TV Meview 6-8.12.2008

It's been a sparse weekend's programming, mainly because of putting up decorations and not sleeping very well but here's my thoughts on what I did watch.

The Semi-Final of X-Factor was a tough one to call, but at the end of the day the right people made it to the final. As I keep saying the talent has been very high this year but Diana Vicker's quirky vocal just wasn't strong enough or consistent enough to get her to the final. I'm sure she'll do well in the current pop landscape when she finally releases something, as long as they find the right songs for her anyway.

Shall I call a winner yet? Yeah, okay!

Eoghan Quigg.

He'll do it because of the fan base of the show and the fact that teens are more likely to be motivated to see more of his cute, but vacant expressions.

Talking of Eoghan's facial expressions, I almost missed Harry Hill's TV Burp as it was on later than usual. This weeks show was full of its usual running gags and TV absurdities. The standout moment was when he cast his weirdy eye onto a show about Health and Safety professionals (The Fun Police). It had me in stitches. Uncomfortably so, as I had company whilst watching it this weekend that don't see the fun in Harry Hill and so were actually more amused at my amusement. Please ITV, please put Harry back on at a normal time so I can watch it with my boys and not bear the shame of merriment alone.

After Harry had brought Anna Ryder-Richardson low to close the show I got sucked into watching the British Comedy Awards (yes, ITV does win hands down on Saturday nights in this house). Purposefully unaware of the Ross/Brand debacle that affected this show (I didn't hear the broadcast so I have no opinion of it) I was reminded of it constantly by every comedian who wanted to sound a little controversial by standing up for them. I know awards shows are notorious for luvvies, but this year's awards seemed to show new depths of self reference in place of genuine humour. That's not to say I didn't laugh every now and then, its traditional for ITV comedy, but I guess it did miss the irreverence and confidence of Head Boy Jonathan Ross. Having his lines delivered by the deadpan Angus Deayton didn't always work.

As usual most of the good comedy came from the BBC, so I guess its off to iPlayer to find out what the fuss is about half the shows mentioned.

After Match of the Day I spent most of the day trying to stay awake but managed to last throughout the whole of the Disney Premiere of Ratatouille. This was the first Pixar movie in a while that I hadn't taken the kids to the cinema to watch. Possibly because it was about a Rat who wanted to be a Chef. How amuszzz....zzzz..zzz

Oops! Sorry, getting tired again! So anyway, I thought, why let the kids see an animated tale of Gordon Ramsay's private life. Having seen it though it was fairly amusing though definitely one of their dullest in my book. The head chef was just too much of a loser, as was the original chef, who died because of a bad review. The only highlight was the fiesty french chick who the loser falls for and inexplicably wins. I hate hollywood romances. I was glad when the thing finished and I could get the kids to bed.

After our evening had relaxed a bit it was time for a bit of Fringe. This was the last episode before the new year (I still haven't found out if they're making anymore yet though) so a cliffhanger was expected, but the route there wasn't.

It was time to start tying up some of the plot threads whilst throwing more questions into the pot. The things that stuck with me were the revelations of how surprised Walter was at some of the things coming his way. Usually he recognises the wierdness and says 'oh yes, I invented that whilst I was drying myself in the shower'. To see him react to things he hadn't encountered was a neat twist on how the show has worked to this point. Also the fact that Olivia suddenly became more valuable to two parties possibly behind 'the pattern' and that one of them has aquired her against her will was also a logical place to take the character even if you wouldn't expect them to do so this early on.

I like the fact that the show is taking risks with its characters. None of the three leads are your typical, likeable everyman character. That makes them interesting because not only do you not know where 'The Pattern' will take you next, you can't necessarily guess the character's responses in these situations. I'm going to miss this in the coming weeks. Sunday is now dead to me.

As Monday soon will be once Eli Stone wraps up its first season. Another great episode where we get to see good people being good and leading the morally gray into a better place. The effects of Eli's new found ethics are starting to have their ripples felt around the law firm and it hasn't gone unnoticed as Katy Sagal (Married with Children, Futurama) steps in as one of the silent law-partners who finds she can no-longer be silent due to Eli's crusading costing them high-paying clients.

Has Eli found himself a formidable adversary who will try to reverse, block and end all the good he has tried to do? I hope we find out.

This week Eli sees the future which involves some of the people from his present ending up somewhere he didn't expect them. This leads him to representing a criminal who is being persecuted for standing up for himself in jail and who has links in the past to one of the other lawyers in the firm.

Whilst Eli gets on with this case his relationship with his assistant continues to be awkward as her sudden engagement becomes an issue. Eli's Ex on the other hand is now being won over by the office jerk who, since learning about his baseball hero's underhand tactics when representing him, seems to be showing a softer side. I guess with all of the characters from the opening episodes who seemed to be Eli's enemies now showing either indifference or some actual character growth a new adversary had to be put in place to create some internal tension in the office.

Lets see where it takes us.


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