Television

Nikita – Into the Dark

Before I get into the episode itself, I thought I’d spend a moment chastising the production team of Nikita for their laughable attempt at creating their own little piece of London. Whilst Nikita is a child of The CW and thus, relative to many other shows falls short in the budget department, it has up until now managed to maintain some level of reality in terms of portraying various locations worldwide. Pretty much any and every detail of London, more specifically Camden, seems to have alluded them in “Into the Dark” as they go from an ambiguous sidewalk that could really be anywhere to what is obviously a small Canadian town. Maybe being English I have a certain sense of bias towards wanting a portrayal of London being done correctly, but I really would think that anyone could see past a solitary underground sign on the side of a street. 

 Ignoring the production flaws the episode itself wasn’t actually half bad. “Into the Dark” sees the return of Owen, former guardian of one of Percy’s black boxes and contributor to some of the better hand-to-hand combat scenes that I’ve ever seen on television, as he brings news to Nikita that he has discovered a rough location of yet another black box. When arriving in Nikita’s loft to bring her the news, Owen walks in on her and Division agent turned Nikita collaborator Michael in bed. Whilst I am all for seeing Maggie Q in a thong, the minute long scene of her standing in her underwear between the two warriors was some of the most shameless viewer grabbing Tv of recent times. Ultimately, after Nikita puts some clothes on, the scene is set and she and Owen head to London to finish the hunt for the black box, whilst Michael heads to the office to see what he can discover on his end. 

Community – Competitive Wine Tasting

Sitcoms
really aren’t known for their in-depth plots or having much more than a
singular story to follow while what passes for comedy in 2011 is draped
across the TV screen. It’s because of this exact reason that I have
already watched this week’s Community twice. When it comes to writing
about a 20 minute show it isn’t usually difficult to remember the beats
that made you laugh or who was doing what at any given moment that made
the show worth watching, but my memory was put to this test with this. “Competitive
Wine Tasting” was even a departure for Community itself in the plethora
of stories told, but after seeing the end result, I can’t help but hope
that the writers have enough faith in themselves to try something like
it again in their third season.

Chinese Government Bans Time Travel

The Chinese government’s State Administration of Radio Film and Television has issued a new protocol that essentially bans fantasy based plots; more specifically time travel; in their media. Their explanation for the decision according to The New York Times is said to be that time travel stories can “casually make up myths, have monstrous and weird plots, use absurd tactics, and even promote feudalism, superstition, fatalism and reincarnation.”

There is speculation across the internet and other outlets however that suggest the the real reason behind the new guidelines is to stop a misrepresentation of historical figures and events in a way that the Chinese authorities disapprove of. Whilst not being quite as provocative as the censorship of the internet by the Chinese government in 1996, the decision has to be a blow to the SyFy channel’s hopes of reaching a wider audience as well as HBO in the event that they had intended to market their new outing Game of Thrones on a wider international scale. 

Fox Wants More of Bob’s Burgers

Fox has just given an early second season pickup to animated comedy Bob’s Burgers. This is the second scripted series to be renewed for next season, following the January pickup of another freshman comedy, Raising Hope. After a big premiere boosted by an NFL overrun, Bob’s Burgers settled into a so-so ratings territory, posting a 2.2 in adults 18-49 for its most recent original. Fox’s decision to renew Bob’s Burgers is also interesting as the network has 2 new animated series on tap for next season, Allen Gregory and Napoleon Dynamite. But, with a 13-episode order, Bob’s Burgers can split the season with the newcomers, whose combined order is for 13 half-hours.

Adult Swim Scores Black Dynamite Cartoon Series

Adult Swim  has picked up animated series Black Dynamite for a spring 2012 debut. Based on the 2009  feature, Black Dynamite
further chronicles the exploits of the central character, ex-CIA agent
and full-time ladies man Black Dynamite, and his crew as they avenge the
death of Black Dynamite’s brother against kung-fu masters, drug-dealing
pimps and The Man and his crew. Spearheaded by Carl Jones (The Boondocks),
the series features the voices of Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson,
Kym Whitley and Byron Minns, all of whom starred in the feature. Black Dynamite,
animated by Titmouse, is produced by Ars Nova Entertainment.  Jones,
Jon Steingart and Jillian Apfelbaum executive produce. Brian Ash is
co-executive producer. Scott Sanders, Michael Jai White and Byron Minns
are producers.

New Thundercats Trailer!

Premiering at Wonder Con was the new trailer for Thundercats! Frankly I saw twenty seconds and was sold on it. By the end I completely loved the new direction they’re going with the story and the variety of ages they’ve chosen for the cats. I do hope that they figure out something to do with the twins since they were mishandled at best in the original series. The art style they’ve gone with is definitely the right choice with a bit of Dragon Ball Z influence meshed with the Cartoon Network color pallet. In general this actually looks like a good relaunch and not simply a cash in on an old franchise. What are your thoughts on the trailer?

Bob’s Burgers – Spaghetti Western and Meatballs

After several episodes and a few breaks in-between Bob’s Burgers has finally found its tone, style and pacing; while keeping the family lessons and not losing sight of what sets it apart from the other prime-time animations. This episode opens with Louise and Bob staying up late watching TV together. Louise dubs them the burn unit as they change the channel taking turns making fun of aka “burning” a show. The jokes aren’t very good, but you can see that it’s a special father daughter time that they share. Until Bob stumbles upon a Spaghetti Western called Banjo, which is basically Clint Eastwood with a… banjo. Gene comes in looking for a larger plunger as he’s preparing for the extreme number two he has on deck. He’s intrigued by Banjo and all its cheesy western action. Louise is instantly discouraged by the fact that the burn unit is done for the night and that she now must share her father’s attention with Gene.