Oh, dear GODS, but I could strangle a BBC scheduler, right now, I really could!
Seriously … !
I had pencilled in a movie for tomorrow night — provisionally, of course.
But had gone to the effort of actually forming a Movie night group on FB: and sorting out an event.
And then — as I’d also had in mind — sat meself down to watch the opening episode of the new BBC1 science fiction drama, Outcasts.
Happily got to the end of it …
To find out that the next episode of the series … ?
Is on, tomorrow night …
Couldn’t you just spit, when that happens … … ?
I know I could.
Bless ’im I know Movie Night Adrian’s been hearing some vile imprecations … !
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Hang on, lemme just grab a cigarette* and a cuppa …
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Oooh, that helps …
Now, what was I going to do … ?
Apart from have a rant … ?
Yeah …
I was going to tell you all about the first episode in the new BBC1 sci-fi drama, Outcasts …
Which was on, tonight: I should know, I’ve just watched it.
Tonight’s first episode saw the human settlers on Carpathia — lead by ‘President’ Richard Tate, played by Liam Cunningham — waiting for the next transport from Earth, with extra colonists: with the implication that this transport is to be the last.
With a secondary story about one of the colonists — a member of Carpathia’s Expeditionary force called Mitchell Hoban, played by Jamie Bamber — attempting something of a coup, having planned to move his troops and their families to another part of the planet, away from the township of Forthaven.
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And it does seem to be getting something of a mixed reaction.
Personally … ?
Personally, I’m thinking that this first episode is/was a touch on the slow side.
It’s got potential.
It’s got a fairly good, if relatively unknown, cast — Cunningham stood out for me, as the one actor I actually recognised, although Amy Mason, Daniel Mays and Jamie Bamber grabbed me as, respectively, Fleur, Cass and Mitchell.
The effects are nicely done.
The one thing I will highlight as being something special, right off the bat, though, is the scenery: all that money spent in South Africa seems to be money well spent.
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But I don’t know if I’m completely stunned, yet.
Yet … !
After all, I was gobsmacked by the opening episode of the rebooted Dr Who and the Stephen Moffat take on Sherlock Holmes: both of which threw me into the action from the opening seconds.
I felt the same about the little I saw of the remade Battlestar Galactica, and have been thoroughly entranced by Merlin, the only comparatively fresh series on the block.
Same with Dr Who spin-off, Torchwood.
And the really original piece of genre TV, the BBC3 series Being Human, although I’ll be honest, I’m a comparative late-comerº, there.
So, so far … ?
Well …
So far, I’m curious enough to want to invest a touch more time into Outcasts.
I think it has potential to be impressive.
Butª …
But I’m a touch worried that what could be a slow-burning hit …
Could turn out like Paradox, a couple of years ago: a worthy, well written, beautifully done one-hit-wonder, that was never developed or expanded.
Or, worse — much like Primeval and the remade of Survivors, in my humble opinion — to be very worthy flops.
Or as a third possibility … ?
It could go the way of the remake of The Prisoner: and as most of my friends will tell you, I thought that should well have been aborted at birth …
| Character | Actor |
| Richard Tate | Liam Cunningham |
| Stella Isen | Hermione Norris |
| Cass Cromwell | Daniel Mays |
| Fleur Morgan | Amy Manson |
| Jack Holt | Ashley Walters |
| Julius Berger | Eric Mabius |
| Tipper Malone | Michael Legge |
| Mitchell Hoban | Jamie Bamber |
| Karina Hoban | Jessica Haines |
| Captain Kellerman | Patrick Lyster |
| Director | Bharat Nalluri |
| Producer | Radford Neville |
| Writer | Ben Richards |
* Yes, bad habit, I know …
º I’ve also been hearing some very good things about Channel 4 genre series, Misfits.
ª ‘But’, like ‘if’, is one of the longest words in the English language, isn’t it … ?
Agree that the remake of The Prisoner was simply dreadful. I blogged about McGoohan midway through the remade miniseries.
ReplyDeletehttp://mackthewriter.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/i-miss-patrick-mcgoohan/
One of my favorite actors ever!
Oh, good lord, wasn’t it just, Debbi … ?
ReplyDeleteI still maintain that the McGoohan original was a classic of its time, with its main star bringing a lot of passion to the role.
The remake, though … ?
Oh, dear lord …