TV Times

The Mentalist 7.5/10

I'm about 15 years late to the party with this one, but in a nice twist to the usual detective tale Patrick Jane is an ex-stage medium, psychic and mentalist who now uses his brilliant mind and variety of tricks to help solve murders as a consultant to the CBI.  
He's a deeply flawed character, which is nice, shies away from any physical confrontation and will happily cower behind the nearest police officer when this happens, and is motivated by his personal pursuit of the serial killer Red John.
I was impressed to learn that all of the body language reading, hypnotism, suggestion, cold reading etc the character does are all genuine things from real stage performances and not imagined super powers.

It's a bit far fetched that the police would want a charlatan along to help them solve cases, but it's highly enjoyable.  I would have scored it higher but the later series get more and more far-fetched, which devalues the product for me personally.  Well worth a watch if you like sherlock etc.

He solves murders for the Confederation of British Industry?

I've seen some of The Mentalist and they weren't bad. Long enough ago now that I can't recall much of the plotline, just a memory of whether or not it was worthwhile to watch .

For a (very) silly variation of n the theme, try Psych. Highly intelligent, observant and glib guy pretends to be psychic to help the cops solve murders. Filmed in Canada, pretending to be on location in California!

Entertaining enough if you're not bothered about thinking too much.

Quoted from ginnywings

He solves murders for the Confederation of British Industry?

Yes!  Formerly assisted the Milk Marketing Board but they could no longer afford him  

Litvinenko
7.5/10

Determined detectives work to prove who was responsible for the death of Alexander Litvinenko, in one of the most complex and dangerous investigations in the history of the Metropolitan Police.

Scarcely believable at times this is an excellent dramatisation of true events. It has an excellent cast with David Tennant very good as always and I enjoyed Neil Maskell not playing a psychotic mad man for once.
It never quite hits the heights of the Salisbury poisonings for me but that’s not a criticism as such because this was still very good indeed.

Catastrophe
9/10

American man Rob gets Irish woman Sharon pregnant when they hook up for a week while he is on a business trip in London.

I have just finished the last episode of this series and I thought it was utterly brilliant. It’s got a feel of ‘Back to Life’ ‘This Way Up and ‘Breeders’ about it. It’s strikes brilliant balances between comedy and drama and is both funny and sweetly sentimental at times too. It takes the mundane every day and mixes it with the daftest, most awkward, searingly honest and authentic situations and the result is at times gold!
The writing is amazing and so is the acting with an absolutely fantastic cast but Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan absolutely shine!

The Sixth Commandment
8.5/10

Follows the deaths of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, and the extraordinary events that unfolded in the following years.

I struggled to get in to this for the first 25 minutes for reasons I’m not really sure of but it was plain sailing thereafter.
I was aware of the case having watched a programme on it previously but it didn’t lessen my enjoyment of it one bit.
It’s really uncomfortable at times, chilling and bloody maddening too. The actor who played Ben Field made my skin crawl but pretty much almost the performances were excellent from a very good cast.

Boot dreams: Now or never  on BBC 3 .

Out of contract players spend a month under the tutelage of an ex pro alongside coaches,physio and a sport psychologist in trying to get a contract at a pro or semi pro club.

Seen two episodes now and like the show a lot. Especially like the sentiments of the head coach who uses his own experiences in the game to try to help players get back on track with their football careers. He feels especially that to be right on the pitch you have to be right off it. Likewise has a warm demeanor which I find helps players ( some more than others) cope with the  challenges of making it pro.

The Long Shadow
9/10

A desperate cat and mouse hunt ensues when Yorkshire is being haunted by a serial killer.

I thought this was brilliantly made and I enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve watched ‘This is Personal’ and enjoyed that too but there’s a slight difference in the focus of attention. I also watched the recent three part documentary series and The Long Shadow is more in line with that than the previous drama.
Despite knowing the background it still had me scratching my head in bewilderment at the ineptitude of the police and their attitudes. The story is supported by an excellent cast and looks great.
My better half thought it dragged on a little and I take that point but for me it was top drawer.

Quoted from Manchester Mariner

Anyone else loving the current series of Gone Fishing? The show just goes from strength to strength and is absolutely perfect viewing to ease the Sunday night dread. So relaxing, funny and at times poignant, it sort of reminds me of the sitcom Detectorists.

Detectorists
9/10

A bit of a strange coincidence but I was just describing Detectorists (which I only started today) to my other half. I found it difficult to sell beyond a feeling. The only thing I could liken it to was watching Bob Ross Joy of Painting. There’s somehow a peace to it and it’s so calming.
Beautifully written and acted-it’s an absolute delight!!