CLOSET

Today is a closet opening day.

I’m emerging from such closet not to reveal a hidden fetish or a funny class I’ve been taking, but regarding my admiration of a TV series

This TV series is set in a post-apocalyptic present day timeline. The show features a hodgepodge of selected characters (from different backgrounds) who band together to survive and sometimes do battle against nastier characters and complete headcases. Let’s just say, this is the ultimate man eat man world scenario.

The show is dangerous and exciting in places; some characters get bumped off (and replaced with newer ones), there’s some fun bits and in places, plus some really clever areas of writing and film-making. There are also witty and lengthy talking parts that could give Seinfeld a run for its money.

Oh, sometimes zombies crop up now and again.

That’s it! - I said the ‘z’ word. Despite my distain of the horror genre, I actually think AMC’s TV adaptation of The Walking Dead is actually a pretty darn good show.

Anyone who knows The Walking Dead enough will know it is more than just about zombies. Even the NBC network allegedly wanted to produce the show originally with the undead excluded.

“oh, it’s scary!”

The scare factor relies on suspense and as much fake gore that one would see on an episode of BBC’s Casualty. The waddling corpses seen on the show are extras in layers of makeup and no more terrifying than the orcs from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film series. Like the orcs n goblins, the 'walkers' get arrowed or struck down - except there’s a bit more mess and sometimes bullets. I dislike scary stuff and horror, but the fear level in this show isn’t so bad.  This is also the only ‘zombie apocalypse’ medium I will give any attention to.

Saying that in addition, you won’t ever witness me take part in any Zombie walks or consumerism protests outside Cabot Circus. I don’t consider myself a zombies fan and The Walking Dead is very much the casual and short extent.

Perhaps, in short I should have really just said that I am okay with The Walking Dead and left it at that…

VAIN

It’s been a week since Grange Hill closed its gates for the final time when the last ever episode screened on the BBC.

I watched a fair amount of the final season and I must say it was a truly undeserving anti-climax for a show that has been around for the last 30 odd years.

The final season was nothing but a mind-binder of surrealism, reduced cast, slapstick comedy and low budget cheesiness. The series did not feel like it was filmed at a school (most of the camera angles were close ups against any odd building to pass off as the outside of a school). The characters had no direction or continuous story arcs (except for the big guy getting the girl at last) and they were not easy to buy into like the characters of old.

I didn’t watch Grange Hill until probably about the late 80’s where I caught the tail end of the Zammo Maguire era and grew interested in the exploits of Danny Kendall and the year group that consisted of strong characters like Gonch, Ziggy, Trevor, Imelda, Ronnie, and of course Cally Dollington (who I must admit I had a crush on). I didn’t really get into this show as early as I could considering I hated school and the last thing I wanted to watch on TV was a show about one. At the time, senior school was around the corner for me so I guess the interest grew for me. 80’s Grange Hill was easily the best!

Back to the present day: I can honestly say that Grange Hill needed putting out of its misery, but in my opinion the series died in vain. Little to no effort was put in to make it any good and this whole 31st and final season of the show felt like an anti climax. Old cast members could have been brought in for cameos or perhaps a reunion, maybe the school could have actually been threatened to close or just something BIG! But no… A watered-down surreal comedy was the way forward it seemed (A poor man’s Parker Lewis Can’t Lose if you will).

The final episode had very little going for it but the little was good. Tucker’s appearance was good and he saved the day for his nephew Togger, but even that didn’t carry the show, The Roboto toy from Masters of the Universe makes a cameo appearance, and Togger pays homage to the first ever episode at the end (no spoilers!). The rest of the episode revolved around a weak bomb storyline and a love angle. That was it… nothing too epic to end a piece of TV history.

The potential was there to make a dying series go out in a blaze of glory and for one last time win current and old TV watchers back over. Grange Hill for me will go down in history as a good series that for most of its duration was entertaining, and amusing, but ended disrespectfully.

I prefer to remember the older stuff and the era of that older stuff. Thanks to the power of internet and dvd resources vintage Grange Hill has been immortalised for the audience of today and yesterday to look back on. Maybe the BBC will grow a set and release season 5 onwards on DVD, but that – is a separate topic altogether.

“Just Say No!”

VERSION

I have been reading up on the negative feedback in regards to recent US airing of the Life on Mars remake. I reckon the series deserves another chance considering the episode was only a pilot or more of a demo really.

Gene Hunt is being recast, Ray Carling’s character will now be in the show (hopefully Chris Skelton too) and a few other changes are being made. I think that ABC will learn from the mistakes made the first time around, but I think the original UK BBC show is the one to watch first no matter how good or bad the remake may turn out to be.


Mind you. There may be flack towards American remakes at the moment, but it is not like the UK hasn’t made a dogs dinner with versions of American shows either – Whos the Boss, That 70’s Show and Married With Children are the first 3 that come to mind.