I was just wondering if you'd ...
Question: I was just wondering if you'd had the opportunity to watch BBC America's
Hex yet. After seeing the two-hour premiere, I must say that I was very impressed, especially with the lead actress (
Christina Cole). The show manages to successfully combine the witchcraft angle of
Charmed with the sly humor (at least with one character) of
Buffy, and sports that Gothic British style that makes everything seem so much more important. How many episodes of this show have actually been produced (I know it premiered in Britain in 2004), and are there still new ones on the horizon? Also, are you going to be reviewing the show in the magazine anytime soon?
Answer: Why am I not surprised to be getting questions about this one already? (Including a few expressing outrage over a spoiler commercial that BBC America aired during the premiere. I didn't see that, having watched the pilot on a screener DVD.) I was kind of intrigued by the premiere episode — thought it was well executed, well acted, quirky and mysterious — but given how busy this summer is already with a glut of new programming (and the need to break away for a bit of time off and to prepare for the impending three-week TCA press tour), I seriously doubt I'll be able to keep up with this one. Not because I wouldn't enjoy it, but because there are limits. And looking at my calendar over the next month or so, my weekly magazine column is already pretty full, so I'm not planning on addressing this one right now, unless I do a roundup of niche programming later in the summer. I'm not sure how many episodes BBC will air during this first batch, but from my cursory research, it appears 18 episodes of
Hex were filmed in all. (I got one letter indicating that — shades of U.S. TV here —
Hex left viewers hanging in its finale, but I have no way of knowing that for sure.) If I am able to watch some of the upcoming episodes, and it impresses me one way or the other, I may blog about it in my
Dispatches column. But my plate's rather full, and when it comes to supernatural programming, I'll probably gravitate toward the more mainstream basic channels and focus on
The 4400, TNT's
Stephen King anthology in July, and the return of fresh Sci Fi Channel programming including the two
Stargate series and the new
Eureka. That's more than enough to keep me busy. But if you're the sort who thinks you'd enjoy something like
Hex, you probably should check it out.
