach her dreams. As Jane tearfully tried to convince the hapless Dave, they wanted different things: in many respects it wasn't even really about handsome Richard whisking her off her feet with his riches and fancy opportunities. She was already not happy before the crash, bulldozed by circumstances into marriage, so it was nice to think she had a chance of breaking free.

Zoe Telford as Sandra Rampton the snooty wife taking no shit from the dodgy garage-based people-smugglers - contrasted with poor Naomi's attempts to get them to talk to her about her husband. Am convinced that Mrs Rampton knew full well the crash driver brother-in-law Danny would not be going further than the scrap yard.

The refugee Tsegga (Cornelius Macarthy) - scathingly noting his English language skills to those transporting him to England.

Ambivalent:
The Christine/Brian Edwards storyline with the obnoxious mother-in-law (respectively Jan Francis, Phil Davis, and Sylvia Sims) - I was fine with this until ep5 when there was a virtually word for word replay of dialogue from the previous episode (unless I was mistaking a flashback for a new scene). And that annoyed me so much.

Things I disliked:
Tolin ditching the 'journalist' to his fate - it felt somewhat out of kilter that despite 'Taylor' using Karen (and therefore leading to her death), Tolin would willfully leave him be killed.

The wasp ending - oh pur-lease! I get this was about randomness, the small things in life that have big rippling effects, but really. And tho I'll watch it again I'm pretty sure the presence of wasps wasn't there in 'casual' scenes until ep5 which feels like a tag-on for the narrative explanation. UPDATE: apparently there were wasps. I am Ms unobservant.

The heavy-handed 'misdirection' on the Sidney Morris/Norris story - it was actually a nice twist they had (would have been even better if they'd screened in Spring as planned before Star Trek came out) but my God, could they have laden on the paedophile misdirection story any thicker?

Dropping the black characters' crash story first - not racist, just disappointing to see it dismissed first of all the storylines. Just about compensated by the intelligent refugee engineer Tsegga, though it would have been better to see his wife Naomi get some justice from the people smugglers come-uppance.


Would I have watched this without the ever-compelling Douglas Henshall in a key role? Possibly, but also possibly not. There was enough to keep us watching anyway, but I'm not sure if we would have been quite so interested in watching from the start without his performance to pull us in. And if we hadn't watched the first ep, I doubt we would have involved ourselves in the rest. Worthwhile, but perhaps adding up to less than the sum of its parts.

Blogs I owe you all: book reviews, music reviews etc

Gah, rubbish rubbish blog person. I owe you all a lot.

Book reviews of Stieg Larsson (yes, I too am now a fully paid up convert to the 'oh-my-god-Lisbeth-Salander-is-awesome' club), a book review of Rashbre's highly entertaining book version of his NaNoWriMo production The Triangle (see Rashbre for copies!), commentary on Spiral, thoughts on gigs I will be off to soon (The Proclaimers this evening; Bellowhead on Sunday) and much more.

Apologies as ever for not reading or writing much. Start of term, blah, blah.

Plus, one year ago this weekend... Sigh

Now everyone is talking about books, and reading and storage!

Blimey. On the back of my last post about bookshelves, I get home and find Charlie Brooker has wailed about his heaving shelves; Lucy Mangan is singing the praises of the Billy bookcase (if she has 21 of them in her house this may suggest LM has more books than we do: this feels wrong); and then Susan Hill is on Front Row 5/10/09 on about her new book on not buying new books for a year - and reading/rereading her existing provisions (Howard's End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading From Home).

Charlie Brooker points up the dangers of ending up not reading the same book twice (on which point, Neil have you even read one of the editions of Milan Kundera's Immortality that you ended up owning?); being oppressed by choice and by commitment - how do you justify watching comforting crap when you haven't yet watched that worthy drama? and DVD boxsets, we're looking at you; and the potential benefits of being limited in what you can watch and read.

The first comment ties up nicely to Susan Hill's point: that it is all too easy to end up just accumulating more rather than dealing with what we have. Indeed, although we're prodigious readers in our house, I suspect there may be far more unread tomes lurking on our shelves than Neil or I would like to admit. But Charlie's second point then kicks in: virtue over pleasure. I know there are things I should watch/read, that I am even fairly certain I would get something out of, but when time is short it is hard to justify finding enough time to appreciate. Movies of 3 hours plus? That's either an early start to the evening or a very late night. Long books, or worthy books? That's concentration and a lot of hours. Multiply by X for those seductive boxsets. Which of course ties up to Charlie's third point on choice: would it be better to have less choice?

It can be too easy to take for granted the freedoms we have in what we can watch and read, but that doesn't mean that aren't benefits in more controlled activities. I don't think I'd want to have 'the man' knocking at the door each month with my regulation text, but there is a lot to be said for the 'guided reading' of doing a course or joining a book/film club. Not least the communal aspect of communicating about the text with others.

And what of Susan Hill's ideas? Well, I was certainly reassured by her attitude on Jane Austen (not a great fan, likes Northanger Abbey best), especially since the most enjoyable Austen I've read recently was the hysterical re-visioning of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Definitely Austen's best work (with Seth Grahame-Smith making a significant contribution). And I liked the idea of re-evaluating works to see if they hold up to the passion and enthusiasm they instilled first time round. Or even just finding time to get into the rhythm of reading at length - something I've been trying to do more of recently, with some degree of success.

Above all, as much as I sympathise with the frustration of Brooker, I'm leaning more to the bookshelf filling enthusiasm of Mangan and the 'ways of re-evaluating' of Hill. I don't want to stop getting hold of new stuff, but I do want to find ways to keep up more with reading what I already have - or making the valuable decision to allow someone else to have the pleasure/pain of the item. I'm still seduced by the boxset and the appealing cover/title, but I don't want to be beholden to the new and yet more.

There has to be a middle way of appreciating what there is already whilst allowing the self to offload or admit defeat on all the things that we haven't got around to reading/watching.

MediumRob's Meme - fantasy scheduling

Inspired by Rob's latest meme on fantasy scheduling, here are my thoughts. I've not been able to focus in on a single night or channel, so these are more overall mutterings and suggestions:

1. Extending Tobe's thought, a pox on reality TV -- sorry fans, but this also includes all Strictly-come-slit-my-throat-rather-than-vote shows too. I appreciate the banter of others who love this sort of thing, but the incessant media ravings over the schedule battle of X-Factor vs Strictly had me screaming "fighting the battle of who could care less" (apologies to Ben Folds Five)


2. Saturday nights in the wintertime = Doctor Who. Where it belongs. It should air from October to Xmas or January to Easter. I have loved having a Xmas Special but they've not all been special enough to justify the Spring starting time (with the Xmas ep as a taster/teaser/one-off story).


3. Saturday evenings in the spring OR early autumn = Merlin. This depends on DW gets that post-Xmas to Easter slot. Saturday evenings should have at least half the year with some supernatural/spooky/sci-fi entertainment. And no, I'm not wanting 'Demons' back thank you.


4. Be consistent with schedules/slots -- we all remember debacles about scheduling 'Seinfeld'/'Arrested Development' etc. Bumped around the post-'Newsnight' schedule, going AWOL for a week or more. Whilst digital channels are sometimes erratic about screening things in order, they are often more predictable about screening the same programme or type of programme in the same slot. Five is the nearest we have on terrestrial for managing this most of the time. I might not like or always agree with its programming but I know that 9pm on Tuesday is pretty likely to be CSI-ish in nature.


5. New dramas -- ITV1, BBC1 and BBC2 at the least should be compelled to regular commission, produce and then schedule within 6 months of completion* one-off single (short) series dramas of 3-10 hour long episodes. These should not be then endlessly recommissioned until the lustre of the original gem is utterly diminished (especially if they were designed as a one-off originally). Use the 'strip-across-the-week' technique if you must.


6. 11pm onwards every Saturday night on BBC2 = classic film slot. I want a decent film commentator to front the screenings. A five minute intro will suffice. I want black and white and classic art house. Nothing more recent than 10 years old. At least one in every three films not in English.


7. Post-Newsnight Review on Fridays BBC2 = cult film slot running til at least 2am. Again, with commentator introduction. You may have guessed I am of the generation that grew up on Alex Cox and b-movie/cult/sci-fi screenings.


8. Terrestrial TV repeats -- that digital switchover is still a few years off yet. In the meantime let's give people who don't want to clutter their houses with DVDs or fill their computers with downloads (illegal or otherwise) the chance to see some classic dramas of all kinds of genres. I'm quite happy for this to be run in tandem with...


9. ... themed nights. After the initial effort of BBC2 linking with radio, themed nights got terribly carried away with themselves until they littered the scheduled with barely connected works. There's an opportunity under the Rullsenberg schedule to give this all another chance. Why not use themed nights - approximately 5 weeks apart - to bring out the context of contemporary or recent TV productions? Link 'Spooks' with 'The Sandbaggers' and le Carre dramatisations (even films); link dramas like 'Shooting the Past' with documentaries on photographers and 'Who do you think you are?' style family histories focusing on use of photographs as historical documents; link appropriate episodes of 'Coast' with 'The Onedin Line'/'Poldark'; re-air those dramas about comedic actors private lives with examples of their works and the legacy in contemporary comedy (sadly I think some legal restrictions may apply to these).


10. Stage dramas and Shakespeare -- I want them on TV at least once a month. I'd prefer once a week, but recognise this may be unrealistic. However, full play-length dramas / filmed versions of stage shows can work. If live projections to cinemas can work (as the National Theatre has been experimenting) then why not TV screenings for broadcast as a play run comes to its end? It may encourage revivals. And if we're talking true fantasy, then I'd like screenings of plays starring Dougie Henshall and/or David Tennant on a regular basis please.

Bit random these thoughts. I couldn't reign myself in a channel or for a day. But this nostalgic approach would certainly make me happy.

* ITV1 -- I am so looking at you for commissioned and even promoting stuff only to faff about with actually airing things.