Saturday, December 29, 2012

Festive Treats

Christmas might be nearly over but here's a look at some of the other programmes I managed to watch over the last few weeks.


Downton Abbey: Okay - who didn't see Matthew's death coming? Seriously, even if you were unable about the hemming and hawing with Dan Stevens involvement with the show, then the fact that creator Julian Fellowes is incapable of subtlety surely didn't help matters? In the space of two hours during the only non Christmassy Christmas special going, Mary gave birth to a baby boy and lost a husband while the servants attended a fair, we've gained Rose for all of next season and well, not much else aside from Branson being made feel slightly embarrassed about his new position by Edna. The special wasn't quite as awful as some critics have made out but it was certainly lacking something.


Him And Her: I enjoyed pretty much all of the third series and this little one off special was also a lot of fun as well. A fun, simple solid way of enjoying Christmas with a nice emotional centre as Steve and his father had some catching up time together while Laura proved that she can even make karaoke ten times more painful than it usually is. On the down side, the lack of fall out from the previous episode bothered me a bit though.


Homeland: Um, the last two episodes weren't as good as I'd hope they would be to be honest. While I do think the second season has been enjoyable, I am beginning to wonder if logically this show can really sustain itself for a third season and beyond. Even the finale, while hugely enjoyable seemed like it could've ultimately been a series ender for the show as a whole (with some tweaking). That being said, at least we've seperated Carrie and Brody for a bit and next season with Saul could be very interesting as well.


Merlin: The final three episodes of this show really did seem to hurtle towards a rushed conclusion. Why did the writers wait until literally the last minute to reveal everything? I think my apathy towards the show has made some of the deaths we got in the last episode in particular less moving as well (I only cared about Gwaine and Mordred - Arthur and Morgana, not so much) and it really feels that after five series, the writers didn't really live up to the promise of Merlin actually making a difference at all. Maybe I need to watch these episodes again. I might not feel as disappointed as I did.


Mrs Brown's Boys: This will never go down as a politically correct show but with RTE1 due to air the third series tonight, I have to admit the two-part Christmas special was a lot of ridiculous fun. Only this show would make a holy shambles of the nativity, only for Maria to salvage it with a version of A Spaceman Came Travelling. Without a doubt, one of the funniest things to air all over the Christmas period. You might not want Agnes Brown as your mammy but she's certainly a riot to watch.


- Charlene McKenna will be guest starring in the final series of Skins. Her role hasn't been revealed yet.
- Ashley Fink will be reprising her role as Lauren Zizes for an upcoming episode of Glee.
- Mockingbird Lane has not been picked up by NBC.
- Happy Endings and Apartment 23 will be moving to Sundays now, following the cancellation of 666 Park Avenue.
- Leverage has been cancelled after five seasons.
- Game Of Thrones is the most pirated show of 2012.
- Julian Morris will be returning soon as Prince Philip in Once Upon A Time.
- Allen Leech will have a bigger role in the upcoming fourth series of Downton Abbey, following the departure of Dan Stevens.

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