Meanwhile I’ve also been watching a lot of Deadwood, which must be going up against The Thick of It for the title of sweariest show on TV, especially Calamity Jane.

Alternatively the whole witty teenager speak thing has started going so far up it’s own arse it’s now merely vaguely annoying and incomprehensible. I blame Juno for this.

Anyway, when we first find out the sinister intentions of the guy hiring Echo I was thinking it would really add a darker edge to the already morally grey (well, not *that* grey) ethics of Dollhouse: That they allowed Echo to be hired for the purpose of hunted game. It would take prostitution to a whole new level. I was actually a little disappointed when I realised that they were just hiring Echo out as an adventurous girlfriend, not as game.

(Also, listened to new PC gamer podcast last night, the reading out of the MSN email really cheered me up. Loved the sincere interpretation of idiocy.)

Like Walker, I had a very hard time not switching it off and never watching again at “cern the diff”, but the absence of any esoteric lingo elsewhere doesn’t bother me at all. A common thread among the negative reactions seems to be the ways in which it’s not Buffy, or Whedonesque – I didn’t expect or want it to be.

Mostly I’m just enjoying Dushku, who changes impressively, and the stark variety. Not having the faintest clue what might happen even fifteen minute into an episode is a rare thing. I think there are easier ways of achieving it, but whatever, it’s working for me.

Doctor Disaster: finally watched the United States of Tara pilot on your recommendation. Holy shit.

Interested to know what Tom thinks about it. (The episode I mean, not my opinions on Eliza Dushku…)

I’m uncertain about his role in the new series, he’s always done morally grey things, but their best ever episode was the one that humanised him and it’s sad to see them repeatedly trying to take that back.

…I’m hesitant in saying, every character on the show? =)

The difference between the tension now and the tension in season 2 is that the tension now is very well-motivated. HRG is doing extremely unethical things both to protect his daughter and because he genuinely believes that these people need to be controlled. Claire is justifiably appalled as she is brought face to face with her dad’s dark side.

Whereas in 2 the ‘tension’ was between “We need to protect our family from a sinister corporation that wants to lock us all up” and “but I like this boooooooooooooy!”

Killing HRG in order to give Claire motivation? I bloody hope not, sacrificing one of, if not the best character in order to improve a weak one is not a good plan.

The thing is, they’ve done it all before, at the beginning of season 2 where Claire was supposed to just be a normal girl. We get it; she wants to be a hero, HRG wants her to act normal, this is just covered ground.

It’s one of the main failings of the series; no consistency. The characters learn lessons, then forget them almost immediatly. It completely undermines the journey that those characters took in season 2 when they finally learnt to trust each other (or not, as the case turns out). I would love to see HRG get killed because of Claire’s constant rebelling. It could be poignant and the event that kicks some fucking sense into the character.

However, Heroes isn’t the sort of show that kills of it’s main actors very easily (just ask Ali Larter…) and when it does it almost always makes a hash of it (Elle and Daphne for example).

hmm, I remember watching it and thinking “none of this makes any sense. Why would Tracy freeze her only bargaining chip in front of the only person who seems to care about her.”

Also, Dante, while it’s great that Claire isn’t the damsel in distress any more, she’s beginning to remind me of Scrappy doo now. The amount of times she’s said lines like; “you’re not going to get away with this,” forcing me to snort the ricicles I’m eating out of my nose with laughter, indicates to me that maybe she was better as the cheerleader that needs saving. She seems to be punching above her (miniscule) height more often than not, with hilariously clichéd and cheesy consequences.

However, I watched it (the most recent episode) and it actually wasn’t half bad. It wasn’t amazing, but it is beginning to restore my faith in the series. Let’s see what happens when Brian Fuller’s influence begins to be implemented.

Dante, just last night I was trying to explain what season of Heroes they were on, and gave up. Thanks for clarifying. I agree that the bit they’re doing now shows promise, if only because they’re ditching all experimentation and lifting the entire premise directly from an X-men yarn. But while cutting down the number of characters who do incredibly stupid things to advance the plot is a step in the right direction, that number still isn’t zero and it should be.

I think my friend (who no longer watches the show) described it best when he said Heroes is one of those serials that is always poised to get really interesting, but never quite manages to cross that threshold.

I’ve just watched the first two episodes of the second chapter of the third series (sigh) of Heroes, and you know what? It might actually be getting good again. Maybe Brian Fuller does more than he gets credit for.

Dollhouse seems to be getting very mixed responses, I’ll have to take a look sometime soon.

Agreed, the amalgam personalities thing feels entirely unnecessary, and requires another huge leap of logic to accept. I’m guessing he has a really good scene in mind that hinges on it.

Really? Is that what they were saying? I thought the personality of the person she was currently using was just near sighted, so then she became nearsighted as well. I actually liked that part. The guy saying they couldn’t pick and choose which features of a personality they wanted.

Also, spurred by this scout news, I have decided to start following you.

ON TWITTER I MEAN.

The first episode itself was only a 7/10 though. I hear Fox executives dipped their dirty fingers in it which explains alot. Probably the same fingers that strangled Firefly and Futurama.

I couldn’t take that sort of pain a third time.

Damages has got much better, and captivatingly dark.

The concept of Dollhouse continues to make no sense, but luckily the show itself is great. I like Dushku but hate Faith, so it’s nice to see her snap out of it. It will be cancelled swiftly, of course.

Lie To Me: still fun.

(And whoever was complaining that the cylons are treated as inhuman — well, suffice to say that issue has been addressed pretty thoroughly.)

Dexter season 3 was good, but any follow-up to season 2 was bound to be overshadowed. House I enjoy, but I don’t follow it. Frankly, I don’t understand how people ‘follow’ episodic series like that. Heroes is kind of acting like it wants to redeem itself — they’ve excised all the most hideously unbearable material from season 2 — but it’s not there yet.

I’m also strangely compelled by United States of Tara. The central premise is utterly preposterous, but some of the characters are pretty interesting to watch. Not as constantly funny as Juno (same writer), but not as treacly either.

But if you really want to see some trash TV appreciation, sit me down in front of one of those awful ghost shows. I’m not even into ghost stuff, but for some reason I can sit there for hours watching guys who were picked on in high school point thermal cameras at creaky floorboards.

Incidentally, this week’s News Quiz had David Mitchell debuting, and he was excellent.

Not thinking about it is the only way to stay sane.

@ J-man

Ah. And I see wikipedia confirms. It was satsifying to stun my brother with my smug analysis, regardless. More characters should be based on Holmes. Less games should be made, in return.

@ Dante

I wa’s reading ‘some Terry Pratchett to my wife, and its’ hard becau’se he doe’s a lot of punctuation humour. I’ts’ hard to convey verbally.

I just watched the first two episodes of ‘Lie to Me’ and it’s surprisingly decent, despite clearly doing a bit of a ‘follow the leader’ in some respects. I like the ‘radical honesty’ guy though, isn’t he the boyfreind from ‘The Middleman’?

I really have to cut down on my apostrophe usage.

I was really enjoying it for a time, but I got tired of Don being such a dick to the women. Connor from Angel was an inspired casting choice for the role he plays.

Flashpoint didn’t grab me, but I’ll give it another go since so many mentioned it.

I lasted nearly one season of Battlestar, it’s not for me. I might be able to suffer the oh-so-serious military setting if I found the bad guys compelling or liked any of the characters. I will watch anything with Michelle Forbes, though, so her guest star as that Admiral was worth sticking around for.

My appetite for House is dwarfed by the amount of it they’ve produced. I think I would have liked it to be a film.

Don’t watch either Mock vs Got News often enough to judge these days, but when David Mitchell hosts the latter I’m there. QI is king. Fry’s Twitter is making me sick of him, however, so I must unfollow.

Speaking of superannuated TV shows (c’mon segue, don’t fail me now!), I’ve somehow been reminded by this of a story I like about The Drew Carey Show. Apparently, the final couple of years were spent in a contract vortex where the production company had to make the show, and ABC had to pay them for it, but there was no network oversight and no intention of sticking any of the episodes on air anytime soon.

The article (within an article) tells the depressing side of it – actors doing work that will basically be thrown away – but barely touches on what happens creatively on a sitcom that no longer needs to chase ratings. Apparently they did lots of musicals – a form that cast was nearly unique in sometimes pulling off – as well as…paedophile jokes? The writers at Dumbbaby say it’s still basically TDCS, but I keep meaning to check out a few episodes of The Twilight Zone Drew Carey Show for myself.

He’s deliberately based on Holmes, the patient in the first episode was named ‘Irene Adler’ after a character in the books.

Wilson is his Watson.

Also, House is sherlock holmes, right? He has a cane, a drug habit, always solving mysteries with full-force logic. I watch one or two on that black day that my brother bought the boxed set and watched it. I saw bits while bringing him food, emptying his bucket, etc. It’s weird for Hugh Laurie to talk like that. He’s weird. You’re weird.

And yes, I know about Sir Stephen of Fry. I get mildly rage-tastic that he doesn’t podcast more often, but then feel all guilty because I know he’s doing more important and more awesome things instead.

QI is brilliant though. Did you know Stephen Fry has a podcast and a twitter account?

I may have gone a little overboard on that. Anyway, QI’s ace.

I’ve never watched Flight of the Conchords, but my brother got me the CD for my birthday last week and it’s pretty splendid. It is now officially on my radar.

Admittedly you have to get a ways through it to get to this (seasons 2, 3 and 4).

Between that and the general unlikeable characters I ended up seeing no real reason to want humanity to survive.

And @Roadrunner, I feel like I should give you a massage or a footrub or something. I understand the hypocritical nihilism but seriously, you can admit to liking something without having to take a dig at something else. Liking things doesn’t neccesarily make you seem naive.