Lopez Blogs

Often I am as baffled by the state of UK tv as I am by the mind boggling antics of US tv networks (don't get me started on the recent Dollhouse axing!). To be fair, most UK tv shows are far shorter runs (anywhere between 6 and 13 episodes) which means they are already written and filmed before they even hit the air. There is far less likelihood a show will be cancelled midway through it's run (though not unheard of, and of course it can be shifted around the timeslots to bury it if a total flop). However, this causes problems in terms of never knowing when a show will air. Unless it's a national treasure (like Dr. Who), it's unlikely to air at the exact same time each year and may not be on the same channel (shows have switched from BBC3 to BBBC1 or ITV to ITV2). Still, it works well enough and there are 3 big returns for the autumnal season that all come back in the very near future. Excitement he wrote...

Dr. Who - The Specials:
Ah the Doc. One must credit David Tennant (mostly RAR!) and writer Russell T Davies for making the latest incarnation of Dr Who so darned entertaining and frankly brilliant. This year has been somewhat of a year off and affectionately known as "the specials". The traditional Christmas special aired in 2008 which wasn't too bad at all, while the Easter special was a not very budget busting bus in a desert exercise with some nice moments and a lovely bit of foreshadowing about the 10th doctor's demise (coming this Christmas to a screen near you!) The first of the final three specials ("The Waters of Mars") airs this very Sunday! I'm sure there is lots to be excited about, but the fact that it has Shane in it from Neighbours (remember stripper Daphne? That was so cutting edge back then. Nowadays no body blinks an eye at that sort of thing in soaps. Heck, even Leanne in Corrie was a prozzie!) is very exciting indeed. There'll be some exclusive trailer on next Friday's Children in need of the 2 Christmas specials, and if you need more Doctor then make sure you attend the wedding of Sarah Jane. For much more comprehensive coverage, you will no doubt need to visit the excellent Dr fan, Dan Project 76. That is all...

Beautiful People - Series 2:
I've just had a bit of a marathon session rewatching the first series of this rather endearing show. It's sometimes laugh out loud funny, sometimes gently amusing and sometimes incredibly touching which was an entirely winning combination for me. Yes, it's about a young lad who grows up to be gay, but it's more about that universal feeling of just seeming like you are different to everyone else when you are a teenager. The first series was littered with some wonderful scenes, but two of my favourites have to be...

• A very lovely scene where Simon's parents (Andy and Debbie) discuss their son being different in bed, and Andy becoming quite adamant that he will not force his son into being something he's not. Very reminiscent of my parents, and what a super place the world would be with more people like that in it...
• Later that very episode, Simon discovers a love for football (well Posh Spice had just hooked up with David Beckham) and is rather good at it, scores a winning goal and gets a Posh Spice doll from the school bully. All set rather movingly to the Kylie/Dannii duet, Winner Takes It all :)

And talking of music, the series is packed with wonderful choices. Whether it's dramatic fare like I've Never Been To Me, Don't Cry Out Loud (best key change ever) or PSB doing Somewhere, or newer tunes like the two theme tune songs from Dan Gillespie Sells or an update of Jolene by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, it all fits rather well into the atmosphere the show has created (and let's not forget it introduced the wistful voice of Sammy Taylor who must be close to be being big soon, surely?) Series 2 starts this Friday on BBC2 (featuring Dannii Minogue and Dana International!!) and I am as excited about it's return as I am about it's soundtrack (overseen by the aces Ian Masterson). Hurrah!
(Note: Apparently the PSB track Beautiful People was originally meant to accompany the series!)

Gavin and Stacey - Series 3:
I can't rave enough about this show. I just find it utterly adorable and hilarious. And I seem to have been waiting forever for a resolution to that devastating Smithy-Nessa moment at the end of last year's festive special. Series 3 FINALLY starts on 26th November 2009 and is likely to be the last we see of the show apart from the odd special here or there. I will be sad to lose these characters (particularly Pamela, Gavlar's mom) and their quirky little in-jokes (like singing the rappy bit to World in Motion), but I would rather they go out on a massive high (like Royle Family or Vicar of Dibley) than run itself into the ground. Sigh - the 26th can't come quickly enough!!

QUICK RETRO BITS:

• Having devoured the latest Adrian Mole book (The Prostrate Years - marvy read; highly recommend it!), I've gone back to the start and am just about to re-watch the tv version of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole for the first time in yonks. I also have the second series (Growing Pains) from 1987 (where Lulu replaced Julie Walters as the mom) and the Cappucino years (Cold Feet for nerds) from 2001. Can't wait :)
• Talking of old shows I must watch soon, one can't ignore the festive pull of the amazing Box of Delights tv adaptation. Sure it's aged worse than Madonna's arms, but there is still an innocent magic, an air of danger and something compelling about this classic old show. if you haven't seen it, at least go out and get the novel version - it will definitely tide you over until sexy Ben Barnes does the next Narnia movie!
• Finally, I'm pretty sure it's only me, but did anyone catch Jon Lee (former S Clubber) in the remake of the Famous Five last year?!

Back tomorrow with weekly catch up post; Sunday with all the X Factor news!

Hello dudes. Minor remnants of all my conditions remain but it definitely seems I'm on the mend. Back from the dead as it were. Like Jesus! As it's Easter Sunday, I thought there should be a non-sacriligious shout out to all those other dudes/lady dudes who came back from the dead - E.T., Buffy, Superman, Family Guy, most the high street banks, Kylie's career post Impossible Princess, Bobby Ewing, et al - I salute your improbable tenancity! Anyway, as I reported in Friday's post, I've been quite irritable all week so the things that took up my time either delighted me or got right on me norks. Here, in brief(ish), is what they were...

TOTALLY TOP-NOTCH POP:

• Delight: Yes, i'm still wearing primary colours as a sign of mourning for the ever cheerful Same Difference being dropped by their record label. However, pop is like Lisa Scott Lee - no matter how many times you exterminate that little critter, it still keeps crawling back. In this case, it is a very good thing. Robbie has been busy showcasing the talents of Irish pop group Industry. Both the tracks on his Chartrigger site are magnificent bundles of joy that will plug the SD sized hole in my heart and have been played an embarrassing amount of times by myself already :) Clearly I already have a new obsession. Cheesy, cheerful, upbeat, happy making, colourful - it made many a snotty moment quite bearable this week!
• Irritate: First of all Britney made her infuriatingly catchy new single If You Seek Amy almost incomprehensible by switching it to If You See Amy. Now another popstar du jour has changed her single plans because apparently some of the lyrics are too rauncy. Uh, your flange has been hanging out in most your pics for weeks luv, it's too late to worry about damaging the nation's youth. THE HYPOCRISY!

TWILIGHT SAGA:

Ok, I've decided I have a totally love hate relationship with Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. Some of it - the vampire mythology, when she cranks up the action, the werewolves - are quite good indeed and the first & third books were certainly quite decent. So this week, i submitted myself to what turned out to be the torture of the fourth and final book (please god) which turned everything that is bad about the series up to the nth degree. First off - Bella! How she got two supernatural dudes to fall in love with her is utterly beyond me. Moody, self obsessed and with such a massive oh woe is me chip on her shoulder it is amazing no one has smacked her down to size before now. Secondly - sullen sullen Edward Cullen. Lighten up geeza. Everytime Bella is in a hint of pain, there are pages of exposition about how the two of them can't live without each other. Geez. We bloody get it ok. They are in love. Thirdly - subtle mormon indoctrination of America by Stephanie Myer. The references are everywhere!! "As long as we both shall live" at the wedding?! Good gravy. And of course the distusting-no-matter-how-you-pop-a-bow-on-it practice of imprinting on infants is icky, gross and probably criminal in 47 states in America. And don't even get me started on that deus es machina ending they pulled out the hole. Thing is, I like the series (and the film - so far), but it has such moments of infuriating badness in it, that it's driven me (and of course by proxy poor Darren who more than once asked - why you still reading it then?!) insane. Had the final book been cut down by ooo 300 pages it would've been a much zippier read!

TITILLATING TV:

• Delight: Hurrah. I have finally caught up on most of Torchwood. It's ridiculous of course, but quite engaging with it. Ianto is an utter delight (his response to finding a monster who heals it's own flesh so could feed the world? "We could release a single") and Gwen the heart and soul of the group. The storylines are a bit iffy, but overall i'm glad i've caught up on this Dr Who spin off. I'm 3 eps from the end of season 2 and I smell bad things for lovely Tosh and Owen :(
• Irritate: Talking of Doctor Who, it was back yesterday! And not entirely brilliant at all. Some of the Easter Special was very good indeed (including the psychic woman's final words to the good Doctor) and as danP76 pointed out in his review, Lee Evans got a gun pointed at him. The fly things were dreadful (the thing tapping a monitor watching the bus turned out to be a bit of a red herring) and of course the real reason the Doctor didn't let Lady Christina in the tardis was her bloody dreadful accent. Good god. Not hideous over all, but the three at the latter end of the year promise to be much better. Knock knock knock knock.
• Irritate: Heroes is virtually unwatchable now. Horne and Corden pulled it back only ever so slightly this week, though the underutilisation of Kylie was almost unforgiveable. And seven minutes of previously on/coming this season on The Tudors was lunacy.
• Delight: Of course The Inbetweeners continues to be utterly brilliant and has amazing new words for me to use like "spaffle".
• Delight: If you want a true moment of talent show delight, then check out this dotty old(looking) woman on Britain's Got Talent. Build those preconceptions and watch the clip through to the end. Ps one of my fave all time musical songs too.

TOP 21 SONGS OF THE WEEK:

21 - Annie, Anthonio (NE)
20 - Alesha Dixon, Let's Get Excited (NE/BRILLO VID)
19 - Kelly Clarkson, My Life Would Suck Without You
18 - Lenka, Trouble Is A Friend
17 - Paolo Nutini, Candy
16 - Sugababes, Every Heart Broken
15 - McFly, The Last Song
14 - Girls Aloud, Untouchable
13 - Take That, The Garden
12 - Lily Allen, Not Fair
11 - Deborah Gibson, Already Gone
10 - Taylor Swift, Love Story
09 - Pet Shop Boys, Love etc
08 - Neo, Flower Power Super Girl
07 - Kevin Borg, Every Bit Of Me
06 - Infernal, Redefinition
05 - BWO, You're Not Alone
04 - Simon Curtis/Victoria Justice, Things We Do For Love
03 - Alcazar, Stay The Night
02 - Same Difference, All Roads Lead To Heaven
01 - Mans Zelmerlow, Hope and Glory (2 weeks)

Hopefully normal service (whatever that was) will return this week :) Reading The 19th Wife. Is very good!

BREAKING NEWS:

• Matt Smith (Ruby In The Smoke) was announced as the new Doctor Who yesterday. Of course whoever replaced the excellent David Tennant is probably going to have a rough time of it, so they were probably right to go for an unknown...


• Scandal has rocked the obsessive fan forums of Kylie and Paula Abdul respectively. Following on from the "huge success" of Dance Like There's No Tomorrow (I mock but i did like that track for about 2 plays), Paula is releasing Boombox! I love how the Paula fans have taken any criticism from the Kylie fans in such a stoic manner "it will be a number one, no1 in the us nos [sic] who Kylie is", etc. You just know if it's not a massive smash Paula will wake up one morning with the equivalent of Waco on her front lawn...


• The Spectacular promo train continues to gather speed before it pulls into station in Feb 09. Check out the frankly brilliant (i'm not biased at all) group performance of Love Song below which of course features my fave male solo star Simon Curtis...(and then check out why Simon thinks you watch Spectack underneath!)

TOP TEN NEW (TO ME) ACTS FOR 2009:

It's rather difficult to pick out any new acts (to me) that will make it over the coming year - or any time. When looking at acts who have a few songs on myspace, it's hard to judge whether they have channelled all their creativity into a few songs and that's all they got, or whether it's the start of a blossoming career. Then there is the heart break factor - it's easy to fall in love with an act and then have them not make it. It's all incredibly arbitrary. anyway, here are ten that stand out (at the moment) and that i will try and keep tabs on over the next few months at least. I don't want to just proclaim their aceness and never mention them again!!

10 - James Fox: Yes, he's former Fame Academy alum and BFF of Alistair Griffin. Yes, he's a little less hunky and a lot more bald now. But above all of this, he has some cracking guitar led pop-rock tunes that are swathed in melody and strumming chorus. Higher is a perfect radio friendly tune that will get tragically overlooked because of his reality tv roots. Though not groundbreaking, one hopes that the music will carry him through and become a big star....
09 - Julian Perretta: Already a song of the day on popjustice and signed to a five album deal to Columbia, it seems a no brainer to add Julian to this list. Of course, I could anyone to this list, but they have to appeal to me musically and Julian does. Reminiscent of Mika, The Feeling and Squeeze, his tunes have the elements of all these acts - gorgeous harmonies, layered choruses and strong driven melodies.

08 - Tommy Sparks: Not quite the type of music I usually go for, but sometimes I like something a little different to spice up my life. Tommy has a proper decent line in synth driven pop tunes that are a little quirky and a little different to the norm. Crammed with pop potential, he's like a one man xenomania where each second of the song deserves attention...
07 - The Virgins: True story - when i was at a fairly heavily Mormon populated school, we had an afterschool club promoting chastity called The Virgins. For shame. Anyway, these virgins work well if you are a fan of the late 70s/80s new wave pop that came courtesy of acts like The Cars, Elvis Costello and Blondie - after hearing the infernally catchy One Week of Danger on Gossip Girl, I checked out more songs and found they have a concise knack of churning out songs that are as delightfully catchy as they are simply constructed.

06 - Matt Duke: Like The Virgins, Matt already has an album out stateside (more than one infact) and has popped up on thezapping a long time ago. Still, he seems to be drawing a lot of attention from industry tips for 09 so I checked him out again and was pleasantly surprised on what i'd been missing out on. His songs are both lyrically ambitious and musically creative as he switches mid verse and song from genre to genre, tempo to tempo, and always with an ear for melody.
05 - Dan Black: Young Dan has had a bit of a buzz around him for a while now, and while it might be too early for an Umbrella smaple in one of his songs, he certainly has a funky electic Prince vibe about his songs. Yours has been floating around for a while now (thanks DanP76) and it's appropriately nouveau electro with a let's hear it for the boys anthemic chorus. In your face Girls Aloud, there may well be a new Hoxton Hero in town.

04 - Vagabond: Popjustice have partially raved about them for a few weeks now. They are produced by xenomania but they are not the new man-girls aloud. They have probably been given Franz Ferdinand's xenomania hand me downs, but it's ok because they are rather rocking and the polished production should ensure that the single Sweat becomes a massive hit rather than a second album Rooster type success...
03 - Sound of Arrows: Another popjustice heralded group (you can even download their poptastic and utterly brillo single Magic here), and deservedly so. Though with only one song to judge by, it is sort of a leap of faith, but I will trust that their forthcoming material is indeed international number one material as popjustice suggests. Note - this number 3 act could quite have easily been the still-could-be-amazing boyband StarPilots. Time will tell...

01= Sam Taylor: Everything seems to be in place for Sam to be huge in 2009. He has a gorgeous and distinctive voice. He already has a couple of beautiful songs on the beautiful people soundtrack. He has done a hair raising cover of I Don't Know How To Love Him. He's quite pretty. Add all these things together, and hopefully an elegantly crafted debut album will surface that will enchant the hearts of many...
01= Little Boots: Nothing good has EVER come from Blackpool. Until now. If Same Difference are the celebration of all things pop past with a pop past done now sound, then the incredible Little Boots could prove to be the most exciting celebration of all things pop future for a long time. And yes, that includes considering the cybertron Lady Gaga. Her Stuck On Repeat has been just that for a few months now and will soon be permeating the British public. Aces.

Don't forget: James Leon; Dean Lennon; Ian Brearley; Das Pop; Kid British;
Albums I should probably check out: MGMT; The Foals; Ladyhawke; Empire Of The Sun

TOP 21 SONGS OF THE WEEK:

21 - Danny, Radio (Acoustic) (NE)
20 - William Young, Grace (15)
19 - Marit Larsen, I've Heard Your Love Songs (14)
18 - Britney, Womaniser (13)
17 - The Killers, Human (12)
16 - Girls Aloud, The Promise (10)
15 - Sugababes, No Can Do (19)
14 - Take That, Greatest Day (9)
13 - The Killers, Spaceman (NE)
12 - Girls Aloud, The Loving Kind (NE)(VID)
11 - Leon Jackson, Creative (11)
10 - Lenka, All My Bells Are Ringing (3)
09 - Same Difference, We R One (7)
08 - Leona Lewis, Run (2)
07 - JLS, Hallelujah (5)
06 - Take That, Up All Night (8)
05 - Jason Mraz, Live High (4)
04 - Lily Allen, The Fear (6)
03 - Same Difference, If You Can't Dance (NE)
02 - Britannia High, Start of Something (1)
01 - ??? (1 Week)(NE)

Endings can be bittersweet can't they? Sometimes they can be downright frustrating and have a distinct lack of closure (most things in life; Veronica Mars; Angel before the comic series), sometimes they can be downright heartbreaking - either because it's tremendously sad or because it's actually ending (relationships; soured friendships; Buffy; Harry Potter) and sometimes - just sometimes - they can be quite lovely. There are examples of all of these below:

Dr Who - Season Four


It went from the spectre of Catherine Tate being too Catherine Tate-y to actually being possibly the best series of NuWho to date. From Pompeii to towing earth across the universe, Catherine and David turned out to be a stellar couple and another confirmation that actually whoever casts Dr Who picks the best companions ever. It's indeed a testament to the show that each year a major cast change happens and it remains as lively and energetic as ever. Dr Who 9 bowed out at the end of year one, Rose went parallel at end of NuWhoTwo and of course Martha went all torchwoody at end of year three. I'm trying not to give too much away by the season four finale, but the words epic and amazing don't even begin to cover it. There are dark and spooky bits (the daleks flying through german woodlands), fanwankery bits (the continuity of Sarah Jane and Davros; that bird from Torchwood being all linked to the quiet undead thing from last year); exciting bits (K9! David Tennant doing a Donna impression! Martha doing crap german! A traitor in the midst being not so much about who was a traitor but whose midst they were in!) and touching bits (anything Bernard Cribbins said or did, particularly at the front door as the Doctor was leaving; Rose's bittersweet end; Donna's plea to the doctor before that final thing happened to her). Sure it wasn't entirely perfect, and there was a bit of heavy reliance on deus ex machina but it was Russell T Davies' swan song and it was more about heart than sci fi. It would be nice to see doctor having travelled by himself for a couple of years now after having had that great few moments of being surrounded by his entire family before losing them all again. And would it kill the writers to give the boy a hot male assistant for a change! Bring on the 2009 specials...

LINK: Official Dr Who website

LINK: DanUK's opinion on the finale

Everwood Series Finale

Boo to the CW for a) not giving Veronica Mars a fourth season and b) not even picking up the brilliant but unappreciated Everwood. Instead they choose to renew One Tree Hill and revitalise the already finished 7th Heaven respectively. Insanity! Anyway, I finally got to watch the final season of Everwood (it was never "cool" enough to be picked up regularly in the UK so i finally got it thanks to tv torrents!) and indeed the last episode on a train to some godforsaken place "oop north". Everwood was basically a male take on the Gilmore Girls, except the father and son are not best friends and certainly have their issues over the 89 episodes their story is told over. Like the gilmore girls, however, it's the creation of the local community that adds layers and depth to this beautifully crafted tale. The last episode is all about the characters getting a little happiness and while not particularly reflective of how Everwood often turned out (remember the heartbreaking moment in season 3 where Ephraim tells his dad he wants him to move back to New York with him, just hours before Andy knows Ephraim will learn of his pregnancy betrayal?) but is a fitting finale for this much loved show. Some of the highlights include:

• Andy proposing to Nina on the very same spot where he met her, despite all the workman sucking the romance out of it like a vacuum
• Ephraim wanting his dad to be happy...
• Hannah choosing to stay in Everwood by mailing her acceptance letter to A&M (mailing or not mailing things has always been an important part of the show) and renewing her friendship with Bright (such an ironic name but a loveable character)
• Amy with the Ferris wheel doing her version of "pick me. choose me. love me" to Ephraim...
• The Abbots ending up with not only a new baby but a live in grandma as well. Way to go Junior...

So it was all as lovely and happy as it could be, and quite heartwarming to boot. God knows what the people next to me on the train thought of me for sniffling away into my archos. I kept muttering hayfevery type things to throw them off my emotional sent.

LINK: For more of the amazing Greg Berlanti (creator) go check out Brothers and Sisters...

LINK: ... or indeed Nick's review of the brillo Jack&Bobby

The Importance Of That Final Song

Apparently, Britain does not need to see movies at the same time as Americans. Apparently, it behooves us to wait and spend half our lives avoiding spoilers. Yes, anyway, Prince Caspian finally opened in Britain and Kirsty, DazPecs and myself rushed out to see it. I liked. A lot. But of course it had Ben "history boys" Barnes in it so what was not to like? But on a less superficial level than that, I thought it pretty much rocked. But this isn't about my review of the film, more about how much more beautiful the already beautiful Regina Spektor song that closes the film became once I saw/heard it in context. Yuri first "call"ed this one a while back (see what I did there) and at first I was disappointed that it wasn't a remake of the poptacular Backstreet Boys song. But upon hearing it, I fell in love with this rather restrained and elegant ballad and it just - *just* - missed out on being in my top songs of the year so far feature. It seems almost rude to say that the ending of the film was the best part, but the song The Call perfectly embodied the ending of the Narnia experience for at least two of the Pensivie kids. Trust me, when I say it's an utterly remarkable use of a flawless song that had me tearing up in the cinema and being thankful that the corridors leading out of it where quite dark...


MP3: Regina Spektor - The Call

See you tomorrow folks. And don't forget to share your favourite endings :)

I so need to do a post about the brilliance of some choice American shows, but for right now its about the best Britain has to offer... and I couldn't kick start with any other show than the mighty Footballers Wives

Footballers Wives (or FoBo Hos as I call it) has been on for five years now and has exceeded in being crazy tasteless and brilliant in one fell swoop. There have been burnt boobies, nurses sexually pleasuring coma patients, OTT weddings, switched and suntanned babies, murders, affairs and of course Tanya Turner Laslett Gates Turner Federico. The quality of the series has only dipped when she left in year four. Sob. But shes back, crazy eyes and press on nails with her and to up the genius factor, the producers have pitched her as a love rival for Joan Collins toyboy. Cue catfights, evil glances and cocaine sniffed from a finger nail. Marv. Check out this brilliant tanya turner LGTF myspace site for more insanity...

Ps ~ I was convinced that Callum (and I love how the producers make them wear the most outlandish *fashions*!) was formerly one fifth of brillo boy band V (now sadly missed) ~ But i was wrong. Darn.

Right - segueing directly from Footballer's Wives to Strictly Dance Fever. you'll see why soon. SDF is like the dance version of pop idol - clueless and talented people audition to win a dance contract and £50,000. Last night was the first night of the second season, so kicked off with auditions and of course the best thing about these are the people who are completely rubbish but think they are brillo. Like the guy who did a John Travolta esque dance move 21 times in a row and then when didn't get through told the camera he would soon lead a Broadway revival of Saturday Night Fever. yes dear, possibly in your mind while you are strapped down in the looney bin... It should be rubbish of course, but somehow its utterly compulsive and addictive and the perfect show to watch while getting ready to go out on a saturday night. The FoBo Hos connection?

Ben Miller who plays Bruno Milligan of the show is one of the judges as he has a background in West End shows, including fact fans, playing Kenickie opposite Deborah Gibson in Grease. Brill! I can't wait to pass judgement on the final 10 contestents when they are revealed on Easter Saturday. Which happens to be on right before the second season premiere of...

Doctor Who! you will find it listed under QUALITY in the dictionary. The first season, currently airing on SciFi in the States, was the shot in the arm the franchise needed and was amazingly solid all the way through. Who knew Billie- soon-to-be-in-Cabaret-Piper had such acting chops? The Christmas Special which introduced David *Barty Crouch Jr* Tennant as the good doctor flowed so seamlessly that the 4 month wait for second season proper has been pretty intolerable. But its back! And you can view the second season trailer here.