Never Mind The Buzzcocks

Phil Jupitus, Simon Amstell, and Bill Bailey

Never Mind the Buzzcocks is another comedy panel show that has been airing since 1996. I found this show on YouTube last July. It was a rainy day and before I knew it, it was a rainy night. The show was hosted by Mark Lamarr for 17 series and by the 19th series Simon Amstell took control. He was a widely popular presenter but ended up resigning at the end of the 22nd series to concentrate on other projects. Each episode is only a half hour long and it has four rounds. There are two teams: one led by Phil Jupitus and the other led by Noel Fielding (regular team captain since series 23 on). Both of the teams consists of two other celebrities ranging from singers to published authors.

The first round generally consists of each team being asked a question about a music group or an artist that tend to be quite unique. One example would be: What did has been pixelated in this music video? A still from the video would be shown and the team would have to guess what it is. They are often quite obscure objects like a zebra head or a loaf of bread. Round two is known as the Intros Round. Two of the team members have to perform the introduction of a song a cappella style. But they are not singing the words to the song but rather creating the sounds of the instruments. Here is Josh Groban and Omid Djalili performing an intros round for Martin Freeman:

An old performance or music video is shown during the third round. A line up of five people are brought out on stage and the teams have to figure out which one out of the line-up was the musician from the performance. For the final round, it is the Next Lines segment. The presenter reads a lyric from a song and the team has to say the line that comes right after it. Sometimes the lyrics are a singer's that is actually on the team and sometimes the song is incredibly simple like Happy Birthday. All luck for that.

My favorite part of the show is the banter that goes on between the teams and the presenter. Funny or embarrassing stories that crop up. It never strays away from a controversial topic and is quite upfront with opinions on the music industry. The comedy itself is dry and sarcastic. Some of the guests on the show are pretty controversial themselves. I haven't watched any of the older episodes with Mark Lamarr as the host but I have seen the more recent ones and with Series 25 having just ended in December, it looks like my summer break is booked for the first week.

A quick clip of Simon doing what he does creating a bit of controversy:

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice

My mother was a very big fan of Masterpiece Theater long before I was. In fact, she is the sole reason I watch Masterpiece. When I was younger, I'd always see her on Sunday nights watching what seemed to be the most boring television with people just standing about and talking. There were no fight scenes. There were no car chases. Just a bunch of women in petticoats and men on horses. And the dialogue was a bit too fast for me to understand and I wasn't quite at their level of vocabulary. In seventh grade, however, my mom began pestering me to watch the BBC's version of Pride and Prejudice from 1995 starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. The new Pride and Prejudice would be coming out soon with Keira Knightley and Matthew McFadden. I kept telling her, "Yes, mom. Of course I'll watch it with you." But I was in seventh grade and much too cool to watch a great British series on VHS from the nineties with my mother.

One day in English class, we read a few scenes from Pride and Prejudice, the 2005 version, that was written in a play form in one of those school magazines like Scholastic. I was devastated when we read the end because it totally gave away the fact that Jane ends up with Mr. Darcy. I was angry for the rest of the day and rushed home to tell my mom that we had to watch the tapes. Now. My mom, being the kind and understanding mom that she is, agreed (looking back she was probably overjoyed that I wanted to watch it and was just looking for an excuse herself to see it again). We started at 5. At 5:50, the first episode was done. Around nine, we began the fifth episode out of the six episode series. My mom suggested that we stop there and save the rest for tomorrow. It was a school night after all and I still had homework to finish up. I convinced my mom that I just HAD to see the first five minutes. Those five minutes turned into the next episode and then the series was over. I decided then and there that I'd watch Masterpiece with my mom every Sunday.

My mom was quite pleased with herself since she knew I was going to love them. She was right. As moms always seem to be. I couldn't get enough of it. It didn't seem like I was sitting in my basement for 300 minutes watching a series that had been produced 10 years earlier. It was my first exposure to Colin Firth and the brilliance of period pieces. I love the character of Mr. Bingley. He was such a good-hearted chap. I liked Mr. Darcy throughout the entire series even when he was a bit of an ass purely because Colin Firth is a beautiful man. And when he came out of that pond, whew. Best part of the show. Although, I must admit I was worried the story was going to have a massive twist in which Mr. Darcy broke his neck by diving into two feet of pond water. This was also my first real experience in hearing some verbal sparring between people and I became more interested in what characters had to say as opposed to the actions of characters in other shows I watched. All of the Bennet sisters were a little ridiculous and I was genuinenly embarrassed during some of their scenes. Mrs. Bennet never seemed to be able to keep herself quiet for more than a minute.

We now watch Pride and Prejudice during every winter break or summer break. Or spring break. My mom and dad ended up giving me a DVD copy of it two Christmases ago. My roommate, Caitlin, has also seen this rendition of Pride and Prejudice. I asked her to say a few words and she responded with, "Perfection." and then she left the room.

Mr. Darcy:

The Graham Norton Show

The Graham Norton Show

I remember when my family first got the BBC as a channel. I remember not liking anything that was on it because I was still in middle school (I think) and I wasn't interested in dramas or talk shows that much. I was still in a bit of a Disney phase or if I was feeling especially rebellious (and if my parents were out) I would watch the Real World on MTV much to my parents' displeasure. One night, I was in my room and decided to get some water and my mom was watching something and laughing quite loudly. When I sat down next to her to laugh along, she muted it and told me that I couldn't watch because it was age appropriate. Looking back, I think my mom just wanted to watch something by herself for once and not be bothered by her teenage daughter. That show was the Graham Norton Show. I didn't watch an entire episode until the start of last year. My Fridays during my senior year were booked since I HAD to watch Doctor Who and the Graham Norton Show. Oh social life.

The host of the show is Graham Norton. SURPRISE! He is an Irish comedian and has hosted a variety of shows over the past few years such as So Graham Norton and most recently Would You Rather? His comedy is much more adult humor orientated and most of his monologues are not appropriate for younger kids.   He normally has 3 to 4 guests on a show and also has a musical guest that performs at the end of the show. The questions asked on the show are not exactly conventional but the stories he gets out of his guests are always funny. The audience also participates in the show at times and are often subjected to humor that makes fun of them. Some lines are cringe-worthy and I don't think I'd ever have the confidence to stand up or make a comment during his show. 

At the end of his show he says "Stories from the Red Chair". Ordinary people climb into a big red chair and are shown on a TV screen in front of the guests, audience and Graham. Graham has a big red lever positioned next to him. Once the guest has introduced themselves, they begin telling their best story. Or at least what they think is a good enough story to be told on the show. Most of the time Graham does not like the story and pushes the lever down and up goes the chair, throwing the person backwards. That is generally funnier than the story they are telling. Actually, some of the guests don't even make it through the introduction round. 

There are tons of great clips from this show
Here's a clip of Daniel Radcliffe singing "The Elements": 

Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey

When Downton Abbey first premiered on Masterpiece Theater a couple of years ago, my mom and I were ecstatic for a new drama to look forward to every Sunday night. The first season was only seven episodes long and my mom and I made sure to watch every week. She wasn't very pleased with it and quite honestly I wasn't either. It is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most critically acclaimed English-language television show but I still feel like something was missing. The second season aired this year and I watched all of the episodes online since my roommate and I don't have a TV.



The first season took place between the years 1912 and 1914. The story follows the aristocratic family, the Crawleys, and their staff of servants. The Earl of Grantham, Robert, and his wife, Cora, have three daughters, Mary, Edith, and Sybil and since the women in the family are not legally allowed to inherit property the house and money, when Robert would pass it would go to the heir, a distant cousin Patrick. Patrick and Mary were engaged and that way the family would be well cared for. Unfortunately, Patrick was on the Titanic and the Crawleys were without an heir. They eventually found one in Matthew Crawley, a third cousin. This starts a "are they or aren't they?" between Mary and Matthew. While the family was dealing with that, the staff had issues with servants stealing and new help adjusting to their new jobs.

The second season was during World War II and many of the residences of Downton Abbey were fighting in the war or volunteering in the hospitals. The daughters earned a little more independence in society and in their house. Relationships began to heat up and a love triangle was apparent in this season. The third season has been renewed and is set to air in September of this year.

Despite watching all the episodes, I am not particularly fond of any of the characters. Even the ones that I am 'supposed' to like, I just can't seem to feel for them or like their personality. The character who I liked watching the most was the Right Honorable Violet Crowley, Countess of Grantham played by Maggie Smith. She was the funniest character on the show and had the best zingers.

Well the best zingers in early 20th century at least.

The show is pretty compelling though. I was always intrigued with Mary and Matthew's story and the stories of some of the more unsavory characters working as servants. Normally, I always root for the 'good' guy but for some reason I found myself liking the manipulative help a bit more. Every episode ended in a cliffhanger and kept me wanting more. I would definitely recommended this series even though I didn't like it as much as some other Masterpiece Theater shows.

Doctor Who

Doctor Who Title Card

The Doctor. Doctor Who? Exactly. Doctor Who is the longest running sci-fi television show and it will entering its 50th year in 2013.  It began in 1963 and stopped running for a bit in 1989. In 2005, the BBC relaunched the program.  I became a Whovian (Doctor Who fans) last year while flipping through the stations. Doctor Who is a show I have occasionally heard of due to its cult like status but I never gave it a chance. And that night I finally did. Goodness me, what a fantastic decision. Two episodes were shown that night, the first and second from the sixth season of the revamped Doctor Who with the Eleventh Doctor, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon . Matt Smith took over as the Doctor in the fifth season after David Tennant's reign. He was joined by his companions Amy and Rory. They were trying to destroy the Silence, an alien that you instantly forget as soon as you look away.

Doctors through the Ages 1-11

The Eleventh Doctor? Yep, the eleventh one. The Doctor is a Time Lord and Time Lords can regenerate (duh). So anytime the Doctor is near death or mortally wounded he can regenerate and then BAM! a new actor takes over. Each Doctor has his own little quirks, fashion, and sayings. For example, David Tennant's Tenth Doctor wore converse, an overcoat and his little catchphrase was "Allons-y!". Whereas, Matt Smith's Doctor wears a bow tie and refers to bow ties often with his phrase "Bow ties are cool." Doctor Who's cast is always changing but at the heart of it the Doctor (no matter how many actors play him) and the TARDIS will be there. 

One of things that I love about the show is that it can be summed up in a sentence:  It is about a 900 year old Time Lord traveling through time and space in the TARDIS saving planets with the help of his companions. Or to put it even simpler: It's about a mad man and his box. TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. It's a time machine! The TARDIS is a blue (now called TARDIS blue by most fans) police box from the sixties.

Every episode is a new adventure with the Doctor. There are over arching story lines but for the most part you are able to jump in at anytime and enjoy the story. I will admit there are some pretty ghastly looking special effects that look like they cost about 6 dollars to create and some plots that are far from good but there are only a handful. This show also has the strange ability to make the mundane extraordinary and there have been quite a few episodes in which I began looking at the world around me in a different light. When describing the Silence the Doctor spoke about the noises or creaks you hear when you are alone sometimes. He gave them credit for those sounds. Granted it's not something I believe but just an interesting take.

The appeal of Doctor Who is the Doctor and his relationships with his companions and how he changes them or they change him. Every companion is a normal human who he just picks up and takes them anywhere they want to go and each companion realizes just how capable they are. Kinda cheesy, but it works. The Doctor has a big heart (he has two) and is the cleverest man in the universe. Banter is a sure thing in an episode and a few tears as well. 

Doctor Who is my favorite show because it is always sure to illicit a few laughs from me and yet pull on my heart strings. The Doctor is this fantastic man that makes everything better in the end and at times you can't help but feel envious of the companions travelling through the entire universe and time. Who doesn't like a cheesy sci-fi drama at times? I strongly suggest you give it a chance. I might even have to write another blog on it... So much to write about...

Actually Charlie explains it pretty well:

The Hour

Before leaving for school this summer, I was watching a lot of the BBC America. They were advertising their new Dramaville hour that was called "The home for groundbreaking British drama" and it would be airing on Wednesdays at 10. The first show in the slot was entitled The Hour. After watching the teaser for it, I was immediately drawn in.



I am a sucker for any type of drama series or mysteries. I get immediately drawn in with the characters and their story lines even if I can't follow that well. The Hour is about a cutting-edge news magazine that is being produced in 1956. The producer of this program is Bel Rowley, who gets a lot of heat for being a woman in a man's world. Bel's best friend is Freddy Lyon who believed he was going to get the job she was offered. They began working under Clarence Fendley, the Head of News at the BBC. Freddie's new job is at the domestic news job which he deems as inferior to all the others. The face of this production is Hector Madden. His wife, Marnie Madden, used her connections to get him the job as the new anchor. Freddie is not fond of Hector and is visibly jealous of his position.

Bel, Hector, and Freddy

This show is not all about the trials of creating an interesting and compelling news program however. Freddie is contacted by an old friend, Ruth Elms, to investigate the death of her professor. Freddie begins digging and then a few days later Ruth is found in a hotel room after an apparent suicide. Despite the possibility of some shady characters following him, Freddy decides to keep on with the investigation. This makes it into a spy thriller with a possible mole in the BBC news room.

There are plenty of political, news casting, and romantic scandals in this drama. At times, I was confused as to who was who and I had trouble following along with the Suez Canal business. But what I did understand kept me intrigued till the very end. If I didn't understand the politics, I was at least able to understand the love triangle between Freddy, Bel, and Hector. It also did a very nice job wrapping everything together towards the end and yet keeping the mystery going into the second season. This was one of the shows that I made sure I watched each week last semester. I am anxiously awaiting for the second season!

Sherlock

I would love to say what a productive week I have had. I would love to say that I study for all my tests this week and got to bed at a decent time. I would love to say that I am fully prepared for the next few days. I can't. Since Friday night, I have been watching an episode of the BBC 1's Sherlock every night. My gosh. It is magnificent. I first watched the series when the pilot season aired on Masterpiece Theater in 2010. It ended with such a cliff-hanger that I could barely contain my disappointment when I discovered it wouldn't be airing again until 2012. Since it had been close to 2 years, I had kind of forgotten about the series until a friend of my mine up here started raving about this new show he was watching. It was Sherlock. So a group of my friends up here, including my roommate, began watching the first season on Netflix. The second season wasn't on Netflix but my roommate and I found someone who had the three episodes that made up the next season. We watched one every night since Monday. Our other friends were not pleased with us...


As of right now, only six episodes of Sherlock have been shot and aired. The reason being is that each episode is an hour and a half long. Not exactly a short span of time for a TV show, but while watching it you want it to go on as long as possible. Because each episode is essentially the same length as a movie, you need to make sure you dedicate a good amount of time to fully enjoy the brilliance of the show. The dialogue  is quick, witty and sharp. One of my favorite parts of the show is the little banter between Sherlock and Watson.

Sherlock and Watson

This TV version of Sherlock in not set in the late 1800s but rather in the present day which makes for an interesting interpretation. I haven't read any Sherlock Holmes's books yet (I just ordered them from the library and am still waiting for my email) but even I am able to notice the characters and places and names that are used come from the books. Mrs. Hudson is still the the landlady, DI Lestrade is present, and Watson and Sherlock reside at 221B Baker Street. Also Mycroft Holmes is ever present as the "British government" and  Irene Adler makes an appearance.

I think my favorite aspect of this series is the bromance between Sherlock and Watson. It is a running gag in the series that they are assumed to be partners. Watson is always the first one to chime in that he is straight and that they are nothing more than flatmates and friends. Watson appreciates Sherlock's deductive skills, unlike some others around him who get rather annoyed with Sherlock for being a smartypants) and Sherlock knows that Watson is a loyal friend and tries not to upset him. Too much. Here is a clip from the first episode of Watson and Sherlock meeting for the first time:


My roommate and I are already anxious waiting for the next season which won't be aired until later this year. It is a wonderful show with plenty of humor, mystery, and friendship. So far only two of the six episodes have been based on the work by Sir Conan Doyle with titles veering slightly from the related work. For example, the first episode is entitled A Study in Pink based off of the novel A Study in Scarlet.

Benedict Cumberbatch (the most English name I have ever come across) is fantastic as Sherlock and won the GQ award for actor of the year 2011. The show won the BAFTA for best drama series in 2011 and Martin Freeman won for best supporting actor as Watson. Another reason I think I may be drawn to this show is because both of the producers are writers for Doctor Who, which is another one of my favorite TV shows. It has a little bit of everything for everyone. Never a dull moment at 221B Baker Street.