New Year of Squee!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year (well not yet, but you might be reading this post a bit late). Now pleasantries aside, to business!

We waited. We watched. We blogged. We bitched. And now, the moment has come, to make it all worth it...January 1st. Primeval. Is. BACK.

And now if you will forgive me, I feel like using everyones's favourite online exclamation. Squee! *Coughcough*, now I feel better.

Well everyone knows the story of how fans worldwide couldn't bear a world without Primeval in it. We complained until the eardrums of ITV executives burst, and their email inboxes melted. Mammoths were loosed on the motorways, and top government officials found socks in the breadbin (it's possible I may be exaggerating slightly). Anywhoo, long story short, we, the fans, beat those faceless execs down.

Chances are you know this. And chances are you've also been following such admirable blogs as Primeval Anomalies, who have been keeping us up-to-date with any tiny tidbit of news that trickles through. If so, you'll now know all about new characters, Jess and Matt (So far, incidentally, the jury's still out for me - Jess has a cool wardrobe, but she's almost offensively perky, reminding me of a small woodland creature which is beseeching you not to step on it. As for Matt, the whole "Bad or Good, Is he or Isn't he?" thing has kind of been done. Helen in series 1, Caroline in series 2, even Danny was portrayed as a mysterious potential enemy at one point!)

And now to the webisodes - five taster scenes available exclusively from itv.com, each lasting around 5 mins. Frankly, I'm amazed at ITV's foresight about this - so far they've been pretty clueless about Primeval fans' needs (cancellation, ITV, we do not forget!) But in an unusual blast of sense, some top bod somewhere has seen that a jump of a year might be too hard for even the best of fans to keep up with. These little clips show the events which bring Jess and Matt to the ARC, help us get to know the previously aloof Becker (I don't care what Sarah/Becker shippers say, I never considered him a proper ARC team player before) and just fill in some of the background. For example, the new 50/50 management split between Lester and some chappy called Philip Burton, or the new (and, I think much uglier) ARC building. I just hope they don't change their logo before I get a chance to buy my T-shirt! In all seriousness though, if you like Primeval (which I assume you might, if you've persevered with my ramblings thus far), check out the webisodes. The new content, references to old friends, and future happinesses will really get your TV tastebuds juiced. Less than a week to go my friends, less than a week to go...


Elsewhere, In The World of Doctor Who

It's here! The trailer for Doctor Who series 6 has landed. Critically, because it moves flipping fast (I suppose this is the point to keep us guessing), I had to grab my impressions as I watched, and they flew by quick. So here goes (this is not necessarily in order of appearance, but in order of memorable-ness) a greater historical focus - nazis, pirates, etc; a naked River Song; A beardy Doctor; another fez craving; the Doctor wearing a stetson now (stetsons are cool); what looks like the Whitehouse; a quite epic western landscape; an Ood (or perhaps two) and the fact that monsters are real.

Now if that doesn't whet one's appetite, what will?

Something I've noted with interest in this trailer, and in yesterday's Christmas Special, was the almost Gothic feel there's been. At the start of series 5, the Moff made a bit of noise about making Doctor Who darker, more of a fairytale. I also believe that comparisons to Tim Burton were made. Well I love the work of Burton, so I was well into that idea... Yet (to my mind) it just didn't materialise. With the exception of a few brilliant scenes like the young Amelia's house, and Liz Ten's masked wandering, Doctor Who remained unchanged - still brilliant, but definitely not living up to it's Burtonesque hype. However, yesterday's A Christmas Carol was finally in the promised new vibe. A victorian planet, where people wear velvet jackets, white lace dresses and flying goggles. Little boys are got up in stripy pygamas, old men grouch around in tall towers, and beautiful ice maidens hang out in the basement. The lighting was darker, richer, as were the concepts. And, from the teasing trailer, Series 6 seems set to be cut in the same cloth. Perhaps this change (if, it sticks around, that is) won't be to everybody's taste, but I'm loving it!

Oh yes, 2011's going to be a very good year for entertainment.
Sassy xx