Tag Archives: why so series

Why So Series? One Season Wonders Part 1

  By Sinéad | August 5, 2009 - 7:58 pm | Featured Post, The Culch, TV
9 Comments

Veering slightly away from the concept of cheap and cheerful TV boxsets, but if you have a multi-region DVD player or download your TV shows (either from iTunes etc.) then you might be interested in these “One Season Wonders”. There are a huge number of TV shows that have gone under the radar because they’ve only survived one season in the US, thus never surviving long enough to be syndicated here. Usually when a TV show gets cancelled it’s justified, but there are quite a number of gems in the rough out there. One of my biggest “secret shame” genres of TV/film is the American teen or college dramas and they don’t come any better than the likes of Freaks & Geeks or My So Called Life. I can remember watching this show as a teenager and completely and utterly swooning over Jared Leto, much in the same way girls … There’s more →

Why So Series? Frasier

  By Sinéad | July 1, 2009 - 10:51 pm | Featured Post, The Culch, TV
11 Comments

Why So Series is a weekly feature on DVD boxsets, to guide your summer viewing… Frasier has recently been heavily syndicated on digital tv, becoming almost as pervasive as the Simpsons and Friends. I’ve caught the occasional episode with Jen, who has never watched it before and had no idea that it was a spin-off of Cheers, which just goes to show how strong it is as a standalone series. For anyone that’s never caught a few episodes (have you been living under a rock?) a literal description of the show is deceptively dull. It revolves around the life of an effeminate radio Psychiatrist who gets divorced; moves back to his hometown, and then has his father Martin (a retired cop) and his dog Eddie move in with him, he also hires an eccentric English live-in physical therapist/caretaker Daphne for the father and is visited regularly by his equally effeminate … There’s more →

Why So Series: Life On Mars

  By Lottie | June 23, 2009 - 10:04 pm | Featured Post, The Culch, TV
11 Comments

Show: Life On Mars Starring: John Simm and Philip Glenister. Channel: BBC ONE Genre: Best described as a sci-fi police drama First Aired: 9th January 2006 Concluded: 10th April 2007 The Story: “My name is Sam Tyler. I had an accident, and I woke up in 1973. Am I mad, in a coma, or back in time? Whatever’s happened, it’s like I’ve landed on a different planet. Now maybe if I can work out the reason, I can get home.” And so it began, one of the most greatest TV shows the BBC has produced in years. Sam Tyler (Simm, of Doctor Who/The Devil’s Whore fame) is our tortured protagonist. One moment Sam is a rising star in bureaucratic politically correct British Police Force, the next he’s lying flat on his back in a warped corrupt Manchester City. Oh and it’s 1973. Sam is a great principal character. He’s a … There’s more →

Why So Series: The Wire

  By Lottie | June 10, 2009 - 9:47 am | Featured Post, The Culch
8 Comments

“I had such fucking hopes for us.” -McNulty How do I summarise the The Wire? Well, I can’t. In the simplest terms, it was so good that I watched all five series in a warm flush of excitement over a period of no more than a five weeks. Set and produced in Baltimore, I think it’s universally agreed that The Wire is The Greatest American TV series ever made. It’s insightful, honest, brutally dark yet comically entertaining. A true testament to the power and talent of American Televisions that makes other TV shows weep. And yet it’s one of those shows, like many great BBC/ITV series (which will be covered at a later date) that few seem to have seen on TV but everyone is catching the fever as it hits DVD. The plot: Created by David Simon, The Wire was originally to be a police drama based on the … There’s more →

Why So Series: Babylon 5

  By Sinéad | June 5, 2009 - 10:43 pm | The Culch, TV
10 Comments

Why So Series is a weekly feature on DVD boxsets, to guide your summer viewing… Anyone that has recently finished watching Battlestar Galactica or has had their love for Star Trek reignited by the new movie is probably in dire need of some more science fiction. Unfortunately there is slim pickens out there, especially when you’re looking for something intellectually stimulating that also manages to entertain you with plenty of action, energy and character development. There’s a severe lack of good science fiction on TV at the moment. You’ll find all of this and more if you take a step back 14 years into the fictional future universe of Babylon 5. Initially Babylon 5 focuses on the lives of those posted on the Babylon 5 space station – a mixture of races from all over the galaxy. I’m sure your alarm bells are ringing “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” at … There’s more →

Why So Series

  By Sinéad | June 5, 2009 - 10:33 pm | TV
6 Comments

There’s a general consensus that television during the summer months consists mostly of Big Brother and its spinoffs, while the soaps continue running all year long, many of our favorite American imports and UK shows take a long break this time of year. Even anyone that watches online or downloads their weekly fix will be suffering from withdrawal from the likes of Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, Doctor Who, Lost, Gossip Girl, Criminal Minds, Skins, etc. etc. The only series that seems to have new episodes airing during the summer months will be House on Sky One. Thus “Why So Series” is born - a Culch.ie weekly feature on DVD boxsets, to guide your summer viewing and with the recession in mind we’ll be aiming to feature bargain boxsets. HMV sales and online stores are a great place to pick up really good value whole seasons of TV series that have either … There’s more →