Last Night's TV - Shooting Stars, Entourage, Flight of the Conchords
Re: Shooting Stars - don’t get me wrong I laughed out at several points last night, but at identical times to when I laughed out loud the previous week.
Last night I managed to catch Shooting Stars four episodes into series eight. I was pretty cheesed off that I hadnt caught the show from day one and only managed to catch half an episode last week, but then again you dont need to see it in any type of order to get something from it. Last night saw Vic and Bob joined by Lisa Snowdon and John Humphreys on Jack Dees team and Scott Mills joining Ulrikas team with a gent named Brian Butterfield who looked suspiciously like Peter Serafinowicz in make up. Angelos kept score with his usual precision and charm. Shooting stars is a very strange and entertaining mix of random comedy, potty humour and madness that I enjoy, despite some of the stars not adding much to the proceedings. I wont mention any names, but Scott Mills only opened his mouth twice. Jokes such as Zoe Ball and The Apprentices Stuart Baggs have started a detective agency called Ball Baggs true or false? And Jack Dee with your face like a half buttered bollock are clear examples of Vic and Bobs comedy. If you like laughing at a man sat on a toilet then tune in next week and iPlayer last nights episode. If youre a bit more prudish then stay well clear. Ive been a big fan of Shooting Stars since my school days and the random comedy does have me chuckling whenever I catch the show, but it does seem to follow a very strict pattern each week. The two shows I've caught in this series are very, very similar to the episodes I watched of the last series. Certain things happen at certain points in the show week in week out and it seems to make the random comedy a hell of a lot less random because you know when things are going to happen Vic rubs his thighs, Angelos tells a pretty female that hes with Ulrika, Vic hits Bob, a doll crawl across the floor and so on. Maybe its because I've become a lot more cynical about what I watch on TV through my 6 years of studying the business, but I seem to recall the earlier series being a lot more chaotic and each week seeming a lot more original. Dont get me wrong I laughed out at several points last night, but at identical times to when I laughed out loud the previous week. I shall no doubt be laughing at the exact times next week too.
Entourage
Mondays are not complete unless I get my fix of Entourage. But, like any long-standing addiction the longer you've been addicted the weaker the buzz. Entourage is now in its 8th and final series with the star Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier) having just come out of rehab for drink and drug addiction trying to make his way back to the top of the Hollywood pile. His brother Drama (Kevin Dillon) is struggling with his own show, his manager E (Kevin Connolly) is running his own management company and his mate Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) is trying to make his way in the restaurant business. Throw in the demise of Aris (Jeremy Piven) marriage and thats about where we are. The show isnt quite where it was in terms of entertainment, story or comedy and series 8 follows 7 in terms of getting worse. Its sad to see one of my favourite shows on TV loosing its magic. Its still full of babes, banging babes and the Hollywood glamour but since Vince went off the rails it isnt quite the same. Last nights episode was number 6 and saw Vince trying to get an article written about him for Vanity Fair corrected after the journalist called him sexist, Drama could have his TV show taken away from him because he went on strike, Turtle tries to woo some restaurant big wigs from Queens into opening a restaurant in LA and Ari finds his wifes new boyfriend in his house. Im not sure if the last 2 series are trying to be edgy and a little darker, but it lacks the glitz of previous series and doesnt look so pretty. However, I am still going to be tuning in every week and I will be going to watch the film when it eventually comes out because as I attempt to chase my own Hollywood dream Entourage keeps me motivated, driven and working my back side off. I just wish I were enjoying now as I did the first 6 series. Also don't forget to check out my colleague Gareth Bunkham's review of last night's episode HERE.
Flight of the Conchords
Trying to get to sleep and having no joy I decided that it be best to try and watch a little something else before I nodded off. Nothing too heavy but summat quite funny. Ive only ever caught bits and pieces of Flight of the Conchords, but seen as it had started again on Sky Atlantic I thought Id give it a bash as Id heard good things of it. Being anally retentive about watching things from the start I took advantage of Sky Go once again and watched the first episode. In a nutshell the show follows odd musicians Bret (Bret McKenzie) and Jemaine (Jemaine Clement) as they try to seek fame and fortune in New York after leaving New Zealand. Aided by their manager Murray (Rhys Darby) and stalked by their one fan Mel (Kristen Schaal). From what I've gathered they dont do too much and sing about 3 of the daftest songs you may ever hear through the show based on what is happening at that time. Last night one went out with the others ex-girlfriend and Murray shot a crappy music video for them on a mobile phone. It was all a bit strange, very dry and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. The award winning comedy duo seem to just wander around New York mumbling nonsense to each other whilst carrying guitar cases. I think I may have to give episode 2 a blast and see how I get on before I damn it or praise it fully, but its quite an acquired taste as far as I can see at present. As a bit of a footnote I should mention its been a busy weekend for myself and TV, so I havent quite got around to watching all I wanted to. But thanks to Sky Plus and Sky Go I shall endeavour to get up to speed this week with The Field of Blood, The Borgias, Page Eight and one or two others. Stay tuned. Please.