It's Been a TV Kind of Year

Watched all the movie length episodes of this fantastic Agatha Christie adaptation. A total of 12 series have been produced over a period of more than a decade, a great testament to the quality of the source material as well as the production. David Suchet is perfect as the Belgian detective and the plots never fail to engross the viewer.

Watched all five seasons on DVD thanks to Netflix and thoroughly enjoyed the antics of Denny Crane and Alan Shore.. again.

The title character, played by Alan Davies, is a magician's assistant. His unique view on the creation and execution of magical illusions helps him solve mysteries that baffle even the police. Saw all four series and three specials.

Season five of Lost finally starts to provide some answers to the many, many questions we've accumulated over four seasons. This will go down as one of the classic sci-fi series of all time -- if they don't mess up the final season next year. Also, yay for blu-ray! In HD, the show looks even more fantastic.

Is it a quiz show? Is it a comedy show? Is it an excuse for Stephen Fry to make fun of Alan Davies?

It's all three at once and more! Applies the Top Gear formula to quiz shows i.e. go for the laughs but don't dumb it down to get cheap laughs, just respect your audience. Makes for a fantastic show. I watched all six series produced so far (with subjects starting with the first six letters of the alphabet 'A' - 'F') and I hope they go all the way to 'Z'. Another 16 years? Top Gear's current incarnation has lasted for 7 years and 14 series, so there is hope for this one too.

Two part series about a detective who is losing his sight as he tries to tackle a difficult murder case. Clive Owen is terrific in the lead role and the rest of the cast is competent as well.

I had caught this show sporadically in the mid 90s without ever watching the whole thing. Thanks to the wonders of Bittorrent, I was able to watch it in it's entirety finally.

TV movie based on Agatha Christie novel of same title. It retro look and feel are perfect for the adaptation.

Watched all seven seasons in their entirety. This remains one of my favourite TV shows because it's characters are so brilliantly drawn. I've seen every episode at least three times by now.

British drama/comedy about two friends who are brought together by the death of their mutual friend. That event leads to a huge mess of complications in all their lives making for fairly entertaining viewing. Only a single six part series.

Absolutely fantastic thriller/drama about a newspaper reporter's investigation into the death of a woman, who happens to be the mistress of a British MP. To further complicate things, the MP is a friend of his and he's always had a thing for his wife. Brilliant acting and direction make for a fantastic six part series.

Two series and a Christmas special. The first series is hilarious as it sees Gavin and Stacey meet for the first time after talking on the phone for six months and fall in love. The second series is dull, dull, dull. The Christmas special is also ridiculously dull.

The second season played on HBO through the summer. Anna Paquin grows into her role as Sookie but this season lacked the intensity of the first despite the gratuitous sex.

Alan Partridge hosts a unique chat show where he insults all his guests, his band and is generally an all round prick. Just hilarious, in the true style of mockumentaries. A single six part series.

A farce about three (actually four as it turns out) people who are the IT department for a company. The fact that they are totally incompetent doesn't seem to make any difference. Both the six part series are bizarrely funny.

Hugh Laurie is a doctor going through a mid-life crisis. It's a single six part series that is very good for the first half (directed by Laurie himself) but goes rapidly downhill in the remaining episodes.

Started watching with the "Children of Earth" mini-series which is actually the third series of Torchwood. It was absolutely fantastic, some of the best sci-fi I've seen on TV. The first two series aren't bad either and it was interesting to watch the development of the characters leading up to the Children mini-series.

When there's a crime, the corpse is a 'Silent Witness'. Forensic investigation without the ridiculous slickness of the CSI shows.

Watched several seasons of this perennially funny sitcom again. Having everything together in one place really makes it easy to watch :)

William is an undertaker and Mary is a midwife. William is a widower with two daughters and Mary is divorced with two sons. They fall in love and move their family together into one household. Fun times ensue despite the propensity of the writing to fall into sappiness occasionally. Three six part series is all we got.

A rather tongue-in-cheek comedy sci-fi series about a scientist and the clone he creates to be the perfect weapon for the military. The experiment goes totally wrong when the clone turns out to be a wuss and both go on the run from the military. Only a single six part series has been produced so far and I hope they do a second one as well.

Watched the latest series (Series 13) and rewatched a bunch of their old episodes and specials. This is not just a car show anymore - it's one of the most entertaining and fun shows on TV.

Any half decent adaptation of Jane Austen is a winner in my book. The BBC's latest three parter mixes great acting and production values.

Classic Brit comedy from the 80s, still funny.

BBC drama about a group of four female friends who are mistresses of some man in one way or another. The first series was fun, the second fizzled out a little. Think Desperate Housewives, just better.

Reasonable adaptation of the classic about love and passion. The acting is pretty good but the whole production is a little flat given the astounding source material.

If the previous production erred on the side of dullness, this one unfortunately tilts towards hamminess. The actors playing Heathcliff and Cathy overact their parts to the near ruination of this movie. Fortunately the next generation and the inherent strength of the source material evens things out somewhat.

Sparkling mystery thriller with two great leads. Sue is sent to con Maud, the niece of a rich man, out of her fortune. She didn't expect to fall in love with Maud. Will she go through with the con anyway? Are things really what they seem to be on the surface? This mini series will keep you guessing till the very end.

Another work by one of the Bronte sisters is brought to the screen, this time my Anne Bronte. A mysterious woman and her young son move into Wildfell Hall, setting the local grapevine ablaze. Over the course of the series, we discover the reasons for her secrecy and her past. This must have been shocking when it first written and still makes for an interesting experience. Of course, the BBC's production values and the acting is top notch.

Based on a book that is considered the first published erotic novel in England. Fanny is a orphan who finds her way into a brothel, loses and finds a lover, takes several lovers in the meanwhile and so on. I'm sure you get the drift here. The plot is thin, the nudity and the acting are good in this attempt to sell erotica as literature.

Three part series based on the Swedish novels featuring detective Kurt Wallander, who just seems to be grumpy and unhappy for most of the series. The only bright spot in his life is his daughter. I'm a sucker for any detective drama, and this hits the spot without being spectacular in any fashion.

Two lovers separated by the Atlantic try to make it work while living apart. The show was canceled after a single series and the producers were clearly unprepared for that, making the ending rather abrupt. Rashida Jones is spectacular as one half of the lover pair, making this worth watching just for her.

Another show from the Joss Whedon stable, another show that will get killed prematurely. Season 1 was excellent and played more like a Japanese anime series, rather than something American. I will have to sit down and watch this all over again on DVD one of these days.

Alan Davies plays a gay man who finds himself falling for a woman, shenanigans ensue for both of them and their families and friends.