TV pee

What happened to The Mentalist? What is up with the Walking Dead firing all their writers after the first season. Can The Good Wife get even better?

I stick to 2-3 shows per week. I really don't watch anymore than that... after all, shows are usually best during their sophomore seasons after that... it's downhill from there. (Mentalist being the next on my chopping block... talk about losing their edge!)

I'm one of the disloyal watchers. I gave up LOST after they opened the hatch, got bored with X-Files after it became overly obsessed with Alien conspiracies, and dropped Mad Men when it got to the point where... well... not one of the characters are likable.

When the writing goes south and crap just recycles, it's hard to care anymore. Few drama shows can last beyond 5 seasons, and when spin offs are green lit prematurely, it just dilutes a talented show into "yuck".

Next year I'm happy to see yet another slew of fresh faces, and many "film" actors migrating to the small screen.

The BORGIAS : Known as the first crime family, the infamous Borgias mix religion, politics, and greed just the way Shakespeare would've loved it. (Jeremy Irons)

GAME OF THRONES: George R.R. Martin's version of Lord of the Rings + sex + death. No wonder it's HBO. (Sean Bean)

SHERLOCK season 2: I hope Martin Freeman will not be replaced as Watson, since he'll be busy on the HOBBIT. The chemistry between Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and Martin Freeman (Watson) manages to upstage the recent film duo. Sizzling.

Poirot and his little grey cells

Rumour has it that ITV will produce four upcoming Poirot episodes!

The four novels turned feature length films will be: The Clocks, Three Act Tragedy, Hallowe'en Party and finishing with a bang, Murder on the Orient Express. Hopefully they will weave Hastings back into one of the stories since he will be returning later in the Big Four and especially Curtain. I'm surprised I don't see Zoë Wanamaker (Ariadne Oliver) listed as a cast member in Hallowe'en Party... hope it's an error.

Foyle's War, Poirot, and The Marple series have always drawn an impressive pool of talent, many thespians who eventually earn their starring roles across the pond.

Here are few of note:

Poirot
Hickory Dickory Dock - Damian Lewis (Life, Band of Brothers)
Dead Man's Mirror - Jeremy Northam (Gosford Park, Tudors)
Sad Cypress - Paul McGann (Withnail and I, Doctor Who)
Death on the Nile - Emily Blunt (Devil Wears Prada, The Young Victoria)
After the Funeral - Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds, Hunger)

Foyle's War
The German Woman - Rosamund Pike (Pride and Prejudice, James Bond)
The German Woman - James McAvoy (Atonement, Wanted, The Last King of Scotland)
War Games - Emily Blunt (see above)
Enemy Fire - Simon Woods (Rome, Pride and Prejudice)

Marple
4:50 from Paddington - John Hannah (The Mummy, Sliding Doors, Four Weddings and Funeral)
By the Pricking of My Thumbs - Greta Scacchi (Emma, Rasputin)
A Murder is Announced - Sienna Guillory (Inkheart, Eragon)
A Murder is Announced - Matthew Goode (Watchmen, Brideshead Revisited)
The Moving Finger - James D'Arcy (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Rebel Heart)
Nemesis - Richard E. Grant (Gosford Park, Withnail and I, The Player, Henry & June)
They Do It with Mirrors - Emma Griffiths Malin (House of Boys, The Forsyte Saga: To Let)
Why didn't they Ask Evans - Natalie Dormer (Tudors)

English roses

I've always been a fan of British television.

Whether it's Poirot, Marple, Foyle's War, or Horatio Hornblower, I can't get enough of it. Oh and you can even watch a few episodes on youtube if you can't get a hold of them! I'm still on the fence about the new Sherlock Holmes flick, but I'm sure Guy Ritchie will at least smoother us with snappy action bits when the story lags behind.

For now, I'm anticipating the pilot of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice of Fire series, starring Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey. (HBO isn't British, but it's shot in the UK). It's a promising start, especially since the writer takes years to finish each novel.

If you haven't started the series give it a whirl (Game of Thrones being book 1). A delectable tale that's filled with all the deadly sins we all know and love.