A very happy New Year to all readers of Eclipse and the Tellybox blog! Here we are then, we made it, the first day of a new year, stretching before us full of hope and possibility for another year of great telly. Or right now, with a hangover. As we make those resolutions about never ever touching another drink, and before I look forward to what’s coming up on the box in the new season, it’s time for my final top Brit picks for 2007!
It’s undoubtedly been a wonderful year for British sci-fi. One might even be moved to use the word "resurgence". We’ve had the innovative Life on Mars, with John Simm and Philip Glenister reminding us of the different planet that was the 1970s, with clever, witty scripts and exceptional acting. The second series was definitely the last, but a spin-off, featuring Gene Hunt, is in the works. Hurrah!
The Doctor Who "adult" spin-off Torchwood got off to a great start, getting the best ratings ever for BBC3. It hit an uneven patch in its middle stories, before storming back and finding its narrative feet with a terrific run of episodes at the end of the series. The ratings were so good the show was given a "promotion" from digital channel BBC3 to the terrestrial BBC2 where its second series will start in mid-January (best guess is currently 16 January) with BBC America launching their run on 26 January.
But still winning all the accolades and attracting guest stars of the calibre of Sir Derek Jacobi, John Simm and er, Kylie Minogue, is the ever-amazing regenerated Doctor Who. David Tennant continues to enchant as the lonely Time Lord from Gallifrey who regularly misplaces, loses, or leaves behind his companions. Despite a not-entirely original Christmas special, in which The Doctor found himself on board the good (space) ship Titanic, expectations for the fourth run of episodes, starting in the Spring, are high. As are rumours about David Tennant’s continued occupation of the Tardis. With a truncated season of three "specials" being filmed this year for broadcast in 2009, and a full series of episodes due to be shot in 2009, we wait with baited everything for news of The Doctor’s future. Or maybe his past….
It’s not all sci-fi at the top of the league. Honorable mentions must also go to the period dramas – Cranford, which boasted a cast of British greats including Dame Judi Dench and Imelda Staunton; The Old Curiosity Shop, in which Derek Jacobi sort-of reprised his Doctor Who role as a befuddled old man; and the new genre of period soap opera represented by the romps of The Tudors and Rome which managed to be educational and fun guilty pleasures.
Here’s to 2008 and hopefully lots of great telly to come!
© Carole Gordon 2008