Outcast is a new TV series from the BBC and BBC America and the one I have had most hope for this season and this is my first take on it.

It is about how outcasts and refugees from a devastated Earth make a new home for themselves on Carpatia. We start with shat might be the last ship from earth approaching the planet. The captain complains of technical difficulties and what we understand from ground control there have been fatalities with previous ships seems like a bit of a rush job there getting off earth.

Then we get introduced to the characters and the colonists’ base Forthhaven built around a huge landed colony ship. There is great scenery, kids and people moving around. We are also introduced to this episodes main character Mitchell as he walks into town.

Michel is something of a leader among the military personnel but he also has his own agenda to take his family and move outside the safety of the town. Problem is he is not exactly stable as we soon are to discover. Without revealing to much of what happens later it has a bit of frontier police force action combined with the thrill of the newly arrivals and if they are going to be able to land safely.

The cast looks promising and I am happy with the chemistry and the bits and pieces of humor that it shows here. There is Richard Tate the elected president that has had to take some real though decisions already. The peace and security officers are quite interesting especially the guy that walks around with a piglet.

We don’t learn so much about the planet this first episode beside that is has peculiar geological hazzards.

Great start of a new series I am really looking forward to the next episode.

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Outcasts

This is the first trailer of BBC’s new scifi show Outcasts. It is about outcasts and survivors from earth who tries to forge a new life on the planet Carpatia in this new show that has a certain western vibe to it from what I seen so far. And it got Jamie Bamber in it, Apollo from BSG. This is the second new show I am excited about this season but it has been moved forward from its initial air date in December last year which is worrying.

This new trailer has some good scifi stuff in it but I didn’t get the feeling it is fast paced. What do you think?

From BBC’s press release

A group of courageous pioneers face a unique opportunity: the chance to build a new and better future on another planet. Outcasts is an epic new eight-part drama series created by Ben Richards for BBC One.

They are led by President Tate (Liam Cunningham) and his core team of Stella (Hermione Norris), Cass (Daniel Mays) and Fleur (Amy Manson) – they took charge and settled here first alongside Expeditionaries Mitchell (Jamie Bamber) and Jack (Ashley Walters).

They are a diverse group of individuals who left their old lives behind in extraordinary circumstances; promised a second chance at life they created a society, far away from their home, friends, family… and their pasts.

Settled in the town of Forthaven on Carpathia, they are passionate about their jobs, confident of their ideals and optimistic about the future. They work hard to preserve what they’ve built on this planet they now call home, having embraced all the challenges that come with forging a new beginning.

The planet offers the possibility for both corruption and redemption; while they try to avoid the mistakes made on Earth, inevitably our heroes cannot escape the human pitfalls of love, greed, lust, loss, and a longing for those they’ve left behind.

As they continue to work and live together they come to realise this is no ordinary planet… is there a bigger purpose at work? Mystery lurks around them and threatens to risk the fragile peace of Forthaven.

We meet our characters at a moment of incredible anticipation, they’ve lost all contact with Earth but the arrival of the last known transporter signals fresh hopes and dreams. Will Stella’s husband and daughter, who she heartbreakingly left behind, be on board? Why does Tate seem anxious about one particular passenger, Julius Berger (Eric Mabius)? Most nerve-wracking of all, will it land safely and bring a fresh perspective on the new world with it?

Jane Featherstone, Kudos Film & Television Creative Director and executive producer of Outcasts, says: “Finding a cast to match Ben’s brilliant vision of our pioneering future was always going to be hard, but we are over the moon with the line-up on Outcasts – a group of actors so strong and diverse that I think we’ll be desperate to watch as they tackle their brave new world.”

Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning, says: “Outcasts is a richly intelligent, character-led drama full of big ideas about what it is to be human told through thrilling and surprising stories that could only appear in this show.

“Ben Richards has created a remarkable world peopled with compelling characters, and it is hugely exciting that this amazing cast is going to bring it to life.”

Currently filming in South Africa for transmission on BBC One later this year, Outcasts is produced by Radford Neville (Married, Single, Other and Wuthering Heights) and directed by Bharat Nalluri (Tsunami, Spooks, Hustle, Life On Mars) and Omar Madha (Spooks, Law & Order, Burn Up).

Executive Producers are Jane Featherstone, Simon Crawford Collins,Faith Penhale and Ben Richards from Kudos and Matthew Read for the BBC. Commissioned by Ben Stephenson and Jay Hunt, Controller, BBC One.

Outcasts marks the latest high-profile scripted drama Kudos has produced for the BBC over the past decade, including popular award-winning series such as Spooks, Hustle, Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes.

Full cast and characters:

• Liam Cunningham (Clash Of The Titans) is President Richard Tate, who runs Carpathia and is dedicated to keeping the human species alive.
• Hermione Norris (Spooks) is Stella Isen, Head of Protection and Security (PAS), who sacrificed everything for the chance to save the world.
• Amy Manson (Desperate Romantics) is Fleur Morgan, PAS Officer – young, bright and idealistic.
• Daniel Mays (Ashes To Ashes) is Cass Cromwell, PAS Officer – unpredictable and fiercely loyal to Tate.
• Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Gallactica) is Mitchell Hoban, Head of the Expeditionaries – progressive and ambitious.
• Ashley Walters (Small Island) is Jack, Mitchell’s second in command – tough, armed and dangerous.
• Eric Mabius (Ugly Betty) is Julius Berger – vice president of the Evacuation Programme on Earth. Berger is en route to Carpathia on board transporter CT9, expecting the power and status he enjoyed on Earth.
• Michael Legge (Shameless) is Irish charmer Tipper Malone; a rebel who speaks out against the authorities representing the voice of the displaced youth.
• Langley Kirkwood (Generation Kill) is leader of the ACs, a group of cloned human beings and one of Carpathia’s darkest secrets.
• Patrick Lyster (Invictus) is the dignified and brave commander of transporter CT9.
• Jeanne Kietzmann is Lily – lost, troubled and seeking answers.

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The Tears of Uthor Pendragon Part 1

It is good to have Merlin back. TV has been missing a good Medieval Fantasy. Those urban variants seem to have taken over elsewhere.

It has been a year since season two ended and Morgana disappeared. Now Morgana returns under mysterious and sinister circumstances. First she puts a curse on Uthor making him a haunted man seeing visions of victims of his pogroms against magic. Then she captures Merlin and Morgause, her sister puts him in chains to be poisoned by the scorpion-like enchanted serkets. In desperation at being poisoned he calls on the big dragon. It BBQs the serkets and fly away with Merlin. Meanwhile one of Uthor’s many arch-enemies (there has been a few) King Cenred is marching on Camelot impelled by Morgause and the traitor they have inside the gates. That is where we leave for next episode.

It is a darker Camelot this season, what is it with all series now a days? Must everything turn more dark and sinister? It is true that Morgana is a villain in Merlin Saga, but they had something good going on before. The new season is exciting and maybe they won’t go totally dark.

Among other changes is that Arthur is more of a jock this episode and mock Merlin in front of his squires. That part disturbed me a little. Before this he kept his ‘jokes’ between the two of them.

I was shocked when Morgana knifed down a guard and then poisoned him. She is callous and more evil now. I almost feel something more must have happened to her.

The new season starts with some bold strokes and I think I’ll wait with an in depth review until after this two part episode finishes next week.  One thing with these BBC press releases is that they give away the whole plot of the episode so I will refrain from putting it here.

It has been a year since Lady Morgana disappeared and no trace of her has been found when season 3 begins. She returns under mysterious circumstances and soon the king is having hallucinations; an old enemy attacks and Arthur has to take charge.

Merlin starts to suspect Morgana but she and her evil sister are to fast for him. They capture him and bind him with magic. In desperation he calls the great dragon.

The new season is seems darker than before, strife is afoot in Camelot.

Merlin is a great series and 13 new episodes is better than usual for a BBC production.

Episodes

3.01

It has been a year since Lady Morgana disappeared and no trace of her has been found, as the fantasy drama starring Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Anthony Head and Richard Wilson returns for a new series.

Just as it seems all hope is lost, Merlin and Arthur pick up a trail. Set upon by bandits it seems they may perish but Merlin’s secret magic saves the day. As the dust settles, a mysterious, bruised and bloodied figure approaches the group: it’s Lady Morgana.

Camelot rejoices at her return but Merlin is worried that Morgana will remember the circumstances of their last meeting and tell King Uther that he tried to kill her. The King will not understand that he did it to save Camelot from Morgana’s half-sister, sorceress Morgause’s deadly enchantment; Merlin would be executed on the spot.

Morgana promises Merlin that she has learnt the error of her ways and repents for the evil things she has done. Morgause no longer has any hold over her and Morgana forgives Merlin and promises to keep his secret.

Uther and Morgana enjoy a tearful reunion. The King is delighted that his ward has returned and immediately announces a banquet in her honour. But is there more to her return than meets the eye?

That night, Morgana slips out of the castle and journeys to a cave guarded by mysterious warriors. It seems that she has been playing a game. Far from renouncing magic she has spent the last year at Morgause’s side. Morgana is no longer Camelot’s daughter but a servant of the Old Religion. Using a handkerchief stained with Uther’s grateful tears, Morgause concocts a spell to bring the tyrant King to his knees.

As the evil magic begins to take hold of Uther’s mind, Camelot is cast into great peril. Morgause is rousing Uther’s mortal enemy, King Cenred, to invade the Kingdom, while Uther, plagued by hallucinations from his past, is incapable of mounting a defence of the realm.

As Gaius urges Arthur to take command, Merlin begins to suspect that Morgana’s repentance is not all it seems. He soon discovers he was right but the evil sisters are too quick for him. He is captured, bound with magic and left to the mercy of the scorpion-like enchanted serkets.

As Cenred’s army amasses on the border and Merlin’s life hangs in the balance, the young sorcerer summons the Great Dragon, his last and only hope. Can the Dragon and the Dragonlord save Camelot from certain doom?

3.02

The young warlock struggles to recover from the serket’s poison, as the fantasy drama continues. Meanwhile, Morgana and Morgause are free to step up their plans for the invasion of Camelot.

Morgause continues her manipulation of Cenred, as he prepares to launch an attack on the citadel, but Cenred knows he cannot take the castle alone. Morgause promises him that they have an ally within King Uther’s court who will ensure they win the day – no one can fight a battle on two fronts. Morgause gives Morgana a powerfully enchanted rowan staff to aid her in her magical treachery.

King Uther is still unable to rule as he recovers from the enchantment inflicted by the mandrake root. So, as Cenred’s army attacks the citadel, Camelot’s fate now rests on Arthur’s shoulders. The young prince and his men fight bravely but, just as they think the tide might turn, Morgana plays her deadly card. In the vaults beneath Camelot she uses the rowan staff to summon a skeleton army to wreak havoc within the castle walls.

Arthur and his men cannot hold off both an army of the living and an army of the dead. Merlin knows that their only hope is for him to stop Morgana and vanquish the enemy within. Will he be able to do so without revealing his own magical powers?

3.03

Merlin stumbles across a secret chamber and accidentally releases a goblin, as the fantasy drama continues. The mischievous creature possesses Gaius, leading the once-wise physician to develop a taste for gold, ale and magical jokes.

With a suddenly bald King and a scourge of flatulence sweeping the Royal household, can Merlin work out what is going on and banish the goblin back to where he came from before any real damage is done?

Amy Pond is the companion of the 11th Doctor. She first meets him as a little girl when the 11th reincarnation crashlands the TARDIS in her back yard. He behaves really weird even for the Doctor but I guess it is compelling to small children. Amy was cute as a child but that is nothing against what she looks like when she grows up.

Next time she meets him she is dressed as a police woman. She kicks the Doctor’s ass and make a citizen’s arrest because she is dressed like that for her kissogram job

The new companion has been a bit controversial, she is way too sexy for some and when she came on to the Doctor it was widely discussed especially since she was engaged. The Doctor sort it out and take the happy two on an extended honeymoon on the TARDIS. Executive producer Piers Wenger stated that Amy was intended to be “feisty and outspoken and a bit of a number. Amy is probably the wildest companion that the Doctor has travelled with, but she isn’t promiscuous.”

This installment of the Doctor feels more adult and grownup humor.

Name: Amy Pond
Portrayed by: Karen Gillian
TV show: Doctor Who, 11th Incarnation
Genre: Science Fiction
Status: She will return next season

Karen Gillian

Karen was born 28 November 1987 and is best known for her role as Amy Pond in Doctor Who. She was born and raised in Inverness, Scotland.

She did some model job before and also played in Fires of Pompeii

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This was a slow but groovy episode of Being Human and everyone needs love. We flash back and forth between the 60s and now, between Mitchel’s first try at abstinence and now, between the love that he needed then and the one he needs now.  You have to love Mitch hairstyle!

Mitchell is getting closer to Lucy and she, in turn, is struggling to contain her feelings for Mitchell, as the drama following the lives of three housemates who happen to be a werewolf, a ghost and a vampire continues.

Mitchell has only really fallen in love once before and, in a flashback to the Sixties, viewers learn how his relationship with Josie saved him from the excesses of vampiredom. Back in the present with Lucy, it’s clear he’s struggling to reconcile the difference between human love and vampire lust.

Meanwhile, George’s relationship with Sam and her daughter, Molly, is going well and George wonders if there might be a chance to make the most of this normal human relationship – could he become Molly’s step-father?

Annie experiences parental feelings of her own when she’s asked to babysit an unusual child…

This episode was a bit slow, lots of dialog that develops the characters, but also a bit dull compared to the earlier action packed episodes of season two.

It started out strong with Mitch waking up covered in blood and with a magnificent hair, looking lost. But then is slowed down. There was some actions spots with the Police but otherwise intrigue, love and intrigue.

Annie got to show her awesome babysitting skills as a ghost mother drops off her baby for two hours. George really takes to the kid, he goes off in dreams of normality a family with Sam and her daughter Molly, that seems slightly unbelievable since last episode he barely could keep the wolf inside him. George where is your contact with reality? (Ha). Anyway Annie trying to babysit was very entertaining.

The sinister professor and Lucy will start to make more sense here. Mitch have a date with Lucy a quiet dinner at her place planed, but she have plans he don’t know about.

They all want love…

All in all a decent info dump of an episode but far from the best they have done.

There are eight episodes in the second season which leave us with three to go.

I am allready looking forward to it. What a wonderful missuse of time travel it would be if you could skip ahead and watch it now. But you need a time machine for that.

Source sfx

George the werewolf is played by the same actor in both pilot and the series. All the characters are more kick ass in the pilot than the series.

It sounds like a comedy but its more about them trying to fit in. They all have to cope with their own nature and the assorted disadvantages they suffer from.

George turns into a werewolf once a month. The wolf is an animal devoid of mercy.

Mitchell has his hunger for blood and Annie has busloads of secrets and issues that keeps her a ghost.

Good entertaining and thought creating British TV

Looks definitely spiffy.

Precious Ramotsweis the proprietor of the Agency
Mma Makutsi is her sidekick.

In the pilot they look for an Afro American lady’s son that has been missing for 10 years and some local burglaries.

There is a bit of overplay here and there but there are also some really good actors too. The photo is great. The main characters are likable and interesting.

The series are built on Alexander McCall Smiths novels.

imho the British TV series are a bit more ‘real’ than American but this one feels British.