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Why do stories set in 80s suburbia always immediately conjure up the idea that some of them might be swingers? I know fashion’s a fleeting and ephemeral thing, but even having grown up there it’s impossible to believe that people ever thought any of the 80s (early 80s, specifically) was a good look. Also there’s…
We’re pretty close to present day now, and you’ve got to wonder how pleased the monarchy are with these dramatisations. Imelda Staunton makes a feasible Elizabeth (amazing the power of an iconic hairstyle on a quality actor), but the real issue is the PAGES of dialogue – obviously invented, and QUITE some licence taken. The…
Holy crap. THIS is good Star Wars Universe content. As my colleague put it, “It doesn’t have space wizards” – what it DOES have is intrigue, politics, characters you give a shit about, and storyline that it’s foregone conclusion EVEN THOUGH it’s prequel to other universe properties. And all done lovingly and accurately using the…
David Tennant’s vicar and Stanley Tucci’s death-row-not-at-all-like-Hannibal-Lecter psychologist are the tentpoles for this 4-part crime drama where the mild-mannered vicar just keeps on making the wrong decision, culminating in a VERY bizarre final episode. Some pretty wildly unrealistic police characters in this also. But it’s only a story and it was interesting enough. I’d call…
OK, so I was ALWAYS gonna be watching this, and will watch it to completion unless it gets really dire. The world’s too rich not to. However, it’s worth registering at this point: they’re pretty bloody earnest, aren’t they? Totally lacks any of the sense of humour of its predecessor. The time elapsing business screwed me…
I really struggled watching a semi-dramatisation of the Conservative Government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis that didn’t take a harder point of view against Johnson and friends. Central to it was Kenneth Branagh’s faultless portrayal – albeit very distracting for over half of it due to the amount of prosthetics involved (and additionally because I’d…
Having never read the GRAPHIC NOVELS but heard loads about them over the years I was very keen to watch this, and mostly enjoyed the British emo/stoner vibing lead character. Took me a minute to pick up that as a comic book the pace of it wouldn’t necessarily be episodic story arc, but could be…
Comedic-but-tackling-the-real-life-issues series with protagonist Neil Patrick Harris being left by his long-term boyfriend unexpectedly, and the completely relatable stories that unfold for someone who’s a high-end property agent, existing in the New York gay society scene. This is DEFINITELY not The Wire. Clearly we’ve become a lot more comfortable with gay men on TV since…
Newsroom drama set in 1980s Australia, hinging on the Lindy Chamberlain story – once again I find myself surprised at still being surprised to see Anna Torv acting with her native accent. Did we do 1950s Australiana on TV in the 80s? The look and attitudes of the time were very well-captured, although I wondered…
Utterly compelling and well-referenced techno/political thriller featuring Simon Pegg and Mark Rylance in supporting roles. I loved the visual metaphors employed for computer hacking (clear fantasy extensions, as opposed to furious typing & bystander peering), and also that they’d gone to the trouble of having realistic Tech Stuff on the screens (as opposed to the…