Entertainment For Lively Minds
Zen axed!
Posted by Five-Centres on 22 February 2011 - 6:43pm.
Along comes a stylish (perhaps too stylish at the expense of content, but that's another story), interesting drama and it's axed by the new controller of BBC1 after one series.
So he's making his mark. Worryingly he was the controller of BBC3 and look what bollocks that's churned out over the past few years. Can we expect BBC1-friendly versions of cheap reality shows like Snog, Marry, Avoid or Hotter Than My Daughter. Dear God, let's hope not.
What next? Spooks?
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Thought Zen was pretty ropey
as if they were hoping that glamourous locations would make up for terrible writing, overcooked plots and hammy acting. Mind you, I don't like Spooks either for similar reasons. Sorry, if you are a fan, but I won't miss it
*adjusts shades*
*sits in church with briefcase full of cash*
I thought it was more like Hustle...
..than Spooks which was had some redeeming qualities. I am a fan of the Zen books but his accent was really off. Everytime Sewel opened his mouth, I expect yer man from Spandau Ballet and Eastenders to be on the box. To the point where I think he could have done a better job.
That's terrible!
I loved it. Perfect Sunday night viewing and not, for a change these days, pitched at the lowest common denominator.
Never seen it
but it seems that if it's not pitched at the LCD it won't last long. Welcome to OK! TV
I'll miss it
The FPO and I both thoroughly enjoyed it, more than any other new TV drama for some time. Humph.
Gave Zen an hour
It felt odd in that the Italians weren't Italian. And whilst it looked nice, the acting was a tad on the lifeless for me.
Saw a trail
and thought it looked terrible. Must admit that, on the basis of this, I never actually watched it myself but friends who did ( several of them BBC employees ) told me that it was a crock of poo and deserved to be put out of its undiluted misery.
Spooks
Any good?
Never tried it, missed the early series and presumed it was too late to join in.
Didn't try Zen and to be honest I'm glad I didn't bother if it's been cancelled so soon. Hustle is great though.
As long as
he doesn't axe Cash in the Attic I will be happy.
Boo! Boo!
I really enjoyed Zen. Harmless Sunday evening fare that looked great and stretched the brain just a teeny bit, trying to solve the murders before he did, etc.
Danny Cohen
and Ben Stephenson. They are not exactly David Attenborough and Jeremy Isaacs are they? I only know them from their newspaper interviews and the outflow (as in sewage) on BBC3. I am aware I might be talking out of my arse but I think BBC1 is fooked. I know it has to be mainstream and populist but I doubt we will ever see another Edge of Darkness on there again
Is that
not the nub of the problem - the perception is that 'mainstream and populist' can't also be quality? It appears that this has now become sacred writ. The programme you mention (Edge of Darkness) hit all 3 (popular, mainstream & quality) IMO - as did other programmes now regarded as classics e.g. I Clavdivs, Tinker Tailor etc.
It also appears that TV is going the way of the music business - you get 1 chance & if it doesn't hit the top of the charts, tough, you get dropped. I seem to recall that Fawlty Towers got bad reviews & audiences when it was first shown.
I enjoyed Zen even though it wasn't perfect, but then what is?
Was it as good
as 'The Killing'- currently on BBC 4 in the original Danish? Probably not. Mind you, nothing is.
Good then?
Not started it yet, but I've got all the episodes that have aired so far saved on my digibox.
The Killing
Absolutely outstanding.
A slow but compelling crime/political thriller from the top drawer.
Zen was nowhere near as good as The Killing
the plots were very weak but it looked good and I quite enjoyed it.
Zen was more like the Kenneth Brannagh version of Wallander, slighty strange with (mainly) British actors playing foreign characters in foreign locations but speaking regional British accents. I suppose it's better than the usual "'allo 'allo" comedy accents but it does take a bit of getting used to.
Please tell me the'yve
given Caterina Murino her own 6 hours of prime time TV every week in its place.
Yes I heard this earlier and thought it was shame
was a hit in our house much like spooks and even hustle in it's daft way. But enjoyed Zen and thought with the odd tweak it would mature into a good series. Who knows what goes through controllers minds I saw waterloo road the other day and couldn't believe how weak that was and Holby city is just as bad and they get 6-7 series. But then you have a show like "Pulling" which barely has chance to breath before it's cut this on a channel that made more than one episode of "2 pints".
Will have to break the news gently
to Mrs Beach.
Thought it was tosh but the GLW thought Rufus Sewell was "rather nice".
I wasn't a fan myself really
But I thought it was good for BBC drama and the ratings were okay. I just worry for the future. It's my job to do so.
Shame,
enjoyed the series. It was a long way from perfect and not entirely true to the books, but good fun & witty nevertheless. I actually thought Rufus Sewell was pretty good and Caterina was phwoar/cor blimey. I have seen that BBC4 do occasionally show some of the Inspector Montalbano programmes, based in Sicily on the great Andrea Camilleri books. These are Italian tv productions and are actually quite good and not a sniff of any Berlusconi showgirl anywhere.
That is a shame
I doubt anyone would claim it was perfect, but I loved it. Granted, it had 'wonky accent syndrome' (like Wallander, some people appeared to be from the country in question, while other more famous types clearly weren't) and was hardly gritty.
But as something deliberately made to homage the Saint/Fugitive style series (check out the title sequence), it really worked: charismatic, smouldering cast, gorgeously shot, and diverting plots.
I will miss it. You can keep your Silent Retrubutions, Zen was telly I really looked forward to for 3 weeks.