Demons on itv1

that really wasn't very good...

since Dr who there have been several attempts at a "family" saturday show- primeval, robin hood, merlin...and i've not liked any of them!

I'm just watching it now and it's terrible. At least Bonekickers was so bad it's good - this is just bad. Mackenzie Crook feels like he's walked in from an episode of The Mighty Boosh, Glenister's accent is so bad it could cause a diplomatic incident, Christian Cooke can't act so they're trying to distract us with his smoothe chest, while Zoe Tapper just has a permanent look of 'can I get back to Survivors, please?' Meanwhile, the script is an ungodly hodgepodge of Rose, Welcome To The Hellmouth and a giant bucket of manure, filtered through an ITV focus group that managed to take out anything that might be interesting, risky or even mildly controversial.

And just another thought on it, consider how dismissive it is of learning and education compared to Buffy. Here, we get the 'learning's not important' message tagged on at the end, and where the library in Buffy was a place they went to when they needed to research and discover information by reading, here it's just a convenient cover for an armoury and any information they need comes straight from someone's head...

Review on the blog. Must say, it was dreadful. I'm going to enjoy watching this fall flat on its face.

This series should be rechristened 'The Nightmare After Christmas'. Excruciating.

Lucy McGough wrote:This series should be rechristened 'The Nightmare After Christmas'. Excruciating.

I kept waiting for it to get better. Part of the way in, I thought, 'Buffy rip-off'. Afterwards, saw that the Radio Times article stated that comparisons have been made.

Difference is, I really liked Buffy.

Husband didn't last to the end. He went off and read a book.

According to the RT, the Gilven character was originally intended to have a Texan accent. I'm too idle to look it up, but I suppose that all of Van Helsing coterie are supposed to be related to characters from Dracula?(Can't for the life of me remember the name of the Texan in the book.)

I suppose it might improve, but I'm not hopeful.

That was dreadful. Absolutely bloody dire. All the ideas are pinched from Buffy, but with all the wit and charm removed in transit.

And the cast (yes, including Glenister) are uniformly appalling. I can't remember the last time I actively wanted a show to fail as much as this.

Sadly, I have to concur with everybody else on this. It was almost unforgivably ill-judged on just about every level - even taking into account the usual series opener requirements.

I always pride myself on giving a new series three episodes to redeem itself before I pull the plug on watching it. With this particular series I fear that's going to be a hard slog.

If we want a good laugh, we should keep an eye on the viewing figures.

Lucy McGough wrote:If we want a good laugh, we should keep an eye on the viewing figures.

it had a reasonable start but i doubt if anyone(sane) will stick with it...

barnaby salton wrote:

Lucy McGough wrote:If we want a good laugh, we should keep an eye on the viewing figures.

it had a reasonable start but i doubt if anyone(sane) will stick with it...

I suspect you'd need a very particular brand of insanity to stick with it if it continues as it began.

I thought it was alright. I didn't hear it though.

I was playing LEGO with my girls at the time, so I kinda watched, but had to turn it over before it finished (they got scared!).

I didn't put on the recorder though, which says it all!

What I saw, I thought was OK, but very derivative. And the young leads were boring. Base the show around the talent - Glenister and Zoe Tapper - and get rid of the teenagers, and the show might have a chance of becoming interesting.

Oh, for the love of - it's even worse this week!

Lucy McGough wrote:Oh, for the love of - it's even worse this week!

Absolutely. Woeful. Utterly, dreadfully, irredeemably woeful.

Phillip Glennister looks like he's sleepwalking through the part... I think the accent is just there to keep him interested... perhaps he's taken a bet on how bad an accent he can do without the producers/director telling him to change it.

You lot are being so vague about your feelings about this series, I just can't get a read on whether it's any good...

Sid Seadevil wrote:Absolutely. Woeful. Utterly, dreadfully, irredeemably woeful.

You are 100% correct. The show is complete and utter tripe from beginning to end.

They nicked Gene Hunt from Life On Mars, the creepy little girl from Ashes to Ashes, Gaius from Merlin, the special effects from Doctor Who and the entire premise from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I wish Buffy would come and slay this show.

Buffy had her whiny moments but she would kick the cr*p out of Ross Jenkins and Giles could take out American Fake Gene Hunt anyday...

It's on ITV - that was a bit of a giveaway before it even started. What happened to 'The People's Channel'? It's almost as though they've given up completely. I remember when I was younger (cue for a song?) that ITV was so good I didn't even know BBC existed until Doctor Who came along.

Barcelona wrote:It's on ITV - that was a bit of a giveaway before it even started. What happened to 'The People's Channel'? It's almost as though they've given up completely. I remember when I was younger (cue for a song?) that ITV was so good I didn't even know BBC existed until Doctor Who came along.

What can I say? I expected the worst and hoped for the best. I was wrong. <10th Doctor>I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry...</10th Doctor>

Seriously though. How can so many good elements that have worked perfectly well for other series, be so totally cocked-up in this one?

Glennister doesn't even appear to be trying. Young Cooke is a charisma free zone of non-acting, and poor Zoe Lucker appears to have been forced to channel Keely Hawes in as unconvincing a way as possible.

I doubt I can even bring myself to give it my usual three episodes to improve before I pull the plug. Although I might - just to see if it can plumb even lower depths.

Even Bonekickers was more enjoyable than this!

Sid Seadevil wrote:Seriously though. How can so many good elements that have worked perfectly well for other series, be so totally cocked-up in this one?

That's the magic of ITV's reverse alchemy. They are experts at turning gold into lead.

Lucy McGough wrote:That's the magic of ITV's reverse alchemy. They are experts at turning gold into lead.

Sadly that appears so. But it wasn't always that way...

Sid Seadevil wrote:

barnaby salton wrote:

Lucy McGough wrote:If we want a good laugh, we should keep an eye on the viewing figures.

it had a reasonable start but i doubt if anyone(sane) will stick with it...

I suspect you'd need a very particular brand of insanity to stick with it if it continues as it began.

I am obviously insane as I'm going to follow the six episode run. Plenty of cannon fodder for the blog.

Frank wrote:I am obviously insane as I'm going to follow the six episode run. Plenty of cannon fodder for the blog.

Well that actually makes sense, Frank. From a writerly perspective you're absolutely correct - there's much potential material for sport/comment still to be gained by sticking with it, since it's only six episodes. (Which I firmly believe, even if it had been any good, is too short a run for a series with the premise of Demons to begin with).

I'll almost certainly stay with it myself beyond episode three. Although I might only keep one eye and half a brain turned onto the screen while doing so.