Doctor Who? New doctor scooped online.
It was 24 hours before the new Doctor Who actor was announced online, yet the name Matt Smith was already 2nd favourite on betting site Betfair. At 11am, DigitalSpy.co.uk user filbertthefox reported the news, but a few hours later Smith’s odd had fallen to 50 to 1, suggesting that an insider leaked the news, leading to a flood of bets in a short period.
BBC employees were required to sign the corporation’s internal confidentiality agreement which prevents them from speculating on or confirming any details regarding the new casting, however it would seem that either a BBC employee or somebody connected to Matt Smith let the news slip early. For Betfair to have even presented odds on Matt Smith being the new Doctor, somebody would have had to have placed a rather large amount of money on the possibility. It is not in the interest of internet betting sites to speculate widely, so somebody must have given them reason to present odds in the first place.
Celeb BB Instant Reaction
Davina’s back - but why is she dressed like one of the cyber-dogs from the Dr Who Christmas Special?
LaToya Jackson is first in, OR!!! Is it just Michael in a wig? Think about it, it would be the perfect disguise.
Mutya Buena gets booed because she comes across as quite a horrible human being in the video. She’s tattooed like a pirate. Does she have ‘Primula’ tatted on her neck?
Verne Troyer needs help bringing his bags in because they’re bigger than he is, this makes for one of the strangest moments of any BB ever. Everyone knows who he is, party mad mofo that he is.
Tommy Sheridan is the bottom of the barrel celeb this time round, their George Galloway, slotted in to try and raise the tone slightly. Shame, because he’s dull as Liberal ditch water. Booo!
Lucy Pinder - she’s got two A-levels so is probably the brain box of the group.
Ben from A1 says that’s what he’s ‘most famous for’. Two clues mate, one it’s the only thing you’re famous for, and second, you’re not famous. He says he was fat when won Most Fanciable Male at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. Yeah, and you’re still ugly.
Tina Malone describes herself as a fat scouser. I have no more to say on the subject. No-one recognises her, natch.
What is it with formerly cool rappers like Coolio coming on British reality shows? Flavor Flav started this mad trend. He says he has no expectations, but then he also says that people stop in the street and make him feel like God. What’s with the V mask on the back of his head? He’s doing the gun sign, copying Alex from BB10.
Michelle Heaton says Liberty X were going for 6 years?! She was depressed after it all went wrong apparently, in direct contrast to the rest of the country. Apparently she got advice from Jordan and Peter Andre on how to act on reality TV so expect her to get her bum out and compose a crappy song before marrying one of the other housemates - please let it be the A1 arse.
Terry Christian identifies himself as a Northern Twat. Him to win then? He’s been in the business for 26 years so it’s going to a kicker when NO-ONE knows who he is. I think he’ll gravitate towards Sheridan and then they’ll fight like rutting stags. Nice coat though Tez.
ULLLLLRI KA-KA-KA-KA! At least she’s got a sense of humour about her myriad issues, I like Ully, (as her mates call her) and I can’t wait to see her fall out with Pinder, Buena and Heaton because she’s still fitter than them after eight kids.
The crowd are particularly twatty tonight, booing everyone. Very tiresome bunch.
Davina reveals that the last one to bag a bed tonight will be head of house and gets their own private quarters. They will be the only one to nominate and will probably be instantly evicted because of it. Tune back to us on for all your BB news! And may God have mercy on our souls.
EDIT - So Terry Christian is the first head of house, inspired. My mum just asked how Verne Troyer is going to get on the toilet. Good point, well made.
EXCLUSIVE: NBC planning to cancel leading dramas
NBC executive Jeff Zucker’s decision to hand Jay Leno an hour each weekday of their schedule means that they will need to cancel between 3 to 5 of their existing dramas and/or reality shows. Each year it is standard for shows to be cancelled to make way for new blood, but this season will be very brutal. Since NBC has handed 23% of primetime to Jeno, it means they will not have enough slots to fill their schedule with programming fans love.
We’ve taken a long look at the ratings, and the four lowest rated shows in the 18-49 demo are (in this order): “Life”, “Knightrider”, “Law and Order” and “Kath & Kim”. It is also possible “Chuck” may face the axe, if NBC chooses not to cancel “Law and Order” and/or “Life”. L&O is a heavy hitter for the network, but tends to suffer if moved to a different slot.
Zucker’s move will save at least $10m a week in production costs. However, we question Zuckers assertion in the media this week that broadcast TV is broken. He also gave an interview yesterday justifying the move, in which he says “All of the Technologies — the computer, internet — did not exist five years ago”. End Of Show hates to break it to Zucker, but the Internet did exist 5 years ago, and even had movie and TV downloads. Computers were invented a bit further back in time.
Cross-channel on demand service to launch tomorrow
End of Show has learned that the BBC may tomorrow announce a licensing deal for their iPlayer technology. The iPlayer has been a massive success for the BBC, enabling viewers to access whole series via their red button, online or on mobile technology. Whilst Channel 4 OD has had similar success their technology can only allow viewing of past programmes for up to a week after transmission and can only be accessed via services such as Virgin Media and online. ITV currently has no facility for viewers to watch their programmes on demand.
Under the new plans, viewers of BBC, ITV and Channel 4 will be able to access selected programmes on Virgin Media, online, via the red button interactive service, iPhone and iPod touch, Nokia N96, Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3. BT Vision currently charges customers for a slimmed down version of iPlayer content but it is not clear whether they will expand this to other channels.
The move has been in the pipeline since early 2007 when the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV unveiled plans for a video on demand service called Kangaroo. It is not known whether this will remain the plan, or whether the name Kangaroo will be retained. Another floated name has been SeeSaw.
‘Series stacking’ was made available on iPlayer this year, allowing viewers to retain access to an entire series as the episodes were released. Previously episodes would expire after a week.
The announcement will be made as iPlayer celebrates its first anniversary tomorrow. The application was in beta until Christmas Day 2007. In December this year the Competition Commission reported concerns over the potential power of the platform.
Heroes podcast - The List - Season 3 Episode 11
The List - Season 3 - Episode 11
We’re back with the longest Eclipse in the history of the world, part two.
Heroes podcast - The List - Episode 10
The List - Season 3 - Episode 10
It’s time for The Eclipse! Part One! THE EPISODE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING… OR NOTHING.
Bulletin Bored : The Naughty List 18-24 Nov 08
In the wake of several television related atrocities End Of Show have pledged to make you aware of the most complained about programmes on air on UK television, so that you might avoid them (or watch them online and then complain to Ofcom about what you have subjected yourself to.)
We will bring you The Naughty List every week until we start to forget, or everyone calms down a bit.
1. We Are Most Amused (ITV, Saturday 15th Nov) 219 complaints
A winner by a huge margin, this gala celebration for the Prince of Wales’ 60th birthday featured a steady stream of jokes about the Queen not dying from the likes of Bill Bailey, Robin Williams, Omid Djalili, Eric Idle, and yes, complainers favourite Andrew Sachs. Sachs appeared on stage to render a cruel and racist cultural stereotype of an idiotic Spanish waiter - perchance this is where the complaints were made? Chief suspect is Rowan Atkinson with his vicar character, joking that after feeding the five thousand Jesus was in high demand as a party entertainer.
2. Strictly Come Dancing (BBC 1, Sat 15th Nov) 102 complaints
Those not complaining about the Prince Charles comedy awards were over on the Beeb and incandescent with rage. The BBC says that they received a lot of complaints saying that the voting system was unfair and that John Sergeant should leave the competition after being awarded low scores by the judges and continuing to be involved in the programme. They also say that after he walked, there were more complaints that he was being bullied into the decision by the rankerous old bullies on the panel. Make your bloody minds up!
3. The X Factor (ITV, 15th and 22nd Nov) 73 complaints
The X Factor shamelessly tries to get into the top 2 by having Rachel Hylton make a gun gesture, but it won’t fly! TXF has so many complaints about unfairness and vote rigging that soon their producers will have to come up with a foolproof way of ensuring audience contentedness. I have an idea! What if it was actually the viewers who decided which acts should make it through? Possibly through some sort of phone vote? That way, if you cared so much about the fate of a jumped up karaoke warbler whose dream it has been to be a pop star since they were 12 (last year) that you could be arsed to complain to Ofcom about their treatment, you could actually call the show and vote for that person to stay in! Of course emailing Ofcom costs nothing and calling to keep acts on The X Factor costs 12p, so you’d be down on the deal. Back to the old drawing board….
4. I’m A Celebrity : Get Me Out Of Here (ITV, 20th and 22nd Nov) 29 complaints
I have no idea what happened in these episodes but this being I’m A Celebrity it was probably one of three things : a) a maggot was trodden on; b) Ant or Dec said ‘arse’; c) someone was bullied. Answers on a premium rate phone line to…
5. KNTV Sex (Channel 4, 19th Nov) 18
Pathetic! Come on KNTV Sex, if you garner less complaints than a geordie saying bum or a wrinkly old newsreader leaving a ballroom dancing show you’re dead in the water! More cocks! More cunts! Offend me until I scream!
Heroes podcast - The List - Season 3 Episode 9
This week, Elle blows Sylar’s clothes off, which gives Kirsty a lot to muse about, much to our audio delight.
Heroes podcast - The List - Season 3 Episode 7
We dive back into the NBC world of Heroes, with “Eris Quod Sum”, written by Jesse Alexander.
Elle’s back, and she’s angry. We’re less angry, and more podcasty.
Why Buffy The Vampire Slayer isn’t over yet
Kevin Beaumont has something to say.
The year is 2008, and that sound you hear crackling is a pile of money burning in 20th Century Fox’s back yard. Let me explain.
To form a major motion picture, you need three elements: a story (your creative reason), a profitable venture (a business reason), and a talented cast and crew (your creative force). It also requires strong catering on set.
When “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” finished airing in 2003, I knew the show was over - it had bowed out with something to say.
But yet the story kept bouncing around in my head. Would anybody ever like Dawn? Would Buffy ever touch Xander in the bad place?
Fast forward to 2008. Clearly I wasn’t the only person pondering those characters and their story. Series creator Joss Whedon started a “season eight” comic, aided by many former Buffy writers, to continue tales in the universe.
“Buffy” is an international franchise, providing major DVD sales for 20th Century Fox, with brand recognition in all major territories. Most of the staff writers have gone on to big gigs, many winning major roles on hit TV shows. Show lead Sarah Michelle Gellar has gone on to front horror pic “The Grudge” and family friendly “Scooby Doo” (written by the foul mouthed and entirely hilarious James Gunn).
So, now all you need is a business reason.
And here it is: “Twilight”. ”Twilight” is essentially lite-horror, romance porn. But make no mistake - in it’s opening weekend, the modestly budgeted ($38m) flick took over $70m. For something to be considered successful enough for a sequel, a general rule of thumb is two and a half times the production budget on domestic release. ”Twilight” should easily make that mark by its second weekend. It turns out a vampiresque story with added romance and teen appeal could be a worldwide hit. Who’d have thought?
Oh yes. Joss Whedon.
I know what you’re thinking. Yes, cheesecake is great — and back when the first Buffy movie was made, it was a box office bomb. Because it was. Because it was an almost terrible mess of badly executed ideas. Joss didn’t have creative control of the movie, because it simply wasn’t his movie - direction laid elsewhere, and he was, in movie direction terms - a small fish.
Forget the cheesecake and come back to 2008 with me - now you have somebody who understands movie direction, who has an amazing cast who want to move on to the big screen. You have, in Joss, somebody who wants to make a big summer action movie. You have somebody who has those characters and that story burning in his brain, itching to escape. And - critically - you have somebody who understands teen appeal vampire romance porn like nobody else on the planet.
There’s a stack of money waiting to be made here. And let’s not even mention Whedonites across the global and their DVD fetish. Want midnight screenings and buzz, too? Check.
The real question is this - what story would you tell in a 2 hour motion picture?
Update: The Twilight sequel has been greenlit.
Heroes podcast - The List - Season 3 Episode 6
Kirsty and Kev take a look at ‘Dying of the Light’, in Heroes season 3 episode 6.
The Daily Express - idiots at large
The Daily Express continues its crusade to clean up British television, after it realised it could sell newspapers with it’s outrage over the BRoss (our new Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross name) fiasco on BBC Radio Two. In yesterdays newspaper, they ask “Is It Time To Clean Up Television?”, unsurprisingly adding a question mark at the end of the headline despite the fact their “chief political commentator” Patrick O’Flynn uses the piece to say yes, yes we should. The BBC are outrageous filthy creatures, trying to peddle their smut down our eyes like a porn channel, according to the Express.
Speaking of porn channels, the chap who owns The Daily Express — Richard Desmond — also owns Television X. Which is advertised in The Daily Express, which also carries its listings a few pages after Patrick O’Flynn expresses his outrage. Be sure to check out tonight’s programming: Nympho Nurses, Council Estate Skands (episode 4) and Katie K’s Teen Rampage (sadly only one episode of that).
End Of Show watches Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse
Gio Despotakis sat down and watched “Gray Hour” the opening episode of Joss Whedon and FOX’s upcoming series “Dollhouse”. Two and a half times. Well, it was the opening episode at the time we saw it - it’s possible it’s episode 44 in the running order by now. !SPOILERS FOLLOW!
We start at a picturesque snowy mountain ridge. There’s a log cabin looking house right at the top and the title of the show simply fades in on top of it. In said cabin, a woman is giving birth.
Guest Actor is being cute and nervous about his wife while Eliza Dushku is doing stuff between wife’s legs. She’s a relatively upbeat young midwife who seems to be quite capable at what it is she’s doing. There’s some business with the baby girl having linebacker shoulders while mum has a narrow birth canal and Eliza and mum having to work extra hard to get the baby out safely. That culminates with Eliza telling mum that when she’s got her baby all out and in her arms she’ll forget everything. “I want to forget!” says mother and Eliza does…
In a neat effect we rewind the stuff we’ve seen along with some extra glances of baby being out and dad holding her. The images are all tinted with some extra blues, reds and purples and shift around as they rewind.
Eliza Dushku opens her eyes to find herself in a lab chair. Fran Kranz and Harry Lennix are standing over her. The former is wearing the standard TV geek uniform of short-sleeved patterned shirt over long-sleeved tee. The latter’s got on his ‘hardass with a heart of gold’ suit.
“Did I fall asleep?” asks Eliza. The others are like “Uh… yeah, totally”. Also, it seems Eliza’s named Echo. Well, duh. We know. It’s been all over the internet since late 2007! Another thing we’re not supposed to know yet is that Fran is totally Topher Brink, Head of (Brain) Programming while Harry is Boyd Langdon of the Overly Invested in the Dolls Division. It is also notable that while Eliza might be playing a human Doll, who gets manufactured personalities implanted into her brain, her breasts are fantastically real, judging by how they react to her reclining onto her chair/bed. So far so awesome.
Next thing we know Echo’s eating in a cafeteria area. An unsure Dichen Lachman sits down at the table with her. She plays Sierra. The two have a conversation about their day in overly earnest tones along the lines of:
Echo: I swam 20 laps today.
Sierra: Good for you!
Echo: I try to be my best.
Sierra: Are you?
Echo: Say what?
Sierra: Are you your best?
Echo: I’m sort of brain erased so I don’t really have a measure of relative comparison…
Sierra: Wow, me too! Except we totally don’t know that.
Echo: Right. I think trying to be your best is best!
Victor: Word. Also, broccoli is yummy.
Yeah. It seems Enver Gjokaj (to be known as Victor the Male Doll) has also sat down with them at some point in the conversation.
Topher and Langdon have been observing the Dolls from a balcony overlooking the cafeteria. They let us know that the Dolls are people who have supposedly volunteered for the job, and that while their brain wipes are definitely clean these particular three continually gravitate toward each other, having regular lunches together despite the fact that they have no memory of which to speak. They’re like, herding.
Langdon: They’re not buffalo.
Topher: They’re a little bit buffalo.
Us: Aw. Joss we’ve missed you.
Either before or after that we go by Olivia Williams’ office. She’s rocking a hardcore up-do, a dark blue shirt with sheer sleeves and a figure hugging skirt. All this is irrelevant apart from the fact that it needs to be pointed out how absolutely great she looks. She’s Adele DeWitt. She runs the Dollhouse, she’s British. That’s all you need to know.
DeWitt is meeting with a business man in his 50s or 60s. He’s got a rough looking face, a Greek sounding accent and is played by Tony Amendola who seems to have made his goal in life to appear in as many TV series as he possibly can since 1984]. Point is: he wants what he’s doing to be secret and DeWitt assures him that it will be except the agent who’s taking the job will need to know what she has to do in order to, you know, do it.
Before he has a chance to give in DeWitt gets a phone call. Her tone immediately changes and her confidence disappears upon picking up the phone. The unknown person on the other end of the line seems to be chewing her out. She keeps being apologetic and calling the person “Sir” while her nervous hands play with an “Assignment ID” or something similarly named with Victor’s picture and a bunch of barcodes on it. There are also various surveillance photos of Tahmoh Penikett [character - Paul Ballard] on her desk. She says They [the Dollhouse] should give [Paul] an idea of what’s going on before he starts making up theories of his own. Unknown Person seemingly approves this then totally hangs up on her in the middle of a sentence. DeWitt is disappointed but Brits it up. She offers up a drink to Rough Greek Businessman and we’re out.
And straight to a posh bathroom, unless I’m much mistaken, where we find a dolled up Echo (no pun intended) in black mini skirt, red frilly top and leather boots. She is fluffing her hair and repositioning her boobs, for optimum bra support. She slips a tube of lipstick in one boot and purses her lips in front of the mirror in satisfaction. She could totally be Belle Du Jour’s new best friend for season 3 if you get my meaning… She looks like a ho is the point, just in case you don’t. “Blue skies” says Ec-Ho.
In the lounge of a posh hotel the bathroom we just left seems to be situated in, Ec-Ho is occupying a couch, writhing on top of an attractive horny young gentleman. He’s quite enjoying himself and is dressed in a very Cocky Rockstar kinda way. Ec-ho downs her drink in one gulp, cherry with the stem still on and everything, while another two gentlemen look on from their easy chairs. One’s a Dweeby Bespectacled Guy in his 40s while the other’s younger, probably early 30s, late 20s. It seems he’s the same age but Not As Conventionally Attractive as Cocky.
Eventually a beefy but sweet-looking security guard comes to chase the party away. Ec-Ho’s gotten to a point where she’s squealing at everything like an overexcited chihuahua. The guard offers a bottle of champagne as an incentive for the foursome to head up to their suite. Cocky Guy ups the bid to two bottles. The guard agrees to it and the four go, with Cocky Guy and Ec-Ho making a spectacle of themselves, all climbing on top of a buffet table on the way out and such. Ec-Ho’s swept off her feet by Cocky Guy. Her fake name is revealed to be ‘Taffy’.
Smash-cut to Taffy running down a hotel corridor. She’s got blood running down one side of her lip, she’s crying, her mascara’s run and she’s screaming for help. She bangs on various room doors. Behind her Cocky Guy and Conventionally Good Looking turn up, hot on her tail, each with a bottle of champagne in hand. Their shirts untucked and the have blurry expressions on their faces. Taffy runs into the guard from before and clings to him asking for help saying that the guys hurt her. They guys are all “whatever, dude” and wander off.
The guard runs a shaken Taffy through the hotel kitchen. She just wants to go, she’s not supposed to be there. The guard takes her to an electronically locked door. She protests but he punches in the code and in they go. Taffy knows what she is and what she does but those guys were out of line. The guard seems to not be as sweet as we once thought as he locks the door and slowly moves about the office ignoring Taffy’s protestations. The vibe has shifted uncomfortably. He unlocks a safe and… offers her up 1000 dollars to sign a disclaimer saying she will not sue the hotel.
Taffy does not give a crappity-crap, the assholes can go suck a goat for all she cares, she just wants to get outta there… but the door is locked. The guard tries to get her to reconsider. You can get a lot of mileage out of 1000 bucks. You could go anywhere. You could be anyone you want to be. Taffy has a moment’s hesitation. She rests her bag on the desk where the money is, about to pocket it, but snaps back. Turning around to go she knocks the money on the floor with her purse. The guard bends to get the wad of cash and– Taffy knees him in the face! Oh. What?! She makes a call giving directions to the office she’s in along with the door’s code and hangs up. “Blue skies!” says Taffy.
Commercial.
Back from the break, Taffy’s pulling another transformation. She’s letting her hair down and she’s ditched the frilly red shirt for a form-fitting black one and leather pants along with her standard boots of ass-kickage. She’s cleaned the mascara and the blood from her lip but the cut it came from doesn’t seem to have been faked… Taffy’s joined in the office by the threesome of Cocky, Conventionally and Dweeby from before. Turns out they’re heist partners and -wait for it- this is a heist! They’ve been hired by someone (everyone who thinks it’s Rough Greek Businessman raise their hands) to… we dunno. Yet. We do find out that his has been designated as a no-kill job by the person who hired them when Conventionally wonders about the guard’s “Still-Breathing” status. Taffy’s just used a syringe of something to keep him down. She gets all up in Conventionally’s face about it too. She learned from a previous job where she took too much initiative to not do that if she wants to get paid. She’s got him pressed against a hard surface at the time. And is squeezing his cheeks in a menacing way.
It seems that Cocky Guy is in charge of explosives for the heist and Conventionally is the surveillance guy. Cocky’s got the wall wired with plastic explosives while Conventionally’s checking for the guards on his computer via tracking devices that have been placed in their badges. It seems the team’s going into the high-security building that is located next to the hotel. I also seems the neighbours are meant to be updating their security in x seconds and that gives the team a Grey Hour in which to sneak in while the fort’s defenceless.
Conventionally: Shall we synchronise our watches?
Taffy: Oh, honey. You’re on Taffy Standard Time.
And so, boom goes the dynamite.
Next door, our fearsome foursome find a shitload of works of art from various eras. So, Conventionally asks, are they stealing Art? Actually, Dweeby clarifies one particular painting costs 7 gazillion dollars and happens to have been stolen from its rightful place. Conventionally changes his question to enquire whether they’re stealing back stolen art. Who knows? Taffy kinda knows. Taffy asserts herself as team leader. She’s not about being known but rather about being the best. She can do without being killed, thank you. As far as she’s concerned they can forget her once the job’s done. Like she wasn’t even there.
Meanwhile Special Agent Paul Ballard (played by Tahmoh Penniket) is entering his house. He’s holding his side in obvious pain, and goes to settle on the couch in discomfort. He’s got a paper pharmacy bag with some sort of pain prescription in his hands. He suddenly goes perfectly still and because this is not an episode of House but rather Joss Whedon’s new sci-fi action adventure show he does not go into a seizure. Instead he pulls out his gun and turns to the French windows in a swift move. He was right and, from the shadowy curtains, Victor emerges. Remember? Victor the Male Doll? From Victor’s very convincing Russian accent however I would not think that’s the name he’s using at the moment.
Victor got in due to Ballard’s shitty locks and then there’s some stuff where Ballard doesn’t wanna trust Victor ’cause last time he did he got shot for his troubles and here’s where I thought what I was watching might not have been the actual first episode. In retrospect this is a very concise way of getting Ballard into the story without picking the plot up from the point where he gets involved with the Dollhouse for the first time… but this is unfortunately the hardest strand to follow.
The Echo/Taffy plot goes quickly too and there’s a whole bunch of twists in that but at least we’ve had some time to get our heart rate up by the time the really big stuff goes down. Here, with Ballard and Victor, there’s a problem. If this storyline had more space to develop it would drag and detract from the point of the episode. Still, a TV-trained viewer will be able to fill in the blanks and whatever anyone may say about Whedon shows, they tend to respect their viewers 9 out of 10 times. Or 6 out of 7 seasons. However you prefer to put it.
So, back to the scene: Victor’s some kind of informant, the Russian mob is involved and Penikett gets to show up Dushku by performing some of his own face-squishing stunts on Victor. Only he uses a gun instead of his hands. And -what’s this?- he’s got another prop. A picture of a preppy looking Echo, with straight hair, whom he refers to as Caroline (I think). It seems that Caroline’s been missing and Ballard’s looking for her. Victor claims not to know her and eventually convinces Ballard to help him. Ballard orders him to stay put at the house while he does what he does, and Victor’s left to ponder the décor. I’m pondering whether Caroline’s the volunteer that became Echo or just another implanted personality. And, what’s more, who is it that wants her found?
Across town (or whatever) Taffy’s getting the safe open and sends Dweeby, who she dubs Old Stuff Expert, toward the old stuff for him to exercise his expertise. She hands him a piece of paper with a pencil rendering of an Ancient Greek looking frieze. And yes, I am sort of cheating here, but I also happen to be Greek and did recognise the image. So, long story and bragging short? They’re stealing the Parthenon.
I’m having some trouble with the order of things here. I’m sure there was a break in the above scene after the Parthenon line so maybe the Ballard scene came at this point and there wasn’t a break for the safe-breaking before? There might even have been another scene with DeWitt and the greek guy, earlier on but after their first one, that verifies that they’re going forward with the heist before we know what the heist is. I can’t be sure. I am sure however that the following is where the act break comes.
Conventionally is kinda freaking out about the whole Parthenon thing. Isn’t that kinda big? Are they stealing back for the Greeks? Is it a no-kill job to avoid international incident? Not really. They’ve only been asked to get a particular piece of frieze (that pictured in the drawing) for reasons unspecified. Dweeby ejaculates all over the statues in the safe as he’s explaining this. He finds the piece and surreptitiously wraps it up, places it in a bag and, pulling a double cross, goes to run out with it. Conventionally makes an attempt to stop him but gets stabbed in the gut with what looks like a fire poker for his troubles. Dweeby escapes locking the other three in the safe. They’re all pissed off but not to worry: Taffy’s got the skills to get them out of there. She only has to make a call.
Cocky: You get reception in here?
The call turns up to be to Boyd Langdon who is in a stakeout-type van. Langdon asks how Taffy is. Taffy lets him know what happened, that she can get out and asks him to finish the job for her by apprehending the Old Stuff Expert. ‘Cause if the job’s not finished there’s no point in her getting, out after all. Right before they hang up a staticky sound comes over the speaker and Taffy’s face goes blank. She drops her hand to her side, the phone dropping to the floor right after. Taffy: “Did I fall asleep?” Wait, let me rephrase that. Echo: “Did I fall asleep?”
Act Two!
Upon our return Echo’s near catatonic. She’s hugging herself tightly, as close as she can get to the foetal position while sat trapped in the middle of a locked vault with an increasingly agitated Cocky and Conventionally bleeding-out. Rocking back and forth she repeats her eternal question “Did I- Did I fall asleep?” Dushku rocks this. She tries to be her best. As I’ve said before the way she plays Echo’s naivete and childishness might grate with some people but at this point Echo’s so confused and lost and just plain fucked up. And if Dushku plays one thing well that’s being broken.
Naturally, the other two Stooges are not feeling too calm. Their exit strategist has decided to take up thumb-sucking at a most unfortunate time and that’s not good. Cocky tries to sweet-talk Taffy at first, telling her that the date they were meant to have can’t happen unless they escape. He quickly loses patience and slaps her, hard. I don’t think it’s presumptuous to surmise that the cut Taffy had on her lip was also of his doing. Not that she didn’t most likely literally ask for it in order for the plan to go forward, but I digress. Point 1 is: episode’s brilliant at making points when not actually pontificating, as we will soon see. Point 2: the Stooges are fucked.
Hey, Topher! What are you doing at your office at a heisty time like this? It appears he is giving a shopping list to a Patently Cute Lab Assistant and using his intellect as an argument for why he should be allowed vast quantities of junk food. He came up with the Doll software, he is the great and wonderful Topher who, fine, will get some juice boxes for nutrition’s sake but should never otherwise be doubted! He has a plan. He is breaking lab assistant down to build her back u- Oh fuck. What’s going on with Echo’s brain scan tracker thing?
Topher barges into DeWitt’s office where she’s chillin’ with her colleague Laurence (Reed Diamond). Topher’s in a tizzy about Echo’s stats. DeWitt’s all British and calm. Laurence is also very stiff-upper-lip though not actually British. The Taffy personality should not pull a hissy when faced with the stress of a heist, counters Topher. DeWitt is the one who should not be calm right now! No one should! They’re in trouble! There was a staticky sound at the end of her call. And she’s not picking up now. It means Echo’s been wiped! Remote-wiped! And that’s not even supposed to be possible! DeWitt stops being calm but remains British.
Meanwhile, at the Safe of Stooges, Cocky is pacing and trying to figure something out. Conventionally is bleeding, as is his wont. While Taffy’s stuck observing a cubist painting of a green woman. Taffy and Conventionally have a Deep Conversation about what art is and what is supposed to do and I gotta admit I did not find this gripping any of the two times I watched it and fell asleep at the third. It’s very Discovering Art History and a bit too glaringly meta for my taste so… The green cubist woman’s broken, Taffy’s broken, Conventionally is dying and art is meant to show us who we are? I dunno. I was dreaming about sausages.
The lab chair from before reclines upward (is there a word for that?) bringing Sierra into frame. She’s wearing heavy eye-liner, a form-fitting shirt, leather pants and boots - all in black. Topher’s there for sure, maybe DeWitt as well but I’d just woken up so it’s a bit fuzzy. The scene does close with Sierra telling us: “blue skies!” because it’s not Sierra any more, it’s Taffy.
Back with the Stooges, the Echo version of Taffy is now sitting next to Conventionally (still bleeding). They’re looking at a painting of a snowy mountain ridge. Echo likes the sky. It’s blue. Yeah, he says, she mentioned it. He’s still monitoring the guards on his laptop. He’s even got special skins for them so that they look like dragons. This was mentioned earlier but only becomes important in a bit. He also stops Taffy/Echo from deploying a smoke grenade she thinks is a toy. That might also be important. Cocky wants to get out and is turning into an increasingly large dick about it. I mean yeah,Cocky, we get it but it’s not like anyone in there has the knowledge to get you out without setting off the alarm.
Taffy/Sierra on the other hand does. She gets over the fact that DeWitt and Laurence gave her assignment to “some other” girl who’s now paralysed with amnesia-inducing fear in the vault she was supposed to handle herself! She learned from a previous job where she took too much initiative to not do that if she wants to get paid. Also: to wear comfy shoes. But as long as she gets the same cash sure she’ll rescue Echo/Taffy to the best of her abilities.
Dichen Lachman has some trouble making the Taffy/Sierra way of speaking seem natural but really it should be excused. Dushku’s had way more practice. What’s more, the show makes up for it and for the relatively clunky, yet absolutely necessary, verbatim repetition of phrases by the fact that during this high-stakes heist plot it shows the tragedy of Dolls in a fuller way than any conversation about art could ever manage. Sierra as Taffy acts and speaks as if she has a continuous life. As far as she knows, as far as she can see, as far as she can understand she’s gonna do the job and get paid. She’s the best there is at what she does.
At some point DeWitt’s called Boyd Langdon, thinking he knew what had happened. He didn’t. She backtracks and hangs up, but he’s already got Dweeby Old Stuff Expert in his van of surveillance. Langdon asks Dweeby to instruct him on how to get to where Dweeby last saw Echo. Dweeby is reluctant at first sighting bad memory. But a clunkily worded death threat is enough to get the Dweeb sketching.
Sierra/Taffy keeps calling Echo’s cellphone while blathering about what needs to be done (the safe door has got a glass pane in it which mustn’t shatter but only fracture for the alarm not to go off) and counting down the time that’s left in which to do it. A tense sequence of cutting between DeWitt’s office and then Echo does manage to pick up her phone. Taffy immediately instructs her to find a tube of liquid, probably in her bra – which Echo does. Likewise a tube of lipstick should be in her boot – which it is. Only the lipstick isn’t lipstick but a vaporiser (ooh) and the tube of liquid is glycerine (right?) and the two can be connected (for sure)!
Echo is further instructed to use a drill to open a hole on the safe door and stop when Taffy tells her. They’ve come down with heist equipment so Cocky hands her a drill. She places her phone on the floor and Cocky picks it up and holds it for her. Then drill she does.
Next she’s supposed to spray in three doses of glycerine which will somehow make sure the glass pane doesn’t shatter all the way and while I did buy it when seeing it there’s no way I’m gonna manage to sell this to all y’all. Echo sprays thrice. Taffy instructs her to put the drill back in but not move her hands at all. Echo moves her hands. Lights turn blue. Alarms sound. Cocky crushes the phone in anger. Dragons are coming.
Taffy hangs up. It didn’t work out. DeWitt sends her off to be brainwiped with her metal briefcase of cash. Laurence is instructed to send someone to possibly take Echo out as she’s most likely been compromised. But not Langdon, DeWitt specifies. She’s beginning to think he’s gotten too invested in Echo. DeWitt is sad but still British.
Meanwhile, Cocky’s been barricading the vault with any work of art he can move around on his own. Conventionally teaches Echo/Taffy to put her hands up so that the dragons don’t shoot her in the chest. Conventionally’s gonna go out quietly, using some of the sedative that Taffy used on the guard to knock himself out so he can die in peace. Cocky grabs the syringe, stopping him then goes on to grab Taffy/Echo. He puts a gun in her hand and instructs her to open fire when the dragons rush in.
Langdon’s in the hotel kitchen. He’s finding his way to the guard’s room.
In the vault the shit is about to hit the fan. The dragons are coming and Cocky wants Echo to open fire first. Or he’s gonna be shooting her. Always simple and straightforward, that Cocky. It’s at this point that something takes over. Be it Taffy, Caroline, or Echo’s pure survival instinct she eyes the aforementioned syringe and stabs Cocky in the neck with it. He falls to the side of the barricade and (inadvertently?) opens fire on the incoming guards. Conventionally reacts to this rather snappily for a dude who’s been bleeding for something close to what seems like an hour. He deploys the smoke grenade that Echo was toying with before, urging her to get away. The message seems to get through.
Langdon finds the electronically locked guard room. He eyes the lock. He eyes the corridor. He shoots the lock. He surveys the room. The guard’s still passed out on the floor, there are bricks from the explosion lying around. After a beat Echo comes stumbling in through the hole in the wall. Only she’s not alone. She’s got Conventionally slung over her shoulder. She seems to recognise Langdon but not in any warm way, just as someone familiar. Conventionally’s broken, can they fix him? Langdon’s all “sure” and goes to help her out of her hole. She refuses and does it on her own. She’s not broken.
Break.
Victor’s been waiting at Ballard’s house all this time. Ballard comes back and basically tells him to sod off. While he was out he made sure that Victor would go on everyone’s shit list. He’s not helping him. Let the Russians have Victor! Or whatever his name is… After all he’s Agent Paul ‘Failure’ Ballard, no one will think twice if his CI is found dead. Victor is very upset and leaves reluctantly telling Ballard that Ballard thinks he won’t care if something happens to Victor but he will and that is in fact his problem.
I did not exactly get what the scene is telling us the story is, either. But don’t worry this is what happens. I just wonder what it means for Victor’s future as a Doll if his face is well-known and well-associated with this here persona that was used in the Ballard case. Also: Enver Gjokaj’s really, really good. It seems the words of praise he’s been receiving by his colleagues in most of the Dollhouse articles so far have not been exaggerations.
Back to the A-story, DeWitt marvels at the fragment of frieze Langdon retrieved mentioning that Michaelangelo thought his works were already inside the marble for him to release. What that has to do with the Parthenon you’re gonna have to ask my friend Adele ’cause I sure don’t get it. She dispatches Laurence to deliver the piece to their client who, unless I’m much mistaken is never explicitly identified as the greek guy from before. She also throws in Dweeby OSE as a freebie at Laurence’s prompting.
Laurence exits for Topher to enter, again, in a Tizzy. I have a feeling Topher will often be in one of those. This is a more subdued kind of Topher Tizzy than before. It’s a Tentative Tizzy in fact. Topher tests the water by saying that Victor’s been debriefed and ready for wiping. Topher has verified Echo’s remote wipe. And that’s not supposed to happen. So what gives? Topher will tell you what gives. It’s Alpha isn’t it? He’s alive. Isn’t he? He’s the only one who could even remotely pull a remote wipe off. Right?
DeWitt’s enjoying what seems to be a scotch, straight, by the way. Adele don’t need no rocks. She cools her own drink. She calmly shifts a couple of pages of paper Topher’s way and asks him to sign and initial them. He’s shocked. Is he being fired?! Topher, darling, it’s the first episode, what do you think? He’s not being fired. Rather his clearance is being upped. Because he is right.
It takes all of Topher’s willpower upon processing this to not pee his pants at the thought. He is terrified at the prospect of Alpha being both alive and free. Alpha supposedly died after some “incident”. Ah, that sci-fi staple the ‘vague naming of important events’! So not only did said “incident” not manage to kill Alpha, but the Dollhouse people have been concealing the fact. He’s out there with the gifts they gave him and according to the phonetic alphabet (as people all over the internet have figured out already) he is the first of the bunch, which both puts Echo quite early in the doll sequence and most likely means Alpha has an arsenal of experimental prototype abilities in him. DeWitt remains British. Good for her.
Echo’s in the chair. The neat effect takes away all her memories from Langdon picking her up all the way back to the remote mind-wipe. Because, remember, Taffy was erased by Alpha. Echo: “Did I fall asleep?”
Under Sia’s cover of The Pretenders ‘I Go To Sleep’ -and sorry for going on about this but it was AWEsome- Echo goes into the communal co-ed shower area. Wrapped in a towel she runs into a likewise clad Sierra who’s exiting the showers. They exchange warm smiles. The kind of warm smiles that don’t belie a smidgen of knowledge of what their day entailed and I’ll stop here with that point ’cause it’s better that way. Echo washes off.
After her shower Echo goes to a mirror where another male Doll is moisturising. I didn’t think that Dolls would have tattoos. At least not in between missions. But I am glad they moisturise. Their job must be a bitch on the skin! Echo stares at the foggy mirror. She draws an open-topped oval in the condensation with her finger. She adds another two, smaller, closed ones - eyes. Then a mouth. We see her features reflected in the bits of mirror that her lines have cleared. The focus shifts for a full shot of her face. Her lip is still cut.
And we’re out again. For now.
Note : This recap was written exclusively for End Of Show by Gio Despotakis and edited by Kirsty Walker.
ZOMBIES DON’T RUN!
Dead Set was quality fare with solid performances, imaginative direction, good gore and the kind of inventive writing and verbal playfulness we’ve come to expect from the always brilliant Brooker. As a satire it took pleasing chunks out of media bumptiousness but more significantly, the aggressive collectivism demonstrated by the lost souls who waste their Friday nights, surrounding the Big Brother house, baying for the blood of those who beat them inside. Like Romero before him, Brooker simply nudges the metaphor to a literal conclusion and spatters his point across our screens in blood and brains and bits of skull. If he had only eschewed the zeitgeist and embraced the docile, creeping weirdness that has served to embed the zombie so deeply into our grey matter, Dead Set might have been my favorite piece of television ever. As it was I had to settle for it merely being bloody good.
Loeb and Alexander - Still Heroes
Kirsty Walker reflects on the controversial loss of Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander as ‘Heroes’ producers.
In a world where ratings mean all, television as an art form cannot flourish. As a commodity, as a distraction or as a snare for advertising revenue, television exists without purpose, and viewers are short-changed.
In firing Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander, NBC have clinically removed the heart of Heroes. That their demise came from the pursuit of the almighty dollar is even more depressing. The show’s unique transparency for viewers has given us a insider’s view of how well-respected Loeb and Alexander were amongst the cast and crew. Watch the Alexander-shot video from behind the scenes at this year’s triumphant Comic-Con panel and you will see the faces of cast members light up as they see him behind the camera. Nathan Petrelli’s kids are named after Alexander’s sons, and Jeph Loeb’s comic book credentials gave Heroes that elusive mix of the comedic and tragic which made it a worldwide hit. Their involvement in the show was more than work, and more than money, it was passion for a subject, and belief in good television.
Jeph Loeb penned three Heroes episodes, and Jesse Alexander three. In One Giant Leap (Episode 1.3) Loeb handled the attempted rape and murder of Claire Bennett with sensitivity and a convincing voice, contributing to her becoming one of the series’ most loved characters. In Unexpected (Episode 1.16) he gave a hitherto unseen sensitivity to serial killer Sylar as he connects with Mohinder Suresh, in one of the character’s most important developments. The beleaguered Season 2 was given a shot in the arm by his tense and fast-moving finale, Powerless (Episode 2.11).
Loeb’s work with artist Tim Sale and his considerable pedigree in comic books gave Heroes a unique storytelling style and a whole raft of additional character information in the form of its graphic novels and the related novella ‘Saving Charlie’. The tireless exploration of character origins and canonical history informed the broadcast material and ensured that fans of the series were given so much more than their allotted 40 minutes per week to enjoy the Heroes universe. Much of what makes Heroes a worldwide phenomenon and not just another sci-fi potboiler is down to Jeph Loeb’s dedication to the idea that popular media can explore and evoke the most complex of human emotions.
Jesse Alexander’s Eris Quod Sum was the last aired episode before the election week hiatus. Its satisfying acceleration of events arguably delivered the season’s highlight so far. Despite Heroes losing viewers, it is still rated in the top five broadcast programmes, and still a favourite with the coveted 18-34 demographic. Plus, once DVR ratings are released the show was revealed to be gaining viewers. Only a week ago, Jesse commented on his blog that Advertising Age magazine had declared the TAMI index which measures live ratings redundant as so many more viewers were watching online and at their leisure through technology such as the BBC iPlayer.
In a show of real heroics, both men have asked fans to stick with the show. Without the heart of Loeb and Alexander to enrich the text, it remains to be seen whether the franchise can keep its viewers and its position as one of the best loved and most watched shows worldwide. It would be a testament to the dedication of the producers to see Heroes keep its heart, its idiosyncrasies and its distinctive style, all facets of the show which were the domain of Jeph and Jesse.
Keep watching Heroes, because everything you love it about it is the legacy of these two creatives. Loeb and Alexander, we salute you!
Heroes Producers Sacked by NBC
Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb, two major players in the creative direction of NBCs Heroes have been fired by the network. Both co-executive producers were seen as integral in the positive atmosphere and family feel that presides over the super hero show’s production, which makes their culling a dramatic move. Heroes has been underperforming as far as audience share in the their timeslot, losing out to Charlie Sheen comedy Two And A Half Men every week so far, but in the 18-34 ages range they completely slay all comers. Variety reports that NBC were frustrated at the creative direction of the show, which is about to embark on an extended volume featuring a Guantanamo Bay style detention centre for those with abilities, and felt that Loeb and Alexander were chiefly to blame. Budgets have also been blown out of the water on this season, making the ratings battle sting all the more.
CBR news spoke to Jeph Loeb late last night. “As of today, Jesse Alexander and I have left ‘Heroes.’ I’m incredibly proud to have been a big part of the success a show with eight Emmy nods and a win this year for NBC.com. I will miss the superb cast and writing staff and wish everyone the best.”
Jesse Alexander wrote in his blog : “I write this with a heavy heart. As of today I am no longer a writer/producer on ‘Heroes.’ I could not be prouder of all the work I did on the show and wish all my Heroic Scribbler pals the very best. Heroes has been a blast. The rest of the season is super cool. We’ve written 18 amazing scripts. And the stories for the last 7 are intense.”
Heroes is on hiatus for a week in the US due to election coverage, but continues on BBC 2 at 9pm on Wednesdays. Loeb’s final act was to write the episode ‘War’.
NBC declined to comment.
Tonight’s Russell Brand TV show to feature prank calls
Channel 4 Sales tell us tonights episode of Russell Brand’s Ponderland includes “making phone calls to unsuspecting targets”.
Manuelgate - You React!
Even Gordy Brown couldn’t swerve the most important issue to hit Britain since Kerry Katona slurred on This Morning, and End Of Show have been tireless in our efforts to squeeze opinions out of those almost directly linked with this breaking news.
Chris Hannon once played Luigi, the camp waiter from the Italian restaurant in Coronation Street. As a pretend waiter, like Andrew Sachs, we thought he was the perfect pundit to give his views on Manuelgate. He speaks : “In any other job they’d be sacked. Suspension is a tokenistic, empty gesture. But Brand is employed BECAUSE he courts controversy.. He’s ‘yoof’.
Chris can be seen in Blood Wedding at Liverpool Empire on 24.11.08 - 29.11.08
Pete Muldoon is the station manager of HCR 92.3 FM, an actual radio station : “We were as surprised as everybody else to learn that Russell Brand has had sex. We at HCR do not condone the act of ‘leaving messages’ though we believe that Andrew Sachs, his granddaughter and the BBC can all handle knockers….”
James Patterson once worked in Burger King, and knows what it’s like to be a sort-of-real waiter. His views : “There’s shit going down in the Congo, the murder trial in Liverpool and the whole world is in a state of economic chaos yet these two cunts are on all of the front pages. You couldn’t make it up. Personally I think Sachs has more talent in his little finger than these two wankers put together.
I also feel that those who say people are over reacting are missing the point - the fact that these two even perceived they would be able to get away with this incredibly disrespectful (and vulgar) prank points at a society that grows coarser by the hour and revells in bad taste and indecency.”
Clarry McDonald has been to Barcelona, where Manuel was from. “On one hand whereas the gag was of poor taste on Andrew “Manuel” Sachs, this suspension is the result of a typical over-reaction by Daily Mail reading Nazi-sympathisers.
The ironic thing is, these outraged citizens probably still think it is funny on their Spanish holidays to abuse waiting staff in time-honoured “Manuel” fashion. Because that’s the sort of ilk that subscribes to Daily Mail propoganda. On the other hand…it’s as interesting as an old gentleman’s wrinkled genitalia.”
Leave us your comments on the story of the decade.
BBC suspend Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross
The Beeb has shut down production on Vanity Project’s “Russell Brand Show” on BBC Radio 2 and Jonathan Ross’ TV show due to the continuing — and frankly, hilarious — row over phonecallgate.
BBC Director Mark Thompson spews:
I would like to add my own personal and unreserved apology to Andrew Sachs, his family and to licence fee payers for the completely unacceptable broadcast on BBC Radio 2.
BBC audiences accept that, in comedy, performers attempt to push the line of taste. However, this is not a marginal case.
It is clear from the views expressed by the public that this broadcast has caused severe offence and I share that view.
Since Sunday, I have been in regular contact with the senior executives I tasked with handling this issue.
The investigation that I instructed Tim Davie [director of BBC audio and music] to conduct is nearing completion, and I am returning to London to review the findings and, in the coming days, announce what action we will take.
In the meantime, I have decided that it is not appropriate for either Russell Brand or Jonathan Ross to continue broadcasting on the BBC until I have seen the full report of the actions of all concerned.
This gross lapse of taste by the performers and the production team has angered licence payers.
I am determined that we satisfy them that any lessons will be learnt and appropriate action taken.
I have been asked to report to the Trust’s Editorial Standards Committee before the end of this week and will discuss with the Trust the findings of the report and the actions I propose.
The Ross and Russ Suspension - EOS Sticks Its Oar In
Did you hear the one about the exotic dancer who got a couple of male TV personalities into a whole heap of trouble? Her name’s Georgina Baillie, and she dances with a delightful troupe of entertainers called Satanic Sluts as a burlesque performer (that’s stripper with feathers in case you didn’t know).
Aside from being a paragon of virtue, Georgie the stripper is not averse to the odd tumble with a celeb. She banged Russell Brand like a sparkly tambourine and then flew off on her European tour while his mate Jonathan “Car Crash” Ross took it upon himself to reveal this to the nation, and her old Grampy, who happens to be Andrew Sachs of Fawlty Towers fame, via Brand’s BBC Radio 2 show. Three days later the world as we know it collapsed in on itself as the combined outrage and horror of millions threatened to poison the very air we breathe in a catastrophe which would eclipse the financial breakdown of the planet and our impending ecological doom as mere twinkles in the eye of the great Moloch, Destroyer of Worlds.
So Ross and Brand have been suspended, their TV and radio shows pulled from the air, and the BBC left having to react to something which could have easily been prevented by a stern hand from a producer, rather than the limp wrist that presides over every episode of the Russell Brand show on Radio 2. Make no mistake, this is a bold decision from the BBC. They don’t pay those millions to Jonathan Ross for nothing and now they’re going to have to replace Friday Night With… which was due to film tonight featuring Miley Cyrus, Frank Skinner and The Killers. Russell Brand gets to keep his show Ponderland on Channel 4 as he wisely spread his seed a bit further. All the eggs in Ross’s BBC basket have been pulverised, over one silly joke which went too far.
A thought – could everyone be overreacting slightly? I mean, I can think of roughly ten billion more important issues which should be troubling the Prime Minister into making a statement. I would have had eternal respect for Gordon Brown if his statement about the Ross and Russ debacle had read as follows “The Prime Minister is of the opinion that this ‘issue’ is a load of old sensationalist bollocks. He wonders if you know who he is and that he’s very busy. He respectfully asks you to piss off and bother Stuart Maconie if you want a talking head for your tabloid news item”.
Let’s dig through the mire and look at the lonely old facts shall we? There they are, sitting dolefully in the corner while their friend ‘conjecture’ is shagged silly by the press. First off, there was no real invasion of privacy in the phone call. We heard Andrew Sachs’ answering machine message saying that it was Andrew Sachs and that he wasn’t there – leave a message. So far, so meaningless. The OFCOM guidelines on breaches of privacy state that expectation of said privacy depends on the extent to which the information is already in the public domain. The fact that Russell Brand and Georgina Baillie had a sexual relationship was already in the public domain, and no other information breached her privacy at all. Baillie posts pictures of herself in her underwear on publicly accessible sites like MySpace and Bebo, and if you pay your money you can see her take her clothes off and dance around covered in blood for the Satanic Sluts on any night of the week. How much privacy does she need?
An apology has already been made to Andrew Sachs by Jonathan Ross, who was the one who made the ‘upsetting’ comments in the first place, so couldn’t this be settled by grown ups? Why does the might of Ofcom or the police, as some have suggested, have to be invoked? Moreover, if there is going to be any disciplinary action, then what of the show’s producer Nic Philps and the senior producer who gave the go ahead to the transmission? Anyone who has seen footage of the Russell Brand show will know that he doesn’t act as his own tech op, i.e. he does nothing but stand and talk. Therefore, someone repeatedly put the studio through to the outside phone line to allow Brand and Ross to speak directly to the answering machine. Jonathan Ross was technically a guest on the show, and therefore it was the responsibility of the person in charge of the microphone faders to cut him off when he began to speak irresponsibly. In short, a lot of people were responsible for any distress caused to Andrew Sachs, and suggesting that Brand should be sacked, and that Ross should lose his radio and TV show with the BBC for the ‘outrage’ does not solve any internal problem, nor does it prevent the same thing from happening again.
Matt Morgan, who usually co-presents and tech ops the show, was tellingly not present. The sobering yin to Brand’s raging yang, he would never have allowed the two clowns to call back once the original damage had been done, let alone allow them to call four times. The absence of Matt Morgan has not been explained officially but a source tells us that there’s been some falling out between the long time collaborators which has led to Morgan taking a break from the radio show.
Incidentally, back in January, Russell Brand interviewed Chrissie Hynde and revealed that he had slept with her daughter Natalie, even going so far as to suggest a bit of mother/daughter action might be in order. Of course, no-one was offended, no-one complained, and the world stayed spinning on its axis. What a difference a few months make.
Heroes podcast - The List - Season 3 Episode 5
Our new podcast ‘The List’ is out now, with a run down of the events of Episode 3.5 of Heroes, entitled ‘Angels and Monsters’.
Heroes podcast - The List - Season 3 Episode 4
Kirsty and Kev take a look back at “I Am Become Death”, including examining what Angela wants to do with Sylar (played by the ever lovable Zachary Quinto).
Alan Tudyk has Good Vibes.
End Of Show can reveal that Alan will be starring in a new animated comedy from the writer of Pineapple Express. ‘Good Vibes’ is about two surfer bums and their high school life.Alan will play ‘Lonnie’, an old surf dude who also narrates the show. The pilot was recently picked up by Fox and is going to a table read in early November, with the final show pegged for Spring 2009.
The show will also star Josh Gad (The Rocker, Back To You), Adam Brody (The OC, Gilmore Girls) and Debi Mazar (Entourage, The Women).
Source: AlanTudyk.net
FOX saves Terminator at the last moment
FBR have stepped up to the plate and ordered 9 more episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles be put into production, in a move which makes End Of Show look like a bunch of idiots and which makes them look rather cool.
Terminator sank heavily in the ratings this season, slipping to numbers in key demographics which have almost universally lead to cancellation on FOX with previous shows. It looked extremely unlikely FOX would order more episodes given the ratings, however they decided to take a new direction at the last minute — “Terminator” was about to start shooting it’s final episode — and stick with the show despite the slipping audience.
Preston Beckman, Fox’s exec VP of strategic program planning and research, said the network is going to stick with Terminator on air through to Christmas.
“These are niche shows” he said. Because “Terminator” has continuing story arcs that aren’t close-ended episode-to-episode, it makes it difficult to recruit new viewers.
Asked to confirm if this means Dollhouse will lose the slot it was due to take from Terminator in January, a Fox spokeswoman told us “We haven’t announced our midseason schedule yet… but Dollhouse is currently in production and for a premiere in ’09″.
We’ll be covering what caused the swing towards Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles favour in depth in a few days time. It’s a bold move by FOX.
FEATURE - Inside Production - Terminator, Dollhouse and more
Welcome to our new feature, Inside Production, which gives you a behind the scenes take on what’s happening in the world of TV production in LA and the UK.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Current shooting episode 11, then moving to 13 in downtown LA - its final ordered episode (at present). Terminator shoots episodes out of order. The next batch of episodes due to air move away from the Terminator of the Week format and focus more on a story arc.
Dollhouse - Currently finishing up the new cut of its pilot in post, and filming episode 5 in West Hollywood. The show now has a 30 second introduction title sequence now which introduces the key players and sets the tone (our take: being disconnected from the world, even if you are walking around like an action hero - with a hint of creepy). Expect Joss Whedon fans to be singing ”What you don’t know won’t hurt you. Maybe the lies are true?” at you in January. It screened in Cannes to networks over the last 3 days, and has two further unscheduled screenings today (Oct 16) at 9am and 2.30pm.
Casualty - Production is set to move to Cardiff in a few months, although its subject to final approval. This brings it in line with Torchwood, Doctor Who and Merlin.
Heroes - Episode 3.3 One of Us, One of Them
Kirsty Walker recaps Heroes at BBC 2 Speed because she’s a good girl.
It’s only episode three and already Sylar is strapped to a table in the Company cells. For an all-powerful super villain he does have a knack of getting himself in bother. Never mind though because his mum’s here – no, not Audrey from Little Shop Of Horrors, it’s a new mummy, Angela Petrelli. I recently saw an avatar which said “If we get any more Petrellis we’ll be able to play six degrees of Angela’s womb.” Classic.
During Season 2, Bridget Bailey was introduced as an interactive element on the BBC website, where you could track her emails with Mohinder Suresh. She was a British Hero, very exciting then that she showed up on the screen. “Bridget!” I cried. “Bridget Bailey! Fantastic”. Then Mama Petrelli served her up to Sylar as a tasty main course. Farewell England’s Rose!
HRG isn’t pleased that his new partner is the very same man who was fingering his daughter’s cerebellum a few days earlier. The rest of us unbelievably excited of course, as Angela dresses up her newly acquired boy in a rather fetching suit and sends him out with his hair all slicked down like a Corleone. Brilliant scenes as Sylar does that acting thing he does, ordering the local plod to get him some coffee as he and Noah investigate a bank robbery being pulled off by the escaped Villains.
Ah yes, the Villains. We’ve got Knox, who feeds off fear and appears to have just stepped off the set of New Jack City, we have ‘The German’, so much of a stereotype that they don’t even bother giving him a name, Flint, whose name I had to look up because apart from being a fireball throwing douchebag he’s rather anonymous, and Jesse, who is also Peter Petrelli.
Wha? Oh yes, Present Peter Petrelli, or 3P as he shall henceforth be known has been trapped inside the body of Jesse by Future Peter Petrelli (FuPe). 3P is trying not be found out as he seems to have been embroiled in this planned heist from the start. Here’s the thing. These four villains have been planning this robbery, but they’ve been trapped inside level 5. When did they formulate this plan? During yard exercise? Why has the Company allowed its most dangerous prisoners to chat about a possible heist? And come to think of it, they had no idea that they were going to be released from the holding cells by Elle’s short circuit, so we have to assume that they were planning a hypothetical raid on a hypothetical bank, which they just happened to find within a few miles of Primatech.
So back to the best ones, HRG and his ‘partner’ Sylar. (Fanfic writers – start your engines!) Sylar is bitching about not being allowed to help, like his Dad has taken him to work for the day but told him not to touch anything. HRG gets himself swapped for the hostages, and meanwhile, Knox has managed to work out that 3P isn’t really Jesse, not that outwitting him is particularly hard, this man is so dumb that he wouldn’t understand his own plotlines. Knox is feeding off of the fear of the others, plunging his fist through the German’s chest and attacking 3P, leading him to unleash Jesse’s power – a supersonic scream. Right on cue FuPe arrives and teleports 3P out of there, leaving everyone else in an unholy mess. Sylar leaps in to save his new Work Dad and can’t resist scooping Jesse’s power while he’s at it. Bad Sylar! Back to the cells you go while Noah plots to kill you, though we know there’s going to be some reason for him to change his mind. Possibly some hot Company locker room scenes. (What? You were thinking it too!)
Hiro and Ando are busy chasing after the world’s fastest woman, who has half of an important formula in her possession which Hiro wants for some reason. I’ll admit I’ve lost track of this storyline. So the formula can give people powers? What, like Mohinder has already done? Why aren’t they at his house with some industrial strength flypaper instead? Anyhoo, they’re in Berlin (we know this because there are some German posters for a Buster Keaton festival) trying to get the other half of the formula before Daphne does. There’s a lot of slapstick going on but it’s fun because there are no future people and no body swaps. The Haitian gets knocked out by Ando (why does no-one ever think of this? You might not have your super powers but you can still kick his ass) but Daphne still ends up with the formula, and the Chuckle Brothers end up in Level 2 of the Company cells. D’Oh!
Back in Africa and Pacman is rapping with his spirit friend who has Isaac’s painting powers. Afro-Isaac’s apparently painted a rather bleak future for Pacman where he appears to carrying his dead wife in his arm. Downer! Next time, how about a nice sunset, or a unicorn drinking from an enchanted pool?
Over at the Bennett house, Sandra is ready to bitch-slap Claire’s bio-mommy, the amazingly crap Meredith. Just cos she can make fire and all that shiz don’t mean she is nuffink! Claire doesn’t think she needs school because she’s a super hero, but this is ridiculous – she’ll need Chemistry to get the dye-job right on her Future Hair when she goes all bad, she’ll need English to understand Sylar’s cryptic explanations of her ‘specialness’, and I hear that the Company now wants NVQ Level 2 in Professional Heroism before they’ll even interview.
Meredith takes Claire on a nice mother-daughter bonding trip to an empty shipping container, where she proceeds to try and suffocate her to get the confession that Claire doesn’t want to be a cape-billowing supergirl to help people, just to lay the smack down on the man who brain-raped her. Good luck blondie.
Nikki version 3.0 aka Tracey Strauss is in Norlens, accidentally barging into Nikki’s lying in state. Come on, she’s been dead for months! How come she’s still laid at a funeral home? She barely even looks dead! Micah knows that Aunt Tracey isn’t his mum, but he can find her medical records, which shows that she was born on the same day as his mum, at the same time, in the same hospital. And he still hasn’t surmised that maybe they were twins? I thought this kid was supposed to be a genius.
Tracey barges in on an elderly doctor who calls her ‘Barbara’, and says he created her. Oh golly, here we go again…How many of these women are out there? They’re like tribbles!
Next week we go into the future again, who’s betting that 3P ends up stepping on a butterfly and accidentally wipes out the world whilst trying to save his My Chemical Romance records from a deadly virus or something? Stop. Trying. To Help.
Terminator gets two more episodes
FOX have ordered two more scripts of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. These will form episodes 2×14 and 2×15 of the season — although it is unclear if these scripts will be filmed.
Normally a network would order “the back nine episodes”, which they haven’t done in this case. The last case we can recall of two extra scripts being ordered in this situation was during 2002 with FOX’s “Firefly” (which starred T:SCC’s Summer Glau). In November 2002, FOX ordered two extra scripts. The show was then axed one month later.
Firefly averaged an 8% share of the 18-49 market, which is slightly ahead of T:SCC now - however the situation with ratings since 2002 is much complex, with the onslaught of DVR technology and internet streaming.