Category Archives: Television

by | 08/01/2010 · 12:00 am

TV REVIEW – Steven Seagal: Lawman

By Marty Mulrooney

stevenseagallawman

Steven Seagal. The first words that spring to  most people’s minds upon hearing his name are: action star. Well, star might be an exaggeration. Perhaps washed-up action star would be more appropriate? (Ouch, yet certainly true.) But did you know he is also a cop in the State of Louisiana?

Seagal hasn’t been on my radar since 2001’s Exit Wounds (he only managed one more studio film after that before moving straight to DVD) and he certainly never made another film as good as Under Siege, which was campy fun at best.

But then, out of nowhere, he stars in a reality TV show (which he produces himself of course) that mixes Cops with every naff action flick he has ever made. The result is comedy genius.

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by | 24/12/2009 · 12:00 am

THE SNOWMAN – A British Christmas Classic

By Marty Mulrooney

TheSnowman1

With Christmas nearly upon us, I thought I would do a quick post about one of the greatest Christmas films of all time. Based on the 1978 Raymond Briggs children’s book, The Snowman is a 1982 animated winter classic.

Shown originally on Christmas Eve ‘82 on Channel 4 in the UK, it has since been shown every single year. A review would be pointless; this is a perfect, if not slightly bittersweet adaptation.

What I do intend to do is offer a few good reasons why you should give it a watch this Christmas, British or not. Oh, and Merry Christmas from Alternative Magazine Online!

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by | 11/12/2009 · 12:00 pm

TV REVIEW – Men Of A Certain Age

By Marty Mulrooney

MenOfACertainAge

I am a big fan of comedian Ray Romano and have been for a number of years. Everybody Loves Raymond never aired a dud episode in my eyes: everything shown felt like it could happen, even if it was completely over the top. In fact, most episodes had a line or a scene where 99% of the people I know would say “that happened to me!” There is also a running joke on my girlfriend’s side of the family that I am exactly like Ray is in the show. (Lovable maybe? Bah, who am I kidding!) So yeah, I loved Everybody Loves Raymond and felt pretty sad when it finished.

So when I heard that Ray Romano was returning to our TV screens 4 years later, in a drama… I didn’t know what to expect. The title, Men Of A Certain Age, conjured up really bad images of men in their 40’s acting like college wildchilds, before learning a lesson about growing old gracefully. Just goes to show, never judge a book by its cover… and never judge a TV show by its name!

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by | 27/11/2009 · 12:00 pm

INTERVIEW – In Conversation With Merlin Crossingham, Lead Animator At Aardman Animation

By Marty Mulrooney

merlin

Aardman_Logo_pvThis interview was originally published within the print version of Alternative Magazine Online, going towards my media degree (on my 21st Birthday actually, January 09). Since then, Aardman (who recently celebrated their 20th anniversary!) have kindly given me permission to reproduce the interview in full on Alternative Magazine Online’s  rapidly growing site. I hope you enjoy it!

One thing that Alternative learnt during it’s pursuit of an interview with an Aardman employee, was this: they are always busy. But we persevered, and that is how this interview came to fruition. The fact it is conducted via mobile phone whilst the interviewee is on a train only further drives home our point, but we think the results were worthwhile.

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