X-Files Writer Joins Torchwood

[Guest Sidewinder]

Trend following sci-fi is a problem, I admit. Not only for British television. The last sci-fi tv-show with a different approach and style was Farscape. At least I can't remember any other. Battlestar Galactica brought a new type of visualisation, yes. But it was only another style so there was no real invention there.

But that is a problem with most of today's television, not only within the sci-fi. Look at all the "microscope"-crime-shows for example. CSI was new stuff when it started out but from there it went on and on and on. Today you almost can't do a crime show without some forensic nerd.

Here's the point; I watch a lot of television series and let me entertain by them. And I like a lot of them. But almost every show that really mends something to me or is loved is an old show. Long gone. And I think that's very sad because the technical possibilities now are better than ever but there are restrictions by studios, networks and all the other people in charge that kills almost every creativity.

Regarding british tv; can you recommend the new incarnation of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock?

Oh and there is one more thing: you can say about the evolution of British TV-shows whatever you like. But at least you got some genre-shows. The last German sci-fi was Orion back in the sixties and the last mystery and/or horror-stuff was in the late 90's, trying to follow the big footsteps of X-files. A mystery-thriller called Operation Phoenix about a special unit within German intelligence going after paranormal activities. And a monster-show called Ghosthunter John Sinclair (trash, real trash).

[ethsnafu]

Sherlock isn't that bad to be honest. I grew up in the days of Jeremy Brett's towering performance in that role and as this is a modern day reworking of the story it doesn't have the darkness or the richness of the stories he did. If I'm honest, Sherlock is written in a very similar fashion to The Doctor. I guess that isn't much of a surprise given that the creators of the show are entrenched in "Who" so their idea of what a quirky, eccentric individual is is pretty much defined by their former experiences penning The Doctor. It's enjoyable in terms of a character study between the two leads but the stories are not all that gripping. It's TV to eat your dinner to if you get my drift.

Eth

[Guest Sidewinder]

Sounds a bit like "You also can take a look at the old Brett or Rathbone-movies- you won't miss something important."

Related question: did Peter Cushing play Holmes in more than the famous '59 Hound of the Baskervilles? I read something about a tv-series but sadly never saw it.

[ethsnafu]

I think you might find this of interest as it happens. It's a link that looks at Peter Cushing's brushes with the character of Holmes and it makes for very interesting reading. After posting in this thread I realised that I had not recommended Being Human to you. It is essentially a dramedy so there are some lighter moments but it is a superb little show that is slowly gaining a following across the world. It's definitely a British genre creating from recent times that deserve lots of kudos. Give it a try if you get the chance.

Eth

[Guest Sidewinder]

Hey, that's great stuff, thanks a lot. Cushing is great, especially in his iconic performance as Frankenstein. By the way; I love a lot of the old Hammer-movies too. (If this goes on we probably should open a british-tv-topic).

Being Human… That name appeared to me during some research about conventions in Great Britain. There are announced guests from that show and I wondered what that's all about. So now I know. I will keep an eye on it if it ever appears on German TV.

[Guest WaveCrest]

Ghostmojo, like your avatar pic a lot! Ace series!