A Quick Reflection on Spooks - Series 9 (2010)

Ok, so perhaps I didn't get enough time to review it after all, but that doesn't really matter. The point is Spooks this year was superb. Just as I said in the review of the first episode, this year someone or some people finally decided to put the life back into this great show, and made it raise it's game. Sure, just like last year it was shorter from what we have enjoyed in the past; sure, it had the usual superficial changes (changing the home secretary from Labour to Conservative) just to show it was still related to the real World; but let's be honest. What makes it work are the intricate and complex charaters, the believable intense drama and action, but most of all, the well-crafted storylines. In my view this was the best Spooks series since the death of Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones) two years ago. For me series 7 and 8 of Spooks seemed to be in a sort of creative limbo, almost running on Auto-Pilot, so to speak.


All that is fortunately now in the past, but unfortunately so is Series 9. It was an amazing emotional journey, in some cases for Lucas (or John), and in others Ruth, but the real story that kept me watching was Harry's (Peter Firth). Just as in the first episode of the series, Harry became very tired and weary of the job, as the betrayal of trusted friends and allies seemed to be at every corner, which was also reaffirmed when the extent of Lucas' betrayal was finally known during the series finale. In addition to this, Harry was also struggling with his strong feelings towards Ruth, who seemed to reject him throughout. Harry's conscience was also brought to the fore this series, as his emotional relationship with Ruth, also exposed his sensitive side, and so the close betrayals from Lucas really upset him much more than we have been privy to previously. With Harry Pierce's career now in question, it will be fascinating to see where Spooks takes the character next. I just hope this future potential isn't wasted.

Series 9 also introduced new cast members, and I loved the new character of Beth, played so brilliantly by Sophia Myles (one of the best young actresses about these days). It's just a pity that the character wasn't really given much to do after the fourth episode, being overtaken by the story arcs of Lucas, Ruth and Harry. It's definately another one of the characters to keep your eye on in Series 10 though.

Long live Spooks! And may it continue to be just as brilliant as this series was.

New Doctor Who Review Blog

In case you didn't know already, I now have an additional blog purely for Doctor Who reviews. At the moment it's only books and audios, but I hope to start covering the TV episodes from December. Hopefully, there will be at least one new review every month, as my University studies are still keeping me very busy, and as a result make it hard for me to engage in any outside project, including videos, on a weekly, or now even fortnightly basis, but I'll try my hardest to change that fact.

The current completed reviews are for Revenge of the Judoon and The Sirens of Time.

You can see the new Doctor Who Review blog at:

http://rtpfilms-doctorwhoreview.blogspot.com/

TV Review – Spooks 9.1 (BBC 2010) – 10/10

Although Spooks has always maintained a high standard of television, the last two series have partly felt like the show was running on auto-pilot. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the case for Spooks’ ninth series so far. With a partial cast shake-up and a new character story development for Harry Pearce, it seems the show has gone back to basics.

The storyline for this episode also seems to reflect this approach. A new branch of Al Qaeda is planning another attack in London, only this time via explosive-packed remote control submersibles, using a hijacked tanker as a bluff and cover for their plan. Although this is the main plot, the episode also ties up some loose ends from the previous series, as Harry (Peter Firth) discovers that the former Home Secretary, who he thought was pushed out of office was secretly one of the heads of terrorist organisation Nightingale all along (long story) and was therefore partly responsible for the death of Ros (Hermione Norris) at the end of Series 8.

The following scene is possibly one of the greatest and most fascinating moments of the whole show, where Harry, having discovered this betrayal, apprehensively takes revenge by poisoning his old colleague/friend and being forced to watch him die, just so he can dispose of the evidence.

This leads me onto the brilliance of Spooks’ central characters. Whereas this opening episode may seem like typical action-adventure fare, albeit expertly produced, the show’s complex and detailed characters more than make up for some of the more far-fetched or un-original plots. Harry Pearce, the head of MI5, is bar far one of the strongest, and Peter Firth has perfectly pitched his performance for every single episode over the last 9 years. The difference in this episode for the character though, is that after so many years of tough experiences, Harry is beginning to despair both about the job, and whether he can still provide a positive contribution to the defence of the civilised World. He even tries to hand in his resignation to the Home Secretary. These feelings reach a peak, when Harry is forced to make a daring and difficult decision to activate an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) device just to deactivate the terrorist submersible bombs, which will also fry every electronic circuit in the city. Harry’s despair also makes him finally admit his love to Ruth (Nicola Walker), asking her to marry him. However, Ruth says it’s too late, and in a beautifully-written scene tells him that it would never work in the outside World: “We couldn’t be more together than we are right now”. How this new intriguing character arc will develop, will be fascinating to watch in the coming weeks, as are the hints that there is yet more dark secrets to be uncovered about Lucas’ past, not to mention the fantastic entrance of new hired spy Beth, played brilliantly by new cast member Sophia Myles.

All in all, this was a glorious return for Spooks to our screens, and I can hardly wait for the next instalment.

TV Review - Joe Maddison's War (ITV 2010) - 10/10

After the somewhat disappointing World War II tribute drama – Albert’s Memorial, we finally have a new drama set in the period that fully lives up to its promise.

Joe Maddison’s War tells the fictional story (as written by the late Alan Plater) of Joe’s (Kevin Whately) eventful personal life during the Second World War years. His catholic wife seemingly fed up of him, leaves suddenly and without explanation, leaving Joe a lost and lonely man. Searching for purpose, Joe, a veteran of the First World War, joins the Home Guard, while his friends try to set him up with a new girlfriend – Selina Rutherford (Melanie Hill). Gradually, Joe’s life begins to turn around as he starts to fall in love again, and become happier than he’s ever been.

Joe Maddison’s War is a simple story, brilliantly told. Of course there’s more to the plot than that, such as Joe’s mutiny to help his friend Harry (Robson Green); and the twist of his wife’s sudden re-appearance, confessing to her affair, and the child she bore in secret. Overall though, it’s a tale of a world and war-weary man rediscovering himself, and learning to love again. The story also has many powerful touching moments, but by far the best is Joe’s reflected horror at seeing younger ignorant members of his Home Guard unit cheer at the demise of a German bomber pilot that they shot down. Joe knows from his experiences on the battlefields of World War I, that the pilot was probably an innocent teenager who knew nothing of the brutalities of war, and may not have even wanted to fight.

This moment also illustrates how well the characters are written and portrayed in the drama. Kevin Whately delivers an intricate and masterful performance, perfectly underplaying his subdued happiness, melancholic reflections and soul-searching. Although the rest of the cast don’t match his perfectly judged portrayal, they still put in a great effort, such as Derek Jacobi who solidly performs as a Home Guard Major, and Melanie Hill as Selina Rutherford.

I expect lazy commentators to just label it as Dad’s Army for ITV, and even though it shares the same warm nostalgia of both the period and the Home Guard as the charming sitcom, the more believable characters and powerful script make this drama so much more. Although Joe Maddison’s War starts off as a curiosity, by the end it is a touching representation of such an important time in our cultural history that succeeds in conveying the wider local history as well as the personal story of Joe superbly. Well worth a watch.

Score: 10/10

Back Online

My laptop is finally back in working order again, hurrah! Of course it does still mean everything I was intending to work on including the new Doctor Who title mix video has been put back a few weeks again, and probably won't be ready till late November, so many apologies to those who will have to wait even longer. On the good side though, at least now more things should start popping up on my blogs at last.

TV Review: Albert’s Memorial (ITV 2010) – 8/10

Apart from old continuing series like Lewis, Frost, and the occasional Agatha Christie adaptions, ITV has been seriously devoid of any quality TV Drama for over a year now, and even that was just a small three-part series (Whitechapel). That is, until last week it seems, as one-off drama U Be Dead gave us a gripping, tense and complex dramatisation of a true story about a twisted stalker and the human lives wrecked and affected by her actions.

Albert’s Memorial thankfully continues this trend in higher quality drama, albeit not quite so much. Unlike the intricate U Be Dead, Albert’s Memorial is a much lighter tale, although one that is just as moving in places, if not more so. With the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain upon us (and the 65th Anniversary of VE Day just past us), it’s only fitting for a drama to arrive that reflects upon the memories of such an important and affecting time in our ever-changing civilisation’s history. The fact that these memories are fictional makes them no less poignant.

The strong heart of Albert’s Memorial is wrapped around a light comedic caper, that at times feels like a movie version of Last of the Summer Wine. Frank (David Warner) and Harry (David Jason) try to smuggle the passed-away body of Albert (Michael Jayston) into Germany, as he made them promise to bury him at a hillside near Berlin. The three were once close friends who met as fellow soldiers fighting in Germany in the last months of World War II. Albert’s motivation is to bring the two old elderly friends together and help them remember a terrible event that affected them all at the end of the War.

We later discover that Frank, Harry and Albert were lost in the German forests when they encountered an innocent German refugee in April 1945. They all travelled together, looking for some sympathetic civilisation, until they met the Russians coming in the opposite direction. Initial celebration turned to terror, when the Russians took the young German refugee away, and brutally shot her down - a bloodthirsty reaction to encountering the Nazi’s concentration camps earlier on.

This is the powerfully moving tale at the heart of Albert’s Memorial, and for the most part is expertly told. Despite the somewhat patronising setups (the belittled Granddad, doted on by his daughter, and shouted at by his rude and ignorant grandchild) and the occasional clichéd jokes and dialogue (that sounds like it came from the 1970’s), the first half of the programme is a lightly amusing run-around across the continent. You also get a good sense of the bitterness between Frank and Harry, hinting at dark and terrible secrets that we are just waiting to find out.

After such a light build-up, the story revelation (about the German refugee) in the second half changes the atmosphere of the programme in an instant, revealed to us in an emotional argument at the climax of Frank and Harry’s bitter byplay. The unfolding scene is both as heartwrenching and moving, as it is sad and tragic, and made all the more powerful by one of David Jason’s best acting performances. Although the story is fictional, it reflects so much about what we know to be true of that period that we almost can’t help, but believe it. The effect of the revelation echoes throughout the rest of the drama in random flashbacks from Harry’s memory, but after those 10 minutes of superb acting, direction and writing, one element threatened to undermine the whole programme.

Vicky is a likeable character that joins Harry and Frank in their European caper. An outgoing and sweet German hitchhiker in her twenties, Vicky seems to guess exactly what is going on in the plot without hardly being told or thinking it suspicious. For a short while it seems like perhaps Vicky is a loose, thrill-seeking kind of person – a free spirit, particularly as she doesn’t mind going all the way to Prague or driving recklessly. However, she promptly disappears when Frank and Harry reach the hillside they’re looking for, and turns out to be an Angel ghost of the murdered German refugee; helping the two old soldiers to reach their destination.

In many ways this is a twist too far, and ends this entertaining and affecting tale with a ridiculously mindless conclusion that is as pointless as it is clichéd and corny. It also seems a lazy way of clearing up all the contrivances in the script, such as how Frank and Harry never lose the lorry they’re chasing to Prague, or the fact that they are never seen or caught out when engaging in illegal actions (stealing a body; smuggling it across the English Channel; dangerous driving).

Albert’s Memorial then, feels like a programme of contradictions. Firstly, it portrays a simple, light, warm and harmless comedy to pass the time, and then it successfully surprises us by turning into a touching and moving drama; all brilliantly acted, but somehow never quite gels together convincingly. If only they hadn’t spoiled the whole thing with such a feeble ending.


Score: 8/10

Computer Problems

Hello all. Sorry to those who have been waiting for at least a good video or blog post from me recently. Unfortunately, my Laptop is out of action at the moment and in need of severe repair. Hopefully, this will be taken care of before the end of October. Unfortunately that does mean that the new Doctor Who title mix will be severely delayed as a result, but sadly I'm constrained by lack of funds, and my wages aren't great either to be honest. Anyway, I hope to at least make one decent post every week (not including this one of course) to make up for it.

My visit to Doctor Who at the Proms (Sunday 25th July)

I have been to a few classical concerts over the last few years –Rachmaninov, Film themes, Tchaikovsky – all were really fantastic, and this concert was no exception. I was one of the lucky 10,000 people to have booked a ticket to see Doctor Who at the Proms. I attended the Sunday performance on the 25th July, and it was also the first time I had personally seen Doctor Who music performed live. And I absolutely loved it.

The ‘Madman with a Box’ intro was inspired, and Yamit Mamo’s vocals were just beautiful, with the added reverb making them sound magical. It was definitely one of my favourite pieces of the concert. Then two fun and lighter pieces followed – ‘An Untimely Arrival’ and John Adams’ ‘Ride in a Fast Machine’, which was an interesting, if rather experimental piece. The highlight for most people I suspect though was Murray Gold’s main theme for Series 5, listed as ‘I am The Doctor’, which was as absolutely magnificent as it was meant to be, and another favourite of mine. I also enjoyed the performance of Holst’s ‘Mars’ from The Planets, which seemed particularly energetic.

Of course, it wasn’t too long before the Monsters came out, first Judoon and Cybermen, followed by an ‘Ironside’ and an all-new Supreme Dalek, and later Silurians and Vampires would fill the hall later on. Even The Doctor himself, appeared in character for a brief spot of audience participation.

Most of the rest of the concert featured more of Murray Gold’s more incidental music such as ‘Battle of the Skies’, ‘Liz, Lizards, Vampires and Vincent’ and ‘The Pandorica Opens’, which although were still good, lacked the epic and melodious nature of his most loved themes. Fortunately, there were more of those to come.

My most favourite piece of the concert though, was ‘Amy’ (Amy’s Theme), which was epic, magical, moving, rousing, and definitely the most powerful piece of music of the day. I just love it to bits. It just seemed to have everything.

There was also an extended flashback to the Russell T. Davies era via a performance of ‘This is Gallifrey’ with an added new arrangement of ‘Vale Decem’ – the 10th Doctor’s Regeneration theme. ‘Vale Decem’ in particular was a spectacular piece to hear live, after it’s impressive appearance in The End of Time, with Mark Chambers once again wowing the audience with his high vocals. The arrangement was also fascinating too, with a powerful organ playing out underneath it’s powerful climax, making the ending feel very Dudley Simpson-esque (Dudley Simpson composed incidental music for Doctor Who between 1964 and 1979).

After an entertaining performance of ‘Song of Freedom’, the best TV theme in the World (the Doctor Who theme of course) was performed brilliantly by the orchestra, although the bass line was sadly lost once more. After such a brilliant, I am in no doubt that Murray Gold must surely be Doctor Who's best ever incidental music composer.

As a side note though, I was disappointed with the reaction to the Doctor Who Proms by outside media, saying that Doctor Who fans were so swept up by Matt Smith and the monsters that they wouldn’t appreciate the genius of the older classical music in the concert, which I find very insulting. I became a big fan of classical music at around the same time that I became a Doctor Who fan (1995), and I’m sure that anyone over the age of 10 who loves Murray Gold’s music will be able to equally appreciate and love the music of other classical composers. Any below that age will of course be more affected by a Cyberman or Matt Smith, because they’re too young to have educated and defined tastes in Music, it should go without saying. Sometimes, I think cynicism should be a sin.

Back to the bright side, overall I had a fantastic day out. I heard some amazing Doctor Who music live, seen Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill on Stage (albeit unfortunately at a great distance), and even had time to look round London afterwards. I even saw glimpses of Doctor Who royalty such as the Peter Davison family, Mark Gatiss, and even accidentally walked in the way of Steven Moffat and son (sorry Steven) (I was embarrassed for over an hour). A day to remember.

My Reflection on Doctor Who - Series 5 (2010)

Over 3 weeks ago now, the New Series 5, or Season 31 (as I like to call it) of Doctor Who finished in spectacular style with The Big Bang. The last few weeks have allowed time for the last 13 episodes to sink in, and looking back, I’m both happy and excited that it was a resounding success, not just as a series by itself, but also as a forward-thinking, positive improvement in the quality of Doctor Who on the whole.

Not that it was in an absolute mess beforehand mind you; both Series 4 and The Waters of Mars were a world away from the dire excesses of Series 2 in 2006, but I felt generally that the programme was gradually slipping into more lazy, self-indulgent, and celebratory story-telling – living off Doctor Who’s recent past successes. After Steven Moffat took over head-writing and executive duties from Russell T. Davies though, he made Series 5 an effective reboot that while paid respect and homage to the magnificence of the Russell T. Davies era, returned the programme back to a clear and firm sense of direction and purpose, the like of which hadn’t been seen since Series 1 back in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor. Then as now, with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, there was a great dynamic and developing relationship between both Doctor and companion, and a strong Story arc that overall lived up to its promise.

Now though, lightning seems to strike twice for the new revived incarnation of WHO. As with Series 1, Series 5 has put Doctor Who back on the map as a brilliant, imaginative and quality show. And its stars have excelled too. What Matt Smith lacks in gravitas, he more than makes up for in character and performance; and Karen Gillan is proving to be one of the most fun and interesting companions ever.

Although, I still feel that New WHO is a distance away from the height of its powers. Even though this is the best the programme has been in a decade, it still hasn’t quite matched the heyday of the show in the 1970’s, even with better production values. The Big Bang may have finished off the Series well, but it could have worked even better had Steven Moffat not tried to out-epic Russell T. Davies in the scope of his writing. I am confident though, that if his early success this year is anything to go by, then his future series are sure to be amazing. Who knows? We may soon even enter the best Golden years Doctor Who has ever had! It has never been a more exciting time to be a Doctor Who fan! (Well not for my generation anyways.)

My thoughts on...the UK General Election 2010: Part 1 – Where I Stand on Gordon Brown

The reason why for me, the UK’s 2010 Election was an important one, apart from being a UK citizen, was because it felt that there was so much at stake, that it would be a much tighter result, and for the first time in my generation’s history, it felt we could actually make much more of a difference.

I voted for the first time in the 2005 General Election (I think I voted Labour), and ever since had become fascinated and gradually more emotionally embroiled in Politics. After a couple of years (2007) I found my political voice – I was a supporter of the Left with some Liberal tendencies, a believer in the great social courses, such as greater equality, care and opportunity for all, the elimination of poverty, and the need to put aside selfish nationalist ways for the greater good of the World community.

Being the sad geek that I am, I frequently tuned in or recorded most of the weekly sessions of Prime Minister’s Questions to get a flavour of the political mood in Westminster.

So yes, you could take it from that, that I was a Labour supporter. My view on Tony Blair though was mixed. I admired him for fighting for what was right, but at the same time he often proved slightly delusional in the level of belief in some of his own Spin, which I didn’t like at all. You just can’t defend a point of view with Spin as it shows up your weaknesses and ultimately undermines you. As far as Iraq is concerned I do believe the illegal invasion was wrong. It was right to remove Saddam Hussein, but it should have been on considered UN terms, when all possible peaceful avenues had been spent. And further more it should have been planned much, much better, especially when it meant that strategic and military incompetence led to deaths of many thousands of innocent Iraqis who should never have been in the firing line.

However, when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in 2007 (after being Chancellor of the Exchequer for 10 years previously), things started to look up. Despite not having the same communicational skill as Tony Blair, he seemed, and later proved, to be a much more honest and decent man.

As we now know though, the bright future he wanted was not meant to be. Sure, every politician makes mistakes, and Brown made a few himself, such as the cancelled election and the accidental elimination of the 10p tax rate. Despite this though, I genuinely believe that Brown never did anything seriously wrong throughout his career in Government. Yet crisis after crisis challenged Brown; from month to month a new trouble would arise. From Floods to Volcanoes, from hyped up non-elections to incompetent civil servants, and all the while the National Media publically lynched him in text and verbal commentary every week. Trial by Fire doesn’t remotely cover what this poor man had to endure.

...and then the World Economy collapsed.

I don’t blame Gordon Brown for the financial crisis that has caused such pain for both people and businesses alike. It has been proven conclusively on several occasions that it was a WORLD banking crisis, mainly created by the careless, selfish and greedy actions of Western Banks around the World. In this country in particular, the framework of the financial system was setup in such a way that it allowed Banks to take huge risks with their capital for just short-term gains. It is true that in hindsight, Gordon Brown should have put more regulation into finance law, but he admits that as much himself, and nobody could have predicted at that time exactly what would happen.

However, my faith in the Labour Party waned considerably due to the overall performance of the Labour government. They seemed tired, and out of new ideas; and were overly reactive to the comments and agendas of the media. Making policy on the basis of newspaper headlines was bad government, and it showed that ministers cared more about their poll ratings than their long-term convictions. Gordon Brown seemed to be the only exception to this, but it didn’t matter in the end, because he was always made to take the buck for the failures of his cabinet. In the end, I had to feel sorry for him, as it literally appeared that almost everyone was against him, especially in the media. No wonder he was always angry and depressed, I know I would be.

Despite what you may think of Labour, it is my firm belief that Gordon Brown was one of the UK’s best and most respectable Prime Ministers of all time. He may have been socially inept at times, but being a bit like that myself, I can sympathise with that. It is also true that Brown took his time with important decisions too, but that didn’t make him a weak leader. If anything it meant he was being thorough and wanted to be as sure as possible that he was taking the right course of action. In my mind, he was sensitive and caring, hardworking and conscientious; a big man, with a big heart. Any future Prime Minister would do good to take a leaf out of Brown’s book.

The high level of public opposition to Brown though, left the popular vote open to the other main parties, who frequently touted themselves as – ‘the new politics’. But are they really as fresh and revolutionary as they claim?

Blog Update - June 2010

Hi everyone, and thanks for hanging on there. I have to have some Reverse The Polarity Films updates in a couple of weeks, but that aside some blog-related updates.

If you didn't know already, I'm very interested in British Politics (British, because I live in the UK). About a month ago we had an important Election, and as a result political change has occurred in our Government. In the coming weeks I intend to publish a series of posts featuring my thoughts on the main political parties, how the election turned out, and what I feel about the result and whether it can work.

Besides that, I also hope to start doing random Doctor Who reviews starting with the Revenge of the Judoon paperback release featuring the 10th Doctor and Martha Jones. So both of those will be coming soon!

Reverse The Polarity Films - Quick Update - May 2010

Hello to any of my Youtube fans who happen to stumble on to here. I just wanted to post a quick apology. I haven't done much this year with my channel so far as University has kept me very very very busy, and being my priority, everything else has fallen by the wayside at the moment. However, I promise to start putting up new stuff from July, when I have a short break all to myself. So till then, take care. :) x

Doctor Who review project: Part 2

Continuing my Doctor Who re-evaluation has been rather slow over the last 2 months. University has kept me busier than ever, and with BUGS' 15th Anniversary, excellent new Doctor Who episodes and the impending UK General Election (which combined has captured much of my attention and free time), not much reviewing has taken place. However, that doesn't mean there was nothing to surprise me.

The story count has only risen by 13 stories from 33-46, I'm afraid, but hopefully in the coming summer months that will change. In that period, I've revisited both Classics and Clunkers, partly down to my own curious whims. The Trial of a Time Lord epic is still very much a strong favourite of mine, but slightly lower than before. Other no surprises were an equally strong Curse of Peladon, and predictably average Delta and the Bannermen. However, I was surprised at quite how bad The Time Monster was, and even more so that The Tomb of the Cybermen is actually much less of a Classic story than previously thought (especially considering it's always a fan favourite).

Still, this is small fry, and I hope to have progressed much more by July.

BUGS - 15th Anniversary (1995-2010)

Everybody has a favourite TV Show that recalls the best years of their Childhood, and I was fortunate to have many. But for me no TV programme does it better than BUGS - a brilliant hi-tech action-adventure show from the mid-1990s (1995-1999). Starring the talented actors Jesse Birdsall, Jaye Griffiths and Craig McLachlan; the show followed a trio of surveillance experts - Beckett, Ros, and Ed. Every episode they were either hired by paranoid businessmen with secrets to hide, or protected companies from organised crime, or battled Bond-like Megalomaniacs out for Power. This format continued for 2 series until the BUGS team were brought in to replace a secret Government department, after which they continued doing similar things, only with a much broader scope in order to keep the programme fresh and original.

If you’re detecting hints of The Avengers, then you’re not mistaken. Brian Clemens himself, a writer and producer from the original Avengers TV show put a reasonable amount of input into BUGS creation; and the programme does have a few Avengers references if you look hard enough. However, BUGS’ main twist was that it was set in the near future, and featured many Sci-fi and technological concepts and gadgets that are still futuristic today as they were in the 1990’s.

Of course, as with any past programme that tries to visualise the future, it does have some aspects that are now rather dated, such as the large ‘mobile’ phones or the basic computer operating systems, but of course being a budget BBC show they couldn’t afford to futurise everything; and there are always some things about the future that nobody can predict. However, the small budgets were often well hidden, with the occasional stunt or gloriously large explosion. It’s also reasonably obvious to anyone in the UK that all the location work was mainly done in the Docklands, to maintain that futuristic look, but in my view it still really works, as even in 2010, it’s obvious that Britain hasn’t changed that much.

I don’t mind telling you that I really adore this programme. The regular characters themselves are superb. I probably love Beckett most of all as the romantic, brave and resourceful ex-Spy, but the other two are equally brilliant. Ros is a cool kick-ass electronics genius with a bold free spirit and a compassionate heart, while Ed is a resilient action man who is young at heart. However, it wasn’t always just the regulars who impressed.

Although the BUGS team battled numerous villains over the years, there’s only one that was truly special and stood out from the crowd. Enter Jean-Daniel Marcel, brilliantly underplayed by Gareth Marks. In fact Jean-Daniel turned out to be the Master or Blofeld of the programme, after making such an impact on his Series 1 episode, that the writers created an extensive Story arc for him that spread out over Series 2, producing some of the shows best episodes and a magnificent series finale.

I also particularly loved the music and theme tune composed by Gavin Greenaway. The mix of muted brass, drum bass and gorgeous synths in a heroic melody created a wonderful soundtrack that has been one of the most original and memorable ever produced in my lifetime.

Of Course all great shows must come to an end, but unlike other successful programmes, BUGS was never given a proper ending. The BBC decided to axe the show in 1998, and even postponed part of Series 4 till a year later when the Omagh bombing occurred during the series’ run. Audiences were already low due to the earlier broadcasts, and with the year break between episodes, many of them gave up on the show. I suppose you could also say the quality in episodes was in decline too. Although the format adjustment in Series 3 to make the BUGS team hired Spies helped to maintain the show’s freshness and originality, by Series 4 the wheels were already beginning to come off, so to speak. Series 3 also developed and deepened the regular characters which gave more scope for Drama, and also tried out many great new episode ideas to stretch our much-loved characters in different directions. There was even a romantic subplot of Beckett gradually falling in love with Ros.

Series 4 however, slowly began to lose what made the programme quirky and fun in the first place. Craig McLachlan left the show, partly I suspect because his character Ed was quickly becoming a walking talking cliché, which became more evident when Steven Houghton was hired to continue playing the role of Ed. Plus, some of the storylines themselves became just re-hashed past episodes with different, but equally clichéd characters. But worst of all, the Series 4 writers were turning the show more into a soap opera, away from the adventures, and more about continuous dramatic changes in the regular characters lives. They were all paired up into relationships, then split up, then hinted at getting back together again, and given various life problems to keep the characters in a constant state of flux.

However, I do believe it could’ve been turned around. They were still the occasional good episodes there, and I think if the BBC had given it another year the programme could have changed for the better. Still, I remained a loyal viewer to the end, and it was great fun and excitement to my younger self while it lasted.

In fact BUGS' legacy goes on. The action and Spy stories were taken up by the much more Adult, but equally brilliant Spooks, while the fun and innocent adventure were brought back by the return of Doctor Who in 2005, which I hasten to add, I also suspect learnt a thing or two from the BUGS format too (45-minute episodes with Series story arcs and finales). But BUGS was much more than a just a fill-in for more successful and future programmes like Spooks and Doctor Who, but helped maintain the Saturday night family Drama audience, and created an accessible Bond-like action and crime-fighting show for everyone to enjoy. And it will always remain one of my favourites.

Happy 15th Anniversary, BUGS!

Doctor Who - Series 5 begins with a glorious start

Doctor Who returned to BBC 1 on Easter Saturday with an amazing opening episode. The Eleventh Hour introduced UK Viewers to the Eleventh Doctor, as played by Matt Smith. I won't give a proper review now, but even though this is only the first episode since the departure of head writer and executive producer Russell T. Davies, already Steven Moffat is giving us barnstorming classic episodes. In fact, straight away I will say that in my view this story is already one of the top 5 best Doctor Who stories ever made since the program's return in 2005.

Of course, the brilliant writing of Steven Moffat has a lot to do with it. A very clever, and wonderfully witty script entertains non-stop throughout. Moffat also gives the script an enchanting fairytale feel that makes you feel you're watching something special, and the episode really. Although, the main story is simple in itself, this is more than made up for by the intricate and moving individual stories of both The Doctor and Amy Pond that weave beautifully in and out of the main plot.

The other huge reason for the success though are it's two new regular actors - Matt Smith and Karen Gillan who portray possibly the best Doctor and companion partnership since Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred. I fell in love with Matt Smith's Doctor almost instantly. Quirky, clever, charismatic, joyfully energetic, but at the same time gloriously retro. He has the quirks of the 2nd Doctor (Patrick Troughton), the breathless enthusiasm of the 5th (Peter Davison), the joyful flamboyances of early 7th (Sylvester McCoy), the cool joviality and forthrightness of the 9th (Christopher Eccleston), and the sharp tongue and child-like erratic behaviour of the 10th (David Tennant), which seemed to work better with Matt Smith than it ever did with David Tennant. And yet there were subtle new traits that Matt brought to the role of the Doctor himself, such as his endearing eccentricity as an old-fashioned, but youthful gentleman; a layer of charmingly underplayed vanity; and a lovely occasional cheeky edge. Karen Gillan on the other hand is also an equally great companion. Sassy, intelligent, but wonderfully enchanting, Amy Pond is a great foil for the Eleventh Doctor, but also a joy to watch.

And that wasn't all. The new TARDIS is absolutely gorgeous and amazing. I'm glad that the TARDIS actually looks more futuristic on this occasion, even if some of the console controls are a bit odd.Murray Gold was also on top form as music composer once more, well apart from the theme music, but anything is probably better than the aural mess we had during Series 4. Still his score, although melodically simple was evocative, wonderous, subtle, rousing, and moving. Sometimes all at the same time.

All this brilliant material, and yet it's only the beginning! If Series 5 can get better than this, than Doctor Who will surely be the TV event of the year! I can't wait. Let the journey commence!

UK Easter TV Spectacular

For the first time in many years we have an Easter holiday jam-packed full of great TV Drama this weekend, and indicates that 2010 could be a great year in British Television.

First, on Good Friday, Ashes to Ashes begins it third and final series at 9.00pm BBC 1, and hopefully starts to bring together some answers to the many mysteries that both this program and it's predecessor - Life on Mars began a few years ago.

Then on Saturday Prime Time, Matt Smith triumphantly starts his amazing era as the 11th Doctor in Doctor Who at 6.20pm also on BBC 1.

On Easter Sunday, two TV Classics come head-to-head with TV Specials at 8.00pm. On BBC 1, Mystery Drama favourite Jonathan Creek returns for another fascinating oddity to solve, bringing together once more Alan Davies and Sheridan Smith.

On ITV 1, David Jason returns to play, for the last time, Detective Inspector Jack Frost in legendary Crime Drama - A Touch of Frost as he struggles to bring down a Drug dealer. This final story however, consists of two 2-hour episodes, the first of which is on Sunday, and the other concludes on Easter Monday, and also begins at 8.00pm (ITV 1).

Even without chocolate, this Easter looks to be amazing on the small screen. Happy holidays!

Matt Smith: A Patrick Troughton fan?

Steven Moffat revealed in Doctor Who magazine 418 recently that when Matt Smith watched old episodes of Doctor Who in preparation for the part, he especially loved the Patrick Troughton classic - Tomb of the Cybermen. In fact he loved the classic Doctor Who actor so much, he talked (more like raved) about him for days. I'm not certain if Troughton is Matt's favourite Doctor, but it certainly seems that he might be.

The reason this is interesting is because so far, with the execption of Tom Baker and David Tennant, the majority of Doctor actors have always favoured or been inspired by Patrick Troughton, so this latest news seems to cement Troughton's reputation further as the 'Doctor's Doctor'.

As Matt Smith also chose the majority of his costume, it's also interesting to note that there are many Troughton-esque features to it (the braces, bow tie, the 'proffessor' look). Maybe Matt Smith's Doctor will be Troughton-esque too?

Doctor Who review project: Part 1

Last year I voted in Doctor Who magazine's 'Mighty 200' story poll and it got me thinking. Although, I voted my own opinion, most were general guesses. Now however, I want to find out for sure what my opinion is on the whole of the Doctor Who TV series, both old and new. As a continuing film student studying Video Production at University, my critical opinions have probably developed a fair amount since I last thought about this properly 3-5 years ago, so I thought it would be interesting to find out.

Of course, re-evaluating all 205 of the Doctor Who episodes made so far is going to be a long, and at times somewhat dull task, but I'm hoping the results will be worth it in the end.

I've already seen 33 complete stories across all the Doctors so far, and from what I can see, New Series Doctor Who (2005-Present) has gained more favor with me than previously, and despite Jon Pertwee being my favourite Doctor, his episodes are still a hair's breadth aware from being in my top favourites of all time. However it's still early days so far, so I'll come back to this in a couple of months time.

Doctor Who 2010: A New Beginning?

So The End of Time has come to pass, and the David Tennant era of Doctor Who is over, as is that of Executive writer - Russell T. Davies. I will examine the era in more detail at a later date, but for now just a short appraisal.

In 2003, Doctor Who was brought back from Television limbo by Jane Tranter. It had survived intact through successful spin-off book series by Target, Virgin, and the BBC itself; and quality audio adventures by the relatively new production company Big Finish; but in 2005 it was time for it to return once again to it's home format. Today, it is impossible to imagine what the new series of Doctor Who would've been like had Russell T. Davies not accepted the post of Executive Producer/Writer, but thanks to his fresh, original, and entertaining vision, Doctor Who became a success once more, and for the first time had the full backing of the BBC.

Unlike what casual TV journalism will tell you, Doctor Who had far from failed in 1989, and in fact was producing some of it's best work. Those episodes in many cases laid the foundations for what made the revival a great success, and what many loving viewers today take for granted. Russell T. Davies' genius was to expand on those foundations to take Doctor Who into new, fascinating territory, and created one of the best eras of the programme. Sure there were quite a few poor episodes just as there have been in past eras of Doctor Who, and even Russell T. Davies seemed to get a bit self-indulgent a few times, but there were also some great classics too. So, in retrospect, I can safely say Doctor Who would've been much less of a programme without him.

Which all begs the question - what happens next? Leaving aside the tantalising prospect of new Doctor Who fiction coming up, what will the production be like? Steven Moffat, the new head writer and executive producer, despite wanting a completely new start production wise (even going as far as labelling the next series - series 1), is continuing on from the previous episode, and maintaining a lot of the same high-quality standards that were present during the RTD era (such as the brilliant composer Murray Gold). So instead of being a brand new production, it's thankfully going to be a faithful continuation. The only thing that I think will change will be the type of stories being told. Moffat's script techniques are well-known by now, but despite his relatively free reign on some of the stories he has written in the past, it is still unknown as to what Moffat's overall 'vision' for the series is. There are occassional interviews referencing possible influences such as Tim Burton, Pan's Labyrinth, and mythic fairy tales, and that Moffat is heading towards a more traditional 'Who' type of storytelling, but one thing's for sure - it'll certainly be different. And I for one can't wait!

A New Year, A New Decade, and a New Start

Happy New Year everyone!


So welcome back as we enter the Teenies (or is it Noughteens, maybe Noughteenies. Never mind.) For me it presents as much of a new start as it does for the decade. Even though my activities and commitments haven’t really changed from years past, I’m determined more than ever to make a change, and perhaps more importantly – to make a difference. This may not be the attitude of the rest of the World at the moment, but hopefully one day, positive change will make itself prevalent. I hope to blog a lot more this year, and cover wider ranges of topics such as news, politics, culture, TV, Film, Music, as well as own views on the World, my home country of Britain, and how the year is going. So let the new start begin.