Review: Skins - Freddie

Freddie and Effy are in their own indulgent, drug induced world. So much so that Freddie is neglecting his family, friends and studies. The latter sees him in a meeting with Mr Love (Educational Intervention), played by Will Young. I felt just as uncomfortable as Freddie was, watching this scene; the Michael Jackson references didn't help nor did the slight reference to Young's song, 'Leave Right Now'.

Freddie spends the episode struggling with the past, concerning his mother, and the present, with how Effy is behaving; both women have more in common than he would have wished for.

I'm not going into the specifics of the episode on purpose, all I will say is that they tackle a big subject. I feel like they are trying to get an emotion from the audience that they achieved from one of the episodes in series two.

I would really like to know how much time had passed from last week's episode and this week's. Effy has always been intense but she seemed like a completely different person and I feel like I had missed an episode.

This episode left me scratching my head. I commend the effort of tackling the storyline but in the context of the series, it seemed disconnected at times. Other main characters were thrown in at brief moments but I don't think they helped the story. I was expecting more with the character Mr Love and it left me feeling flat.

I think Freddie's scenes with his grandfather and father could have been slightly extended to help him, and us, understand more what his father went through with his mother. I feel this was an important element to why Freddie wanted to tackle things on his own.

Next week it's JJ's episode.

Castle coming to the UK - yay and nay?

On Thursday it was announced that UKTV's Alibi had picked up the rights to broadcast Castle. I've been lucky enough to catch a few episodes and have mentioned, in a previous post, that I really like this show. Richard Castle has become one of my favourite TV characters.

After my initial excitement wore off, the realisation of it all took over; the show will be on Alibi. This might not mean much to some people but for me, this channel is a way for me to catch some of the episodes of Murder She Wrote that I didn't catch the first, second, third or fifteenth time it has every been aired.

Yes the channel does have crime drama's but its line up consists mostly of rebroadcasts from other UK channels, some dating back to the 80's; Murdoch Mysteries is one of a very small handful of shows that have originally aired in the past couple of years.

I read The Hollywood Reporter's story about the acquisition, which included quotes from UKTV acquisitions manager Alexandra Finlay "This acquisition exemplifies the channel's ambition to secure other key U.S. and international crime content in the future."

Alibi boss Steve Hornsey added "Alibi is well known for its high-quality British content, and introducing a hugely successful U.S. series in "Castle" will not only broaden the appeal of the channel but also the editorial mix. Adding Castle to our schedule should be seen as a clear message of intent."

I thought that if one of the main five channels didn't pick Castle up then maybe Sky1, E4, ITV2 or one of Five's sister channels might pick it up. These have proven track records with showing US TV and higher viewing numbers.

Scepticism aside, I do hope the show does well enough and others get to enjoy it. I will be keen to see what advertising is done, if it performs well and if the channel does add some more new content to help it become more than just a channel of repeats.

Review: Skins - Katie

The other half of the twins, Katie gets her bite at a solo episode. The show opens with her dressing older than she is, with a pearl necklace to round of her ageing outfit; she's helping her mother with her wedding planning business.

Katie receives some shocking news and without revealing what it is, she promptly dumps her boyfriend straight after. Looking for someone to talk to, she calls Emily, but it goes to voicemail. She then tries to speak to her mother, but she's too busy finding out that her husband has been hiding the true extent of their debt problems.

At the hen night, for the wedding her mother is planning, Katie meets the new girlfriend of the footballer she dated in the previous series. With literally a push, Katie ends up tripping and punching her, leading to the business being sacked by their only client.

Katie and Effy share a scene (Effy and Freddie were in the club where the hen night took place) talking about how differently things are for Katie now. I found it strange at how calm Katie was towards Effy. She was so angry at the girl in the club but barely bats an eyelid at Effy, who beat her with a rock last year. Katie doesn't even make reference to it and instead asks "why are you being nice to me?"

Katie spends the whole time trying to keep her family together, while trying to find someone to talk to about what she's dealing with. She's the one that goes to Naomi and asks for her family to stay over, after their home is repossessed. Despite slapping her sister, she comforts her after the truth comes out about Naomi.

I had issues with a couple of things; one being the Effy scene as I mentioned before and the other being Katie's scene with Thomas, when they get locked in a bathroom together. She does talk to him about what's been on her mind, but I don't feel that what lead up to it was necessary.

Katie finally tells her mother her news but also lets her feelings out about her mother and how she's been treating the rest of the family. In the last scene, her fragmented family come together in their empty house.

There is a real growth shown in the character. This episode shows us that there's more to Katie than just being a bitch. She's trying her best to keep everything together but I don't think we get to see and feel how upset she really is. I feel like the show just skimmed the surface and could have gone a little deeper. Like I mentioned in my review of Emily's episode, it was good to see them centred separately.

Next up: Freddie

(Photo from E4)

Life Unexpected vs One Tree Hill? My choice is...

Early today The CW announced new season pick-ups for Supernatural, Gossip Girl, 90210, The Vampire Diaries and America’s Next Top Model. No news yet on Smallville, Melrose Place, Life Unexpected and One Tree Hill.

According Kristin at E!, only one will return between Life Unexpected and One Tree Hill. If it came down to a vote, my choice would be Life Unexpected. I have watched every episode of One Tree Hill but this season I've finally felt like this show has run its course. Story lines are not attention grabbing, things feel repetitive plus seven is a good number to end on. I don't think the departures of Hilarie Burton and Chad Michael Murray played any part, as in my opinion, it was declining when they were on the show.

Most shows that start in high school, suffer through the transition when they move on to college. One Tree Hill jumped past that and at first it worked. I touched on a few points earlier in the season to why I was finding it hard to like this season.

Regardless of whether its renewed, this shall be the last season that I shall watch the residents of Tree Hill.

The reason why my vote is for Life Unexpected is that it's fresh, fun and has intriguing dynamics. It's a show that I'm not complaining about, I'm excited to see a new episode. Even my mother, who isn't in The CW's target demographic, likes this show. Yes, it is early days, but this show seems to be hitting the mark with fans and critics. I hope the viewing figures keep up and this show gets another season, maybe even a full season order.

Grey's Anatomy and The Time Warp

Forget about FlashForward, it's all about flash sideways and flashbacks. Brothers & Sisters recently announced their casting of their flashback episode but, in the US, this week's it's the turn of Grey's Anatomy.

The episdoe synopsis is "In his new role as Chief, Derek restores the hospital lecture series, and Richard, Bailey and Callie present to the group pivotal surgical cases from their pasts - Bailey reflects on her first days as a shy resident, Callie looks back on a polio case, and Richard recalls a case in which he and Ellis worked on a patient diagnosed with GRID, a virus later called AIDS."

Guest starring will be Sarah Paulson and J. August Richards as Young Ellis Grey and Young Richard Webber and Missi Pyle as Bailey's Former Nemesis, Dr. Nicole Baylow.

Check out the two promos below and in honour of the episode being named 'The Time Warp', a clip from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Review: Modern Family - My Funky Valentine (Series.nu)

Check out my review on episode 15 of Modern Family called My Funky Valentine.
Read it on Series.nu

Review: Skins - Cook

Cook is in trouble and this time it's serious. Following on from his "one-sided" fight from last week, he is arrested. As part of his bail conditions he is fitted with an electronic tag, set a curfew and ordered to live with his mother. Not only do we get to meet her and but also his little brother.

Throughout the the episode, Cook seems conflicted; keeping up his tough guy routine, possible guilt over his involvement in Sophia's death, his feelings for Effy and jealously of Freddie. We get to see a softer side of him in his scenes with his brother and Naomi. She tells him everything that came out from last week's episode.


There's a moment where Cook realises that his actions have consequences as he sees the influence he has over his brother. He opens up a little with Naomi but the real telling scene is with his lawyer, where he lets it all out.

It was good to see another side to Cook and it kind of made him more likeable. Part of the problem I had with his character last season was that I found him too one-dimensional. We also get a little peak into his relationship with his mother.

I don't want to use the word redemption but he grows up a bit towards the end of the episode, taking responsibility for his actions and surprisingly for Naomi's. It's a real character growth and I hope it's not the last we see of him this season.

Next week's episode is all about Katie.

Review: Skins - Emily

The episode looks more into what role Naomi played into Sophia death. Following her revelation to Thomas, she tells Emily about selling the deceased girl drugs.

The episode actually centres around Emily; her investigation into Sophia and her own family. Emily visits the girl's home and slowly unravels the truth.

Emily's mother doesn't accept that she's gay; she tries to bribe her into going away with Noami and doesn't invite Naomi to dinner; Katie's new boyfriend was invited.

Emily doubts Naomi and can't seem to let her jealously go throughout the episode. By the end, we find out why Naomi didn't want Emily investigating Sophie's death and the revelation changes everything.

I was surprised that they steered the episode the way they did. The outcome was a bit predictable. The scene with Emily and her dad was played out well. It was good for her to have a conversation with a parent where it wasn't about her sexuality, just about how she was feeing. There's more than one layer to their conversation, following his confession about being bankrupt and his infidelity when he was younger.

It was also good to see Emily and Katie have more individual identities visually, especially with it being just an Emily episode, as opposed to having a combined episode for the twins like last season.

Fans of the popular couple won't be happy by the outcome but the last scene does give a little hope into their fate.

The next episode will be centred around Cook and the consequence of his fight, after seeing Effy and Freddie together.

Review: Life Unexpected - Rent Uncollected

With an average of 2.1m over their first three episodes, Life Unexpected has become an instant hit for The CW.

Life Unexpected is fresher than its lead-in, One Tree Hill, though it should be expected with the freshman show versus the seven year veteran but its more than that. It's the way the dynamics are written, where the storyline started. We're getting to know Baze and Cate the same way that Lux is.

Episode 3 delves into the families of Baze and Cate and shows that even though their parents were around, it was no picnic. It shows an excellent contrast into their upbringing versus Lux's.

The dinner scene was both comedic and heartfelt; we got to see why Baze and Cate are the way they are. There were also big strides made between Lux and her parents.

In just three episodes, for me, this show has become the best non supernatural show The CW has aired this season. It will be interesting to see how the relationships develop and how the storylines playout.

Review: One Tree Hill - Don't You Forget About Me

Though John Hughes has made two of my favourite films, the tribute that One Tree Hill paid to the late Hughes further solidified my argument that this show has run it's course.

The episode was centred around Haley and Quinn organising an 80s themes party for the arts programme at the high school. Haley thought everyone had forgotten
her birthday, Junk and Fergie were helping Mouth find a woman using an online dating agency. Nathan and Clay had car trouble, miles from home and Jamie conspired to get himself left home alone on purpose. Cheap Trick also made an appearance and played a few of their hits during the episode.

Weird Science, Sixteen Candles and Home Alone were the main films the episode took its story-lines from. At times, they played out certain scenes exactly the same as in the film. I felt like I would be better off watching the films themselves.

This wasn't a standalone episode but it did feel like a repeat of things they had already played out storyline wise; especially with Brooke and Julian. Though the tribute idea was good in theory, I think the execution missed the spot a few times.