Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.04.2006, Síða 26
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TV
Boston Legal
Esteemed thespians James Spader and
William Shatner grace the set of David
Kelley’s five millionth television show
which, like Ally McBeal, takes place in a
law firm with some of the most unlaw-
yery lawyers you’ll ever see. Unlike Ally
McBeal, many of these characters are
genuinely likeable. And when dialogue
is used to grandstand against the Bush
administration, it’s always funny, inten-
tionally or not.
Sundays, 21:15; with reruns Monday, 00:05
and Saturday, 1:05. SkjárEinn.
Laguna Beach
Truly the seventh sign of the apocalypse.
This “reality” show follows the lives of
fabulously wealthy and ridiculously attrac-
tive high school teens living in southern
California. The intention, I reckon, was to
show people that even the beautiful people
are real people, too. Guess what? Appar-
ently, they’re not. For a look at some of
the most vapid, shallow, plastic excuses for
humanity, tune in and thank your lucky
stars that you’re poor.
Tuesdays, 23:00, with reruns Saturdays,
18:00, Sirkus.
My Name Is Earl
A man who spent his entire life screwing
up his life and others decides to make a list
of everything he’s ever done wrong, and
make it up to everyone. Former pro-skater
and Kevin Smith leading man Jason Lee
stars in the title role. While each episode
usually ends with a warm and fuzzy morale
in the spirit of Mork and Mindy, this is a
genuinely funny show running on a great
vehicle for comedy: redemption.
Wednesdays, 21:00; with reruns Sundays,
21:00 and Wednesdays, 19:30, Sirkus.
Neighbours
More than a soap opera – it’s an institu-
tion. This Australian show has been on
the air for nearly 20 years, which is quite
an accomplishment for a show built simply
upon the lives of people living mostly on
the same street. Granted, their lives in-
volve car crashes, fights with city hall, and
frequent divorce, but what sets Neighbours
apart from other soaps is that the charac-
ters are believable, middle class folk. And
Australians have adorable accents, too.
Grapevine recommendation: Instead of
watching a new show each weekday at 12:25,
wait until Sunday and watch five episodes in
a row starting at 14:00, Stöð 2.
Kim Possible
Granted, there’ve been cartoon female
superheroes in the past, but seldom have
they been given this kind of attention
to humour and timing. By day a normal
schoolgirl, when danger rears its head,
Kim springs into action, running circles
around her villains (almost always male)
and assistants (ditto). After years of watch-
ing Superman tell Wonder Woman to hop
in her invisible jet and meet him some-
where for back up, it’s refreshing to know
that little girls are watching this confident
and funny character turn the tables.
Tuesdays, 18:30, RÚV.
TV in Icelandic
Þetta Fólk
A relatively new show that’s appeared on
NFS, hosted by journalist Halla Gunnars-
dóttir. Each episode focuses on a different
country, with guests who talk about life,
art and general impressions of living in
that country. The hostess says her idea
behind the show is to go deeper than the
current media does regarding what daily
life in other countries is really like. Always
engaging, and definitely worth checking
out.
Sundays, 11:00, NFS
Silfur Egils.
One of a kind in Iceland, Egill Helgason
is a media critic and political analyst who
invites people onto his show who often
have diametrically opposed opinions on
any given topic. Helgason himself admits
to being inconsistent and prone to change
his mind frequently, which helps make for
some entertaining viewing.
Sundays, 12:00, Stöð 2
Kastljós
This news program used to be known as
Kastljósið, but dropped the definite article
recently during an image and content
revamping. Often goes into more detail on
some of the top stories of the day, while
also offering roundtable discussions, slice-
of-life pieces and music performances. In
many ways, gives competing shows of a
similar nature a run for their money.
Sunday – Friday, RÚV, 19:35
Sambíóin - Kringlan
V for Vendetta
10:30
Eight Below
15:00, 17:30, 20:00
Basic Instinct 2
17:30, 20:00, 10:30
Lassie
15:50
Bambi 2 (in Icelandic)
15:50
Failure to Launch (Premieres 11 April)
20:00
Sambíóin – Álfabakki
Basic Instinct 2
17:30, 20:00, 22:30
Eight Below
17:30, 20:00, 22:30
Wolf Creek
15:50, 20:00, 21:10, 22:30
Wolf Creek (VIP)
21:10
V for Vendetta
17:15, 20:00, 22:45
V for Vendetta (VIP)
15:50, 18:30
Ice Age 2 (in Icelandic)
17:00, 19:00
The Matador
20:15, 22:30
Lassie
15:50
Aeon Flux
17:50
Litli Kjúllin
14:00
Bambi 2 (in Icelandic)
15:50
Háskólabíó
Basic Instinct 2
17:40, 20:00, 22:20
V for Vendetta
17:20, 20:00; 22:45
The Matador
20:00, 22:00
The New World
17:20
The World’s Fastest Indian
17:30
Syriana
20:00, 22:30
Sambíóin – Akureyri
Basic Instinct 2
20:00, 22:15
Eight Below
17:45, 20:00
V for Vendetta
22:15
Lassie
18:00
Sambíóin – Keflavík
Basic Instinct 2
20:00, 22:00
Date Movie
18:00, 20:00, 22:20
Big Momma’s House 2
18:00
Laugarásbíó
Date Movie
16:00, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
Trisan and Isolde
20:00, 22:20
Big Momma’s House 2
16:00, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
Nanny McPhee
16:00
Regnboginn
Date Movie
18:00, 20:00 22:00
The Producers
17:20, 20:00, 22:45
Walk the Line
17:15, 20:00, 22:45
Rent
17:20, 20:00, 22:40
Smárabíó
Date Movie (in the commoner’s
theatre and in Luxus)
16:00, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
The Producers
20:00, 22:45
Big Momma’s House 2
15:40, 17:45, 20:00, 22:15
Pink Panther
15:45, 17:50, 22:10
Yours Mine and Ours
16:00, 18:00
Borgarbíó
Date Movie
18:00, 20:00, 22:00
Tristan and Isolde
17:45, 22:00
Big Mamma’s House 2
20:00
RADIO
Rás 1
Government radio station often featur-
ing talk shows, radio soap operas, and
traditional music.
Rás 2
More progressive government radio sta-
tion, featuring a variety of music as well as
news discussion programmes.
Bylgjan (98.9 FM)
Light pop music.
Útvarp Saga (99.4 FM)
Iceland’s oldies station, featuring both Ice-
landic and foreign music from decades past.
Talstöðin (90.9 FM)
Talk radio station, in Icelandic.
Létt 96.7 (96.7 FM)
Office pop, easy listening.
FM 957 (95.7 FM)
One of the “hnakkistöðvar,” playing pop-
rock geared towards urban clubbing youth.
XFM (91.9FM)
Iceland’s rock station, often playing cut-
ting-edge releases.
Lindin (102.9 FM)
Christian broadcasting station, available all
over the country.
Kántríbær (100.7 FM)
Iceland’s country music station, still going
strong from Skagafjörður since 1992.
Visit www.kvikmyndir.is for regularly
updates on new films and showing
times.
From the makers of Family Guy, it’s
like that show, on crack. It’s your typical
family of four, with a talking goldfish
and an alcoholic alien to boot, and a
head of the household who works at the
CIA and talks like the narrator from
the Super Friends. Perhaps trying to
test their limits, the show often veers
into territory Family Guy doesn’t touch,
often with funny results. Although the
show still seems to be finding its voice, it
should be fun to see how it develops.
Tuesdays, 21:00, with reruns Sundays,
20:30, Sirkus.
American Dad
Having started to watch this show mid-
series, I can honestly tell you I have no
idea what’s going on here. There’s a boy
who saved his evil father’s life in a fire,
a girl with an estranged, drug addict
mother with cancer, another girl who
became a singer and is hated by her en-
tire school and some other people. But
teen dramas are like that – you can jump
in at any point and still be entertained.
Fridays, 20:00, SkjárEinn.
One Tree Hill