Proof the Cynic can't be entertaining when he talks about shows he likes.
It's been a while since I've posted, hasn't it? Not to worry, nobody else seems to update their livejournals anymore. Everyone's emigrated to tumblr and other sites I can't be bothered to deal with.
So, what shall I talk about? My continued failure to have a social life? My ongoing theological debates (read: blazing rows) with the rest of the Christian community at Uni? My plans for world domination?
...No, let's talk some more about what's on the telly. Like I do every post.
First things firstitude, CBBC.
God, I love CBBC. The BBC is already a brilliant concept; a channel paid for by the public to broadcast unbiased and educational material to the world, now here's a branch of it specifically for children! Yes, the channel's had it's rough and ridiculous patches over the last couple of years, but everything's going to be alright now! Because Young Dracula is back.
Well, that's what I've been watching recently. Can I sleep now? Oh, no, there's still the washing up to do. I think I'm going insane. Going? Really? Great, now I'm talking to myself. So you are. Why, yesSTOP IT.
Anyway, bottom line, CBBC is awesome, and there's a new teen drama called Postcode broadcast next month which promises to increase the awesome to critical levels. The rest of the Beeb is less awesome, but still good. I'm tired, despite having done almost no work, and you don't care.
So, what shall I talk about? My continued failure to have a social life? My ongoing theological debates (read: blazing rows) with the rest of the Christian community at Uni? My plans for world domination?
...No, let's talk some more about what's on the telly. Like I do every post.
First things firstitude, CBBC.
God, I love CBBC. The BBC is already a brilliant concept; a channel paid for by the public to broadcast unbiased and educational material to the world, now here's a branch of it specifically for children! Yes, the channel's had it's rough and ridiculous patches over the last couple of years, but everything's going to be alright now! Because Young Dracula is back.
- I've gushed about my love for this show before, so you can imagine my delight that the new series, back after three years of cancellation, is far and away the best yet. This is clearly a show for the intelligent viewer, with a heavily serialised and complex plot that builds and builds every episode, with only episode 4, which was partially a clip show, feeling like filler (although I suppose a little backstory is important on a show that was last on three years ago, broadcast on a channel where the age range of the main target audience bridges only six years (although the actual target audience of YD is probably much older than 12)). There are new and exciting characters to replace those lost over the hiatus, but while Robin and Van Helsing were there primarily for comic relief, the new intake, including love interest Erin and powerful vampire tutor Bertrand are much more complex, each with their own multiple layers of secrets. Let's cut to the chase: this is one of the best new dramas the BBC has done in the past decade, and I recommend that any fantasy fan of any age give it a try. It won't disappoint. I can remember trying to get my friends at school to watch Season 2 when it was on, which they flat out refused to do, purely on the grounds that it was a kids' show. Good grief. Look, I'm fed up with saying this, but CBBC is anything but immature.
- Case in point? Newsround: My Autism and Me. Proof that the BBC can still present an accessible, mature, educational, straight-to-camera documentary... and once again, it's tucked away on the kids' channel. Look, just watch it before it disappears from iPlayer. You'll be blown away. A benchmark by which all broadcasters should measure how to present sensitive material.
- Moving into the world of the older audience, let's take a look at how to make a period drama without creating a soap (*cough Downton Abbey cough*). Yes, Garrow's Law has returned. Not only are the sets and locations beautiful, the subject matter is an intriguing doorway into another time. I know final year Law students who watch it avidly and assure me it's accurate. Not only that, but the cast are fantastic, with rising star Andrew Buchan a compelling lead. A warning: his voice is so soft, I'm unable to get through an episode without being lulled to sleep. Pah, a minor quibble. Anyway, that's enough of being British. How about some Danish fare?
- HUZZAH. THE KILLING IS BACK. God, I loved the first series of this show. Proper thriller fare, somehow achieving exactly the right pace, despite being 20 episodes long. It's onyl half that length this time around, and it's impossible to try and predict the myriad pathways the plot will take, but I have complete confidence in Sofie Grabol and the rest of the cast in keeping me engrossed throughout.
- Hmmm. What else has been on? Oh, yes? Midsomer Murders: Carribbean. Erm, sorry, I mean, Death in Paradise. A bonkers little by-the-numbers cop show. Worth watching for Ben Miller, Danny John-Jules, and how not to write a whodunnit, and little else. Hardly essential viewing.
- Radio-wise, series one (the best by far) of Planet B is being repeated, and Mark Watson's Live Address to the Nation is back and is hilarious. Check them out. Or don't. But you probably should. Radio is your friend.
Well, that's what I've been watching recently. Can I sleep now? Oh, no, there's still the washing up to do. I think I'm going insane. Going? Really? Great, now I'm talking to myself. So you are. Why, yesSTOP IT.
Anyway, bottom line, CBBC is awesome, and there's a new teen drama called Postcode broadcast next month which promises to increase the awesome to critical levels. The rest of the Beeb is less awesome, but still good. I'm tired, despite having done almost no work, and you don't care.