Rise of international TV - Page 2

 

Premiering on ITV1 (in the UK) on Christmas Day evening/night.

 

 

*****

 

The Night Shift - Icelandic comedy series set at a petrol station during the night shift. Three series were made, followed by a feature film.

Just in case you didn't know about this, there was an hour-long making of Downton Abbey programme on ITV1 tonight.

 

Also, the BBFC passed today the Christmas special for it's Region 2 (UK) release, and the second series will be released on both DVD and Blu-ray.

Just burned through The Hour (BBC 6 part miniseries) on Netflix. Great show. It's like Madmen except stuff actually happens . (I do like Madmen)

It's basically part 50's period piece/spy thriller/political thriller with Madmen office politics. There are a couple weak points and distractions in the plot, but overall I thought it was really good. So much so that I watched it all in one sitting.

It's self contained, but was picked up for a second season which I'm looking forward to.

Don't know if these two long running UK medical drama/soap opera series are shown in the US, but Casualty and spin-off series Holby City are worth checking out. There was a second spin-off called Holby Blue (a police series), but it only lasted two series before it ended. Casualty celebrated it's 25th anniversary back in September (although the BBC didn't do anything to mark the anniversary, like a documentary about the series). Holby City has been on the air since 1999 and is set in Holby General. Casualty is set in the ED of the hospital.

Sadly, there will be no season 5:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15404501

 

There may be a movie.  Speaking of movies, the InBetweeners movie was pretty good.  I wouldn't mind a send off like that for The IT Crowd.   

New Austrailian drama series Underbelly starting this week in the UK on FX, although it's been running since 2008 in Austrailia (a fourth series finished last November). A Region 1 set of the first three series was released last December. Below is a TVShowsOnDVD news article about the boxset:

 

 

Underbelly: The Trilogy - 3 Seasons [Uncut] Uncensored - TVShowsOnDVD.com news article

Edited by WaveCrest - 1/10/12 at 5:09pm

Did they turn off and turn it back on?

TVShowsOnDVD news article, posted on their website yesterday, about Above Suspicion:

 

 

Above Suspicion: Set 1 - TVShowsOnDVD.com news article

Have you seen the sixth series of Law & Order: UK (aka Series 3, Volume 2)? Paul Nicholls is becoming a very welcome addition to the main cast. The episode "Immune" was excellent.

 

Didn't start watching the 'mothership' until towards the end of the eighth season, so I haven't seen a lot of the episodes the Law & Order: UK episodes have been rewrites of. That was, until the most recent episode "Haunted", which was a rewrite of Law & Order episode "Ghosts" (when it was Green and Fontana as the detectives).

 

Surprised why Bradley Walsh hasn't won an award yet for his role as Ronnie Brooks. Didn't think he would be able to play a straight role, as I've been used to seeing him as a comedian. But he has been very surprising.

 

Still think though that the second half of Law & Order: UK is the weakest part of the show.

Yes, the second half of the show, the legal side. It does have it's moments, but I find the actors on the detective side more compelling. "Immune" was one of my favourite episodes so far this series, partly because it was one of those episodes (like in the 'mothership') where the detectives appeared in the second half as well. The next new episode sounds intriguing (Toby Stephens guest stars).

 

Am starting to warm to Peter Davison on the show. Freeman Agyeman is easy on the eye, but she can act. Still not sure about James Steel's replacement Jacob Thorne.

 

Regarding how it's doing in the ratings, read on Digital Spy that "Survivor's Guilt", the second part of the two-part story which started with "Deal", got just under 5 million viewers. Haven't read anything yet about ITV renewing Law & Order: UK for a fourth produced series (Series 7 & 8). ITV have been moving the show round the schedules with the last two or three series. They moved DCI Banks from Monday to Friday nights for the first series (the pilot episode was shown on a Monday I think), losing viewers (however, a second series of that show is in the works, probably being filmed around late winter-early Spring this year). Remember when ITV aired Law & Order: UK against one of the BBC's big drama series New Tricks, losing out in the ratings battle.

Edited by WaveCrest - 1/26/12 at 4:29pm

Matt, have you seen a series called Whitechapel? The third series started tonight (on ITV1).

The paranormal drama series Afterlife was very good. It aired on ITV for two series from 2005-06, and starred Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey) and Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead).

Not sure about Region 1, but both series of Afterlife are available on Region 2 (separately and together in one boxset).

 

Also, being shown soon on ITV1 is the Titanic mini-series, with Linus Roache and Toby Jones among the cast.

 

Technically this isn't an international show in the works, but a while back I read that BBC America are making their first TV series, called Copper (starring Franke Potente).

 

Was interested in seeing the series The Crimson Petal and the White, but I can't stand Mark Gatiss (his series A History of Horror with... was good though).

Who is showing the mini-series/TV series Hit and Miss, starring Chloe Sevigny, in the US? Read a while ago it's being shown in the UK on Sky Atlantic in May.

Has Law & Order: UK been axed by ITV? Seems to be stuck in limbo at the moment. Wouldn't normally recommend quiz shows on here, but Bradley Walsh presents a UK quiz show called The Chase. Have read this past week in a newspaper that he could be (not sure if it's definite) filming a pilot for a US version of The Chase. Meanwhile, Paul Nicholls debuts this coming week on the Casualty spin-off Holby City, and will be appearing on the series for a few weeks. And I read among the description of a new show starting in the fall on a US TV network, that Law & Order: UK (and Doctor Who) actress Freema Agyeman is in the cast.

 

So it's making me wonder if ITV have no plans to order further episodes of Law & Order: UK. A pity, as the sixth series (aka Series Three - Volume Two) ended strong. The penultimate episode didn't live up to the hype (the detectives and the CPS were juggling more than one case in the same day), but the season finale which centred around Paul Nicholls' character getting involved with a female attack victim was much better.

 

Also, and I have posted about it in the Homeland thread, the first series of Prisoners of War is being released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK, with a release date of Monday 16th July (source: Amazon UK, HMV.com and Play.com).

Edited by WaveCrest - 5/20/12 at 8:41am

Couple of new one-off specials/series starting in the UK in the summer:

 

Falcon (airing on Sky Atlantic in September) - starring Emilia Fox (Silent Witness)

A Touch of Cloth (airing on Sky 1 in August) - starring John Hannah (Rebus) and Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey).

Wouldn't quite call it quality TV, but it's so bad it's good and entertaining (especially the last hour or so with the voting). Airing on BBC One tonight is the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Representing the UK this year is...Engelbert Humperdinck.