5 (or 6) TV Shows I Would Like to See Make a Return in 2014

Gilmore Girls
For those of you that know me, this will not be a shock. Gilmore Girls was my first real delve into the depths of television obsession and so it holds a special place in my heart. From the 95 words per second dialogue to the witty, albeit slightly timeworn pop culture quips, this small town comedy drama is one of the greats. The creative first born of writer, producer and director Amy Sherman-Palladino, Gilmore Girls had five brilliantly written and structured series’. However, in 2006 with the launch of The CW (an American Television network resulting from a merge between both the UPN and the WB networks) it was announced that Amy and her husband Daniel would halt their involvement with Gilmore Girls when their contracts expired at the end of season six and the writing of the final two seasons would be subsequently left in the hands of then assistant writer, David. S Rosenthal. This abrupt change led to fan uproar surrounding the ending of season seven and the show as a whole, with the re-introduction of Christopher Hayden (Lorelai Gilmore’s ex and father of Rory Gilmore) a particularly heavily discussed plot twist. I myself enjoyed the ending, but much like a lot of the Gilmore Girl fan base, accepted it only as a sigh of relief in response to preceding storylines. Both Amy Sherman Palladino and Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) have expressed an interest in the possibility of a Gilmore Girls movie, and with a lot of the beloved older members of the cast reaching epitaph drafting age and the majority of the younger cast members doing very little else, I feel the time is right for Gilmore Girls to make like Veronica Mars and whether it be in movie or TV form, Copperboom right back on to our screens and right those plot line wrongs!

Tru Calling
A timely classic…that no one has ever heard of, Tru Calling was a staple of my youth. Watched from pirate DVD’s that my parent’s procured from unknown sources, I felt what can only be described as highly distressed when I realized that season two was the end of our beautiful love affair. A series centered on the life of Tru Davies (played by Eliza Dushku, more prominently known for her roles as Faith in ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ and Echo in ‘Dollhouse’) a woman who works at the city morgue where the bodies of the dead people start talking to her and asking for her help, something which then sees Tru reliving the day of their death and attempting to save their lives. Granted, it seems like a far-fetched idea for a TV show, but with the likes of American Horror Story, Once Upon A Time and LOST gracing our screens since, really nothing is off the cards. With a cast including some of today’s biggest TV and cinematic stars; Zach Galifanakis (The Hangover), Lizzy Caplan (Mean Girls/Masters of Sex) and Matt Bomer (Chuck/White Collar) and a gap in the market for a supernatural time-travelling savior, I really see no argument against a reboot.

Charmed/Sabrina The Teenage Witch
Teenage witch idols are a must have for any young girl growing up, right? I agree. So, where are they all?  Since the emotional and epic ending of Charmed in 2006 and the sad release of Sabrina into adulthood in 2003 there has been a significant witch shaped hole in television. This Autumn saw that hole narrow a little with the introduction of American Horror Story: Coven, however as great as it may be, I still feel there is much room for a badass crime-fighting witch to swoop in on her broomstick and remind us of what used to be. With Melissa Joan Hart preoccupied with a bald guy named Joey (Melissa and Joey) and a birth date that rules out anything but a TV special, I pin all my hopes on the return of the Halliwell sisters.

It has been rumored that a Charmed remake is on the table with an apparent script being drafted by writers Christ Keyser and Sydney Sidner, however whether this will go ahead is indefinite, especially with original Halliwell sister Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) tweeting her uncertainties about it;

 

‘The thing about them doing a #charmed reboot is…it just….it feels like yesterday. It feels too close’

Whilst I see where Alyssa is coming from, Charmed having only been off our screens for 6 years, for me personally nothing has filled the void. Okay yes, we have our fair share of supernatural dramas and granted any new witchy affair will quite probably not match the 90s greats, but female empowerment never ages, right?

Privileged
It would seem that short running cancelled shows are a guilty pleasure of mine, with Privileged, another unknown treasure sneaking into the ranks. A comedy drama starring Joanna Garcia as Megan Smith, a recent Yale graduate who in her search for Journalism success finds herself working as a live-in tutor to Rose (Lucy Hale of ‘Pretty Little Liars’) and Sage (Ashley Newbrough of, well, not much else) the twin teen granddaughters of Laurel Limoges (Anne Archer), a cosmetics guru from Palm Beach, Florida.  I will admit, this is probably the weakest of the selection as it offers very little, which I imagine is why it’s still not on our screens today. However, despite this, it was pleasant viewing and both Joanna Garcia and Lucy Hale were brilliant to watch, even amidst some dodgy plot development. When I think ‘pleasant comedy drama’ not much comes to mind, three months ago ‘Hart of Dixie’ probably would have occurred to me, but I lost interest in that after I missed a few episodes, something I wouldn’t consider a great quality in a TV show. Of the shows so far this is also probably the most likely to not ever, in the history of TV ever to be remade and with Joanna and Lucy exposure well and truly catered for in Pretty Little Liars and Once Upon A Time, 2014 probably won’t be missing out on much.

Ally McBeal
Another staple of my youth comes in the form of Ally McBeal (my parents really taught me well didn’t they?) What a great piece of TV this was and what a great soundtrack to go with. Centered on the life of Ally (Calista Lockhart) a young lawyer working in a fictional Boston law firm, the show is a collective look at the eccentric and humorous lives and loves of Ally and her colleagues. Jane Krakowski (of 30 Rock fame), Portia De Rossi (of Ellen DeGeneres fame) and Lucy Liu (of Charlie’s Angels fame) all encapsulate the essence of great TV casting, creating believable and largely likeable characters. Now that Glee has well and truly plummeted to a vastly displeasing depth of bad, there is more than enough room for the return of one Ms. Vonda Shepherd and her acoustically delightful piano ballads. I am not ashamed to admit that I owned and cherished all three soundtracks and regularly popped the discs into my DVD player to hairbrush dance to around my house. This is not as insanely cringe worthy as it sounds giving that during the shows prime I was the meek age of 10, but still, even for a pre-teen hairbrush dancing is never really that good a look.  Although there really isn’t much of a storyline to pick up and continue, it would be nice to have Ally and the gang back if not just for their infectiously fun singing and dancing, but for their many conversations about sex that I feel now, not being 10 anymore, may be of some (comedic) value.

Honorable mentions:
Friends – I think it’s safe to say we can rule this one out
Veronica Mars – Spy glasses and Nikon lenses at the ready – The long-awaited movie hits our screens March 14^th 2014

Review: Dracula

This Autumn brings to our screen a retelling of Bram Stoker’s century old gothic horror novel ‘Dracula’ in the form of new and solicitously named show, Dracula. For those of you who have read my previous ‘Falltum’ reviews you may notice a slight pattern forming in the 2013 season. With AHS, Masters of Sex and now Dracula, TV of late has had an air of dimness about it, providing us with new shows that are perfectly complimented by the cold dusk of winter. Dracula continues this pattern with dimly lit scenes set in 18^th Century England, showcasing London nightscapes and quaint candlelit English architecture.

The opening scene a visual of Dracula’s resurrection, we are transported to a Romanian nightfall in the year 1881, where a dark shadow of a figure is seen to revive a desiccated Dracula with the blood of a grave robber. 15 years later we meet the now young, virile and rather sexy Dracula played by Jonathan Rhys Myers (of ‘The Tudors’ fame), who has adopted the identity of Alexander Grayson; Master of Carfax Manor. Posing as an American industrialist (with a very questionable and often unsettling accent), Dracula hosts a lavish ball as a means of presenting himself and his ideas to the more elite members within the surrounding social vicinity. A party scene reminiscent of an elaborate Made In Chelsea fancy dress party and dialogue with just as much catty bite, we are given an atmospheric introduction to the majority of the not so alluring cast. Among the guests are Jonathan Harker (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a easy on the eye journalist with a particular interest in Grayson’s backstory and on his arm, Mina Murray (Jessica De Gouw), an attractive brunette medical student with whom Dracula takes a particular interest in, something we soon discover is due to the fact that she is, seemingly, the reincarnation of his dead wife.

Grayson uses the arranged gathering as a means of testing and demonstrating the new alternative energy source that he has developed; the world’s first form of free, magnetically charged wireless electricity. It becomes clear as we see Grayson (Dracula) interact with several similarly wealthy British industrialists in attendance about the possibility of an investment in the British Imperial London Coolant Company (a necessary provision for the production of Grayson’s energy source), that science may not be the only thing on his agenda. An assumption confirmed by the revelation that these industrialists are actually members of a society titled ‘The Order of the Dragon’, an organization that is believed to have carried out crimes against humanity across several centuries. The central focus of the show is imminently clarified as it is exposed that the persona that Dracula has created in Grayson is simply a mere tool in his elaborate plot for revenge, a plot in which he seeks to punish those involved in ‘The Order of the Dragon’, who in centuries gone destroyed the lives of those closest to him.

Considering this is a review of a show about a vampire I imagine you’re wondering why there has yet to be a reference to a sexually charged and violent bloodsucking scene? Well, you’re in luck, kind of. Grayson, or in this case, Dracula makes his first attack a third of the way into the episode, but of course only after he leers in the darkness of the university halls eerily ogling Mina, the aforementioned dead wife doppelgänger. Unfortunately for the Lost Boys and 30 Days of Night fans among you, this brief stint of sexually induced bloodshed is about as gruesomely exciting as the episode gets, even with a midnight roof slaying and the appearance of a human head in a box. The character of Lady Jayne Wetherby played by Victoria Smurfit (of Ballykissangel fame, for the fellow excited Irish among you) does however offer a level of flirtation to the casting with her infatuation for Dracula, something that becomes less surprising when we’re made aware of her knowledge of vampiric existence. An odd scene involving an unidentified female kicking a punching bag and conversing with what I assume to be another (caged) vampire left me a bit perplexed, much like most after any recent Miley Cyrus performance. Allowing for this unexplained sprinkling of ‘what’s to come’ I do believe that the levels of sex and violence will intensify as the series progresses, especially as both Dracula’s obsession with Mina and his yearn for vengeance grow.

With a male lead in Rhys Myers that captivates the screen and a morosely beautiful backdrop in vintage London, this is a show that I can only, and generously describe as a kindly mix between Downtown Abbey and Cruel Intentions. Despite the fact that the vampire theme was somewhat lost, as far as premiere episodes go, this was pretty decent, and like any good opener, left you asking questions that require you to delve deeper into the world of Grayson and his twisted love tainted story.

Dracula airs in the US Fridays at 10pm on NBC and Thursdays in the UK at 9pm on Sky Living.

photocredit: tvrage.com

Review: American Horror Story: Coven

American Horror Story first hit our TV screens in 2011 opening to us the door of the ‘Murder House’. For 13 episodes we followed the story of the Harmon’s, a modern day family adjusting to their new Los Angeles home, a house that just so happened to be haunted by the deceased previous occupants. Despite the involvement of Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott (of Friday Night Lights and The Practice fame) American Horror Story or AHS for short debuted to a small audience, but over time it gained ground and now amidst its third season, it is continually growing in both popularity and critical acclaim.

Each annual edition of AHS focuses on a new and original story with it’s own unique characters and a plot with it’s own beginning, middle and end. Season Two; AHS: Asylum set in 1964, takes us back almost half a century with the stories of the occupants of an institute for the criminally insane. The third and current season American Horror Story: Coven is, what could be described as an amalgamation of both previous seasons in that it transports us back and forth from various settings in 1800s and present day to tell the story of a coven of modern 21^st Century witches and the battle they ensue with an assembly of voodoo practitioners.

An anthology show with a repertory cast, American Horror Story, as a collective, is a horror movie fan’s TV dream with each episode a 40 minute insight into the gore, thrills and often supernatural goings on of each carefully chosen and perfectly thematic location. The reoccurring group consists of Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe and Taissa Farmiga all of whom are shuffled from role to role each season, but still remain as captivating to watch in each. A fairly unknown cast as a whole, the stars of American Horror Story have not only, in my opinion, outperformed those in rival primetime drama series’, but have also drawn in the interest and subsequent casting of several Hollywood actresses this season. Kathy Bates, Gabourey Sidibe and Emma Roberts have all signed up to the third installment making this the most talented cast, or coven, to date. Despite the storyline twist of each season there is still a familial sense to the show as a whole, however this is in no way strong enough to prevent a first-time viewer from beginning their AHS experience with either of the latter two seasons.  For the 20 something’s among you, AHS resembles a sort of circa 1990 ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark’ format, with each season reflective of a different campfire story (unfortunately without the addition of any magical midnight dust), and so allows for fresh eyes each Fall.

Is it scary? I hear you ask. Well, my personal answer to that would be no, but then again, I’m the person who whilst you’re hiding behind your popcorn bucket, laughs at the chainsaw beheading of the petrified victim or the unexpected appearance of a mutilated demon. Unlike the majority of modern day horror movies, one thing American Horror Story doesn’t rely on is the rhythm of a quiet scene followed by a ‘boo’ like moment. Instead, with it’s grainy images, distorted sound effects and visual poetry, AHS is more akin to that of 19^th Century Gothic Horror as it taps into your senses and makes you physically squirm with it’s dormant scare.  It’s good to mention also that there is a heavy sexual undertone to the entire show, with sex playing a massive part in a majority of the stories and character development. This ranges from expected (Emma Roberts’ character Madison likes it often) to plain horrific (a mother taking advantage of her own son) to, well, even more horrific (Gabourey Sidibe’s character being violated by a matador). American Horror Story certainly stays true to it’s name in the visual respect, but it’s definitely not without it’s tongue and cheek quips of which Jessica Lange takes 90% of the credit (my personal favorite being a subtle childhood throwback in ‘Don’t make me drop a house on you’). As well as providing us with some light to dark humor, AHS often pulls at the heart-strings, with this week’s episode (Episode 5: Burn, Witch. Burn!) tapping into a maternal theme, which results in one horrifyingly sweet mother-baby scene.

Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk did here what they quite clearly couldn’t do with the last few seasons of Glee in that they took a genre not normally subjected to a TV show format and through clever plot development, excellent casting and compelling character creation were able to not only stay true to the genre itself, but also address impulses surrounding issues such as Sex, Gender and Power. American Horror Story: Coven like that of its sister seasons flicks between horrifying and tense whilst allowing you to fall into love or hate with it’s characters. Whilst other witch-laden shows such as Charmed take a feather light view, American Horror Story is probably as hard-hitting as it gets.

It may be weird and it may well be visually disgusting, but as horrifying as it might be to watch, American Horror Story: Coven as far as TV shows go, is certainly not horrific.

American Horror Story: Coven airs Wednesday nights 10pm on FX.

photocredit: seriesnews.biz

Review: Super Fun Night

The comedic breakthrough act of 2012, Rebel Wilson makes both her writing and television debut in the brand new sitcom ‘Super Fun Night’, a comedy based upon the friendship of three professional working women, Kimmie (Wilson), Helen-Alice (Liza Lapira) and Marika (Lauren Ash) a trio who encompass everything it means to be socially inept and awkward adults. Think Gilmore Girls meets New Girl and then think the exact opposite.

First coming on the scene in 2011 as Kristen Wiig’s strange and intrusive flat mate Brynn in Bridesmaids, Wilson only continued to grow in popularity. She eventually affirmed her place amongst some of the world’s best female comedians in 2012 with her performance as Becky in Pitch Perfect, a role that then led her to a gig hosting the 2013 MTV Movie Awards. Known for her awkward, goofy and often self-deprecating humor, Wilson isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if her larger than life persona and hollow jokes are something you enjoy, then this is the probably the show for you.

The first episode leads us quite blatantly into the season with the not so subtle use of the show’s title. Wilson’s character Kimmie has just received a promotion and as a result she and her friends have vowed to make every Friday night a ‘Super Fun Night’. This particular Friday night takes them to a Piano bar, super fun I hear you ask? The answer is no. Unfortunately the episode relies heavily on tired, clichéd jokes and a singing scene, which I can only describe as a poor man’s, albeit, better sung version of Kristen Wiig and Rose Byrne’s duelling speech duet in Bridesmaids. Rebel Wilson Movie parallels seemed to be a recurring theme throughout, with the opening credits presumably channeling a deleted scene from Pitch Perfect. Whether these parallels were a funny coincidence or a consequence of writer’s block desperation I don’t know, but either way both were quite painful to watch.

Now, to you and I a super fun night, depending on your age of course, would probably include an evening of alcohol, attempted dancing and more often than not, a 3am Family Feast Chicken Bucket. To Kimmie and her colleagues however, a Super Fun Night seems to be anything that puts them in a social situation amongst people of whom they’ve spent most of their life hiding from, enter Richard (Kevin Bishop) the attractive but eccentric boss and Kendall (Kate Jenkinson) the slim, blonde and attractive colleague who sets her sights on becoming the Sinnita to Richard’s Simon Cowell (attachment issues and leaf dresses aside). In keeping with the format of most generic sitcom storylines one would assume that in a love triangle of this type Kimmie would be the less attractive loser employee secretly pining for her boss, however, one of the few likeable things about ‘Super Fun Night’ is that it veers away from this predictability. Kimmie and Richard in fact share an enviable chemistry and bizarrely similar enjoyment of goofy office freebies and childlike behaviour, whilst Kendall is the unconventional underdog whose jealousy and want for corporate love drives her into competitive battle with Kimmie, resulting in the aforementioned Bridesmaids-esque sing-off.

Contemporary comedy is ridden with self-deprecating jokes and generalised self-loathing, both of which Rebel Wilson does very well. The problem here however is that unlike the characters of ‘Super Fun Night’ we root for Rebel Wilson, whilst poking fun at herself we know as an audience that she is a talented and genuinely nice woman. The characters of ‘Super Fun Night’ lack this audience empathy.

Don’t get me wrong, despite Wilson’s American accent leaving a lot to be desired and the opening credits dumping me in a crippled state of ‘cringe’, the episode did have it’s moments. Helen-Alice’s accidental drunkenness for example, whilst being annoyingly naïve did induce a slight chuckle, and there were a few well-placed funny one-liners amidst otherwise strained scenes. However in this case the bad outweighed the good and unfortunately I was still awaiting that one hilarious laugh out loud moment 10 minutes after the episode had ended.  Personally, I think Wilson’s ‘carefree fat girl’ persona lends itself better to film, and for me ‘Super Fun Night’ is evidence of this.  I commend Rebel for having a go at penning her own show, but with one fat joke too many and enough Spanx promotion to keep the company out of administration for a few years, this was one ‘Super Fun Night’ I don’t think I’ll be repeating anytime soon.

Super Fun Night airs Wednesdays, 9pm on ABC.

photo credit: hitflix.com

Review: Masters of Sex

As the hotly anticipated Autumn TV season falls upon us again I have found a little bit of time in-between clearing my social calendar and washing my TV slippers to give you the lowdown on what I think is worth spending all your time obsessing over this season, and what you should probably sideline until your return to the pit of desperation that is summer hiatus.

Under the microscope today is Masters of Sex; a brand new drama series starring Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan of Twilight and Mean Girls fame.  In short, this is a series about sex. Based on Thomas Maier’s biography Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the drama is set in 1950’s Missouri and focuses on the characters of Dr. William Masters (Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Caplan), two pioneering researchers of Human Sexuality at Washington University.

A story centered upon a revolutionary scientific study, you would probably guess that this isn’t your normal sex laced television drama and you would be both right and wrong. There are sex scenes and they are nude, however unlike the majority of sex scenes on primetime television the ones here are not solely about the act itself, but focus primarily on the scientific, physiological and emotional ramifications. Masters of Sex takes a photographic stance more relatable than say that of True Blood or Scandal which serve only your wildest of fantasies. Don’t get me wrong, this is no Girls, but it does possess a similar level of sexual believability that makes it quite compelling to watch.

The premiere episode gives a representative view of what to expect from the scheduled 13-episode run. With emotive sub-plots involving infertility and mild domestic abuse, it has firmly placed itself in the drama genre so don’t tune in expecting satirical jokes and sex laden quips (there is however one scene involving an oversized sex toy with a built in camera which may tickle some of you, for lack of a better word). Caplan and Sheen do a good job of creating likeable characters and although we see little of the supporting cast, what we do see is good. For a drama series with ad-free episodes of 60 minutes in length it flows nicely, a feat within itself. There are certain points when you may turn to the person next to you for clarity (William’s wife calling him ‘Daddy’ for example), but overall the episode is easily followed and importantly, it leaves you eager to watch the next.

So there we have it, Masters of Sex: a series which looks set to serve us some top-notch plotlines, a side of emotionally charged character development and a nice healthy drizzle of sex. Now, if this were a restaurant, who wouldn’t order that?

Catch all new episodes every Sunday at 10pm on Showtime, or for those closer to home, Masters of Sex premieres on Tuesday 8^th October at 9pm on Channel 4.

photo credit: canada.com