UK Airing Dates of US Shows

I was doing some research into when my favourite US TV programs are arriving on UK screens and thought I’d share it.  If you have any news or corrections, do let me know.

Can I just mention again how very much I hate ITV and BBC for being so paranoid that they do not advertise the starting dates of their programs in advance?  Seriously, they suck.  US airing dates are advertised months in advance!  So, when will we see The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, 90210, True Blood, Grey’s Anatomy and Heroes back on UK television screens?

The Vampire Diaries (season 1)

Damon and Elena [played by Iam Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev]

Picked up by: ITV 2
Official UK website: The Vampire Diaries
When will we see it? Sunday 24 January 2010 at 9pm

In a first for UK markets, the episodes were released on iTunes UK for early viewing to allow fans to keep up to date with US screenings and to try combat online piracy. 

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Supernatural (season 5)

Picked up by: Living
Official UK website: Supernatural
When will we see it? Wednesday 10 February 2010 at 9pm

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90210 (season 2)

Picked up by: E4
Official UK website: 90210
When will we see it? Tuesday 5 January 2010 at 9pm

Liam Court [played by Matt Lanter]

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True Blood (season 2)

Picked up by: FX
Official UK website: True Blood
When will we see it? Friday 26 February 2010 at 10pm

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Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

Picked up by: Living
Official UK website: Grey's Anatomy
When will we see it? Thursday 21 January 2010 at 10pm

Heroes (season 4)

Picked up by: BBC 2
Official UK website: Heroes
When will we see it? Saturday 9 January 2010 at 10.10pm

Music Monday # 12: Into Dust – Mazzy Star

An Angel Describing Air

It’s been featured in more films and television episodes than I can remember but I’ll never forget the first time I heard this song.  It was shortly before my 21st birthday back in 1994 and this album had been recommended to me as they sounded similar to my beloved Cranes.  I’ve often said that to me, Alison Shaw from Cranes sounds like an angel describing sunshine.  If that is so, then Hope Sandoval from Mazzy Star sounds like an angel describing air.

That day back in that little record store, the assistant skipped straight to track 9 and I listened to the first 30 seconds of “Into Dust” and then decided to buy the album.  I didn’t need to listen to any more to know that this would become one of my most played albums of all time.

Find more Music Monday posts at Lady Java's Lounge or by clicking my label below.

Mazzy Star - “Into Dust”

So Tonight That I Might See (1993)

Still falling
Breathless and on again
Inside today
Beside me today
Around broken in two
'Till you eyes shed
Into dust
Like two strangers
Turning into dust
'Till my hand shook with the way I fear

I could possibly be fading
Or have something more to gain
I could feel myself growing colder
I could feel myself under your fate
Under your fate

It was you breathless and tall
I could feel my eyes turning into dust
And two strangers turning into dust
Turning into dust

Music Review: The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love

Indiessential Albums of 2009

I'm always on the lookout for good, new music so when a very dear and old friend of mine suggested The Big Pink, I rushed right out and gave them a listen. 

The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love

Image source: Jayne Helliwell design

The Big Pink are from London, England and are signed to he massive 4AD label which brought us brilliant bands such as Pixies, Bauhaus and Throwing Muses.  They are not an easy band to classify and their style is a mix of indie rock, shoegazing and electro rock.  They have certainly arrived on the scene with a bang and won the prestigious NME Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act this year.

Photo by Tom Beard [Image Source]

Like with Editors - In This Light and On This Evening, I’m going to review each song on this album as I was pretty impressed with it.  Unfortunately, their music is not up on Last.fm like it was with Editors but they do have a brilliant website [Music From The Big Pink] and you can listen to four of their songs by clicking on their names below:

The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love
Record label: 4AD
Release date: 14 September 2009

Where the song titles are links, they link to the YouTube videos (4AD have their own channel!)

1. Crystal Visions: After a build up of a minute, the album explodes with the energetic and anthemic “Crystal Visions”.  At first it reminded me a little bit of All About Eve around the time that they brought out “Phased” but it soon becomes evident that they are channelling The Jesus and Mary Chain and boy are they doing a good job!  This song has the most awesome baseline!
2. Too Young To Love: Another brilliant and anthemic song that brings to mind Kula Shaker.  I love the grinding guitars and beat.  This is like Californian beach music or music to listen to on your way out at night.  Or music to go see live in concert.  I don’t need to give you any more reasons… this is exciting and energetic music and you should give it a listen!
3. Dominos: This is their massive radio hit and you’ll probably recognise it.  It reminds me of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack or MGMT’s “Time to Pretend”.  It’s just a really happy song although why I’m saying it when it’s about men not being able to commit, I’ll never know.
4. Love In Vain:  This is not my favourite song as I find it kind of anti-climatic after the previous three songs but it might appeal to Jesus and Mary Chain fans.
5. At War With The Sun: This song is a dead ringer for the Stone Roses.  Seriously, it could have been written by Ian Brown himself.  Which is not a bad thing and they definitely make it their own towards the end (well, obviously, seeing as it is their own song) but it is clear who their influences are.
6. Velvet: This song reminds me so much of My Bloody Valentine and it definitely earns The Big Pink the shoegazing label.  It is really beautiful and makes me want to lie in a park in the sun.
7. Golden pendulum: Sweeping guitar riffs and lazy vocals continue the shoegazing theme and Jesus and Mary chain channelling.
8. Frisk: The backing vocals in this song remind me of Jane’s Addiction to some extent.  This song is quite edgy and a nice contrast to the previous tracks.
9. A Brief History of Love: This is an amazing song featuring the incredibly talented Joanne Robertson (also known as Joanne Apps).
10. Tonight: This is the best song on the album.  I love the grinding guitars and once again, that gorgeous vocal reminds me of Perry Farrell from Jane’s Addiction.
11. Countbackwards From Ten: This reminds me of “Today” from The Smashing Pumpkins.  Coming at the end of an energetic, frenetic album, this is a fantastic closing song to the album.  It’s not exactly calming, more like that last song at the end of the best concert of your life.  The one that sees you walking out the doors on a complete natural high. 

I must say that this album was an excellent find and a big thank you to Mike for recommending them to me!  Once again, I am only too happy to give this album five stars!

 

The Big Pink links

Official website: Music From The Big Pink

LastFM

MySpace

NME profile

Being Human returns!

The fabulous BBC 3 show Being Human is returning to our screens on 10th January 2010 at 9.30 pm.  This is fantastic news and this season of Being Human promises to be darker and creepier than ever before.

To accompany this exciting news, the BBC released the first official trailer today:

It looks brilliant! I cannot wait.  I think I should rewatch season 1 during my Xmas break!

Brittany Murphy dead at 32

To/FilmMagic [Image source]

This is the worst kind of news of all.  The beautiful and talented Brittany Murphy has died at the age of 32.  The LA Fire Department responded to a call from her husband  her mother at 8am and she was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles this morning but was declared dead on arrival.

It is said that she went into full cardiac arrest and never recovered.

It seems awfully unusual for such a young person to die of a heart attack and I am sure the rumours will begin to fly about eating disorders and drug use.  Huffington Post quotes her responding to allegations of cocaine use back in 2005:

"Wow. No, just for the record I have never tried it in my entire life, I've never even seen it, and I don't leave the house too much, except to go to work," she said. "My worst vice is caffeine. [The rumor is] really pretty darn far-fetched -- it couldn't be further from the truth. I have known people over the course of my life that have bad problems with drugs, and it's something really serious."

Okay... but if my otherwise healthy 32-year-old sister / daughter / wife / friend died of a massive heart attack, I'd sure start asking questions and want to know the reasons why. 

What a terrible loss and a sad, sad day.

Doctor Who: The Daleks (part 1)

The second story in the first season of Doctor Who aired on the BBC between 21st December 1963 and 1st February 1964.  The story arc is known as The Daleks and introduced what would become the Doctor’s greatest foes.  I find it highly amusing that my spell check is underlining the word Daleks as these hideous and terrifying creatures were such a great part of my childhood!

 

First Doctor - William Hartnell
Companion - Susan Foreman (played by Carole Ann Ford)
Support Characters: Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright

Planet Skaro, time unknown

The Dead Planet

Broadcast: 21 December 1963

The TARDIS lands on what appears to be a dead planet and the crew encounter a petrified forest.  The Doctor sabotages the ship so that he can force the crew to explore a city that they see in the distance.

Things we learn in this episode: Food on the TARDIS comes from the TARDIS nutrition machine in the form of nutrition bars that taste like meals.

Cities on foreign planets look remarkably like Lego models.

 

The Survivors

Broadcast: 28 December 1963

The crew learn that the planet is not uninhabited as they are captured by the hideous Daleks.  They begin to suffer from radiation sickness and in a bid to get hold of the radiation medication, the Daleks send Susan on a mission to retrieve some from the other inhabitants of the planet, the Thals.

Things we learn in this episode: The Daleks and the Thals engaged in a neutronic war which left the survivors of both races mutated.  The Daleks are confined to their pepper pots travel machines and cannot leave the bounds of their city.

The Daleks of the 1963 show are as terrifying and creepy as they have remained throughout the history of the show.  The only thing preventing me from retreating behind my sofa was my dedication in writing up this post.

The Escape

Broadcast: 4 January 1964

Susan runs into the Alydon one of the Thals and it turn out that they are not disfigured like the Daleks but are a beautiful, perfect race of people.  Alydon gives Susan additional radiation medication.

The Daleks start a grand plan to trick The Doctor and the crew into “a false sense of security” by giving them food and refreshments so that they can help lure the Thal to the Dead City.

The prisoners come up with an ingenious plan to hijack one of the Dalek’s travel machines.

Things we learn this episode: The Daleks were teachers and philosophers before the war with the Thals.

The Daleks are able to move using a form of static electricity and the base of their machines requires contact with the floor.

The Daleks are slimy little creatures not unlike snails once removed from their shell.

The Ambush

Broadcast: 11 January 1964

The plan to hijack one of the machines is successful and the TARDIS crew escape.  As they make their escape, they witness the Daleks ambushing the Thals and they escape with the surviving Thal.

The crew are just about to make their way back to the TARDIS when Ian realises they left a vital TARDIS component back down in the Daleks’ city.

Things we learn this episode: The Daleks are evil, scheming and vengeful.

Planet 51

We took a chance yesterday and turned up at our local cinema without knowing what was showing beforehand.  As it turned out, there were only two shows starting around the time we arrived and as we had already seen New Moon, we landed up going to see Planet 51. 

As a lifetime fan of The Jetsons and a lover of the futuristic imaginings and alien fascination of the 1950s and 1960s, I was immediately taken with the film.  I just loved the art deco buildings, the retro outfits and the 1950s music.  They had a classic bowling alley too and hover vehicles that matched classic 1950s car models. 

I enjoyed the pop culture references and the slightly off-colour jokes that kids are unlikely to catch.  I liked the reversal whereby humans are the aliens invading another planet. 

In fact, there were so many levels on which the film was cute and funny.  There was a whole side story about Rover, the explorer robot pictured above.  Trust a robot to be more interested in rocks than life forms and to send back data suggesting the planet is uninhabited!

 

Planet 51 Trailer

I honestly giggled and sniggered my way through the whole film but alas, The Husband didn't like it at all.   I didn’t find the film was overly moralising which I really appreciated and I didn’t find the romantic component to be unrealistic either.  Rather, it was a simple and casual film aimed at young children but which would provide entertainment for adults too.

The film got 21% from the critics at Rotten Tomatoes and 72% from the community.  Given that Where The Wild Things Are is being released in the UK on 11 December and James Cameron’s Avatar on 17 December and Sherlock Holmes on 26 December, I’d say get this one on DVD.

For 91 minutes of giggles and laughter, I give the film four out of five stars.

Book review: Circle of Fire – Keri Arthur

I seemed to remember quite enjoying Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur which was why I was quite excited to find this book in the library.  The front cover review read “may become the most popular paranormal series in the twenty-first century” and I thought “score”!

Well, the only reason I actually finished this book is because a) I made myself a promise back in 2005 or so to always finish the books I started and b) I had already felt compelled to break that promise earlier this year with Interview With The Vampire and am trying to push up my total ‘read’ count by the end of the year.

Conscious as I am that the author might actually come across this review, I’ll sum it up by saying that the book was terrible.  I had wanted to promise at this point that I would give the next book in the series a try because I know Keri Arthur is better than this and series often improve after the first or second books.  There are two reasons why this is unlikely to happen though.  Firstly, I see no that I said that about the last book I reviewed of hers, Full Moon Rising.  Secondly, I’ve taken a look at the description of the next book and it has nothing to do with this book.  Different city, different characters; why is she even bothering to market it as the same series?  Sure, they both have magic in them but she’d probably have more luck marketing them as the next Harry Potter books!

In an effort to stay on topic, I’d say there are five main reasons why I believe the book was terrible:

• The physical descriptions of the main characters were so corny.  They all had gold and copper hair or amber eyes.  It was like something straight out of a bad romance novel but I’d thought Keri Arthur was better than this!
• In fact, it is almost as if Keri Arthur read the Wikipedia entry on Mary Sue characters and decided to write a book around it.  Madeleine Smith is a textbook “Angsty Sue” with her deep, dark past of child and spousal abuse and the guilt she feels over the death of her husband.  Yawn.
• Keri Arthur had also obviously jotted down a couple of descriptive terms and thought herself pretty clever because she used them all several times.  So Jon (the love interest) was constantly “raking” his hands through his hair and first we are told that Maddy would rather sit next to a dozen Hanks than watch Jon with another woman (Eleanor) only to read a chapter later that she would rather put up with a dozen Eleanors than contend with Hank.  Hackneyed, clichéd and ultimately boring.  It is not that hard to describe situations using good writing as opposed to the use of hyperbole and exaggeration.
• We read so many of the characters’ thoughts and feelings (in italics) that it was constantly jarring to return to the third-person narrative style of the book.  Why didn’t she just use first-person narrative style or describe the characters’ thoughts and feelings from the third-person view?  It was badly written and a mish mash of writing styles.
• And finally… if Madeleine Smith had “copper” hair or whatever other tired references to deep red Arthur could find, why does the woman on the front of the book have blonde hair?  The only blonde woman in the story is the evil Eleanor and she definitely wouldn’t be looking so brave and courageous on the cover!

One last thing which normally wouldn’t have impacted on my rating of the book but was slightly disappointing nonetheless was the setting.  Keri Arthur is Australian and one of the most interesting things about Full Moon Rising was that it was set in Melbourne.  So I was somewhat disappointed to find this book was set in the United States.  That might have been okay, I guess, but she also gave all the characters stereotypical American accents and mannerisms.  Authors should always stick to what they know (in my not so humble opinion) even if that knowledge has come from painstaking research.

As the book had a faint glimmer of interest in that Jon was a shapeshifter and Maddy was a psychic and firestarter, I give the book two out of five stars.