2007 The year in review - Pt II

Film

Frankly, this year I’ve been dreadful at seeing films. The ones I’ve seen, such as Pirates 3, Ratatouille, The Golden Compass and Hot Fuzz have been disappointments (Hot Fuzz maybe less so), and nothing else has been promising enough to make me part with my money, especially since I know have to deal with London prices.

Instead, here are ten films I should have seen, and may eventually get around to;

1. Control
2. This is England
3. The Lives of Others
4. Knocked Up (I loved Freaks & Geeks)
5. No Country For Old Men
6. Atonement (although it does mean putting up with Ikea Knightly)
7. The Bourne Ultimatum
8. Superbad
9. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert For
10. Elizabeth: The Golden Age

TV

I watched a lot more TV than I have films, and there have been some really enjoyable shows this year. We’ll get This Life + 10 out of the way to begin with shall we? Yes, it was a bit crap, but seeing all those characters again made me feel nice, which was sort of the point. In better news, Doctor Who put in another strong series, with Blink being my favourite episode (but too scary to watch again).
It was a fairly strong year for British shows, despite the endless moaning about American imports. Comedy was a particular forte. It may not have been the strongest series of The Mighty Boosh, but it was still bloody funny, the standout being four-way crimping. The Thick of It and Peep Show were both very satisfying, but the Mac adverts may have been jumping the shark for Mitchell & Webb (Magicians being yet another film I haven’t seen, but one I have no intention of watching). Never Mind the Buzzcocks has returned to full strength under Simon Amstell, after a few lacklustre years. Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe is often hilariously funny while being full of rage and making serious points. I think the joint HBO/BBC production of Flight of the Conchords is the comedy highlight of the year, with Murray my personal favourite.

But hey, on to the Americans. Heroes was fantastic. I was never a fan of Lost, but Heroes had genuine character development, and despite the occasional saccharine overload, some really touching moments. You could say the same of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which I am still defending in the face of all criticism. I wouldn’t say it’s as good as The West Wing, but then, not much is. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation had another really strong series. I really really cannot wait until next week, and the start of the next series. The miniatures serial killer is a fantastic story arc, and I hope the climax lives up to the rest.

Of course, I can’t talk about TV without going into Reality TV. About this time last year Celebrity Big Brother was kicking off (in more ways than one), and it has been followed by all the shows that now seem fixed in the TV calendar. Both I’m a Celebrity and X Factor were particularly lack-lustre, but Strictly Come Dancing was an absolute joy to watch, mainly because it featured some talented people, doing what they are expert at (I do feel that not enough attention is given to the professional dancers of the show, without whom it would be impossible). But back to that nightmare CBB. Jade Goody made herself even more disliked by the general public by indulging in some fairly unpleasant racism. Of course, she was not the only one involved, but Jo O’Meara and Danielle Lloyd managed to avoid too much criticism by dint of massive media management, and also having the good luck to be pretty. Channel 4 was eventually found to have breached Ofcom’s Code of Conduct, and it signified a year of woe for the TV networks. Richard & Judy started the trend of phone-in scandals which encompassed everything from BBC6 to The X Factor, and this has really dominated the year industry wise. There have been a fair few high-profile resignations following scandals, significantly Peter Fincham, Controller of BBC One, after the so-called ‘QueenGate’ affair.
Each of these scandals would have been serious enough as an isolated incident, but so many coming to light at the same time has led to an apparent crisis in conscience for the national broadcasters. Coupled with falling advertising revenue (although this has not been as disastrous as widely predicted), these scandals have caused some major introspection and endless media debate. I can’t be alone in thinking this is no bad thing. Yes, these mistakes were awful, but if they lead the industry to take a look at itself, and think about what they do wrong, and what they should be doing, it will hopefully create a more focused outlook, and a greater understanding of what producers owe to their public. I shall got off the soapbox now. I thank you.