Ashes To Ashes - 3x02/3x03: Episodes 18/19

Interesting episodes. I'm liking where this season is going.

- Using Uptown Girl was a genius move for a dream sequence for Alex. But who is that scarred copper that keeps appearing?

- Keats is certainly doing his best to try and turn the team against Gene as best he can but it seems that most of them can see through him.

- What's the significence of 6-6-20? And much longer are we going to have to wait for answers on Sam as well?

Great episodes for both Shaz and Ray, who shone a lot here.

Review for both episodes are on my blogger. Episode 20 airs tonight 9pm on BBC1.

Brothers And Sisters - 4x13/4x14: Run Baby Run/The Pasadena Primary

I need to do a bit more catching up but this season is still keeping me happy.

- The York storyline is certainly getting more intense. I actually felt bad for Holly at one point here too.

- Kevin/Scotty need more than their baby storyline. The school reunion for the former was a good step.

- I actually like Sarah and Roy together. Too bad Luc's return is going to ruin that one.

- Kitty taking Robert's senate seat does seem a little odd but otherwise I'm fine with it.

Reviews for both episodes are up on my blogger. I'll catch up with A Valued Family in the next few days and Leap Of Faith airs Thursday on More4 at 10pm.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - 8x33/8x34: Twilight Parts 2 and 3

These two issues were atrocious. I actually wish I hadn't bothered.

- Angel being Twilight is even more unsatisfying after months of knowing. Plus an issue with him and Buffy at it? No, thanks!

- Apparently Buffy and Angel are the first of a new species and yes, that's a bad thing.

- So bad that an earlier edition of the Watchers Council bumped themselves off.

- Spike's coming back in an upcoming issue.

Reviews for both issues are on my blogger. Twilight Part 4 is released on May 5th.

Doctor Who - 5x01-5x03: The Eleventh Hour/The Beast Below/Victory Of The Daleks

Never mind the naysayers, I still love this show.

- Matt Smith is a great Doctor, though slightly more short tempered than a few predecessors. He reminds me of Colin Baker's Doctor. Yes, I went there.

- I heart Amy Pond. More importantly, a) why are we seeing cracks all the time around her? b) will she marry Rory and c) how does she not know about the Daleks?

- Atraxi/Prisoner Zero weren't that great but I liked the Smilers, Liz 10, Bracewell and our rainbow looking Daleks. I'm obviously in a minority with the latter.

- The Pandorica will open and silence will fall? Interesting little season arc there. Oh and we've already met the big bad in the first episode as well.

Reviews for all these are episodes are available here and on blogger. The Time Of Angels airs tomorrow at 6.25pm on BBC1.

- Matt Smith will be appearing in the fourth season of The Sarah Jane Adventures along with Katy Manning as Jo Grant in a two part story written by Russell T. Davies.

- Fox have passed on Torchwood. I don't know about you but I'm relieved with that one.

- Trailer for the remainder of Series 5 ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rMP2vci9XI

True Blood - 2x09/2x10: I Will Rise Up/New World In My View

I will get this season done within the next week, I promise.

- Maryann knows how to create a lot of chaos. The whole town is now baying for Sam's blood. Loved Jason and Andy being his protectors.

- What on earth did Sookie do to Maryann? I don't remember that in the books. And we're going to meet the Queen.

- Eric/Sookie I saw coming a mile. Shades of Buffy/Spike for me but I'll keep an open mind, I promise.

- Lafayette's comment about Jesus is hilarious when you consider a spoiler for the third season.

Reviews for both episodes are on blogger. I'll get round to Frenzy and Beyond Here Lies Nothing within the week. HBO are also doing webisodes from May 2nd.

Other Television

You Have Been Watching: The return of Charlie Brooker's funny and merciless look at recent television.

Desperate Housewives: Finally, a relationship on this show I might care about. It's been a while.

Grey's Anatomy: Derek vs. Richard ...zzz, Izzie/Alex split? Makes sense.

Lost: Smokey really is ruthless. Just ask Desmond.

Heroes: Last one I saw was Nathan's funeral and even that wasn't interesting.

Glee: Mostly about the break ups and a snippet on the Madonna one.

You can read the full blog here ... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2010/04/will-schuester-i-hate-you.html

Song Of The Blog

Britt King - New World In My View

Used in the last True Blood episode I watched.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfLawHP7lFY

Ashes To Ashes - 3x01: Episode 17

I hate that it's on Friday but at least it's back for one more season.

- Alex was in a coma for three months. Gene literally slapped her out of it.

- Jim certainly seems to have a duality - determined to help Alex whilst wanting to ruin Gene at the same.

- Didn't care for the main case but I did like the stuff with Chris, Shaz and Ray this week.

- I take it that Sam will be a plot point this season, yes?

Review for this episode is on my blogger. Episode 18 airs Friday 9pm on BBC1.

Brothers And Sisters - 4x11/4x12: A Bone To Pick/The Science Fair

Good set of episodes but not the best ones.

- I saw Ryan as the candidate for the bone marrow transplant coming a mile off. Who didn't?

- Kitty slept with a famous politician - she went democrat, didn't she?

- Kevin and Paige's scenes were nice but that haircut doesn't suit the kid.

- Justin might have dyslexia. Um, okay.

Reviews for both episodes are/will be on my blogger. Run Baby Run airs Thursday 10pm on More4.

TV Gossip

True Blood leading lady Anna Paquin has announced she's bisexual in a recent ad campaign.

More TV stuff can be read here ...http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2010/03/all-this-for-mattress.html

Doctor Who - Season 5

Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Alex Kingston.

Start Date: Saturdays 6.20pm on BBC1 from April 3rd and 9pm on BBC America from April 17th.

Synopsis: In his Eleventh incarnation, the Doctor lands in the village of Leadworth and encounters a young girl named Amelia. Over a decade later, the girl now known as Amy must team up with the strange man when an alien invasion threatens the Earth as coma patients begin to wake up. Once that's dealt with, the two of them find themselves battling all sorts of monsters throughout time and space.

Yay/Nay: For the first time since 2005, it's a completely new era of the series and as Doctor/Companion teams go, Eleven and Amy certainly show a lot of promise. Throwing in some familiar baddies like the Weeping Angels, Daleks and Cybermen are good but here's hoping that Prisoner Zero, Atraxi and Smilers also measure up. Also the reappearances of River and Amy's boyfriend Rory should means that our TARDIS duo will have some strong allies in their corner.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpbmMhNe6aA

Song Of The Blog

Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams

Used in last night's Ashes To Ashes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52bh36j023Y

Hey everyone, it's been a while but I'm back and what have I been doing? On a short list.

- I've had the 24 hour bug from hell. Now, that's one day I would never want to endure again.

- Celebrated my father's 75th birthday.

- Caught up with friends and some relations on Facebook of all places.

- Became editor to Catherine Tate and Karen Gillan for this site.

Onto the TV stuff

Being Human - 2x08: Episode 14

Not my favourite finalebut fine enough, I guess.

- Nina made it out of the season alive but Lucy predictably didn't.

- It will be interesting to see how George, Mitchell and Nina rescue Annie from her new place.

- Why is Herrick being brought back? I liked him but it does seem an odd choice for next season.

Review for this episode is on Blogger. Season 2 is out on DVD in April.

Brothers And Sisters - 4x07-4x10: The Wig Party/The Wine Festival/Pregnant Pause/Nearlyweds

Interesting set of episodes. I'm mostly enjoying this season a lot.

- Luc left but given that Gilles Marini is coming back, it was hard to care all that much.

- Kevin/Scotty and Justin/Rebecca all need to argue less.

- The Kitty stuff continues to dominate some of the best moments in this episode, even though her fainting at Justin/Rebecca's near wedding was predictable.

Review for these episodes are up on my Blogger. A Bone To Pick airs Thursday at 10pm on More4

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - 8x32: Twilight Part 1

I know I'm really behind but I will catch up on this arc, I swear.

- No, I don't believe for a second that Amy/Warren/Random military bloke really want to help the Scoobies.

- Of course Buffy's newfound powers would have a downside but dead slayers? Can't the girl catch a break?

- At least Twilight is about to reveal himself.

Review for this issue is on my Blogger. I'll catch up with Twilight Part 2 soon.

Dollhouse - 2x11-2x13: Getting Closer/The Hollow Men/Epitaph Two: The Return

I can't believe it. This series ended so brilliantly. But I still don't really miss it. What gives?

- Boyd as the main founder of Rossum made some sense. Echo certainly gave him a nasty fate, didn't she/

- Death count: Bennett, Boyd, Mellie, Paul and Topher. Not too sure about Claire though.

- Actually freeing everyone in the final episode was unexpected. Anyone else surprised with the positive ending.

Review for all these episodes are on my Blogger. Season 2 should be due on DVD in the summer.

My expectations for Cougar Town were exceedingly low so when RTE2 decided to air it two weeks before Living TV, I wasn't going to watch but for some reason, I gave in. Am I glad I did? Not really to be frank. It's not that it's a terrible show (forty something woman getting her groove back by sleeping with younger blokes), but it's a bit ... naff. Some of the dialogue is too cheesy for it's own good, Courteney Cox's character Jules isn't exactly a breath of fresh and it's obvious that the male characters exist to be dolts, so I don't think this is something I will stick with to be truthful.

Somewhat better is The Good Wife. UK viewers are ahead of me but I did catch the pilot episode this week and while it doesn't reinvent the wheel for a lawyer series, is it a lot of fun to watch. Alicia's a likeable enough character as she tries to get back into being a lawyer while dealing with her husband's sex scandals (Mr Big, how could you?). Even the typically annoying mother in law isn't that annoying. This show has a lot of promise.

I haven't caught the finale of Skins yet, so I can't comment on that one but recent episodes have been .... depressing. Emily and Naomi are barely able to tolerate each other, Katie/Pandora/Thomas have naff all to do, Cook seems to be bunking with everyone, Effy's got serious mental health issues and her nutty therapist decided to bash Freddie's head in because he's got a fixation on Effy. I appreciate dark stuff as much as the next person but a bit of lightness certainly would've done this season world of good.

And the advantages of Irish television are being ahead of UK viewers with Desperate Housewives. This year's big disaster was a bloody plane crash and a certain someone had to go and meet their maker. The recent what if episode however was a hoot and a half, even if some of the stuff you could see coming a mile off, like Gabby's relationship with her daughters and Susan still being unbelievably immature for her age.

I'm not really sure what to make of these side-parallels that we're getting with the main characters this season. All the flashbacks and the flashforwards of the previous seasons served their purposes but do this side parallels really do that with Lost? I mean, it's interesting seeing Sayid and Nadia still drawn to each other or Ben being a teacher or Sawyer a cop but it feels like a distraction from the actual stuff on the island. I mean, why is Smokey being so evasive? Will Claire ever be normal again (or Sayid for that matter)? Still, I can't wait for the next episode, which gives us insight into Richard.

- Smallville has been renewed for a 10th season while Supernatural has gotten a sixth one. I can understand the latter but the former really should've ended years ago.

- There's hints of an erotic connection between Sam and Bill in the third season of True Blood, which airs on HBO from June 13th.

- Gilles Marini is becoming a regular for the fifth season of Brothers And Sisters.

- Skins has been renewed for a fifth and sixth season.

- The Sarah Jane Adventures has been renewed for a fourth and fifth season. Torchwood is still unknown.

- Doctor Who will get a Christmas 2010 special and a sixth season. The recent trailer has revealed the Cybermen are returning for Series 5.

- Both John Hensley and Dylan Walsh recently expressed their disappointment with the series finale of Nip/Tuck. UK viewers can see it on FXUK from May.

- Kurt will get a love interest in upcoming episodes of Glee. Neil Patrick Harris will also be appearing on the series.

Doctor Who Series 5 Trailer 3/Analysis

Can be read here .... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2010/03/last-night-all-my-dreams-came-true.html

Song Of The Blog

Lady Gaga/Beyonce - Telephone

Annoyingly catchy like they always are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVBsypHzF3U

Being Human - 2x05-2x07: Episodes 11-13

This season has gotten prgressively darker in recent episode.

- George and Sam's relationship typically imploded, Nina returned.

- Mitchell/Lucy went nowhere, funeral home bloew up, Mitchell and Daisy went on a rampage.

- Annie contacted her mother, wanted to be exorcised by Kemp.

- Kemp and Lucy now have everyone except Mitchell.

Reviews for these episodes are on my blogspot. Episode 14 airs Sunday 9pm on BBC3.

Brothers And Sisters - 4x04-4x06: From France With Love/Last Tango In Pasadena/Zen And The Art Of Making Mole

Brilliant episodes. I love this season so much.

- Kevin and Scotty seem to be making some headway with parenting. Not sure about Michelle as a surrogate though.

- Kitty's cancer still focused on but I love various people trying to keep her spirits up.

- Luc has potential but I'm still in the wait and see with him and Sarah.

- The writers have no idea what to do with Ryan though.

Reviews for these episodes are up on blogger. The Wig Party airs Thursdays 10pm on More4.

Dollhouse - 2x08-2x10: A Love Supreme/Stop Loss/The Attic

Episodes are getting better, the show is over.

- Echo vs. Alpha didn't work second time around but nice to see Alan Tudyk again though.

- Loved the backstory into Victor/Tony even if it was totally predictable.

- Echo managed to survived the Attic. Granted she had help from Priya, Tony, Dominic and Clyde but she still survived.

- Adelle's on our side. Thank frak for that. She had me worried.

Reviews for these episodes are on my blogger. Getting Closer/The Hollow Man/Epitaph Two: The Return all air tonight on Sci-Fi from 9pm.

True Blood - 2x08: Time Bomb

Loved this episode. This show keeps getting more and more wonderful.

- Maryann actually got Tara and Eggs to eat Daphne's heart. Oh dear. Sam should've stayed hidden.

- Jason got some of the best lines in this episode. His scene with Bill made me laugh too.

- I'll take Jessica/Hoyt over Bill vs. Eric and Sookie vs. Lorena anyday though. Liked Godric a lot.

- Luke the suicide bomber. That idiot. Doubt any important character will die though.

Review for this episode is on my blogger. I'll catch up with I Will Rise Up and New World In My View soon. Season 2 airs Friday 10pm on FXUK.

And for some other TV people ...

EastEnders has turned twenty five years old, four months before I actually have. Okay, live episodes are an extremely dodgy process but oddly enough, they did alright on Friday night when it was finally revealed that Stacy bumped off Archie. As a reveal went, it was satisfying and I'm sure I wasn't the only person sad to see Bradley killed off - I liked him. Plus if it had been someone like Ryan, would anyone have cared? Corrie are going to have to pull their finger out for the upcoming 50th anniversary because right now, it's dire to watch.

Susan and Katherine - how far can a rivalry go? Well, if you're Susan, you're going to do something stupid like accidentally shoot Katherine and then believe that she was the one strangling Julie. To top it all off, you'll then piss off some former cop that you teased in school and get thrown in the slammer. On a more interesting note, the Bolen plot is definitely one of the best thought out one going, it's nice to see Lynette and Tom provide a support system for Julie but the subplot with Gabby homeschooling Juanita and Bree still stuck with Orson don't match up by comparison. But at least Desperate Housewives has it's mojo back.

Lost on Friday nights don't seem right to me but at least the final season is getting off to an interesting start. So we have Others who are helping - sort of, a parallel version of the gang's lives if they had landed back in America on Flight 815, Sawyer grieving over Juliet's death and a rather feral looking Claire, who's more interesting now than she ever was. The shock of Smokey/Locke being the same was fine too. Oh and this week's episode is a Jack one. I'll keep an open mind.

I need to keep up with Skins. The fourth season so far has been good, I'll admit that. Emily's episode delved more into the death of Sophia and while the writers could've evaded going down that predictable route of making Sophia/Naomi cheat on Emily, some of the acting was absolutely brilliant. Cook's episode wasn't as good but it was a damn sight better than the unbearable one we got in the third season for him. Maybe he will change after all. Stranger things have happened.

Doctor Who - Season 5 Cast Shot And Trailer

Yeah it finally came out and on April 3rd, you'll see the Doctor and Amy Pond kickstart a new series with Daleks, Smiler, Silurians, vampires, Face Tendril and Weeping Angels to name a few of the monsters. And I love this quote.

The Doctor (to Amy): All of time and space, everywhere and anywhere, every star that ever was. Where do you want to start?

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpbmMhNe6aA

Song Of The Blog

Florence And The Machine - Cosmic Love

Used in the Doctor Who trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfBY96qxVRQ

Being Human - 2x02-2x04: Episodes 8-10

The seaon has taken a darker turn in recent weeks.

- Annie's still fighting off the men with sticks and ropes. At least Sykes better prepared her.

- Mitchell's attempts of order are crashing down. He's gonna have a mutiny on his hands soon enough.

- George's not a happy werewolf. The outbursts of violence in last night's episode were scary.

- Interesting that Lucy turned out to be Jaggart. We can thank her for sparing Nina as well.

Reviews for these episodes are my blogger. Episode 11 is on Sunday at 9pm on BBc3

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - 8x31: Turbulance

Better issue than before.

- Both Buffy and Willow have their powers back and can fly.

- Twilight has Giles, Andrew and Faith as his hostages. The other slayers are powerless.

- Buffy's conversation with Xander was interesting. And she buried the goddesses.

Review can be read here ... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-review-of-buffy-vampire-slayers-8x31.html

Brothers And Sisters - 4x01-4x03: The Road Ahead/Breaking The News/Almost Normal

Stunning opening episodes. I think this show has got it's groove back.

- Kitty's lymphoma storyline is being handled wonderfully. Very realistic with the family reactions and everything.

- Not too sure about Kevin and Scotty's parenting plot just yet but it's better than Justin/Rebecca.

- Less Ojai stuff would be nice. I don't care much about Ryan either.

Reviews for these episodes are on my blogger. From France With Love airs Thursday 10pm on More4.

Dollhouse - 2x06-2x07: The Left Hand/Meet Jane Doe

Good set of episodes. Only six more to go.

- Echo was out of that house for a few months. Liked that she was trying to help Galena escape.

- Bennett's motives for hurting Caroline made sense. And her and Topher connected.

- Adelle sure took a dark turn, didn't she?

Review for these episodes are my blogger. A Love Supreme airs Tuesday 9pm on Sci-Fi UK.

Glee has become the must see TV show so far this year. You can't move for the amount of hype it's generated and it seems to be on five days a week (Wednesdays/Fridays on TV3/3E or Monday/Thursdays/Sundays on E4/C4). Following episodes have had some fun moments, especially the absolutely hysterical version of Push It (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNdght8qDQg). Sue's turning out to be one of the most quotable characters on television and Terri is nuts.

Heroes has had the misfortune to be shunted into a Saturday BBc2 timeslot and while the show's best days are definitely behind them, this season's been a little bit of an improvement on previous years. Danko's gone for one thing, Hiro's storyline isn't boring me to tears, Claire's kind of fun and the carny folk are interesting. The back and forth with Sylar and Matt is grating a little. Given that we know Nathan is pernamently dead, it might be nice to get that out of the way already.

I stopped reviewing Desperate Housewives this year, mainly because I didn't have the time and like another show, I had fallen out of love reviewing it weekly. Season 6 has been a lot better than previous seasons, I don't deny that but while crazy Katherine is amusing in it's own right, I hate that Susan still acts like a teenager, that Bree doesn't woman up and toss Orson out, that we're lumbered with Lynette being pregnant yet. On the plus side, Gabby vs. Ana is less predictable than expected and the Bolens are a step up from Dave.

Secret Diary Of A Call Girl - Up until the point of Brooke Magnati revealing herself as the real Belle du Jour, Billie Piper did mention that some people saw her as the face of prostitution. Bit of an overexaggeration there but Thursday's double bill was a decent romp (pun intended) but if Belle is so determined to keep her profession a secret, why would she take her sister to a sex club? I'm also not really sure what to make of Duncan either. He could be a nice guy but he comes across as a little sleazy.

I love Skins and I was looking forward to the opening episode but I have to admit that I found this deeply underwhelming. Yes, it was hight time we needed a look into Thomas's background and a look into the way he viewed UK attitudes and the like but this didn't grab me as much as it could've. The acting was fine and the dead girl in the beginning did set up a tense mood and I'll be happy if someone punched Cook in every episode but they should've opened with a lighter episode. And I didn't see Naomi being the one responsible for selling Sophia the drugs, though I probably should've.

I had given up on Nip/Tuck and to be fair, Season 6 hasn't exactly been the starting of a satisfying wrap to the series. Christian and Liz divorced with as much bad feeling as the writers could muster, Matt used mime to rob stores (and got shot, pity the store clerk didn't aim for his stupid head. Teddy's sociopathic tendencies have been slightly better but even her arc is now coming to an end, following her failed attempt of bumping Sean off. I hope the remainder of this season is better.

Other Stuff

- Ugly Betty's been cancelled after four seasons. Too bad because it was improving in my opinion.

- Julie Benz and John Barrowman are appearing in Desperate Housewives this season. The former is playing a stripper and the latter a villain, connected to the Bolens.

- Bill Nighy will be guest starring in Doctor Who. He'll appear in the Van Gogh episode as an enthusiast of the famous painter.

- A love interest is being cast for Mercedes for the second season of Glee.

- Matthew Graham has promised a "beautiful" ending for the final seaon of Ashes To Ashes.

- Lost Season 6 will air Fridays at 9pm on Sky1, starting February 5th.

- True Blood Season 2 airs on FXUK from February 26th at 10pm with Season 3 set to start on HBO in June.

Song Of The Blog

Sugababes - Wear My Kiss

Not their best but decent enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsCCDJuAnqY

Being Human - 2x01: Episode 7

So glad this series has returned. Nice to see standards haven't dropped one bit.

- Loved that they revealed Nina as a werewolf quickly and that her and George had it out as well. Any other series would drag this out.

- Ivan and Daisy are intriguing and we've got other new characters like Lucy, Hugh, Saul to interact with our now four main characters.

- Kemp really creeps me out. What's his beef with supernatural creatures? How long do we have to wait for Jaggart as well.

- George sleeping Daisy, bad George. And Annie got to work at her local.

Review for this episode is up now. Episode 8 airs Sundays at 9pm. The show has been renewed for a third season.

Dollhouse - 2x05: The Public Eye

I liked this one, lot happened in it. At least they're going out fighting.

- Daniel being a Doll and Cindy his handler was an interesting twist but I guess it made sense when watching their previous appearances. Loved the Echo/Cindy scrap.

- Rossum's plan to sabotage the LA Dollhouse has to backfire on them, right?

- Enjoyed Paul and Madeline's scenes together but I know it's not going to bode well for her.

- Summer Glau isn't one of my faves but Bennett's interesting enough and I wonder what she's got against Caroline.

Review for this episode is up. The Left Hand airs Tursday at 9pm on Sci-Fi UK.

True Blood - 2x07: Release Me

Not my favourite but the standards remain high for this show.

- Bill/Lorena's dynamic is like an amplified version of Angel/Darla. Lorena has some serious clingy issues.

- Godric timed that perfectly. Lucky for Sookie or else Gabe would've gotten his way.

- Tara needs to start doing more digging on Maryann. Liked the info dump on the character by the way. Sam better watch himself.

- Daphne got killed and Andy had his arm broken. Jason, on the other hand, I don't think is dead even with Sarah's shot.

Review for this episode is up. Time Bomb is next and the second season premieres on FXUK, Fridays 10pm from February 26th.

Interesting Bits

Should've added this last blog but here's my rating for 2009 TV, in the format of awards .... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2009/12/2009-that-was-year.html

The identity of Twilight has been revealed for the Buffy comics and out of respect to spoilerphobes everywhere, I'll link the article I wrote instead of revealing it directly ... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2010/01/man-behind-mask-twilight-is-revealed.html

I read that Six Feet Under/Dexter actor Michael C. Hall has recently had treatment for cancer. I was shocked to read but it seems that the actor is in complete remission at this stage.

- Been catching up with Glee and Flashforward. Both worthy of the hype they're generating. Nothing else however is really sticking apart from the shows I've highlighted.

The Week In Who

- Catherine Tate appeared on Jonathan Ross last night. Billie Piper is due next Friday and Matt Smith is also due in the upcoming weeks.

- According to The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter, The Woman is actually The Doctor's mother. Well, that's the rumour.

- Thomas Knight appeared in The Bill this week and Gareth David-Lloyd is due for next week.

- There's a Winter/Spring trailer for BBC's programmes and Billie Piper, Christopher Eccleston, Naoko Mori, Russell Tovey and Matt Smith all feature. It can be viewed here ...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7b11tqLRh0

- David Tennant's Rex Is Not Your Lawyer has not been picked up for Spring so it could be fall when the show materialises.

- Arthur Darvill's character Rory has a surname. It's Williams. I wonder if he's related to Rhys and Russell Tovey's rumoured to be appearing in Season 4 of Torchwood.

- The Sarah Jane Adventures has also been renewed for a fourth season, according to recent reports.

Series Preview

Secret Diary Of A Call Girl - Season 3

Starring: Billie Piper, Iddo Goldberg, Ashley Madekwe.

Start Date: Mondays 10pm on Showtime from January 25th and Thursdays 10pm on ITV2 from January 28th.

Synopsis: Belle's book has become something of a bestseller, so when she snags an agent, she finds herself digging deeper in order to write the perfect follow up.

Yay/Nay: I like this show, it's certainly got a guilty pleasure element to it and Billie Piper certainly tackles the role with a good degree of gusto. The trailer suggest more racier antics than the first two seasons but I'm hoping there's also more on Belle's relationships with Ben and Bambi as the season progresses.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRc3lsUFvEI

Song Of The Blog

Marina And The Diamonds - Hollywood

One of those watch out for in 2010 types. Good song though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1VTcJfL7RE

And a happy 2010 to everyone on this site. I can't believe the time has flown. I didn't get up to much during the Christmas/New Year and I've been mainly watching my step with all the frost everywhere. How did everyone else fare?

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Willow: Goddesses And Monsters

Caught up with this one two days ago. Hate to admit it, but this was sort of dull.

- Sagi Vasuki's real name is Aluwyn and she seemed a little determined to corrupt Willow. Which makes Willow choosing her as her guide rather baffling.

- Tara appeared for a few seconds only for Joss Whedon to reiterate that she's never gonna be raised from the dead.

- Is it me or is this comic season making anyone else hope that Willow and Kennedy break up? I didn't mind them in Season 7 but here, I'm starting to a lot.

- The letter pages had the usual stuff, though I did find the one interesting from a fan who wanted to see Andrew with a boyfriend.

Review for this issue can be read here ... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-review-of-buffy-vampire-slayers.html Turbulence is released on January 6th.

Doctor Who - 4x17/4x18: The End Of Time Parts 1 And 2

Wonderful episodes and a fitting tribute to David Tennant and his four and a half year reign on the show.

- Doctor/Master. The slash literally wrote itself. Excess bondage, that beautiful dialogue and even a bout of self-sacrifice and both wanting to help the other. Between insults and trying to stop each other of course. I wonder what David Tennant and John Simm made of it. I'll be listening to that commentary with interest.

- If we had to have someone for the last companion for Ten, then Wilfred really was the best choice. But did RTD really have to tease the possibility of Wilfred being the Doctor's father?

- Unless told otherwise, I think the Woman was the Doctor's mother. The exchange they shared was definitely powerful.

- The Master race was an excellent cliffhanger. Just when you think this show cannot get any more bonkers, it pulls off something like this.

- I wished the Time Lords/Rassilon hadn't been sent back into the void and that Donna had played a bigger role but that's only a minor set back.

- The companion appearances all bloody worked excellently. But Sarah Jane and Verity's got to me the most. After Wilfred's last look at the Doctor.

- Good regeneration scene. I don't want to go indeed. And Eleven had me at Geronimo.

Review for both episodes are up here and on my Blogspot account, so please comment on the latter if you can. The Complete Specials are released on DVD from January 11th.

And to those who whinged about David Tennant and his 75 appearances over the Christmas/New Year period, it must have been a slow one in the office that day. At least someone with talent was being overexposed for once.

Season 5 Preview- Geronimo

Caught it on YouTube and went for the usual analysis routine. Link to trailer below.

- Eleven's got the wood for the violence. Assaulting a Dalek, a professor and firing a gun. Shades of the Sixth Doctor much?

- For those of you hoping for no more Doctor/Companion snogs, I think the above picture kills that one, eh? River is also supposed to get in on the act.

- Amy Pond. Apparently we're gonna meet her as a youngster and an adult as well. Not sure if Rory (who joins later in the series as a companion) is her boyfriend or not.

- Other monsters I spotted in the trailer was a creepy white clown thing, Weeping Angels, something that looked like Sulurians and vampires. Not kidding on the latter.

- Expect the cover of January 2010 DWM to be something Season 5/Matt Smith related.ETA: It's Matt Smith and he's the Doctor.

http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2010/01/geronimo-doctor-who-season-5.html

2010 Reviews

There's good news and bad news. Bad news first and after thinking long and hard, I've decided to drop both Nip/Tuck and Desperate Housewives from my regular review pile. I've gotten to a point where I've taken on too many shows and something had to give. I will try to watch the episodes and comment on them but I won't be reviewing them regularly anymore. Sorry about that. However in this month alone, I do intend to finish True Blood's second season along with Dollhouse and the wonderful Being Human. Brothers And Sisters doesn't seem to be starting up yet but that will also be reviewed when More4 start airing it.

Also a review for Lost Season 5 DVD ... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2010/01/lost-season-5-dvd-review.html

And here's a Season 6 cast shot that was obviously influenced by Battlestar Galactica ...

Season 6 starts on February 2nd, so really it's not like there's much longer to wait.

Also Celebrity Big Brother, I don't care if your ratings have rised, I'm still gonna be jumping for joy when the BB franchise is finally laid to rest in one country at least.

And Lafayette's getting a love interest in Kevin Alejandro in the third season of True Blood. Sweet. The character's called Jesus by the way.

Song Of The Blog

Greg Laswell - Off I Go

Season 6 of Grey's Anatomy is starting up again so here's a nice reminder of Season 5's ender.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f7YKYbJehY

Another year, another bland X-Factor winner song scoring the Chrittmas number one. Wait a minute, not this time. It seems that Joe McElderry's version of "The Climb" didn't scoop the top spot due to the Facebook campaign for Rage Against The Machine's, "Killing In The Name".

Now I'm glad for any song to get numbero uno during the festive period that isn't from the Simon Cowell factory of tackiness but damn it, that RATM song is a load of crap. I had to switch if off after a minute. But here's the Christmas number 1 no less .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkuOAY-S6OY

Just heard last night that actress Brittany Murphy passed away at the age of 32. The actress went into cardiac arrest on Sunday morning but as of now, there has been no confirmation on how the actress passed away. Very shocking news, a lot of celebrity death this year and 32 is certainly no age.

Here's the single she did a couple of years ago with Paul Oakenfield .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypioNVOm1GI

I'm not big on club songs but I do enjoy that one.

Last year I did an LGBT Christmas Blog for GCN and this year, I did it again and crossposted it to my blogger. For anyone interested, it's here .... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-shows-of-christmas-guide.html

Merlin - 2x12/2x13: The Fires Of Idirsholas/The Last Dragonlord

Not bad episodes but I got a feeling that both of them could've been better.

- Morgause is a wonderful complex character, arguably even more successful than Nimueh. I was surprised that she called everything off when Merlin poisoned Morgana.

- I like Arthur, I really do but he can be an idiot at times. Merlin needs to stand up to him more.

- Merlin as a dragonlord, okay I'll bite. Dragon's coming back next season, yes?

- Nice to get a bit more on Merlin's family life. Too bad his father had to die in the finale though.

Season 3 will debut in late 2010.

True Blood - 2x05/2x06: Never Let Me Go/Hard-Hearted Hannah

Superb episodes, this show keeps getting better and better.

- Jessica and Hoyt are definitely the best couple on the series. He went to Dallas for her.

- Of course the Fellowship would know who Sookie was. Hope Jason comes to her aid.

- Daphne's one of Maryann's lot. Poor Sam. He can't catch a break with women, huh?

- Bill and Lorena's relationship reeks of Angel and Darla, don't it?

Reviews for these episodes are up here and on my blogspot. I'll catch up with Release Me and Time Bomb soon.

Series Previews

Doctor Who - The End Of Time Parts 1 And 2

Starring: David Tennant, John Simm, Bernard Cribbins, Catherine Tate, David Harewood, Tracy Ifeacor, Jacqueline King, Brian Cox, Timothy Dalton, June Whitfield, Claire Bloom, John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen, Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman*, Camille Coduri, Tommy Knight, Alexandra Moen, Sylvia Seymour, Sinead Keenan, Russell Tovey and Matt Smith*.

Start Dates: Christmas Day, 6pm (Part 1) and New Year's Day, 6.40pm (Part 2) on BBC1 as well as Boxing Day/January 2nd 9pm and 8.30pm for BBC America.

Synopsis: As the Doctor hurtles towards his latest regeneration, the Master is resurrected on Christmas Eve with chaos ensuing. Joshua Naismith and his daughter, Abigail are determined to open up the Immortality Gate, which the OOd warn the Doctor could cause the end of time itself. As Donna is set to marry, her memories are being triggered by Naismith's book and Wilfred becomes the latest travelling companion.

Yay/Nay: Are you kidding? This is the television equivalent of bliss. David Tennant was never gonna go out quietly and this story is certainly action packed enough by the wave of spoilers that have been coming at us for the last couple of days. Plus the joy of Wilfred as a companion and the returns of Donna and the Master. If this is the only thing I watch during the Christmas period, it will be worth it.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wihhBpGCvkA

* Not confirmed if in the finale but have been widely rumoured of making appearances.

Being Human - Season 2

Starring: Russell Tovey, Aidan Turner, Lenora Crichlow and Sinead Keenan.

Start Date: Sundays 9.30pm on BBC3 from January 10th.

Synopsis: It's been months since the death of Herrick and it's created ripples in the underworld for Mitchell to sort. Annie on the other hand tries getting out more while George and Nina deal with the possibility of the latter being a werewolf. Vampire couple Ivan and Daisy decide to pay a visit to Bristol while Kemp and Professor Jaggart keep their eyes out for the gang.

Yay/Nay: Undeniably one of the best shows of 2009, the series looks set to gain momentum in it's second year. More episodes (8 instead of 6) should help develop things out better and the slew of villains will definitely keep the gang busy. Ivan and Daisy in particular look promising though it's Jaggart and Kemp who are supposed to be the main threat of the second year.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fgoD8UpfnI

Song Of The Blog

Frank Kelly - 12 Days Of Christmas

It's different and pretty Irish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQkF7fpw-wI

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I've been a bit slack on the spoiler front lately, haven't I? Time to mend my ways.

Glee - TV3 in Ireland are airing the first episode tomorrow night at 9.30pm and have been overdoing the promotions all week long so in over 24 hours I can see what the fuss is about. E4 are premiering it Monday 9pm from January 11th, according to DigitalSpy.

Brothers And Sisters - No UK date for Season 4 yet but recently Matthew Rhys directed the episode, Pregnant Pause and it seems that Rebecca's pregnancy is going ahead. Cheryl Hines is also appearing as Kitty's friend, Buffy. No, that's what they're calling her.

True Blood - Pam's going all sapphic on us in the third season as Kristen Bauer is finally made a regular. Denis O'Hare has been cast as King Of Mississippi vampire, Russell Edgington with Theo Alexander cast as his lover, Talbot. Marshall Allman will be Sam's long lost brother and the first two episodes of the third season are called Pack Of Wolves and Beautifully Broken. The character of Crystal Norris will debut in the second one.Grant Bowler is also playing werewolf biker, Coot.

Dexter - FXUK are airing the fourth season in May but it looks like we're going to have some interesting times ahead, especially as two characters married in secret in the most recent US episode.

Desperate Housewives - There's a plane, an episode where Susan does a strip tease, more on the Bolens and Jane Leeves being cast as a therapist for Tom Scavo. Season 6 doesn't sound that exciting so far if I'm being candid.

Lost - Season 6 cast shot were released this week, so have a look ... http://thetvaddict.com/2009/12/10/this-just-in-your-first-look-at-losts-season-6-promotional-photos/

Ashes To Ashes - The third season is nearly finished filming and it looks like a certain Life On Mars may return according to series creator Matthew Graham.Daniel Mays will also be playing a vital role in the final season, based in 1983.

The Impressions Show - Brief Review

Anne Robinson: "Well who gets a black eye if he runs down the stairs and he's not wearing a sports bra?"
Simon Cowell: "Ouch that hurt, not the insult, just looking at your face."

You can't exactly move for the amount of impressions shows that are out there and like many, there's a hit and miss quality. Ridiculously shunted to a Saturday 9pm timeslot, Jon Culshaw's latest outing is interesting indeed.

Teaming up with Debra Stephenson (Bad Girls, Corrie), The Impression Show sees the duo spoofing pretty much every easy target known to the British public. In the space of five weeks we've seen Colleen Rooney treat Wayne literally like a dog, Davina McCall and Claudia Winkleman gush over hideous dresses, Cheryl Cole's footballer's wife take on Cinderella, Gene Hunt's audition for Doctor Who and my personal favourite, Simon Cowell vs. Anne Robinson. Sports bras and chimp descendents indeed.

The show won't win points for originality and some of the sketches themselves have done much funnier on the likes of Dead Ringers (the Alan Sugar ones for example) but Culshaw and Stephenson have a wonderful rapport and for the more part, the jokes are genuinely funny, plus Stephenson's resemblance to Davina is a little unnerving.

Check out some clips here ... http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+impression+show&search_type=&aq=f

Buffy - Who Is Twilight?

Why it's Barack Obama of course, except not. This is a spoof cover but the identity behind Season 8's foe will be revealed in Issue 33 at long last. Issue 31 due for January release is called Turbulence while Issues 32-35 are called Twilight and will finally give the much needed answers on this guy's identity.

In other news, the comics are set to become webisodes, which I hope for Joss Whedon's sake fare better than Dollhouse did.

Doctor Who - Dreamland

Weirdish animation but better than The Infinity Quest.

- Cassie and Jimmy were decent stand in companions. Georgia Moffett is definitely keeping her involvement with this franchise.

- Azlok made for an okay villain, though the Viperox's motives were too breathtakingly original.

- Some of the series music worked, some didn't.

- The alien couple looked really stereotypically alien, didn't they?

Review for this story is up here and Blogspot. The End Of Time Part 1 airs Christmas Day on BBC1 at 6pm.

Merlin - 2x10/2x11: Sweet Dreams/The Witch's Quickening

The season is hitting it's stride and these were an interesting mix.

- Georgia Moffett played the spoilt Vivian pretty well. The end scene with her was funny. Still under the spell.

- Arthur and Gwen's snog was a long time coming. Break the rules, prove Gwen wrong.

- Morgana helping Alvarr and Mordred and her open contempt for Uther, love it.

- The preview for the next episode revealed a welcome return.

The Fires Of Idirsholas airs tomorrow at 6pm on BBC1. The show has been renewed for a third season. Isn't that brilliant?

True Blood - 2x03/2x04: Scratches/Shake And Fingerpop

Losing further objectivity. This show is getting insanely brilliant.

- Sookie got attacked by a creature that has to be linked to Maryann.

- Jessica and Hoyt are sweet. Unsure of Tara/Eggs or Sam/Daphne.

- Love the Dallas antics and Lafayette tasting Eric's blood.

- Maryann's orgies are getting out of hand. And Jason needs to get away from Steve and Sarah Newlin.

Review for both episodes are up here and Blogspot. I'll catch up with Never Let Me Go and Hard-Hearted Hannah soon. Season 2 premieres on FXUK from February 2010.

The Week In Who (Spoilers)

- A look at the latest trailer for The End Of Time and BBC Christmas idents ... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2009/12/master-or-prisoner-doctor-who-christmas.html

- Information on the Specials DVD ... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2009/12/end-of-time-dwm-416-spoilersspecials.html

- Filming in Croatia for Season 5 ... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2009/12/live-from-croatia-doctor-who-season-5.html

- David Tennant, Catherine Tate and Bernard Cribbins are on Never Mind The Buzzcocks on Wednesday on BBC2. Hamlet airs Boxing Day at 5pm on BBC2.

- The first 11th Doctor/Amy Pond books are Apollo 23, Night Of The Humans and The Forgotten Army and are due for a April 2010 release.

- Torchwood has been renewed for a fourth season of 13 episodes.

Song Of The Blog

Muse - Undisclosed Desires

I prefer it to their last one, which I did enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSCpbmqNpmQ

Something of a dull week. The November chills and rotten weather conditions certainly are being felt and in my neck of the woods, there's been some flooding and rising rivers. Not pleasant. Still have to do Christmas shopping. I never do that stuff early.

I've been reading some interesting spoilers for True Blood's third season, which starts filming next month. Apparently there's talk of roping in Michael Emerson for a role once Lost's sixth season finishes airing. We're also suposed to be getting Russell Edgington/Talbot, Alcide and by the sounds of it, Claudine and maybe Claude. I'm currently just getting into the second season now.

Speaking of Lost, the last season is due for February 9th on ABC with a double bill. Here's hoping we're in for one hell of an ender.

I don't need to remind US viewers but Dollhouse is back next Friday (Sci-Fi UK viewers get it in January 2010) and not only is Summer Glau making her appearing as Bennett but Alan Tudyk will be returning as Alpha during the seventh episode.

Glee is also a few weeks off here as well for UK viewers. Soon I'll see what the hype is about and as part of their November sweeps, Desperate Housewives are doing a plane crash. Resisting the urge to make 815/316 reference. Just about.

I also read to my misfortune that Holly may be getting a sister on Brothers And Sisters, who ends up dating Tommy. Come on, writers - viewers want less Harper screen time not more. Just give us Kevin/Scotty action instead and oh and dirtch Ryan seeing as this season is doing nothing to integrate him into things organically.

Fanfiction Stuff

I've been more of the stuff lately and varying it up a little.

Brothers And Sisters - Tied Up Too Tight

Kevin/Justin, office hostage situation. Didn't think I'd ever do fic for this show. Maybe I'll do a Kevin/Scotty slash thing next ... http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5477579/1/Tied_Up_Too_Tight

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - The Queen's Speech

It's festive themed. Will have allusions/spoilers for the Season 8 comics ... http://sword.borderline-angel.com/viewstory.php?sid=2598

True Blood - Out Of My Head

Sookie/Eric, hours after their first meeting. Not a romantic story but it's my first for that verse ... http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5525304/1/Out_Of_My_Head

Whoverse - Amy/Mistaken Identity/Blackout

The first is a spec piece on 11th Doctor/Amy Pond, the second is a 4th Doctor/Harry Sullivan story and the third a work in progress in a 10th Doctor/Torchwood one ... http://www.whofic.com/viewuser.php?uid=7893

Doctor Who - 4x16: The Waters Of Mars

One of the best, darkest episodes of the new series.

- Top marks to David Tennant and Lindsay Duncan. Adelaide was a wonderful second character for this one.

- We've done fixed points in time before but now the Doctor's arrogance got the better of him. I even kind of hated him by the end.

- Ood Sigma at the end. Harbinger of death much?

- The Dalek appearance was neat but expected. Gadget amused and the Mars shots were great as well as the score.

- That trailer. Wilf, Donna, the Master, Lucy, more Ood. Can it be Christmas Day now?

Review for this episode is up here and on Blogspot. Dreamland airs December 5th on BBC2 from 10am. The End Of Time Part 1 airs on Christmas Day.

Merlin - 2x08/209: The Sins Of The Father/The Lady Of The Lake

One was revealing, the other gave Merlin a girlfriend.

- Good casting with Emilia Fox as Morgause. She's got to come back, yes?

- Uther should've told Arthur the truth about Igraine. That's been apparent for some time now.

- Merlin and Freya were sweet. Pity she had to die.

- Arthur's fitness jokes made for an amusing subplot.

Sweet Dreams airs tomorrow at 6.05pm on BBC1.

The Sarah Jane Adventures - 3x09-3x12: Mona Lisa's Revenge/The Gift

Good but this show can deliver better.

- Mona Lisa was done rather comically in places. Worked most of the time I guess.

- Luke actually acted like a teenage boy and nearly died.

- Next time no finale featuring Slitheen or Blathereen. I want the Trickster.

- Picnic scene at the end was really cute.

Review for these episodes are up here and on Blogspot. Season 3 is available on DVD in 2010.

True Blood - 2x02: Keep This Party Going

Um, this was brilliant. Objectivity's going out the window here.

- Maryann can start orgies and turn Sam into a dog. Danger ahead.

- Although there's chemistry, Tara should tread carefully with Eggs. Or run the opposite direction.

- Sookie/Bill/Jessica. Interesting dynamic. Of course Jessica was gonna turn on her dad.

- Eric/Lafayette - also interesting. Pam's also at her sarcastic best.

- Jason needs to get away from those Fellowship freaks and fast.

Review for this episode is up here and on Blogspot. I'll get round to Scratches and Shake And Fingerpop soon.

V - 1x02-1x04: There Is No Normal Anymore/A Brand New Day/It's Only The Beginning

Not as good as the opening episode but it's still watchable.

- At least Erica, Jack, Ryan and George are trying to be smart with dealing with the V's.

- I like Lisa but Tyler is still a bland idiot.

- Anna's gameplaying is good. Chad is so getting reeled in by her right hand man.

- Trailer for 2010 was terrible. And Dale was wasted.

The show debuts on Sci-Fi UK in 2010.

The Week In Who (Spoiler Warning, Seriously!)

- Above is the picture for The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter, due for a January 2010 release.

- David Tennant has filmed his role in Catherine Tate's A Christmas Carol (Nan as Scrooge, people) and is also filming a pilot for NBC called Rex Is Not Your Lawyer. He's also reading CBBC stories on Christmas Eve.

- Analysis of the trailer for The End Of Time Part 1 here ... http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2009/11/darkness-only-heralds-one-thing-doctor.html

- Spoilers for Season 5 and the Children In Need trailer here ...http://shawnlunn2002.blogspot.com/2009/11/that-man-is-dead-doctor-who-christmas.html

- Karen Gillan's cousin, Caithlin Blackwood has been cast in an episode for Season 5. Richard Curtis has announced that Tony Curran will play Van Gogh in his episode.

- Expect idents as part of Project 3 during the Christmas period.

- Season 3 of Secret Diary Of A Call Girl will air on Showtime from January 25th, so ITV2 will be airing it earlier than that.

- Christopher Eccleston and Carey Mulligan have been cast in a film together.

Song Of The Blog

Shakira - Did It Again

It's not bad and it's been on the radio frequently enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_kHUpkfaAs