On the box

With a bunch of new shows on their way I have become more aware of the slightly alarming amount of television I expose myself to and this is set to increase this week. With three new shows on arrival in addition to several I'm commited to already this will add up to a fair few hours per week in front of a screen - not that that's anything new! Anyways, just to demonstrate the issue and show you what I'm interested in I'll give you a run down of the programs I'm watching and plan to watch over the next few weeks - links to official sites included.

Coming Up:

The Sara Jane Adventures. 30 mins. BBC1 Mon 5:00This has already started but I missed the first episodes because of forgetfulness and commitments at the time of broadcast. The series is a Doctor Who spinoff, similar to Torchwood but aimed at children instead of adults. The lead role is taken by Sarah Jane Smith, a former companion of the Doctor, who investigates and halts the plans of aliens in her neighbourhood with the help of her adopted son and his friends...but not of the Doctor or his TARDIS. The first episodes featured the return of a Doctor Who enemy, the Slitheen.

Ugly Betty. 1hr. CH4 Fri 9:00A surprise favourite of mine, I tuned in to series one to see what it would be like and quickly fell in love with the characters and the show itself and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of series two on friday. Ugly Betty is the story of a fassion obsessed Latina who gets her dream job of working at Mode Magazine by being the only applicant her boss Daniel wouldn't be compelled to sleep with. Her unbridled optimisim gets her through every day working in a place where her matted hair, braces and lack of coordination (both in clothes and in general) are scorned. What I love about this show is it doesn't spend the whole time preaching about how beauty isn't skin deep, it just tells Betty's story and along the way we learn that all the characters have a history and at least a hint of depth below their shallow facade.

Robin Hood. 1hr. BBC1 Sat 7:30 The adventures of everyone's favourite charitably minded thief continue on BBC1. I wouldn't class this as a favourite, but it makes very good saturday evening telly and tells the story with heart, humour and something else beginning with h that doesn't come to mind. I think that Keith Allen steals the show as the Sherrif and the creators have been good to put a unique spin on things. The show will generally feature Robin defeating a far superior number of soldiers (one wonders how they still manage to recruit soldiers in Nottingham!) but it has been intelligent enough to stop before becoming formulaic and remains a worthwhile program.

On now:

Heroes. 1hr. BBC2 Wed 9:00 I tuned into this expecting to hate it but soon found it compelling viewing. The show features a collection of characters who all develop unique powers from flying to reading minds to absorbing other powers...through various means. Some hide from their powers, others embrace them, all of them want to know why they have them. But they have to deal with real life, the authorities and a superpowered killing machine who wants to take what's theirs. Through the means of time travel and foresight powers the story revealed that there was a big threat to combat, namely that of a nuclear explosion and as the individuals take their seperate paths we know they will join and they will all have to face their destiny.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. 1hr. MORE4 Thurs. 10:00 A new show from the creators of West Wing. The show is a behind the scens look at the running of a comedy program, from the floor of the sets to the high towers of the corporation behind it all. The show is clever, witty and engaging and is great viewing as well as a good insight. The show features Mathew Perry of Friends fame who manages play a completely new character, retaining some qualities from his former role but certainly not repeating him and I've lost all feeling of "Hey that's Chandler" and now I'm quite comfortable watching Matt (character's name) in his own right. The show tackles a lot of religious issues and is quite disaporoving of Christianity, in particular the Christian groups who can control the media in America. Sometimes I feel it's just being negative for negativity's sake and the Christian character on the show is as feeble as they come, but the show raises important issues and I applaud it for doing so and find it very intersting viewing.

Well all this, plus regular viewings of Simpsons, occasionally dipping in to Scrubs and strolling through a fourth box set of 24 should reshape me eyes in no time, anyway must dash - i want to grab a shower before Heroes!!

Word of the post: Serendipity –noun

1.	an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.