BBC Babble – Ty Pennington invades England
I’m told that Ty Pennington is a big deal. As host of ABC’s wildly popular Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Ty has positioned himself as a 21st Century Bob Vila with good hair. I still remember him as the male model carpenter on Trading Spaces. Well, the dude has come a long way since those days. He’s so in demand that he took his renovation and motivational speaking skills across the pond. Ty’s Great British Adventure debuted on UKTV’s Home Channel back in September of 2008. In an unprecedented move, UKTV turned around and sold the rights to their home grown show to ABC. This past Sunday, ABC debuted Ty’s newest venture, so I took a look to see what all the hoopla was about.
BBC Babble – Aliens, undead and The Doctor
I’ve been watching BBC America for years and I can’t remember a time when they rolled out so much original material in the span of a week. There is a method to their madness. The brand spanking new BBC America HD channel launched on Monday, coinciding with the premiere of Torchwood: Children of Earth. Further proof of how much cable has changed the television landscape. Back when Networks ruled the roost, July was a dead zone for fresh programming. Nowadays the cable outlets shrewdly utilize the summer months to unveil their top shows. USA Network, TNT and A&E have all successfully employed this strategy.
Here’s a quick look at what’s on tap for America’s BBC this week.
BBC Babble – He’s The Doctor
When I was a wee lad, I used to watch Doctor Who. Living in the sticks, there was little in the way of television choices. We received channels 2, 4, and 7, which were the Big Three Networks, and on clear winter days, we could remotely turn the rooftop antenna to tune in the local PBS affiliate.
Ah, the days before cable and satellite. It was an age of innocence, literally. Years later MTV and HBO would begin stripping the nation’s youth of all imagination and original thought by hypnotizing them with kinetic images of pelvic-thrusting glam rockers and bare-breasted co-eds.
Anyway, Doctor Who aired on PBS. My recollection from those days is sketchy at best, but I think it was the seasons with the Fifth Doctor; the one played by Peter Davison. I do remember vividly the Doctor doing battle with the evil Cybermen. It was a fun series, but for whatever reason, I never watched another incarnation. That is until a couple weeks ago.
BBC Babble – What’s the deal with Being Human?
It’s been a while since I’ve penned an entry here at the Babble. I haven’t forgotten about the gifts from our friends across the pond, but I have been neglectful. Truthfully, I ran out of series to review. Sorry, but Any Dream Will Do and Mark Burnett’s Apprentice UK are not my cup of tea. Sitting through a season of the US Apprentice was painful enough. I’m sure the Brit version is more tolerable, but I have no intention of finding out.
One new show that has piqued my interest since I heard it would be part of BBC America’s 2009 schedule is Being Human. Classified as a supernatural comedy-drama, the show has been generating a considerable amount of positive buzz since debuting on BBC Three back in January. There was also a pilot which aired in February ‘08, with a different cast and slightly darker tone (at least that’s what I read).
BBC Babble – Hex marks the spot
A cute blond teenage girl with special powers wages war against demons of the underworld. Sound familiar? No, I’m not referring to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but rather Britain’s answer to Joss Whedon’s classic girl-power series. Hex lasted two short seasons from 2004-2005 and currently doesn’t air on BBC America. However, the first season is available on DVD.
I’ve reviewed a lot of shows here at the Babble, but Hex is my personal favorite. It helped extract me from my year-long Buffy withdrawal after Buffy closed out its magical run in 2003. The parallels between the two series are difficult to ignore, although Hex can’t hold a candle to Buffy Summers and her gang of monster-fighting chums. I’d call Hex a poor woman’s Buffy. It’s still worth checking out if you’ve never seen it. Allow me to explain.
BBC Babble – Navigating the Primeverse
I’m new to the science fiction series Primeval. Well, that’s not exactly accurate. I caught the first couple episodes of season two last summer on BBC America, but I was a little confused. I was hoping the network would re-air the first season at some point. It didn’t happen. I could have gone out and purchased the episodes I missed, but it would have cut into my pizza and beer budget.
Lucky for me, the Sci-Fi Channel, er, I mean, the Syfy Channel, has begun showing the inaugural season of Primeval Friday nights at 10pm. I’ve watched the first two installments and while not blown away, I have found it to be a pretty cool concept. Now, I realize I’m cheating a bit by watching the show on Syfy rather than BBC America, but season three of Primeval will debut on BBC America later in 2009. In fact, it’s currently airing across the pond on Saturday evenings.
BBC Babble – Team Torchwood
I started watching Torchwood a couple years ago on BBC America and then for some inexplicable reason, I stopped. It had nothing to do with not liking the show, because I thought it was excellent. Perhaps I was afflicted with a brief bout of amnesia and simply forgot when it was on. Or maybe Captain Jack Harkness slipped a mickey in my Crown and Coke.
No matter. BBC America has begun re-airing the entire series from the very beginning Saturday nights at 8pm, right before Ashes to Ashes. All of this is leading up to the eagerly anticipated debut of Torchwood: Children of Earth later this year. Read the rest of this entry »
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