Phil Newton casts an eye on the TV scene letting you what you've missed and gives also give you the heads up on what to look out for.
 

No. 6 - 1st July 2008.

Now that Chuck (Virgin1) is approaching the end of its debut run in the UK I've finally found the time to start ploughing my way through the first series on my SKY+ box. Another new US show with a bit of a pedigree, this one is the brainchild of Josh Schwartz who created The O.C. and McG (Charlie's Angels) who acts as executive producer and also directed the first episode. I'd had glowing reviews from two friends who follow a lot of US telly and I have to agree that it starts very strongly, but now that I'm a few episodes in I do wonder whether it's going to be able to sustain that initial promise.

Chuck (Zachary Levi - last spotted in Adam Green's FrightFest hit Spiral) is a nerdy guy working in an electronics store who unwittingly becomes a spy after downloading all the government's secrets into his brain. Watching over him are Sarah (newcomer Yvonne Strahovski), a CIA agent posing as his girlfriend, and Casey (Adam Baldwin) an NSA agent who gets employed at the same store as Chuck. Genre fans will also spot Tony Todd (Candyman) who plays the director of the CIA. If you're looking for one of my "X meets Y" comparisons then I guess I'd have to describe it as Alias (undercover spies) meets Reaper (the amusing adventures of a group of guys working in a large chain store).

The show works as Chuck is such a likeable character; a hapless loser thrust over his head into a world of espionage which he has to keep secret from his friends and family, whilst juggling his blossoming relationship with Sarah which might turn out to be more than just a cover story. Her uneasy relationship with Casey also intrigues as you're never entirely sure whose interests they have at heart and I'm fully expecting some twists and turns and double-crossings as I work my way through the rest of the series. Whether the high standard of the opening episodes can be maintained across a whole season remains to be seen but Chuck certainly has the potential to succeed.

Regardless of my opinion, Chuck has been well received in the US and has just been renewed for a second series in the Autumn. In other telly news you may be interested to hear that Knight Rider (TV Eye - March) has been picked up for a full series as I predicted, and I'm pleased to report that the BBC have wisely decided to commission a series of the excellent Being Human (TV Eye - April). Also in the pipeline is an American version of Life On Mars with Jason O'Mara taking the Sam Tyler role and Colm Meaney (Layer Cake) filling the boots of Gene Hunt, although rumours circulate that ABC are doing some recasting since the pilot was filmed. One remake that won't be happening however - hurrah! - is the American version of Spaced which has now been shelved much to the relief of many devoted fans of Edgar Wright's breakthrough sitcom.

Unless you're one of those addicts who watches Big Brother during the Summer months (I lasted a week this year before remembering why I stopped watching it) then this is a real fallow period for quality television. The only new programme that has caught my eye in the last week has been MeeBOX (BBC Three), a new comedy show from Adam Buxton (one half of Adam & Joe who still work together on the radio - check out their excellent Saturday morning show on 6 Music). MeeBOX is essentially the same type of sketches he's always performed, updated for the digital age. Old favourite BaaaDad (Adam's real Dad) returns as does film geek Ken Korda, but it’s the newer sketches that appeal most, including Hollywood actor ‘Famous Guy’ (starring in the wonderfully titled They Crashed From Space There) and contributions from the likes of Matt Berry and Son Of Rambow director Garth Jennings. Better than the majority of BBC Three's recent pilots, we will have to wait and see if this will get a series or remain a one-off.

Finally this month let's return to the 6 Films To Keep You Awake season (BBC Four) which I began writing about in my last column. I've now completed watching this series of short Spanish spinechillers and whilst I'd skip Narisco Ibanez Serrador’s Blame (a rather dull abortion-themed drama) I quite enjoyed the other two episodes. Enrique Urbizu's A Real Friend had echoes of A Christmas Tale in that it featured another young teenager who's heavily influenced by the horror films that she watches on TV and who sees these characters in her real life. So Leatherface lurks menacingly on street corners and a Nosferatu type figure turns out to be her estranged father. It makes for an interesting watch but is sadly let down by an all too obvious and disappointing twist in the final reel.

Better was The Baby's Room from Alex de la Iglesia (The Oxford Murders) returning to the horror genre for the first time since his sophomore film The Day Of The Beast. In this episode a young family move into a new home where they install a baby monitor so that they can keep an eye on their newborn child from their own bedroom. Before too long the husband (Juan) is hearing strange voices and spots a shadowy figure on the screen whose actions become increasingly sinister. Juan's shock gradually turns to obsession, forcing the family apart and spiralling out of control to an inevitable conclusion. It's a well crafted tale full of sharp shocks and a palpable sense of dread and comes second best only to Jaume Baluguero's excellent To Let which I lauded over last time around. Further proof then that the Spanish - along with the French - are right at the forefront of European horror at this moment in time.

Until next time,

Keep watching.

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