Of all the buzz phrases those working in telly land use, the one they seem to strive to say the most is 'appointment to view' television.
It appears to be the Holy Grail for TV programmers, all seeking for that one programme which will knock the socks of the ever increasing number of rivals they face.
Big football games do it, and it's a safe bet the Rugby on Saturday night will do to.
But what about when there isn't sport to fall back on. Where do they turn to then?
In the BBC's case, the money-in-the-bank, appointment-to-view programme this week is one at 9pm tonight. Yes, Spooks is back (BBC 1)
Without doubt, it is one the best thrillers on the box, and its writers have done an excellent job in not letting the programme slip as big-name characters have come and gone. They also done an excellent job in making sure that the programme is believable (although I suppose it isn't that hard to make something so few of us have experience of believable, but you know what I'm saying.)
Spooks has functioned for the last four series with individual stories within each episode, with some threads overlapping into other episodes around it. This year marks the biggest change to the show yet - they're tinkering with the format.
This year, the 10 episodes play through one story, so a good old-fashioned serial then. That's not going to effect the pace, the action or the special effects, though, and perhaps it's better to develop more fully a reduced number of plots rather than desperatley hunt round for a new enemy each week.
Leading agent Adam opens tonight's episode tucked up in bed with fellow agent Ros, but he's also having a bit of a fling with the Iranian Ambassador's wife, and it's plain to see that both believe they are getting something out of this honey-trap arrangement.
The plot unfolds with Britain and Iran on the verge of a peace deal which several terrorist groups plan to scupper by unleashing a virus on the streets of London. While the first part of the plot sounds far-fetched, sadly the events of the last few years make the latter seem all the more likely to actually happen. It's like having a globe-trotting explorer old friend drop by for a few weeks. Great to see him, love his stories, but couldn't cope with him all year.
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
« Previous | Home | Next »