Heroes returns

The mid-season première of Heroes kicks off tonight in America, with the BBC hopefully starting it up again in a couple of weeks. This is them getting fully into Volume 4, 'Fugitives', which as the name suggests sees them all on the run as they are hunted down by the government.

On paper, it does not sound terribly exciting with the cast having to go about their normal lives without drawing attention to themselves. Obviously it is not going to stay quiet for long. Although it would be extremely unlikely, more so than usual, if they were able to somehow ultimately take down the government. More than likely this block of episodes will see the heroes trying to lay low, but some sort of event/emergency will occur and they will be forced to save the day to avoid ending up on a massive guilt trip. The government could possibly try this technique to flush them out. Some big fights will ensue and they will probably broker some sort of deal so they all don't end up in prison. Or none of the above could occur, that's just what I think this volume will be like in my head.

But they really have to hit the ground running. The show took a lot of criticism, deservedly so, for the complete mess of Season 2 and while the first few and the last few episodes in the first batch of Season 3 before its break were good, it just dragged in the middle.

The show needs to cut down on the time travel big time. There is too much jumping about, it just mainly feels like a deus ex machina. Some killing would be nice too. As in making deaths actually stick. It's a running joke that pretty much all the cast has been killed and brought back to life. Which is terribly annoying and it also cheapens the effect of death as a plot device when you are expecting them to show up alive and well in a few episodes time. Personally I'd start the culling with Mohinder, Claire, Tracy & maybe Peter for starters, but that's just me.

I really hope they do more character driven episodes as well. They really haven't touched upon that since 'The Company Man' episode way back in Season 1, which is arguably their best ever episode. Simplifying or reducing the number of storylines would be nice as all too often it seemed like they were trying to fit too much into a single episode and lots of stuff got lost or missed out on the chance to be developed further.

Personally I feel that Heroes needs to hit this 'volume' out of the park to avoid cancellation. Ratings were declining in America and general interest in the show is probably at an all-time low. There is also the fact that it is one of the most costly shows to produce and in these dark economic times, the network may just decide enough is enough in an attempt to save a fair amount of cash. This could possibly be the last roll of the dice for Heroes and they need to come out all guns blazing. It really does feel like it's sink or swim time for this show.

Some Big Shoes To Fill...

The new (and I use that term very loosely given we are 4 years behind America) run of Law and Order has been going for a couple weeks now, but there seems to be big hole missing in the show. This series is the first without the character of Lennie Briscoe played by the late, great Jerry Orbach. Law and Order just does not seem the same without Orbach as the wisecracking cop and given it is the first time in 12 years, and a total of 274 episodes, that he has not been on the show, you can’t help but notice.

Now, it was always going to be a hard job picking someone to fill this void but I think a wise choice has been made in casting Dennis Farina as Det. Joe Fontana. In bringing him in, it helps keep a bit of consistency in the cast as he plays the older, senior cop in his partnership with fellow detective Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin). It was nice that they didn’t go with a complete polar opposite and bring in a much younger guy. Although Martin can probably feel a bit aggrieved that he comes second in the opening credits to Farina. Still, Farina has settled in nicely as a smooth talker and has already showed that he will try any methods, such as making up that he has children or trying to trick someone into a DNA sample, to get the culprit. And his moustache gives a nice bit of character to him. I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out, but from early impressions things should be fine.

Prison Break Cancelled

Earlier this month it was announced that Prison Break is finishing up after this last batch of episodes is shown, starting in a couple of months time. I’ve followed the show from the start, but I’m not really all that sad to see it go to be honest. Prison Break has been running around in circles for a long time now that the storylines feel staler than a week old loaf of bread. Nearly everyone has switched from being a goodie to a baddie and back again. Also every so often they get to a point in the plot where they are about to complete their objective yet something just stops them from doing so at the last minute. It's all too repetitive.

Ideally, they should have ended the show after the first series. It was great, exciting and something fresh. Maybe I could see an argument for the second series being necessary, if only for introducing the superb William Finchter to the cast. But certainly no more than that. It’s got to the point where I’m watching just out of vague interest or routine rather than being generally excited by it. The line from one of the studio executives was that the show had “run its course” which could not be more true. Even the title is redundant as they have been nowhere near a prison this season. Still, there is at least one good thing about the show ending; we won’t have to endure the talentless insufferable bore that is Dominic Purcell for much longer. And that’s a result.

The Clash Live: Revolution Rock

Music documentary/performance shows seem to be some of the (few?) good things that the BBC can produce. And this one is no exception. It mainly follows the rise of The Clash from the studio to their now legendary shows at Shea Stadium. Along the way you get a great amount of fantastic live tunes from The Clash themselves and all of it is directed nicely by Don Letts (who also has his own show on BBC 6 Music if you want more of him). Letts does a great job of letting the music speak for itself and does an effective job in making each segment flow well from one to another.

All in all there are far worse ways to spend an hour and if you are even remotely a fan then you will enjoy the hell out of it. Sadly though if you live outside of the UK you won't be able to pick it up from the BBC's iplayer device but I'm sure you can find it by other means if you are creative enough. Watching it though is kind of bittersweet in that it is excellent yet you can't help but feel a tiny sense of disappointment that you couldn't be able to seem them live yourself at the time. Still though, it is the next best thing to able to experience one of the best bands ever. But be quick though, as it disappears on Friday night.

Not the fastest...

When watching the latest episode of the superlative Top Gear (Season 12 Episode 4), something happened that never occurred before. I was disappointed. You see they sent The Stig around the track in the Bugatti Veyron, which is quite possibly the best car ever made and it only came fifth fastest. It was just so unexpected.

But I read a few weeks back that they are making a topless/converible Veyron so when that is all finished up it should be much lighter and therefore faster. So hopefully it will be back for another go and then ascend to its rightful place at the top.