Top Ten for 2009 (part three)

5. Melrose Place remake
I have a few things to say about this. Firstly: 90210 was launched last September, and it was pretty damn near awful. I'm only still watching it because we get Brenda and Kelly angst, and also, a teeny part of me hopes that it will suddenly become amazing. There have been a few highlights: I really liked the big bitch fight climax between Naomi and Annie - even though this type of storyline has been done a million times, I thought the dialogue was concise and well written. And they haven't been too cutsey with the other storylines, so maybe it has some potential (if only a bus would run over Annie). It's done really well in America though, so people seem to like it, and this I guess is why they have decided to remake Melrose Place.
Now I must confess, I have only ever dipped in and out of MP, and have certainly never seen a whole series. But that's not through lack of want: it's just never repeated (only on Living a few years ago, and then we got rid of Sky), and the box sets are soooo expensive. But from what I've seen (and heard) it was pure guilty pleasure TV, AND - to be serious for a moment - there are no other shows on TV like this. MP revolved around the lives of a group of mid 20 somethings who all lived in the same place, and how their lives interacted with each other (to more and more ridiculous levels). It was soapy, but not a soap. It was made for teens, but it wasn't about teens. And it didn't have some crime/fantasy/law theme to fit in either. It was just about normal people, having very melodramatic lives. And you just don't get that on TV! The only show I've ever seen come close to the MP format was Oz's The Secret Life of Us, which was far classier and a lot less fun, in a way. There just aren't programmes about people in their 20s going through career, relationship, family, friends dilemmas - and I don't know why, because it's a real niche area.
Anyway, the pilot for the remake has been scheduled for the new season in September, so we'll just keep an eye on this one and wait and see who is cast for what roles. If it can retain much of what it was, but with a more modern, original slant (unlike 90210), then it could be really good.



6. The Time Traveler's Wife Film
I read the book last year, and loved every moment of it. It was one of those books that you never, ever want to end; yet instead of prolonging the joy, you end up reading it all the time because it's so compelling and engaging to stop, and suddenly it's all gone. Wahhh. I can't wait for the film version of this, and to see how they present it onto the screen. I purposely read the book before the film comes out, because it is one of those praised pieces of fiction every one raves on about. They're definitely not wrong. Rachel McAdams is a wonderful actress, and she will no doubt bring the right balance to the character of Claire: headstrong, passionate, but also fragile. Eric Bana as Henry I'm not so sure about: he's a bit iffy in his film roles, so he'll either be brilliant and likeable or I just won't give a toss. And I hope it's not the latter, because the book made me cry! One of only two books to ever make me cry.
There seems to have been a lot of delays with this film, which is slightly worrying. It was originally due out on Boxing Day, but as no trailer ever appeared that seemed can that notion. In fact, I'm still waiting for a trailer to appear. As you can see in the photo above, the film (possibly bar re-shoots) seems to have finished filming - so have they come across problems in the editing? Are they waiting for something? It's all a bit fuzzy. So, no news on a release date or anything yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing it sometime later this year. Eeeee!