John Byrne gives his round-up of this week on the box.
The Doc Rocks!
Reviewed: Dr Who (Saturday, BBC ONE)
Although it’s not being getting the viewing numbers of old across in Britain, the sixth and latest season of the rebooted Dr Who has been little short of fascinating and is one of the TV highlights of 2011.
Not only has Matt Smith done a remarkable job of actually improving on David Tennant’s version over the last two seasons, this incarnation has also provided its strongest supporting cast and most adventurous storylines. In Karen Gillan’s Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill’s Rory, the Doctor has his most compelling partnership - and given what the late Elizabeth Sladen, Billie Piper and Catherine Tate contributed in the past, that’s saying something. Rory, in particular, adds an extra, impressive depth to this relationship. Really, they're playing a three-handed blinder and long may it continue.
In recent weeks we’ve also seen some brilliant stand-alone episodes, and a personal favourite was The Girl Who Waited: the one where Amy Pond gets stuck in a medical facility for 36 years, fighting all day every day to protect herself. Eventually, a way is found to release Amy, but now there are two of her.
This leaves the Doctor forcing Rory to choose between the current Amy, or the older, cynical version of his beloved wife. Poor Rory is torn as he adores the two of them – after all, they’re both Amy – but both can’t exist in the same time. Ultimately, old Amy is left outside the TARDIS.
It was a genuinely moving and touching episode, and is a superb example for anyone who doubts that this wonderful series has moved way beyond its traditional position as a piece of child-like sci-fi with cardboard scenery, and exclusive viewing for naive under-12s (if such a being exists any more).
Sure, things have gotten a lot more complicated since the show revived, particularly this season as the Doctor was killed, only for him to reappear alive from 200 years before; Amy has given birth to a baby that becomes Alex Kingston’s River Song; and as the Doctor makes his final journey to face destiny (and death?) on the shores of Lake Silencio in Utah, Who fans everywhere will be glued to the box on Saturday to see what happens in the season finale.
Great, era-defining TV, and a credit to all involved.
Pick of the Week
Shirley (Thursday, BBC TWO)
Leading BBC Two's Mixed Race season, Ruth Negga heads an all-star cast in Shirley, an intimate and revealing drama that looks at the life of Shirley Bassey – one of the world’s most enduring and successful divas.
The film charts Bassey's early career, from her humble roots in Wales in the Thirties to the start of her rise to international stardom in the Sixties.
For Ruth Negga this marks another chapter in her impressive acting career, and she certainly looks as though she was born to play this role. Still in her 20s, she’s appeared in movies such as Neil Jordan’s Breakfast On Pluto, TV series such as Love/Hate and Misfits, and has a stage CV that could double as a map of London’s West End theatre district. Currently, she’s playing alongside Niamh Cusack and her Love/Hate co-star, Robert Sheehan, in an Old Vic production of JM Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World.
New this week
Merlin (Saturday, BBC ONE)
This King Arthur prequel has always been great fun, but things started to get a lot darker last season and fans can look forward to more of the same as the show returns for season four. Merlin faces his toughest challenge yet when Morgana's blinkered determination threatens not only Arthur's future, but also the very balance of the world. With her magic stronger than ever, the sorceress summons the mighty Callieach to tear open the veil between the worlds. With King Uther now just a shadow of his former self, it falls to Arthur and his knights to protect Camelot.
Fringe (Wednesday, Sky One)
Back for a fourth season, this sci-fi tale has been the most-improved US show of recent years and stars Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv and the brilliant John Noble in a mind-boggling tale about alternate universes that almost defies description, but is well worth investigating even if you’ve never seen it before. Regular fans are seriously hooked at this stage.
For newbies, here’s a brief outline of the story so far on Fringe:
Olivia Denham (Anna Torv), Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) and Walter Bishop (Peter’s dad, played by John Noble) investigate peculiar cases determined as ‘fringe science’ . . .
Walter’s a scientist who previously discovered a parallel universe inhabited with the same people, but with a different history... When this world’s Peter died, Walter took the alternate Peter from the alternate universe, creating strange events known as the Pattern...
Olivia’s doppelganger (known by fans as Bolivia or Fauxlivia), was sent to this world and got pregnant by Peter... Walter’s doppelganger (aka Walternate) is a much more authoritative and malignant figure than the quirky one of this world, and he builds a device capable of destroying universes...
At the end of season three, Peter prevented the destruction of this world, but as a result of his actions he has disappeared without a trace...
Now there’s a third version of the universe, one in which Peter never existed...
Confused? Well, that’s just part of the fun of Fringe!
Ending this week
Britain and Ireland’s Next top Model (Monday, Sky Living)
Thousands of girls auditioned, 13 were chosen to compete, and now, after nine weeks of competition, only two remain as the finalists go head-to-head in a catwalk show for international designer Mark Fast, whose fans include Kylie and Rihanna.
Documentary of the week
Rex Appeal (Wednesday, BBC4)
We’ve learned an awful lot more about dinosaurs over the last 40 years than was previously known, even on an archaeological level, never mind Joe Soap. Here, scientists and film critics examine how Hollywood has treated prehistoric creatures through the ages in movies such as Jurassic Park, and the often-filmed Godzilla.
Repeat of the week
Dallas (Friday, CBS Drama)
With a reboot finally on the way – it should be on our screens around next September - here’s a chance to see the original, oil-filled soap opera about the Ewing family, starring the legendary Larry Hagman as the ruthless tycoon JR Ewing, and Patrick Duffy as his more likeable brother, Bobby.
Guest stars of the week
It’s going to be very difficult to outdo The Jonathan Ross Show (Saturday, UTV) as even Wossie has outdone himself by landing an interview with the one and only Alan Partridge (ah-hah!), who will be on the show to talk about his new book I, Partridge: We Need To Talk About Alan. For a change, Steve Coogan will be taking a back seat and letting his alter ego do the talking. Also on JR’s show are Scottish-born Hollywood star Ewan McGregor, and X Factor judges Gary Barlow and Tulisa. Cee Lo Green will be the musical guest... The ubiquitous Alan Dale (you know, the guy who played Jim Robinson in Neighbours) adds yet another US show to his lengthy CV with a guest star role in FX’s fun spy drama Burn Notice. A tenner says he plays a strong figure of authority... Meanwhile, on Friday’s QI (BBC TWO) Stephen Fry’s guests are Phil Jupitus, Rich Hall and Jimmy Carr.
Casting Couch Corner
Who’s heading to what show
House may be on the way back for an eighth (and likely final) season, but the most-watched TV show on the planet will no longer feature Lisa Edelstein as Cuddy. The diminutive actress (she’s 11” smaller than House lead Hugh Laurie) has taken a giant leap by quitting the classy for another great show: The Good Wife. Considering the latter’s on a roll as it heads for season three, it could prove to be a very wise move...
Former Life on Mars star Philip Glenister – who played the fascinatingly retro detective Gene Hunt – will soon be returning to the BBC. He features alongside acclaimed Dutch actress Thekla Reuten (In Bruges, The American) in a conspiracy thriller called Hidden...
Due later this Autumn on BBC ONE is Young Herriot, a three-part prequel to the hugely popular All Creatures Great and Small, which told tales from the life of vets in Yorkshire from the late 1930s to the 1950s.
Young Herriot starts in 1933, before James Herriot joined the Yorkshire vet practice, and the young student version is played by The Fades’ Iain De Caestecker, while Amy Mason (Outcasts) and Ben Lloyd-Hughes (The Hours) are his university friends Emma and Rob.
Sat Nav
Satellite Highlights
The Secret Circle (Wednesday, Sky Living)
Cassie (Britt Robertson, who played Lux Cassidy in the hugely underrated Life Unexpected) moves to Chance Harbor, Washington, after her mother dies and discovers she is one of several high school girls who are descendants from powerful witches. This teen drama is based on the books by LJ Smith (who also penned the Vampire Diaries books), and was adapted into a TV series by former Dawson’s Creek writer Kevin Williamson, who performed a similar role on the aforementioned Vampire Diaries.
Ringer (Thursday, Sky Living)
Back on TV after an eight-year absence, there’s understandably a lot of hype and expectation around the return of former Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Ringer certainly has a promising pitch, as this thriller sees her play estranged twin sisters, Bridget Keely and the married Siobhan Martin. Bridget is a recovering alcoholic who’s the sole witness in a murder trial who flees to New York to avoid the Mob. Sister Siobhan lives in the exclusive Hamptons, living an apparent ideal life with her rich husband Andrew (Ioan Gruffudd, Fantastic Four). But when Siobhan disappears, Bridget decides to take on her identity and discovers that her twin’s life isn’t quite the fairytale it seems.
What You Watched
RTÉ’s top 20 programmes (viewed as live) for the week ending 28.08.2011
Figures in multiples of a thousand (eg: 300 = 300,000)
RTÉ One
1 The Rose of Tralee Tuesday 775
2 The Rose of Tralee Tuesday 560
3 The Rose of Tralee Monday 557
4 Fair City Wednesday 475
5 Fair City Sunday 463
6 Fair City Wednesday 434
7 Reeling in the Years Wednesday 433
8 The Rose of Tralee Monday 418
9 Reeling in the Years Tuesday 396
10 Reeling in the Years Thursday 382
11 Reeling in the Years Monday 377
12 O'Gorman Sunday 377
13 Prime Time Thursday 373
14 EastEnders Tuesday 370
15 Mrs Brown's Boys Thursday 363
16 Reeling in the Years Friday 363
17 Stars Go Racing Wednesday 355
18 EastEnders Friday 349
19 Fair City Thursday 341
20 The Client Friday 335
It’s a complete non-surprise that the annual Rose of Tralee coverage dominates the business end of the chart, with only Fair City preventing a clean sweep of the top four places. What’s truly impressive is the massive 775,000 that watched the Tuesday finale. Elsewhere, Reeling in the Years maintains its stunning ability to attract viewers in what – apart from The Rose of Tralee – is a pretty mundane week.
RTÉ Two
1 The Sunday Game Live Sunday 686
2 The Sunday Game Live Sunday 294
3 Die Another Day Sunday 218
4 The Sunday Game Sunday 172
5 Champions League Qualifier Live Wednesday 164
6 EastEnders Monday 145
7 Sherlock Monday 144
8 History's Secrets: Titanic's Nuclear Secret Sunday 136
9 The Good Wife Thursday 131
10 Super Cup Friday 130
11 Premier Soccer Saturday Saturday 98
12 The Good Wife Thursday 96
13 The Simpsons Thursday 96
14 Inside the Perfect Predator Tuesday 93
15 Wild Russia Thursday 90
16 Sherlock Tuesday 89
17 The Simpsons Tuesday 83
18 The New World Friday 81
19 Neighbours Wednesday 80
20 International Rugby Saturday 77
Another good week for sport on the second channel, with The Sunday Game Live taking three of the top four slots, while sport accounts for a total of seven places in the top 20. Sherlock debuted on the Monday with a very healthy 144,000 in seventh spot, while just 89,000 watched Tuesday’s second. The Good Wife maintains its appeal and takes 9th and 12th place with this week’s double episode.
John Byrne
