Top 10: Best New TV Shows of 2013

Honourable Mention: The Michael J. Fox Show

A welcome return to television for Michael J. Fox in a show that sometimes struggles with what exactly it wants to be. Still, great writing and a talented cast make it one of the best new comedies around.

Honourable Mention: Da Vinci's Demons

An ambitious show that took quite a while to hit its stride, it looks set to improve as time goes on.

Honourable Mention: Dracula

An interesting take on the most famous vampire and a nuanced performance from Jonathan Rhys Meyers make 'Dracula' a series that has really grown on me. I only wish it wasn't as neutered for a family audience as it is.

10. Almost Human

A smart and focused police procedural with a futuristic shift. 'Almost Human' certainly doesn't break any new ground, but its sci-fi elements and solid story lines make it a fun show to watch.

9. Ray Donovan

A well acted but uncompelling series. 'Ray Donovan' has the recipe for a great show, all it needs is to do is iron out the kinks.

8. Vikings

An interesting historical saga from the creator of 'The Tudors'. 'Vikings' is often well shot and features some great writing but really sets itself apart with is its willingness to handle what 'Game of Thrones' often shies away from: battles. The action of the show draws you in but the intrigue of the character of Ragnar Lodbrok keeps you hooked.

7. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

A very smart and funny show that continually delivers laughs. 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' has gotten better and better since it started and with its recent acclaim at the Golden Globes its future looks bright.

6. Masters of Sex

A stylish period piece featuring great performances from Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan. Aside from the engaging performances it is the strong writing that drives 'Masters of Sex'.

5. The Blacklist

James Spader gives a fantastic performance in this drama about a notorious criminal who suddenly surrenders to the authorities. An evolving storyline gives Spader material to chew on whilst the case of the week formula is somehow fresher than ever.

4. The Following

A dark and chilling serial killer drama led by an on-form Kevin Bacon. 'The Following' builds strong characters and weaves twists as good as any horror movie without losing its rapid pace.

3. The Americans

A stunningly thrilling and tense drama set in the height of the Cold War. Thanks to its incredible leads and top notch writing 'The Americans' is one of the most exciting new television shows in years.

2. Hannibal

'Hannibal' is fantastic. It is a beautifully shot, flawlessly acted, and very dark drama that just happens to focus on one of fictions most famous serial killers.

1. Mob City

An astoundingly stylish mafia drama from the great Frank Darabont. 'Mob City' is among the finest that television has to offer thanks in large part to its incredible cast, snappy writing and evocative direction. An absolute must-watch.

TV Review: True Blood Season 6 Episode 1 'Who Are You, Really?'

‘True Blood’ used to be my favourite show on television, it was that good. Was.

Picking up from where the season 5 finale left off, Sookie and Eric escape from a now god-powered Bill. The characters are left stunned at what has happened to their friend and seek to find answers to what exactly he has done to himself, starting with the search for the vampire bible.

The very mention of a “Vampire Bible” should be an indication of how downhill this show has gone, it speaks volumes about how lo-brow and vapid the plotting has been for the past 2 seasons. ‘True Blood’ has mutated from cutting-edge supernatural horror into utterly ridiculous b-movie campiness over a matter of years. The writing of the show, which once carried great symbolism within its intelligent words, has now become so boorishly scripted it bears no resemblance whatsoever to the stunning show it once was.

Some people talk about a show having a “jumping on point” for new viewers, an episode that best demonstrates the mood of the show to give possible viewers an example of what to expect in the full series. I bring this up because I feel that I’ve found the “jumping off point” for ‘True Blood’ and it is this episode. It’s time to sever the infected limb and be done with it, this show is dying a horrible, slow death and by watching it we’re just prolonging the awful, excruciating pain.

The vampire drama is not nearly as engaging as it once was.

The acting is just as it as always been for the most part, ranging from fairly great to excellent. Actors like Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin and Alexander Skarsgard still bring their characters to life with the same proficiency that they always have but their passion seems to be missing. I couldn’t possibly blame them for this; most of the writing they have been given is just atrocious. Meanwhile Rutina Wesley’s portrayal of Tara Thornton feels more tired and caricatured than ever, if that was possible, Tara should have been gone seasons ago, as a character she has nothing left to offer the story but a meaningless thread to the origins of the show.

This brings me to yet another issue with ‘True Blood’ and that is it’s convoluted mythology. The earlier seasons had the single supernatural element of the vampires and dealt with them extremely well, the slow ramp-up to the inclusion of other supernaturals such as werewolves was handled well but sometime around season 4 every ounce of controlled pacing in this area went right out the window. Suddenly these supers were popping up everywhere, idiotic inclusions such as “werepanthers” and a poor handling of Sookie’s fairy origins ruined the uniqueness of its magical characters. ‘True Blood’ suddenly became the show where “everybody was something” as even the most human of characters present from the beginning of the series were given a fresh coat of supernatural paint in order to somehow reinvigorate them and make them interesting again to the audience.

Jason (Ryan Kwanten) and Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin).

The last few seasons have shown one clear fault in ‘True Blood’ and that is it’s dizzying number of plot threads which are a pain to follow, most of these are inconsequential and annoyingly take screen time away from stories that actually entertain. This is a result of the show’s inability to let a character’s arc end or to simply kill them off, it shows utter weakness and unoriginality on the part of the writers who seem content to ramble on with characters who have lost whatever intrigue they once possessed. The departure of the great Alan Ball says a lot about the current integrity of the show he created, quite frankly what is airing now is leagues away from what the show was once upon a time.

I believe that television shows should always go out on a high note, usually this means ending after about 7 seasons. ‘True Blood’ however has not even reached that milestone; it has corrupted so quickly and so greatly that it’s glory days are long behind it at this point. It may still retain some of the charm it once had but don’t let it’s rosy cheeks fool you, ‘True Blood’ has been dead for years.

TV Review: Vegas Season 1 Episode 1 'Pilot'

From the writer of ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Casino’ comes this series about life in Las Vegas in the 1960s, how can this not be good?

Ralph Lamb, a rancher in the countryside surrounding Las Vegas is called upon to solve a murder after the local sheriff goes AWOL. Lamb, a man who doesn’t suffer fools, finds the job suits him well as he searches for the murderer of a young woman. Meanwhile Chicago gangster Vincent Savino arrives in Las Vegas to make it big for himself.

Hollywood veteran Dennis Quaid very ably plays rancher turned Sheriff, Ralph Lamb, Lamb is a quite stern man with a strong distaste for the growing popularity of casinos in his city. Preferring to remain within his own land and tend to his cattle, Lamb is aggravated to be called upon to be the new sheriff for the city, however, his keener senses of detection and justice equate to the job suiting him better than he thought. Lamb is a genuinely cool character and a version of the “no-nonsense cop” that rings truer than most, a lot of this is down to Dennis Quaid’s entertaining portrayal but the show’s natural writing helps to make the character not feel artificial. Michael Chiklis portrays the series’ main antagonist Vincent Savino, a crime boss from Chicago who has come to Las Vegas to start his own operation. Savino as a character is not fleshed out within this episode and Chiklis’ performance is quite one-note, certainly not a match for Quaid’s. Supporting the two leads is Carrie-Anne Moss as Katherine O’Connell the assistant district attorney and childhood friend of Lamb. Moss impresses in this episode and her chemistry with Quaid is great, her written material however is a little lacking as of this point in the show and I hope to see her given more to do in the coming episodes.

The rivalry between Ralph Lamb and Vincent Sorvino is a running theme in the show.

Setting the series in Las Vegas adds tremendously to its entertainment value. The stunning backdrop of the Mojave Desert complete with the glittering lights of the city itself is a story within itself, I was very glad to see that the writers are already using the desert combined with the history of the city (such as it being a former nuclear weapon test site) to intertwine into the stories each week. With such a rich history in crime and due to its uniqueness, Las Vegas has more than enough fodder to keep a television series going for years with stories to tell, the fact that this series takes place in the past means that the audience could well see some of the more iconic moments of “Sin City” take place on screen.

If you are familiar with the series ‘Magic City’ which tells the story of the Miramar Playa, a glamorous hotel in Miami, Florida, then you will most likely find the aspect of ‘Vegas’ that deals with the strip in particular quite similar. For my money ‘Magic City’ is a superior representation of life at that time in such a location but that could be down to the fact that it is given the larger boundaries of subscription television in which to tell its story where as ‘Vegas’ is sadly confined to network television’s family friendly content production.

If ‘Vegas’ were to be produced by a subscription based channel such as HBO or Showtime then it would be given the same reduction in limits applied to ‘Magic City’, doing this would make ‘Vegas’ a vastly superior piece of television. If given the same treatment as the likes of ‘Boardwalk Empire’ then it would be given the opportunity to tackle much darker storylines and in a more mature fashion. Darker storylines would be ideal for this show, even if only for the shadowy past of its setting.

As you can imagine, the casinos of Vegas feature extensively.

‘Vegas’ really has the opportunity to tell some great stories over the course of its run thanks to the history of its setting and through the progression of theme of antithesis present in the characters of Ralph Lamb and Vincent Savino. It’s the type of show that could so easily, thanks to sloppy writing or unapplied performances, become intensely boring, if it carries on like this pilot episode then ‘Vegas’ looks poised to add some variety to the current television landscape.

If you like shows like ‘CSI’ then there’s something here for you to enjoy, that familiar police procedural type of show, but if you’re a fan of more focused drama then there is also enough here to please you, such as the overarching story of Las Vegas’ corruption which will undoubtedly be an interesting tale, the question remains however as to whether ‘Vegas’ will tell it well enough.

TV Review: Revolution Season 1 Episode 1 'Pilot'

Revolution is the latest in a series of shows that have been touted in their adverts as being from the producers of ‘LOST’, in the past this hasn’t been so much a boost in popularity as it has been a curse (just look at ‘Flashforward’ and ‘Alcatraz’). Will ‘Revolution’ be the show that succeeds where the others failed?

Electricity is critical to keeping the Earth going. When one day out of the blue all electrical items including batteries cease to function, the citizens of the earth have to cope with a very different life than they are used to and find a way to endure. 15 years after the blackout a commune of survivors dwell in the grassland that once was a town, Charlotte “Charlie” Matheson must journey out from her home in order to rescue her brother Danny who has been kidnapped by a local militia.  Charlie must venture to the ruined city of Chicago in search of her long lost uncle whom she hopes will aid her in her quest to return her brother.

Where are they getting all these crossbows!?

I’m always interested in a drama set in any sort of post-apocalyptic world so ‘Revolution’ immediately had my attention. The way in which the show deals with its post-electricity subject matter is through depictions of societal degradation as well as environmental. Without electricity in the world to create fossil fuels and power factories, the power of nature seems to take hold of the world and asserts its power by flooding the manmade streets and buildings with lush, green foliage. The story of the show itself is too slow and plodding for a pilot episode in my opinion, it lacks the necessary hook in its storytelling that will really bring the viewer into the lives of the characters that a long-form story like this really needs and a few high-octane fight scenes towards the end of the episode only serve to slightly alleviate the sense of the forming plateau in the pace of the show.

The cast is mostly unimpressive save for Giancarlo Esposito who shines in his role as Captain Tom Neville, a former insurance adjuster. The lead character is not much of a lead really and actress Tracey Spiridakos doesn’t deliver anything resembling a unique performance, instead she gives one that seems like a weird amalgamation of Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen and the average teenage heroine, nothing remarkable. Spiridakos even turns on the tears during this pilot in an attempt to give her character the emotional depth she doesn’t currently possess. Billy Burke stands out as notable among the other mediocre performers aside from Esposito, Burke’s character definitely has the potential to ignite the mystery aspect of the show as well as deliver on the action elements, so far Burke is developing the character of Miles Matheson quite well and I’m sure he will continue this throughout the run of the show.

As a whole ‘Revolution’ is very well shot for the average television show, the images of the once modern world overrun with nature is an excellent backdrop for the post-apocalyptic landscape this show inhabits whilst the scenery observed during the wider shots is stunning.

A great example of the show's depiction of nature's reclaiming of the Earth.

The overall feel of the show including the excessive use of crossbows as well as the young adults who wield them all feels a little too similar to ‘The Hunger Games’ for my liking. While I can appreciate the fact that it makes sense to appeal to the huge number of people currently infatuated with ‘The Hunger Games’ I still can’t get past the fact that it really takes away from the uniqueness of a show like this which has the potential to set itself apart from all the rest in this congested season of pilots.

The script is often very predictable and unsophisticated, the plot of the show itself has the potential to go to any number of places dramatically which makes it frustrating to see such basic writing be used in this episode, if I were to judge ‘Revolution’ purely by this pilot alone I would have no choice but to declare it nothing more than a quite formulaic affair concerning a youth venturing out on a quest from their dying parent to explore the strange world.

As I’ve mentioned before, the general idea behind ‘Revolution’ has potential but it is not necessarily completely unique to television as shows such as ‘Jericho’ have featured similar plots and still failed to capture the interest of a wider audience. However the root of the story of ‘Revolution’, the sudden absence of electricity throughout the world, is singularly its own and if its writers can pull off an action packed season that provides questions and answers to the mythology of the show in equal measure then they could well have a hit on their hands. But if they carry on with such predictable stories and uninspired dialogue such as that of this pilot, then they are going to find it extremely tough to keep this show, which is no doubt quite expensive to produce, on the air for long.

‘Revolution’ as a pilot hasn’t impressed me much, but as a series, as an idea, I think it has potential. So if the writers deliver the series that they are signposting with this opening episode then ‘Revolution’ could well become a great show, and perhaps even better.