Killing must feel good to God, too... He does it all the time, and are we not created in His image? – Dr Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal)

Something that I have found of particular interest lately is the new cycle of TV series that has emerged. I am of course talking about movies that have turned into TV series, Agents of Shield (The avengers), Smallville (Superman), Bates Motel (Psycho) and Hannibal (most notably Silence of the Lambs). Granted, this could just be Hollywood’s attempt at another moneymaking scheme, which it probably is…but so far from what I’ve seen of Hannibal and Bates Motel, I’m not complaining. Basing a TV series on what I would argue are two of the greatest movies of their time, what could possibly go wrong?! (Incase you haven’t noticed already this piece is based on Bates Motel and Hannibal).

Bates Motel is due to start airing in the UK at the end of September. It is based upon the back-story of Norman Bates (Psycho) and focuses on the idea of why he ends up as (well lets face it) fucked up as he is in the film. The story follows him and his mother moving to a new town and opening (surprise surprise) a motel. As we all know how this story ends, I suspected this show was going to be dull and predictable. I hold my hands up, I was completely wrong. It is because we know the end to this story it is made all the more terrifying- you know it doesn’t end well so you are sat in anticipation on the edge of your seat anxious for the inevitable ending. It’s a brilliant idea for a show, an intriguing watch and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

Similarly knowing the story is a benefit when it comes to viewing Hannibal, as your anxiety levels will be at an all time high when watching this series. Admittedly I have so far only viewed two episodes, mainly because I’m too scared to watch it alone, however those two episodes blew me away (you will know what I mean by scary when you watch episode two). The hour seemed to go by in a flash and I was captivated the whole time. The camera work is genius and just adds to the anxiety created by the character of Dr Lecter (close ups on meat and his jaw as he is chewing are particularly chilling). I can’t wait to see where this show goes- as long as I’m at home, in the day, with another person, and my front door is locked.

I can only hope that the excellence found in this cycle of TV shows continues with the Avengers series Agents of Shield. Its usually TV shows turning into films for nostalgic purposes and aimed specifically at the series cults fans, think Bewitched, Sex and the City, Veronica Mars, and Arrested Development. This however is something very different, its acknowledging some of cinemas greatest triumphs and educating a whole new generation. I first watched Psycho with my granddad (curled up on a sofa with a pillow in front of my face), and although I can’t quite imagine him watching Bates Motel, the younger generations of my family are keen to watch the series (and they haven’t even seen Psycho). However I can’t help but wonder would these TV series be quite as effective without their highly successful predecessors, will those who have never seen Silence of the Lambs and Psycho enjoy or even understand the sheer brilliance behind Hannibal and Bates Motel?

'We're on our own' - Joe McAlister (Under the Dome)

Its been a long time since I have written anything on this page, for that I would like to apologise…I could make excuses such as moving the country, having little internet access, and moving house (which is all true). But to be quite honest I hadn’t seen anything new and exciting enough that made me want to pick up a pen and write about it, that is until now.

This week I started to watch the new TV series ‘Under the Dome’, the new TV series airing on Channel 5 based on the Stephen King book of the same name. This show was recommended to me by my cousin, who by the way compared the show to ‘The Simpsons Movie’…you know the part where they all live under a dome? Already not the most appealing of ideas, especially when the premise of it sounds like a social experiment concocted by the people who brought us ‘Big Brother’- not something that appeals to me at all (in fact I can’t imagine anything more painful that a new version of Big Brother). So it wasn’t until my sister called me to say that she really enjoyed it that I got to thinking, maybe this show isn’t so bad. Don’t get me wrong my sister and cousin watch some great shows (most of which are recommended by me), but they would also both freely admit that they would watch some utter crap…but then again so do I, so I though maybe I should give this ‘Under the Dome’ a try…

Unfortunately I was too late to catch the show on TV, so was forced to resort to 5OD for the first two episodes, an excruciatingly painful ordeal as it kept freezing, pausing and streaming. 5OD in my experience just isn’t up to the standard of its main competitors BBC Iplayer and 4OD (I have no experience with ITV as they never air anything I find even remotely interesting). Anyway I struggled through the first two episodes, not that they were a struggle to watch, the episodes themselves were completely gripping, it was 5OD that was the biggest let down. I thoroughly enjoyed the parts of the show that I saw…it is like a social experiment gone wrong, but somehow the show is presented as a fresh idea. With big names like Stephen Spielberg and Stephen King as producers, and familiar faces in the cast the show was built to be a success; usually this translates to appealing to critics (not the average Joe). However, I can safely say this show should appeal to everyone…I would even go as far to say its on a par with ‘Lost’, lets just hope the ending is better!

Actually this would be a prime opportunity to talk about the ending, I should note I haven’t read the book that the series is based on. In the show they have already admitted that the dome has nothing to do with the government, yet some of the characters appear to know what is going on…the mayor and the priest for example. I just hope that this becomes clear as the show goes on, because it needs to continue with these flairs of brilliance to keep an audience engaged. Lets all hope that it doesn’t ruin itself with its ending much like ‘Prison Break’ and ‘Lost’. However for now the show is great, and has an even greater potential, I can’t wait to see where they go with it.

‘I haven’t seen such a unanimously negative response since the Fraiser spin off Hey Roz’ – Jack (30 Rock)

The opening of season 6 and true to its usual witty self 30 rock opens with a satire to Americas got talent, this hilarious opening that has a dig at the state of television was a great way to kick off another season of the show. This particular episode has several story lines, my favourite of which revolves around Kenneth- I mean lets face it who doesn’t enjoy a good Kenneth story line! He believes that the end of the world is coming- my favourite part of this story line is when Kenneth tells everyone which type of heaven and hell they will be going too. This episode also see’s Jack become weak when he see’s Jenna shout at a little girl called Liddy, in her role as panel judge. Jack forces Jenna to be nice, and that’s where this piece title comes from inevitably the ratings drop and Jack realises his mistake. I particularly enjoy the way 30 Rock makes comments and digs at all networks (including NBC) and other shows, and this particular episode is full of it. A great way to start the new season and a particularly funny episode- watch out for the costumes- particularly Kenneth’s apocalypse number and Liz’s Christmas sweater! 

'Blame Canada' - South Park

For those of you who don’t know me I have left England and boarded a 10 hour flight to Calgary, just outside Calgary is a small (and I mean small) village called Kananaskis…this will be my home for the next 6 months. Due to this I will have very limited access to television therefore, as no doubt you can already see; my blog will become slightly lax. However I do intend to pick it up when I get back home, but during this interim I will write about the series which I have brought with me, so be prepared for old reviews of Modern Family, 30 Rock, Summer Heights High and White Collar, as well as the 1^st season of Grimm- which I am attempting to make my way through now. All I can say is stick with me and eventually I will get back to writing and posting as much as I can! Thanks for reading and enjoy! 

‘Don’t let the World spoil you’ – Lori (The Walking Dead)

If I could pick one word to sum up episode 4 of season 3 of The Walking Dead I would chose traumatic; because for me the entire episode had me on edge. This episode combined both the group in the prison, and the group in the town…it focused predominantly on emotions, however still contained a fair amount of zombie action. It was the second half of this episode that particularly got to me; the first half I guess was meant to be a little sentimental, showing that the world can still be a safe place. Inevitably though the zombies come and the World goes to shit again, but we as the audience are warned of this impending doom in the opening scenes of this episode (where we see an unknown person open the gates and welcome the zombies in). It is an attempt to keep the audience on edge, which if I’m honest I didn’t find particularly shocking…after all watching The Walking Dead we know that eventually the zombies will ruin it. So it’s the second half of the episode that we see the zombies over-run the prison, and suddenly no-one is safe and the group scatter. It is during this separation that we see Lori say the lines from the title of this piece, she has gone into labour and it’s all gone wrong. She is aware of her impending death and offers words of advice to her son…just before she is sliced up and shot (this is not recommended for those of you who are squeamish, I was gagging at this point). Whilst the divide has happened all the characters are in danger and some get killed, eaten and go missing- this is an interesting set up for which I will be interested to see how the characters develop after this crisis. I enjoyed this episode however, after the last episode with the focus on the town I expected to see more action from both sets of stories. Even though this episode did show the town and the Governor, it wasn’t particularly memorable, as once again the focus is back on to Rick and the prison…this was a little disappointing to me as I would like to see the focus to be on both stories rather than predominantly focussing on one or the other.  

‘Not to worry Jack you won’t be lonesome long’ - Emerson Hauser (Alcatraz)

The final words of Emerson Hauser as the pilot episode of Alcatraz comes to end…and all I’m left with is one question, what the fuck?! I have just watched the first episode of Alcatraz and somehow am left wondering what the hell is going on, I’m already questioning the characters and their motives, who is good and who is bad. The most intriguing character for me was Hauser, my opinion of him kept changing throughout the episode; first I thought he seemed like an idiot, then like he had something to hide, then I felt like he was a good ally to main character Rebecca Madsen, and then this his closing line made me feel like he has something to hide. I am intrigued by this series, I felt like this pilot was kind of all over the place…yet it still had my attention. To me it seems like a mix between prison break and CSI, a new crime/ prisoner to hunt down each week, all with a back story, all linking back to the Alcatraz prison. The series also has an interesting cast; the guy from Jurassic Park, the girl (not Kiera Knightly) from Bend it Like Beckham, and the fat guy from Lost, they all team up to hunt down the missing prisoners of Alcatraz. This series seems to have an interesting story with a lot of scope; there are many routes which the writers can take with each of the characters. Because of all the characters and the story so far, I will be interested to see where the series takes us, and for that reason I will continue to watch Alcatraz.

‘You’re a dirty little whore and I’m going to send you home to your parents covered in cum’ ‘oh don’t do that they are gonna be so angry’ - Adam and Hannah (Girls)

The title of this piece comes from the opening scene of season 1 episode 2, where naturally as normal for their characters Adam and Hannah are having the most awkward sex I think I have ever seen. I have never watched something and felt so uncomfortable as I have whilst watching this new (what I assume is meant to be a comedy) show from HBO. Its so awkward yet its hilarious…every time I have seen Adam and Hannah have sex its been awful, she is so matter of fact, and he is so in his own world that the pairing is just bizarre and so is there sex life. I think by far Hannah is my favourite character from this series, she is so open and awkward that she just simply makes me laugh…especially in the opening scene of this title. I started watching the girls at about 11 o’clock last night and I only have 3 episodes of this series left, its highly addictive and highly amusing…its Sex and the City but with real people, its not glamorous, its how living in New York would actually be. Ironically one of the characters Shoshanna is obsessed with Sex and the City and compares her life and her friends to each of the characters. 

The Girls explores the lives of 4 different women in their early 20s; I have already discussed the awkwardness of Hannah, her best friends are perfect Marnie, wild Jessa, and Jessa’s cousin Shoshanna. The series thus far has seen Marnie struggle with her boyfriend of 4 years, whom she is no longer attracted to and has started to see him as an uncle. Jessa going for an abortion, arriving late for everything, and having a sexual attraction with her boss. Shoshanna attempting to loose her virginity and become an adult. And as for Hannah, she’s in a weird relationship, her parents have cut her off, and she’s being sexually assaulted by her new boss. The thing I like most about this series is that the characters are relatable in situations that I can imagine being in, they are realistic and represent what life would actually be like living in New York in your early 20s. I had this series recommended to me, and I can see why, for anyone who hasn’t yet experienced HBO’s controversial new show Girls I would recommend you get yourself in front of the TV and watch it, I’m sure you will become as engrossed as I have…and lets just hope and pray for a second season!!