The Daily Chronicle

Hello Everyone :-)

I’m always cautious of ‘Must sees’. I’m a great believer in reserving judgement till you actually see something and not always for in a good way, sometimes you can go expecting the world and be given something a bit wishy washy.
So it was with great trepidation that I embarked on a cinema trip to see ‘Chronicle’ based on the review of Ryan Lambie (follow him on Twitter, he’s funny and knows his films) from Den of Geek who said it was “the first must see of 2012”.

‘Chronicle’ is the story of Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) who is virtually friendless save for his cousin Matt (Alex Russell). When Matt talks Andrew into coming to a rave with him, the pair, along with future class president and all round Mr Popular Steve (Michael B Jordan), investigate a hole in the ground near to where the rave is. The three guys, after their encounter with a large glowing (presumably extra-terrestrial) entity in the hole, discover they have telekinetic powers.

The ‘found footage’ genre has felt like old hat over the past few years but I think ‘Chronicle’ used it quite successfully. The fact that Andrew documents everything on his camera prior to going into the hole means that it’s not too much of a leap of faith for the audience when he starts documenting their new found abilities. Also the fact the boys can levitate the camera with their telekinesis means that Josh Trank effectively solves the problem of ‘who’s holding the camera?’ when we can see all three characters at once. There is a moment towards the end where we’re lead to believe that all the footage is being filmed on people’s phones and the suspension of my disbelief would have been pushed to the limit had I not been thoroughly engrossed in the film by this point.

I really like the script. The characters talk in a believable way, none of the dialogue seems contrived. This is down to Max Landis (yes… son of John) so snaps for him.
There is a definite shift in tone. The first half of the film is a lot lighter, the bits about using their newly acquired powers to make Lego towers (what else would you POSSIBLY want to use them for?!?!) and stuff like that are fun and quite sweet and very ‘buddy movie’. After the house party scenes the tone shifts and, like a boulder down a hill, builds momentum to a massive, ‘let’s throw all we’ve got at it’ finish. I really enjoyed the OTT madness of it. I think the two halves work quite well on their own, but they don’t gel particularly well together. It was a bit like going over a speed bump, we were going fine, then a little wobble and then it was fine again.

As an idea (teenagers get superpowers), it’s not the most original one in the world, it’s how they tackle it that is so good. American teen stereotypes are all present and correct, the introverted loner, the school bully, the effortlessly cool popular guy, but they interact in a way that is really quite true to life, these are characters that could conceivably exist.
A lot of what’s enjoyable about the film is the way the three lead characters interact. DeHaan, Russell and Jordan make a nice trio that I genuinely thought could be friends. In fact one moment when Matt says he thinks a day might have been the best one of his life got me a little bit choked! With it being Andrew’s story DeHaan gets the most screen time and he does make him a very sympathetic character. I felt so bad for him, which is another thing that sets ‘Chronicle’ apart, there’s a blurring of protagonist and antagonist which makes it a nicely morally ambiguous film. Matt and Andrew’s relationship rings very true but what interested me the most was the relationship between Andrew and Steve; I think that was done really well.

This is a lovely surprise of a film; I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s not like I thought I was going to hate it but it was no where near as cliché ridden as it could have been. I’ve not even mentioned the budget! It cost $15 million and it’s already made over $95 million back and I think it’s a darn sight better than a lot of big budget films that tackle similar subject matter. This is also Trank’s debut and by this standard he may well be one to watch for the future. ‘Chronicle’ is thoroughly entertaining, strangely realistic (considering the subject matter) and at 83 minutes it doesn’t outstay its welcome. I highly recommend it :-)

Now I fancy some…

Reasons to be Cheerful
1. A little know bash called the Oscars happened the other night. It was hardly full of surprises but in case you wanted to know, click here to see a full list of winners. I’m really pleased for ‘Rango’ but at the same time sad for ‘Chico and Rita’ because it deserves some love. I’m unsurprised but over the moon that ‘Man or a Muppet’ won best original song because quite frankly the WORLD has been singing it for the past 5 months, I’m also unsurprised that the Artist walked away with as many gongs as it did but that doesn’t mean I’m not pleased for them. Jean DuJardin has set the bar for all acceptance speeches from now… from here on in if people don’t tap dance when they get given awards I’m going to be terribly disappointed…

2. But anyway… Oscars Schmoscars! Here at ‘Nerdy Rachel May’, I’m all about the Kermodes! I make no bones about it, I love the Good Doctor Kermode and agree with the vast majority of his opinions, none more so than the recipient of his ‘Best Actor Award’. See if you think his choices were better than the Academy’s (FYI the correct answer is ‘yes’).

3. Karen Gillan has been talking about her exit from Doctor Who. Gillan says it’s “the best ever” and I hope it is. I really love Amy and Rory and I will not be happy unless they are given a proper send off! Just as long as Rory DOESN’T die!

4. Series 3 of ‘Horrible Histories’ is now available for pre-order! You may have read that ‘Horrible Histories’ was my top telly pick of 2011 and this is that series over which I could not heap enough praise. Series 1 and 2 are RIDICULOUSLY cheap on Amazon so if you don’t want to take the plunge, get them first but I can assure you, you’ll love it :-)

5. ‘Kick Ass 2’is set to start shooting this summer. I adore ‘Kick Ass’ and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to see those characters again :-) The future of the sequel was thought to be uncertain because Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman, the team behind the original, couldn’t commit to making it. This fact does scare me somewhat. I mean it might be fine but Vaughn and Goldman got it so right in the first film… I have my reservations. But, fingers crossed it’ll all be ok!

That’s all from me today!

Goodbye till next time :-)
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Silence is Golden

Hello Everyone :-)

It’s that time of year again, awards season! Awards season usually begets wider distribution for films nominated for Oscars and BAFTAs, which ordinarily wouldn’t be shown to as wide an audience. Think ‘The King’s Speech’. This year the ‘Oscar Effect’ seems to be working its magic on ‘The Artist’. I popped along to a screening to see what all the fuss was about…

‘The Artist’ (written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius) is the story of Silent movie star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and young ingénue Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) from their first meeting in the 1927 up to 1932. The film charts Peppy’s rise to fame and George’s fall from stardom as the medium he knows and loves becomes obsolete.

There is much to be said about this film but we’ll start with the performances. Dujardin looks like a shoo-in to walk away with Best Actor at the Academy awards and that’s fine by me. Silent films bring with them the added challenge of just that, silence. I don’t think a lot of actors could adapt their performances to the extent that Dujardin has and he makes a potentially unlikable character very sympathetic.
Likewise Bejo has enthused Peppy with an effervescence that springs from the screen despite the disadvantage of having no audible dialogue.
There’s also a really lovely supporting cast. John Goodman, James Cromwell and Malcolm McDowell all have little parts that were charming and lovely.
Speaking of charming and lovely, if you only go and see ‘The Artist’ for one thing, go and see it for the Dog. I’m sure there are campaigns to get Uggie the Dog nominated for a ‘Best Supporting Actor’ gong, I think that’s a bit much but still, I love that Dog!

I say this is a silent film, that’s not strictly true. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone by going into detail but there is some sound and the smallest snippet of dialogue. I was fine with it and actually thought both the silence and sound were used to great effect. What surprised me was the lack of Intertitles. I imagined a film where lots of dialogue would appear on Intertitles but that’s really not the case, for large portions of the film you are left to work out what the characters are saying to each other. That takes a little time to get used to but ultimately, you hardly notice it.

Thematically, it borrows from a lot of brilliant films, one of which is ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ which is absolutely fine by me. If there was less ‘Transformers’ and more ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, the world would be a better place. Not that ‘The Artist’ is all daisies and sunshine like ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, because it isn’t. There are moments of genuine sadness and shock that give the whole film a slight melodramatic edge whilst still being comedic and romantic in every sense of the word. I think the closeness in theme to things like ‘A Star is Born’ and ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ has created a bit of a backlash but in my opinion it’s not a bad thing.

I must doff my invisible cap to Mr Hazanavicius (this film is full of French names that are extremely fun to say…), he’s created something really rather wonderful. It would have been so easy to just throw it all together and not bother about the detail but he’s taken such care over everything. Not just costume and set design (which are gorgeous btw); the film was shot in 1.33:1 screen ratio and at the lower frame rate of 22 fps to make it look more authentic, he even took 4 months to write the screenplay… IN A FILM WITH TWO LINES OF AUIDABLE DIALOGUE! If that’s not commitment to quality I don’t know what is.

Cards on the table time; I like old movies (and not in an infuriating match.com advert kind of way) so I was always going to like this, what I didn’t realise was just how much I was going to like it. It is reverential to black and white silent cinema of the 20’s but it’s also beautifully shot, fantastically acted and at 100 minutes zips along at the perfect pace, I struggle to find anything bad to say about it. Please don’t be put off by the fact it’s a silent movie it is a delightful, joy of a film.

Now I think it's about time for some...

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)
1. The BAFTAs were on Sunday! The aforementioned ‘Artist’ (unsurprisingly) OWNED the night and walked away with 7 awards (see here for the full list of Winners and Losers). I was pleased ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ won best British film but really I wanted Gary Oldman to get best Actor, I’m not sad it went to Jean Dujardin because he’s great but because of the distinct lack of TTSS at the Oscars, it would’ve been nice. Also, this is my new favourite thing in the world :-)

2. HOBBIT NEWS! Billy Connolly has joined the cast of ‘The Hobbit’! I love this! I really like Billy Connolly and I’m sure you’ve gathered by now that I’m rather fond of ‘The Hobbit’. I approve!

That’s it for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)
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P.S I’ve been to see ‘The Muppets’, post is currently being written up… watch this space

Horsing Around

Hello Everyone :-)

I saw trailers and pictures for this towards the end of last year, thought it looked really pretty and was quite obviously Oscar bait (a premonition that has predictably come to fruition). With a stellar cast and some very enthusiastic reviews I was chomping at the bit (sorry!) to see what all the fuss was about and treated my Nan to a cinema trip to see ‘War Horse’.

‘War Horse’ is an adaptation of a book (which was subsequently turned into a play)
 by Michael Morpurgo. It is told from the point of view of Joey a thoroughbred horse that is born in Devon, raised by farm boy Albert Narracott before being sold to a young Army Captain (Tom Hiddleston) at the start of the First World War. The action follows Joey during his time at War, the people he meets and how the war affects them, all the while Joey is trying to get home to Albert.

Ultimately, the success of the film hinges on Joey being a proper character and not ‘just a horse’ and in that respect it works. Cynic that I am, I was very surprised with how invested I became in the story of Joey.  I was welling up when Topthorn lay down in the mud and when poor Joey got caught in barbed wire in no-mans land. Rationalist and cynical I may be, but it’d take a heart of pure stone not to feel anything in those moments.

Another achievement is that, considering Joey changes hands (geddit??? HANDS! As in the measurement used for horses…No? Oh…ok…) no fewer than five times during the 146 minute running time, I thought all the human characters were pretty believable. Hats off to Tom Hiddleston who A) is BREATHTAKINGLY beautiful, so gorgeous I actually gasped when I saw his face on screen and B) gives a really lovely performance in the small amount of time he’s given. Captain Nicholls isn’t in the film for very long but Hiddleston manages to deliver a very honest portrayal of an inwardly nervous army officer. Just as an aside, I’m super pleased Hiddleston isn’t being type-cast as bad guys after his awesome performance in ‘Thor’… he’s far too good for that.  
Toby Kebbell also does very well. Again, his screen time is brief and his little sub plot is the most unrealistic of all of them but I actually really liked his character (although it’s hard not to warm to those with a Geordie accent).
I thought Jeremy Irvine was quite good as Albert. He’s a conduit through which the audience meet Joey and Irvine does that perfectly well. I also liked (not sure if ‘liked’ is the right word considering the context but you get what I mean) the bit where he’s at the Somme. It’s hard for anyone that’s seen Blackadder not conjure up images of the last episode in ‘Blackadder goes Fourth’ when presented with stuff like this but I think it’s done well. There’s a good emphasis on the insanity of the situation and just how bleak it was in those trenches, considering how short those scenes are.
Emily Watson, as ever, puts in a brief but brilliant turn as Albert’s mum. I love this woman, every time she is on screen in anything I get a lovely sense of calm because I know it’s all in safe hands.
Also a special mention should go to Benedict Cumberbatch’s moustache because it steals every scene it’s in…

It is an unashamedly sentimental movie; in fact it’s the kind of film from which I would ordinarily run a mile. However, for me there was only one moment where it properly spilled over into mawkish, unintentional hilarity. I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t go into specifics, but there is a scene where a recently blinded Albert walks towards the camera as an assembled crowd part like the red sea to let him through… I did do a snort of laughter at this point, much to the disgust of my sobbing Nan and Cousin sat beside me. I couldn’t help it! But, as I said, I was surprised by just how much of its syrupy sweetness I could take.

There is nothing in ‘War Horse’ to suggest that this is a Steven Spielberg film which disappointed me. I thought Mr Spielberg had hit his directorial stride again after I enjoyed ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ so much, but I don’t think this is the best vehicle to showcase his talents. He’s tugged at our heartstrings before (I can’t watch ET without being reduced to a sobbing mess and don’t even get me started on A.I), but I think Spielberg does best within a Sci-Fi or Action Adventure story (I exclude ‘Indiana Jones Kingdom of Crystal Skull’ from this because I’m trying to forget it ever happened) and I just don’t think ‘War Epic’ is the best genre for him.

That said, from a technical point of view the film is practically flawless.  Not only is every single frame beautiful (especially the ones featuring Hiddleston’s lovely face) but there are some absolutely knock out set pieces. The scene with Captain Nicholls and his regiment  charging towards the Germans is brilliant but the scene where Joey is running away from a tank through no-mans land is unbelievable. There’s obviously a point where they use CGI to create the horse but could I find the join? Could I buggery and believe me… I tried to find it. That entire sequence is spectacular.

It’s safe to say that if you don’t like horses you won’t like this (although I’m not overly keen on most things equine and I got on with it ok). It is undeniably, visually stunning and there is a part of me that wonders if I like it more as a technical exercise than I do as a piece of narrative and I think the answer is yes. The performances are brief but I never felt short changed on human involvement. I’m not a neigh-sayer (I’m sorry … I couldn’t help myself!) but I don’t think it’s a ‘must see’ either. As for whether it deserves it’s Oscar nominations (it’s received 6 in total) well… it deserves them more than ‘Secretariat’ deserved theirs, lets’ just say that…

And now…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)
1. ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’ (that is definitely going to get on my nerves) is out this week. It was reviewed on last night’s ‘Film 2012’ and it sound like it’s good’un…

2. First image has been released for the new Bond film ‘Skyfall’ and… SHOCKHORROR it’s Daniel Craig holding a gun! Yeah, there’s not a lot to go on but still… it’s a lovely face isn’t it?

3. This ‘RTBC’ comes courtesy of Lesley aka @EnglishFolkfan. Nathan Stewart-Jarret is in a play that sounds mighty interesting. It sound a bit like it predicted the awfulness of shows like ‘I’m a Celebrity…” etc. Nathan Stewart-Jarret can next be seen on our screens in the fourth series of ‘Misfits’ or if you fancy it, go and see this!

If you have any ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’ tweet me and I’ll stick it in my next post!

That’s everything for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)
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In the Shadows

Hello Everyone :-)

We have a bit of a tradition in my family of going to the pictures for New Years. I’m glad because I bloody hate New Year and doing something I adore (i.e. going to the pictures) makes me feel so much better about the whole vile day. So as a treat 9 of us trotted along to see the most recent offering from the former Mr Madonna, ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’.

We rejoin Holmes and Watson some time after the events of the first film. Watson is days away from his marriage to the long suffering Mary and is trying to distance himself from his investigatory past. Meanwhile, Holmes is investigating a series of seemingly unrelated murders, terrorist attacks, and business acquisitions that he has connected to the enigmatic genius, Professor Moriarty.

Everything that I enjoyed about the first film is present and correct in this one and a whole lot more.

The cast are great but I think the female characters are underused. Rachel McAdams had an all too fleeting role in the first film, what she does in ‘Game of Shadows’ she does well, but she’s given a criminally small amount of screen time. Likewise, Noomi Rapace is good as Sim but her character falls a bit flat. You can’t help but think she’s been written in to up the oestrogen levels of the film. On both counts this is disappointing because these women are really good actresses. I was particularly looking forward to Rapace’s role because she’s so good in the Millennium trilogy, to see her talents squandered like this is unfortunate to say the least. Some people have flung sexist accusations at the film but I don’t really see that. I think it’s a film about the central pairing of Holmes and Watson and that is what Richie has focused on. Just to clarify, I don’t have an issue with the lack of female characters; I have an issue with the underdevelopment of the female characters. It’s not sexist, it’s just a shame.
Stephen Fry is a welcome addition. His Mycroft is played solely for laughs and there are indeed, laughs aplenty. Especially the Breakfast scene and the revelation that Sherlock’s childhood nickname was ‘Shirley’…
Jude Law continues his character in fine form with the best performance he’s given in anything to date. He totally nails that kind of affectionate exasperation that Watson has for Holmes. Their relationship has definitely changed between films. Initially the pairing was akin to bickering children but in this film it’s much more an old married couple type of relationship.
My favourite thing about ‘Game of Shadows’ is Jared Harris. He is amazing, every look, every utterance is full of everything Moriarty is. The scene in the munitions factory between him and Holmes was brilliant because Harris found the line between genius and lunatic and hit it dead on (in a Hannibal Lector, ‘Silence of the Lambs’ intelligent but insane kind of way). I was hanging on his every word from start to finish. My lovely friend Mark has (as always) written a really good blog about the differences between the TV show ‘Sherlock’ and the cinematic Guy Ritchie version and their portrayals of Holmes’s nemesis. Personally I prefer Harris’s calculating, less frantic interpretation of the character. The scenes between Moriarty and Holmes are superb and arguably when ‘Game of Shadows’ is at its best. Both actors bring their A games and nail it.

Some of the set pieces are knockout. The sequence where they’re running through the trees and being rained on by bullets  is brilliant and reminded me of Episodes 6 and 7 of Band of Brothers when they’re in the woods of Bastogne and Foy (I’m not saying ‘Game of Shadows’ looks televisual, I’m saying ‘Band of Brothers’ looks cinematic). I also really liked the scene where Holmes is tricked into thinking the bomb is in the Opera house. The feel of that scene is fantastic, there’s a genuine ‘stomach dropping’ tension to it. There’s an overall sense of growing-up in ‘Game of Shadows’; if ‘Sherlock Holmes’ was a teenager trying to find their own identity then this is a thoroughly confident 20 something.

Some bits don’t work as well. I thought the scene on the train was a bit too long and really there was no reason for Holmes to be in drag. There’s also a bit less emphasis on the sleuthing which is a shame. I love all the ‘traces of a chemical found on his shoe can only have come from here!’ and ‘he managed to escape using this!’ kind of stuff and that was fairly absent. There was more of a focus on the fighting and Holmes using his intellect to defeat an opponent. I’d be lying if I said the ‘fall’ scene (in which he deduces that there is no way he can beat Moriarty in a fight) isn’t totally thrilling, because it is, however there are 2 or 3 scenes before that where Holmes is pitted against some hired henchmen where this device is used and it kind of gets a bit old.

Most people (and believe me there are some that don’t) know that Sherlock Holmes was originally a series of books but ‘Game of Shadows’ isn’t an adaptation. It features the Reichenbach waterfall and the fall itself but other than that it’s an independent story. Fanboys/girls are lovely, I count myself as their friend if not one of them; however they do get a little bit precious…  I’ve heard grumblings from those who don’t like that Richie has made up his own stories and think the Conan-Doyle source material should be adhered to at all times. These people are misguided at best.
I don’t mind that they’re playing fast and loose with the books, in fact I’m quite pleased. I haven’t seen nearly enough of Jared Harris as Moriarty and if Ritchie was sticking to the source material he’d have had to ditch him but now there’s always the possibility he could return.
It’s not too dissimilar to the ridiculous story that was in the news 18 months ago about all the Doctor Who fans that got annoyed because in a 1976 episode of ‘Who’ it was said that the Doctor was only supposed to have 12 regenerations and the BBC subesquently backtracked on this. What were they supposed to do?!?! Stop making the most popular show in their schedule because 35 years ago one of the writers plucked a number out of the air???
These points of view are insane. In both cases, sticking to the source material would be cutting your nose off to spite your face.

‘Game of Shadows’ is such a gung-ho, action-adventure it’s hard not be seduced by its charms. Downey Jr’s version of Sherlock is probably a million miles away from what Arthur Conan-Doyle imagined all those years ago, but that doesn’t stop it being thoroughly entertaining. It isn’t totally dumbed down, is still massively accessible to the largest audience possible and contains some brilliant turns by Downey Jr, Law and Harris. Quite frankly, it’s a hoot and if you haven’t seen it already you definitely should.

And now, for the first time in 2012, let’s have a look at some…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)

1. A couple of  bits of ‘Hobbit’ news! Me and my Mum went to the cinema to see ‘The Artist’ the other day (post coming soon) and I saw the ‘Hobbit’ trailer for the first time on the big screen and I got all emotional! There’s also been some photos released of Bilbo in Bag End with the Dwarves and Gandalf. I’m very much enjoying the varying states of confusion on his gorgeous Hobbit-ey face :-) Martin Freeman is the very image of Bilbo and the more I look at him in character the more I think that this is going to be the best thing ever…

2. ‘Being Human’ returns on 5^th February! The Premier episode of series 4 is called ‘Eve of the War’. Apparently Michael Socha will ‘break your heart’ in this series and I don’t doubt it. He was one of my highlights of series 3. Have a sneak peak at episode 1 in pictures here. 


3.It’s less than 2 weeks till Muppet time!!!! 10 days to go!!! BTW... this is awesome and so is this :-)

That’s all for today.

Goodbye till next time :-)
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The Round Up – Top 10 TV Picks of 2011

Hello Everyone :-)

Last time I revisited my favourite 5 films of the year so today I’m going to cast an eye back over my top telly picks of 2011 (I know it’s nearly the end of January but there are still sales on and some of this stuff is still available to watch online). There was such a lot of brilliant stuff on telly last year but I’ve tried to narrow it down to a top 10 (a contributing factor to why this post in nearly a month late :-S).

Please bear in mind I am at the mercy of terrestrial television due to a distinct lack of Sky or any other televisual service provider (aside from Freeview) being available in my household. If there’s anything offered up by Dark Lord Murdoch that you think is worthy of being on this list, or you think I might like (I’ve got January boxset fever so anything you can recommend would be good), let me know in the comments below.

So, let’s crack on :-)

10 - Pointless
I’m not very good at a lot of things; in fact I’d say I’m rubbish at doing most stuff. There are, however, two things that I say any time someone asks me what I have a talent for, they are baking and quizzes.
I LOVE quizzing. I go to a pub quiz every Sunday and I watch every quiz show I can (in my house Mondays are known as ‘Quizzing Mondays’ and we watch Pointless, The Chase, University Challenge and Only Connect all in one night) but my favourite has got to be ‘Pointless’. I know there are a glut of game shows and quiz shows out there because they’re cheap to make but ‘Pointless’ is a bit different.
You may not have seen it because it’s on at quarter past 5 on weekdays when most people are travelling home from work. The aim of the game is to get the most obscure answer to the question in hand and score the least amount of points possible. For example, if it was “countries in Africa beginning with E” then the answers ‘Ethiopia’ of ‘Egypt’ would score very highly because they’re countries everyone knows, however ‘Eritrea’ or ‘Equatorial Guinea’ would score less because they’re not as well known and would therefore be the better choice. I love this little twist on the traditional quiz format. I have a huge capacity to retain really useless bits of information (mostly about Disney) so the idea of having to come up with obscure answers suits me to a tee.
Part of the fun is the fact that couples get two chances to win the pointless jackpot so you get to know them more than the usual quiz contestant. Stand out couples for me, Rox and Myth, Dorian and James, they were both legendary, but the best pairing in the show is Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman as the presenter and his ‘Pointless Friend’. Fans of the show will often say that the best thing about it is the banter between these two and I agree. I’m a massive fan of Xander from ‘Armstrong and Miller’ and on ‘Pointless’ he just comes across as such a nice guy and Richard (whose day job is ‘Creative Director of Endemol’), well I’ve just got the biggest crush on him ever, he’s 6”7 of awesome.
It’s not convoluted, there’s no storylines to follow but it’s 45 minutes of great telly :-)


9 - Being Human
After a bit of a shaky second series ‘Being Human’ returned to form in its third outing last January. The introduction of some much needed new characters really gave it a new lease of life. Craig Roberts as teen Vampire Adam has got to be my favourite new character (I also really liked the online spin off series ‘Becoming Human’, I’ve got my fingers crossed it will return with series 4 this year) but Michael Socha (brother of Lauren Socha aka Kelly from Misfits) and Robson Green were both welcome additions to the cast. The idea of the ‘Type 4’, the Werewolf baiting and Nina’s pregnancy all helped energise the show.
I’ve never really warmed to Nina, probably because in the beginning she was a bit of a bitch to Geroge and he’s my favourite character, but in series 3  Sinead Keenan really won me over. I like the polarisation between her character and that of Aiden Turner’s character Mitchell. Mitchell seemed to go to a few dark places in this series and I always found him to be a bit morally questionable but next to Nina’s empathy and compassion it makes him seem really dark.
Speaking of Mitchell, the 3^rd series saw the end of Aiden Turner’s tenure as Head Vampire (due to Middle-Earth based commitments) and it’ll be interesting to see how series 4 copes after the departure of its first lead character. Either way I’ll be tuning in :-)


8 - Torchwood: Miracle Day
Similarly to ‘Doctor Who’ (which we’ll come to later), 2011’s series of ‘Torchwood’ had its critics.
There were some new characters and they were dealt with quite well. After initial niggles Esther and Rex won me over. Despite the unrealistic romance with Dr Juarez and Esther’s infuriating naivety there’s no faulting their performances. Another pairing that I enjoyed were Jilly Kitzinger and Oswald Danes. I actually feel bad for Bill Pullman because he was giving such a good performance and then, an episode before the end, the writers turned Oswald into a total nothing but the 8 episodes prior to that he was by far the most interesting character. Lauren Ambrose made a brilliantly fabulous bad guy. I want the entire wardrobe she sported through the whole show.
I said at the time, the thing that has drawn audiences back to ‘Torchwood’ time and again is the central relationship between Captain Jack and Gwen and in ‘Miracle day’ Eve Myles and John Barrowman were on form. 
It’s because of this pairing that episode 2 of ‘Miracle Day’ was my favourite of the series. It was so tense and exciting and Eve Myles pitched it perfectly for the whole 60 minutes.
I think ‘Miracle day’ is easy to criticise because it’s naturally going to be compared to its near perfect predecessor ‘Torchwood: Children of Earth’. They’ve tried to capitalise on the success of ‘Children of Earth’ by keeping the format of having one plot span the entire series but it falls down because, where ‘Children of Earth’ was 5 taut, lean and relentlessly thrilling episodes of Sci-Fi excellence, ‘Miracle Day’ was spread a little too thinly over its 10 episodes, to quote a famous Hobbit “Like butter over too much bread”.
The twist at the end of the series… well you can have your own opinion about that but I’m quite excited to see where they take it.


7 - The BBC F1 Coverage
As a self confessed sports-a-phobe this is a bit of an odd choice but F1 falls in the middle of the Venn diagram of ‘Sports’ and ‘Things I like’ (incidentally the only other thing that occupys that space is ‘Darts’).
I love the BBC anyway, but I think their coverage of the Formula 1 2011 season was exemplary. The team behind the show have made, what is to my mind, the perfect sports show. It’s informative, entertaining and comprehensively covers every aspect of the racing calendar. Jake Humphrey, David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan have such brilliant, matey on screen chemistry it is impossible not to warm to them. I have a soft spot for Jake anyway due to his CBBC heritage but considering he came into this job as a relative unknown, the way he’s won over the F1 audience has been brilliant.
I am so gutted about the half and half coverage spilt between the BBC and Sky for the 2012 season. Hopefully it won’t be at a detriment to the BBC coverage but it’s going to be a challenge to make it a cohesive season for fans like me who will only be able to see half of all the races. I wish the BBC team the very best of luck with the 2012 season and ‘Go McLaren’!


6 - The Hour
This was always going to be in my top 10 :-) Nothing else this year has felt more like it was written just for me. Granted, it had its critics but with a sizzling central cast, it’s one of my stand out shows of 2011.
Burdened with early (and ridiculously unimaginative) comparisons to HBO’s unmitigated success ‘MadMen’ it seemed like ‘The Hour’ had a lot to prove. Of course in reality it was an entirely different entity to ‘Mad Men’. It had a kind of Film Noir quality that was wonderful but paired against moments of real comedy or tenderness. I got totally swept up in it.
The detail is a delight. I love all things vintage and I must say the set dressers did a fantastic job, it all looked genuine. This is a feat in itself but when you combine it with the storyline it just makes everything feel authentic.
As far as ensemble casts go, this is one of the best of last year. The smaller roles like Sissy and Issac were as well realised as the central trio of Hector, Bel and Freddie which was lovely as, all too often in these kinds of shows, the smaller roles get forgotten.
Andrew Scott (Moriarty to all ‘Sherlock’ Fans) gave a small role a big impact in the episodes in which he appeared. Likewise Julian Rhind-Tutt as Angus McCain wins the award for character that most made my skin crawl. He is such a weasel it’s unbelievable.
If you read my blogs at the time it will come as no surprise to you that Ben Whishaw’s performance as Freddie is my stand out from this series. He really is superb and I’m not surprised he’s gone on to bigger, better, more MI5 shaped things. He makes Freddie leap out of the screen and into your heart.  I just fell in love with him, the character’s relentless pursuit of the truth, his passion and that heartbreaking unrequited love he has for Bel, he’s just adorable.
I’m really pleased ‘The Hour’ has been given another series, I think it’s unfortunate scheduling didn’t do it any favours and perhaps pushing it back to after August would do it the world of good. I’m excited.

5 - Fresh Meat
The most recent creation from Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong ‘Fresh Meat’ garnered more praise as it went along. A winning combination of a great script and brilliant cast made ‘Fresh Meat’ a really enjoyable series to watch. Zawe Ashton (who I’ve only seen briefly in ‘Misfits’ prior to her outing as Vod) is such a brilliant comic actress; her scenes with Howard are my favourite. Also, Jack Whitehall has been a revelation. I know it’s not really a stretch for him (he’s a bit posh and is playing someone who’s a bit posh…) but there’s a massive difference between doing stand up and comic acting and I think he’s done it really well. Stand out episode of the series, definitely the student demonstration. I love how Josie slowly takes control of the day (I’m not ashamed to admit I recognised a lot of myself in her in that respect) and Vod and Oregon and the Pigs blood, it was just a great  hour of television.
I think it was advertised as more like The Inbetweeners in University but that isn’t what it is. It’s humour is a lot more mature and I like how they’re not afraid to be sad (JB’s Dad’s and Oregon’s Horse’s deaths are SO SAD and Kingsley and Josie’s relationship is definitely tragi-comic), they’ve got quite a nice balance between light and shade.
I’m really pleased ‘Fresh Meat’ exists. It bridges a gap between shows like ‘The Inbetweeners’ and ‘Skins’ that are about 16-18 year olds and stuff like ‘She and Him’ about a couple in their mid twenties. Can’t wait for series 2.


4 - Doctor Who
A lot of criticism was lobbied at this year’s series of Doctor Who and I think almost all of it was unfounded. ‘It’s too complicated’ they cried! ‘Too scary for kids!’ They protested! I’ve never heard such rubbish in my life.
It is true that the storylines have become a little less self contained over the past two series, but is that a bad thing? Having an overriding story arc does mean that, as a viewer, there are things you need to remember, but since when was that something to be discouraged? Adding a level of intellect to a prime time Saturday night show is nothing to be ashamed of, just because a show is on the same schedule as ‘Total Wipeout’, ‘Britain’s got Talent’ and ‘Take me Out’ doesn’t mean it needs to haemorrhage its IQ points and run with the crowd. Personally I LOVE that each episode begets discussion. I look forward to seeing my Whovian mates at the pub quiz on Sunday so we can sit and dissect the previous night’s show. It’s all part of the fun.
Also, the ‘too scary’ thing… grow up! I can assure you, kids like being scared. Why do you think they go crazy for books like ‘Goosebumps’ or shows like ‘Are you Afraid of the Dark’? Why else do they watch ‘Scream’ or ‘Saw’ or ‘The Exorcist’ at sleepovers when they know they’re probably a bit too young to watch it? Because being scared is a massive adrenaline rush and kids love it. I personally don’t think it’s got massively more scary and I’d be the first to know because, as I’ve said before, I’m a massive wimp. So, stop wrapping your kids in cotton wool, they’re fine. If they do get scared, use it to your advantage. Next time they play up tell them that if they don’t behave the Silence will come and get them and watch how quickly they pack it in… (I know… when I have kids I’m going to be a totally EVIL mother!)
In my opinion ‘Doctor Who’ is one of the finest shows we in the UK have to offer and has been consistently wonderful since it was brought back to our screens. Simon Brew from Den of Geek said this “Doctor Who is bold, brave television, with some wonderfully intricate storytelling. It’s a show worth talking about, worth championing, and worth celebrating”. I couldn’t agree more.


3 - Misfits
The changing face of ‘Misfits’ may have some fans up in arms but after seeing how well series 3 handled the departure of Robert Sheehan I’m quietly confident that series 4 is in safe hands. Not as Simon-led as I expected, series 3 was actually held together by an excellent performance by Lauren Socha. I felt she came into her own this series, probably a conscious decision on the part on the director due to Kelly’s increased role in series 4, but it really worked.
The introduction of Joe Gilgun to the cast was inspired. I said it before, his character has a greater depth than Nathan ever did but with just as much humour. Likewise, Matthew McNulty has made an impact as Seth the gorgeous powers dealer but with a great deal more subtlety.
There were some excellent storylines; the Nazi episode in particular was such a good idea, executed brilliantly. The introduction of new writing talent to the show has invigorated it and come next series ‘Misfits’ starts anew with no pre-ordained plots and I am looking forward to it.


2 - Black Mirror
‘Black Mirror’ may only be a 3 episode series but they are 3 exceptionally good episodes. If you’ve not seen them before I warn you, it’s not a particularly happy show. The series, created by Charlie Brooker, looks at technology like it’s a drug and the side effects of things like Twitter, Youtube and a hypothetical internal Sky Plus.
They are unnerving, nauseating and dark episodes of perfectly crafted television. Every episode was directed by a different person and yet they all contain the same unsettling undercurrent and feel very much like a unified series.
The isolated episodes all have terrific casts. ‘The National Anthem’ stars Rory Kinnear at the fictional British Prime Minister Michael Callow. He is a superb actor and makes Callow a character you have great sympathy for. It’s a very cold episode and Kinnear brings some much needed feeling to it.
In episode 2, ‘15 Million Credits’ it’s all about Bing (Daniel Kaluuya) and how his selfless act is taken out of his hands and made considerably more sinister. Kaluuya is superb, the speech he delivers on ‘Hot Shots’ is wonderful and his realization of what has happened to Abi is heartbreaking. I know it’s cheesy but you really do feel his pain. The relationship between Bing and Abi is so adorable. Kaluuya and Jessica Brown-Findlay are so innocent, almost childlike, which makes their relationship seem so real in the artificial, L.E.D-lit world with which we are presented.
The third episode in the trilogy is ‘The Entire History of You’. Toby Kebbell and Jodie Whittaker make a fantastically brittle pairing. Kebbell really taps into that neurosis brought on by this ‘grain’ technology.
It’s hard to put my finger on why I like ‘Black Mirror’ as much as I do, because it is undeniably bleak. Its gadget-paranoia is unnerving but that’s because I see a parallel with my own relationship with technology and I don’t think I’m alone. It is a tragic, yet devastatingly effective series.


1 - Horrible Histories
2011 will be known as the year that everyone else cottoned on to what I have known since 2009. ‘Horrible Histories’ is, without doubt, one of the best things on TV, not just on Kids TV, on TV generally. I love it. I unashamedly love it.
2011 saw series 3 of ‘Horrible Histories’ grace the CBBC channel, the first two series were then compiled into a more grown-up friendly format for Sunday evenings in the form of ‘Horrible Histories with Stephen Fry’. Mr Fry added some grown-up gravitas to proceedings but the fact remained the same, those sketches are fantastic. So many kids TV shows talk down to their audience, it’s easily done but totally inexcusable when there are series like this that demonstrate how to credit children with the intelligence they possess. It’s such a brilliant balancing act that the producers of the show have managed to achieve; between funny and informative, it’s perfect.
The cast are terrific. They get involved in the writing of the show and some who started off as writers are now cast members. I think this has helped make the show as enjoyable as it is because the cast seem to have a real affection for the material they’re performing.
To top off what has been a brilliant year for those involved in the series, the show was given its own slot at the BBC Proms. ‘The Horrible Histories Big Prom Party’ was an unmitigated success. The show was full of some favourite songs form the series and some new sketches created purely for The Proms.
Those who haven’t seen it will scoff at the thought of watching a children’s TV show but I implore you, sit down and watch an episode. I promise, you won’t just laugh, you’ll learn something as well.


So there we have it. Those were my favourite televisual gems from 2011! If there’s anything you think I’ve missed let me know in the comments :-)

Some of my favourite shows from last year have new series coming out over the next 12 months which is terribly exciting! ‘The Hour, ‘Fresh Meat’ and ‘Misfits’ ‘Horrible Histories’, ‘Being Human’ and ‘The Walking Dead’ have all got new series in due to air this year.
I’m super excited and fully prepared to get square eyes!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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