New TV Shows

Very good to see TVNZ buying some good BBC programmes, including Torchwood. It’s a great series which doesn’t take itself too seriously. The characters are appealing, and it has a good combination of aliens, technology, crime and sex (almost everyone scores!).

As a Romephile I’m obviously also looking forward to the six part documentary of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. I hope they include the Roman Republic in their scope as personally that was the far more interesting time.

Heroes is about to start on TVNZ and is the big US hit. It’s well crafted in that it takes several weeks for all the different parts to come together and finally you start to see the big picture. My favourite heroes are Hiro and (of course) Claire.

Another really good show I have discovered is Dexter. The “hero” of the show, Dexter, is a sociopathic serial killer. So why is he the hero? Well he can’t stop killing, but his foster dad (how his Mum died is why he became a sociopath) taught him to only kill criminals, so he does – by dissecting them. Dexter has no emotional connections (he dates a rape survivor because he knows she won’t want sex often) but has been taught how to act as if he does.

I’m unaware that any NZ channel has purchased the rights to Dexter, but I hope one does. I think it would be very popular, especially with the plot twists galore.