TV: Game of Thrones - Baelor

Warning: MAJOR spoilers coming in this one, otherwise it'd be a one sentence review of the best episode so far.

TV: Angry Boys - Episode 4

(Credit: ABC)

A rising skate star comes out, while Dan tries to help Nathan with a masturbation problem in an episode that was a little less frustrating this week.

TV: Game of Thrones - You Win or You Die

(Credit: NerdBastards)

This week Ned gets a promotion, in an episode that continues on a new found confidence that builds and builds into something that oozes tension and brilliance.

TV: Angry Boys - Episode 3

(Credit: ABC)

Nothing really happens this week, except for S.mouse getting what he deserves, the introduction of Blake and Dan beginning the legendary party planning.

TV: Game of Thrones - The Wolf and the Lion

(Credit: Boomtron)

It's all about the secrets in this week's episode of "Game of Thrones," as the Stark's and the Lannister's hidden hatred begins to reveal itself.

TV: Angry Boys - Episode 1

The ABC welcomes back Chris Lilley with open arms as he launches his newest series, "Angry Boys" in a strong start to what could be another gold creation from one of Australia's most reclusive comedians.

TV: Game of Thrones - Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things

(Credit: Winter-is-coming.net)

This week's episode talked unnecessary stories of the past, with truths and falsities among each - and finally all of the characters and their stories move forward.

TV: Fringe - The Day We Died

Now we haven't covered "Fringe" just because the blog was started mid-season and I'd rather not begin covering a season of TV at the mid point leaving behind any of the good and bad. For future reference, I shall be covering Fringe season 4 when it premieres in September.

However, I wanted an area to vent my thoughts on the season finale of this season of "Fringe." It's left a two sided debate on whether or not it was actually good or not. Upon first viewing, my reactions were also mixed; I had yet to take a side, but after my second viewing, my opinion had formed towards one side. Find out some brief thoughts after the break.

TV: Game of Thrones - Lord Snow

Ned arrives at King's Landing and begins his new duty as the Hand of the King as tensions continue to rise and the past begins to reveal itself.

TV: Game of Thrones - The Kingsroad

As always, potential spoilers in here for those who haven't seen the episode.

The houses of Stark and Lannister clash when the children act like children and the parents act like parents, in a solid episode that continues to establish the overall arc of the season.

Australian TV: Channel Ten's Drama.

Quick column about Australian TV having yet another fail from a screenwriters perspective. Let me direct you to this link just reported by The Australian's Amanda Meade. READ IT FIRST.

Ten's local content challenge heats up as it runs cheap Kiwi soaps - Amanda Meade / The Australian.

Did you read it?

• Did you feel hollow?
• Cold?
• Or did you laugh?

If you answer yes to any of the above, then don't feel bad, as it's kind of warranted. What we're looking at right now is the struggling efforts of Channel Ten to produce ANY kind of original drama. Ok, they do have some drama, Meade is reporting that Ten has Rush and Offspring coming back THIS YEAR for 13 episode runs, each. That's it. The rest of Ten's schedule is filled with fun things like news, news, news, oh and Good News Week and Talkin' Bout' Your Generation. There's other stuff too, but, it's all American broadcast stuff, so it doesn't count in this instance.

To quickly shed light, Australian TV doesn't have the budget to burn on dozens of pilots a year like the US. That's fine. I completely understand the fact that the budget for networks over here is much more of a challenge to conquer compared to the US. If you've been following Deadline (Mainly) the amount of original pilots being ordered by each US network is astronomical this year, because TV right now is rivalling that of big budget movies; people are understanding and identifying with stories told on TV. Liz Lemon notes in an episode of 30 Rock this year, that "we're in a golden age of television," and she's right, the quality of TV at the moment is brilliant, but always overshadowed by somewhat underdeveloped, and frankly, shitty programming.

The quality of Australian TV is actually great. Channel Seven is doing a great job. Channel Nine is harvesting off Underbelly, and that's fine; but Channel Ten if you've got two returning series and no new original programming, where's the risk? I mean you can green light a few projects, actually produce the stand out ones and see how they work! Take a risk! You could reap the rewards - Look at Packed to the Rafters and Winners and Losers. If your original programming doesn't work, scratch it and find new drama, that's how the system works in the US, if the show doesn't work, get rid of it and start anew. Let's do it, Ten show your teeth, you're the little guy walking amongst the giants, Aussies love to see the underdog come through and take top place - make it happen.

Writers - capitalise on this, as awful as it sounds not having the drama to air and watching Ten struggle, this is an OPPORTUNITY for you to seize. Start writing, because there is a window here in the next year or two for you to get your foot in the door and start changing the way Australians watch TV.

Ten, there are millions of screenwriters in Australia right now looking to change the way the industry can work, I'm one of them. If you're lacking any original drama, Ten. Shoot me an email, I've got a couple of spec scripts that could help at least rebuild an image of a network that just likes news and seeing the same comedians every week.

TV: The Chicago Code - Pilot

This is a little late, so I'll have recaps of the next two episodes when I return from Sydney in two weeks. Trust me, you don't want to miss this.

"You think you can change how things get done in Chicago?!" - Angry cop that looks pretty suspect.

I know about Shawn Ryan and his exploits; he turned Lie to Me into something a little more enjoyable, he was involved in the absolutely stunning Terriers, had show running duties on The Unit and finally, created the critically adored The Shield. Now, I’ve seen

all of these – except The Shield. Slap me over the head, yes, I haven’t seen The Shield, so when people compare this to The Shield, I have an understanding of what they are talking about, but not a complete grasp of the differences between the two of Ryan’s created shows.

This bad boy isn’t as gritty or slow burning as The Wire. It’s much faster paced and more importantly, fun. Wait, a cop show being fun? Indeed, in a sense that the characters help drive the story, which is a critical factor to the success of a series that could potentially rely on its serialised nature rather than a procedural approach. This isn’t Law and Order, this isn’t CSI. If you want procedural goodness, they’ll be over in the corner, rehashing boring garbage. What stood out for me with The Chicago Code was Ryan’s willingness to explore not just the law enforcement side of things but also the (sometimes weak) backbone of society - politics.

The pilot takes place as Superintendant Colvin (Jennifer Beals) sparks a tiny revolution within her circle of police best friends. Jarek (Jason Clarke), her old partner is the detective she turns to for quality and results driven detective work. Why does the Superintendant want to start a revolution of sorts in her own city? That’s where Ryan’s clever slip in of politics comes into play. Her target - Alderman Ronin Gibbons (Delroy Lindo), a man that shows a pure intent on the surface, but below we know what he’s capable of and what he seems to have done in the past. Gibbons is the primary target in her struggle to rid the city of corruption.

That there was the home run for me, political intrigue and corruption, coupled with two badass cops and a superintendant that had me feeling nervous, which is very rare for Beals to pull off, I wasn’t a fan of hers in Lie to Me and the L Word for that matter, but holy shit, she grabs the role by the horns and beats the hell out of it. It also feels like the characters have already been developed, Ryan drops us in at the right time. When, Colvin really wants to start making a difference, there’s a realisation for her and that’s an assertive trait for Colvin’s character – making her instantly fucking excellent. In particular, one of her defining scenes in the pilot is the cleanup of Chicago’s police departments with the promotion of a long serving officer, its effective stuff. Beals pulls no punches, she kicks ass.

I can say the same for Jason Clarke’s turn as Jarek Wysocki, the hard to get along with cop who hates having partners and refreshingly, swearing. Jarek – if you read this, I’m sorry about the language! There are no women or children around though, so we’re in the clear. He’s a guy who could write an encyclopaedia on how to police awesomely in Chicago. Ryan has crafted Jarek so well that we get an immediate sense of his direction in his introductory scene. We don’t need to know anymore, we just want to now see the character grow.

I can say the same for Matt Lauria as Caleb Evers; operating as a great sedative to Jarek’s relatively unchained behaviour. He’s the detective that manages to tick all the right boxes and at the same time match Jarek’s street smarts whilst also delivering straight up and solid police work.

You know what, I can say the same for the entire cast. Delroy Lindo sparks a superb balance of refined politician with very dark undertones. He’s charming, but at the same time knows exactly what the next move is going to be. The stakes are high for this guy; he’s got to be one step ahead all the time, if not, whatever he’s hiding will surely come out.

The best thing about the pilot is that these characters jump into a melting pot and it’s coupled with the authenticity of actually being shot on Chicago. I’ve never been there myself, but whoa, the show makes it looks fantastic, the skyline bursts into the sky as the sun seeps into the background. There’s a life to this city, it’s not all sets, what we’re seeing is a working city. Ryan knows how to write this stuff, the pilot smoothly introduces the audience to these characters and gets them ready for the season ahead. There’s not much work for us to do, the story is set for us and we just get to relax and unfold. Comfortable television, I’d say, if it weren’t for all the badassness that comes along for the ride. If I were the executives at Fox, I’d keep this for a long time, the potential for great stories with varying characters is nearly infinite, as one player steps down, another steps up. We’ve got a keeper here; make sure to watch it.