I'm Kinda Excited About Doctor Who Again

While I was intrigued as the next casual viewer about the appointment of the new Doctor I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I saw the rumours but never thought they'd be an actual chance Peter Capaldi would be the Doctor. The more I think about it, the more I think they could not have given the role to a more perfect actor.

"...And I am the new Doctor."

So his most famous role is Malcolm Tucker, but it's two other shows that I remember him mostly from. Vicar of Dibley is the first. Poor Geraldine, thinking she found a husband but instead ends up marrying him off to a woman with a name she can't spell. Love it. The other role is in Skins as Sid's dad. He was one of the more memorable additions to the cast in the first series.

This role will however pretty much banish him being Malcolm Tucker forever, it gives him a chance to do something else with his career while alienating exactly nobody.

I thought David Tennant was a fantastic Doctor, funny and endearing, he was someone who could do serious and comedy in a flick of switch. Personally, I never really got on with Matt Smith. He was just too similar to Tennant for my liking. Tennant also had the better stories (Blink and The Sound of Drums to name but two) which helped him.

There's just something about this hiring, it's perfect. I can't think of anything that's wrong with it. Steven Moffat has somehow managed to hire someone who you'd think was unattainable and in doing so he will definitely get some of the Whovians back on board, along with some new fans.

We've also had the inevitable fan made mash up video...

         

Which to be honest, looks amazing.

Bring on the regeneration.

So, we're just going to let the egg thrower be the main talking point on BGT are we? Yeah because there's not much else to talk about.

Britain's Got Talent is over for another year, a Hungarian act won but a stage invasion dominated the headlines. To be fair, the final was all a bit dull in the end. Too many kids, too many singers and a lot of over over hyped acts all equalled to a very long evening. So when people like Jack Carroll, Attraction and Steve Hewlett come along they automatically stand out a mile. Steve Hewlett was a worthy wild card winner, it's a shame there weren't any magicians or better dancers in the final. Attraction were the best act of the competition but their final performance didn't have any of the emotion punch of the other two. Jack Carroll was good, he was always going to finish high and the judges obviously wanted him to win. Was anyone else surprised by the lack of support Francine had in the end? She only ended up with 2% of the vote, maybe people were fed up of the Jordan routine especially that horrible song at the end.

The big story of the evening however was a Natalie Holt rising from her seat in the orchestra and pelting Simon Cowell with some eggs. How she got the eggs in, and actually to the edge of the stage is anyone's guess. Her reasons for doing so were obviously nothing to do with being a fame hungry attention seeking brat. Oh no. She wanted to start a debate about Cowell's power and influence in the industry. Something which is hard to believe as she previously audition for BGT a year ago and was basically working for him on the final. So, she's quite happy to be on television but not too happy being a backing musician. Also, she looked far to happy with herself.  Very rarely will I agree with Amanda Holden but she had it right when she called her a "stupid cow."

She might have been angry at Cowell's influence but that doesn't stop her wanting to be part of the show did it? The final was nowhere near as good as previous ones, especially the Diversity/ Susan Boyle one, no matter how hard the judges were trying to convince us. However you know exactly what you're getting with BGT. Four judges with not much to say, a few sob stories, little kids not understanding irony and Ant and Dec. You either love it or hate it. See you next year, maybe they'll unearth some talent that we haven't seen before. Yeah, maybe.

Sorting Out The X Factor

So the judges merry-go round on the X Factor has finally finished, and with Mrs O back in the hot seat it seems to have come full circle. So I've decided to throw out some ideas on what has been wrong with a format that has been on a decline for the past few years. They've already decided on bringing back just the room and judges for the first audition so what else can they change?

 And so it begins... twitter.com/radioleary/sta…

— Dermot O'Leary (@radioleary) June 4, 2013

1. Themes for the Live Shows.

And I mean proper themes, not "Let's have Olympic night, that'll be great."
"But what does that actually involve? What kind of music?"
"Look, I've given you a theme you work it out."
I miss Big Band week. At least that was a proper theme, with a recognisable style of music.

2. Judges actually Mentoring.

Okay, maybe that is a bit "The Voice" but then the judges can actually take some blame when the contestant isn't moving forward. Rubbish judge, rubbish chance. For example, Tulisa looked like she had given up last year. Maybe that's part of the reason her contestants were all gone fairly early on.

3. Shorter live shows.

I like it feeling like an event on a Saturday night but when it gets to the business end of competition, two hours is too long with only two or three contestants to sing. And then a two hour results show? Dear god they aren't that interesting.

4. Get some contestants that are good and worth talking about.

I'm probably in the minority here but I love the "controversial" contestant they have every year, but it's even better when they can actually sing a bit (Katie Waissel, Kitty). Yes, you need good singers but you definitely need entertaining acts. If not it's just The Voice.

5. Bring back Brian Friedman.

Just put him on TV, for his fashion choices alone are amazing. 

Yes, The Apprentice is better than last year but is that enough?

I mean, come on. Did he think no one would mention his eyebrows?

The Apprentice was back this week with a double episode, more ridiculous sound bites and a grumpier than ever Lord Sugar. So nothing new then. After last year’s lack luster series in which actual business minded people wanted the investment here we seem to have more Big Brother rejects and reality TV wannabes than ever before. I can’t say I’m that excited; yes they are saying all the right (i.e. stupid) things, some are dressing to impress (i.e. short skirts, high heels) and a couple have the worst eyebrows I’ve ever seen but is it enough anymore? Sugar has the same old tired one liners, the tasks aren’t original and even Nick isn't making me smile as much as he used to. 

That’s not to say there’s no fun to be had. The Apprentice lives and dies by its contestants and the crew this year do look extra idiotic, so that has got to be a good sign. A few that have already stood out (not necessarily in a good way) are Luisa who thinks she’s like Jessica Rabbit, Jason who thinks he’s a machete, Zeeshaan who thinks he’s Napoleon and Alex who looks like a Welsh Dracula. I have to admit though I did love his turtleneck and overcoat ensemble he had going on in Belgium. I think he was modeling himself on Boycie from Only Fools and Horses. There is literally no other explanation for dressing like that. 

For me, the biggest problem is the prize. Long gone has the chance of working at one of Sugar’s companies, and in its place is a £250,000 investment and business partnership with the Lord. So, it doesn’t matter what they’ve done 12 weeks previous, if they have a great idea, they will win the show(hello Tom Pellereau. Even though I’m glad he won, he was lovely). After 9 series, the show has definitely reached its peak and will probably struggle to get to those heights again. It is still enjoyable but far from the must see TV of yesteryear. 

Lord Sugar, you’re not fired but we will be keeping a close eye on you. 

Is Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway the Best Thing On Television?

While watching Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway last night I felt like I had been thrown back about 15 years. Yes, partly because we were treated to a performance from PJ & Duncan (there's the next band for ITV2's The Big Reunion) but also because shows like this just don't exist anymore. It's basically Noel's House Party but without Mr Blobby. The Ant & Dec Undercover (Gotcha!), Little Ant & Dec (Wait 'til I Get You Home, just without the annoyed parents) all of the talking to the audience and revealing some weird secret of theirs or just trying to embarrass them (very similar to NTV). This isn't a bad thing. I think Saturday night TV has been crying out for something like this for a while. It's been 4 years since this show has been on air and they really seemed to have honed everything about it. When it first started, it was all about the audience member winning the contents of a certain ad break, when they clocked on we weren't too bothered about that (but we did want to know what sort of car it was) they concentrated on the other aspects of the show. 

Little Ant & Dec are okay, I did love it when they got the others ones came back at the start of the series; Ant & Dec's comedy timing is pretty good. I'm A Celebrity Get Out Of Me Ear may be a ridiculously forced pun on their other titan of a show but it works really well. Emma Bunton and Louis Walsh were game which made it all the more funnier. But by far my favourite item of the show is the End of the Show Show. The first one with Robbie Williams was okay but since them, it's really impressed me. I thought the boys did a fantastic job with Spellbound, they actually put some real effort in. And the Riverdance was really impressive too. Then when they bust out PJ & Duncan last night I was speechless. Why, when watching The Big Reunion I didn't ever think "I'd love to hear Let's Get Ready To Rhumble" I don't know. It's sitting pretty at number 6 in the iTunes chart as I type. 

The ratings have been a huge success, probably more the ITV dared hope for. There hasn't been much competition for it though so when The Voice returns to BBC One for it's second series next Saturday it will be interesting to see how it holds up. Personally, I think Ant & Dec have nothing to worry about as they have a solid family entertainment show in their hands. I can't even think of anything similar to it at the moment, it really is one of the best things on television at the moment. The Voice will probably have a big start but let's see what happens in a couple of weeks. Britain's Got Talent is also back soon so they are going to be the kings of Saturday nights. 

Is there any stopping Ant & Dec? Let's hope not. 

My Year In TV 2012: Byrd, Baker Street and Big Red Balls

My Year in TV contains basically a hell of a lot of reality TV, a Judge, a game show I thought I'd fallen out of love with and everyone's favourite fictional detective. Oh, and zombies. And throw in a funny family too.

My TV year was basically ruined right at the beginning. We were spoiled with Sherlock. Only 3 episodes long, but these mini movies put to shame almost anything else on TV this year. Well written, brilliantly acted and what a cliff hanger. The only problem with it was I wanted more. We are probably looking at the end of the year till we see Sherlock surface, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are pretty busy in Hollywood at the moment, but when Sherlock and Dr Watson do return we are in for one hell of a show. If Benedict isn't a complete out and out total movie star by the end of the year I'll eat my deerstalker.

While Sherlock may have had it's dark moments it was overall pretty fun. That can't be said about my next TV choice The Walking Dead. A show that just gets better and better. You can see the characters actually evolving and it makes the show oh so much better for it. In the best story line of the comics (in my opinion) we have Rick and the group meeting the Governor. And how great is David Morrissery? Who'd have thought? My favourite member of the group is Daryl though. Would anyone have guessed he would have turned into someone so important and awesome at the same time. A little mid season break for season 3 just makes me even more excited for the return.

Let's look at comedy for a moment and for me the only show that is nearly perfect is Modern Family. 30 Rock is past it's best and while How I Met Your Mother, New Girl and The Big Bang Theory are still pretty solid Modern Family is just smile-some. It's one of those shows that won a bag load of awards but took me a while to get round to it. Best DVD I bought this year was the first series. Phil is without doubt my favourite character on the show. A loving husband and great dad, and most importantly funny too. Nobody is dead weight in this series though, go check it out if you haven't yet.

Something which I wasted much of my year on and that I can happily sit and watch for hours is Judge Judy. Even though these episodes are from 10 years ago. This women literally takes no shit off of anybody. And who doesn’t love Byrd, her loyal bailiff. It’s great when he stands in between the plaintiff and the defendant as if these people might actually come to blows, this isn’t Jerry Springer! Not yet anyway. Seriously, you can't lie to her, she knows everything. "THAT'S BALONEY!" "Sounds like a lot of 'Who shot John?'" "You know how I can tell you're lying to me? YOUR LIPS MOVE!!" "'Umm' is not an answer!!" She's a grandmother don't you know. And totally terrifying.

And on to a show I thought I was over. There's just something about those big red balls and people getting smacked in the mouth with a wall that I love. Ladies and gentlemen I am, of course, talking about the majestic and mighty Total Wipeout USA. Another show where I love the hosts; the 2 Johns John Anderson and John Henson, are a great team. I'm not sure but think Anderson might be a proper sports pundit. Or maybe that's what he wanted to be. I know I shouldn't laugh but I do and frequently. There's just something very funny about people getting whacked in the face or seeing what the Johns like to call the scorpion move. That's basically when a contestant has their legs bend so far back they reach their head. Wipeout indeed.

I can't go without mentioning some reality TV. It's been an average year for the X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. The Voice started off well but went down hill from there. Only I'm A Celebrity was constantly entertaining, mostly for Ant and Dec, and even The Apprentice suffered from some fatigue. TOWIE nearly finished it's self off with the truly horrendous Live show (Never. Again.) but got back to it's strange self with the Essexmas episode. Just about. 

Looking forward to this year we've got the return of Arrested Development, more Sherlock, Celebrity Big Brother and hopefully some great reality TV. Splash! sounds like something straight out of ITV2. I look forward to it.