I missed one week of columns and suddenly we’re inundated with geek TV news! So I’ll shake up my usual formula and get straight to all the exciting TV announcements!
Geek News Of The Week
The big news is the ‘cancellation’ of Merlin. Of course, it hasn’t actually been cancelled, it’s just come to the end of the five-year-plan that the producers have been talking about since year one. They might have been happy to keep it running a bit longer, but the creators are leaving Shine, the production company that made it, and no doubt the lead cast are itching for new career opportunities, so bye-bye Merlin, hello rumoured spin-offs. Why they didn’t announce the news at the beginning of the current series is a bit of a mystery – it would certainly have made it a more exciting watch.
Casting Agents
We’ve also had a couple of pieces of casting news, in the shape of Brett Dalton (who?) joining the S.H.I.E.L.D. cast list (which is still disappointingly devoid of Whedon alumni), and – far more tantalising – Chad Coleman, AKA ‘Cutty’ from The Wire, has been cast in the long-anticipated role of Tyreese in The Walking Dead. He’s expected to make his first appearance in episode eight, just before the mid-season break. I don’t read The Walking Dead comics (although they’re definitely on my list of Things to Splurge Large Amounts of Money On), but even I know that Tyreese is awesome. And any time a Wire actor gets cast in something I watch is a happy day for me.
Now, in news hot off the press, the BBC have confirmed that they’re finally bringing an adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell to the screen in 2013. No casting announced yet, but expect it to be stuffed to the rafters with quality British talent. The six-part series is being written by Peter Harness and directed by Toby Haynes – who’s previously worked on the likes of Doctor Who, Being Human and Sherlock. Put that one right at the top of my list of shows I’m excited about for next year.
I Wonder, Woman?
Wonder Woman Pictures via Adam Jay
The first synopsis of CW’s new Wonder Woman show, tentatively titled Amazon, appeared this week. After some controversy surrounding a name-change – before writer Allan Heinberg confirmed that, yes, the lead character will be Diana – we can now reflect on what the synopsis tells us about the show. Firstly, this is a Diana that’s new to our world, rather than the previous pilot, which had Diana already set up as the CEO of her own company.
This will also be a younger Diana and a take on the myth that more firmly embraces, well, the myth. As the title tells you, Amazons will definitely be front and centre, and Themyscira will be an island, not the name of a company. I would hope that the presence of Amazons will also guarantee the presence of more elements of Greek myth – and maybe some gods too. I hope Heinberg does a better job with it than David E Kelley did.
Rumours are also circling about the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special, chief amongst them that the show will feature all eleven previous Doctors. Which might be tricky, seeing as they’re not all alive. Still, they probably have more chance of getting the late William Hartnell in than the notoriously difficult Christopher Eccleston…
This Week I’ve Been Mostly Watching…
Hmm, not much space left for this, except to say that Fresh Meat ended this week. Now, it’s not a ‘geek show’ per se, but this is a site read by cool young folk, and Fresh Meat is certainly a show for cool young folk, so it totally counts, okay?
I love Fresh Meat, and this series was in many ways better than series one – or at least equally enjoyable. It features three absolutely classic characters: Howard, JP and Vod (or Queen Vod, as I like to call her). The show manages to be ridiculous and OTT while still keeping the characters in the realm of relatability. It mixes authentic character moments in with the humour, so while the final episode had Howard touchingly realising that he was truly part of the gang, it also had him yelling “I reared a pig for you!”
And who doesn’t love a show that features prominent pig cameos? (See also: True Blood and Andy Bellefleur’s sublime “Pig!” outburst.) Series three has already been commissioned. In the words of JP: “This shit just got shooty shooty gun gun.”
