Well thought I'd whip a little list of shows to check out INSTEAD of subjecting yourself to American Gladiators (shudder) or similar reality tripe (exception being anything on the discovery channel...I love all that stuff):
God Save the BBC!
Thankfully, the UK has us covered. There are several shows worth watching on BBCAmerica and many more available through netflix and the like. Several of these shows even take their cues from a Mr. Whedon as well. The most obvious being Hex, a show about witches, ghosts, and demons at a fancy-pants boarding school, oh my! I like it. It does take itself pretty darn seriously most of the time and, consequently, can come off as melodrama. But still worth a watch. Torchwood is also a keeper. A spin-off from the equally swell Doctor Who, the uber-hot Captain Jack Harkness leads a crack squad of action nerds to safeguard the world against alien threats. Its a mish-mash of Doctor Who and X-files with a dash of Whedon. I love it. Of course the aforementioned Doctor Who rocks. And both Torchwood and Doctor Who have sported Buffy alumnus as guest stars. Look for James Marsters to appear in season two of Torchwood starting shortly on BBCAmerica. I have heard great things about Life on Mars too and its waiting to be viewed in the netflix queue.
Things on now you might have missed...
Blood Ties: I totally missed the first season of this myself and need to find it. Its on the Lifetime network of all places and is based on the vampire fiction series by Tanya Huff and focuses on Vicki Nelson, female detective focusing on the supernatural...also has some super hot dudes on the show...one a vampire. What's not to love? I have heard some pretty good things about this show...from men even who are horrified to be admitting they found something good to watch on the lifetime channel. Older episodes are available to watch online too. There have been two seasons and it seems as though Lifetime is going to be dumb and cancel it...when will these networks learn? Sigh.
Moonlight...i might go back and watch this one...especially since there are no other options and it does have Jason Dohring.
And of course....check out Smallville, Supernatural, Heroes etc. goes without saying...
Old TV to rent....
The Kindred: not many saw the tv adaptation of the popular Whitewolf vampire role playing game, The Masquerade. And some that did see it wished it never happened. I sort of love its ridiculousness. I played the game back when it first came out and pretty much loved any tv show or film with fangs. It also has some Buffy alums in it. Jack O'Toole from the Zeppo (Channon Roe), Wesley's rich red head girlfriend Virginia Bryce (Brigid Brannagh), The Judge/Vampire Luke (Brian Thompson), and Rack/Zachary Kralik (Jeff Kober) are all main characters. It did not make a full season so you can buzz through it in a hurry. The one interesting thing that the tv show and the game have in common is the concept of vampire clans...that different vampire bloodlines possess special traits. I always thought that was a groovy idea.
Vampire High...oh where do I start on this one? Hailing from Canada, Vampire High has the same set up to Hex just replacing spoiled english rich kids and witches with canadian rich kids and vampires. My sister and I thought it was wonderfully campy and we are still trying to get the rest of it to watch. Last I checked, netflix only had a season summary type dvd for rent and not the whole season. Lots of hissing and broody boys in bad ruffle shirts and the like.
Charmed: Yes I know. Its very silly. Still I enjoyed it. Its a guilty pleasure show. Good news is there are LOTS of seasons to rent so it will keep you occupied for quite a while
Forever Knightt: Before Angel thought it was cool to be a brooding detective, Nick Knight played a toronto cop stuck working the night shift trying to get redemption for his countless sins...sound familiar? CBS used to show Forever Knight in its late night time slots so unless you were an insomniac like me in the 90s...then you probably missed this show. My friends and I in high school were wild about the show. It had a similar set up as the Highlander series or a Buffy episode like Darla or Becoming...where there would be several flashback's to Nick's naughty past that would have some sort of bearing on the current case/crime he was dealing with in the present. And like Whedon's Angel, Nick came with lots of vampire baggage: his hovering nefarious sire LaCroix, an old vampire girlfriend Janette, human allies like medical examinar Natalie who know his plight, and also keeping his true nature a secret from those that wouldn't understand like his coworkers in the police force. The biggest difference is found in the vampire cure plotline that runs through much of the show and much less supernatural demon mumbo jumbo. There are three seasons that are currently getting the dvd treatment and the Scifi Channel will sometimes do a marathon.
Well these suggestions should keep your tv in magic, demons, and fangs for the time-being. Soon I will come up with a movie suggestion list as well. Until then, get renting and watching and let me know what you think.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment