Sherlock: Worth Investigating

While I was late to the program, I have enjoyed the BBC's updated version of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock.  Broadcast late last year on PBS as three 90-minute Masterpiece episodes (and last summer on the BBC in the UK), it offers a fresh, modern day version of our sleuthing hero and his trusty sidekick, Dr. Watson.  I never read through the earlier detective stories, or any detective stories for that matter, so I guess I was looking for basically CSI:London (though Law & Order:UK is already available).  But I could not be more pleased with Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch), an anti-social, obsessive, and brilliant man who I would not want to spend more than two minutes with in real life.  And yet his bickering friendship/relationship with Watson (Martin Freeman) is a perfect balance of effective investigating and continual annoyances.  You can catch episodes on iTunes and a second season is being prepared for later this year.

Jackie and Tara Return

If you haven't had a chance to see Jackie in Showtime's Nurse Jackie, or Tara in Showtime's United States of Tara, then you are missing two leading ladies who are completely messed up but truly love their families.  As you watch Jackie (Edie Falco), you learn about her multiple relationships all balanced with her self-medication.  With Tara (Toni Collette), you have multiple personalities, which seem to reappear even with proper medication.  Both both shows provide you with excellent acting, good story-lines, and a set of characters you worry about.  What could be better?  And both start their third season on March 28th.  So grab the family and watch these multiple shows.  Think of it as excellent medication for what ails the soul after a long hard day.  You will not be sorry you did.

More Epics Coming to TV

I have already noted that I am looking forward to the start of the new Starz series Camelot on April 1, and this is just one of many new epic shows coming to television.

On April 3rd, Showtime will premiere The Borgias, which will tell the tale of Italy's most famous Renaissance family.  And, as with Camelot, the series will not skimp on talent.  The story stars Jeremy Irons as Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who is striving for the papacy.  And of course we need to meet the papal family, for what is a pope without a mistress and children?  One of the sons, Juan, is played by David Oakes, who also played the slimy William Hamleigh in the Starz miniseries Pillars Of The Earth. Having enjoyed Showtime's Tudors, I am not expecting the most accurate historical portrayal, but I do expect a good story.

On April 17th the fun continues with HBO's Game of Thrones. Based on the first book in George R. R. Martin's series, A Song of Fire and Ice, it tells the story of a battle for a throne in the darkest of days. And it is only appropriate that the series stars Sean Bean, Boromir from the Lord of the Rings movies.  Here is a quick summary of the book itself from Publisher's week (we shall see how true the series is to the book):

In a world where the approaching winter will last four decades, kings and queens, knights and renegades struggle for control of a throne. Some fight with sword and mace, others with magic and poison. Beyond the Wall to the north, meanwhile, the Others are preparing their army of the dead to march south as the warmth of summer drains from the land...Although the romance of chivalry is central to the culture of the Seven Kingdoms, and tournaments, derring-do and handsome knights abound, these trappings merely give cover to dangerous men and women who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. When Lord Stark of Winterfell, an honest man, comes south to act as the King's chief councilor, no amount of heroism or good intentions can keep the realm under control. It is fascinating to watch Martin's characters mature and grow, particularly Stark's children, who stand at the center of the book.

If you are looking for a particularly obsessive web-site dedicated to this new HBO production (containing a lot of interesting information and photos), check out winter-is-coming.net.

And to think that I mourned for the future of television at one point in time.  2011 promises to be a year filled with weighty, well-made productions.

Update:  The Borgias has been renewed for a second season, according to an April 26th posting by AOLTV.

Good Riddance, Charlie

I cannot say I am upset about the departure of Charlie Sheen.  His recent firing may have been a loss for the CBS network, but it is not a loss for television in general.  He stands to lose $43 million a year, and he is now counter-suing for $100 million, yet the show Two and a Half Men was never a very good show.  In fact, over its eight seasons it has been eclipsed by much better comedies, such as 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, and the recent Raising Hope.  All of these new shows dropped the laugh track, used snappy writing, and showed more respect for the thinking public. 

And I am glad that Rob Lowe will be staying with Parks and Recreation rather than trying to fill in for Charlie Sheen (if you have not seen the third season of Parks and Recreation with Rob Lowe and Adam Scott, I recommend you tune in).  Let the show die.  American television has come a long way already, and the death of bad comedies should be cheered.  And don't worry about Charlie; like most American losers, he can turn this into another winning episode of his career. 

Camelot is Coming

Starz is at it again.  First, it gave us the great mini-series Pillars of the Earth, and now it is back with Camelot.  The first episode of this retelling of the adventures of King Arthur and Merlin premieres tomorrow night, though the season does not start until April 1.  I for one love the current competition for viewers among HBO, Showtime, Starz, and others.  These new programs add a whole new level of vitality to television and bring back memories of when the networks put out period-pieces such as Shogun, The Thorn Birds, and Roots.

And Camelot has lined up a nice cast, including Joseph Fiennes for the part of Merlin (though his magic did not work in FlashForward).  Arthur is played by Jamie Campbell Bower, known by many for his role in the Twilight and Harry Potter movies.  Such a cast should draw viewers of all ages.

The trailer for the show looks promising, and initial comments are mostly positive.  In an interview last year, Fiennes noted,"It's a beautiful, riveting, romantic, sensational epic story that has never been told in all of its episodes."  Let's hope he is right.

Update:  I finally watched this first episode of Camelot and enjoyed the story.  While Fiennes has a strange way about his character that is not working for me, Bower is doing well as the youthful (and somewhat whiney) Arthur contemplating his situation.  So far is it much closer to the original story than other versions I have seen, such as the BBC's current program Merlin.  Then again, the BBC production is focused on a young Merlin and a young Arthur in Uther Pendragon's castle, which is not even close to the original story since Merlin was already an older man when Arthur was born and stowed away from Uther.  I look forward to the full season of Camelot next month.

Second Update:  The second hour has also been a good story, though it continues to blaze its own way.  For instance, the sword Excalibur is now the Sword of Mars buried in a rock, but a rock at the top of a waterfall.  An interesting and odd twist with its own perils.  And I thought the sword was originally placed there by Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon, though placing it here would be very difficult to do.  I guess all fictions grow richer with the retelling, and this program will be no different, or so I hope.

Third Update:  Camelot is going!  Off the air, that is.  According to Geeks of Doom, Starz decided against picking up the series for a second season. 

Award Shows: Check Out The Mark Twain Prize

First, I believe there are far too many award shows and the vast majority of the public cares very little for them.  It is a Hollywood fetish that the rest of America is expected to understand, but why do I care who received the award for sound mixing?  Just give the the awards list and go away. 

Second, the shows can be drawn out and dry, or simply mean, as was the case with Ricky Gervais, who managed to insult the actors and audience at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.  For just a taste, you can see his opening monologue here.  I also did not care for his attacks on the viewing public, such as when he said about the Best Foreign Language category, "...a category that no one in America cares about."

That said, I found one awards show that I can recommend; the Mark Twain Prize (first awarded in 1998).  Held last November at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the program includes truly funny material from the likes of Steve Martin, Steve Carell, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Hudson, Amy Poehler and Betty White.  It is great to see Tina recognized for her work on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock.  Where would our nation be without her deft portrayal of Sarah Palin?  The ceremony is not mean or demeaning, as many such programs can be, and you see all of the talent at their best, which is more than you can say for Steve Martin at last year's Academy Awards ceremony.  You can find the Mark Twain Prize program here.  Check it out.

Quick Note:  You can spot Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin during the opening shots of the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.  She is being a good sport and smiling.

4/10/11 Update:  Today's New York Times had a good article on Tina Fey and her role as a leading female comic writer (and actress).  It also covers her new book, Bossypants.

What Do These Shows Say About Chicago?

I had a chance to see the Monday night pilot of Fox's The Chicago Code and cannot say I was overwhelmed.  Clearly, the writers (and the creator Shawn Ryan from The Shield) did not believe the setting was enough to demonstrate the actors were in Chicago, so they needed banter about "Polacks" and the Cubs versus the White Sox.  It came across as pretty silly. Let me just throw in another few bits that bothered me:

-- The new police superintendent (Jennifer Beals) was wearing a hat indoors at a public meeting that made her look like a 12-year-old playing neighborhood cop.  However, as you can see to the left, Police Superintendent Weal will also wear this hat indoors.  So I will give a few points for accuracy, though it looked pretty ridiculous.

-- The only murder of the pilot just happened to be in front of the Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park.  That's about the same as shooting a couple in front of the White House - scenic, but not all that realistic.  What's next, a police chase up the stairs of the Willis Tower (Sear Tower to the true Chicagoans) or a shoot-out on Navy Pier?  Yes, use the environment, but do not act like an arm of Daley's Tourism Bureau.

-- The main character needed a fire alarm to have a discussion with a company employee.  This was just a little too much of the tough guy, who-the-hell-cares cop.  How about waiting outside the building for the end of the shift or staking out the bathroom.  At this rate, every interview will be preceded by a bomb scare. 

Okay, and now for some good points.  Jennifer Beals, who plays Police Superintendent Colvin, is from Chicago and she will hopefully set some of these folks straight.  In addition, it is nice to see Chicago as the background in a cop story.  And while it is not showing the promise of The Beast, which knew how to make the city a character without overplaying it, the show may find its way.

I am not sure about the combo of Jennifer Beals and Jason Clarke (a native from Australia), who plays the bad boy Wysocki.  So far the relationship seems forced rather than natural, but again it is early in the show.  The addition of Matt Lauria, who plays Wysocki's partner Evers, is a solid performer who I enjoyed from Friday Night Lights.  So, as with Travis Fimmel in The Beast,this may be a role that allow him to gain wider attention. 

So much for the cops, but what about the Chicago kids.  This is where Showtime's Shameless is a gem.  Of course, the Gallagher family are the very sorts the cops in Chicago Code will be chasing once they get a little older.  Shameless has a few good shots of the city, including the skyline and CTA train tracks, but I don't see it as a post card for Chicago.  And even the skyline shots is only there to show you they these neighborhoods are in the shadow of bigger things.

The show has its dark side with the beating of kids, underage drinking, and over-the-top sexual antics.  Yet each episode has a solid grounding in family bonds as well as the Chicago neighborhood, much as was the case with brothers in The Black Donnellys in New York Hell's Kitchen neighborhood.  These kids seem to rule to streets and it's the adults that get out of their way.  And yet for the most part you see them as confused children more than ruthless survivors, though the adults around them do not offer too much hope.  I just hope Shameless has a chance to outlive The Black Donnellys, which did not even make it for a full season.  The original Shameless in England has lasted eight seasons and is still going strong.

What is interesting is that Billy Lush, who played the brother Kevin Donnelly on The Black Donnellys, is now an undercover cop on Chicago Code.  Maybe that which dies in New York City can thrive in Chicago.

Update:  The Chicago Code has been canceled after one season, according to the Huffington Post.   Shameless has been renewed for a second season, noted Screen Rant.