Dateline: The Pink Gang

Not a big fan of ‘Dateline’. I did watch it sometimes when my fave news person, Jana Wendt was hosting. There is nothing wrong with the program, it just isn’t in my schedule.

As a media writer though I am sent preview copies of programs on a regular basis and this encourages me to watch ‘other’ programs that perhaps were not in my normal personal viewing schedule. This has been a major ‘wake-up’ call for me, with SBS and ABC becoming a regular part of my new personal viewing line-up.

This week on ‘Dateline’, Amos Roberts travels to India to meet a courageous women called Sampat Pal, a woman that will not stand for government laws that do not protect women’s rights and for police that regularly accept bribes, which allow for the continuation of criminal activity.

I think it is really important that we take the time to appreciate how lucky we are as a country. We all know about third world countries where people are starving, however, there is also more ‘developed’ countries that still have outdated laws that do not protect the civil basic rights of human beings. Sampat herself was forced into marriage at the age of 12 and was pregnant at 15.

I think we all realise that that there is a LOT to be done in the world but we often are overcome with the magnitude of it all and then step back. Sampat Pal is just one woman who said enough is enough and this fabulous crusader is an inspiration to even us lucky ones here in Australia. She has devoted her life to challenging the hierarchies and protocols that keep India’s poor in place. Sampat started a ‘gang’ called ‘The Pink Gang’ who travel India offering hands on intervention for abused child brides and corrupt officials. The gang seeks peaceful resolutions but will resort to violence if necessary. This is no ordinary gang. They now have a membership over 40 000 and are quite the fear to law breakers and government officials.

If Dateline is not your thing and you are usually watching ‘Talkin’  ‘Bout Your Generation’, ‘Bones’ and ‘Border Security’, I would encourage you to flick over to SBS, check out this powerful and inspirational story and be reminded of what our fellow brothers and sisters are living through in other countries.

The 18 time Walkley winner ‘Dateline’ and the program on ‘The Pink Gang’ airs THIS Sunday at 8:30pm on SBS.

Jerry Seinfeld in NBC's 'The Marriage Ref'.

Some may ask what is ‘The Marriage Ref’?…and rightly so. Despite heavy promotion during NBC’s Olympic coverage, the actual promos didn’t seem to reveal much about Seinfeld’s latest comedy endeavour. But following the 2010 Winter Olympics’ Closing Ceremony, a sneak peek was broadcast giving the entire nation look at what Seinfeld has up his sleeve with the new series, ‘The Marriage Ref.’

Last century Seinfeld was a household name around the world and a ratings powerhouse for NBC. When the sitcom ‘Seinfeld’ ended, NBC’s reign as the number 1 network dissipated with it, and for the past five years they have been languishing in fourth place. So when Seinfeld proposed his new project to NBC early last year, it was greenlit immediately.

What seemed to be a routine husband/wife argument between Jerry Seinfeld and his wife Jessica, who conveniently had a friend over, has turned into a TV Show. Awkwardly placed, Jessica’s friend decided to leave, rather than see her out the door, Jerry asked her to be the ‘ref’ aka judge as Jerry and his wife pleaded their case.

The TV show is a cross between a reality, comedy and panel show. Our host is Tom Papa, who looks like he has been separated from birth with ‘Cougar Town’s’ Ian Gomez. He is joined by Jerry Seinfeld and two other celebrities as they provide their ‘expert opinion’ on the relationship at hand. Tonight’s episode featured Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) and Kelly Ripa.

In the sneak peak, we are shown clips of Danielle and Kevin who are arguing over a stuffed pet and Dianah and Greg disputing over whether or not a stripper pole should be fitted in the bedroom. The panel of experts attempts to parody the clip and the ‘contestants’ but it fails to draw many laughs, Baldwin came up with some good one liners but Seinfeld and Ripa didn’t add much to the panel.

Further, the corniness provided by Natalie Morales (NBC newsreader) the statistician who provided some useless numbers, some sports guy Marv Albert who might as well not be there and Tom Papa giving his ‘verdict,’  ‘The Marriage Ref’ isn’t NBC’s best replacement for Leno.

But who knows? NBC did include a clip show of what’s to come which included some big names in Ricky Gervais, Larry David and Madonna all on the same panel which had me excited otherwise it left a lot to be desired. Granted NBC has ordered only seven hours and the star power on display in the upcoming episodes, I’ll be returning for seconds.

‘The Marriage Ref’ premieres in its permanent timeslot, Thursday on NBC.

2 out of 5 stars

Ben Whishaw and Bill Paterson star in ABC1's 'Criminal Justice'.

OLDIES BEWARE: This Friday night thriller is no ‘Midsomer Murders’.

In this compelling and addictive two part UK mystery, murder, crime, justice and the law are mixed in with drug use, prisons and a young man’s bare bum.

However, if you skip this one, you will be missing one of the best crime thrillers in quite some time.

YOUNG ONES BEWARE: ABC1 Friday night dramas aren’t always just for the ‘oldies’. Check this one out.

When I received the review for this program and saw that it would be airing in the Friday 8:30 slot on ABC1 and that it was from the UK, I thought it would be another similar show to other Friday night stalwarts such as ‘Silent Witness’ and ‘Midsomer Murders’.

These shows usually skew to an older demographic although being a person in my 20’s, I have enjoyed shows like ‘Wire in the Blood’. So, I put the series to the side and thought I would watch it “sometime”.

However, the press release that went with the DVD was quite compelling, it was the winner of a number of awards including an International Emmy, BAFTA, Writer’s Guild of Great Britain and Broadcast Award. The plot sounded quite tempting. So, being a two part series (beginning March 12th) I thought I would at least watch the first part.

So along came the first 15 minutes; young people, sport, nudity, drugs, violence and a grizzly death. BANG! My nanna usually watches those Friday night ABC1 mysteries and she will get a bit of a shock. However, moving past that and it is easy to see why this mini-series has won a multitude of awards. It is simply compelling. It also raises more questions beyond what we have already been asking such as, Is the law an ass? Is the legal system really about truth and justice or is it a case of who has the best lawyer, who can act the best on the stand, what legal technicalities can be introduced and is truth only a tiny element of a case? The series poses the theme of truth being optional; where what counts is playing the game, in order to come out on top.

The main young cast member Ben Whishaw who plays Ben Coulter, a 21 year old man who embarks on a night of spontaneous fun with a sexy stranger, Melanie (Ruth Negga), is simply a young and rising star with incredible star potential. His character doesn’t expect to wake up to find her dead body, covered in her blood and holding the murder weapon with no recollection of the night’s events.

So to young people out there that think that the Friday 8:30 slot on ABC1 is just for the ‘oldies’ then you may miss out on something as incredible and as compelling as this 2 part mystery which is not to be missed. And to the ‘oldies’ out there that think all the programs in that slot are the same, then I challenge you to give this fabulous UK thriller a go; you might see a bare young man’s bum now and then, but if you get past that, it surely will be worthwhile. Anyway what is a bum here and there, when most of the other shows are full of violence and grizzly deaths?

If you were watching this in the UK you would have had to watch it over 5 episodes. Lucky for us, ABC1 presents the show as a two part mini series. Even better news is that a second season has been completed which I hope the ABC will screen  in 2010.

So YES, I did watch the second part immediately and was satisfied to the end. Now do I recommend it for my Nanna? Hmmm…

Rose Byrne stars in FX's 'Damages'.

If you’ve never watched an episode of ”Damages” before, well Season 3 could officially be your jumping in point. As far as legal dramas on television go, there is nothing like it. Impeccably acted, incredibly written and intricately plotted, its easily one of the most confounding, head-unscrewing dramas around. This is not television to be taken lightly by any means.

Perhaps a jumping-in point is perhaps a little much. There is a long history between civil law great Patty Hewes and her once-protégée Ellen Parsons that the summing up over the pre credits montage glosses over way too easily. Deception, underhanded dealings, lies and betrayal – all the really juicy stuff in law are just regular occurrences in the past two seasons. And while Season 3 starts with Ellen now out of Patty’s firm and working for the District At tourney’s office, you can bet your bottom dollar that she’ll be pulled back in soon enough.

Certainly something that’s noticeably missing is the head-to-head grudge match between Patty and Ellen. What made the early seasons great is Ellen slowly realising the lengths to which Patty would go to get what she wants, and then the trajectory of her going back at Patty. Not so much a full blow war, but the subtleties in the dialogue and their characters is what made their relationship must see viewing every week.

The fact that time and space now separate the two means, again hopefully only for the moment, its about coming to grips with the case of the season. Again, its another CEO who has frauded his company’s investors and lost them all their money. Including a ‘Damages’ regular as the second episode drops into the plot. So Patty is firmly ready to bring the money-cheating bastard down; except that she is doing so through the seemingly innocent son who claims to know very little about the situation and simply wants to help the unflappable Patty in an effort to reclaim his family’s name, if for no other reason than to protect his wife and son.

As is always the case with ‘Damages’, there is waaay more to the plot here than meets the eye, especially in a single episode; or in the case of this review, two episodes. By the end of the second instalment you’ll find yourself wondering what the hell is going on; no more or less so than any other season at this stage. But for those that love being confused and tested by their television shows rather than the passive experience most shows usually afford, ‘Damages’ is a series like no other.

The enigmatic unfolding of a seasons mystery is one that certainly requires dedication to the series; thankfully each run has a brisk 13 episode commitment. But its that tight episode order that maintains the highest level of writing a television show can muster these days; not only in the brilliantly written and defined characters, but also in delivering only the most important details in each episode to make it wholly compelling viewing. Don’t be fooled, you can be certain that everything, even the seemingly minor drug bust that Ellen’s involved in in the first two episodes, has something to do with what is happening six months later.

Perhaps a little contrived, but hey, its TV. This is what makes it compelling, slightly hyper-real, but always amazingly taut viewing each and every episode.

Other than the skilfully written episodes and characters, ‘Damages’ is also known for its brilliant (but also expensive) casting coups; Martin Short, Lily Tomlin, Campbell Scott have all featured brilliantly so far, as well as 24 alum Reiko Aylesworth, the mysterious architect hitting on Patty in Keith Carradine and even another Aussie Sarah Wynter is still to turn up.

So far, Martin Short will be robbed not to get an Emmy nod come September as a guest star. And no doubt completing the trifecta will be Close after two Best Actress in a Drama series wins in a row. She is that good.

This show is that good. Season 3, only two episodes in, is that good. Its certainly an acquired taste with its fractured plotting methods, which has shown in its continual lacklustre ratings – even cable networks take that into account now, so nothing is safe. It requires dedication, intelligence and patience, but every season has been worth it, and Season 3 so far looks like its lost none of its ability to draw you in and keep you guessing until the very end. If only all television was this good.

'My Kitchen Rules' judges Pete Evans and Manu Feildel.

When Network Ten announced plans to scrap ‘Big Brother’ for ‘MasterChef Australia’ back in November 2008, there was a resounding “huh?” across the industry. Little did we know that a mere 7-months later ‘MasterChef’ would be breaking ratings records in Australia.

Skip forward 1 month and Seven have announced plans to revive the ‘Rules’ brand in a new cooking format, pitting state against state and kitchen against kitchen.

If Seven were ever going to take another stab at a cooking show, then why not try to leverage the success of their most resounding cooking format?

So after several weeks of heavy promotion and publicity, ‘My Kitchen Rules’ is finally here. But will it set kitchens on fire?

From the get go, ‘My Kitchen Rules’ would be in for a tough battle, trying to beat down the stigma of being just a ‘MasterChef’ rip-off. In that regard, the ‘Rules’ name probably works strongly in its favour, seeming more like revival and less of a copycat format.

Renowned chefs Manu Feildel and Pete Evans play judge on ‘Kitchen Rules’, who are probably the greatest assets of the show. Coincidentally (or not), both Feildel and Evans also provided guidance to the aspiring chefs on ‘MasterChef’ last year. I gather they won’t be receiving invitations back to the ‘MasterChef’ kitchen this year…

It’s clear that ‘My Kitchen Rules’ has taken plenty of inspiration from its Network Ten counterpart. From the show’s (arguably-simulated) high drama presentation, to the whimsical mood-setting soundtrack, there are ‘MasterChef’ cues written all over it.

None of this is a surprise really. This style has become somewhat synonymous with the reality TV format — just watch ‘The Biggest Loser’, ‘The Amazing Race’ or ‘Survivor’.

The problem of utilising this high-drama presentation style on ‘My Kitchen Rules’ is that no matter how different the show may be, audiences will automatically be reminded of ‘MasterChef’.

To its advantage ‘My Kitchen Rules’ differs from ‘MasterChef’, in that it pits couples against couples — a competition style which proved highly successful for ‘My Restaurant Rules’ and Nine’s renovation spectacular ‘The Block’.

What made these formats so engaging was the highly competitive nature of the contestants, whose ego’s became even more inflated as the series progressed. This made for must-see TV back in 2003-2004.

But will this be enough to keep viewers glued to the screens in 2010?

Just examining the most popular reality TV shows on the air today — ‘MasterChef’, ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, ‘The Biggest Loser’, ‘Beauty and the Geek’ — theres clearly a new trend where reality shows pride themselves on being a positive and uplifting. Contestants are guided and nurtured, despite being in competition with each other.

It’s possible that the spitefulness and negative nature of ‘My Kitchen’ contestants judging each other could prove fatal for Seven.

Just look at last year’s biggest reality flop, Nine’s renovation disaster ‘homeMADE’, which pitted one team of designers against another. The show was fast paced and had plenty of drama, but there was also a significant amount of manipulation and sabotage at play.

Even ‘Big Brother’ struggled to maintain its popularity once this new “positive reality show” trend set in.

Will ‘My Kitchen Rules’ be the one to buck the trend? Only time will tell.

If it doesn’t catch on, Seven will no doubt need to significantly rejig the format if they even hope to retain somewhat of an audience over the season. Scrapping its ludicrous and obviously flawed contestant-on-contestant judging system would be a start. Distancing itself from the elephant in the room that is ‘MasterChef’ may be slightly more difficult.

2 out of 5 stars

Shiri Appleby and Britt Robertson in 'Life Unexpected'.

Prior to The CW, there existed The WB network – this was a place to find heartwarming, family dramas where the whole family could sit in front of the TV to enjoy the likes of ‘Gilmore Girls’ and ‘Everwood.’ Unfortunately due to financial difficulties it was forced to merge with fellow struggling network UPN. This saw the end of The WB’s distinct brand, giving rise to what we see on The CW right now, with most shows focusing on filthy rich teenagers who have too much time on their hands.

Last fall, The CW tried to buck the trend with ‘Privileged,’ which coincidentally focused on filthy rich girls without the sex and bitching, but that failed. This time around they have come up with ‘Life Unexpected,’ ‘Life Unexpected’ was so different to The CW’s other shows that The CW didn’t even know what to do with it. The title of the show changed three times in the space of a couple of months, from ‘Light Years’ to ‘Parental Discretion Advised’ to the ridiculous ‘Life UneXpected’ and then finally settling on ‘Life Unexpected.’ And for those who haven’t noticed, the capitalization of the ‘X’ was supposed to put emphasis on its main antagonist Lux.

Lux (Brittany Robertson) has been in the foster care system for a long and treacherous 15 years, on the eve of her sixteenth birthday she decides she wants to free herself from the system, to do this she must be legally emancipated, which requires the signatures of her birth parents. Created by Liz Tigelaar, this is where ‘Life Unexpected’ picks up the story. To obtain the signatures she must seek out her parents, her father Nate “Baze” Bazile (Kristoffer Polaha) is a thirty-something living above a bar still unsure of his future. On the other hand, Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby), her birth mum, partners up with Kyle, her soon to be husband (Kerr Smith) on a successful morning radio program.

Lux was a result of an accidental one night stand between high school students Nate and Cate. But when Lux confronts her parents, one of which who didn’t know she existed and the other who didn’t give a second thought of keeping her, both are naturally shocked. To complicate the matter, Lux’s emancipation hearing is rejected by the judge handing Cate and Nate joint custody of their biological daughter despite just meeting the distant individuals. This forces Cate and Nate to realise they must mature quickly and become responsible parents.

No doubt, the proceeding episodes will focus on the complicated matters they face as they try to juggle their everyday lives with the addition of a teenager, Lux’s eagerness to find out her parent’s past and the possible problem of having Lux, Cate, Nate (and his friends) and Kyle live under the same roof and or the fight for custody of Lux.

Despite the plot holes – the bleeding obvious, why wouldn’t anyone want a smart, pretty teenage caucasian as their daughter, there is plenty to like about this warm family drama, ‘Life Unexpected.’ The characters are funny, charming and the relationships are well played out making them believable and hopefully this will be the breakout role for Polaha who charmed and entertained us on the short lived CW series ‘Valentine.’ ‘Life Unexpected’ is a flashback to the feel good dramas on The WB, where it was more about being nice to each other than bitching and whining.

4 out of 5 stars

Dave Hughes, Charlie Pickering, Carrie Bickmore and James Mathison on Ten's 'The 7PM Project'.

Last night I managed to catch my very first episode of Network Ten’s sort of new news show, ‘The 7PM Project.’ I’ve watched a few clips here and there but why did it take me so long to actually sit down and watch a full episode of ‘The 7PM Project?’ a) It was on at an inconvenient time and I must congratulate Ten for showing some patience with this show – airing it right across the summer and even airing encores late at night, which was how I managed to catch it and b) I saw it as a tabloid show with childish humour and after my first viewing I wasn’t wrong.

Let’s start off with the positives, Carrie Bickmore and Charlie Pickering seem to both have a bright future, their presentation is smooth and they seem to be comfortable doing a daily show. Now to Dave Hughes, seriously with that sort of face who can treat him seriously? And with that annoying voice, I just wanna switch off the TV every time he speaks.

The show itself is direction-less, is it trying to be serious or is it trying to find the funny side of news? I think the later is true but it is not working. They focused on the Liberal leadership as Tony Abbott was elected as Liberal leader that morning replacing Malcolm Turnbull. Ten’s political editor Paul Bongiorno – who was referred to by Charlie Pickering as ‘Bonj,’ seriously? – joined the team as they discussed the day’s events. Paul Bongiorno looked out of place, he started off with a smirk and as Charlie and co questioned him with their usual childish humour, you could see he was trying to hold it together. Couldn’t they tone it down and act professional for one segment?

The opening sequence also seems to be trying too hard. They attempt to include funnies into news stories which aren’t working. I recommend trying an opening monologue in a similar mould to American talk shows or even better a daily version of ‘Carrie at the Newsdesk’ from ‘Rove.’

As for the guests, last night Ray Martin joined the crew to promote his new biography, but we didn’t learn much more than what has been reported in the papers. Perhaps, I have been Americanised with my comparisons to American talk shows such as ‘The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,’ ‘The Lateshow with David Letterman’ and ‘The Jay Leno Show,’ but the hosts in the aforementioned shows actually spend a good 10 to 15 minutes with their nightly guests and we actually learn something new about the guest once the interview is done. I know ‘The 7PM Project’ doesn’t have the time to interview a guest for 10 minutes, but if they could ignore the tabloid stories, there would a lot more time for the guest.

‘The 7PM Project’ has potential to build an audience but the people behind the show need to be clear of which direction they are heading, keep it light without the silly jokes.

‘The 7PM Project’ airs nightly at 7pm on Network Ten and is repeated daily after ‘Ten’s Late News.’

2.5 out of 5 stars

Warning: This review contains possible spoilers

Esai Morales and Eric Stoltz

So, after four seasons of one of the greatest series ever made, ‘Battlestar Galactica’ came to an end earlier in 2009. And the world well and truly mourned.

The series practically redefined science fiction for the modern era; adding politics, human struggle and dramatic character arcs that were more well-defined that even some of the very best drama series on TV.

It was so much more than just science fiction, it was a critique of humanity, of society, a series that delved deep into the psyche of the human condition and posed questions and ideas that few shows would ever touch.

And now, in the wake of its demise, the hole left in the world with ‘BSG’s’ absence is now in the early stages of being filled with yet another look at the same fractured, futuristic world where humans are again toying with the very nature of their existance. ‘Caprica’, to those who followed BSG for the last 5 years, is of course the ill-fated metropolis that falls at the start of ‘Battlestar Galactica’.

This new series chronicles the preceeding generations lives 50 years before the fall, showing us the first steps in what will eventually be the Cylon rebellion that is humanities undoing.

The two hour pilot here clearly sets into motion the chain of events that will result in the future that is destined. We see the who, the why and the how… and again, it’s political and religious undertones ironically mirror that of the characters future ancestors regarding deep ideals and beliefs. Like ‘BSG’, ‘Caprica’ delicately threads together the existances of its characters into a rich mosaic of events and its provocative disposition.

Starting with a shocking “terrorist attack” that will obviously prove to be more than just the catalyst that sees Greystone Sr adapt his daughters technological advancements into something more tangible, it soon becomes aparent that all the characters here have skeletons. All of which will undoubtedly come back to bite them when things go pear-shaped.

Visually, ‘Caprica’ has its similarities to the ‘BSG’ universe, but the focus is clearly much more on the characterisations and the origins plot of this generation and what their actions will do in regards to what happens in ‘BSG’. It’s a brighter series obviously being set in ‘Caprica’ itself, but it certainly doesn’t make things any less dark – that much is clear very early on. It’s easy to see this will become the confronting, stark series that ‘BSG’ was.

It’s easy to get excited about the potential that ‘Caprica’ holds, and thankfully we get a full series early 2010 to see where the deliciously taut plot threads set up in the pilot go as the series progresses.

Those going into this with ‘BSG’ in mind will need to put that series out of their minds, as this is an entirely different creature even considering its existance within the same universe of characters, events and places. Minus much of the action ‘BSG’ had, this prequel will be more about people than its predecessor was, but should keep its cutting-edge dramatic flair that made ‘BSG’ so damn good. Bring it on!

4 out of 5 stars

Eliza Dushku as Echo and Dichen Lachmen as Sierra in Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse'.

As most of my favourite shows from the states go on hiatus for a week – in place of sports, I thought I would just give a few reviews on shows I have kept in my viewing rotation this fall.

Despite the pre-season buzz surrounding ‘Dollhouse’ after the fantastic finale, unaired episode, ‘Epitaph One’ and the Comic-Con, the sophomore season of ‘Dollhouse’ has somewhat been an anti-climax. Similar to season one, season two of ‘Dollhouse’ has seen more boring episodes than engaging ones but this week’s episode ‘Belonging’ illustrates the potential of the show.

Ironically, the best episode since ‘Epitaph One’ had more of Sierra/Priya (Dichen Lachman) and less of Echo (Eliza Dusku). ‘Belonging’ continued on from last season’s ‘Needs’ where it hinted that Sierra was perhaps sold to the ‘Dollhouse’ rather than volunteering like the others. It also demonstrated how adaptable Dichen Lachman is when given different roles. We flashback one year ago, where Priya is a normal citizen working as a craftswoman when Nolan (Vincent Ventresca) approaches her. Nolan does everything he can to seduce her, giving her a painting gallery, even hiring both Victor and Echo to convince her he is the right man. But when she decides “Nothing in this world could ever make me love you,” we cut back to the present day where the two are hugging and kissing like they are a couple.

We later discover, in an attempt to seduce her, Nolan drugs her, making others believe that she is a schizophrenic, has her institutionalized, and uses his connections with the dollhouse to “help” her by making her a doll. Then he hires her for repeat engagements as his love interest.

Back in the Dollhouse, Echo senses some discomfort with Sierra and decides to show Topher Sierra’s disturbed paintings, who is surprisingly shaken. Topher’s transformation from an arrogant smartarse (season one) to a sympathetic character must also be highlighted. His conversation with Adele (Olivia Williams), after finding out how Nolan is treating Sierra emphasizes the lack of control the supposed boss has over the dollhouse. It is unethical head honchos like Harding (Keith Carradine) who run the show.

Nolan then demands he wants Priya permanently imprinted with his preferred personality and Priya returned to him for good leads to some cool scenes. Topher imprints Sierra with her original Priya which leads to the murder of Nolan and the gruesome hacking and dissolution of his body.

Finally as many of you know, Fox has done a back flip with their November sweeps schedule, after announcing they would stick with ‘Dollhouse,’ they will be airing repeats of Bones and House during November, then will burn off a further six episodes during December by airing episodes back to back. This leaves the remaining three episodes in limbo and who knows with Fox, these episodes might not even reach the airwaves and will eventually be on DVD. I suppose, we fans can only treat this second season as a bonus as this show should’ve ended in May given the ugly ratings.

We can play the blame game all we want, but both Fox and Whedon should cop the blame for the show’s soft ratings, Fox for wanting more stand alone episodes in season 1 and giving it an unfavourable Friday slot and Whedon (who had free rein this season) for bland early episodes. The bottom line is the relationship between Whedon and Fox is no longer as tight – I know Fox is giving Whedon a chance to redeem himself in ‘Glee,’ where he will write an episode or is this just some sort of justification to put ‘Dollhouse’ on hiatus during November? Nevertheless, Whedon and Fox should part ways which will be a win-win for both parties.

Other Notable Quotes:

• Adele to Nolan – after discovering Nolan’s dark events with Sierra: “I would no sooner allow you near one of our other actives as I would a mad dog near a child… given that you’re a raping scumbag one tick shy of a murderer.”
• Harding reminds Adele of her morals “Miss Lonelyheart”
• Sierra to Nolan: “I love him so much more than I hate you.”
• Sierra: “This secret we have… can you keep it?” Topher: “I can keep it, but I don’t know I can live with it.”

4 out of 5 stars

Matthew Bomer stars as con artist Neal Caffrey in USA's 'White Collar'.

USA Network seem to have a pretty solid business plan in motion. Introduce fun, character driven dramas with a touch of crime-solving thrown in for good measure. That seems to be the description for USA’s latest outing anyway.

The slick, fast-paced crime series, created by Jeff Eastin, centres on con artist Neal Caffrey (Matthew Bomer), who escapes from a maximum security prison just prior to the end of his four-year sentence.

On the hunt for his missing girlfriend, who he believes is in trouble, Neal finds himself being captured by FBI agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), the man responsible for his arrest the first time around.

Upon his capture, Neal offers Peter some pivotal information relating to an obscure ongoing investigation. As a result, Peter agrees to releasing Neal in exchange for his assistance on the case.

The first 5 minutes of the show chronicles an intricate escape sequence, which some may find a little bit too much of a stretch.

But if you’re able to believe the strategically woven plot with only a few flags raised, then you can totally buy into this show.

The quick witted banter between the two main characters is positively entertaining. They really do make this show. Like Simon Baker in ‘The Mentalist’, it’s the characters which will keep people watching.

These characters are also smart, but not beyond believability. While they may think they know all the answers — solving clues like nothing else — they’re not excluded from being caught out themselves when jumping the gun.

Bomer and DeKay really seem to work well together. They’re both really believable in these roles. Tiffani Thiessen and Willie Garson make great supporting cast members too — as Peter’s ever so supporting wife and Neal’s shady friend from the past.

If you’re a fan of light crime series, like ‘Psych’, ‘Monk’ and ‘Burn Notice’, then ‘White Collar’ is sure to strike a chord.

The show has just enough intrigue to keep regular watchers engaged and appears to be easily accessible for the casual viewer.

With such fun, smart and engaging characters, USA Network’s new series ‘White Collar’ hits all the right notes. You’d be crazy to miss it

4 out of 5 stars

'Hey Hey It's Saturday'

The return of, ‘Hey Hey It’s Saturday’ was back to the delight of many of its devoted fans, including over 200 thousand on Facebook, however many ridiculed it, as a bunch of has been coming back to relive their glory days.

The show began with a comedy skit which seemed a little try hard, and it felt very painful to watch. The opening by Daryl began with him saying sarcastically as if the show had ended rudely and now they are back better than ever. Daryl looked like a kid on Christmas Day, happy as can be however still mumbling through his lines like he always has.

Jimmy Barnes was introduced to sing one of his songs from his newest Rhythm and Blues CD. The show definitely had a 90s feel about it, reliving old acts of the past. However later on the show introduced Eskimo Joe and tried to unearth a couple of new musical acts.

Celebrity Heads was back, better than ever? Well not quite, I can’t remember the segment from years ago, but it felt a little stretched and tedious, Wilbe Wilde and Akmal were trying to make gags rather than playing the game properly.

Throughout the show there was continual talk about how the show is finally back and how it managed to do so. All this was interesting enough but got a bit old after it was mentioned a couple of times.

Molly’s Melodrama was back trying to unearth some new talent. It looked at the current Aria Charts and said that around 10 or so acts were back from Hey Hey days with the eerie music playing in the background. Yes Hey Hey did a lot of good for music, especially Australian Music, but the longevity isn’t all due to show.

Red Faces was back the opening act, “The Carabean Kings” were somewhat horrible, with the John Blackman voice over paying out the lead singers weight. Of course mean judge Red Symonds gonged them out early just like the good ol’ days. Second up “Sam the Man” a young kid with a vegemite gag, ‘5 uses of vegemite”. Another poor segement but some good ol’ Hey Hey moments of course. The third segment “The Dung Beatle Song” was a clever little song and probably the best of the bunch but the humour a little on the gross side. The fourth act, “I still call Australia Home” which was interesting to say the least, not sure what more to say about it. The young vegemite boy ended up winning the segment taking home $1000 from Kraft, appropriately.

The show then continued with the usual frivolitys and music acts and later ended off with the classic Plucka Duck segment before a couple more musical numbers.

All in all a nice reunion special, the fans seem extremely divided, half would love to have it back, the other half are appalled by the show. Time will tell when ratings come through as to whether it could possibly be resurrected.

3 out of 5 stars

Joseph Fiennes

‘Lost’ set a new precedent for serialised dramas on network television, spawning dozens of new shows, all hoping to tap into the same addictive style of storytelling.

So with ‘Lost’ wrapping up next year, it’s pretty clear ABC are hoping to keep fans invested in the network with another ambitious project.

Loosely based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer and developed for television by David S. Goyer (co-writer of ‘The Dark Knight’) and Brannon Braga (‘24′), ‘FlashForward’ explores a mysterious global event which causes everyone on the planet to simultaneously blackout for two minutes and seventeen seconds, giving them a glimpse into their future.

FBI agent, Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes), is mid car-chase through downtown Los Angeles when he blacks out.

Based on his glimpse into the future and corroboration with fellow FBI agents, he and his team are able to deduct that everyone’s consciousness somehow jumped forward six months during the flash forward, to the date April 29, 2010. With this vital piece of information at hand, Benford and his team begin to put together pieces of the puzzle surrounding this mysterious global event.

Ambitious is definitely a word that comes to mind after watching the pilot. It’s riddled with mystery and intrigue. The characters introduced provide a diverse range of opinions on the situation, ranging from at first what’s thought to be a terrorist attack to divine intervention.

For some, the flash forward brings something to look forward to, for others, dread. Every character’s life is thrown upside down as a result of this strange phenomenon.

Mark’s AA sponsor Aaron Stark (Brian F. O’Byrne) see his believed to be deceased daughter alive, Mark’s wife Olivia Benford (Sonya Walger) see’s herself with another man, FBI agent Janis Hawks (Christine Woods) is pregnant, despite being boyfriend-less in the present and fellow FBI agent Demetri Noh (John Cho) doesn’t see anything at all — predicting he’ll be dead in six months.

This show is definitely targeted at the same type of audience as ‘Lost’ or ‘Heroes’. The kind of fans who love coming up with different theories and drawing various connections.

There are plenty of goodies for television watchers to keep an eye out for, including an “Oceanic Airlines” billboard towards the beginning of the episode, which ‘Lost’ fans will no doubt get a kick out of.

Some may also find familiarity in the show’s score, composed by Ramin Djawadi, who’s best know for his work on ‘Prison Break’.

With such a strong emphasis on finding out answers, you really just hope the writers and producers know exactly where this show is heading. Unlike ‘Lost’, which is similar in its mysterious clue-dropping, ‘FlashForward’ has the disadvantage of its characters also trying to figure out what the hell is going on. This could be potentially problematic if the pieces don’t all fit together. It’s one thing for something to not be fully coherent as a viewer, it’s another for the story not to line up for a character.

That being said, there are plenty of great ideas here, which have potential to become truly mind blowing stuff. It’ll become more clear as the show progresses, whether this show will become the success that ‘Lost’ did.

With so many questions raised, it’s sure to have fans on the edge of their seats begging for more. But like ‘Lost’, viewers disheartened by all the mystery and lack of fast answers will most likely tune out after the initial spectacle has worn off.

‘FlashForward’ definitely has big shoes to fill, but it’s off to a great start.

4 out of 5 stars

Mischa Barton, Sara Paxton and Ashley Madekwe star in 'The Beautiful Life'.

Amidst all the remakes, book adaptations and spin-offs, The CW did actually have an original idea in the production slate this season.

From former model-turned-writer Adam Giaudrone and executive producers Mike Kelley (‘Swingtown’) and Ashton Kutcher, comes ‘The Beautiful Life’, a model centric drama based around the world of high-fashion in New York City.

Said to based on Ashton Kutcher’s early days as a model, the series follows Chris Andrews (Ben Hollingsworth), a gutsy young farm boy from Iowa, whose life is thrown up side down when he’s discovered by a modelling agent whilst visiting New York City.

Completely out of his element, he finds himself being assisted by Raina Mayer (Sara Paxton), a young model whose been tapped as the next big thing.

Mischa Barton marks her return to television in ‘The Beautiful Life’ as Sonja Stone, the former IT girl, who returns after mysteriously fleeing the country for six months.

The series also stars Corbin Bleu (‘High School Musical’) as Issac Taylor, Nico Tortorella (‘Make It or Break It’) as Cole Shepherd, Ashley Madekwe (‘Secret Diary of a Call Girl’) as Marissa Delfina and Australia’s Elle Macpherson as former supermodel Claudia Foster, the owner of Covet Modeling Agency.

What could have been yet another “small-town girl realising her full potential in the big city” cliche, by flipping the character to a male role, it suddenly becomes a whole lot more interesting. We get to see a different perspective on a played out storyline.

Another interesting facet is actually seeing Barton back on the screen, her character Sonja Stone is surprisingly multi-dimension. The reason surrounding her disappearance is unexpected and helps ground the character in reality.

As far as CW pilots this season go, ‘The Beautiful Life’ is by far the most original and distinctive. It has its own real and gritty visual style, which is a refreshing change from the plush, glossy worlds of ‘Gossip Girl’, ‘90210′ and ‘Melrose Place’.

While it’s unlikely that ‘The Beautiful Life’ will set the ratings on fire, having such a niche target audience, the series does hold its own among the other staple dramas on The CW.

3 out of 5 stars

Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder

From the moment, I first heard The CW would be commisioning ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ I have been holding out with bated breath for the pilot of this show and judging by its premiere, I will definitely be back for more blood.

From the creator who brought you ‘Dawson’s Creek’, Kevin Williamson returns to the scene for this decade’s smash theme, vampires. There have been numerous similaritires between ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and ‘Twilight’ and the similarities do not just stop at the vampire theme, from love interests and teenagers, right down to the physical appearance of the two leads. The similarities can not be more pronouce.

Like ‘Twilight’, ‘The Vampire Diaries’ is based on a series of novels, by L.J. Smith. After surviving a car accident which killed both her parents, Elena (Nina Dobrev) and her brother Jeremy (Steven McQueen) move in with their aunt in Mystic Falls. When Elena isn’t mourning over her parents or listening to her BFF, Bonnie, tell her she may be psychic, she has to cope with her whining emo, pill popping brother Jeremy (Steven McQueen).

In comes Stefan (Paul Wesley), the pretty boy who gets all the girls talking as he walks down the hallway. Like Edward Cullen, Stefan is a vampire who has been 17 for centuries, apparently. Before long, Elena and Stefan embark on the sort of cheesy love, you expect from all high school flicks, she secretly looks at him, he secretly smiles at her. He begins to appear outside her window at night, she typically dreams of him every night.

Here comes the twist, Stefan may be the good vampire, but his long lost brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) is the evil one who is capable of killing anyone to stay alive and he has his eyes on Elena. Ian does a good job of portraying the evil brother as everything he does looks evil, from his dark stare right down to his evil voice.

The special effects are limited, but there is a lot of blood. The bloodlust eyes in the sight of blood are really cool and the final fight scene was dramatic and exciting. Here’s hoping we see more fight scenes like that.

Overall, despite the similarities to a lot of vampire flicks – vampire falls in love with a sweet teenage girl, teenage girl is threatened by another blood sucking vampire, good vampire does his best to protect her – the pilot was a good start to the show and set the characters up nicely for hopefully a good season of blood.

3 out of 5 stars

'Melrose Place' is back, on The CW.

The CW seem to be setting a trend for bringing Darren Star’s 90’s dramas back to the screen; and the spin-off to the original’Beverly Hills 90210’, ‘Melrose Place’, is the latest to see new life on the network.

Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer, who ran ‘Smallville’ last season, breath new life into the iconic apartment complex, introducing a new batch of characters, new mysteries and new dramas — and like the new ‘90210’, the producers hope to infuse the new characters with a few original cast members too.

Laura Leighton reprises her role as Sydney Andrews in the new series and it appears little has changed since the original. Sydney is just as devious and scheming as before (albeit, alive once again — which is said to be explained at some point in the new series).

As the new landlord, she’s worked her way into every one of the new tenants lives, especially David Breck (Shaun Sipos). Within the first five minutes we’re thrown right into the middle of one of Sydney’s deceptions, which ultimately leads to pivotal moment in the pilot. This single incident brings all the new characters together, complicating all of their seemingly normal lives.

Perhaps the two of the more intriguing storylines, revolve around aspiring filmmaker Jonah Miller (Michael Rady) and medical student Lauren Yung (Australian raised Stephanie Jacobsen).

Jonah, who is left hanging after proposing to his long time girlfriend Riley Richmond (Jessica Lucas), catches an Oscar-winning producer in an incriminating position with a barely legal young girl. Faced with the option of trading the footage for a film-deal, Jonah realises the the impact this decision could have on his career and pending engagement.

Meanwhile, Lauren, who is struggling to pay off her hefty student loans, is propositioned by her patient’s attractive and charming son. With the offer of a large sum of money in return for certain behind closed-door favours, Lauren is unsure what to do, but finds herself being convinced to take up the offer by the mysterious new tenant Violet Foster (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz).

Another Melrose resident is super PR agent, Ella Simms (Katie Cassidy), whose love for being in control is equal to her love for woman. Ella is likely to stir up plenty of trouble for her fellow residents, showing signs of being equally manipulative and deceitful as Sydney.

Rounding out the series regulars is Auggie Kirkpatrick (Colin Egglesfield), who, while keeping up the appearance of being a talented young sous chef, shows he actually has a much darker side.

Also reprising his role from the original series is Thomas Calabro, as Dr. Michael Mancini, who is revealed as the father of bad-boy David. It appears the apple didn’t fall far from the tree in this case, as both have found themselves involved with Sydney at some point.

Following the initial “off with a bang” introduction, the pilot tends to drag a little with your standard character exposition and interactions. Though it does pick up towards the end, when the coda kicks in. Questions which were raised are somewhat answered, while even more perplexing questions are established as the episode comes to a close.

Between all the mystery, flash backs and seductions, there’s plenty of intriguing story lines to pull in even the newest ‘Melrose’ watchers.

While it’s nothing new or the least bit original, The CW have managed to sex up an already sultry franchise — with its flashy new look and glammed out set pieces, its bound to fit in nicely with the rest of the networks buzz worthy dramas.

One big question that remains is whether Network Ten will even consider screening the series, considering how awfully ‘90210’ bombed last year. Perhaps GO! will try to snap up both series. They’d fit nicely on the new channel’s line up.

2.5 out of 5 stars

The cast of ABC Family's '10 Things I Hate About You'.

ABC Family have pumped out a number of hit series over the last few years, including ‘Greek’, ‘The Secret Life of an American Teenager’ and ‘Kyle XY’, all of which found strong audience bases in their core teen demographic.

Now ABC Family are hoping to do it once again, but this time with a proven concept pulled right out of the 90’s. ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ is based on the hit 1999 film by the same name, which starred Julia Stiles and the late Heath Ledger.

The original film was based on William Shakespeare’s play ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, though these elements of the story were either omitted for the series, or were not explored fully in the pilot, but the general basis for the series is more or less same as the film. It revolves around two sisters, Kat and Bianca, as they try to navigate their way through high school and deal with their over protective father.

Lindsey Shaw, who played the essence of high school popularity in the short-lived comedy ‘Aliens in America’ does a complete 180˚ for ‘10 Things’. She plays the independent, self confident, feminist Kat, which she delivers eerily familiar to Stiles, with the exception of her being a brunette.

The role of Kat’s younger, impressionable sister Bianca is filled by Meaghan Jette Martina, who also looks and plays the part quite well. Nicholas Braun fills the shoes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s adorkable character Cameron, while Ethan Peck as Ledger’s bad boy character Patrick. Finally, to my great surprise, Larry Miller reprises his role as the sisters crazily protective father, a role which he plays too well.

The spot on casting of the sisters and solid supporting cast has helped the show to capture the same fun attitude that the 1999 film did. It has plenty of great one liners and comedic beats which is surely a result of having the same creative team as the original. Director Gil Junger and writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith all resume their roles on the series. They’re also joined by showrunner Carter Covington, who previously served as a writer and producer on ‘Greek’.

The writers have thrown in a number of references to the film, which fans of the original will easily recognise. There’s even a call back to the song “I Want You To Want Me” by Cheap Trick which has been covered by all-female Californian rock band KSM. The song was infamously covered and performed by Letters to Cleo in the film.

With so much of the original team involved and some great peformances, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ looks to be another hit in the making. That is if these teens today are still able to appreciate what was once one of the kings of 90’s teen comedies.

4 out of 5 stars

Eliza Dushka as Echo in Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse'.

Without giving too much away, here is my preview/review of drama ‘Dollhouse’ which has its Australian premiere on FOX8 June 9.

From the producer who brought you ‘Angel’, ‘Firefly’ and ‘Buffy’ comes Joss Whedon’s new project ‘Dollhouse’. ‘Dollhouse’ follows ordinary citizens who have volunteered to work for the Dollhouse, also known as ‘Actives’ or ‘Dolls’, whereby their personalities from the outside world have been wiped clean so they can be imprinted with personas demanded by clients. These personas range from crimes to fantasies to the occasional good deed. Outside of these personas, these dolls are stored away in a mysterious yet futuristic laboratory, named the Dollhouse. The Dollhouse is an illegal facility and is constantly under threat from FBI agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett).

The lead Echo (Eliza Dushku) is joined by Sierra (Dichen Lachman) and Victor (Enver Gjokaj) who all play dolls. When ‘Dollhouse’ first premiered it had a lot of potential, however due to Eliza Dushku’s limitations, the procedural nature of the show seemed very bland. It wasn’t until the sixth episode (‘Man on the Street’) where they delved more into the Dollhouse the show realised this potential. Ironically, this is when Sierra and Victor received more screen time. However, after that episode, the show headed south as it focused more on standalone episodes with Dushku. It wasn’t until the penultimate episode where I felt grateful for toughing it out during those boring periods.

Perhaps, Whedon chose the wrong lead with Dushku but that is an argument for another day. If you haven’t heard, ‘Dollhouse’ has been renewed for a second season, which might I add was one of the most surprising renewals of the last decade, especially given it was on a downward spiral (sinking from 2.0 rating in the key A18-49 demo to 1.0 for its finale). However, if the show did end on that episode, I wouldn’t mind as it was almost a perfect finish to a show which had so much potential.

As for the sophomore season, I can only hope Whedon focuses more on serialized episodes as the the show finished on such an awesome note. If it returns to standalone episodes, it will lose me.

If you are tight on time, I would recommend DVR-ing all the episodes and just skip to the Dollhouse scenes. Although I’d definitely recommend watching episode 6 (‘Man on the street’), 11 (‘Briar Rose’) and 12 (‘Omega’) from start to finish.

3 out of 5 stars

‘Dollhouse’ has its Australian premiere on FOX8 and if your lucky Ten Network will air it sometime in the future perhaps 12am Friday night.

Lawrence Leung stars in the seemingly pseudo documentary 'Choose Your Own Adventure'.

‘Lawrence Leung’s Choose Your Own Adventure’ is a 6-part ABC1 series, produced by the team that brought us ‘The Chaser’s War on Everything’.

It follows 20-something-year-old Leung, as he goes back to fufil his life long aspirations.

In the first episode, Leung is on a mission to find his long lost childhood crush Angela.

He even goes as far as to fly to California to seek advice from supposed experts in the field of “talking to girls.”

While this show may not be for everyone, it has its moments. Its far from the garish over top mockumentaty style of Chris Lilley’s ‘Summer Height High’, instead it tends to lean towards a more subtle form of comedy which extends from the awkwardness of more or less every situation Leung gets into.

The biggest laughs come from Leung’s Hong-Kong born parents, whose charming commentary on all of Leung’s antics make for some excellent entertainment.

There is a certain level of charisma that comes from Leung’s rather naive and gentle persona, however is this enough to sustain our attention over six weeks? Unfortunately, the awkwardness of the show’s comedy stylings sometimes plays too subtly that you do feel rather embarrassed by the events unfolding.

While I don’t think ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ will be the smash hit that ‘Summer Heights’ was, I do think the series will find its own loyal fan-base. Perhaps those who enjoy the similarly awkward Kiki comedy, ‘Flight of the Concords’.

3 out of 5 stars

‘Lawrence Leung’s Choose Your Own Adventure’ airs 9.30pm Wednesday’s on ABC1. Re-runs air 9.00pm Thursday’s on ABC2.

Chris Bath hosts 'Sunday Night' with Mike Monro.

Sunday the 8th of February at 6:30pm Sunday Night premiered for Channel 7.  Hosted by Mike Munro and Chris Bath. Produced by Adam Bowland, successful creator of Sunrise and The Morning Show.

The show began a little unstable at first, Mike Munro seemed a little nervous, he was live to air discussing the Victorian Bushfires.  Within the first 5 minutes there were a couple of stumbles and stutters however Mike is a consumate professional.  He then passed it onto Monique Wright, yes she is a blonde, however quite an intelligent blonde, has always been a reasonable presenter on 7 news and Sunrise.  She interviewed some of the survivors and discussed their stories.  Quite a heartfelt interview in such hard times.  She managed to show a great deal of compassion but at the same time convey her professionalism.

It was then onto Britt Lapthorne, the main story of the night.  Quite an indepth analysis on the case, with some new evidence analysed on the show.

Overall the show is quite well presented and should be a reasonably successful show for Channel 7.  Ideally if it could rate 1.4 million a week they should be really happy with that as it will launch their Sunday Nights quite nicely along with Seven News.

For those looking to find out more about the Brit Lapthorne case there is a Q and A after Sunday Night on 7HD starting at 7:30pm.  Also viewable online at Yahoo Seven.

3 out of 5 stars

Michael C. Hall stars as a Miami blood-spatter analyst and serial killer on 'Dexter'.

Season 2 of ‘Dexter’ is about to hit free-to-air screens thanks to the Network Ten, who’ve been bringing us a few nice little niche shows of late (albeit these show are airing in the Sunday slot in timeslots that are never at a set time), but nonetheless they are still on the air. Last year Season 1 of Dexter was in this slot, but proved to be popular and was able to maintain a core audience right through to screenings which sometimes weren’t ending until close to midnight. Well finally TEN have realised the potential this show has and have bought it into primetime.

This season of Dexter focuses on our homicidal maniac we all love and how he deals with life when his world starts crumbling down around him, there is a dramatic shift of character for Dexter Morgan this season, he is truely tormented and is quite obviously not himself, it all starts with the discovery of bodies lurking deep within Miami Harbour. Labelled “The Bay Harbour Butcher” Dexter’s world comes crashing down when he realises, which doesn’t take long, that these bodies, these kills, are his own. Adding to this is the drama created when Doakes starts making accusations against Dexter and knows that he is sly and hiding something within. Poor “Dashing Dexter” can’t even make a kill, his every move being watched, this adds to our anti-heroes downfall which sees our character dealing with domesticity, his relationship with Rita and confessing a dark secret to the women who helps hide his identity (Rita).

With the heat turned to danger levels Dexter needs to play it very cool to stay below a new sergants watchful eye who wants to stop at nothing until the case of the “Bay Harbour Butcher” is solved. Even though in the eys of the community this new serial killer is doing them a favour by taking out the trash of Miami.

Dexter is a stylish, addictive and completely out of the ordinary crime drama, and Season 2 really packs a punch, with stand out performances and cunning storylines. If you enjoyed Season 1 you’re going to LOVE Season 2.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Season 2 of Dexter premieres on Network Ten 9.30 p.m. Monday Feb 9.

America Ferrera is 'Ugly Betty'.

Season two of ‘Ugly Betty’ has had a rough trot on Seven but with the final episodes airing at last in January I thought I would review the season.

Season two started with the passing of Hilda’s (Anna Ortiz) husband Santos (Kevin Alejandro). This had a great affect on her life and her sister Betty (America Ferrera) helped her through it.  Betty decided to stay with Henry (Christopher Gorham) despite the fact that his ex girlfriend Charlie (Jayma Mays) was pregnant by him and they would only have a few months together.

Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) was engaged to Bradford Mead (Alan Dale) and they were set to marry until he dropped dead at the wedding.  Betty’s boss Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius) had to cope with his mother Claire Meade (Judith Light) being sent to prison and the death of his father Bradford. Claire eventually escaped and was allowed freedom once it was proven she only murdered Fey Sommers after being driven insane by a perfume.

Daniels transgender sister Alexis (Rebecca Romijn) gains large power over Mode in this season and grows to be a huge part of the show.

With these final season two episodes in January we will see much change in Betty’s work life and personal life. The season two finale “Jump” features a range of Madonna songs from her latest cd Hard Candy and of course the song Jump. It is an important episode for Betty where she has to make a big choice. Lindsay Lohan appears for the first time on ‘Ugly Betty’ in this episode in the role of Betty’s high school enemy Kimmie Keegan. Season three also features this character and a lot of big changes in Betty’s life.

Season three starts with Betty making a huge decision about her personal life. This changes her outlook in life and she goes on a trip by herself to the Grand Canyon. This trip makes her more work orientated and leads to Betty striving to get ahead in her career more so then seasons one and two. A big change happens in the life of Alexis that changes the whole show.

Kimmie Keegan makes her life difficult in various amusing ways and for once in recent years Lindsay Lohan plays her role well. A few episodes in Aussie actor Grant Bowler begins a recurring role as they mysterious Connor Owens. Hilder continues her dream to open a beauty salon and battles the council to get a permit so she can legally stay open. Mark and Amanda have huge changes in their lives with a change in one of there home lives and a possible huge relationship change.

Wilhelmina’s main focus is her surrogate baby with Bradford being carried by Betty’s best friend Christina (Ashley Jensen.) As usual she tries to advance her career and suceeds in a big way. Things are looking good for ‘Ugly Betty’ and I for one hope it continues for many seasons. The next episode airs on the 1st of January on Seven.

3.5 out of 5 stars

If you’ve yet to see this brilliant piece of television mastery, then now is the time to catch up.

From series creator Matthew Weiner (The Sopranos), comes the most talked about drama of the year.

Filled with egomaniacal suits, powdered housewives, retro furnishings and enough smoke and booze to make your eyes water, this drama will entice all your senses. It’s complete and utter genius and my favourite new show.

Previously limited to Foxtel Movie Extra subscribers, the critically acclaimed drama, has just arrived on iTunes. Go check out this truly mesmerising piece of television.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Set in the 1960’s New York, this sexy, stylised and provocative drama fellows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising, and ego-driven world where key players make an art of the sell. The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series for Best TV drama blurs the lines between truth and lies, perception and reality. The drama unfolds around Donald Draper, the biggest ad man in the business. As he calls the shots n the boardroom – the bedroom – he struggles to stay a step ahead of the rapidly changing times and the young executives nipping at his heels.

Download the entire first season on iTunes today. You’d be mad not to experience the show the critics are raving about!

Out of Africa: Jack's back in '24: Redemption'.

It’s been eighteen months since we last saw our hero Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland) but he is finally back with a two hour telemovie to wet our appetite of what’s to come in the seventh season of 24.

24: Redemption sees Jack in the fictional African country, Sangala, as he tries to dodge a subpoena from a Senate subcommittee for ‘illegal detention and torture of certain prisoners in [his] custody.’ Whilst in Sangala he catches up with his old mate Carl Benton (Robert Carlyle) who runs a boy’s school in the war-stricken country. However trouble arises when the warlords of the country are keen on enlisting these young boys as soldiers for a military coup.

What follows, is some action packed drama as Jack and Carl attempt to protect the orphans and escort them out of the country. And like previous seasons, it involves numerous firearm confrontation and explosions and gruelling torture scenes. Nevertheless, there are some moving scenes with Jack showing unusual emotion towards the orphans.

As all of this action is taking place in Sangala, a new president, Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones), is sworn in to office in Washington.

Overall, 24: Redemption does not disappoint, but I found, besides the dark first scene, the first twenty to thirty minutes to be a chore. However, the remainder of the episode, kept me on the edge of my seat, with a couple of surprising developments and Jack back to his bulls eye best (How can he be so accurate when the others are so uncoordinated?). The telemovie definitely sets up the entire seventh season with a number of interesting subplots set to unfold – Tony Todd, the Sangala Warlord, heading the coup, Allison Taylor as the first female president and her son (Eric Lively) who may possibly be the target for the baddies.

4 out of 5 stars

24: Redemption premieres 9:30pm 8:30pm Friday, December 5th on Seven.

Christian Slater stars in 'My Own Worst Enemy'.

John Eisendrath (Alias), Jason Smilovic (Kidnapped), and David Semel (Heroes and Life) have teamed up to produce NBC’s new fall drama, My Own Worst Enemy.

My Own Worst Enemy follows Christian Slater as he struggles to control his double life as Henry and Edward. Edward is employed by Janus Corporation, the government agency responsible for his induced persona. The Feds activate a chip in his head to trigger an operative licensed to kill (Edward) and inactivate the chip to disguise him as middle-class father, Henry.

Each episode involves Edward completing tasks for his company. However, when the company’s controlling device malfunctions, switching of personas can no longer be controlled. This can occur at the worst of times such as when Edward attempts an assassination or when Henry is spending quality time with his family.

As well as the missions, the proceeding episodes follow Henry as he attempts to remove the chip, but it is not as easy as it looks as Edward prevents Henry from knowing anymore.

Each episode is action packed and is slickly produced. However, the constant switching between personas may be confusing, but you get use to it after a couple of episodes.

If I were to rate the pilot on its own I would give it 5/10, but episodes two and three have been exhilarating.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Network Seven has the rights to My Own Worst Enemy with no mention of an airdate, but in the meantime catch it on NBC Monday 10/9c.

Molly Shannon and Selma Blair as America's 'Kim & Kim'.

It has been plagued with bad press, re-shoots and shuffling of staff behind the scenes, but now the American version is just under a week away and we have our first review of the NBC half-hour comedy.

While I was never a huge fan of the Australian series, I did have high hopes for the US adaptation of our foxy ladies. I thought if anyone could pull off an adaptation, it would be Ben Silverman and the folks over at Reveille Productions, the brains behind the American versions of The Office and Ugly Betty. Unfortunately for Kath & Kim, this adaptation of falls flat on its face.

I remember seeing the original bunch of promos that NBC ran earlier this year to promote the show, there were signs of the same ridiculous comedy that the Australian version strived on. But since the re-shoots it appears all those seemingly funny moments are gone.

What made the Australian version work so well, was that it was completely outrageous and over the top. The American version doesn’t even seem to have the same style. It’s not funny enough to be a laugh-out-loud comedy and its not well versed enough to be a good dramedy. It’s sort of stuck in this middle ground which doesn’t seem to offer anything remotely new or entertaining. I kept waiting for it to really pick up, having a few humorous moments throughout, but for the most part stayed pretty flat.

While I’ve always thought Molly Shannon was an great choice for Kath and Selma Blair as Kim was starting to grow on me, it’s the script and direction that really lets this pilot down. It wasn’t particularly clever or witty, but rather dull and lacking the outrageous comic prowess of the Aussie original. It often felt half baked or even restrained. I can only imagine how much more intriguing the original Paul Feig (The Office, Arrested Development and 30 Rock) directed pilot would have been.

One thing the script did get right was the pop culture references. There were some good one liners, but the execution was less praise worthy. I don’t know if it was poor direction or just bad comic timing on the actors behalf, but they just didn’t have the impact they should have had.

There were subtle hints of the original in the dialogue and John Michael Higgins plays a pretty great replacement for Glenn Robinns, but thats about it. It don’t think it really resembles enough of the original to be called Kath & Kim. Even Gina Riley’s cheesy soap operatic theme song rendition of “The Joker Is Me” has been replaced (with “Filthy/Gorgeous” by the Scissor Sisters). To top it all off, there are horribly done voice overs which sound more like after thoughts.

Perhaps because the show has undergone so many changes, it’s lost the original spark that attracted the American producers in the first place. Maybe the series will improve as it continues (like The Office did), but for now, I gotta say – It’s nothing nice, different or unusual. I don’t like it.

1.5 out of 5 stars

Kath & Kim premieres Sunday September 12 on Seven.

Lucy Hale and Joanna Garcia in 'Privileged'.

I briefly mentioned Privileged in a previous post, but I thought it deserved its own, if not brief little review.

Coming off the successful adaptation of Gossip Girl, the new CW dramady Privileged is based on another Alloy Entertainment novel, ‘How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls’ by Zoey Dean. It was adapted for television by Everwood writer and producer Rina Mimoun, whose more recent credits include Gilmore Girls and Pushing Daisies.

The show centres around Yale graduate Megan Smith, who recently moved to Manhattan with hopes of finding success in the field of journalism. However, when her plans suddenly go awry, she accepts the job as the live-in tutor for two spoilt rich girls in the wealthy town of Palm Beach and is presented with an offer she just can’t refuse. If she can get both girls into college, she’ll have all of her own college loans paid off by the girls millionaire Grandmother, Laurel Limoges.

From the very first frame, you can’t help but fall in love with Megan Smith, played so brilliantly by Joanna Garica (Reba). It’s almost as if she was born to play this role. She brings so much charm and sophistication to the character, something I haven’t seen so well delivered since Lauren Graham in Gilmore Girls.

The show also stars a solid supporting cast including, Lucy Hale (Bionic Woman) and Ashley Newbrough (Degrassi: The Next Generation) as Rose and Sage Baker, Anne Archer (Ghost Whisperer) as their grandmother Laurel Limoges and Michael Cassidy (The OC) as Megan’s friend Charlie Hogan.

The writing incredibly smart and funny, filled with so much vim and vigor. It definitely has all the trademarks of Rina Mimoun’s sumptuous writing.

Privileged is a delicious new dramady and is right at home on The CW’s line up. Fan’s of Gilmore Girls will love it for its neurotic, witty, fast talking characters and will be swept away by its undeniable charm and charisma.

4.5 out of 5 stars

The cast of the new ‘90210’.

They say there’s ‘no such thing as bad publicity’, right? But how about TOO MUCH publicity? Is it possible that Ten over promoted the show? Giving the public huge expectations that the show just could not live up to. Or perhaps its was just so overly promoted that people just got sick of hearing about it and ran away in droves. Who knows? What we do know is that, 90210 kicked off last night, but to less than stellar ratings.

The first thing I thought when I sat down and watched the pilot was, “Wow! There are a lot of characters in this.” The second thing I thought was, “…and I really don’t care about half of them.” I felt that the show was overloaded with too many characters and too many sub plots for me to track them all. It basically made 2-hours of confusion.

All the dramas with the new cast felt contrived and far too set up, they were all too happy and chummy by the end for any conflict to not feel plotted and artificial.

The story-lines I found more interesting were actually the parts with the old cast, particularly Jennie Garth. Even though she had little screen time, I found myself more engaged when she appeared on the screen. Trying to piece together the puzzles of what happened to the her, what she’s been doing, how she fell into the situations that she is in. For example, how Kelly ended up alone and with child. The mystery around her character made for far more engaging television.

Her reunion with Shannen Doherty was great. Despite not even being a huge fan of the original series, seeing them together still felt somewhat nostalgic. I’m sure original fans would have picked up on all the little calls backs to the original series.

Despite the show being promoted as this completely scandalous teen drama, I thought it was actually pretty tame (apart from the initial b*** **b in the first 5 mins). There were some subtle hints of wit and vigor in the script which I assume were left behind from when Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars creator) was still involved. It did feel very much like a Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah production. Just like Life As We Know It, it’s a very simple show, filled with lots of teen angst and hormones.

Last of all, the updated theme song is like 90210 on acid. But I guess that’s what the executives were aiming for when they brought indie rocker Liz Phair onboard to help compose music for the series.

I don’t think the show has quite found its foothold yet. It’s pretty generic, not very engaging (yet), and has plenty of room to improve. Bring back more of the original cast and it may have a second season in it yet.

3 out of 5 stars

90210 airs 8:30pm Mondays on Ten. Or watch it online a ten.com.au.

Last night all three commercial networks went head2head in what is considered to be only just the beginning of a massive post-olympics ratings war.

Last night Seven premiered its newly revamped Dancing with the Stars, with its new host and ’sexiest’ cast ever. While Nine sizzled up the screen with its blockbuster tele-movie premiere Scorched. Ten round things out debuting Australian Idol’s top 100 singers in the widest talent search ever conducted in the show’s history.

In honour of the afore mentioned shows, I thought I might play judge and rate these shows out of 10. Read my reviews after the break.

Australian Idol

I didn’t get a chance to see last nights episode, that’s the only problem with all three networks showing their biggest shows at the same time. So this result is based on what I’ve seen of Idol so far this season.

I get the feeling this show is starting to run out of fuel. Each year becomes more and more of what we’ve seen the previous years. While the show’s judges has been very exploratory of different types of singers over the past few seasons, we keep ending up with the same results by the end of the series. All the more interesting voices and unique talents get voted out before we even get to the grand final. So we are (or I am anyway) left with two singers we don’t particularly care about. Not to mention the fact that even though a singer may win Idol, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee success as a recording artist. The more successful recording artists have been the runner up or even just one of the top 12 finalists.

In this day and age when almost anyone can become a recording artist and distribute their music independently or online, all singers really need is the exposure they get from television, which is what Idol does. Winning the show has become less important because no matter who wins, we’re still bound hear music on the airwaves from our top 12 singers despite what place they come.

So perhaps its time for Australian Idol to start rethinking its formula for the show. As evidence by the dwindling ratings on the finale episodes each year, it seems people are becoming less and less interested in the outcome of the show; and would be perhaps far more intrigued in the process in which it takes for a recording artist to get to where they are.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Dancing with the Stars

Its been one of the biggest success stories for the Seven Network in recent years, but after six series, it was starting to get a little dated, a little tacky and a little annoying, thanks to the host Daryl Sommers. So when Seven said it would be an ‘all new’ Dancing with the Stars this series, they really meant it.

They’ve completely revamped the show from the dance floor up. There is a brand new set, and new logo and theme song, a new judge, new pro dancers, a new host and nine ‘hot’ new competitors, plus Red Symons.

The show’s new host Daniel McPherson, who apart from the failed Ten series, The X Factor, has had little hosting experience on Australian television. So it was always going to be quite interesting to see how he would handled the pressure of hosting another live show. But despite his initial nervousness (or perhaps my nervousness for him), by the end of the show I had completely forgotten it was his first episode all together. He worked quite well with the always brilliant Sonia Kruger, whose one liners always seem to save the day.

The new celebrities were fun and enthusiastic, their behind the scenes video packages were considerably more entertaining than previous years. Experienced judge from both the UK and US versions of the show, Bruno Tonioli, brought an extra level of entertainment to the already ridiculous judging panel. His bizarre yet somehow relatable analogies were exactly what the panel needed, if only to just confuse the contestants.

Apart from the few teething problems, which are only expected on a live show, I found the new series to be a real step forward. They’ve removed what didn’t work and brought in a whole new level of fun and excitement for such a dated concept.

4 out of 5 stars

Scorched

It’s a concept which is a little too close to home for comfort, but this is an issue which our country may face in just a few years time. In the Nine Network’s blockbuster tele-movie event. It’s Sydney in 2012, there hasn’t been any rain for 247 days and bush fires are ravaging the city. Tens of thousands of homes are at risk while hundreds of volunteers are working to fight the flames. But what happens when the city’s remaining water supply runs out. How do you fight fire without water.

Coming off a successful run of Australian drama with Underbelly and Sea Patrol, it seemed ripe for the Nine Network to premiere it’s political tele-movie Scorched. Starring some of the biggest names in Australian television, Cameron Daddo, Rachel Carpani, Georgie Parker, Vince Colosimo, Libby Tanner and Les Hill. It was bound to have some traction, and did it ever!

It’s always a problem when dealing with disaster movies/mini-series that the sensational elements end up overpowering the real stories behind the story, but what set Scorched aside from these other movies (particularly disaster mini-series from the US) is that it brought everything back to the characters. Characters that you actually cared about, characters that you despised, characters that you wanted to see actually fighting to save their lives.

The concept was great. The dialogue was realistic. The acting was spot on, not overly dramatic as to verge on melodrama. The screenwriting and direction was flawless. I didn’t cringe once, which is a good indicator. I’ve been waiting for the time that Australian television would start to experiment with politics and conspiracies into their story lines. I love it.

The visual effects were amazing, I can’t even recall another Australian television project which has featured visual effects so prominently. We need more of this. It really raises the bar for what’s achievable on Australian television.

The cinematography and grading was beautiful. You see something as stunning as this and wonder, why isn’t more Australian drama shot on film!?! Despite how much digital technology advances, watching something shot beautifully on film definitely has more of an impact on viewers than many networks think.

Finally, what would a disaster tele-movie without the cheesy supers at the end telling us how many people died, what happened to the city, how much it will cost to repair the damage. This is the only thing dropped the ball for me. As much as the end supers have become part of the disaster movie formula. I still can’t help but feel slightly ripped off when they appear.

Scorched was one of the most ambitious, breathtakingly fresh concepts I’ve ever seen on Australian television. If only more Australian drama was like this.

4.5 out of 5 stars