JANE EYRE (FRENCH REGION 2 DVD)

http://thierryattard.blogspot.fr/2013/02/jane-eyre-koba-films.html

Review in French only.


See also:

http://www.kobafilms.fr/film/jane-eyre-2013-299.html

NOT THE KIND YOU'VE EVER MET (THE FIXER SERIES 2 ON ITV1)

Preceded by an edition of the celebrity version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? featuring Zoe Lucker (Footballer Wives) - for The Caron Keating Foundation - and John Suchet for a charity called for Dementia (1), The Fixer returned yesterday evening on ITV1 for its awaited series 2.

The opener of an intense two-parter was the most-watched programme during the hour, interesting 3.83m viewers (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a175249/lisas-bb-eviction-seen-by-25-million.html). The Fixer beats a rerun of real-life documentary series Traffic Cops on BBC One (http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/ratings/the-fixer-thrills-38m/5005134.article). Last year the premiere of the show produced by Kudos (Spooks, Hustle) for ITV, and distributed by BBC Worldwide, made an impressive 6.2m.

Ex-special forces John Mercer, played by Andrew Buchan (Party Animals, Cranford, and soon Garrow's Law), is an assassin for the government. His job: to kill criminals the law cannot apprehend. He receives his orders for the mysterious, cynical and almost thuggish Lenny Douglas (the great Scottish actor Peter Mullan) and teams reluctantly with disgraced ex-copper Rose Chamberlin (Tamzin Outhwaite) and former petty thief Calum McKenzie (Jody Latham, far better actor than Hell's Kitchen candidate) - who shares a flat with him in a housing estate (Aylesbury Estate, in the South East of London).

This unlikely partnership (imagine the employees of Wernham Hogg in The Office played straight) comes back for six new episodes of the best Brit show of the moment, a dark, hyper-realistic spy/crime drama with a social sub-text - Ken Loach meets the obscure side of The Equalizer, the series with Edward Woodward. Actually The Fixer, created by Ben Richards, is reminiscent of another "Woodwardian" classic: Callan (1967-1972) (2), the uncompromising spy show. And Calum is an obvious tribute to the character of Lonely, played by Russell Hunter.

« You're police or what? » asks a young lady in distress. « Not the kind you've ever met », answers Mercer, who targets a ruthless street gang trafficking drugs but also children. And this time it's more than personal, as the situation reminds him of his own tragedy when he "sanctioned" his uncle and his aunt for because the former abused of John's sister Jess (Liz White, revealed by Life on Mars) without any intervention of the latter. « Kids should just be happy, shouldn't they? They should be safe and they should be secure ».

Rose is the Femme fatale turned mother figure of a dysfunctional family where Lenny provides the snark, Callum the comic relief and John the action, in the shadow of their respective personal tragedies. Phil Davis and Rob Jarvis guest starred in this episode written by Ben Richards and directed by Sam Miller.

« Calum, not only are you not the organ grinder, you're not even the monkey, not even the bell the monkey jingles. You're just a flea under its collar. So do not tell me what I can and cannot do, OK? » (Lenny)

http://www.itv.com/drama/copsandcrime/thefixer/default.html

Interview of Andrew Buchan: http://geeksyndicate.wordpress.com/2009/08/21/the-fixer-series-2-interview-with-andrew-buchan/

See also: http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/07/itv-autumn-2009-drama-season-highlights.html

(1) http://www.fordementia.org.uk/ - Please read http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/03/tonight-kevin-whately-on-dementia-itv1.html
(2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDdSWjpPJDg&hl=fr

THE BEST BRIT SHOW OF 2008 RETURNS

The Fixer, the best British show of 2008, returns on Tuesday 1 September at 9pm - British Time (ITV1).

John Mercer (Andrew Buchan), ex-Special forces is arrested by the police after he killed his aunt and uncle because of what they have done to his sister Jess (Liz White). He's recruited in prison by the mysterious Lenny Douglas (Peter Mullan) to become an assassin for the government. His job: to kill criminals the law cannot apprehend.

Thanks to The Guardian, have a look to a clip from awaited series two of the hit (no pun intended) series produced by Kudos (Spooks, Hustle). A nice way to begin the day.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mediamonkeyblog/2009/aug/27/the-fixer-itv-preview

See also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGnpgbgEU4I (Series two Promo)
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/07/itv-autumn-2009-drama-season-highlights.html

CODE 9

Last month, a discussion about the state of BBC drama initiated by producer Tony Garnett, and the concerns of some leading writers and producers over the commissioning process at the Beeb, echoed the unveil of the BBC One 2009 Autumn lineup. No doubts that the arguments provided by each of the protagonists in this interesting and raging debate will be tested in vivo when the shows announced will begin to arrive on screens.

From Carnival Film And Television (Poirot, The Philanthropist) comes Material Girl. Lenora Crichlow (Sugar Rush, Being Human) is Ali Redcliffe, a young fashion designer, facing « her evil ex-boss, a sexy but devilish business partner and snobby fashionistas » - dixit The BBC Press Office. Was it commisioned for BBC Three first? Maybe viewers of the revamped Strictly come dancing will love... Note the presence of American actor Michael Landes (Special Unit 2, Love Soup) in the cast, should someone remake Dempsey & Makepeace he would be a nice choice for Dempsey - and Landes was recently in a New Tricks episode also starring Glynis Barber and Michael Brandon.

Alun Armstrong, so good in New Tricks as Brian "Memory" Lane, co-stars with Andrew Buchan (The Fixer) in Garrow's Law. The four-part courtroom/period drama is based on real legal cases from the late 18th century and inspired by the life of barrister William Garrow, played by Buchan. Garrow's Law seems very academic in spite of its outstanding stars. Talking about academism, Jane Austen is back with a four-part serial adaptation of Emma. This one star Romola Garai as Emma, Jonny Lee Miller, Michael Gambon, Tamsin Greig, Robert Bathhurst and Jodhi May.

Andrew Buchan's co-star in The Fixer, Tamzin Outhwaite, stars in a five-episode sci-fi/investigative show produced by Clerkenwell Films (Afterlife) and called Paradox. Detective Inspector Rebecca Flint (Outhwaite) and astrophysicist Dr Christian King - played by Emun Elliott - have 18 hours to prevent a major tragedy hinted by a series of rogue images transmitted to the scientist's laboratory from space. The premise looks awful but it's written by Lizzie Mickery (Messiah, The State Within, The 39 Steps with Rupert Penry-Jones) so it worths a try on this sole name. And kudos to the BBC for casting Outhwaite in the lead role and not Freema Agyeman or Billie Piper.

Trevor Eve (Waking the Dead) and Eve Myles (Torchwood) star in Framed, a one-off 90-minute drama adapted by Frank Cottrell Boyce from his best-selling children's novel. Trevor Eve is Lester, a National Gallery curator who travels from London to a remote Welsh village to oversee the safe storage of a priceless art collection in nearby mountains after a flood. To commission an adaptation of a book of Frank Cottrell Boyce by the author himself is a an excellent idea.

Spooks, always effective and never deceptive (though they should, they're spies...) returns, Peter Moffat's Criminal Justice opens a new chapter and the Russell T. Davies/David Tennant Farewell tour goes on with The Waters of Mars. If you believe that there can be nothing more terrible in Doctor Who than a flying double decker driven by Michelle Ryan, well, think again. And according to the BBC, The Doctor is joined in this special « by his cleverest and most strong-minded companion yet, Adelaide, played by acclaimed British actress Lindsay Duncan ». Ouch! Sounds harsh for the others...

See also:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jul/15/tony-garnett-email-bbc-drama
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/07_july/09/bbcone.shtml
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/tvandradioblog/2009/jul/10/bbc-autumn-lineup
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a164294/doctor-who-waters-of-mars-preview-clip.html (Including a Showreel of the Autumn 2009 lineup)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/31/trevor-eve-framed
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/07/itv-autumn-2009-drama-season-highlights.html

ITV AUTUMN 2009 DRAMA SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

ITV1 unveiled today its Autumn 2009 schedule. On the Drama front it must be mentioned that some of the titles were already in the Winter/Spring Season 2008-2009 presentation but the will of ITV and its director of television, Peter Fincham, to refocus on post-watershed drama is clearly reaffirmed by this lineup where events mix with conventional and less conventional ITV shows.

And Collision is indeed an event. The five-part serial co-written by Anthony Horowitz (Crime Traveller, Midsomer Murders, Foyle's War) is likely to be aired on consecutive nights (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/22/itv-autumn-season-advertisers-peter-fincham), like what the BBC did for the recent Torchwood: Children of Earth. Starring Douglas Henshall and Paul McGann, Collision is Peter Fincham’s first new independent drama commission, with director of drama Laura Mackie, since joining ITV as director of television. It's about a major road accident, how it changes the lives of the protagonists and a string of mysteries around the tragedy - including a government cover-up. It's good to see ITV playing again on a field which made the reputation of quality of British television all over the world.

Another event if not a coup is the return of the great Robbie Coltrane to ITV1 drama after Cracker, with Murderland, a 3X60-minute thriller telling a traumatic murder story through the eyes of three central characters. Coltrane is one of them, detective Douglas Hain. Murderland is written by David Pirie (the excellent Murder Rooms) and directed by Catherine Morshead (Viva Blackpool, Ashes to Ashes). Plea to ITV and Coltrane, who is overbooked until 2052: more Cracker, the 2006 revival was incredible. Fitz must come back.

Announced at the end of 2008 but awaited more than ever: the return of Mr John Hurt as Quentin Crisp in An Englishman in New York, 33 years after The Naked Civil servant. And a new version of Wuthering Heights, directed by Coky Giedroyc (Blackpool) and adapted by Peter Bowker (Blackpool, Desperate Romantics), with the fantastic Tom Hardy (Bronson, Martina Cole's The Take) as Heathcliff. Costume/period dramas = BBC? Think twice...

Autumn will see the return of the best British show of 2008, The Fixer. John Mercer (Andrew Buchan), an ex-Special forces is arrested by the police after he killed his uncle and aunt because the former abused of John' sister, Jess (Liz White, revealed by Life on Mars), without any sort of intervention of the latter. He's recruited in prison by the mysterious Lenny Douglas (Peter Mullan) to become an assassin for the government. His job: to kill criminals the law cannot apprehend.

His partners: disgraced ex-copper and femme fatale Rose Chamberlin (Tamzin Outhwaite), and petty thief Calum McKenzie (Jody Latham, better actor than Hell's Kitchen candidate). He's worlds away from the intelligent, thoughtful ex-soldier, but Mercer must live with him between the missions. Reminiscent of Callan, this creation of Ben Richards for Kudos (Spooks, Hustle), is a dark, hyper-realistic spy/crime drama, with some humour and a social sub-text. Ken Loach meets the obscure side of The Equalizer. The Fixer II opens with an explosive two-parter.

Martin Clunes returns as Doc Martin for a fourth series - let's hope ITV will commission another series of Kingdom, by the way. And Julia McKenzie makes her debut as Miss Jane Marple in two brand new Agatha Christie's Marple (not your humble servant's cup of tea but Christie is an international winner). All this looks very promising and the autumn lineup will be an important test for the "Fincham effect" on ITV.

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/pressreleases/programmepressreleases/itvautumnschedule/default.html

BBC Autumn Lineup: http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/08/code-9.html

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/06/have-faith-in-itv.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/06/nikki-back-in-action-again.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/06/primeval-walking-with-dinosaurs.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2008/12/itv-winter-spring-season-bbc-or-bust.html