tartan_skirt's TV shows > TV reviews by tartan_skirt

Quotable goodness

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 9 July 2008 12:22 (A review of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force")

Now, at first I dismissed the show, but having been made to sit through every single episode (and the movie) by my friend at least five times apiece I've come to enjoy and rather like it. Sure, the humour can be crass and unusual, but watching it with someone who truly loves it makes the experience much better for all concerned, and the show has some excellent quotes to spout at random times.

All that aside, I have come to appreciate the show. It has the random mayhem that so many great British comedies are praised for, just in a different manifestation. I am very aware that being British and having a penchant for home-grown comedies and wariness to a new breed of American cartoons and comedies makes me biased, but seeing some of the negative attitudes towards the show I can understand why people say they don't like it. My advice is thus: Lighten up and take it as another piece of absurd visual humour. You might just grow to like it.

Tonight... You.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Nice series

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago on 27 March 2008 04:08 (A review of Ouran High School Host Club)

I rather enjoyed watching Ouran High School Host Club this past week. Its a good shoujo series with an interesting storyline. Though this story tends to only emerge in the later episodes.

There are quite a few loose ends however and a lot of details of the story left unsaid at the end, but this leaving to the viewers assumption is, I suppose, a working upon the ideas of the whole series. It is what you want it to be really.

I will look into reading the manga series which this was based on at some point. I'm hoping that since it is an on-going manga series it won't just leave off where the anime does, since it would be nice to see an expansion on the character development already set up.

I recommend this for anyone looking for a good, happy, semi-romance series. It does contain some hints of yaoi but not in a serious way, more playing on the fantasy/idea of yaoi.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Another great Sailor Moon series

Posted : 2 years, 4 months ago on 17 July 2007 02:39 (A review of Sailor Moon S)

**Contains spoilers**

Sailor Moon S is the third series of Sailor Moon, taking us up to the 127th episode in the Sailor Moon saga in total, and the Sailor Soldiers have progressed to the 9th grade. This is one reason why I prefer anime to conventional cartoons: Time passes (Usagi even has a birthday!). Instead of the old stealing of energy game, this series has more of a focus on hearts and love ("pure hearts" are being stolen this time). New characters this time around include two new Sailor Soldiers, Uranus and Neptune, and the new bad guys - evil scientists mixing magic with science.

The prominent new Sailor Warriors, Uranus and Neptune, are a wonderful addition to the Sailor Moon storyline, though I think it is a bit strange that lesbian undertones were brought into a (part) childrens series, but it is great. (It does make you wonder if this was one of the reasons the whole series was never included in the American dub too.) Chibi-Usa also returns, but thankfully there is a bit of a break from her for a good few episodes into the series. Her entrance was hilarious though. In the previous series she was a more than a little bit annoying but I think at least some of that is left behind with this series.

I found the monsters (Daimonhs) a bit more interesting this time around, though the first set of them did seem to like semi-flashing their victims. Over the first and second seasons there is a clear evolution of the opposition to the Sailor Soldiers. A big difference is the monsters ability to form actual sentences! Wooo!

One thing about the series that I am not as keen on is the new transformations and Sailor Moon's new "attack". All that spinning just makes me dizzy and puzzled at how flexible a clutz like Usagi can be... It is definitely a wee bit over the top. It is made up for though as not only are the transformation scenes cut out a bit more but I liked Haruka and Michiros ones as the music was a nice addition to the series (stings!).

It is a wonderful series, almost as good as the first, but for me I doubt anything can beat the splendor of that first series which was part of my introduction into anime. The characters and plot are much fuller than before, and this development works very well. I hope the fourth series will be as good. :)

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Ok BBC comedy panel show

Posted : 2 years, 4 months ago on 2 July 2007 07:49 (A review of "Would I Lie to You?")

The newest product of the British comedy panel show genre, Would I Lie to You?, shows potential as it utilises another new (or unused) concept. Angus Deayton is at the helm once again as he finally makes his return from his humiliation on Have I Got News For You five years ago. As for team captains, David Mitchell is a good choice and Lee Mack is certainly an interesting one as his style of comedy seems to be one-liners more than anything else from his past work on The Sketch Show.

I missed the first show, but the second and third have been good. The latter was very odd in deed because two of the opposing guests were Dara Ó Briain and Jimmy Carr, hosts of their own comedy panel shows (Mock the Week and 8 Out of 10 Cats, respectively) and Carr in particular seems less comfortable as a guest than a host.

It's a good enough show and the truths about the celebrities featured are shockers at times. I think it should do all right since it has an alright time-slot, but I doubt it'll meet the standards of the BBC's more long-running successes in the area such as HIGNFY, QI, and Nevermind the Buzzcocks.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Slight variation on the old talent show

Posted : 2 years, 5 months ago on 12 June 2007 03:31 (A review of "Britain's Got Talent")

Doesn't this look a bit familiar? Yes, of course. It is X-Factor but with an audience in on the auditions and a bigger range of people to humiliate, and of course it's to find someone to perform at the Royal Variety Performance. Other than that it is exactly the same down to the backstage sob stories and camera style.

That said, it is a bit better than the aforementioned television nightmare. It is still only TV filler to me, but at least it has a bit more entertainment value.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Ok show, not great

Posted : 2 years, 5 months ago on 12 June 2007 01:23 (A review of "Embarrassing Illnesses")

Being British, we tend to try and ignore things until they go away, and this show points out why medical problems should not be ignored in this way.

It is an interesting enough show, but a tad too graphic for the 8.30pm slot on Channel 4 perhaps. One the first show alone there were close-ups of hemroids and a room full of rugby players giving their balls (testicles) a good fondle. Not exactly two things that are usually on the telly at that kind of time, so I wasn't exactly prepared.

Not too bad a medical show, though I've seen better.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Nice sequel, not quite as good

Posted : 2 years, 5 months ago on 12 June 2007 01:00 (A review of Sailor Moon R)

**Contains spoilers**

2 months after the first series (Sailor Moon Classic), the Sailor Soldiers are back when aliens appear unexpectedly. Again the aim of the bad guy is to claim energy from innocent humans, and of course there are new silly monsters (this time called Cardians). But this isn't the same as the first series by a long shot.

This is only the start though, as the R series begins with a 13 episode mini-plot (read the Wikipedia article for information on this). I found the end of this subplot very sweet, though I'm glad we got rid of the Moonlight Knight and Mamoru's memories of Usagi were finally returned.

The Moonlight Knight is just a bit weird and confusing. Although it was good to keep the audience wondering about his identity and how it was a possibility right up to the end of the mini-plot. I've seen a lot of fans conplain about him, because really, he doesn't make sense and is out of place as a character. Thankfully he is only around for the 13 episode run though, and Tuxedo Mask makes a come back for the rest.

And... Sailor Moon finally gets a new transformation scene and a new weapon! This is definitely a nice change as any watcher of the series will know their attacks get a little old after 50-odd episodes. The other warriors get their own slight new additions through the series with their old attacks making appearances every now and then.

In the second half of the series we are finally introduced to Chibi-Usa and some new enemies (and some of these enemies even have a vocabulary further than their own name for once)! As with Sailor Moon Classic the story can be a little obvious to the viewer (while the characters resume their oblivious attitudes to the most obvious details), but I still love it. One thing that bugged me about the series though was the Usagi-Mamoru relationship. It just became a little too on/off with them for me, plus
when you think about it it is a little wrong (thats the 14 year old and 20-odd year old detail again).

The very last episode (89 in the whole Sailor Moon chronology) is a bit pointless really. All it does is round up what has happened in the R series and shows a few spoilery clips of the next series (Sailor Moon S). It doesn't add anything to the show at all, but I watched it anyway.

A good series, but not quite as good as the first. :) I'm eager to start watching the third series out of the five!

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Suzuka review

Posted : 2 years, 5 months ago on 11 June 2007 06:47 (A review of Suzuka)

Gaia Online has the first two episodes of this series (American dub) legally online right now, so I decided to watch it. And well, it's not very good.

The dubbing is crap. The voices chosen are unbelievably rubbish, it has terrible music and shoddy animation at times, and it really is just a bad version of Love Hina (which I love) at times.

Who knows, maybe the original Japanese series is better, but I doubt I'll be watching any more of this. Two episodes are enough. Plus I know now that I'm not a big fan of sports-orientated anime.

(May I just add, What The Feck!? In episode two, why did Rei from Sailor Moon appear? She looked exactly the same and was a shrine maiden! ARGH!)

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Actually a decent show

Posted : 2 years, 6 months ago on 28 May 2007 04:13 (A review of Ugly Betty)

**Warning! Contains spoilers**

So, series 1 is over. I have to say that I didn't expect much from this series when I saw the adverts, but it has really grown on me. And though parts of it have been a little too predictable (the plot with Daniel and Sofia was just a little too much like Down With Love), but there have also been some great surprises.

I think one of the best features (if not the best) of Ugly Betty has to be the characters. I think that the majority of them are just perfectly casted and I especially love Christina (Ashley Jensen) not only because she was born in my part of Scotland, but because she's a great Scottish character and I love her interactions with those around her (especially the interplay between her and Mark). And you've got to love Justin. Who wouldn't love a pre-teen queen? :P

The last episode: The Betty-Henry story is heartbreaking, the Mark-Wilhelmina reminiscing hilarous, but the Daniel-Alexis accident was a little too obvious (hey, I even typed this sentence before it actually happened).. But the very end! I just don't want to risk spoiling that. Plus I loved the crazy movie-obsessed dental woman. Perfect cliffhanger if i do say so myself. So much to wait for!

It's not a favourite, but it certainly is good watching. I'm looking forward to series 2!

0 comments, Reply to this entry

The life of a burnt piece of bread...

Posted : 2 years, 6 months ago on 27 May 2007 11:32 (A review of Kogepan)

Kogepan means burnt bread, and this is exactly what the show is about. The series is made up of 10 four minute episodes based on the San-X character called Kogepan, a burnt piece of bread. The show is cute, short and simple, exploring Kogepan's life and that of the other breads in the bakery. Kogepan is unhappy with the way he is and knows he will never be bought by a customer like the "beautiful" breads. Nevertheless he can usually be seen trying to cram himself into a customers bag.

I quite like the show because it has elements of comedy in it and although it is a kids show Kogepan can often be seen drunk, but by drinking milk! It's a nice little kids show and very unique.

0 comments, Reply to this entry