Green Eyed Girl

Adventures in TV

Having a break from work yielded some seriously welcomed time for TV watching - not the dreck on daytime television, but an opportunity to watch all the stuff I have downloaded in the past few months and not got around to watching.

First up - Mad Men.

Mad Men Cast Photo

This show is seriously terrific.  Set in the 1960’s Mad Men tells the story of some advertising executives in New York (traditionally all ad agencies were located on Madison Avenue - hence ‘Mad Men’) and their families.  What makes this series distinctive is that it is peopled with characters who while they are not particularly likeable they are authentic people with fears and hopes and desires.  It is also unflinching in its portrayal of the sexual politics of the time - and boy am I glad that I grew up with the advantages that were denied the female characters on this show.  However the show does do a great job of giving equal airtime to the issues of both women and men.

Mad Men - what seethes beneath the surface at the agency and in the home?

Mad Men is so lushly set decorated and filmed that it looks like an ad brought to life complete with saturated colours, perfect hair and immaculate white teeth.  Its a joy visually - so beautifully art directed and with such fabulous costumes that even if I hated every character I would still want to watch it.  A is not a fan because he thinks all the characters are awful people - and it is true that each character is not wholly likeable but I don’t have a problem with that.  It makes for more intriguing viewing.  I highly recommend adding this series to your DVD wish list (or torrent queue).

Who’s on Second? - True Blood

True Blood - Sookie and Bill

Alan Ball distinguished himself in the minds of all right thinking people with his show Six Feet Under.  Even though the show started to get creaky in the latter stages of its evolution, Six Feet Under was ahead of its time in terms of subject matter, the quality of the writing and its production values.  The last episode showing the deaths of all the main characters is guaranteed to make me tear up - especially as we get to see Claire depart this earthly realm last of all, surrounded by her photos and having lived a long, long life.  Its also the episode with one of the most sage pieces of advice ever uttered - “you can’t take a picture of this, it’s already gone”.

Ahh…I digress.  Anyway, The accomplished Mr Alan Ball is now producing a new show called True Blood.  It doesn’t quite have the pedigree of Six Feet Under, nonetheless it is quite a good show, which I managed to gobble up in a week.  True Blood is set in the south and is a tale of modern day vampires (and possibly other creatures) with a bit of Southern Gothic murder mystery thrown in for good measure.  It is the story of Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in the small town of Bon Temps, who is a telepath and who can hear the thoughts of others.  The twist in the tale is that 2 years previously the whole world found out that vampires were real and wanted to live in mainstream society - a desire made possible by the invention of a synthetic blood product called ‘Tru Blood’ which provides for all vampiric nutrition needs.  Sookie is naturally sympathetic to the plight of vampires who are ‘outsiders’ like her and takes up with a vampire called Bill.

It doesn’t sound that promising, but trust me its pretty good.  A little trashy, but the cast is good and the story clips along at a good pace so you won’t find yourself getting pissed off with the story arc a la Lost or Heroes.  Anna Paquin is good as Sookie (though her accent is a little unreliable) and Australia’s own Ryan Kwanten (Hone and Away) is pretty good as her womanising brother (the producers get him naked a lot - and he’s not all that bad to look at either).  The show is based on the Sookie Stackhouse series of books by Charlaine Harris.  I can’t comment on the source material but my friend S says they are pretty good, and my friend M likes the show too.  I would recommend True Blood for those in need of some light entertainment.

Third Base - Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies Cast Photo

This show defies description…well if course it can be described its just that if I attempted to (as I did at lunch the other day) you would think it sounded like the most impossibly twee and nonsensical show ever…and it is deliciously twee and at times lovably nonsensical which I why I love it.  It stars Lee Pace (a total honey who has the misfortune of being in shows that get cancelled), Anna Friel (who is completely adorable and incredibly beautiful), the incomparable Ellen Greene, Swoozie Kurtz and Kristin Chenowyeth.

Pushing Daisies

The art direction is amazing and its a really smart, funky show…that was cancelled after a shortened 1st season (writers strike) and falling ratings in the second 13 episode season.  As with most great TV its an overlooked jewel so check it out and fall in love like I I did.

Four to the Floor - The Mentalist

The Mentalist

Well this show is trash, total trash.  It’s not even high quality trash but its eminently watchable and a bit addictive.  Simon Baker (formerly Simon Baker Denny from E Street) is a consultant to the police who used to pass himself off as a psychic - really he’s just super observant and clever.  The title is terrible but the stories are quite enjoyable and Simon Baker is fun as the main character, the titular ‘mentalist’.  Its junk food TV and I would recommend it for anyone who is keen on a bit of mental downtime.

It also doesn’t hurt that just before Christmas we bought a big f**k off tv…that makes it infinitely more pleasurable to watch anything.  I just have to recover from the epic buyers remorse it engendered before I can talk about it.

I am also about to order Breaking Bad, In Treatment and all 5 seasons of The Wire from Amazon.  I’ll keep you posted on what I think about those.