Drive-by comment on The Vampire Diaries

I'm going to post my TV meme thing later. For now, a couple of drive-by comments...

I finally got round to downloading The Vampire Diaries as I've heard such good things about it. So far, I rather like it. The books it's based on are dreadful (I've read the first four): the heroine makes early Cordelia Chase look kind and unselfish and I'm at a loss to understand how anyone is meant to identify with her. But evidently they've remade her for the series, so I don't have the urge to throw things while watching.

But can I make just one observation about why vampire dramas shouldn't be on family channels? ( Spoilers for TVD ep 2 )

On another topic UK movie fans with some free time and a good internet connection might want to check this out:

As part of the "Full Stream Ahead" campaign, which is backed by the UK Film Council and BFI, and launched yesterday, anyone accessing the Blinkbox website via fullstreamahead.co.uk will be offered £20 credit to spend on films from studios including Paramount, Sony Pictures, Universal, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Titles include Avatar, Sherlock Holmes and Up in the Air.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jun/06/free-blinkbox-films-anti-piracy

I've not checked the site yet, so I don't know if you have to provide a credit card or something to get that credit, but it's a legal streaming site and seems worth a look at least.

30 Days of TV - Day 17

( The Days )

Day 17 - Favorite mini series

"Mini series" seems to mean different things on different sides of the pond. In the UK, a full series may be no more than six episodes, so there's nothing "mini" about Band of Brothers and similar. A mini-series, to me, is a self contained story in four episodes or less. And with that definition, I have no trouble at all picking out my favourite: Tipping the Velvet. (And look - I've got an icon for this one!)

Even if it wasn't an awesome three episodes, I'd be tempted to pick this for the sheer gall of a BBC series having a title that's a euphamism for oral sex. Times certainly have changed! But it is awesome. Based on the novel by Sarah Waters, it's a period, lesbian romance. Kinda Dickensian, actually, in that it shows you the underclass and class tensions of Victorian London...but with added sex.

( Plot details under the cut )

A lovely piece of television.