~ cvodb

Gangsta!

Posted: August 28th, 2010 | Filed under: Television | | No Comments »

First I heard of this. Boardwalk Empire, a new series on HBO from Terence Winter (writer, The Sopranos) and Martin Scorcese based on a book by Nelson Johnson. It is set in Atlantic City, New Jersey during the Prohibition era and stars Steve Buscemi. Starts September 17.

via Vandenb


Merlin returns to the BBC

Posted: August 27th, 2010 | Filed under: Television, Video | | No Comments »

Series 3 of Merlin starts September 11th. After an eye-rollingly bad first season, the second season was surprisingly good. Fingers crossed.


House – Love/Sick – Season 7 poster

Posted: August 27th, 2010 | Filed under: Art, Relationships, Television | | No Comments »

Hugh Laurie, that’s House MD to you, has the hell airbrushed out of him for this poster for the new season of House which starts September 20.

Via Ausiello


Sherlock 2.0, we have the technology

Posted: July 30th, 2010 | Filed under: Television, Video | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments »

Odd. I can watch individual video’s as posted by the BBC on YouTube, but I can’t see their channel on it due to country restrictions. Dear BBC, I pay money to UPC cable which allows me to view BBC 1, 2, 3 and 4 here in The Netherlands. Why can’t I watch your channel on YouTube?

But I digress. Here’s actor Benedict Cumberbatch who plays Sherlock in the new BBC One drama series talking about how gadgets and technology bring his character into the 21st Century, in Steven Moffat’s modern adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. Tim Freeman plays Watson. Here he is talking about his character.

The first episode aired last weekend and turned out to be a very tasty mix of House, Spooks and a more adult version of Doctor Who. So much better than that abomination Guy Richie whipped up for the big screen. Interestingly Cumberbatch was offered the role of the Doctor before Matt Smith got it, but turned it down because he didn’t want to be part of its franchise. The next episode of Sherlock (I believe there are three in this series) will air this Sunday. The BBC are looking into ordering more episodes, but they will have to wait for Moffat to finish his work on Who. Which can’t be soon enough.

Have a look at the trailer too.


Caprica Season 1.5 preview

Posted: July 27th, 2010 | Filed under: Television, Video | | No Comments »

The gibbons at SyFy have decided to delay the start of Caprica 1.5 to January 2011. Much gnashing of teeth ensues. Looks like there’s going to be more action in it… a shift towards the feel of it’s mother series BSG, perhaps.

Meanwhile Airlock Alpha claims there will be a second season. Hope their sources are solid.


Mad Men Season 4 promo

Posted: July 25th, 2010 | Filed under: Television | | No Comments »

The TV series Mad Men returns tonight and here’s a ten minute promo for Season 4. I like the show more than I love it, not every episode (or season) has grabbed me. Since my dad was in advertising in the 60′s, there’s a bit of deja vu involved for me, which is fun. Don Draper, the series’ protagonist is a bit of a scoundrel and not a likeable one, but fortunately he’s surrounded by some characters that are. Unfortunately ‘Sal’ will not be back this season, but I’m looking forward to finding out what’s in store for ‘Peggy’, ‘Joan’ and ‘Roger’.


House Season 6 promo playlist

Posted: August 29th, 2009 | Filed under: Television | Tags: , | No Comments »

Promos for the 6th season of House, including some ‘Snakes on a Cane’ teaser spots. The logo was designed by Hugh Laurie as a gift to the cast and crew, but the producers realised they could use it for marketing.

I have seen every single episode of House and don’t remember any of the medical story lines. I get my kicks out of watching Laurie play a smart prick every week and out of the interactions with the other regular cast members.

House returns to Fox television on September 21st.
Continue for spoilers!


Watching Whedon’s Dollhouse

Posted: January 23rd, 2009 | Filed under: Television | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

One of the many perks of running Whedonesque.com, is…

Hang on. There aren’t a lot of perks, really, other than the pleasure of being boss of a site that’s well respected and much quoted. Yeah, we got invited to the Serenity premiere in Los Angeles. But I live in Amsterdam. Which means I never get to go to premieres, conventions, screenings or other meetings. When the Paley Center in New York invited us for a panel discussion on television and online fandom, one of the USA based mods got to go, but I could not. And unlike many of our members, I’ve never met any of the actors, or Joss.

All of this is perfectly fine with me. Yeah, I run the site, but I also run U2log.com and a couple of other sites. I’m not the biggest fan, I don’t keep up with all the news, I don’t know episode titles by heart, I couldn’t tell you which of the writers wrote what. I like communities, but I don’t get too involved. (My pet theory is that people who like to run online communities are actually all mysanthropists deep down.) I consider this a good thing. A little distance from the subject matter is essential. It helps keep me objective. And possibly sane.

I do receive a fuckload of annoying PR in the Whedonesque inbox, all about stuff that means nothing to me, not being American, not living in America. And probably wouldn’t mean anything to me if I were American, living in America. But I digress.

Perks. I has one. A kind soul gave me access to the Dollhouse screener, which contained an unfinished version of ‘Ghost’, the first episode. In case you’ve been living in cave, Dollhouse is Joss Whedon’s new television series for Fox, starring Eliza Dushku and Battlestar Galactica’s Tahmoh Penikett. You can read a synopsis of the show on Wikipedia. It is set to premier on February 13.

I remember catching my first glimpse of Buffy on TV (it was the sixth episode of the series’ first season: ‘The Pack’) and feeling compelled to keep watching it, unable to flip to another channel. Like being drawn in by Bob Ross’s hypnotic voice.

Continued after the jump, contains spoilers


Ode to FNL

Posted: January 15th, 2009 | Filed under: Television | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

Oh Friday Night Lights, I am going to miss you so much if you don’t return. The show was rescued from cancellation by a last minute deal between NBC and DirectTV to create a 3rd season, shown first on DirectTV, then on NBC. The final episode of season 3 was aired on DirectTV last night. Whether or not we get a 4th season remains to be seen, it will have to do really well when it returns to NBC, starting tomorrow.

I love Battlestar Galactica, which I’d probably say was my favourite tv series the last couple of years, but it’s tough viewing. Friday Night Lights is easy viewing, but still smart. It sits comfortably between adult drama and teen soap. It has been the most life affirming, heart warming, tear jerking – in a good way -, uplifting thing in my torrent list for the last three years. And I don’t want to say goodbye to these characters just yet.

‘Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t Lose.’


Sleb BB

Posted: January 5th, 2009 | Filed under: Television | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

It’s that time of the year again where we’d watch anything just to keep our minds off the cold even Celebrity Big Brother. How’s that for an excuse?

We’re only a day or two in and so far I’m not really favouriting anyone, but Terry Christian and Tina ‘shag-hair’ Malone’s voices are getting on my nerves already and Ulrikakaka’s a cow – good on Terry for nominating her first. In fact, uncharacteristically I’m not warming to any of the Brits and find myself quite tolerant towards LaToya and Coolio. The rest of the crowd have been unremarkable so far. Go USA, I s’pose.

It’s a bit dull at the moment to be honest, hopefully there’ll be some action soon.