Despite some big disappointments in recent months, like the news that Deadwood is really dead wood, there is some good TV showing up on the DVR. I have blogged before on the BBC production, Dr. Who. This is a revival of the old BBC series, but it is incomparably better than the original. David Tennet (Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) is the most recent incarnation of our favorite Time Lord. I was a big fan of Tom Baker in the old series, but Tennet runs rings around him. The acting is altogether better, and the writing is superb. Who cares if the villains seem to have transmigrated from old episodes of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
Another series worth watching is Burn Notice. Jeffrey Donovan plays Michael Weston, a spy who has been burned, that is, canned for suspicion of betrayal. He is stuck in Miami, earning his keep by solving problems for ordinary people who are being pushed around by thugs. His partners are a former girl friend and former IRA terrorist, Fionna (Gabrielle Anwar), and Sam, an alcoholic ex-spy played by Bruce Campbell. As Campbell cut his teeth on cheap Zombie movies in the 80's, I have a natural soft spot. Again, good writing and excellent acting. Give it a try.
Last, but not least, is Heroes. I am pretty sure this series is inspired by the X Men movies. Various characters in the show discover that they have extraordinary powers: one can fly, one can paint the future, another can hear the thoughts of others. All of them are bound together to stop a terrible event (the destruction of New York), but sinister forces are out to stop them. What's not to like? Good if not great acting; engaging writing; brilliantly textured camera work. My son and I are watching it on DVD. Second season starts on the 24th. And you gotta love Super Hiro! A fat Japanese man who has the power to stop time and teleport himself across space.
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