Check out Part 1.
Best UK Network/Channel.
I’m really torn on this one. There’s not many real contenders, although some of the smaller channels are quietly building themselves up a solid programming base, be it Sci-Fi UK with quite a few new shows lately that I’m enjoying (in fact a large percentage of my TV viewing at the moment is in their direction with Knight Rider, Dollhouse and My Own Worst Enemy). Likewise FX has some notable shows, including Dexter, and True Blood which starts this week.
I’m really torn for this award, and I think I’ll have to wimp out and split it.
BBC/Sky One
Both have distinct merits. Sky One for me is one of my favourite channels for import shows as they treat them very well. Yes, its a subscription channel, and yes, there’s adverts, but they show them very close to the US broadcaster (in some cases only a couple of days afterwards, and in some cases before the US). Its a pet peeve of mine the channels like Channel 4 and Virgin 1 who buy high profile shows, and then sit on them for 6 months. Sky One’s also recently started developing its original programming with the Terry Pratchet TV movies, and Skellig (which, granted I never watched, but its nice to see them trying).
The BBC has become the stronghold of British-made cult TV. Obviously, Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures, but also Robin Hood, Merlin and Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes. Yes, they’ve also made utter rubbish like Spooks: Code 9 and Bonekickers, but its just nice to see cult TV being treated seriously in this country again. The only real black mark was when the Beeb put Ashes to Ashes opposite its own showing of Heroes series 3. That really annoyed me.
The Pirate Bay award for Services to bit-torrent,
This is basically the opposite of the previous award, and as I mentioned above, there’s really two contenders for me, in the form of Virgin 1 and Channel 4. Both of which have a habit of buying high-profile US shows, and then sitting on them, meaning we get to hear from all the US people online all the spoilers and how great/bad the season was, and then just as they’re about to get the next season, we’ll finally get it.
I think though I’ll go for:
Virgin 1
Largely for sitting on Chuck season 2 until Sarah Connor was finished, but also for the bizarre move of shifting Sarah Connor’s timeslot forward by an hour halfway through the run. It moved it from something I would watch on Thursday nights, to something I would tape and watch later. And it wasn’t like they were freeing up the earlier slot for some other high-profile show, just yet another of their reality ones.
For a channel that constantly used Terminator idents to hype their rights to the show, it just struck me as a weird and annoying move.
Only the Good Die young award,
Lord knows there’s plenty of competition of this one. Middleman is an obvious contender, but Pie Man created an award for it anyway (next). Knight Rider had just found its footing when the axe fell. I believe My Own Worst Enemy got the chop at 9 episodes as well. Journeyman is really tempting as well, but sadly falls outwith my 12 month limit.
So I’m going to go with:
Primeval
The show had always been one I’d enjoyed, not afraid to be a bit daft and revel in its own silliness. The third season saw a lot of upheaval with several main cast members leaving and being replaced, but none-the-less the show did very well in the ratings, and the new cast were starting to gell. The show also ended on a cliffhanger which the writers have admitted they’d have never done if they’d thought there was any danger of the axe falling.
There’s still the vague hope out there that the Beeb might buy the rights, but for now, Primeval will be missed next year.
Never given a proper chance award,
This award looks at the shows that were great, but never seemed to get the backing they deserved. Knight Rider to an extent applies here. While they initially got a lot of backing from the studio, creative differences between the producers and the studios led to problems early on. The studio got the show to change direction, and in all fairness to them, it was the right move, with the later episodes showing a vast improvement in fun and quality. However, despite their changes being made, by this point the studio seemed to have lost interest and gave the show virtually no advertising, which meant it was just left to fall in the ratings and die off.
However, despite this, I’m going to say:
Middleman
While Knight Rider could’ve been treated better in the later part of its run, Middleman got no hype or advertising attention straight out the gate. A brilliant show that those who saw it only found by accident. Annoyingly this has also translated into international markets as well, as I haven’t seen any UK network pick it up yet. I’m holding out hope that Sci-Fi UK will nab it and give this brilliant show lots of backing and a chance at a great run over here.
Most promising 1st Season.
Not counting shows that have been axed, there’s not many shows that fall into this category. Merlin is a strong contender, but I’ll have to go with Pie Man on this one.
Being Human
A brilliant cast, a great storyline, some real horror and laughs along the way. While I never saw the original pilot, this sucked me in straight away. There were some brave plotlines, and you really sympathised with Mitchell as he attempted to be more human, despite the efforts of his fellow vampires.
Most Off the Boil Series.
Not necessarily a series that was once great but now failing, but just perhaps a series that needs to find its footing. And for me its got to be
Heroes
Heroes exploded onto our screens with an amazing first season, but since then it’s really struggled to find its way. Volume 2 got too soapy, Volume 3 faced criticism for being over complicated and full of technobabble. Volume 4 seemed to go down better, although it didn’t really click for me. While I really enjoyed volume 3, despite the complaints, I thought volume 4 required a little too much suspension of disbelief and the way they nerfed two of the show’s main powerhouses was disappointing. Granted, I’m now getting used to Peter’s new powers, but Hiro without his mastery of time and space doesn’t seem as much fun.
Sometimes I wonder if they might’ve been better with their original idea to radically shake up the cast each season, allowing them to develop new heroes. Instead they’ve built up a huge cast of regulars now that they sometimes struggle to give something to do.
I’m still looking forward to season 4 (volume 5). The ending of season 3 promised to introduce a twist on the usual lingering menace of Sylar and how the characters approach the situation with “Nathan” will be interesting. I’d like to see them try to build up more of a stable of super-powered menaces though. Sylar’s really the only recurring big villain they’ve got and it’d be nice to have a few more characters built up as real threats.
Stay tuned for part 3.
