Things to do this week

OK, I have a week off, and in normal fashion there is nothing on the box to watch. Just my luck!

Still no fear here as I have loads of stuff recorded, so here is my to do list for the week:

1. Build up the nerve to finally watch Defying Gravity.
2. Watch the last few episodes of Waking the Dead.
3. Find five hours to watch Criminal Justice.
4. Catch-up with Chuck and Coronation Street.
5. Some laundry and other boring stuff, then maybe watch a DVD, listen to some CDs and bore you all with blog entries of my exploits!

Top 5 Spy shows

#5 Alias

Besides the fact that Alias starred the absolute scrumptious Jennifer Garner, this spy thriller was top quality telly, and as it was made by JJ Abrams, it also had some twists thrown in you won’t find in a normal telly spy show.

#4 Get Smart

This 60s spy comedy has stood the test of time, and remains as funny today as it was back then.

#3 Mission Impossible

OK the special effects seem dated now, but there is no doubt that Mission Impossible was top quality telly, and set the standard by which all other television spy shows are judged.

#2 Chuck

Part Get Smart, part James Bond, part Revenge of the Nerds… Chuck is some of the best fun you can have watching a spy show.

#1 Spooks

British television has always had a love affair with spies, from The Avengers, to The Saint, Spooks remains amongst the best!

Criminal Justice and other highlights

Summer time television schedules normally make for pretty bleak reading for us telly addicts… after a quick glance over the schedule this week things are looking surprisingly bright, which is just bloody typical as I have returned to my day job after nearly a month off (hey what can I say I get lots of holiday!)

 

BBC1 is offering us what looks like the best of the viewing this week with their new drama Criminal Justice a new five-part drama showing Monday to Friday this week.

 

Not the most original idea for a television series I have ever heard of, the series is about a nice young man who has a wild night out and ends up in serious trouble. The producers then take us on a journey though the criminal justice system along side our 21 year old victim all the way to the verdict of his trial.

 

I just hope that the actual show lives up to the praise it has received, The Times has called it “the highlight of the week, if not the year”… which is some pretty high praise indeed!

 

Criminal Justice – Monday to Friday (June 30-July 4) 9pm BBC1

Elsewhere on the telly box we have a couple of highlights this week with the conclusion of series one of Chuck, the wonderful comedy/action/spy thriller, which has become a television staple in my house, as well as the end of series two of Heroes.

 

Chuck – Monday 9pm Virgin 1

Heroes – Thursday 9pm BBC2 and BBC HD

Headscratcher – Is Swartz a Lost Fan?

Was watching episode two of Chuck tonight when I saw a very cleverly written piece of geek trivia in the dialogue. In the scene where the show’s namesake Chuck is being examined by the doctor to see what information he has in his head, Chuck states; “Oceanic flight 815 was shot down…”

Do you think maybe creator of Chuck, Josh Swartz is a fan of Lost?… I have a sneaking suspicion he may well be!

Chuck… TV for Aspiring Nerds

Virgin1,the little watched and normally pretty rubbish TV channel has finally started to toss some pretty good shows into their schedule. Not only do they have the OKish Sarah Connor Chronicles, now they have tossed in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and now Chuck.

Created by TV’s golden boy of the moment Josh Swartz (The OC and Gossip Girl) did little to wipe away my worries that this series was described as an Action/Comedy… they rarely work. Yet Chuck was a pleasant surprise as the show did manage to blend chuckles with nuckles in a very pleasing way. I do think the comedy works better then the action, but the series is still young!

If you have not seen the show and are curious what it is all about, all you need to do is meet the charater that the show is named after, Chuck Bartowski;

• Chuck is a computer geek.
• Chuck works in The Nerd Herd, which is a technical support desk in a soulless electronic superstore.
• Chuck likes video games.
• Chuck’s best mate is Morgan, who is even more of a geek then Chuck.
• Chuck’s college mate Bryce sent him an email… which through technology that I will never understand, downloaded all the secrets of the CIA and NSA into Chuck’s brain.
• Bryce is now dead… Chuck was unmoved by this fact.
• Chuck is needed alive… “to learn what he knows!”
• Chuck is now the property of the CIA.
• Chuck is now the property of the NSA.
• Chuck is now a secret agent… whether he likes it or not!

I know it all sounds pretty far-fetched and stupid, but Chuck was a pleasing hour of television, which was fun and easy to watch, and I am sure it will be a major inspiration to many an aspiring computer geek!

More info about Chuck:

IMDb Chuck entry, Official NBC site (contains spoilers for UK viewers).