OMG, get with the times Robyn! Yes, I am completely behind on the My Mad Fat Diary bandwagon, and there is no excuse! Have you been watching? Its basically the most heartwrenching, heartwarming telly I've seen in bloody ages, its up there with This Is England as just fantastic viewing. Please tell me you've watched it because its all I can think about!?
If you're not up to speed, MMFD is a six part series that ran on E4 at the beginning of the year. Set in 1996, it follows Rae, a fat and slightly mental sixteen year old trying to get through life as best she can. It also has a whole host of other lovely characters and gosh, I could go into a lot of detail but if you haven't seen it its probably best to go in blind! (p.s. the boys are FIT.)
This show knocked me for six, its like someone peeped inside my head, took my teenage years and splashed them all across the screen. I think that's the beauty of it, no matter who you are we have all felt like Rae at some point. Not to mention how fat-positive it is, with well rounded female characters (with flaws!) and an accurate, sensitive portrayal of mental illness. It ticks nearly every box on the 'perfect telly' chart (my own personal chart fyi) and the last episode had me a sobbing wreck with how much it affected me.
Not only does it have all that, but it also has one of the best, well chosen soundtracks EVER! I mean, its not hard is it, to pick good songs in the midst of britpop, but it doesn't go for the obvious choices, there's Blur album tracks, THERE IS MY FAVOURITE STONE ROSES SONG. It seemed like once an episode I would go "HOW DO THEY KNOW I LOVE THIS ONE?" to "I FORGOT ALL ABOUT THAT SONG!" within minutes of each other. I can't deny I am not loving with britpop resurrection we are going through at the moment, what with the Stone Roses films coming out left, right and centre and all that.
Please please give this a chance! Its on 4OD, on amazon and coming back for a second series sometime this year! It is WELL WORTH your time. CAPSLOCK.
I don't know if you've noticed, but every decade it seems the telly goes through a good quality cartoon renaissance. There was the golden age of Daria, King of the Hill and Beavis and Butthead, there was the dark ages of Family Guy and Drawn Together, and I only came to realise the other day just how many good quality cartoons there are around at the moment! I am a cartoon junkie. It doesn't matter if its aimed at kids, if its vile or stupid or depressing- if its a cartoon I am immediately interested.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
So what makes a cartoon worth your time? Well for one thing, they're usually twenty to thirty minutes bursts of bright colour and energy! You can easily stick a couple on before you go to bed or whilst you're getting ready for work without having to invest a lot of thought or energy into it. It also makes it very easy to binge! For instance, I decided to rewatch Bob's Burgers yesterday and got through seven episodes in one afternoon. For an instant fix of good telly there is nothing better than a cartoon!
Archer
The beauty of cartoons is that there is something for all tastes. If you like your shows more mature then Archer is a witty office based show, if you like fantasy based shows then Adventure Time deals with princesses and knights! Everyone should be aware by now that cartoons aren't just for kids (even if the average six year old can quote South Park these days) and with a lot of cartoons being picked up by Netflix theres no excuse not to get involved!
Regular Show
I'm a pretty big champion of Cartoon Network. Ever since my own childhood they have bene consistently showing incredible cartoons (Dexter's Lab, anyone?). Even though I was a die hard Nickelodeon fan when I was little CN was always hot on its heels. They have an eye for innovation, when they brought Adventure Time to TV nothing like it had ever been seen before, you got to respect them for that.
Adventure Time
Cartoons can also deal with serious issues in a way that doesn't feel uncomfortable. Adventure Time features a body positive space lump, and the aftermath of someone who has a mental breakdown, to name but a few of the topics they deal with. Just when you think you're safe a cartoon will lay something heavy on you to make you pause and think. The way the family in Bob's Burgers genuinely love each other, the importance of having friends in My Little Pony... dude, I think every adult should watch cartoons for educational purposes!
Bob's Burgers
What about you guys? Do you have any favourite modern cartoons? What about the ones you grew up with? My ultimate favourite cartoon is Ren and Stimpy but I have so so many others too! Do you still get up on a Saturday to watch the likes of Ben 10, or were cartoons just better back when you were a kid?
I feel like I haven't blogged in ages! I've been busy Christmas shopping, I got all the bits and bobs for the Blogger Secret Santa all ready to be sent off tomorrow! I also bought a massive Heffalump for my niece. I didn't like Winnie the Pooh when I was little, but I don't think Heffalumps were in it then?! Either way, I quite like Winnie the Pooh now because of the video game Kingdom Hearts.
I've been meaning to write this post all month (mostly because I was chuffed over my alliteration in the title!) but I ended up getting too emotionally involved in Corrie and decided to wait until the drama was over there. So yes, this is a post about all my favourite shows from this year! I watch a lot of telly, mostly American shows which I watch online. I was so invested in so many shows this year that I had to stop watching some (sorry Castle, Dexter and The Mentalist!) because it was taking over my life. Some shows came to an end (Dollhouse) which I can't say I'm too bothered about to be honest! But I don't just watch American shows, I watch a few English series, some classics have come out this year as well as old favourites returning. So let's try and recap some of my favourites from 2010...
English DramasIf there's something the English can do well it's a good drama. As a nation we tend to wallow in misery and lap up other people's shit lives. What stands out most for me this year is the calibre of dramas for teens and young adults. Firstly there's obviously Misfits. This has been my favourite show of the whole year, it gets me frothing at the mouth and spamming Facebook with updates that just consist of "OMG MISFITS". There is not one thing you can fault with it and I literally cannot understand people who hate it. I can only assume they have written it off before giving it a proper go. Not only is it hilarious and clever, but I also like how they portray interracial couples and body image. Despite it's dark undertones I believe it's ultimately positive for young viewers rather than say, Skins which glorifies strung out, waifish, impossibly fashionable teenagers. Series 2 started in November, with a Christmas special coming up. It's still going strong and I'm hoping they don't run out of ideas soon. I cannot even describe the amount of love I have for TV shows and films that include time travel, but that's not to say it doesn't make future plot harder to write!
Following on, a new series this year came from director Shane Meadows. Of course I mean This Is England '86, which blasted onto our screens during the end of summer. It's set three years after the film This Is England, where little Shaun was caught up in a white supremecist gang and Combo has just beaten Milky half to death. The new series has almost all the original cast back (but no Jack O'Connell- boo!) and focuses on Woody and Lol's rocky relationship. The costumes, music, home decor, setting, EVERYTHING about this is completely spot on. Almost all the dialogue is ad-libbed and at times it's such uncomfortable viewing you need to take a breather before carrying on watching. But you can see the love and affection the cast has for each other, for Shane and for the story being told. Hopefully this is going to get a second series, with Shane quoted as saying he would like to continue with it if the first series had a positive reaction.
Soaps I'll start with the soap that took over my life last week...Corrie! Ever since I can remember Coronation Street has been on in my house. I remember Curly and Des and Toyah and Spider. But it was the Corrie tram crash that had me glued to my tv, and when not to my tv, to twitter hashtagsfor an entire week. A glorious week of wailing and pain and joy. My stomach was doing sommersalts until Dev and Sinita were safe. I cried when little Simon was rescued and I, along with I think most of the nation, wondered how their live episode went by so flawlessly. There is no mistaking that Corrie's mix of drama and hilarity are unique in soaps and the fifty years it's been going means that it's the reigning master of all other soaps! That being said...
Eastenders also had me glued to the telly for a couple of months because of the one and only Crackhead Phil! Now, I'm being entirely serious when I say I think Steve McFadden was born to play a crack addict. Never before has a performance been so hammed up on 'Enders. Rumour has it that Steve McFadden was doused in five buckets of vegetable oil per scene of achieve his clammy, glistening shine upon his wrinkly brow. The storyline culminated in the spectacular burning now of the Queen Vic. If you ever want to make a good episode in a soap, trap your audience's favourite characters in a burning building. Sure fire drama and emotions!
Comedy America have had some cracking comedies in their time. Arrested Development has yet to be knocked off the top spot for me but this year has seen the return of Community which is by far the cleverest and most touching comedy to come out for a long time! Community is about a group of study buddies who are all completely different but utterly devoted to each other, no matter how much they deny it. The first series started out very routine, but somewhere along the way it got more and more surreal until you have scenes of characters singing American Tail songs to mice and building pillow fort cities. I truly care for these characters, because they're vulnerable and need support. This series has been just as good as the first and I'm hoping they have a lot more to give. I love all the characters but my stand out ones are Troy and Abed, who steal the show with their bromance. Their little skits at the end are funny enough to be a show of their own!There are also some inspired cameos from the likes of Tony Hale and Anthony Michael Hall (the geek from the John Huges films!). I could go on and on linking to videos, it's all comedy gold. The first series is currently being shown on Viva here in the UK. Aseries that Channel 4 promised a long time ago and finally delivered was The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Todd Margaret starring Arrested Development alumini David Cross and Will Arnett. This series is so cringingly funny that at times I really want to close it before I've finished the episode! I think English people will take to this because of the basic formula of "pig-headed American doesn't know English culture". You can watch Todd Margaret on 4OD right now!
And finally an British comedy in the form of Grandma's House. The Simon Amstell written and starring comedy about life round his Grandma's house on Sundays. Lots of good likenesses to all our own families. It's terribly awkward but hilariously funny and well acted. Special mentions go to Grandma and Granddad for seeming so like my own, and Clive for being good enough to hate. I really hope this gets a second series! What's interesting about this is how Simon slags off Never Mind The Buzzcocks on the same channel that it was broadcast on. Very clever stuff. Also can I confess my obsession with little Simon Amstell? I used to wake up extra early on Sundays to watch him on Pop World!
Sport Of course this year it was the World Cup! This year was the most hilarious World Cup because of obviously the majestic vuvuzela, which racked up at least a hundred internet hours of hilarity. Closely followed is John Terry's fish dive against Slovakia, which I found completely hilarious. Other highlights included Fernando Torres's fabulousness.
Politics It was the election this year and I sort of got election fever. It seems like so long ago now that all the promises have been broken and Gordon Brown hasn't called anyone bigoted since. But one man stands out as a true legend amongst TV presenters and that is David Dimbleby. This is man bloody old and he was awake for at least fifty whole hours whilst giving election night coverage. There is even a Twitter account dedicated to his called 'Dimblebot'. He's to election night coverage what Terry Wogan was to Eurovision. A salute one of our national treasures.
A special mention also goes out to Jeremey Vine, bless him. His interactive green screens, including a staircase (my personal favourite) made my delirious sleepless election night even more hilarious than I could have possibly imagined political defeat could feel. Thank you Jezza!
Reality TV I have to end on something that dominated the end of the year in terms of my TV viewing. Of course, I mean X Factor. I was completely hooked this series for the first time in ages. My favourite to begin with was Nicolo, whos Twitter since has been an endless source of amusement. Nicolo is Italian and good looking and totally indifferent to everything. He swore on national telly and insulted the show on a regular basis. I loved him! Secondly I loved Aiden, probably a little too much than a 22 year old should love a 19 year old. It was a bit creepy, but so was he. I was heartbroken when he was voted off! Some great songs got sung, my personal favourite being this one, but of course really what we all tuned in for was Katie Waissel, Wagner and Cher. They were so abhorrent that they had the nation in an uproar. There is no shame in liking the X Factor, only snobs will tell you that it's not worth it. If anything, it gives you a sense of belonging in the community.
Also, a special mention to the human dance machine that is Matt Baker on Strictly! Man rides a FUCKING UNICYCLE like it aint no thang. I love him I love him.
Phew. I think that's about everything I can say for now. This post got pretty mammoth! I feel drained, I'm going to go sit down with a cuppa and watch some telly.
I LOVE this advert so much! It's so nice to see actual talent being used to sell a car rather than smug driving or boob-rubbing over a windshield. I especially like the dancers not only because they're amazing, but also because of their totally Chola style! Am I allowed to use the word Chola if I'm not American? I mean, it's pretty obvious. The lip liner, the dickies shorts, the pulled up socks... If you're not familiar with Chola style may I direct you to this handy guide over at AgentLover..
I also love how different the lady's body looks. It's scary that a perfectly normal, slim body like hers looks alien on TV compared to tiny thighs and slimmed down hips. There'snothing wrong with a body like that but sometimes it's hard to remember that not everyone is the same!
All in all a great advert, inspiring almost. Well done Polo!
Second only to Christmas, Halloween is my favourite time of year for great telly viewing. For all of October you can expect spooky films and film marathons to keep you occupied whilst you ignore trick-or-treaters and sexy cat costumes. I always look forward to the yearly viewing of The Exorcist or Friday the 13th and this year hasn't been much different! If I recall, FilmFour was my favourite Halloween channel last year, but this year BBCFour have outdone themselves with not only showing some great films (it was the original Dawn of the Dead last night) but also showing this great three part series called 'A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss'. The premise is to inform and delight either vetrons or newcomers to the horror genre, leading you on a journey from the silent beginnings of horror, through Hammer House and up to the birth of the American slasher film. I would definitely recommend this program, as they're on BBC iPlayer at the moment (and bound to be repeated) if you have an interest in horror films, it's got some great little interviews and behind the scenes of famous films such as The Omen and Halloween. One thing that makes it a joy to watch is Mark Gatiss's enthusiasm. From when he was a child, he explains, he's always had a love of horror. It shows, whether by the smile on his face as he interviews Tobe Hooper (director of Texas Chainsaw Massacre) or revisiting set pieces (from the original Frankenstien films)
My only problem with the show would be the final episode, in which Mark mentions off handedly that there haven't been any significant moves in the horror genre since the birth of the American slasher. It was disappointing that he didn't touch on 'monster' films like Godzilla, King Kong or Jaws. No mention of horror comedy like Scream or Shaun of the Dead, nothing to do with the new craze of 'gore porn' like Hostel or Saw and not even a whisper about hand-held camera films like Cloverfield or Blair Witch Project. Only briefly was Asian horror touched on, with just a tiny mention to The Ring. But as he said, this was a series created for himself. But perhaps he should have called it 'The Origins of Horror' instead?
Still, my list of films to watch now is miles long, starting at Hammer House of Horror. I'm a big fan of Christopher Lee, and you should be too! Watch the series here and try not to have nightmares!!
For the rest of this week I'm going to reviewing my favourite horror films, right up til Halloween. Keep checking back, maybe you've never heard of some of them before!
The MTV Awards are done and dusted for another year and I managed to catch them on MTV last night. It was a pretty uneventful one, with Twilight dominating the entire night as I'm sure they will do every year until the last film is over. It was a lot of fun to see Kristen Stewart getting more and more irate at having to pretend she enjoys being part of the franchise every time she got up to accept an award, and the kiss between her and RPattz was awkwardly funny.
Another big winner of the night was Sandy Bullock, who I do not have a soft spot for. Her speech was cringe-worthy and I'd rather have heard Betty White cracking jokes more than her. The lowlight being a kiss between her and ScarJo that made me want to switch off. You would think in this day and age people would be able to stop objectifying lesbians and two "serious" actresses wouldn't have to stoop to pretending to kiss on stage for laughs.
The highlight of the night for me was Ken Jeong. His expressive art tiger dance (complete with leotard and tail) was genuinely funny, until it was interrupted by the unfunniest character Tom Cruise has ever played dancing with J.Lo, which left me baffled. Ken Jeong won an award for his performance in The Hangover, his speech was funny but also touching. Ken dedicated the entire night to his wife, who has been battling breast cancer. Both of them got choked up. Luckily Tran has been cancer free for a while now, the whole speech was amazing. You can catch Ken Jeong in Knocked Up, The Hangover and in Community where he always steals the scenes he's in.
It's that time of year again! The most important day for my calender, and hopefully for everyone else's too! Today it is 5 days until the new series of TRUE BLOOD!
Is anyone else as excited as me?! I can't wait to hear some more Jason-isms and find out about Sam's shapeshifter family!!I'm jealous of those of you living in America who get to see it right away! I'll be refreshing sites or maybe I'll find a good stream to watch it with the rest of you! Sometimes living in England sucks.
