Topic: Never Ending TV Marathon (short reviews)

[samuelrichardscott]

The Big Bang Theory: Season 5 (2011-2012)

Overview:
Leonard and Sheldon are brilliant physicists, the kind of "beautiful minds" that understand how the universe works. But none of that genius helps them interact with people, especially women. All this begins to change when a free-spirited beauty named Penny moves in next door. Sheldon, Leonard's roommate, is quite content spending his nights playing Klingon Boggle with their socially dysfunctional friends, fellow Caltech scientists Wolowitz and Koothrappali. However, Leonard sees in Penny a whole new universe of possibilities... including love.

My Thoughts:
Pros:
- Generally well cast, but I loved some of the guest stars this season, especially Stephen Hawking.
- The writing is still full of fun pop culture references.
- More time given to Stuart at the comic book store. He's a fun secondary character and I hope he continues the role.
- Wil Wheaton (or as Sheldon put it, "The kid from Stand By Me nobody remembers").
Cons:
- I much preferred the show when it was about the guys and Penny. The additional female characters, whilst fun at times, have been poor judgement by the writers.
- I just don't like Howard. The guy who plays him is funny in interviews but I hate his character.
Overall:
Not as good as previous seasons, but still enjoyable. 3.5/5

[Piffi]

I dont know what it is, but its something about "TBBT" that just dont do it for me.
I've tried to watch it many times, and it makes me giggles here and there. But its
not that funny for me, that i would want to buy whole seasons of it. I know i am
the weird one here! (hehe) Since the rest of the world just love this show. But there
is something about that show, that i just cant handle 

[samuelrichardscott]

The Grid: The Complete Miniseries (2004)

Overview:
All six episodes from the first season of the drama series following the investigations by an Anglo-American counter-terrorism unit into 'The Grid', an international terrorist cell operating on a global level. Dylan McDermott, Julianna Margulies and Jemma Redgrave star.

My Thoughts:
Pros:
- It's well written and a lot is squeezed into six episodes without becoming to condensed.
- There are some good action scenes and some well directed dramatic scenes from all angles.
- I liked the inter-agency aspect between the CIA, NSA, MI5 and MI6.
Cons:
- I like Julianna Margulies, but she felt miscast and out of her depth here.
- It felt like nothing more than a standard terrorism action-drama.
- No real stand out performances. All were rather standard.
Overall:
Worth a rental or a cheapo buy. 3/5

[samuelrichardscott]

The Walking Dead: Season 1 (2010)

Overview:
The Walking Dead is an epic, survival adventure series from the director of The Shawshank Redemption and the producer of The Terminator and Aliens After waking from a coma in an abandoned hospital, police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) finds the world he knew gone - ravaged by a zombie epidemic of apocalyptic proportions. Nearby, on the outskirts of Atlanta, a small encampment struggles to survive as 'the dead' stalk them at every turn. Can Rick and the others hold onto their humanity as they fight to live in this terrifying new world? And, amidst dire conditions and personal rivalries, will they ultimately survive one another?

My Thoughts:
Pros:
- This was as good as everybody raved on about and met my high expectations.
- Andrew Lincoln. Awesome in Teachers, and now getting known outside of the UK.
- I'm really happy with how character driven the show was over these first six episodes.
- Some cracking special effects and some very good gore for a television show.
Cons:
- Pacing was at times a little off in the first episode.
Overall:
A must-own. Highly recommended. 5/5

[DSig]

samuelrichardscott .. I highly agree.  And season 2 was very good.

I have recorded the first episodes this season and are getting ready to watch .. looking forward to it.

[samuelrichardscott]

Outnumbered: Series 1 (2007)

Overview:
Outnumbered follows the daily chaos of family life with two parents and three young children locked in an unequal contest. Containing strong elements of improvisation, this comedy is an honest portrayal of the well meaning parental incompetence that happens in most homes, as Mum and Dad attempt to raise their kids with the minimum of emotional damage for all concerned. From the creators of Drop The Dead Donkey, Andy Hamilton & Guy Jenkin, Outnumbered is quite unlike any other family comedy seen before.

My Thoughts:
Before today, I had only caught Outnumbered in passing and never really got into it because I dislike Hugh Dennis, especially on Mock the Week. However, after it was recommended to me here a long time back (by Achim on page 1 of this thread) I decided it was time to finally go for it. Well, it was great fun. The kids really do make this show but the adults also manage to work their lines extremely well considering the the kids improvise their own lines for the most part. It kind of lost me a little in the last ten minutes of episode six with the argument between Sue and Angela, but apart from that, I recommend this one to any fans of British comedy. 4/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Outnumbered: Series 2 (2008)

Overview:
All seven episodes from the second series of the BBC comedy about parents Pete (Hugh Dennis) and Sue (Claire Skinner) fighting to get the upper hand bringing up their three children. Rather than playing it just for gags, this part-improvised comedy, written by 'Drop the Dead Donkey' creators Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton, reflects the realities of family life, concentrating on those everyday botch-ups that happen when parents are desperately trying to raise their kids to become well-rounded individuals. If only.

My Thoughts:
The second series brings us pretty much more of the same stylings but with a lot less of Auntie Angela and a lot more of Grandad which are both great decisions IMO. The kids, as per series one, pretty much make the show with their very funny part-improvised dialogue and once again Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner do a great job in reacting and keeping the narrative flowing. A great family comedy I can happily recommend. 4/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days (1989)

Overview:
Michael Palin has taken on the task of duplicating Phileas Fogg's feat by attempting to circumnavigate the globe, beginning and ending at the Reform Club in London, in eighty days, using no air travel. He meets Python fans in Greece, eats snake in China, and generally goes from one adventure to another, all the while fighting to make his deadline.

My Thoughts:
Everyone knows the story of Phileas Fogg and his journey with Passepartout where they travel around the world in 80 days without the use of flying and here Palin recreates the route and attempts to also do the journey in 80 days or less. Filmed in standard BBC documentary style with a travelogue feel, Palin does a very good job of making sure he interviews an array of people from different cultures and walks of life whilst also giving the viewer background history on the countries he is visiting. The seven episodes fly by quite fast and although it hasn't aged terribly well, it is still a very interesting series. Recommended. 4/5

[Achim]

Glad you enjoyed Outnumbered! Especially since you watched it reluctantly due to one of the main actors...

Too bad kids grow up so this had to find it's natural end eventually. (They dragged it out just long enough for not quite jumping the shark.)

The kids are great, but the girl clearly is the best, even more so in earlier season where here antics are more natural.

[samuelrichardscott]

The Office: An American Workplace - Season 1 (2005)

Overview:
A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium. Based on the hit BBC series.

My Thoughts:
I'm a huge fan of the original BBC series with Ricky Gervais, Lucy Davis and Martin Freeman so when I heard the Americans wanted to ruin another British comedy show I was obviously unimpressed. Season 1 is almost a like for like copy, but it misses the awkwardness of the UK series by a country mile. The writing is obviously still reasonably strong, and I did find it watchable - but this is far inferior to the five star British series. I understand it gets a lot better when they stop copying UK verbatim and go their own route, but I won't find out unless it's cheap. A generous 2.5/5

[snowcat]

I love the American Office, I honestly prefer it to the British one now.

The first series is not that great and it definitely got better towards series 3-4

Id recommend getting if you could find it cheap. I know the second and third series are often in DVD sales around the net.

[Tom]

The American Office got strong in the second half of the second season and in the third season. In the beginning I didn't think it was possible, but now I also prefer the US version.

[samuelrichardscott]

I've set a low price alert for season 2 then. I'm willing to give later episodes a try as the potential is there. I think it's the fact it was almost a scene-for-scene remake that annoyed me...

[samuelrichardscott]

The Walking Dead: Season 2 (2011-2012)

Overview:
The end of civilization was just the beginning for Rick Grimes and the other survivors. As the fight to stay alive intensifies and personal rivalries continue to fuel, the group struggles to hold on to their humanity in a time where slim chances are all that is left.

My Thoughts:
I was a late comer to this show, avoiding the hype and not watching season 1 until last month. I immediately ordered season 2 and it's even better than I could've hoped. It's very character driven and the writers have not been scared to kill off big characters or very unlikely characters. The special effects are some of the best 'undead' effects I have ever seen, and it's no suprise when Greg Nicotero is the man in charge of that part of the show. The writing is also very good and I'm very glad they haven't gone overboard with the action sequences and made it repetitive. Oh, and what a finale. Season 3, please come out asap as you'll be getting pre-ordered. Highly recommended and is in with a good chance of being my second favourite show yet (it'll take a lot to shift The Shield off top spot). 5/5

[samuelrichardscott]

Dirty Sanchez: Series 2 (2002)

Overview:
Just as it seemed impossible to top the gross madness of Dirty Sanchez Series 1, MTV decided to make a 2nd series and send the four boys out to work. Our heroes of depravity are destined for some unique antics in a health and beauty salon, at a construction site, in marine training, dabbling in the dark martial arts, even trying on cowboy chaps for size as ranch hands. Dirty Sanchez 2: Jobs For The Boyos tells the continuing story of Dainton, Joycey, Pritchard and Pancho and their subime partnership in painful comedy. Played out across 2 parts, the lighter side features every episode of the 2nd series, while the darker side strays into unknown and previously unseen territory. Get ready to empty your guts and split your sides. You have seven hours of mayhem ahead.

My Thoughts:
Dirty Sanchez is basically the Welsh version of Jackass but the stunts are far far more insane. Unfortunately though, the Dirty Sanchez crew are nowhere near as fun or likeable as the Jackass crew. Series two has Pancho, Joycey, Dainton and Pritchard taking on different jobs for a week including builders, firefighters and cowboys and has them generally larking about on the job and doing really stupid stuff. If you think when Steve-O poured water into his arse crack in the Jackass movie was bad, then you haven't seen anything until these guys do it with beer, spray the beer into a glass out of their arses and then drink each others poo beer. Not to mention one is then sick into the glass and still continues to drink it. Yucky, but hard to look away. 3/5