Television is a dark, depressing place as of late.
Reality TV shows dominate the airwaves, broadcasting their "talent" to the mindless drones that gobble that shit up, game shows are becoming more and more redundantly garbage, and don't even get me started on The Only Way is Essex.
What happened to good old drama? Well, it's still there, and I'm taking a stand against the system by pointing you away from the trash and right to the treasure. So let me educate you with five shows you should be filling your viewing schedule with, ranging from "you should be watching this" to "WHY AREN'T YOU PRE-ORDERING THE ULTRA-DELUXE-LIMITED-COLLECTOR'S EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET RIGHT NOW?!".
I already covered HBO's prohibition drama Boardwalk Empire at number 5, so let's move on with...
#4 Doctor Who
Get any preconception that this is a show just for the kiddies out of your head right now. While it retains a lot of its familiar charm and humour, the modern series is a whole different beast than the overtly corny tea time extravaganza it used to be.
Since 2010 when lead writing duties passed from Russel T. Davies (who shall always be revered as the man who brought the Doctor back to our screens) to Steven Moffat the whole show took on a more adult-orientated vibe with head-scratching multi-season long plot arcs and enough sexual innuendo to make a sailor blush... Okay, well maybe not THAT much; it is still on before the watershed!
The general story of the show should need no introduction; human-looking alien travels across time and space in his multidimensional blue box spaceship, brining along various companions on the way for countless adventures. Last year's series 5 saw the introduction of the Doctor's eleventh incarnation (Matt Smith) (must be nice being able to hit "reset" upon death) and companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), a boisterous, ginger, Scottish girl who has a fondness for short skirts. The pair spend the next season and a half (as it stands at the time of writing this article) seeking out answers to a myriad of questions: What are the cracks in time? Who caused them? What are the 'Silence'? And, most importantly, who on Earth is River Song (Alex Kingston)? Ah yes, River and the Doctor's relationship remains unsolved (again, as this article goes to press but promised to be fully answered this season) as they keep bumping into each other time and time again in the wrong order, in a mixed up timeline of events.
With so many questions floating about, and the quality with which their mysteries and subsequent answers are told, it is easy to see that this is no longer simply a "children's show" but in fact one that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Everything from the acting to the production values is stellar, with a few moments of cheese and corny-ness slipping through the cracks; but would it really be Doctor Who if it didn't have cheese?! The series has being running since 1963 and has had its fair share of ups and downs along the way... Thankfully, with its current formula it is most definitely at its finest.
Expect a full review of Season 6, Part 1 once the final episode has aired on June 4th.
Season 6, Part 1 of Doctor Who is currently airing on BBC1 Saturdays at approximately 6:30pm (start times change on a weekly basis). Part 1 will end on the 7th episode of the season June 4th, before Part 2 returns in September with the remaining 6 episodes. The show is broadcast on Saturday evenings on BBC America and SPACE in the USA and Canada respectively.
No comments:
Post a Comment