Tag Archives: Finale

True Blood Will Finish Stronger Than Ever: Rob Kazinsky

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Persistently renowned for pushing the boundaries with themes of death and rebirth, this spooky, vampire drama with half human fairies thrown in for good measure, has been taken to the hearts of the public and inspired many copycat style dramas. None though will equal series 6, which promises to be not just memorable but thoroughly dramatic and emotional. With Series 6, producer Brian Buckner has set himself the onerous task of proving to loyal fans that True Blood didn’t outstay its welcome, by ensuring he leaves fans begging for more with Robert Kazinksy’s short but sweet dalliance with vampires.

True-Blood-Cancelled-7http://hbowatch.com/hbo-true-blood-season-7-will-be-its-finale/

New Cast Member
Robert Kazinsky, the 30 year old British actor of EastEnders and Pacific Rim fame, joins True Blood in its sixth and final season. This is a brave move for Kazinsky, entering a show which has such an established and cult following in its closing act. Making one’s mark on an established partnership is no mean feat, particularly with a cast and crew who have worked on the previous five seasons. However, it seems that injecting new blood into True Blood’s final series has injected new life into the well-worn formula of this sexy horror drama about real life southern vampires.
Kazinky’s emergence onto the scene provided a new frisson between his character Macklyn Warlow and Sookie Stackhouse. Kazinzky’s character evolves over the course of the season like a good wine ages over a season, no doubt to the anticipated delight of True Blood’s loyal fans.

What to expect in series 7
A real sense of fresh energy has been poured into this series of True Blood which has given the show a major boost and helped ensure that it carries its strengths from previous seasons, and also injects a new impetus to this, its swan song.
Given that half the cast are now no more, there has been a welcome return to a more parochial and homely family unit. A feel which Kazinsky thinks strikes the right note for the final season: “That’s absolutely the right way to go, so this entire [sixth] season was about getting there. That’s Brian’s dream and what he’s doing is brilliant for the show.”
No shrinking violet, and just as well given the abundant nude scenes the character plays as a love interest of lead character Sookie Stackhouse, played by Anna Paquin, Kazinksy tackles some interesting plotlines in the show including a scene with Jason Stackhouse, Sookie’s brother.
Determined to end the show on a high note, producer Brian Buckner has bravely cast Kazinsky in several passionate scenes, none more risk taking than that with fellow co-star Ryan Kwanten who plays Jason, Sookie’s womanising brother. This interseting twist tests and examines the boundaries and relationships between Sookie, Jason and Macklyn. Series 6 is guaranteed to be a show stopper of vampire proportions.
Just as it sparked a revival of vampirology when it premièred in 2008, so it has left the stage with its fans wanting more, surely the sign of a meaty drama, talented cast and great writers which will prove hard, if not impossible, to emulate.

Spartacus TV Finale Review

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new-spartacus-trailer-releasedThe age of Spartacus is over – after three series full of blood, guts, sex and awesome action, the American TV series finished on April 12 2013. It’s had its ups and downs as a franchise, not least because of the tragedy surrounding lead actor Andy Whitfield, who sadly died of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma on September 11, 2011, necessitating a change of focus for the series and a new actor in the shape of Liam McIntyre.
McIntyre took on the second season Spartacus: Vengeance and the final series Spartacus: War of the Damned, which brings us onto our review of this final episode – and it’s not without sadness that we write this. Spartacus has become a perhaps unlikely classic that will be re-watched time and time again. It’s a great, visceral, absorbing series that manages to balance blood, gore and beauty with some rather effective writing and character studies.

 

All in all, we’re sad to see it go. But how did the last episode fare? It starts with the final battle for the rebel slaves, who fight the Romans with the famous battle cry “I AM SPARTACUS”, partly to shield his whereabouts and partly to show their allegiance to the man and their shared cause. They are one, they are all slaves and they are all fighting back.

 

One of the pressures of the final episode of a well loved series is that the legacy of the entire programme can rest on this – they effectively have one shot to please everyone. And we think they managed it. One thing to note is that there were no twists. There were no happy endings and there were no cop outs. The deaths of the main characters are dealt with in a brutally realistic fashion and there is no sudden happy ending as such.

 

The story arcs were tied up – for example, Caesar and Core telling Crassus the truth about his recently deceased offspring and Crassus and Spartacus meeting to try and come to a compromise before battle.

 

The characters all went down fighting – Kore, Saxa, Lugo – but there was no glory in their deaths, they just didn’t win through. Spartacus himself one upped Crassus in one to one combat (of course) but met his end in a similarly ignoble way. A bunch of Roman soldiers showed up and speared him to death – a metaphor for the entire uprising perhaps? After all, what chance did the rebel slaves ever have against the might of the Roman Empire? But a personal and moral battle won by Spartacus and his comrades.

 

Spartacus dies yet his story lives on whereas Crassus, although the victor, finds that he has lost almost everything. His son and lover are dead and his career has gone to rival Pompey who steals the glory for ending the rebellion. For a series that started out as seemingly out to shock rather than anything else, Spartacus ended up as a rich narrative – a classic story told well and we think it will leave far more of a legacy than anyone initially suspected.

 

If you’re feeling sad about the end of Spartacus, and you need to placate your gladiatorial leanings make sure you buy the box set so you can watch it whenever you feel the need for an injection of Roman history. Or you could always play gladiator movie slots now, to compensate for the loss of the show. It’s somewhat surprising that Spartacus the TV series genuinely holds up to this classic film in its stylistic depiction of the brutality of a long ago era that will forever capture our imaginations.

 

 

Elizabeth Hurley, Van Morrison join other celebs for Cheltenham Fashion Week finale

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Cheltenham Fashion Week has welcomed high flyers, glitterati and celebrities to Cowley Manor VIP event ‘For One Night Only’.

Celebrity names such as actress and Hop, Skip and Jump President Elizabeth Hurley, singer
Van Morrisson, actress Lisa Maxwell, cricketer Shane Warne, designer Selina Blow and
Embarrassing Bodies’ Dawn Harper are just some of the high profile attendees that headed
down the red carpet of the glamorous event and watched a high fashion runway show.

Speaking ahead of the event Elizabeth Hurley, who is attending in her capacity of President of Hop, Skip and Jump, said: “The Cheltenham Fashion Week One Night Only event is being held in aid of Hop, Skip and Jump. This is a charity that gives a unique and vital service to the many families who have children with additional needs so it is absolutely right that we should be together gathering support for them during this special week for Cheltenham. Until I met up with Hop, Skip and Jump I had not realised the enormous need for a place which gives flexible day respite to the many families who have children and young adults with additional needs. The change in people’s lives through this unique provision is truly remarkable.”

On arrival at the luxury boutique hotel guests were greeted with a Champagne reception, followed by a sumptuous three course supper and wine. Guests also received a VIP goodie bag filled with lavish treats.

The event was a complete sell-out. The A-list event treated guests to an evening of fine dining, music and glamorous fashion showcasing new and established couture designers from all over the UK.

Winning pieces from the earlier Student Shows also featured alongside the Couture Show.

Photo credit: Spencer McPherson

Suits Season One Finale | Review

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SPOILER ALERT

You wait your entire life for a good legal drama and two come at once. [The Good Wife is the other one, in case you were wondering] It is hard to believe that it is already the season finale of Suits, how time flies. Harvey and Mike’s legal shenanigans have kept me entertained for weeks.

In the last episode Harvey found his conscious and vowed to get someone he had [accidentally] falsely imprisoned for murder back out of prison. He is intent on proving Clifford Danner’s innocence because he’s come across new evidence that might absolve the wrongly convicted man. He also refused to turn in his own corrupt mentor, and was only saved by the women in his life.

He has to go up against everyone, including his own firm Pearson & Harden as the powers that be are not too happy on him representing a convicted murderer, especially since his victim went to a private school where many of the firm’s clients send their children. As they lose a client the stakes are raised.

Mike goes to work to help save the day yet again. Will they manage it? It will be tough as their every turn is blocked, and the stakes are raised higher; if they lose, their client will get life imprisonment, instead of the four years he has left.

It is fun finding out, but somewhere else in the episode something happens that can completely destroy Mike’s career, and possibly affect Harvey’s too, as old lies rise to the surface. Another good episode. I cannot wait for the next season.

Suits SERIES FINALE S1 E12/12

Tuesday 3rd April, 9pm

Doctor Who 'The Wedding of River Song' Review

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And so The Doctor goes to meet his fate by the lake in Utah, bringing Season 6 of Doctor Who full circle and wrapping things up in a satisfying and rewarding conclusion.

That would’ve been nice.

Sadly, that’s an entirely different episode to the one we got – and that got on my wick, I’m afraid.

Now don’t get me wrong, ‘The Wedding of River Song’ was a fun episode full of beautiful visuals, cracking dialogue, sweet in-jokes, and nice ideas; it was far from rubbish. Indeed, had it been placed mid-season I’d probably be lauding it as a classic.

It was just as barmy and lovable as we’ve all come to expect, with Pterodactyls chasing kids, Charles Dickens on the BBC Breakfast sofa and a pit full of carnivorous skulls. I was also pleased to see the return of Dorium Maldovar – a brilliant, brilliant character who I was heartbroken to have seen killed earlier in the season. There was even a poignant and touching tribute to the late, great Nicholas Courtney. Good stuff.

No, the problem lay in the basic DNA of its existence. The point of the episode, the whole reason for its being; to resolve the death of the Doctor,… and it is here that I felt it fall flat.

Firstly, while the alternative universe is fun and clever, it is essentially a massive distraction to the business at hand. We’ve had 12 episodes of “Doctor’s Death” foreshadowing so far this series. To me, the enjoyment of all that grandiose myth-building was guessing and wondering how the Doctor could possibly escape. This is, after all, Doctor Who; he was ALWAYS going to escape.

But Stephen Moffat wasn’t interested in telling that story. Indeed, so un-troubled was he by the resolution to this 13-episode jigsaw puzzle that he tossed it away in the final 5 minutes. He was more interested in telling us the tale of,… well I’m not actually sure. It certainly wasn’t “How Amy met Rory” – he’d already done that one in the finale to Series 5.

By creating an alternate reality with a giant re-set switch, and throwing the Doctor’s death away as a cheap and obvious trick, nothing that anyone does at any point in this episode makes a blind bit of difference to the place we end up when the credits roll.

Had River not cocked things up, the Doctor would still have survived his “death”, the Silence would still be patting their collective squidgy backs at a job well done and Amy would’ve continued her lucrative perfumery career.

In fact, the only difference that the alternate reality plot made to the conclusion of the season was that River and The Doctor got married, and blabber-mouth Melody Pond could tell all and sundry that the Doctor was still alive. And I really can’t help feeling that they didn’t need 45 minutes to tell that story – 10 would’ve done.

And that’s this episode’s biggest mistake; although it was exciting and pretty and whiz-bangy, it was, ultimately, pointless. Like a cheap fairground ride, I enjoyed it while it lasted but, having stood in the queue for an hour eating candy floss, I left the podium feeling a little dizzy and wondering whether it was worth all the fuss.

It didn’t help that the climatic reveal of how the Doctor survived his date with destiny turned out to be a rather dull and obvious get-out-jail-free card. From the very second the Tessalector popped back at the start of the episode, I knew how the Doctor was going to survive. It was so blindingly obvious that I convinced myself that it was actually some kind of cunning double bluff. Imagine my crushing disappointment when it turned out to be nothing of the sort.

As a resolution to the “final end” of the Doctor, it felt cheap and unworthy. Indeed, much like the rest of this episode, it felt like Stephen Moffat had written himself into a corner with his dazzling story-arc shenanigans,… only to bottle on the finishing straight.

This has been an outstanding series of Doctor Who, easily the best since the show returned in 2005 – and potentially one of the best single seasons of the show since it’s heyday in the 1970’s. The conclusion deserved to be as epic and clever and thoughtful as the rest of the run.

But sadly, despite the craziness, the adventure and the laughs, ‘The Wedding of River Song’ left me wanting more. And not in a good way.