My thoughts on...Doctor Who - Series 6 (2011)

Matt Smith’s first year as the Doctor in Series 5 last year was an outstanding triumph. In fact it was the best series Doctor Who had produced since 1989, with classic episodes abound, and such a consistency in quality writing that I don’t think anybody expected to see so soon. In a previous post last year, I wondered if this was the beginning of Doctor Who’s second golden age (the first being 1970-1977). However, like many others I sadly spoke too soon.

The new Doctor Who series this year was something of a mixed bag. Very brave, experimental, with more complex writing than ever before, but it wasn’t always pulled off successfully. Steven Moffat’s season story arc in particular, tried to create a large narrative that played with the conventions and ideas about Time Travel, even having parts of the narrative itself travel through time to occur in different parts of the story arc progression, contrary to the logical progression of story narrative.

I don’t have a problem with this approach, although it’s clear that many of the casual and older audience did. Being in my mid-twenties, I enjoyed this fresh and different approach to storytelling. I found it simple to understand, but it’s clear that the older and casual audience did not, probably because they are less used to change in narrative storytelling conventions, and also because I suspect that the casual audience in particular use Television more as a medium for entertainment to have running in the background like the Radio, and move their attentions away for a five minute chat, before going to back to the TV, hoping they haven’t missed anything. Personally, I find this quite an insulting attitude to Drama on Television. No wonder the critics think its “dumbing down”. A TV Drama writer should be allowed to write a complex and clever script without fear of criticism from less intelligent or casual viewers. Having said that though, Steven Moffat’s story arc did have some quite noticeable flaws.

Although, the story arc successfully supported the events of The Impossible Astronaut two-part opener, you couldn’t help but think that in second half of the series, a lot of the developments were rushed, without proper room for the build up of dramatic tension and character development. Let’s Kill Hitler is a classic example of this. All the ideas and actions were good and sound, but they all happened so quickly we weren’t able to care about them. The Tesselecta and the people behind them are never really examined or explained, the backstory of Melody Pond is whizzed through in a few minutes, and Melody decides to save the Doctor only half an hour after poisoning him. The latter scene in particular was clearly meant to be a powerful and emotionally moving moment, but because there was no time for a believable character development that would lead up to it, I didn’t really believe in or feel for that moment. Let’s Kill Hitler and Steven Moffat tried to cram a 90-minute storyline into a 45-50 minute episode, and it doesn’t work. The episode is still rather good in its component parts, but it fails to make us care about it. The Wedding of River Song is much less rushed in comparison, but also feels somewhat hollow and sterile, perhaps as a consequence, because in the long term, the audience have never convincingly been sold River Song as a character to care for.

That was the main reason for series 6 feeling a disappointment, but there were others too. The Curse of the Black Spot and Closing Time felt like some of the weakest episodes for several years, which was a surprise considering the wealth of great talent on them. Closing Time was especially disappointing given how good The Lodger had been, completely wasting the inclusion of the Cybermen, and producing one of the most cringeworthy and risible resolutions I'v ever seen in a Doctor Who  episode. Thankfully, it wasn’t all bad news, there were still some amazing classics to behold and enjoy, particularly The Doctor’s Wife, The Girl Who Waited, and The God Complex, which stand high among the best of Doctor Who episodes. The Girl Who Waited was probably my favourite of the series, and showcased the best of a TARDIS team (Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill) that I've come to love over the last two years.

So in short, despite the failings of series 6 it was far from a failure, and still quite good in comparison to earlier David Tennant seasons, but I think series 5 raised everyone’s expectations to a degree higher than was possible to keep up. With the Doctor now back into the Universe, hoping to be be involved in more smaller-scale adventures, there’s still hope that one day Doctor Who’s new golden age will still take place.

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.

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

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

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.)

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!