HBO cancel 'In Treatment', sort of

HBO have cancelled In Treatment, after three seasons, in light of the psychotherapy drama's continually low ratings. The third season premiere only attracted 279,000 viewers. However, the phrasing from a HBO spokesperson is peculiar:

"It's true that we have no plans to continue with In Treatment as previously formatted. However, we are in continued conversations with the executive producers to find another way to continue telling these rich stories."

What does that mean? Will the show return, but with a more accessible format? Will Gabriel Byrne's character Dr Paul Westen be given a different show? We'll have to wait and see.

I'm very disappointed by this news. I've only seen In Treatment's first season on DVD, but it's one of my favourites purely from watching that box-set religiously every day for a month. In Treatment's second season is coming to Sky Atlantic very soon, with the DVD set for an October release. I assume the final season won't air in the UK until mid-2012.

Oh well. Its cancellation is understandable. In Treatment just didn't find a big audience, despite its critical acclaim and awards success (Dianne Wiest won the Best Supporting Actress Emmy in 2008, while Byrne himself got two Best Actor nominations.) It's just a pity the show's kudos and good reviews never equated to viewers. Maybe the show's unique format (a five episodes per week format, each half-hour focusing on a different, returning client) meant it was too hard for casual viewers to be drawn in once it had started.

Talking Point: do you know anyone with a ratings box?

A tiny percentage of the population are given TV ratings boxes to chronicle their daily viewing. There are 16,000 so-called Nielsen families in America, and 5,100 British households given BARB boxes. The results of this minority's viewing are then multiplied to predict what the whole TV-watching nation were tuning into. For example: one BARB household equals 5,000 actual homes. Yes, it sounds ridiculous and antiquated, but it's the only viable system we have.

But have you ever been part of these families? Or do you know anyone who has? After decades of this system, you'd think we'd all know someone who had a ratings box -- but that doesn't seem to be the case. They do exist, right? And what are your thoughts on the way ratings are collected? How can the system be improved? Will there come a time when everyone has a ratings box, transmitting real-time information? Would that be open to widespread abuse? Is it too Orwellian?

Over to you!

BBC4 announce more 'Dirk Gently'

Following a well-received pilot last year, BBC4 have commissioned more episodes of Dirk Gently, the surreal detective series based on the character created by author Douglas Adams. Three hour-long episodes will be written by Howard Overman (Merlin, Misfits), reuniting actors Stephen Mangan, Darren Boyd and Helen Baxendale. The three specials are expected to be broadcast in 2012.

What do you make of this news? It's a shame we'll only be getting three episodes (a la Sherlock), probably because of BBC4's lower budget and the availability of Stephen Mangan and Howard Overman, but I'm just glad there's more to come. You?

'Doctor Who': Series 6 Full Trailer

The BBC have debuted the official, full-length trailer for series 6 of Doctor Who online. This one-minute tease will make its television debut tonight at 8pm on BBC1. Behold! Doesn't it look awesome? I'm so pleased the quality of production design and special effects keeps improving. I always thought the Russell T. Davies era looked like a glorified kid's show, but Steven Moffat's ensuring it's more rich and stylish these days.

Scary clown! Pirates! Dolls! River Song!

"Fear me: I've killed hundreds of Time Lords"
"Fear me: I've killed all of them."

Excited now? Doctor Who returns on 23 April.

Mainlining TV: 'The Kennedys', 'Game Of Thrones', 'Mildred Pierce', etc.

Just a few words to say that I'm in the middle of a strange period of activity, where there are less regular shows to review suddenly (Chuck's on hiatus till 11 April, Fringe isn't back till 15 April, No Ordinary Family finishes next week), but my time's being taken up mainlining lots of shows for Obsessed With Film.

I recently watched the first 90-minutes of The Kennedys miniseries (primed for a review Friday) and Bored To Death's first season, while Game Of Thrones and Mildred Piece screeners are on the way. Plus, I had to compile the 20 TV Pilots We Want To See Feature.

So while it's been uncharacteristically quiet around here in March... I'm just as busy, if not more so! On the positive side, this means there will be a small explosion of fresh reviews over the next few weeks, starting with Starz's Camelot from this Friday. I've also been catching up with a few other things -- like my Caprica viewings (two episodes left!) and my infamously delayed Firefly review (860 words done!)

Anyway, that's how things stand right now. I thought you may like to know.

TV Ratings: 'Bored To Death', Sky Atlantic

HBO's comedy-drama Bored To Death premiered on Sky Atlantic on Monday at 10.15pm, but could only manage a staggeringly awful 50,600 viewers. I mean, that's just abysmal. It doesn't help that Bored To Death is now two years old (plenty of time for its natural audience to seek it out elsewhere), and it wasn't marketed very strongly, but it goes to show what kind of causal audience SkyA attracts after 10pm. I don't dare to imagine what future ratings will be like, considering Bored To Death's pilot is its worst episode and has probably ensured most of that 50k don't come back.

Is Sky Atlantic having problems because it's not the kind of channel viewers will drift to, in the hope of finding something to watch? Its schedule doesn't contain much "bubblegum TV" you can idly chew on, as the emphasis is on dramas that require your full attention, patience and commitment. Maybe SkyA is always going to struggle because of its position in the marketplace, beyond the seriously expensive HBO shows Sky will throw some marketing muscle behind (like Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire and Game Of Thrones.)

While I'm here, Spartacus: Gods Of The Arena remained a strong performer for Sky1, with 409,900 viewers tuning in for episode 2. That's a slight drop from the 482k who watched the premiere, but nothing to get concerned about.

Coming Soon: 'Campus', Channel 4

Do you remember Campus? The comedy pilot produced for Channel 4's Comedy Showcase season way back in November 2009? If so, you may also recall that it was selected to be given a full series, and now it's finally about to broadcast! I reviewed the original pilot here, and quite enjoyed it, despite some reservations about its semi-improvised style (inspired by Green Wing, which shares many of the same writers) and its abrasive, bonkers tone.

If you're unaware, Campus focuses on the everyday events at the struggling Kirke University, with its staff of eccentric teachers -- such as the tyrannical Vice Chancellor Jonty de Wolfe (Andy Nyman) and womanizing English literature professor Matt Beer (Joseph Millson.) You can watch a three-minute clip below:

Campus begins its six-part run on Channel 4, 5 April @10pm. Will you be tuning in?

Sponsored post.

AMC's 'Mad Men' returning in 2012

AMC have confirmed that Mad Men will return for a fifth season in early-2012. It's believed the delay in production this year has stemmed from AMC's intention to make the series more profitable by:

• Including product placement in episodes.
• Shaving 2-minutes off each episode, for extra advertising.
• Axing two regular characters, to save money.

It's believed that creator Matthew Weiner has been in a standoff with AMC over these proposed changes. It's not yet know if he's been successful in opposing them, or a compromise has been reached with the network. Whatever's happened, Mad Men will return next year -- hopefully with Weiner still attached, despite the fact his contract expired after season 4, so AMC could replace him. But they'd be very foolish to continue making the show without Weiner, as he's written/co-written the vast majority of episodes. Mad Men is entirely Weiner's vision, so I doubt a Weiner-less version would sustain the quality. Kind of like when Aaron Sorkin left The West Wing.

AMC, on plans for the fifth season:

"AMC has officially authorised production of season five of Mad Men, triggering our option with Lionsgate. While we are getting a later start than in years past due to ongoing, key non-cast negotiations, Mad Men will be back for a fifth season in early 2012."

Personally, I don't think AMC's demands are too unreasonable. Mad Men may be a critical darling that wins prestigious awards, but it's never been a ratings winner on either side of the Atlantic. Would fans really care if episode were a few shorter, and some characters (like Harry Crane?) became semi-regular? Probably not. The intention to involve product placement just confuses me, because I thought Mad Men already contained product placement in the ad campaigns its characters tackled...

What do you make of this news? Would you watch Mad Men if Matthew Weiner wasn't the showrunner? If so, do you think it could work? And do you think AMC's demands are justified, or do you agree that Weiner should fight to keep the status quo?

'The Fades' taking shape for BBC3

Iain De Caestecker & Daniel Kaluuya

A BBC press release confirms that BBC3's new supernatural drama The Fades (previously known as Touch) has started filming. The six-part series, written by Jack Thorne (Skins, This Is England '86), concerns a young man called Paul (River City's Iain De Caestecker) who's haunted by apocalyptic dreams and starts seeing spirits (or "fades") in his everyday life; phenomena his best friend and therapist Mac (Psychoville's Daniel Kaluuya) struggles to help him cope with.

Jack Thorne, on show's origin:

"The Fades was born from a trip into executive producer, Sue Hogg's office -- she asked me what drama of the last ten years I wished I'd written -- I said the American cable show Freaks & Geeks -- I was wearing a Ghostbusters t-shirt, she said 'what about Freaks & Geeks meets Ghostbusters'. And I smiled and nodded enthusiastically. But the further we've gone along, and it's been five years since that meeting, the more seriously we've taken the fantasy and the mythology and so the comedy is subtler and a newer, fresher, hopefully more exciting show has emerged. I feel so lucky to be part of the team that's bringing it to the screen -- everyone from our location manager to our FX supervisor are so committed and we have such an amazing cast -- I'm quite literally in dreamland right now."

Kate Harwood, BBC Controller of Drama Series & Serials:

"The minute I read Jack Thorne's script I realised we were in exciting new territory. This is a vision of great imagination and I am thrilled that we have such a talented cast and that we have director Farren Blackburn and a brilliant team who can bring this vision to life... or half life!"

The Fades will co-star Miranda's Tom Ellis (a teacher suspected of killing his missing wife), This Is England '86's Johnny Harris (a mentor when it comes to tackling the forces of darkness), This Life's Daniel Nardini (a woman with an extraordinary ability), Skins' Lily Loveless (Paul's twin sister Anna), Ashes To Ashes' Claire Rushbrook (Paul and Anna's mum), Theo Barklem-Biggs (a policeman), Day Of The Triffids' Jenn Murray and Kick-Ass's Sophie Wu.

The Fades will arrive on BBC3 later this year, as a co-production with BBC America.

'Primeval' series 5 to debut 24 May

The action-adventure sci-fi series Primeval is returning for a fifth series on 24 May. As part of ITV's co-financing deal with BBC America, ProSieben and UKTV, the digital channel Watch will get the world premiere, with ITV1 repeating series 5 as a terrestrial premiere in early-2012. Watch will also be showing series 4 from 3 April @7pm, just prior to premiering brand new episodes.

It's a rather unique situation, isn't it! Doctor Who will also be splitting its series in half this year (the first seven episode airing from 23 April, followed by the remaining 6 in the autumn), but viewers will always find it on BBC1. In Primeval's case, I wonder how many ITV1 fans will be unaware new episode of Primeval are being broadcast on Watch this summer. I guess it depends on how much marketing Watch give the show's return, but I assume they'll be pushing this quite strongly. It's almost definitely going to be a ratings winner for them.

There's no word on BBC America's schedule. Primeval premiered on the same day in America earlier this year, before slipping to being a few weeks behind the UK, so will they have a similar arrangement with Watch? Or, worst case scenario, will BBCA viewers stay tethered to ITV1's broadcast, and consequently have to wait until next year?

'BORED TO DEATH' SEASON 1; mildly noirish, not very moreish

Tail someone over to Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed BORED TO DEATH's first season, which made its very belated UK debut on Sky Atlantic last night.

My expectations were perhaps too high for Bored To Death; based on its eclectic cast, an appealing premise, and the reputation of HBO. So my heart sank when the pilot, "Stockholm Syndrome" was shown to be such an uninteresting, humorless, lethargic chore that utterly failed to amuse... Continue reading...

'GOOD DOG' 1.1 - "Pilot"

Move into Obsessed With Film, where I've reviewed (at the request of Moretears) the Canadian comedy-drama GOOD DOG, starring Ken Finkleman as a crabby TV executive with a girlfriend half his age.

"In its opening scene, Canadian comedy-drama Good Dog directly references Curb Your Enthusiasm. Its lead character, neurotic TV producer George (Ken Finkleman), is planning an unnecessary trip to Los Angeles to get Larry David's blessing to use the title "Embrace Your Enthusiasm" for a planned fly-on-the-wall series about his life. It feels like a move intended to undercut criticism that Good Dog's a Canadian version of that HBO series, but one that doesn't really work. If anything, it just draws attention to the fact this is a poor man's version of the Emmy-winning Curb, and possible the worst comedy pilot I've seen in years." Continue reading...

Poll: who's your favourite fictional captain?

This week's poll is very simple: who's your favourite fictional captain? Naturally, this covers books, cartoons, television and film. I've listed many of the popular choices below, but you can peruse a more thorough list here.



The poll closes on Saturday 2 April @5PM GMT. The result will be revealed shortly after. If you want to, please disseminate this poll via Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Howard Overman plans 'Misfits' changes

Spoilers for series 2 of Misfits ahead. You have been warned! The Christmas special of E4's teen superhero drama Misfits ended with a scene that appeared to promise new super-powers for the five young characters. In a recent interview with creator Howard Overman by SFX, this was confirmed...

Howard Overman:

"American shows like Lost are prepared to end their series' on huge, game-changing cliffhangers, which make the audience desperate for the new series. Too often on British TV we tie things up in a neat package, because quite often you don't know whether you're getting another series before you finish filming, but we were lucky that Channel Four had already commissioned the third series while I was writing the second."

On giving the characters brand new abilities:

"They're all going to have brand new powers. Nobody will have the same powers as in the second series. It's quite daunting because they've had their powers for two series, and you've got to come up with a whole new set of powers. We're very much constrained with the type of powers we can do because you have to think about what works in terms of the character and story, as well as what's achievable on our budget. We set up the idea that the powers are always linked to personality, so even now the characters' choices are influenced and reflect the characters' personalities, or else it just feels a bit arbitrary."

On the likelihood of the characters returning to community service:

That's the look of the show. They're on community service and their jumpsuits are their de facto superhero costumes, so I will be finding a way to get them back in the jumpsuits fairly quickly."

On series 3's basic structure:

"There's one slightly bigger storyline towards the end of series three. I think there are two big stories in all because we've got eight episodes this year. One is a sort of mid-season break. It won't become like other shows where they're saving the world, although in one episode they kind of do save the world."

Overman also confirmed that he won't be writing every single episode of series 3. Misfits hasn't been scheduled yet, but considering the previous two series have aired around October/November, that's a safe bet. Can anyone predict what the gang's new powers will be, considering they still have to be an extension of their personalities? It seems more than likely Simon will be given time-travel, if he's destined to become Superhoodie -- right?

'FRINGE' 3.18 - "Bloodline"

I wonder if the idea of an accelerated pregnancy was pursued because the writers weren't sure they'd get a fourth season, so decided they should draw as much of the current narrative together as possible in the remaining time. "Bloodline" was one of those episodes that offered things we've seen before (inscrutable doctors kidnapping someone to perform a bizarre medical procedure, as Fringe Division tried to locate the victim), but it was a notable episode for how much it enlightened the alternate characters, and pushed Fauxlivia (Anna Torv) into a brand storytelling direction.

In case you'd forgotten (as it's been weeks since we were last in the alt-universe), Fauxlivia is pregnant with Walternate's (John Noble) grandchild, after sleeping with his son Peter in the other universe. "Bloodline" set up the possibility that Fauxlivia's inherited viral propagated eclampsia (VPE), a lethal virus that killed her sister during childbirth, before she's kidnapped by mysterious doctors and taken to a secret location to have her pregnancy accelerated. Meanwhile, Fauxlivia's colleagues at Fringe Division did their utmost to find her, with Lincoln (Seth Gabel) and Charlie (Kirk Acevedo) coming to suspect kindly cab driver Henry (Andre Royo) is the abduction. When it became clear that's not the case, Lincoln and Charlie were nevertheless perturbed by Henry's story of having helped Fauxlivia escape, and his belief she's suffered recent memory loss. It's enough to plan the seed of a theory that, as Charlie once absentmindedly speculated, their Olivia was once replaced by the Olivia from the other dimension...

As I said, Bloodline wasn't offering us much that felt original, as I recall Olivia being kidnapped by scientists and having to escape back in season 1, and this storyline felt similar to how things played out there. But it was still an entertaining ride, brilliantly performed by Torv -- particularly because the stakes for Fauxlivia were so high because she could die if forced to give birth. It was also fascinating to speculate on who wanted to expedite her pregnancy, and the twist that it was a secret operation sanctioned by Walternate, worked well. Perhaps it should have been obvious in retrospect, given the very limited options, but I guess I was too distracted by Fauxlivia's plight to give it too much thought.

It was also a nice touch having Walternate earn our admiration earlier in the episode, by restating his policy never to experiment on children, only to show he's not above risking the life of his own grandchild's mother. But you have to now wonder why Walternate's was in such a rush: simple impatience? A desire from the writers to get the story moving quicker without nine months of waiting? Or is Fauxlivia's love child going to be capable of operating the Doomsday Machine, if Peter becomes a dead-end?

One lasting effect of "Bloodline" was moving many of the alt-universe characters to a position of mistrust. Charlie and Lincoln are now very suspicious of Walternate, knowing he sanctioned the exchange of Olivia's without telling them, and they'll perhaps come to realize the situation with the alt-universe isn't as black-and-white and the Secretary has made it seem. Will they collaborate with our side one day? Olivia should also be worried people are after her baby, even if we know the danger has actually passed.

Overall, Bloodline had much to recommend it, particularly in Torv's tough performance, but also because it deepened the emotional stakes of the season. Lincoln admitted he loves Fauxlivia (which complicates the whole love story element of the series, now he's been added to the Olivia-Pete-Fauxlivia triangle), the birth of a child undoubtedly means big changes to the makeup of the show (especially when Peter learns he has a son), and Walternate's grip on the propaganda he's been feeding everyone is undoubtedly going to slip now he's exposed as a liar to key Fringe agents.

The great thing about Fringe this season is how it's found a way to make the characters and their tangled relationships rise above the simpler pleasure of sci-fi craziness. It was missing this level of emotional complexity and humanity in its earlier seasons, but I'm so glad it's found a more compelling voice now. And respect to Fox for giving Fringe a fourth season, allowing this confident voice to continue, despite the fact its Friday night ratings have fallen to lows of around 3.5 million.

Aside

• More alternate universe fun: Francis Ford Coppola directed Taxi Driver, not Martin Scorsese; The West Wing's about to begin its twelfth season; and Henry reads "Opus The Penguin" comic-strips, not "Opus".

written by Alison Schapker & Monica Owusu-Breen / directed by Dennis Smith / 25 March 2011 / Fox

'NO ORDINARY FAMILY' 1.19 – "No Ordinary Future"

Just prior to its first season finale, Heroes did an episode that leaped into the future to show viewers exactly why its characters must stop a city-wide explosion in New York. It was a clever idea, although its existence signaled the characters would triumph in the end, as the writers just wanted an hour to speculate on the road untraveled. No Ordinary Family attempted something similar with "No Ordinary Future", but because its own season arc is small-scale and hazy (a mysterious company are trying to develop super-powers is all we have) it was forced to attach things to a standalone story.

This inability to deliver something ambitious and relevant to Dr King and Mrs X's (Lucy Lawless) roles as villains on the show was, unfortunately, the big failing of an episode that might otherwise have been excellent. Still, this penultimate hour was brisk, entertaining, and comfortably the most appealing hour No Ordinary Family's given us all season. What a pity the show's started to deliver its most enjoyable episodes now it's almost certainly cancelled.

Continuing from episode 18's cliffhanger, Stephanie (Julie Benz) found herself disintegrating mid-run and appearing a few days into the future, where she witnessed a SWAT team closing on her house. Inside, Jim (Michael Chiklis) was attempting to smuggle JJ (Jimmy Bennett) and Daphne (Kay Panabaker) out of harm's way as the armed men moved in to arrest them, with Stephanie unable to help because she's invisible (conveniently and illogically), before being catapulted back to the present-day after a few minutes. The concept behind the episode was duly established: Stephanie played temporal detective by jumping into the future (at risk to her health) for a few minutes at a time, to deduce why, how, and when her family's secret is exposed to the world.

In the present, Jim was involved with trying to catch dirty cops responsible for gunning down his colleague in cold blood, with the help of George (Romany Malco); Daphne became more uncomfortable over boyfriend Chris's (Luke Kleintank) demands that she use her mind-control for immoral purposes; and Mrs X resurrected shape-shifter Victoria (Rebecca Mader) in order to have her pose as a doctor to get information on Katie's ((Autumn Reeser) super-baby pregnancy.

To be honest, none of the subplots were especially engaging when viewed separately, as the situation with Katie was simply laying groundwork for the finale's events (plus involved the cheat of bringing Victoria back to life), and the situation with Katie's pregnancy has arrived annoyingly late in the year. Elsewhere, Daphne's frustrating situation with Chris has been covered a few times already, so this was just the final go-around before a lasting solution -- which was admittedly rather touching, with Daphne agreeing to erase Chris's memory of her super-power, only to realize she's accidentally expunged their entire relationship. The look on Daphne's face when she saw Chris's affection for her drained from his face, knowing she's sacrificed a relationship and confidant in order to protect her family, was nicely done by Panabaker.

But it's the central time-travel story that demanded the most attention, of course. I really liked how it dovetailed with Jim's investigation into a dirty cop at the precinct, and the way current events merged with Stephanie's glimpsed futures. Sure, it made no sense that Stephanie was invisible whenever she visited the future, and it was awfully convenient that a "Future Stephanie" was always absent (thus avoiding paradoxes – like wouldn't Future Stephanie know about Past Stephanie's existence?), but I don't know anyone who watches No Ordinary Family for water-tight plotting. It's all about the warm family dynamic and playfulness with the superhero genre. So the basic idea of Stephanie trying to solve a mystery backwards did what was intended, and in the process we got to see a special effects highlight of the season: Jim flipping a van into the air, having it somersault a few times, before crashing on the other side of a street. Impressive.

It wasn't the best penultimate episode you could hope for, in terms of how it pushed the pre-existing storylines along, but it managed to deliver a few nuggets of information we'll need for the finale: JJ's duplicitous teacher Mr Litchfield (Jason Antoon) has gone missing from school, and Mrs X has decided to let Victoria steal Katie's unborn super-baby and raise it as her own. I continue to enjoy how the show deals with issues of family (kids, babies, marriage, sibling rivalry) to anchor everything on relatable issues. We all have families, after all.

It's a shame ABC originally gave No Ordinary Family a full season commitment, then trimmed the order down to 20. The show would have been more successful with a 13-episode order, giving the writers a focus, before potentially being given a back-nine. That's how Chuck has often staved off narrative tedium, by essentially have two mini-seasons every year. Instead, No Ordinary Family went down the familiar path of having too much mid-season slack (which didn't help people encouraged to give it a second chance, who tuned in to see filler), thus prompting ABC to reduce their total order. Then, ironically, with less episodes has come tighter focus on a nearer endgame, and a run of great episodes that aren't being seen by many people.

Asides

• If you're not already aware, the finale will air on 5 April.
• When did "zooping" become the verb to describe Stephanie's high-speed movement?

written by Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer / directed by Milan Cheylov / 26 March 2011 / ABC

TV Picks: 28 March – 3 April 2011 ('32 Brinkburn Street', 'Bored To Death', 'The Cube', 'Lewis', 'Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience', 'Louis Theroux', 'The Runaway', 'Spiral', etc.)

'Bored To Death' - Monday, Sky Atlantic @ 10.15PM

MONDAY 28th

32 Brinkburn Street (BBC1, 2.15pm) New series following two groups of characters; from 1931 and 2011. Stars Raffey Cassidy, Rebecca Callard, Maggie Steed, Jack Deam & Joe Dixon. Continues daily until Friday. (1/5)
Fern (Channel 4, 5pm) Brand new weekday chat show hosted by Fern Britten. (1/20)
Chilean Miners: What Happened Next? (BBC2, 7pm) Documentary about three of the miners rescued from the Chilean mine disaster, who now deal with global fame and recurring nightmares.
The Dales (ITV1, 8pm) Series where Adrian Edmondson travels around the Yorkshire Dales, visiting picturesque areas and meeting the local people. (1/12)
Neil Morrissey: Care Home Kid (BBC2, 9pm) Documentary where actor Neil Morrissey reminisces on his childhood, where he was parted from his older brother at the age of ten after they were caught stealing. (1/2)
Thailand: Toursim & The Truth – Stacey Dooley Investigates (BBC3, 9pm) Documentary on the Thai island of Phuket, which on the surface looks glamorous but hides a dark side of sex-trafficking and sweatshops.
Bored To Death (Sky Atlantic, 10.15pm) US comedy-drama about an underachieving writer who decides to become a private eye. Stars Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, Zach Galifianakis & Olivia Thirlby. (1/8)
Bizarre ER (BBC3, 10.30pm) Series about strange medical treatments and unusual emergencies, such as a man who survived being attacked by 2,000 bees. (1/10)
The Brain: A Secret History (BBC2, 11.20pm) Science series where Michael Mosley investigates the human brain. (1/3)

TUESDAY 29th

Supersize vs Superskinny (Channel 4, 8pm) Series 4 of the programme about people struggling with various eating disorders. (1/8)
Sex & The Sitcom (BBC4, 9pm) Documentary about sex in sitcoms and the British love of sexual innuendo. Featuring Leslie Phillips, David Nobbs, Wendy Craig, Simon Nye & Jonathan Harvey.
See You In Court (BBC1, 10.35pm) Documentary about the emotional and financial toll of libel actions, including an insight into cases involving celebrities. (1/6)

WEDNESDAY 30th

Vacation, Vacation, Vacation (Channel 4, 8pm) Holiday tips from Kirstie Allsopp & Phil Spencer. (1/7)
Superscrimpers: Waste Not Want Not (Channel 4, 8.30pm) Financial advice series hosted by Mrs Moneypenny & Merryn Somerset Webb. (1/6)
Kerry Katona: The Next Chapter (ITV2, 9pm) Fly-on-the-wall series following the former-singer and reality TV star's life.
Kidult - Cuban Punch-Up: The Boys Who Fought For Castro (BBC4, 10pm) Documentary on three boys who underwent eight months of training for Cuba's National Boxing Championship for the under-21s.

THURSDAY 31st

Three In A Bed (Channel 4, 8pm) Series where guest houses compete for the title of best B&B. (1/7)
Martina Cole's The Runaway (Sky1, 9pm) Drama about a young boy and his sweetheart who are separated and both wander down unsavoury paths. Stars Joanna Vanderham, Jack O'Connell, Kierston Warein, Mark Womack, Alan Cumming & Keith Allen. (1/6)
Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience (BBC2, 10pm) Series 2 of the show where the Welsh comedian learns a new trade, beginning with farming. (1/4)

FRIDAY 1st

Fifth Gear (Channel 5, 7.30pm) Series 19 of the motoring magazine series. Hosted by Tiff Needell, Jason Plato & Vicki Butler-Henderson. (1/20)
A Place In The Sun: Home Or Away (Channel 4, 8pm) Return of the holiday property show. (1/10)

SATURDAY 2nd

Live Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: Mother's Day Special (ITV1, 8.25pm) Special episode of the quiz show featuring David Walliams, Patsy Palmer, Ollys Murs and their respective mothers. Airing live. Hosted by Chris Tarrant.
Spiral (BBC4, 9pm) Series 3 of the French crime drama. (1/12)

SUNDAY 3rd

The Cube (ITV1, 7pm) Series 3 of the physical challenge game show. Hosted by Philip Schofield. (1/9)
Lewis (ITV1, 8pm) Series 5 of the detective drama. Stars Kevin Whately & Laurence Fox. (1/4)
Police Academy UK (BBC3, 9pm) Series where African police officers arrive in Britain to see how law enforcement works in the UK.
Louis Theroux & America's Most Hated Family In Crisis (BBC2, 9pm) Follow-up documentary, with Louis revisiting the Phelps family he met in 2007; a clan who have become controversial for their anti-gay picketing across the US.
Autism: The Musical (Sky Atlantic, 11.10pm) Emmy-winning documentary about the techniques to help autistic children express themselves.

Webcrawler: A Brief History Of Title Design

A Brief History of Title Design from Ian Albinson on Vimeo.

I adore great opening titles, particularly in television. Embedded above is a fantastic compilation of notable opening titles from movies, charting their evolution in that medium through the decades, and culminating with a few of modern TV's own sequences. It was created to air before SXSW's "Title Design Finalists Screening" event in Austin, Texas. Enjoy!

Natural disaster Images of Earth Quake, Pictures Of Flood, Wallpapers of Disaster, Photos of Accidents People in flood, Flood come to kill peoples.- freewallpapermania.blogspot.com