No. 15 - 22nd June 2009

It's all about endings and beginnings this month in TV Eye as some much loved shows come to a close and other brand new ones are thrust blinking into the spotlight. Warning, there may be a few little spoilers along the way!

Bowing out after four successful seasons is Prison Break (Sky 1), although to be honest, it’s had its card marked ever since Michael (Wentworth Miller) and his cohorts got banged up in Sona prison at the start of season three. When I last commented on the show (October 2008) the final season had just kicked off with the team relocating to LA at the behest of agent Don Self (Michael Rapaport) on the trail of the mysterious Scylla – sadly not Cilla Black as it turned out, which would have come as a real ‘surprise surprise’ if it had been her. Their attempt to bring down ‘The Company’, a shady organization controlling all sorts of sensitive personal information, soon brought further revelations involving the brothers’ family and so the show gradually trickled towards its dramatic finale.

Well, two conclusions in fact, as the makers of Prison Break took the unusual decision to end that particular storyline and then bizarrely return with a two hour special which attempted to show what happened in the interim period before the season’s final moments, and reveal Michael’s ultimate sacrifice. Its somewhat convoluted plot saw Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) incarcerated with Michael & co. desperately trying to break her out before General Krantz could get a hit taken out on her. Totally unnecessary of course, but perhaps this was a nod towards the oft mooted spin off due to be set inside a women’s prison.

To be fair though, the ‘original’ ending provided a reasonably satisfying conclusion to the show which at least injected a bit of urgency and excitement into its final episodes and should have left most fans happy. Whether enforced by the network or a decision taken by the show’s producers, it was certainly the right time for Prison Break to bow out before further seasons stretched our incredulity any further and tarnished the memory of that great opening season.

I’m a little late with this one, but I finally caught up with the latest season of 24 last week, having avoided the one-episode-a-week drip feed by storing the whole lot up on my SKY+ box. Continuing on from the 24: Redemption prequel (December 2008), Day 7 sees Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) on trial accused of using questionable methods to obtain information from suspected terrorists. Of course, before the first hour is up, America is under threat once again (this time it’s a group of individuals who’ve got their hands on some chemical weapons) and Jack is called up to assist the FBI where he gets paired up with agent Renee Walker (Annie Wersching).

The extended break between seasons has done 24 the world of good, and the show has returned stronger than ever. One of the successes of this season is that the writers have structured the story into a number of smaller mini-plots, with each individual crisis taking up four or five episodes before Jack comes to the rescue and it moves onto the next piece of drama. Alongside various returning actors, most notably Carlos Bernard as rogue agent Tony Almeida, other familiar faces joining the cast this year have included Jon Voight, Rory Cochrane (Dazed And Confused) and Will Patton (Armageddon – where has he been hiding?).

If there’s a criticism to be levelled at 24 it’s that it gets more and more far fetched as it goes along. I mean, we all know by now that no-one in the show ever eats, goes to the toilet or recharges their mobile phone, but with this season it’s like the writers were stuck in a train travelling downhill with no brakes, desperately throwing out all manner of ideas and seeing what stuck. Nevertheless, it’s far more entertaining than Heroes which I’ve had to stop watching after a dismal and extremely disappointing third season; At least Lost still manages to keep things fresh as it creeps towards its fifth and final season. And while I’m on the subject of endings, spare a thought for Primeval which has just been axed – a real shame after a hugely enjoyable third series.

Moving on to the new blood then, first up is Lie To Me (Sky 1) with Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs) taking the leading role as Dr Cal Lightman, an expert on micro-expressions. Lightman and his team including psychologist Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams) and new recruit Ria Torres (Monica Raymund) know everything that there is to know about human behaviour and are hired by the police and other agencies to uncover the truth in troublesome cases. In the pilot episode directed by Robert Schwentke (Tattoo), they have two investigations on the go, one involving a student accused of murdering his teacher, the other revolving around a congressman embroiled in a potential sex scandal. The following week it's the turn of a female soldier who's accused her Sergeant of rape.

Lie To Me is your standard case-of-the-week affair then, with as yet no over-reaching story arc playing alongside in the background, and there lies the show's biggest flaw. Without some kind of ongoing story there's little character development and not enough appeal to keep you tuning in week after week. Roth, the latest Brit expat on the TV trail following in the footsteps of Hugh Laurie, Anna Friel and Rufus Sewell, makes for a likeable lead and the character of Lightman is certainly intriguing. But with scant support coming from elsewhere the show lacks the hook needed to retain its viewers and I worry if it has much of a future. For me, it's already off the SKY+ series link but having said that I'll happily sit through an episode if it's on and I've nothing better to do.

Already cancelled in the US is Knight Rider (Sci-Fi) which finally splutters onto our screens a full year after I reviewed the pilot episode (March 2008). Mike Knight (Justin Breuning) and Sarah Graiman (Deanna Russo) remain on board as the pretty young things fighting crime with the help of KITT, the talking car voiced by Val Kilmer. Having quite enjoyed the pilot I honestly thought this would be a safe bet, but somehow the programme makers have dropped the ball on this one and as a series it simply doesn't work. Whether it's the charmless leads, the uncomfortable sexual undercurrent running throughout each episode, or the unfeasibly versatile KITT which makes the invisible car in Die Another Day look realistic, I don't know, but in my opinion the whole thing sucks. Its cancellation comes as no great surprise.

Rather better, thankfully, is Dollhouse (Sci-Fi) which I understand has just been granted a second season after much speculation. The latest show from Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly) the Dollhouse is a top secret place where rich clients can hire people who've been specifically programmed to meet their individual needs. These 'Actives' have volunteered to leave their former lives and have their memory erased after each assignment. The series follows Echo (Eliza Dushku - Wrong Turn) as we see her taking on many different roles including a sexual companion who is then hunted for sport, a backing singer cum bodyguard for an R&B singer who’s being stalked by her fans, and more recently as a leader of a team of art thieves.

Somewhat reminiscent of Alias, each episode features its own mission, but there are a number of continuing storylines in play involving Echo's repeated memory flashes, a rogue 'Active' called Alpha who escaped the Dollhouse after a killing spree, and an agent named Ballard who is trying to prove the group’s existence. With so much going on in every episode, Dollhouse remains consistently watchable and engaging. With Firefly's Summer Glau off doing Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Buffy's Eliza Dushku fills the sexy action heroine role very well, but she's helped in no small part by a talented supporting cast including Harry Lennix (24), Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) and Olivia Williams (Below). With a positive buzz building around Whedon's show, the hope is that Dollhouse will now be able to build on its initial promise and go some way to erasing the disappointment that met fans when Firefly was killed off just as it was finding its feet.

Right, just time for a very quick round up of other stuff before I sign off. Must-sees for me at the moment include the current series of Dexter (FX) and Chuck (Virgin 1), whilst if it’s comedy you want then steer clear of Krod Mandoon And The Flaming Sword Of Fire (BBC 2) and stick with Flight Of The Conchords (BBC Three) instead. Finally, a head’s up to keep an eye out for The Take (Sky 1) starring Tom Hardy (Bronson) and Psychoville (BBC 2), the latest dark comedy from the minds of The League Of Gentlemen, both of which look very promising.

Until next time,

Keep watching.

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