Flavours of the Month: September 2013...

LOOKS:

The Newsroom Season 2 - I rather enjoy watching this quick-witted TV news drama, even if some of the characters leave me cold and every single protagonist talks in the same fast-lipped, quick-fire come-back style. There's just something about it that keeps me watching and keeps me entertained.

Back to the Future Trilogy (Blu-Ray) - I've got them taped of the telly, I've got the 3-disc DVD boxset, and now I've got the 3-disc BluRay boxset. The films look stunning and the new special features are a treat. One thing though - whoever put the discs together needs a slap - there's so many screens of bullshit before you even get to the menu, and then when you finally do get to it, there's these awful button sound effects which re-appear, even when you've turned them off, when you re-insert the disc. Every. Single. Time. Pages of bullshit ... you can cumulatively feel minutes of your life wasting away ... some discs are very good about getting you where you want to be very quickly, while others are very happy to repeatedly waste your time (non-skip-able warnings and endless trailer-reels are particular affronts to viewing pleasure). Aside from that it's Back to the Future, so what's not to love?!

Click "READ MORE" below for more looks, sounds, vibes and flavours of my September 2013...

Boardwalk Empire Season 4

Dexter Season 8 - an improvement over the iffy season 7, which somewhat squandered its potential and had uninteresting side plots, and a decided improvement over season 6 which was dull as ditch water. Even still, it's been a bit choppy, at times hopping from one direction to another at the drop of a hat, but it went out on a high note with an emotional impact (something that the show has rarely done). One fate was overly harsh, even if it did have thematic resonance, but one thing is for certain - the final scene was totally unnecessary and undercuts the dramatic crescendo mere minutes earlier (in my view at least, even if the show runner gave an understandable explanation of the last scene). The show never returned to the height of season 4 (which was absolutely gripping), but at least it went out on a pretty strong and memorable note.

The Walking Dead Season 1 & 2 - a quick re-watch ahead of the fourth season premiere in mid-October. Just waiting for the season 3 box set to be released so I can complete my marathon.

Futurama Season 6B - a few dodgy episodes, but this is still one of my favourite animated shows, if not my out-right favourite. Bit of a bugger then that it was cancelled - again!

Breaking Bad Season 5B - the final eight episodes of what is rightly considered the best show on TV right now. I absolutely adore The Walking Dead, but Breaking Bad does edge it by a nose on the writing front. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if I could one day work on - let alone create - a show of this kind of calibre, then I'd consider myself very lucky indeed. Vince Gilligan and his writing staff have become an important inspiration to me - not only in how they write the episodes, but also from the sounds of it, how they go about making a safe environment for the writing team to work (not about combat, or ego, but about collaboration as a complete unit). The finale was very satisfying too - sad to see it go, love that it happened, and I've always got the DVD boxsets to go back to in due time.


SOUNDS:

The Chain Gang of 1974 "Sleepwalking" - as featured in the Official Trailer for GTA V. Damn catchy too, I've had it stuck in my head for weeks. It's great when something you're super-into can introduce you to a fantastic tune you might have otherwise not heard. You dig the song for the song, not for its association.

The Black Angels "Idigo Meadow" - their latest album, and it's a cracker. "Don't Play With Guns" and "Black Isn't Black" are two particular favourites of mine.

HIM "Dark Light"

The C90s "Shine A Light (Flight Facilities Remix)" - used to highly entertaining effect during a drug-trip sequence in GTA V. There's something dreamy and mellow about this, while still feeling and sounding up-tempo. Groovy.

Health "High Pressure Dave" - prior to Max Payne 3 I'd never heard of "Health" (they did the soundtrack for that game, and it was damn good), so thumbs up to Rockstar for introducing me to them. This track is in GTA V.

FIDLAR "Cocaine" - another first introduction via GTA V.

Pet Shop Boys "West End Girls" - I was never fond of this track, but then you spend some time in the Vanilla Unicorn in Los Santos (yes, GTA V again!) and you start grooving to that deep bass line.


VIBES & FLAVOURS:

"Sleb" re-drafting - after 'aging it in wood' (setting your script aside in a drawer until it's once again fresh to your eyes) it was time to apply the finishing touches to my sardonic 60 page one-off television comedy/drama. Submissions going out in the next few days.

GTA V - good lord, the detail ... a shoe-in for Game of the Year. There's enough talk of it out there on the Interwebs, and chances are you've already got first-hand experience of the game, so we both know what's up with it - less chat, more time to spend in LS.