TV Times

The Americans
10/10

I have been putting off watching the final series for a while but my glass back went again yesterday  morning so I took the plunge and binged it.
I have just finished the last episode and so many times series get them badly wrong and leave you disappointed but not this show unsurprisingly.
I think they got it nigh on perfect and it was unexpectedly emotional and strangely like a break up story.
This is without doubt one of my favourite TV shows ever made. It’s absolutely bloody marvellous.

Cheers for the heads up Ginny-I loved it!👍🏻

Glad you enjoyed it mate and you are right in saying it is one of the best TV series out there and was criminally overlooked by many.

Quoted from ginnywings

Glad you enjoyed it mate and you are right in saying it is one of the best TV series out there and was criminally overlooked by many.

Yeah including me in fairness. I do think we’re spoilt nowadays with so many great series and films  available and it’s only going to get worse (better) in that regard. There really isn’t enough time to watch them all and consequently we have to miss some brilliantly crafted stuff.
So it’s really about finding a way to watch everything you want or can. But how? This is how these kind of threads are useful. Between this and my monthly total film magazine I can find a way of watching mostly excellent movies and series.
I think we have a fairly similar taste in programmes and film and so when you recommend something I can trust it. You’ve not let me down yet!

The Hunt For Raoul Moat
7/10

Follows the police operation in 2010 to apprehend fugitive Raoul Moat. He went to Northumbria after killing one person and wounding two others.

From the top of my head there have been some really fantastic fact based dramas over the years and a lot recently- Sherwood, Anne, Code of a Killer, Manhunt, Little Boy Blue, A Confession, White House farm, Des, Stephen, the Salisbury Poisonings, Four Lives, Appropriate Adult, The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe and The Lost Honour of Christopher Jeffries. I’m sure I’ve missed some too.
The Hunt For Raoul Moat whilst not hitting the heights of some of those dramas is still a solid bit of work that was mostly well done and we enjoyed it.

The Diplomat. 7.5/10.

Not to be confused with a BBC show of the same name that appeared around the same time.

I watched this show because it stars the lead actress from the Americans whose name currently escapes me, and it has some of the people who were involved in making the series Homeland, which I have watched, and West Wing, which I haven't.

The plot centres around a female diplomat who is about to go to the Afghanistan, but is sent to London instead at the last minute because one of the Royal Navy warships has been attacked and a lot of crewmen have been killed. First indications are that the attack was carried out by Iran, but was it?

What follows put me in mind of the Thick of It, but without the biting satire and comedy. It's very much about politicians, including the British PM and the President of the States, to-ing and fro-ing behind the scenes, trying to stop the thing getting out of hand and turning into all out conflict.

The Diplomat in question is accompanied to London by her husband, who is also a Diplomat, albeit with more experience and an agenda. He's played by Rufus Sewell with an impeccable American accent.

It was good, it is well made, and is very topical and on point for what's happening in the world right now, but I started to waver a bit by the end and got a bit bored with it. Maybe that was just me, because the reviews are generally favourable

Kin Season 2
9/10

Kin tells the story of a fictional Dublin family embroiled in gangland war and speaks to the enduring unbreakable bonds of blood and family.

Just finished this and I reckon it’s better than the first season.A great end to the season and It’s really building nicely with the next series already filmed and the 4th commissioned too.

Quoted from ginnywings

The Diplomat. 7.5/10.

Not to be confused with a BBC show of the same name that appeared around the same time.

I watched this show because it stars the lead actress from the Americans whose name currently escapes me, and it has some of the people who were involved in making the series Homeland, which I have watched, and West Wing, which I haven't.

The plot centres around a female diplomat who is about to go to the Afghanistan, but is sent to London instead at the last minute because one of the Royal Navy warships has been attacked and a lot of crewmen have been killed. First indications are that the attack was carried out by Iran, but was it?

What follows put me in mind of the Thick of It, but without the biting satire and comedy. It's very much about politicians, including the British PM and the President of the States, to-ing and fro-ing behind the scenes, trying to stop the thing getting out of hand and turning into all out conflict.

The Diplomat in question is accompanied to London by her husband, who is also a Diplomat, albeit with more experience and an agenda. He's played by Rufus Sewell with an impeccable American accent.

It was good, it is well made, and is very topical and on point for what's happening in the world right now, but I started to waver a bit by the end and got a bit bored with it. Maybe that was just me, because the reviews are generally favourable

Didn’t even finish ep 1 in our house. Dull.

Quoted from ginnywings

The Diplomat. 7.5/10.

Not to be confused with a BBC show of the same name that appeared around the same time.

I watched this show because it stars the lead actress from the Americans whose name currently escapes me, and it has some of the people who were involved in making the series Homeland, which I have watched, and West Wing, which I haven't.

The plot centres around a female diplomat who is about to go to the Afghanistan, but is sent to London instead at the last minute because one of the Royal Navy warships has been attacked and a lot of crewmen have been killed. First indications are that the attack was carried out by Iran, but was it?

What follows put me in mind of the Thick of It, but without the biting satire and comedy. It's very much about politicians, including the British PM and the President of the States, to-ing and fro-ing behind the scenes, trying to stop the thing getting out of hand and turning into all out conflict.

The Diplomat in question is accompanied to London by her husband, who is also a Diplomat, albeit with more experience and an agenda. He's played by Rufus Sewell with an impeccable American accent.

It was good, it is well made, and is very topical and on point for what's happening in the world right now, but I started to waver a bit by the end and got a bit bored with it. Maybe that was just me, because the reviews are generally favourable

Watched the first and we both enjoyed it, there is clearly more to come and we’ll definitely be watching the lot!

Oh by the way I am currently 6 episodes in on the last series of Pennyworth. It may not quite be to the level of the previous 2 but I am enjoying nonetheless.

Edit: I have finished it. Not a lot to add. Not enough Bet. Not enough Daveboy. Ending was like it didn’t know it was going to be cancelled which is, id imagine close to the truth.
3rd season the poorest but overall a good series that I enjoyed for a bit of fun.

Steeltown Murders
8/10

It centers on the hunt to catch the killer of three young women set in both 1973 and the early 2000s, contrasting the policing methods of the 1970s with the forensic breakthroughs of the early 2000s.

I hadn’t heard anything about this miniseries until it dropped on TV. Not overly complicated despite the back and forth jumping in time which can often be needlessly messy. It doesn’t seek to sensationalise or over dramatise the story which is well acted out by a very good British TV cast. We really enjoyed this.

The Full Monty
7/10

Follows the original band of brothers as they navigate Sheffield and its crumbling healthcare, education and employment sectors, exploring the brighter, sillier and more humane way forward where communal effort can still triumph over adversity.

I was really looking forward to watching this and so perhaps my expectations were a little high but overall I was underwhelmed. That’s not to say there were not high spots because some episodes were better than others and there was some good humour sprinkled here and there. It wasn’t taxing to watch and I certainly didn’t expect it to hit the heights of the film but it could have been so much better. My rating is as much to do with nostalgia as anything else I think!