Rupert Grave's best selling novel, I, Claudius, is a triumph in its own right, but the 1976 BBC adaptation more than lives up to its source material. The story, for those not familiar, is an account by one of the less-glamorous members of the Caesarian family, Claudius, of his family history during and afterAugustus's legendary rule over Rome. It is a complex tail of poison, secrecy, poison, assassination, marriage pacts, wars, and did I say poisoning?
The show features a veritable who's who of famous British actors including Brian Blessed (Augustus), Sir Patrick Stewart (Sejanus), John Rhys-Davies (Macro), and John Hurt as the infamously slimy Caligula. Upon release, I, Claudius, was met with a shower of awards and praise. Among these were BAFTAs for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director. In 2007 Time magazine listed it as "One of the 100 Best TV Shows of All TIME".
Definitely check this one out. Every episode from the first season is on youtube now, so it doesn't even require a streaming device. I, Claudius will give you a new appreciation for classic TV at its best, and you'll get to see some living legends early in their careers.
As if the BBC didn't have enough good programming going for it already, they are looking to continue their streak of successes with Mr. Holmes, yet another iteration of the classic Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle detective: Sherlock Holmes. Right now, the viewing public has Elementary (Johnny Lee Miller), a series of Holmes movies (Robert Downey Jr.), and the best incarnation of all: Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) to choose from when it comes to the super sleuth.
Now, the BBC is producing a new movie, Mr. Holmes, set to release in 2015. The twist this time? The eponymous character is 93 and away from his classic adventures at 221B Baker Street. The character of Dr. Watson has been completely done away with, except in flashbacks, and the whole format of the story is going to be different.
It is a bold move to completely change a character that is obviously so adored by the audience. The very qualities that have made Sherlock so popular (including Cumberbatch's jawline) are going to be mostly gone. However, the BBC does have two people as proof against fan backlash: Sir Ian McKellen and Laura Linney (who plays Sherlock's housekeeper). These two fantastic actors seem well suited to their roles. Both have a great track record of strong performances and are well-loved by viewers everywhere. There's not much more than a few promotional photos to go on yet, but one way or the other, Mr. Holmes is looking exciting.
The BBC is consistently coming out with excellent television. There are too many great shows to mention them all here, but these 3 are perhaps the best.
Note: For purposes of respect, I'll try my hardest to say series instead of season in this article. It won't be easy...
The New Doctor Who
Not watching Doctor Who has often been one of the biggest gaps in my TV knowledge. However, thanks the never-ending brilliance of the BBC, there is another iteration of the Doctor coming to TV. Peter Capaldi (The Thick of It, In the Loop) is fantastic and everyone who is up to date on the show seems extremely excited. Doctor Who is next on my to-watch list, and it should be on yours too.
Here's an awesome preview to get you pumped:
Luther Movie
For fans of extremely intense police procedurals, look no further than Luther. The unforgettable Idris Elba plays DCI John Luther, a ruthless detective who craftily handles some of the most unnerving villains you're likely to find on TV.
Season 3 just finished airing a few days ago, and unfortunately it will be the program's last series. Ruth Wilson, who plays Alice Morgan, a sociopathic killer who became something of an anti-hero; is getting a spin-off show which should be good. However, the best news of all is the upcoming Luther is getting a movie to cap off the events of series 3.
Some TV shows don't lend themselves to movies very well. Infamously, a few TV executives, who should find other work, wanted to turn Game of Thrones into several movies, thank god that didn't happen. However, Luther translates nicely to the big screen. He is a deliberate character, and the episodes are all almost an hour long already. It shouldn't be too much of a stretch.
Sherlock's Future
It seems like Sherlock is everyone American's favorite drama from across the pond. There are several good reasons for this. Two of them being Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes) and Martin Freeman (Dr. Watson).
Just like Luther, Sherlock has very long episodes. It is been on TV for a long time, and will likely finish with a feature film. However, that won't be for at least two years. An extra long special is shooting in early 2015, and with another series on the way later in the year.
I can't offer much in the way of predictive content, but here is a best-of Sherlock that will have to do for now.
I've already talked about severalgreatshows that are up and coming in the animated TV world (Home Movies had a very sentimental ending already, but whatever it still counts). With those in mind, let's talk about South Park who is, somewhat under the radar, producing an unprecedented number of episodes. At the time of this article, 247 episodes to be exact. And they're under contract for three more seasons. The fact that I don't hear people raving about this more often boggles my mind.
It wouldn't be nearly as much of an accomplishment if the quality of the show hadn't stayed consistent. How in the world has South Park managed to go so long without falling prey to what-I'm-going-to-call "the Simpsons syndrome"? What I mean by "the Simpsons syndrome is a show being on so long that it has lost the entire original spark that made it good and must delve into a never ending pit of celebrity guests to fill air time.
All shows, comedies especially, go through a lifecycle. They are born during pilot season-or in the minds of HBO execs.-grow over the course of 3-6 seasons, and ultimately die once the writers are tired and lead actors want to do movies.
However, some shows stay on the air well past their prime, the American Office for instance, and sometimes uniquely well-well past their prime, like the Simpsons, who now have hundreds of episodes that are mostly terrible. This pretty reasonable list, courtesy of BBC News, is the 10 best Simpsons episodes to air. Only one of them occurs after 2000-The Monkey Suit which aired in 2006. Keep in mind that this list was made in 2010 and I've unfortunately done the research to confirm that nothing of note has come after.
It is important to remember, The Simpsons is still one of the greatest comedies of all time. Its first 9 seasons were so good that there are books written about the subject as well as college courses (thanks Amazon and Mother Nature Network) that I'm sure filled up quickly. For a few glorious hours in a recent sociology class I took, the professor lectured about The Simpsons and the profound impact it had on American culture and national identity. It is a good show.
So how is South Park not getting more attention? It is already far beyond the point where The Simpsons declined sharply in quality. Sure, the recent seasons have had a few weird moments-Cartman's kitty technique was especially weird. However, for the most part, South Park has been just as amazing as its early years. Everything has stayed fresh.
It helps that Matt Stone and Trey Parker are much more topical than they were in the days of Trapper Keeper and Mecha-Steisand. Using current events more helps alleviate the creative burden on the writers. But somehow they keep going, week after week. Several years ago, the two even came out with an insanely successful play you probably heard about called The Book of Mormon. I finally managed to secure tickets to one of the final shows last year and it was incredible-the scent of South Park humor was everywhere in that play.
Since I have no idea how they keep going, I think it's time we call Matt Stone and Trey Parker creative geniuses and be done with it. I don't know what else they could do to prove it.
