In the trenches with Downton Abbey 2

It’s been a long road for young Matthew Crawley who started out as a middle-class Manchester solicitor and heir apparent of Downton Abbey. For the upcoming second series of the critically acclaimed, audience mega-hit, he now finds himself deep in the trenches of the First World War. “It was miserably cold and wet and muddy,” […]

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The Hour. A British Mad Men? Uh, no.

It can be both a blessing and a curse to be linked to a previous hit program or series. Calling a comedy “…the next Seinfeld” or a drama “…the next Sopranos” can be great for a few fleeting moments, but then you have to deliver. Tonight’s U.S. premiere of The Hour (after a July premiere […]

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The Prisoner – Lost of the 60's?

In television, series finales are a completely different ballgame from season finales, for one simple reason. The individual who originally envisioned the series, the writer, knows going into the finale, that what the viewer will ultimately see, will be a program that ties up all loose ends and all questions will be answered. Uh, right. […]

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1st meeting of the Sherlock support group….welcome!

Unbeknownst to Sherlockology, the ‘unofficial’ organizer of the worldwide Sherlock support group, the first meeting of the season has called to order. For those wishing to join, we will be virtually meeting periodically between now and 2012. Amidst rain, riots and rumors, cast and crew plodded along this past week as they continued the filming of “A […]

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Leverage renewed for 5th season

I do feel obligated to write about Leverage, which has just been renewed for a 5th season on TNT. With all my rants about poorly done American re-makes of British imports, time to eat a few of those rants and talk Leverage. While there has never been any “official” declaration that the TNT series, Leverage, […]

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PBS House Call set for Sept 30

Old news to some, new to others. Either way, this is news that bears repeating off and on for the next 4-6 weeks so bear with me…until September 30, anyway. During the PBS portion of the recent Television Critics Association summer press tour, Hugh Laurie made a quick ‘house call’ to chat up his upcoming […]

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Helen Mirren warned about upcoming HBO project

Dame warned of ‘consequences’ Just a little Helen Mirren follow-up to Wednesday’s post about Prime Suspect vs Prime Suspect. As some may be aware, the Oscar winner has a key role in an upcoming, somewhat controversial, HBO project about the infamous record producer, Phil Spector. According to the New York Post, Mirren, along with Al Pacino, […]

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Spooks S10 signals final lockdown of Section D

On a day that most everyone knew was going to come at some point, but never wanted to admit, comes the news that Spooks (MI5 in the States) will come to an end after, what producers call, a ‘thrilling finale’ for series 10. Known for its propensity to kill off both major and minor characters […]

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Prime Suspect vs Prime Suspect

I’m afraid you’ll know where I stand in the matter of seconds….if it takes that long. The only thing in common between the iconic Granada Television series, produced for ITV and PBS, and the upcoming NBC series starring Maria Bello, is the title. To be fair, it might not be a fair fight just yet […]

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