Decided to give Peter Kominsky's drama Britz a go last night, and was glad I did. Gripping, tense, thoughtful and much more. The first part followed a Muslim student from Bradford who joins MI5 in its fight against terrorism. The second half [on Channel 4 tonight] follows the student's sister down a very different path. Great stuff, and a very different take on the world of spies from the glossier, more concept version seen in Spooks on BBC1. I like both shows, but Britz screams important, landmark drama. Just a shame Channel 4 doesn't commission more.Across the Atlantic writers of drama and comedy for TV and film are contemplating a strike, now their current union agreement has run out. Among the most visible casualties was a planned spin-off from the hit genre show Heroes. NBC had planned to broadcast a six-part series called Origins, with several high profile writers and directors attached as talent. That's now been postponed indefinitely, with uncertainty over a possible strike getting some of the blame.
Meanwhile Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly creator Joss Whedon has struck a deal that'll take him back to TV. The Fox network has commissioned several episodes of a new series called Dollhouse, starring Eliza Dushku [who played Buffy's nemesis Faith for Whedon]. The show revolves around covert operatives who're given new personas, skills and memories for each mission, but get wiped close when the mission ends - like human Etch-a-Sketches. Dushku starts achieving self awareness, and trouble follows. Let's hope Fox treats Dollhouse better than past Whedon TV series.
3 comments:
After Firefly, Whedon swore he would never work with Fox again. Now he's doing Dollhouse? So much for sticking with your principles.
Ah, but all of the people who screwed Firefly have left/been fired as happens on a worryingly frequent basis in American studios. Apparently the new team is lovely.
Aha!
Mind you, Dollhouse just sounds like Joe 90 to me.
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