If you’re not in the know, Terra Nova is a new TV show, airing this autumn in the US on the Fox network. Essentially, the premise is that the future on Earth has become unlivable – congested, grimy, polluted. We are done for and our only hope is to travel back in time and try again. 85 million years back in time.

This splendid premise puts the cast in the path of dinosaurs, as they attempt to make a new home on old Earth. Whether this premise can sustain a number of series of the show, or whether it will quickly wither and die like The Event, Flash Forward and others have done, only time will tell. What we do know is that with this and Alcatraz on the way in a few months’ time, the new season of shows appears to have some treats in store.

Here’s the trailer, courtesy of Cinema (and Television) Blend.

If you’ve not heard already, I have some rather good news for you. American based TV company, HBO are coming to the UK with the title of HBO UK. If you’ve not heard of the company, you’ll most definitely have know some of the series which they’ve created. Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Rome, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, True Blood, The Wire and Six Feet Under were all created by the TV powerhouse and  today we’ve got a rather exciting competition for you.

The company now has a permanent UK Website home which you can find at www.hbouk.com where you can find out more about your favourite HBO TV shows and buy the box sets.

One further TV series they’ve created is Curb Your Enthusiasm and the guys at HBO UK have been kind enough to give one lucky winner the change to win the entire back catalogue of the series for you to win as a prize. This includes series 1-7 on DVD.

To be in with a chance of winning this rather awesome prize, all you have to do is become a fan of the HeyUGuys Facebook Fanpage, the Official HBO UK Fanpage and then answer to the following question using the form below.

Which actress plays Cheryl David in the TV Series, Curb Your Enthusiasm?

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close Monday 12th July (release date) at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

UK fans of Twin Peaks have had a long time to wait to own the whole series on DVD. The first season was released many years ago but the second season box set never materialised in the UK. The second season was released in America though and there was also a box set released in America and other parts of Europe that contained both seasons and was described as The Definitive Gold Box Edition. This Gold Box Edition has now finally been released in the UK and it was worth the wait.

Twin Peaks was a series created in 1990 by David Lynch and Mark Frost and ran for 30 episodes (including the pilot). It centres on an investigation into the murder of popular high school girl Laura Palmer whose body is found in the pilot washed up on a river bank and “wrapped in plastic”. I won’t go in to too much more detail about the story as there are already a few posts about the content of the series on HeyUGuys and we’ll be posting even more soon.

On the subject of the content though I have to admit that I am totally in love with this series; it mixes beautifully the thrilling mystery of the plot with horror, romance and comedy. I’ve now seen the whole series four times and I will definitely be revisiting it in the future.

I can say with certainty that, until we see a Blu-Ray release, the only way you should watch the series is this DVD box set. Having had to suffer the dreadful UK VHS release of this series which seemed to use the cheapest videos available and give little care to the transfer, it is so refreshing to watch this set of DVDs.

The picture quality in the Gold Box Edition (not done justice in these stills) is absolutely stunning and some of the best transfers I’ve seen outside of Blu-Ray. It is on par with the excellent work done by The Criterion Collection and Masters of Cinema and like many of their releases the transfer has been approved by someone involved in the original production, here David Lynch himself. The series was shot on film and a lot of red filters were used during the making of the series giving it the warm and almost off balance colour. This is beautifully restored on these discs and it is great to see the intended look of the series properly represented.

The audio is presented in both 5.1 and the original 2.0  and is clear and of exceptional quality. Angelo Badalamenti’s score sounds beautiful but the mix never lets it overwhelm the dialogue. Probably my only criticism of this set is that it is missing the commentaries that featured on the Region 2 DVD release of the first season which is a shame as without these it is not quite as definitive as the title suggests.

The extras included on this set are very good though and I am sure will be enjoyable to any Peaks fan. Probably the most significant extra is the feature length documentary, ‘Secrets From Another Place’, which includes brand new interviews and looks at a lot of different aspects of the show. I really enjoyed the documentary and even for a Twin Peaks Geek like me there was still a lot of interesting new information.

Although the deleted scenes on these discs are a good addition to the set they don’t actually add a lot to the series but I am glad they were included as they are of some interest. Also important in completing the set is the introductions to each episode by the Log Lady which you have the option to either have on or off. Other features worth noting are the SNL sketches which are pretty funny and ‘A Slice of Lynch’ which features Lynch taking a look back at the series with Kyle MacLachlan, Mädchen Amick and JohnWentworth.

On an incredibly geeky note I have to complement the makers of the set for the menu screens. Each disc has a different menu screen and each one is like a beautiful little scene from Twin Peaks. So often DVDs have annoying or lazily put together menu screens and it really nice to see that no detail in this set was ignored.

If you like Twin Peaks and you don’t already own the Season one box set (which includes the commentaries) then this set is a must buy. If you already own it you could just buy the Season two set but having the whole series in one beautifully put together set is really fantastic. I love this series so much and will be rewatching individual episodes and the whole series again in the future and I am very pleased that finally there is a box set that does justice to this excellent show and one that will make that viewing experience even more pleasurable.

I have listed the main features of the set below and embedded the trailer for the box set at the bottom of this post.

• All 29 Episodes plus the Original Pilot: Both U.S. network and international versions of the pilot
• Remastered Picture from the original negative with newly-created 5.1 Audio, personally approved by David Lynch – also includes original 2.0 Audio
• Deleted Scenes: Lost footage saved from the cutting room floor
• Exclusive feature-length documentary, “Secrets from Another Place,” exploring the show’s origins,production and impact – featuring brand-new interviews with the cast and crew and never-before-seen footage
• “A Slice of Lynch”: David Lynch takes a strange and amusing look back with help from Kyle MacLachlan, Mädchen Amick and JohnWentworth
• “Return to Twin Peaks”: Follow a group of devoted “Peaks Freaks” and cast members to the 2006 Twin Peaks Festival
• Interactive Map: The show’s unforgettable locations and how to find them in real life
• The complete Log Lady Introductions
• Saturday Night Live: Kyle MacLachlan’s monologue and the hilarious Twin Peaks comedy sketch featuring the SNL cast
• The “Falling” Music Video with Julee Cruise
• And Many Golden Nuggets: On-air promos, TV spots, production documents, rare photos and more

Who says Brits don’t make good TV these days?

Actually, that’s not entirely fair. The video above isn’t a TV series. Yet.

What you’ve just watched is a “˜sizzle reel’ for Slingers a proposed TV series dreamt up by freelancer writer and all round decent chap Mike Atherton (a.k.a Sizemore). The intention of it is to sell the concept to TV networks before making a full pilot. Given the buzz the clip has generated online that task has probably just become a little bit easier.

The sizzle reel feels a bit like a hybrid of Firefly and Hustle/Ocean’s Eleven, with a very British sensibility. There are certainly overtones of 2000 AD and Doctor Who in there as well.

Those nods to British comics aren’t too surprising. Not only is Atherton a huge Judge Dredd fan, but he originally intended Slingers to be a comic. Fortunately for us, he is now working with production company Sleepy Dog and director Steve Baron to create a fully fledged TV series.

Supporting Atherton et al. in their endeavours are Coren and Aaron Brownlee, who’s short film The Lamentable Saga of the Suicide Brothers was a highlight of this year’s London Film Festival. They’re responsible for the art you see here, as well as having had a hand in developing the concept with Atherton.

The aim is to film a pilot episode next year, and then create 20 more episodes to complete the first season. It’s not clear yet whether the series will be picked up by a European network, or an American one. Whoever it is, they would appear to have a sure-fire hit on their hands.

To keep abreast of all things Slingers you can follow Mike on Twitter.

Whilst getting my Robert Englund autobiography signed by the great man himself on Wednesday evening, I did what I had to do whilst wearing my HeyUGuys Badge, I asked a few probing movie/TV related questions in the short couple of minutes I was with him.

I asked Robert if he was going to be making a cameo appearance in the new Nightmare on Elm Street remake, possibly as a victim.

He said he wasn’t, which is a shame as the thought of the original Krueger possibly being a victim of the new Krueger would have been a nice send off for Robert Englund’s contribution to the franchise.

I asked Robert about any other projects he had lined up and he interestingly said that there is a possibility he will be making an appearance in the new ‘V’ TV series which has just started to huge ratings.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find out if the part was a return as the hugely popular friendly Alien character Willie or just a general cameo role but anyways it’s great to hear that he could be returning to the franchise that started him on the road to stardom.

Robert Englund in V

The awesome original intro to V

The not so awesome new V TV series