Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus - This is why I'm not a fan of air travel...

This year's bestest, dumbest straight-to-DVD film Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus confirms every fear I've ever had about water, bridges, planes and the human race in general. Avoid air travel, whatever you do...

Is it too soon to get excited about the V reboot?

What became apparent in the fifth season of Lost was that Elizabeth Mitchell was the best thing in the show, acting Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lily off the screen. She may have got the boot from that show, but she's got a mighty big role in the remake of V. And with Firefly's Morena Baccarin and Alan Tudyk, and Smallville's Laura Vandervoort, also on the bill, this looks like it's going to be geek heaven. Shame we've got to wait until next year to see it...

I've just watched Glee!

And if there was ever a show that could knock the cynicism and misery out of me, it's this - the new comedy-drama-musical series from Popular and Nip/Tuck genius Ryan Murphy. Best described as a head-on collision between the screwball insanity of Popular and the earnest bleating of High School Musical, it hits a pitch-perfect balance between kookiness, world-weariness and optimism.

Fox are so keen on it, they premiered the first episode last week even though the rest of the series won't be shown until autumn. It looks and sounds stunning with a brilliant script and a cast featuring some cult TV faves as well as some sensational new-to-TV youngsters. Here are two toe-tappingly awesome clips...

Okay, I admit this deserved to win Eurovision...

But wouldn't it have been great if this from the Ukraine had pipped it to the post?

Dollhouse renewed!

Unbelievable news: Dollhouse has won a second season. The first season took a bit of time to get going, before turning into something expected every week - what started like a bit of a fantasy CSI case-of-the-week procedural soon became a cool conspiracy-layered thriller.

The bad news is that the budget's been cut, though this happened on the final season of Angel and wasn't overly noticeable. Let's hope they don't trim the cast too much, and Topher and De Witt have to stay - the gradual unveiling of these two two morally dubious characters as just a pair of sad, loners was truly moving. And would it be controversial to ask for the series to be slightly less about Eliza Dushku's Echo and let some of the other dolls a chance to grow?

Three cheers for Fox!

Primeval is a monster hit

There's just one problem with Primeval - and that's ITV's marketing department. Yes, the first series was about a ragtag team that goes around dealing with rampaging dinosaurs, but the writers were clever enough to realise how limiting this could be and started throwing in beasts from the future, time paradoxes, butterfly effects and oodles of conspiracy theories. Why not sell the series as that and win over some of the snootier sci-fi fans out there?

And now in its third series, Primeval has blossomed into Britain's best sci-fi franchise for some time. Hell, it's probably the best British drama on TV at the mo (not that there's much competition). The loss of painfully earnest thesp Douglas Henshall has brought about a reinvention, with new lead Jason Flemyng bringing some Tennant-esque charisma and derring-do to proceedings. The rest of the cast have been brilliantly repositioned, and Juliet Aubrey is still amazing as totally bonkers eco-warrior bad gal Helen.

And with 10 episodes to play with this time round, there's a proper story arc involving a sinister government group that looks set to bring about Armageddon. Oh, and there's the odd dinosaur on the loose too. But that's barely worth mentioning.

Here's a look at the next episode, which looks to be the most frightening thing Saturday evening telly has seen in a long time...

Jeepers! South Park take on Kanye West

Dollhouse axed or saved? Who can tell....

Blimey, Twitter has gone into meltdown over the Dollhouse debacle. Felicia Day twittered that her forthcoming episode - the last of season one - has been pulled, giving rise to chatter that Dollhouse has been axed.

Now Fox claim that they're just not showing the 13th episode as they only ordered 12 (the 13th came about after Joss shot a second pilot). So in theory, the 13th episode which was due to introduced Felicia in significant role - as well as Alan Tudyk as the much mentioned rogue active Alpha - could be the first episode of season two.

But there's still no word on Dollhouse getting a second season. Which is vexing. Could this whole episode 13 situation be engineered to give the show some press and mobilise Dollhouse fans into supporting what has the potential to be a brilliant series?

What to make of The Wire, then?

One week into The Wire and it's not clear how it's meant to the TV opus that many a boxed-set-loving, mainly lads-mag reading male bore claims it is. It is incredibly watchable and I'm glad I've finally tuned in, but it doesn't seem that far removed from other US cop dramas. So far, it's pretty linear with only the potty-mouthed language and the inclusion of black and gay characters making it any different to some of grittier episodes of The Bill. It's had great PR though, with anyone watching it made to feel clever for having the ability to follow it.

The Wire seems to be the sort of programme that people who don't watch much TV think is brilliant TV. It has been held up as an example of well-written, gritty, cinematic telly - and indeed it is. However, great TV is not a rarity. Having grown up with Oz, The Sopranos, Buffy, Six Feet Under, Battlestar and many more brilliant shows, I'm used to great dialogue, involving plots and expert acting. If you can follow Oz, then The Wire holds no problem. In fact, I expect TV to be insanely great, which is probably why The Wire isn't impressing as much as I hoped.

And lead actor Dominic West is right - The Wire would never get made in Britain. TV execs here are too influenced by ratings and advertising revenue to take a gamble on daring TV. Not enough people would watch a British equivilent to make it commerically viable (though the Beeb should be far less concerned by that than they are). So the problems with us, the public, not the TV industry. ITV1's attempts to educate their ageing viewers into watching more Lost in Austens than Midsomer Murders has fallen flat, and C4's attempts at producing classy drama (ie Red Riding) only budgeted for the cast and flashy directing, neglecting to get a decent script.

Thank Joss, then, that networks in America are still willing to take the odd gamble, then.

Another reason to love One Tree Hill!

They just won't let Dan live down killing the interminably dull Keith, will they? Get over it, Keith had it coming. Dan's mean, moody and utterly selfish, ie he's the best thing in One Tree Hill. After Brooke's mum, of course...

30 Rock - How Kenneth Sees It...

I bet this'll get taken down off Youtube any minute now, but this clip from last week's 30 Rock in the States just goes to show inventive and dementedly brilliant the show can be.

More flashes of genius like this. More of Tracey and his insane life. More of attention-freak Jenna. More of Kenneth, and especially more of Josh.

But please - NO MORE ABOUT LIZ AND HER DULL ADOPTION PLANS. That is all I ask.

Parks and Recreation - will the new sitcom from the makers of The Office be any good?

It looks just like The Office, sounds just The Office, and thus should be good like The Office. Word on the street says it isn't, but Amy Poehler can save it, can't she? We really need new comedy at the moment so fingers crossed.

Best Battlestar Galactica tribute song... ever!

Pure Battlestar genius!

Whitechapel proves ITV1 can occasionally still do a decent drama

Just who exactly is it that thinks Rupert Penry Jones is such a great screen presence? Sure, he suited the stilted, emotionally stifled action man persona needed for Spooks, but he failed to bring the energetically lazy reboot of The 39 Steps to life. And his turn as a clean freak, career-ladder-jumping inspector in Whitechapel similarly neglected to light up the screen.

Not that a striking lead actor was necessary for Whitechapel. Jack the Ripper's the star, a brooding, terrifying specter that hangs over not only ITV1's big-budget new drama series, but over London as a whole. You could have cast John Barrowman in the role and I'd still have tuned in.

A stonking 8million people did hit button three on their remotes last night, proving that there is an appetite for new drama - and that the public might forgive ITV1 for years of rubbish 9pm fare. Whitechapel looks great thanks to modern-day London filmed with just a hint of Victorian peasoup in the air.

Of course the Ripper's crimes continue to enthrall and were gorily recreated, the only downside being the culture clash element between rising star Rupert and old-timer Phil Davies. But I think we can over look that if the second episode can throw in more suspects, more gloom and more chills.