wild things with dominic monaghan: deadliest critters

BBC Worldwide releases on September 17 the BBC America series Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan: Deadliest Critters. Monaghan, who is best known for his roles in Lord of the Rings and Lost is an ideal host. Not just a recent fan of interesting animals Monaghan has had a life-long involvement with nature, and has even helped discover a spider that has been named after him, Ctenus monaghani. In each episode of Deadliest Critters, each location, as familiar as the actor is with creepy and crawly creatures, he doesn't hesitate to consult local animal experts and scientists who help guide him on his journey to find the deadliest local of the animal world.

Monaghan has never met a critter he doesn't like

The DVD includes four episodes on one disc, with a running time of approximately 180 minutes. Subtitles are available, but unfortunately no other extras. Both the close-up images of small insects and the long-distance landscape photography look great on a large-scale high-definition television screen.

In the first episode Monaghan is in search of the beaded lizard in Guatamala. The elusive creature is very rare — according to the enthusiastic host there are only 200 currently existing in the world.

The second episode takes him to Namibia, Africa,  where he in search of the black thick-tailed scorpion. Monaghan is never single-mided about nature, however, always thrilled to run across any creature of the desert or jungle on his travels. Scorpions abound in Africa, and while he is searching for the black thick-tailed scorpion he chances to meet along the way a yellow burrowing scorpion (which he finds under a blacklight), and an adorable meerkat, who digs up his own scorpion for lunch. The meerkat quickly joins Monaghan on his quest as his hunting partner.

The third episode brings Monaghan to the rain forest in Ecuador, on the lookout for army ants. As he searches the forest he comes across an enormous black rhinoceros beetle, and lemon ants, which he affirms "taste kind of lemony.") The camera also captures a Brazilian wandering spider, one of the most venomous on earth. The spider shows the audience and a very scared cameraman that it can both jump and cover six feet of forest floor in a matter of seconds. But it is the army ants that truly impress, who in sheer numbers can bully scorpions and even wasp nests — just about anything that crosses their path.

In the fourth and final episode on the DVD the giant water bug brings Monaghan to Vietnam. The viewer gets to watch him get breakfast on the fly in a floating market on the Mekong River before he sets off on the water in search of his bug. On the river route he spies a giant python and looks for insects that lurk in rice paddies. He later takes a break at the market in Ho Chi Minh City, where he is offered some exotic delicacies, including black scorpions, but decides it might be bad karma to eat those.

With a rhinoceros beetle in Ecuador

All the episodes feature not only Monaghan's enthusiastic and informative narrative, but some great scenic photography. There are some unforgettable mages, including the army ants bivouac — an actual colony structure made of living ants. Occasionally the camerawork verges on blur-o-vision, as we rapidly follow Monaghan and his local guides through the bush or jungle in search of critters.

Also available on September 17 from the first season of Wild Things is a second DVD, of three episodes, Creepy Crawlers: Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan. A truly unique nature show, Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan has been renewed for a new season by BBC America, to the delight of Monaghan and nature lovers worldwide. There is no telling what exotic creatures or locales will next catch Monaghan's fancy, but it will definitely be worth checking out whatever he discovers.

First published on Blogcritics: DVD Review: ‘Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan: Deadliest Critters’

sir ian and derek — a match made in heaven

Two of my all-time favorite actors, Sir Ian McKellan and Sir Derek Jacobi, are starring together in a Brit-com called Vicious, about an older gay couple. It also stars Frances De la Tour. I could only find a few clips, but hope ITV will get it on hulu or BBC America soon. Jacobi with light-colored hair is sort of reminding me of Mr. Humphreys from Are You Being Served ...

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copper is off to a great start

Article first published as TV Review: Copper on Blogcritics.

Copper, BBC America's first original scripted series, is set in 1864 New York City. The "copper" in question is Kevin Corcoran (Tom Weston-Jones), an Irish immigrant and Civil War veteran who is a detective in the rough Five Points neighborhood of Manhattan. Copper features enough nudity and violence to give HBO a run for its money. The series, created by Tom Fontana (Oz, Homicide: Life on the Street) and Will Rokos (Southland, Monster's Ball), may be set in 1860s New York, but it has a Wild West feel.

Corcoran must not only battle crime on the streets, but deal with friction from the uniformed police who aren't impressed with his "war hero crap." Copper utilizes a sepia-toned look for the scenes set in Five Points. When the show goes "uptown," and features Corcoran's wealthy Civil War buddy, Robert Morehouse (Kyle Schmid), the world is more colorful, with clothes and surfaces in jewel-like tones; the lighting more crisp and vibrant.

L-R: Dr. Matthew Freeman (Ato Essandoh), Robert Morehouse (Kyle Schmid), and Detective Kevin Corcoran (Tom Weston-Jones) of Copper

In the first episode, "Surviving Death," Kevin "Corky" Corcoran and his fellow detectives go from a bank robbery, which ends in violent death for all of the thieves, to a little stress release at the local brothel with Corcoran's lover, Madam Eva (Franka Potente), to being pulled right into another case, this one involving the death of a young girl, Annie (Kiara Glasco), whom Corcoran had met earlier that day. But all is not as it seems, and the victim isn't who he thinks she is.

In the tradition of great but unconventional detectives, Corcoran is haunted by his past. He returned home from the Civil War to find his wife missing and his young daughter dead. In his day-to-day police work he chooses to get help from unexpected sources. He takes the dead body of the murdered girl to his friend — freed slave, African-American physician, and CSI-in-the-making — Matthew Freeman (Ato Essandoh) for an examination before taking her to the official police surgeon. Matthew and his wife are about to flee Five Points, as they are fearful of the escalating violence towards African Americans in the district, but the doctor is intrigued by the case, and hangs around to perform some experiments to determine exactly what sort of weapon was used to kill the girl.

In the second episode, "Husbands and Fathers," Corcoran risks life and limb (literally) while still trying to protect (the apparently quite alive) Annie, who suddenly seems to have a lot of people after her. With Corcoran sidelined, it appears that Annie suddenly has no one to protect her. The show doesn't shy away from the Pretty Baby-like reality of child prostitution or Corcoran's need to take the law into his own hands.

The injustice resulting from the stark class divisions is likely to be a recurring feature of the show, as Corcoran seems to have acquired not only dangerous uptown adversaries, but a possible ally in Morehouse's friend, the lovely Elizabeth Haverford (Anastasia Griffith). So far Corcoran's detective buddies are pretty indistinguishable from each other, in their similar scruffy period get-ups and hats. But Corcoran is a compelling character, and Copper is off to a great, atmospheric start.