Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Sunday, January 3. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
The Watch (BBC America, 8 p.m., two-hour series premiere): “Watching BBC America’s The Watch—at least, watching it as a fan of Terry Pratchett’s massively best-selling Discworld novels, on which it’s (very) loosely based—is a bit like listening to two songs running at the exact same time. There’s the surface-level tune, i.e., all the things that’ve been lifted directly from Pratchett’s long-running satirical fantasy series: the names, the plot points, the orangutan librarian. And then there’s the far weirder show that’s lurking underneath all the stuff ostensibly meant to lure the Pratchett fans in: a grungy effort that, for some reason, aspires to be the most punk-rock cop show ever made, complete with flashing neon lights, Pixies needle drops, and a liberal dosage of raised middle fingers.
But here’s the sad truth: Neither of the two disparate shows that The Watch seems to be trying to be is actually very good. And trying to listen to both at once is likely to give you the same headache you’d get if you were jamming ‘Where Is My Mind?’ in one ear and a half-remembered lute tune in the other.” Read the rest of William Hughes’s pre-air review.
Regular coverage
Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina (Netflix): binge coverage continues
Vikings (Amazon): binge coverage continues
Wild card
Call Me Kat (Fox, 8 p.m., series premiere): Mayim Bialik, Swoozie Kurtz, and Leslie Jordan star in this American remake of Miranda Hart’s beloved Britcom. (You can watch the original on Hulu.)
Supermarket Sweep (ABC, 8 p.m, first-season finale): This Leslie Jones-hosted reboot of the classic game show ends its first season—far too soon, if we may say so. Come back soon, Supermarket Sweep. Come back real soon.
18 Comments
… no.
Even if it wasn’t throwing a beloved series of novels into a blender, this just looks bad. If there’s a cohesive vision for this series — even if it’s clearly not Sir Terry’s vision — the ads sure don’t communicate it.
Except for zippers, it not being the Night Watch, a troll killed by arrows, not one but two 6 foot tall dwarves, the most pathetic excuse for an orangutan ever (he doesn’t say Ook), the big glowing sign over the watch building it’s OK.
Wait, no “ook?”
No.
in defense of The Watch and English properties in general:
Subterranean arguments encountered in the media accomplish numerous goals, to entertain, inform, deceive, but there’s an obvious structuring of the audience’s experience. I wouldn’t exile that from my interpretations when viewing, or in any subsequent archaeological dig. Watching a show like this ‘in good faith’ is the easiest means of consuming television and also the naive response. but i’m so over my own thinking on this matter.
No, won’t be watching on point of principle and how they basically turned Sybil into a generic, inappropriate age hottie / batgirl. Can’t be having middle aged people romance, how gross!
The other day I read a rather excellent comic adaptation of Guards! Guards!.For those after a good visual rendition of the novel, this could give you your fix.
I may be wrong, but I think the last time I got such a “This is on, but for God’s sake, don’t watch it!” vibe from What’s On Tonight was the Presidential Debates.
Seriously dont watch , the ..er Watch . The sooner it tanks the sooner that hopefully someone can do an actual TV show based on Terry Pratchetts Guards books.
One of the MAIN reasons I don’t care for Dr. Who is the same reason I won’t be watching this… I’m not sure what it is exactly…. the camera work, effects, and campiness all feel like it was being put together by a film school class? Whether the storyline is good or not (which I know Dr. Who’s overarching storylines have been good over the ages) I can’t get passed the substandard effects, and odd camera work. Does it feel like this thing was shot on someone’s home video camera to anyone else?
NO.
Call Me Kat was dreadful.
Swoosie, I love you, but I cannot bring myself to tune in to what’s been done to your face. The trailer was frightening enough.
I made it through about 6 minutes. The constant asides to the camera were just too much, and all the rest was just really bad.
My dream is a full-on ten part HBO adaptation of Small Gods. This seems… quite far away from that. Which needn’t be a problem necessarily. And Anna Chancellor as Vetinari is great casting. But yes, the rest of it looks rather painful. (I’ll probably still give it a go, sometime. Took me ~10 years to get round to Going Postal, and that was excellent.)
Absolutely not. I think the Beeb and other broadcasters need to know that if you purposefully eff over the original creator’s vision and intent for a universe, even against his family’s and friends’ explicit objections, that you reap the results.
I watched the first episode of Call Me Kat last night and it was wretched. Just awful. Cracked a half smile once, which is not a good sign for a “comedy.”