Tag: bbc

Jekyll & Hyde

As I mentioned in my post from yesterday, I’ve been binge watching a bunch of shows that Netflix is taking off Instant at the end of the month. Today’s viewing was a marathon of the 6-episode series Jekyll, which was a modern version of the classic Stevenson story as told by a different Steven – Steven Moffat. Usually I am cautiously optimistic when it comes to modernizing classic tales, but I think Moffat did a superb job with his version of the story. Warning: spoilers abound in the next section, so please consider yourself warned…

Jekyll

The story begins by introducing us to the main character, Dr Jackman. Jackman is originally presented in a very mysterious manner. As the viewer I knew what the story was supposed to be based on and made assumptions based on that which turned out to be accurate, but it was still fascinating watching the story unfold as we gradually realize Jackman has his version of Mr. Hyde. The two personalities seem to have a sort of truce where they work out scheduled times each one is allowed to be in control. They each have their own personal lives, although they spend their time in completely different ways. Jackman has a wife and two sons (twins), none of whom know about this alter ego. On the other side of things, Hyde does not realize Jackman has a family, at least not when we first meet him. The story progresses to show the struggle the two sides fight in trying to assume control, until ultimately they are put in a situation where they are forced to join forces for the big finale. It is fantastic the moment you realize Jackman and Hyde can control the transformation and switch between one or the other at will. Moffat does a splendid job spinning his tale and slowly revealing layers until you get to the creamy and delicious center of the show. I definitely recommend giving the series a try while you can, and at just 6 episodes long it should be easy to finish before Netflix takes this gem away from our Instant queues.

Happy 2015!

New year, new possibilities. Unfortunately for us here at News on Shuffle the new year started with our site having to be temporarily taken down, thus preventing me from doing my traditional new years post. Fear not, gentle reader, for we are back now after moving our hosting *blah blah blah insert tech stuff here*. Thanks to the man behind the scenes for taking care of that stuff so I don’t have to.

Moving right along… I have some things I planned for the end of last year that got pushed back due to the fact moving your entire life is really tiring and time consuming and my brain just couldn’t handle that and also being creative and funny and stuff. There are still boxes that are unpacked, but I’m mostly settled in now and hopefully things will go back to what passes for normal around here. I was really proud of the content I put out last year, but I know I can do better. And I shall! So yeah, there are two reviews I still owe you and am ashamed I haven’t gotten around to yet. And a third that was sent to me yesterday and am pretty excited about because of how this person found me. Oh, and I’m following a band on tour for a few days and hopefully will have some awesome pics to share when I get back. Yep, lots of cool things to look forward to…

Not to end this on a bad note, but there is one bit of entertainment news I should report on before I go.

NETFLIX IS TAKING AWAY ALL THEIR BBC STUFF! WHY GOD, WHY?!

*Ahem*

I’m sorry, but I’m rather upset about this news and have been binge watching a ton of stuff on my queue before it goes away. I’m currently wrapping up the last few episodes of Robin Hood, which lasted three seasons. I have to say the first two seasons were AMAZEBALLS but the third one I’m still not sure about. There were a lot of changes at the end of season 2 (don’t worry, no spoilers) that I’m not super happy about. There are some new characters added for season 3, but I only really love one of them and the rest are just a feeble attempt to replace those lost from the season before. Having said all that, I would definitely give the show a try for at least the first two seasons before it goes away and you have to *gasp* rent the DVDs. Also do your last bit of Doctor Who watching and catch that last season of Torchwood you never got around to because those are going away too. And if comedy is more your style, maybe give Fawlty Towers or A Bit of Fry and Laurie a try. John Cleese is great as the owner of a hotel in Fawlty Towers, and Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie are great together in Fry and Laurie. The show is mostly just the two of them, but it never feels stale at all. I marathon-ed an entire season in a day. Granted it was just 7 episodes, but still, it’s pretty darn funny and you should give it a try.

That’s all for now. I’ll let you go binge watch some tv and see you again on the other side.

Sherlock Keeps Us Guessing

Editor’s note: This post would’ve gone up on Monday, but I used this space to say goodbye to Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who passed away the day before. Having said that, the Sherlock season finale was a great mental distraction from all the terrible realities life throws at us occasionally. I hope the show and this post give you a nice mental boost to get you through the rest of the week.

Anyone who is a regular reader of this blog should know that I am a huge fan of the series Sherlock and it’s writer Stephan Moffat. The series 3 finale, which aired this past Sunday in the U.S., definitely did not let me down. I’m not going to spoil too much of the show since I believe half the fun is in the surprise, but if even my hinting at things will ruin it for you then you should wait until you have watched before you continue reading.

If you’re still with us then you know the finale had a LOT of surprises. The theme of the episode was secrets, both the power they have and what people will do to keep them. Discoveries were made about key characters, and there was the usual Holmes & Watson’s lives being endangered, as tends to happen in the finale. What was different was the ending. Yes, it was a cliff hanger, but not in the way you expected it to be. While I loved ever minute of the episode (and pretty much stopped breathing for an hour and thirty minutes) my favorite part was how the episode seemed to be over and the credits about to roll, but suddenly the rug was pulled out from under us. It was as if Moffat had yelled “PSYCH!” and completely fooled us. I’ve never been so excited to be tricked in my life.

I’m sure we’re all eagerly awaiting the return of our favorite detective. Good news: It seems that the BBC is making a push for a Christmas episode this year. Possibly bad news: Moffat has looked at the ratings for each season and took notice to the fact each season has been better than the last. That in itself is actually great news, but he takes it into account that there was a large break in between each series. So, while we might be getting a new adventure soon, it seems we also might be looking at a bit of a wait for a full new season. Mixed messages to be sure, but it’s also understandable considering the major players in the series all have other projects they are working on as well. However long we have to wait, I’m sure Moffat will make it worth our while.

New Torchwood Series Confirmed

It’s official – Starz and BBC have joined forces to give us an International Torchwood. Not all the details are available but here is what we have so far:

Russell T Davies wrote the pilot 7 months ago and did not take what network it would be on into consideration. Which I think is code for he didn’t care what anyone said and is not going to be watering things down to make people happy. Which shouldn’t be a problem now that Starz will be the network airing the series.

The people behind the show want it to be made clear that this is not a reboot of the show but a continuation of the old series. They are just changing locations to enable more flexibility with the story.

Speaking of story, the only details on that front are the number of episodes that it will take to complete said story – 1o. Which is twice the length of Children of Earth. Imagine the possibilities…

Besides Russell being involved, there are also many other names connected with the previous series coming back (on both sides of the camera) including the two main stars: John Barrowman and Eve Myles. There will also be some new faces as well to complete the team.

Finally, the series air date has not been officially announced but we know it will be sometime during summer 2011. That means we only have one year to wait before we finally get our fix of Torchwood that we’ve been craving. And I’m sure there will be lots more updates from Team Barrowman both on Twitter and his website. News on Shuffle will also give you the latest news as it is made available to us.