Slow Burn Or Quick Fix?

News broke overnight (UK) that Fox have cancelled fledgling series Alcatraz after one season. The JJ Abrams written show, about the titular island prison and inmates who vanished in the 1960s suddenly re-appearing in the present, had fan backing but didn’t generate the numbers – or excitement – the execs wanted.

This isn’t the first show to be cancelled before it had a chance to get going, and it won’t be the last, but the event did get me thinking about what it now takes to get a series made and keep it on air.

JJ Abrams got a lot of flak for his last big TV series LOST, fans and commentators said the central mysteries went on too long unanswered and when they finally were, the answer wasn’t quite as earth-shattering as it was led to be believed. There are shows out there that seem to have the staying power, Smallville managed ten years before fans got the final – if fleeting – payoff of the iconic shirt-ripping-big S- on-the-chest reveal. Supernatural has just been renewed for its 8th season, Dexter is in its 6th year, Fringe its 4th (although it is already known the 5th season will be the last). So why is it some shows seem to last and others don’t?

I think a lot of it is down the society we now live in. People today are used to instant access, instant results, instant answers. We live our lives in social media where questions and conversations exist within 140 characters. When presented with shows where we are expected to wait years before we get the answer to the big mystery baulks us and we tend to give it a miss. The long running shows I mention above have managed, in varying degrees, to side-step this problem by keeping the series spanning story arc going, but having mini-stories interspersed throughout. They’ve not expected the viewer to give up years of their lives to find out why this happened or why “X” said that.

I like shows that follow a plan, have a story to tell. I suppose I can happily sit and watch a show for 10 years, because I’m from the generation when social media and instant payoffs didn’t exist. For shows to survive beyond their first season – and some sadly barely even managed that – I feel they need to embrace the culture that dominates the world we live in. They need to be a little more forthcoming, give out a little more than they are, trust the viewer to stick around even if we do know some of the answers.

 

Game Of Thrones S1 Blu-ray Review

Game Of Thrones – The Complete Season One

Showrunners – David Benioff & DB Weiss

Staring – Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Lena Headey, Michelle Fairley, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Harry Lloyd, Jason Momoa, Aiden Gillen, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Richard Madden, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Kit Harrington, Jack Gleeson, Rory McCann and many many more…

Summers span decades, winters can last a lifetime, the great houses of Westeros like nothing better than playing their games. And the biggest game of the all has begun, the battle for the Iron Throne itself. From the south where the heat breeds plots and can cook a man alive, to the far north where a 800 foot wall protects the Seven Kingdoms from the dark that lies beyond.

 Kings, Queens, Knights and Lords, liars, renegades and honest men, all have a  part to play in the game of thrones.

I’d read the books by the time the first episode of season one of Game Of Thrones aired. It’s an ambitious undertaking, turning a series of – so far – five books into a series for TV. It would be ambitious turning what many view as the modern generations Lord Of The Rings into a film series, but TV, and only ten episodes per season?

Whatever David Benioff and DB Weiss are taking I hope they never run out. They’ve managed to condense an epic book into a ten, sixty minute episodes, and not only have they managed it but they managed to do it so it appeals to fans and newcomers alike.

With a main cast that would swamp most films, brilliantly backed up by a supporting cast that seemed at some stages to employ every notable character actor in England, the series unfolds excellently, introducing the viewer to Westeros and its people without missing a beat.

Wit a cast this size it could be easy to overdo things meaning the actors become swamped and disappear into the scenery. But they don’t, everyone has their moment to shine. Characters jump full blown and expertly visualised from the page.

Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) is suitably slimy, Sandor Clegane (Rory McCann) is the Hound, King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) is larger than life and twice as loud, Lord Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) is as cold as the North and loyal to the end.

Added to these there was standout performances from Maisie Williams as feisty Arya Stark and Peter Dinklage as the Imp, Tyrion Lannister.

As a fantasy series it delivers, there are mysteries, legends and dragons. As a serious piece of drama it excels on multiple levels, drawing in people who would not normally go anywhere near anything with fantasy in the description.

Season 1 was the best drama on TV in 2011, adapting the first book to perfection.

 

Avengers Assemble – Movie Review

Avengers Assemble

Directed By: Joss Whedon

Staring : Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L Jackson.

Commander Nick Fury of SHIELD assembles Earth’s mightiest superheroes to battle an invading alien army led my demi-god Loki. But first the Avengers have to learn to work as a team and trust eachother. 

This film has been brewing on the horizon since Samuel L Jackson appeared as Nick Fury in the after credits scene in the first Iron Man film. For many fans of superhero’s, and of Marvel in particular, this is the film that had to get things right. I grew up reading Marvel comics, my favourites Thor, Hulk and Spiderman. I’d read some of the Avengers so had a passing knowledge of who and what the characters were.

Over that past few months we’re been spoiled with countless trailers, each showing off the individual characters, each giving snippets of what was to come. Just on viewing those trailers alone it was clear that giving Joss Whedon the writer/director duties was a great move and one that ensured this ensemble piece worked.

From the opening scenes setting up Loki and his plans we were straight into the action with a set piece in a SHIELD base, from there on in each of the main players was drawn into the film and each given their time to shine. This is very much a group effort and differs wilding from previous attempts at superhero group films. With the X-Men franchise they made the mistake of focusing too much on Wolverine, it would have been easy to go that route here and make the film all about Iron Man, but thankfully Whedon didn’t and in doing so made a much more focused and enjoyable film.

It’s hard to say which actor/character stands out the best, but there is one that – for me – makes the film. All of the main characters have had thier own films to establish themselves, in Iron Man’s case he’s had two. But Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk has had no set up time, he is thrust straight into the story without the comfort blanket of a previous film. Its because of this I find his interpretation of Bruce Banner and the Hulk stand out from the rest. His quiet man just trying to get by is a contrast to the unleashed fury that is the Hulk. And unlike any other big screen version this Hulk has a character all to himself. There are two scenes that highlight the Hulk as more than just a monster that smashes things up, the first where he back hands Thor with a smile on his face, and the second where he proves to Loki what puny humans can do.

There was another character that stood out for me, Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury. I’d read some of SHIELDs adventures back in the day, but it wasn’t until watching this film I realised what a dark character he is. I know he’s a spy and commander of a covert network pledged to protecting America/the World from threats, but in the Avengers he was much more than that. He played people, manipulated them to do what he wanted. In some ways his actions reminded me of 24s Jack Bauer, in that he would do anything, sacrifice anyone, to get the job done. His actions after the death of a fan favourite character were pretty cold, he virtually used the situation to bully Captain America and Iron Man into taking action. Did it need to be done, I guess yes, at this point in the film the team were dead in the water and it needed someone like Fury to look at the bigger picture.

This is a fantastic film, it ticks all the right boxes. As a fan of Marvel superheroes this is a film I’ve waited 30 + years for, and it was well worth the wait.

 

Game Of Thrones S2 – Full Episode Titles List & S3

The full list of titles for S2 of HBO’s Game Of Thrones has been posted online.

1: The North Remembers
Already aired: 1 April 2012 (US) – 2nd April (UK)

2: The Night Lands
Already aired: 8 April 2012 (US) & 9th April (UK)

3: What is Dead May Never Die
Airdate: 15 April 2012 (US) & 16th April (UK)

4: Garden of Bones
Airdate: 22 April 2012 (US) & 23rd April (UK)

5: The Ghost of Harrenhal
Airdate: 29 April 2012 (US) & 30th April (UK)

6: The Old Gods and the New
Airdate: 6 May 2012 (US) & 7th May (UK)

7: A Man Without Honor
Airdate: 13 May 2012 (US) & 14th May (US)

8: The Prince of Winterfell
Airdate: 20 May 2012 (US) & 21st May (UK)

9: Blackwater
Airdate: 27 May 2012 (US) & 28th May (UK)

10: Valar Morghulis
Airdate: 3 June 2012 (US) & 4th June (UK)

HBO have already renewed the show for a third season – not as some had hoped third & fourth – with filming no doubt due to start again in the Autumn and run through to the end of the year. No confirmation on when it will air, but it’s expected April 2013. Already confirmed – by George RR Martin himself – episode seven will be penned by Martin himself and has the running title of Autumn Storms, though this may not be the actual title of the episode.

It is expected that S3 will cover the first half of the third book in A Song Of Ice And Fire, A storm Of Swords. ASoS is half as long again as A Game Of Thrones so it was always expected they would have to split it over two seasons. Where the split will happen is anyone’s guess, there are several major events in  the third book, any which would make an excellent season cliffhanger.

And anyone interested why – considering the amount of posts I make about the series – I’ve not posted any reviews, I will be, but will do them in batches.

HBO And The Big Game Of Thrones S2 Push

With a week to go (in the UK, the US would have seen it last night) until S2 of Game Of Thrones premiers on Sky Atlantic, HBO have released two new videos featuring the new characters and new locations coming up in the next ten weeks.

Stannis Baratheon, Mellisandre, Davos Seaworth, Lord Balon Greyjoy, Maergery Tyrell, Qhorin Halfhand…

And we go beyond the Wall, to Qarth, the Riverlands and points between

A Call To Arms – Game Of Thrones S2

It’s war. Many lay claim to the Iron Throne of Westeros, across the Seven Kingdoms the banners have been called and men are marching.

But who do you support, where does your sword stand.

House Baratheon? But King Stannis or King Renly?

Or does your heart belong to the North and you bend the knee to King Robb Stark?

What about the Lannister’s? They always pay their debts, but is King Joffrey worthy of your loyalty?

Or does your heart answer to the call of the sea and you’re one of the Ironborn and follow King Balon Greyjoy?

Or do you follow the path of the dragon and bend the knee to Queen Danearys Targaryan?

 

 

Another Game Of Thrones Trailer – “The More You Love”

HBO have released another trailer for S2 of Game Of Thornes.

This one concentrates on the relationships within the series and features some of the fantastic female characters.

 

 

 

 

 

HBO Release Another Game Of Thrones S2 Trailer

HBO have released another trailer for season 2 of Game Of Thrones.

There are some scenes already seen, but there is also a lot of new material. I especially like the glimpses we get of the George RR Martin penned episode entitled Blackwater. 

Those that have read the books know’s what happens, and its looking like a TV budget will do it proud.

April 1st Is Comming.

The Hobbit Production Blog #6

Peter Jackson has posted a new production blog for The Hobbit. This one covers the location shooting that has been going on and is full of some fantastic shots of the scenery we will be seeing in a little over 9 months time.

Some great insights into what goes into the making of a movie. And interesting that halfway point of filming the two Hobbit films is day 127, but halfway for the three Rings films was day 133. Is 3D filming more demanding, are they fitting a lot more into two films than they did previously into three?

December seems a long way away, but hopefully between now and then we will have  a few more of these blogs, and at least a couple of trailers. My guess is San Diego Comic Con for a big promotional push.

 

Avengers – New Trailer & Title

Marvel Pictures have released a new trailer for what promises to be this summers – if not every summer for the rest of time – biggest movie...

Along with the new trailer comes a new title, now called Marvel Avengers Assemble. This is shaping up to be a fantastic film, all the elements that have made the individual Iron Man, Thor, Captain America films a success are included, now with added Hulk.

And for anyone worried about the apparent Transformer-like machine seen chasing Iron Man at the end, this appears to be from comic-canon. There is speculation that it is Fin Fan Foom – a villain from the Iron Man comics – which is actually a disguised Midgard Serpent, a creature from Viking mythology, which would explain why it is there with Loki.

Looks to be an action packed film, just what is needed for a summer blockbuster.