Andy's tv picks!

So January is when all the American tv shows that started in September/October start filtering over the UK. As a tv and film addict, and being fairly up-to-date with what has been shown so far I thought I would share my wisdom with you: my minions. Lost is currently the most watched tv series on tv and deservedly so, but you all know about Lost so I won't bore you. Desperate housewives is back for another season, however I'm a lot less impressed; there's no real mystery or story-arc compared with the first season and it is beginning to feel too much like a soap opera, however it was showing signs of improvement in the last episodes before Christmas. The first few eps of The O.C. were dire, not even the fit-ness of Marissa and Summer could redeem it, so I'm going to leave that until the whole season is available for download. Smallville is still going strong providing cheesy teen melodrama and freaks of the week.

So what about the new ones? There's lots of new stuff coming out this year and I've only been able to fit two new shows into my rigorous schedule (however I do plan to give Bones and House a try). Allow me to dispense my opinions:

Prison Break

Prison break is about a guy who gets sent to prison in order to break out his brother who is on death row, but there's a twist: he designed the prison and he's had the blue-prints tattooed onto his body in some kind of magic eye pattern. Cheesy? Yes. Contrived? Of course. Awesome? Definitely! Another arc-centric show with enough cliff hangers to keep you coming back for more and a really fit prison doctor.

My main gripe with the show is that the conspiracy seems to go a bit too far and the people wrongly accusing this clean cut family man of murder are directly subordinate to the vice-president's widow. Also I am uncertain that the story will be strong enough to sustain another season. Obviously they can't actually escape or the show will have to end and it is inconceivable that the main guy will have formulated a never ending supply of elaborate plans.

Invasion

Invasion has potential to be a really big show, and people are already talking about it in this country. It's about a town close to a large nature reserve that gets hit by a hurricane, during which several people go missing and strange lights are seen falling from the sky. The day after the missing are found naked and with no recollection of what happened to them. The show focuses on Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian from Tilt and But I'm a Cheerleader!): park ranger, family man and cynic; but by far my favourite character is Dave: Extra terrestrial conspiracy theorist and prolific blogger.

Watch this show, 'tis awesome.

Later minions

AS