{"id":5972,"date":"2013-01-01T00:45:58","date_gmt":"2013-01-01T05:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mondomark.com\/wordpress\/?p=3666"},"modified":"2013-01-01T00:45:58","modified_gmt":"2013-01-01T05:45:58","slug":"too-good-for-tv-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=5972","title":{"rendered":"Too Good for TV, Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Goshers, Big Buddy! Where do TV shows go when they die?\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Sorry for invoking the grating voice of Dondi (Google it), but it\u2019s a quandary for the creators of TV series that fail to get picked up for a second season or just get axed by a network no longer interested, due to low ratings or some snotty bean counter named Bartholomy Quellston-Fundrew III.<\/p>\n

So do continue with Dondi’s (I said look it up) wide-eyed query: If a series has been wiped off the broadcast schedule, where does it go?<\/p>\n

In most cases, to that bottomless pit where it rots, save in the memories of a scant few fans still wishing that favoured series might get picked up for a DVD release, even on the over-priced MOD format.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Meet Team Live Shot: so happy, and quite dead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

My personal favourite? Live Shot <\/strong>(1995-1996), which ran on UPN during its maiden voyage as a new network.<\/p>\n

Never heard of it? Well, I\u2019d loan you my VHS copies, but they\u2019re buried so deep in storage, not even I can access them.<\/p>\n

Synapse has just released Chiller <\/a><\/strong>[M<\/a>], a supernatural series that many genre fans have probably never heard of because it spans a whopping 5 episodes. Not a wholly successful mix of twisted tales, but above average, especially for the cast (Martin Clunes, with hair!) and budgets thrown at each episode.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve uploaded the review in tandem with another dead series \u00a0– Ultraviolet <\/a><\/strong>[M<\/a>] (1998) that\u2019s technically still available as a U.S. import.\u00a0Palm Pictures released the series on DVD, and it was unofficially billed as a U.K. variant of The X-Files<\/strong>, but it\u2019s quite different (and less muddy in its conspiracy stance).<\/p>\n

Star Jack Davenport is best known for the comedy series Coupling<\/strong> (2000-2004) and the Pirates of the Caribbean<\/strong> franchise as slimy Norrington, while co-star Susannah Harker had previously applied her stern brow and pouty lips in the nasally snooty Pride and Prejudice<\/strong> (1995). The surprise co-star among the cast however, is Idris Elba, he of Luther<\/strong> (2010-2013) fame, and guilty pleasure pic The Losers<\/a><\/strong> (2010).<\/p>\n

Read the reviews, and be annoyed Chiller<\/strong> never went beyond its 5 episodes, and irked you\u2019ve been denied further adventures of\u00a0Ultraviolet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Coming next: a quick review of Christian Petzold\u2019s Barbara<\/strong> (2012), now playing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.<\/p>\n

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Mark R. Hasan<\/strong>, Editor
\nKQEK.com <\/strong>( Main Site<\/a> \/ Mobile Site<\/a> )<\/p>\n

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