Category Archives: BBC

BBC, Netflix, and House of Cards

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* Netflix has added an odd new feature. If you search on particular networks (NBC, Comedy Central, MTV, Discovery Channel), there will be a hyperlink at the top of the page asking to take you to “Genre:NBC”, “Genre:Comedy Central”, etc. Most of the major networks aren’t there yet but it is a neat new feature. BBC is only there as BBC comedy so far.

* Speaking of BBC, they are planning to launch a video download store a la iTunes or Amazon. No word yet on whether this will be global. BBC states that it will be for “a relatively modest fee”. So far though download prices for movies on iTunes, Amazon and the others are ridiculously high, especially for a product with no resale value. Heck for catalog titles (i.e. non-new releases), they are often more expensive than their DVD (and sometimes Blu-Ray) counterparts.

House of Cards

“Set in Britain’s Houses of Parliament, this political satire follows the career of a ruthless MP (Ian Richardson) whose election campaign has been plagued by a number of mysterious deaths. The politician’s scheming knows no bounds, and he manages to ensnare a member of the royal family in his quest for power. This series was controversial in Britain for its close depiction of Prince Charles’s actual life.”

Netflix calls this three seasons but it is actually three different mini-series. The first, House of Cards, details Francis Urquhart’s rise to power. The second, To Play the King, details Urquhart’s power struggle with a Prince Charles-type character and the third is The Final Cut. House of Cards is excellent, To Play the King is brilliant, and The Final Cut is very good but a little haphazard as if it were a but rushed.

Ian Richardson is amazing as the scheming Francis Urquhart. He consistently breaks the fourth wall with snarky asides and is wonderfully ruthless. The supporting cast is wonderful as well but everyone plays second fiddle to Ian, even the earnest Michael Kitchen as the King. Don’t worry if the politics are a bit different from those in the U.S., this is great fun and not that hard to follow.

I’m really looking forward to Netflix’ remake of this next year with Kevin Spacey in the lead. It also stars Kate Mara and Robin Wright and, according to imdb, is being directed by David Fincher.

Red Dwarf – Seeing Red week

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This is Seeing Red week. Red Dwarf is currently available on instant Netflix.

WATCH: Red Dwarf (1988) – NR – Not rated.

“This notoriously irreverent sci-fi series that first appeared in the 1980s on British television gleefully mixes jokes about excessive curry consumption with affectionate parodies of classic sci-fi. It is a weird and wonderful mélange of Neil Simons “The Odd Couple,” John Carpenters Dark Star and A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.”

“Where is everybody Hol?” – “They are dead Dave” – “Who is?” – “Everybody Dave” – “What, Captain Hollister?” – “Everybody is dead Dave” – “What, Tod Hunter?” – “Everybody is dead Dave” – “What, Selby?” – “They are all dead. Everybody is dead Dave” – “Peterson isnt is he?” – “Everybody is dead Dave” – I think you get the idea.

What other sitcom begins by killing off all of the cast save one? The cast is absolutely perfect.

Craig Charles plays Lister, the only survivor of the human race. He is a complete and utterly disgusting slob. All he wants to do is retire to Fiji and raise horses.

Chris Barrie is a complete by-the-rules pompous git named Rimmer who dies and is brought back as a hologram. Chris originally auditioned for the role of Lister but is amazing as Rimmer.

Danny John-Jules is a humanoid lifeform descended from a pet cat. Cat is absolutely wonderfully self-centered (as any cat owner knows), very charismatic, and a snappy dresser.

Norman Lovett plays Holly, the ship computer, for the first two seasons and is later replaced by Hattie Hayridge. The part of Holly is later eliminated as the creators realized that Kryten provided all the exposition needed.

Robert LLewellyn plays Kryten, the ultimate service robot starting in the second season. He also played Kryten in an unaired pilot for an American version of the show.

The show is absolutely hilarious for several seasons. The budget is small though Netflix appears to be broadcasting the version where special effects were added later (after the VHS releases made them a bunch of money).

Unfortunately creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor eventually had a huge falling out and Rob Grant left the show. New writers were hired for seasons 7 and 8 and it REALLY shows. Seasons 7 and 8 are absolutely terrible.

Red Dwarf is definitely a show that went on too long. It probably should have ended after 4 or 5 seasons. All 8 seasons are available on instant play so keep going until you do not enjoy it anymore.

The cast was recently reunited for a reunion type show. Red Dwarf: Back to Earth is available through Netflix on DVD. Word is that it is not very good either.

I highly recommend the first several seasons especially those who really enjoyed the BBC production of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (which is also available on instant Netflix).

People Watch: More of a what movies have I seen them in this time.

Danny John-Jules appeared as Asad in Blade II and Barfly Jack in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Chris Barrie was Hillary in both of the Tomb Raider movies.

Craig Charles has not really been in movies but has done 400 episodes of Coronation Street.

Robert LLewellyn played Gryphon in the Dave McKean/Neil Gaiman adaptation MirrorMask.

The Day of the Triffids – Nature Gone Wild! week

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Well it’s time to wrap up Nature Gone Wild! week. The Day of the Triffids is currently available on instant Netflix.

The Day of the Triffids

WATCH: The Day of the Triffids (1981) – NR – Not rated.

“A brilliant meteor shower blinds most of the population, making them vulnerable to attack by triffids: ambulatory, carnivorous plants accidentally freed from a lab. Still able to see, Bill Masen (John Duttine) and Jo Payton (Emma Relph) team up to fight the menace. As they discover more sighted survivors, they find that civilization is crumbling around them from the triffid attack. This chilling BBC miniseries is based on John Wyndham’s book.”

“…And if you want to quibble, communicates, that means somewhere inside it is intelligence.”

John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids was first adapted as an entertaining, if some what disjointed, movie in 1962. While it bore little resemblance to the source novel, it was a fun monster movie.

In the 1962 film they goofed filming the main story and made it too short. Normally this would necessitate some reshoots. Instead they went back and shot a whole, mostly unrelated, subplot with new characters.

Pardon the digression. The BBC decided to do an adaptation in 1981. Please note that while this is a BBC science fiction show, it is not silly like Doctor Who. Even if the premise is a bit absurd, the science fiction is quite serious.

As with most good science fiction, this show is only superficially about its main plot (in this case the Triffids). The core of the show is about the breakdown of society and societal norms in the face of a crisis.

If you have seen Danny Boyle’s excellent 28 Days Later then you might be surprised at how many of his ideas appear to have come from this miniseries (or perhaps from the source novel).

The acting is just fine. It is a typical BBC ensemble piece – no one here is showy or especially noteworthy but neither is anyone off their mark.

Designer Douglas Burd came up with a nicely haunting and somewhat trippy title sequence. He died during production when his homemade plane crashed.

Unfortunately with the story broken up into less than 30 minutes chunks, repeatedly sitting though the credits becomes quite annoying. It would have been nice to have edited mid-story credits and recaps out to bring in a nice two hour run-time (as was done with Felicia Day’s series, the Guild).

That aside I found this to be an excellent meditation on politics and society. I recommend this miniseries.

Last year the BBC again remade this as a miniseries. The new version stars Eddie Izzard, Brian Cox, Vanessa Redgrave and Dougray Scott. Hopefully that will be available stateside sometime this year.

People Watch: British TV fans will notice Maurice Colbourne (Jack Coker) as Tom Howard from the series Howard’s Way.

Jekyll

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There have been a huge number of adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with actors as diverse as Fredric March, Michael Caine, Boris Karloff, and Christopher Lee playing the titular roles. Hammer even pulled a gender switch with Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde with Ralph Bates and Martine Beswick alternating. The 1941 version with Spencer Tracy, the 1920 silent version with John Barrymore, 2006′s version with Tony Todd, Mary Reilly with John Malkovich and an excellent BBC miniseries are all available on instant play.

Jekyll

WATCH: Jekyll (2007) – “In modern-day London, Dr. Jekyll’s last living descendant, Tom Jackman (James Nesbitt), carries on his famous ancestor’s legacy. Tom believes he can control his dark side and protect his wife and children, but a secret society that’s followed the Jekyll family line for a hundred years has plans for both halves of Tom’s personality. Gina Bellman and Michelle Ryan co-star in this offbeat adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic.”

The entire cast is quite wonderful in this sequel of sorts to the original story but James Nesbitt is absolutely riveting as Jekyll/Jackman and then fabulously flamboyantly over the top as Hyde. His performance alone is a reason to recommend this miniseries. I’m trying not to say too much in this recommendation so as not to spoil the surprises of the show. The real drawback to this story is that it is only 6 episodes long – trust me you’ll want more by the time it ends and it definitely wraps up too abruptly.

AVOID: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) – Generally having Spencer Tracy in a film would be a reason to recommend it. Here however Spencer Tracy is woefully miscast. He plays both roles so similarly that it seems as though there is no difference between the two – and while that would make for an interesting interpretation of the story it does not appear intentional. Also why would you film a remake a mere 10 years after Fredric March won the Oscar for the same role?