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Why I Love... BBC Sport theme tunes

post from TV Scoop on 04 July 2009 07:51:20 AM. © TV Scoop

Not many TV sites talk about sport all that much, but here at TVScoop we recognise that some of the greatest telly moments are provided by people running, jumping, swimming, riding, rowing and kicking and/or throwing balls of various shapes. You know, in a competitive, organised kinda way. But the excitement of sporting events has certainly been intensified over the years by the anticipation created by familiar and rather brilliant theme tunes, usually plucked from the archives. Head on over the cut for those BBC Sport tunes that never fail to bring a smile to the face (and sometimes butterflies to the stomach...) Related: All the telly we love... and why

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Fri, Jun 19, 09 - Arrested Development, In Plain
Sight, Burn Notice, Party Down

post from A Briefing With Michael on 04 July 2009 07:45:00 AM. © A Briefing With Michael

07.00 Arrested Development
08.00 In Plain Sight
09.00 Burn Notice
10.00 Party Down

Arrested Development. Episode 3. "Bringing Up Buster" Buster comes to work with Michael. George Michael tries out for the school play.

Tony Hale takes center stage for the first time and Buster starts to emerge as a very funny character.

The show, meanwhile, finds two innovative ways to make comedy.

The first involves the bleeping out of swear words. Other shows have done this, but AD takes it to the next level, in terms of context and duration. Some of Buster's rants (concerning his mother, or a bicycle race, for example) are bleeped out for for several seconds before the camera pans to Jason Bateman for his (wonderful) reaction shots.

While this is happening, more than once, the show introduces another trick to it's repetoire. At the end of a scene the camera will suddenly pull back and reveal the presence of other people in the room. This delightful little trick (which pops up more than once) changes the context of everything that went before and is very, very funny.

As well as being supremely funny, this is a rather sweet episode. The core of it revolves around Michael's relationship with his son, and the ending contains dialogue that is genuinely sweet and moving. And a little cornball.

In Plain Sight. Season 2, Episode 8. "A Frond in Need" Mary's friend is stabbed. Did her new witness do it? Meanwhile, a sister none of them knew existed shows up.

The A-story is good. It's a whodunnit and - right up until the final moments - it is impossible to predict who the cultprit is. You don't need multiple suspects to tell a good whodunnit. This episode of In Plain Sight only has one suspect, really, and it manages to entertain by making us think (a) he did it, and (b) he did not do it. So, by the end, we really have no idea whether he did or didn't.

It's an unusual story for the show because, unlike every other tale else this season, it could be told on any cop show. The WitSec angle helps set up the story but it's really - at heart - a generic tale of a stabbing of a cop's friend and the cop's attempts to find out who did it.

As good as the A-story was, the B-story is much, much better. Laura Prepon guests as Mary's half-sister! She shows up, meets Jinx and Brandi, and drops the bombshell that James (who ran off on them when Mary was still a child) married again and had a new family. One of them is her.

I adore Prepon and this is a great role for her. Her two scenes with Mary McCormack are electric. The two actresses have a fantastic chemistry. And they look like sisters. When the characters meet, Mary isn't told that this is her sister but - thanks to a fantastic script by Brynn Malone - they instantly notice each other's similar traits. It's rivetting and heartbreaking in equal measure. The final scene, in particular, had me glued to the screen hoping Mary would figure it out, or Lauren would tell her.

This could be the start of the best story arc on In Plain Sight.

Burn Notice. Season 3, Episode 3. "End Run" Brennen (Jay Karnes) returns, holds Michael's brother hostage and forces Michael to do some dirty work for him.

Jay Karnes returns and cements his status as the show's best-ever bad guy. Hands down, this is the cleverest villain Michael has ever crossed swords with.

And this might well be the cleverest, most enjoyable episode of Burn Notice to date. There's no case-of-the-week, Michael is being forced to work for Brennan and he has to use his wits to come up with something, against the clock, that will save him and his brother.

This is one of the things that makes Michael stand out from the crowd: he is smart, and he wins by being smarter than the bad guy.

Party Down. Episode 8. "Celebrate Ricky Sargulesh" The wonderful Steven Weber guests as an Eastern European Mobster who has just gotten out of prison.

Steven Weber is very funny and this episode turns the concept of the show upside down. This is a show about a bunch of unsuccessful actors/performers who make a living as caterers. In this story, every one of them is recognised and revered for their past roles. So much so that they can get no work done and end up basking in the glory of being surrounded by fans.

Clever stuff.

The b-plot (the gang think they know a murder is about to be committed, from clues they read in a script) is much more standard sit-com fare, but they still make it funny.

Highlights? Burn Notice (Jay Karnes) & In Plain Sight (Laura Prepon)
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Thu, Jun 18, 09 - Arrested Development, The
Border

post from A Briefing With Michael on 04 July 2009 06:57:00 AM. © A Briefing With Michael

06.30 Arrested Development
07.00 The Border
03.00 Arrested Development

Arrested Development. Episode 1. "Extended Pilot" Michael's dad is arrested and the family falls apart.

The introduction of each character is perfect. When Michael first appears on screen, the narrator tells us: "This is Michael Bluth. He?s a good man." When Michael's mother first appears on screen, her first words are: "Look what they?ve done, Michael. Look what the homosexuals have done to me."

And on and on it goes, as each character is unveiled for the first time, their first moment on-screen is a pitch-perfect introduction. Each character being odder/funnier than the next. And if that wasn't enough: they have Jason Bateman as their straight-man. Perfect.

Much of the comedy in Arrested Development comes from running gags and throw-backs to earlier episodes, so this pilot is a bit of strange beast. It's funny, yes, and clever but it only achieves out and out hilarity on a couple of occasions. Michael Cera is laugh-out-loud funny for every second he's on-screen. With David Cross running a very close second.

The Border. Episode 3. "Bodies on the Ground" A plane crossing Canadian airspace comes down, three terrorist prisoners escape and there's a big chase through the forest.

Mixed bag. The hero of the show - Mike - spends all his time arguing with politicans and officals about the fact that there shouldn't be planes like this flying, illegally, over his airspace. Fine point, yes, but going on and on about it during a crisis makes him seem like a dick.

He and his American liason - Bianca - spend the whole episode fighting over this and they are the worst part of the show, the boring part.

All the stuff out in the woods is pretty cool. Standard action fare, but well done. Graham Abbey and Nazneen Contractor are likable leads.

Out of the woods the show has two more things going for it: the fun of watching the conspiracy/cover-up go into action and the perfectly-pitched drama of watching Mark Wilson's character deal with the wife of a murdered police officer.

Arrested Development. Episode 2. "Top Banana" Michael puts George Michael in charge of the Bluth Frozen Banana Stand, Tobias tries out for a commercial and Gob kills a dove...

Jeffrey Tambor plays a much larger role in this episode, but all the big laughs come from David Cross who continually runs away from everyone else to have a little cry for himself.

Structure-wise, the episode is built around Michael's quest to find some documentation that his father has hidden from him. Michael goes from his father to his mother, asking questions, and stops at home every so often to scold his siblings.

The scenes are short, the narration is constant and the visual style is unique (with constant interruptions to show CCTV footage, or news broadcasts, or Highschool Yearbook Photos, etc.)

Funniest moment of the entire episode comes from Gob. He, being a magician, buys a dove and kills the poor thing on his way out of the store. Wonderful.

Highlight? Arrested Development (Gob kills the dove)
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Wed, Jun 17, 09 - Notes From The Underbelly,
Unusuals, Barney Miller

post from A Briefing With Michael on 04 July 2009 06:46:00 AM. © A Briefing With Michael

09.00 Notes From The Underbelly
09.30 The Unusuals
10.30 Barney Miller

Notes From The Underbelly. Season 2, Episode 3. "Heather's Visit" Lauren's sister visits.

A story which has nothing to do with the premise of the show. Any sitcom could do this one. And Notes does nothing special with the idea.

Peter Cambor raises a few good laughs, as Andrew tries very hard to keep up with his sister-in-law's need to party-hearty.

The Unusuals. Episode 6. "The Circle Line" A cop shows up with amnesia, did he commit a murder? Meanwhile Delahoy and Banks (best cops on TV right now) must deal with identity theft.

Delahoy is just gonna haunt me when this short-lived gem of a series is finished. His journey towards death is an example of the way fiction comes into our lives and allows us the chance to vicariously live through the most extreme of situations. And Adam Goldberg has never done better work. He is fantastic.

There are two threads connected to Delahoy in this one: he is seeing a vision of his high-school sweetheart, and his identity is stolen by a man who (in his eyes) has made a better go at making a good life for himself than he has.

Conor Leslie made a great impression as the high school sweetheart (vision). In one scene she appears as every person in the room! But her best moments are in the final scene, as Delahoy stands in the snow and stares into the house of the man who is now living his life under his name. Both Leslie and Goldberg are great here.

Barney Miller. Episode 6. "Stakeout" The gang go on stakeout, from an empty apartment.

A change-of-pace episode. Normally the show never leaves the squad room, but this story is set completely in an empty apartment. Normally the show's stories come from the criminals and victims who cross paths with the regulars, but the people in this episode are not connected to crime, just a variety of folks who live near the apartment Barney and his men are using.

The style of comedy is a bit different here, too. The show is pushing towards farce with this episode. Lots of crazy interruptions, and an ending where Barney rushes from the building with nothing but a towel wrapped around him.

Fish gets a strong/serious storyline and Florence Stanley makes a fantastic debut as his wife. But, while I really enjoyed it, it just didn't feel like an episode of Barney Miller.

Highlight? The Unusuals (Delahoy)
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Check Out 'Third Watch' Season 2 On DVD July 7

post from Starpulse Entertainment News - TV News on 04 July 2009 06:27:31 AM. © Starpulse Entertainment News - TV News

Sometimes it seems as if the world is crashing in on itself. It?s the job of the first responders to hold it together. Police, firefighters, paramedics: The men and women of the 3-11 PM shift[...] Read more!

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Right Hand/Left Hand: Spike Lee's Do The Right
Thing

post from The House Next Door on 04 July 2009 06:09:00 AM. © The House Next Door

By Matt Zoller Seitz_____________________________________Released 20 years ago this month, Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing was one of the most controversial films of its time. It was praised in many quarters for its script, direction, photography, acting[...]

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Happy Independence Day!

post from The (TV) Show Must Go On... on 04 July 2009 05:29:00 AM. © The (TV) Show Must Go On...

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Vote for Emily Deschanel - Fashion Face-Off

People.com frequently has 'Fashion Face-off' polls, and Emily Deschanel is currently in one. She's losing pretty heavily to Megan Fox at the moment. Go help her out! (You can also vote on The Hollywood Gossip in it's own poll on the same match-up.)

Thanks Sarah! (forensicmama)

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What to TiVo: Saturday

Fox has repeats of Cops
NBC is new with Kings and has the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular
CBS has repeats of 48 Hours Mystery and Harper's Island and has the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular
ABC has repeats of Wipeout and Castle and a new episode of Eli Stone
Late-night highlights include Tim McGraw, Ludacris, and T-Pain on a repeat of Saturday Night Live on NBC and repeat episodes of MadTV and Talkshow With Spike Feresten on Fox