Chris Pritchard, the New Mr. TV, leads us from the darkness of previous television reviewing methods into the light of The Orbital’s new era. Chris gives us one review – ‘What Was Hot’ – and then takes a peek into television future. Chris tells us what not to miss, and gives us a televisual gem that we should look out for…

WHAT WAS HOT:

LOST.

The epic, mind-bending American television show, ‘Lost’ returned to our screens on Friday 5th February, with the two-hour premiere of its sixth and final season. The show is renowned for its ability to confuse and alienate viewers, and the beginning of its final season is no different – yes, if you felt baffled and lost [never gets old] watching the show in previous seasons, then with season six you’re practically going to feel like an amnesiac.

The show is primarily about the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 which crashed on an un-chartered tropical island. However the opening scene of last Friday’s episode shows us that in an alternate timeline created by the detonation of an atomic bomb over a pocket of electromagnetism in the finale of Series Five, the plane didn’t actually crash. It’s confusing. It’s really confusing, but it’s also rather brilliant and so incredibly addictive because at its heart, ‘Lost’ is a character-based show and despite the crazy science fiction elements Season Six does not betray this fact.

The characters continue to mesmerise and entertain viewers, and this is testament to the unwavering high standards of writing. With just 16 episodes to go, you can expect tears, fights, reunions, deaths, twists, turns, loop the loops and also one hell of a payback to all those dedicated souls such as myself who have stuck with the show for the whole journey. You really don’t want to miss the end of this extravagant television phenomenon – but if you’re a first time viewer, you may wish to consult YouTube for a sneaky synopsis beforehand. ‘Lost’ airs on Sky One, Friday’s at 9PM.

DON’T MISS:

MASTERCHEF.

This Thursday sees the return of ‘Masterchef’, the cookery show with dramatic dishes and dramatic music. A whole new host of amateur chefs engage in a number of culinary tasks such as working in professional kitchens and guessing chalk from cheese in order to gain a smile and a cheeky thumbs up from the judges John Torode, who looks like John Travolta, and Gregg Wallace, who is an odd but brilliant combination of Humpty Dumpty and the Cheshire Cat.

At times the show [and the judges] – take the whole thing a little bit too seriously but it is sprinkled with moments of humour, for example Gregg ‘the egg’ Wallace’s facial reaction when a chocolate pudding is handed to him. Channel 4’s wacky rival, Come Dine With Me will definitely provide more laughs – the majority coming from the narrator – but the seriousness of ‘Masterchef’ makes for supremely addictive viewing because, after all, it is a competition where the winner gains employment in a professional kitchen, rather than gaining a thousand pounds and a future appearance on the ‘Jeremy Kyle Show’.

‘Masterchef’ is like a super extended M&S food advert, it teases you with the prospect of quality food, it forces your taste buds to quiver with delight and it makes you want to get in the kitchen and create some proper healthy top nosh instead of just grabbing a packet of lazy crisps. Saying that, on a couple of occasions I have greedily dived into a bag of ready salted whilst watching ‘Masterchef’ – sneakily tricking my brain into thinking the crisp is actually a plate of succulent honey salmon, dauphine potatoes and minted asparagus.

‘Masterchef’s’ popularity has exploded in the past few years and is seemingly loved all over the world, especially in Australia where the final of their version was recorded as the country’s most watched programme besides sports events since measurements began – yes, a cookery programme was more popular than ‘Australia’s Got Talent’ and ‘Australian Big Brother’. The British version of the sensational cookery competition returns to BBC1 on Thursday 18th February at 8:30 PM.

GIVE THIS A GO:

HORIZON; TO INFINITY AND BEYOND.

Broadcast on BBC2 on Wednesday 10th February, ‘To Infinity and Beyond’ is a superbly executed documentary from director Stephen Cooter, which discusses the theory and mystery of infinity – but beyond that the documentary also subtly dissects the lives of mathematicians who are dedicated to the study of infinity. It sounds like a geeky watch, but it’s really not as Cooter brilliantly cross references the opinions of supposedly genius mathematicians with the opinions of cute fidgety primary school children.

The programme begins with Steven Berkoff who is the presenter/narrator/melodramatic creep – who tells us, ‘I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe, things that would change how you see this world, enough to drive men to madness.’ No, he’s not talking about Katy Price, just infinity. With such lines, Cooter adds a sense of theatre to this documentary, which he accentuates by placing Berkoff in a dilapidated house, making his voice distortedly scary and echoey and cutting to scenes of a monkey bashing on the keys of a typewriter.

‘To Infinity and Beyond’ provides an incredibly thought provoking and visually stimulating hour of television, where the mind of genius is scrutinised and a whole load of parallels are thrown up such the belief of infinity in comparison to the belief of God. I just hope it won’t send any of you into an existential crisis, especially the ones who thought this was a behind the scenes documentary on the secret life of Buzz Lightyear. ‘To Infinity and Beyond’ is available free on BBC I-player for the next two months.