Confessions of Dorian Gray... THIS would make a great television series.

Sadly, this is an audio series that I admit I have not listened to. But I really like the concept. Big Finish Productions in England has been producing a range of Doctor Who audio plays since 1999. All of which feature the original actors who portrayed the Doctor on television who are still alive. All of which were very well written and well acted stories.

Big Finish had also developed stories based on Dark Shadows (long before the Tim Burton film), Sherlock Holmes and most recently some audio plays based on lost television stories from early on in the hit series THE AVENGERS.

But their most recent series THE CONFESSION OF DORIAN GRAY is the one I find most interesting. Like I mentioned, I haven't heard the series, but I think the premise of the series is great.

One that I would love to see developed into a television series.

The premise is that Oscar Wilde based Dorian Gray on a real person and everything in THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY was true. However, the resolution at the end of the story didn't necessarily happen that way.

The series stars Alexander Vlahos as the ageless Dorian Gray and follows his adventures throughout the 20th Century starting with visiting his old friend Oscar Wilde on his deathbed.

If I were a television exec at CBS, I would be in contact with Nicholas Briggs and the boys and girls at Big Finish about developing this into a television series rather than capitalizing on an already successful show the way they did with "basing" Elementary on the far superior Sherlock.

I mean, Fox seems to be having a certain amount of success with Sleepy Hollow and ABC has had success with their series Once Upon A Time.

But I suppose it's easier to ride on the coat-tails of another series's success rather than being original and taking a risk.

Still, I think Big Finish has created a really great concept. I would love to see it as a television series.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

I have really only one word to sum up the 1945 film treatment of THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY...

...DULL!

All of Oscar Wilde's wit and witticism were lost on some very underwhelming and wooden performances. In particular George Saunders gives a "larch" performances as Lord Henry Wotton. The movie does star a very young Angela Lansbury. And only possible criticism I could give to Miss Lansbury is she was hardly in the movie and was sadly under-utilized I feel she was the only bright spot in a very lackluster endeavor.

And the actor playing Dorian Gray I confess I have never heard of. But somehow I didn't imagine Dorian looking like a young Zeppo Marx.

Yes I'm aware Dorian Gray is supposed to be a vain and vapid young man. However, that's no excuse for a lackluster performance.

There is a version of THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY which was produced by the BBC in 1976 featuring Sir John Gielgud and Jeremy Brett as Lord Henry Wotton and the artist Basil Hallward. And from what I have seen so far of that version, their perfomances are far more sparkling and much more intersting despite the BBC's limited budget at that time than the forgettable performances from the '45.

This proves to me that the only way for Oscar Wilde's lines to work is good acting and good delivery.

But despite my criticisms, any opinion I give is just my opinion. You should be allowed to enjoy any movie you wish. If you think the 1945 film is a classic, then you have every right to think so..

By the end, I just felt like I aged two hours and the movie remained young.