Category Archives: BBC DRAMA

BROKEN BUT BRILLIANT! ‘BROKEN’- A review of episode 4!

Posted on June 21, 2017 by SCARFMAN

Jimmy McGovern’s BBC1 sociopolitical drama Broken is unequivocally the best thing on TV right now. This week was the fourth instalment and its brilliance remains ever strong. It is brilliantly written and acted and has truly secured actor Sean Bean’s … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, BBC DRAMA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BBC1, DRAMA, EMOTION, ENTERTAINMENT, TELEVISION, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged @SCARFMANANDY, ANDY LLOYD, ANNA FRIEL, AUSTERITY CUTS, BBC DRAMA, BBC1, BRITISH TELEVISION, BROKEN, CATHOLICISM, COMMUNITY, CUTS, entertainment, FATHER MICHAEL KERRIGAN, GAMBLING ADDICTION, HARD-HITTING DRAMA, JIMMY MCGOVERN, KEN LOACH, PAULA MALCOLMSON, POLICE CORRUPTION, popular culture, POVERTY, ROZ, SEAN BEAN, SOCIOPOLITICAL, SUICIDE, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TV, tv review | Leave a comment

DEATH IN PARADISE : IT’S VERY FORMULAIC, BUT OH MY WHAT A GREAT CURE IT IS FOR THOSE JANUARY WINTER BLUES! A review.

Posted on January 14, 2017 by SCARFMAN

Do you like me suffer from those awful British January winter blues? You will know what I’m talking about if you do. It is the dull, damp freezing weather coupled with it going dark in the evenings before 5pm, so … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, BBC COMEDY, BBC DRAMA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BBC1, COMEDY, DRAMA, ENTERTAINMENT, POPULAR CULTURE, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged ANDY LLOYD, BBC ONE, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BRITISH TELEVISION, CARIBBEAN, CHEESY DIALOGUE, COLD BRITAIN, COMEDY CRIME DRAMA, DEATH IN PARADISE, DEATH IN PARADISE SERIES 6, DEATH IN PARADISE SERIES SIX, DRAMA, entertainment, EPISODE 2, EPISODE TWO, ESCAPISM, ESCAPISM IN CRIME DRAMA, ESTHER MONROE, FLORENCE, FORMULAIC DRAMA, GUADELOUPE, INSPECTOR HUMPHREY GOODMAN, INSPECTOR MORSE, JANUARY WINTER BLUES, KRIS MARSHALL, MISS MARPLE, OFFICER DWAYNE MYERS, OFFICER JP HOOPER, popular culture, REALISM IN CRIME DRAMA, SAN MARIE, SCARFMAN, SCARMANANDY, SUNSHINE, TELEVISION, TELEVISION REVIEW, THE ARTS, THE FLAME TREE, TV, tv review, WEST INDIES, WINTER BLUES | Leave a comment

LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX, CHRISTMAS SPECIAL : HAVE THEY DANCED THEIR FINAL TANGO….MAYBE? – A REVIEW.

Posted on January 8, 2017 by SCARFMAN

Sally Wainwright’s award winning BBC One drama Last Tango in Halifax, returned to our screens for a two-part Christmas special and overall it was a successful return without ever being a sensational one. The problem with it only being two … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, BBC COMEDY, BBC DRAMA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BBC1, DRAMA, EMOTION, ENTERTAINMENT, HAPPY VALLEY, MENTAL HEALTH, POPULAR CULTURE, SALLY WAINWRIGHT, SARAH LANCASHIRE, screenplay, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged ALAN, AM-DRAM, ANNE REID, BBC ONE, CAROLINE, CELIA, CLASS WAR, COMEDY, COMEDY DRAMA, COUNTRYSIDE VS CITY, death, DEREK JACOBI, DRAMA, EDUCATION, FARMING, GHOSTS, GILLIAN, Grief, HAPPY VALLEY, HEADMISTRESS, HUDDERSFIELD, KATE, LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX, LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, LESBIANISM, MURDER, NORTHERN, REVIEW, ROBBIE, SALLY WAINWRIGHT, SARAH LANCASHIRE, SCHOOLING, SECRET, SUICIDE, TELEVISION, TELEVISION REVIEW, TV, tv review, YORKSHIRE | Leave a comment

CLOSE TO THE ENEMY : ‘IT WAS AN ACT OF LOVE’. A REVIEW.

Posted on January 6, 2017 by SCARFMAN

Set in the immediate aftermath of World War II when all the secret service agencies in Britain were in a frenzy, this period drama written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff was absolutely magnificent. It had this charming British nostalgic quality … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, BBC DRAMA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, DRAMA, EMOTION, ENTERTAINMENT, MELODRAMAS, MENTAL HEALTH, POPULAR CULTURE, screenplay, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged ALFRED MOLINA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BBC TWO, BREAKING SOUND BARRIER, BRITAIN POST WAR, CHARLOTTE RILEY, CLOSE TO THE ENEMY, CLOSE TO THE ENEMY REVIEW, DRAMA, FREDDIE HIGHMORE, JIM STURGESS, SECRET SERVICES, STEPHEN POLIAKOFF, TELEVISION, THE ENGLISH PATIENT, TV, tv review, WORLD WAR II | Leave a comment

THE MISSING – series 2, a review. ADDICTIVE, ENGROSSING…..AND IT WASN’T TOO COMPLICATED!

Posted on January 5, 2017 by SCARFMAN

Wednesday December 7th 2016 was a bad day all-round for me. Firstly, I woke up and remembered that it was my fortieth birthday(I still feel only twenty), then the double whammy was realising that the outstanding BBC One abduction thriller … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, BBC DRAMA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BBC1, ENTERTAINMENT, POPULAR CULTURE, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, THRILLERS, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged @SCARFMANANDY, ABDUCTION THRILLER, BBC ONE, BRITISH TELEVISION, BRITISH TV, DAVID MORRISSEY, DRAMA, entertainment, EUROPEAN CINEMA, GEMMA WEBSTER, Grief, JULIEN BAPTISTE, KEELEY HAWES, popular culture, REVIEW, SAM WEBSTER, SCARFMAN, SOPHIE GIROUX, SWITZERLAND, TCHEKY KARYO, THE MISSING, The Missing series 2, THRILLER, TOO COMPLICATED PLOT, TV, tv review, UK TV, VAAREN | Leave a comment

Ordinary Lies. Series 2, episode 1 review : YOU HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE PARANOID HUSBAND, HIS VIGILANTE WIFE AND THE RANDY DIVORCEE?

Posted on October 24, 2016 by SCARFMAN

After a highly successful and well received first series, last week saw the return of the BBC One work-based drama Ordinary Lies. Written and created by Danny Brocklehurst, the second series this time around is set in Wales with a … Continue reading →

Posted in ANXIETY, BBC, BBC DRAMA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BBC1, DRAMA, EMOTION, ENTERTAINMENT, MENTAL HEALTH, POPULAR CULTURE, screenplay, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged ADULTERY, Ally, ANDY LLOYD, anxiety, Ash Driscoll, Ashton, BBC, BBC DRAMA, BBC ONE, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, Belle Brierley, Big Brother Society, BRITISH TELEVISION, BRITISH TV, CCTV, challenging mental health stereotypes, child abuse, Con O'Neill, DANNY BROCKLEHURST, DEPRESSION, DRAMA, EMOTION, entertainment, EPISODE 1, EPISODE ONE, hunk, jason manford, Jennifer Nicholas, JILL HALFPENNY, Joe Brierley, Luke Bailey, mental health, mental health in dramas, mental health in TV shows, office joker, ORDINARY LIES, Ordinary Lies blog, ORDINARY LIES REVIEW, Ordinary Lies series 2, popular culture, privacy, RED PRODUCTION COMPANY, Scarfman_, screenplay, series two, spying, stigma of mental health, SUICIDE, surveillance, TELEVISION, TELEVISION CRITIC, TELEVISION REVIEW, THE ARTS, TV, TV BLOG, TV CRITIC, tv review, UK TELEVISION, UK TV, UNCATEGORISED, UNCATEGORIZED, vigilantism in dramas, Wales in drama | Leave a comment

‘The Missing’ – THE COOLEST RETIRED DETECTIVE ON THE PLANET! Series 2, episode 1 review.

Posted on October 15, 2016 by SCARFMAN

Now and again you quite literally get bowled over by a new programme that comes on the telly. You go to bed thinking about it, you wake up thinking about it and you cannot wait for the next episode to … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, BBC DRAMA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BBC1, DRAMA, EMOTION, ENTERTAINMENT, POPULAR CULTURE, screenplay, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, THRILLERS, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged ABIGAIL HARDINGHAM, Alice Webstaer, ALICE WEBSTER, ANDREW LLOYD, ANDY LLOYD, ANDY LLOYD TV CRITIC, ART HOUSE, ART HOUSE CINEMA, BBC 1, BBC DRAMA THRILLER, BBC ONE, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BRITISH TELEVISION, BRITISH TV, CLINT EASTWOOD, CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD, Daniel Ezra, DAVID MORRISSEY, DIRTY HARRY, DRAMA, ECKHAUSEN, EMOTION, entertainment, EUROPEAN CINEMA, FRANCE, French in British drama, GEMMA WEBSTER, GERMANY, HARRY WILLIAMS, JACK AND HARRY WILLIAMS, JACK WILLIAMS, JULIEN BAPTISTE, KEELEY HAWES, keely hawes, KIDNAP, multilayered narrative, narrative bombshells, PEDOPHILES, popular culture, Review of The Missing, SAM WEBSTER, SCARFMAN, Scarfman_, screenplay, SOPHIE GIROUX, suspence, TCHEKY KARYO, TELEVISION, Television detective, TELEVISION REVIEW, THE ARTS, THE MISSING, The Missing series 2, THRILLER, thrillers, TV, TV DRAMA, tv review, TV The Missing series two, TV THRILLER, UK TELEVISION, UK TV | Leave a comment

‘One of Us’ – series review : A HAUNTING CRIME DRAMA THAT HAD MORE TWISTS THAN CHUBBY CHECKER!

Posted on September 21, 2016 by SCARFMAN

An intriguing crime drama by brothers Jack and Harry Williams(The Missing) that kept me interested throughout. The finest aspect of it was the dark and haunting tone that pervaded every scene. It was this ever-present haunting quality that gave the show … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, BBC DRAMA, BBC1, DRAMA, ENTERTAINMENT, POPULAR CULTURE, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged 23 AUGUST -13 SEPTEMBER 2016, ADAM AND GRACE, ADRIAN EDMONDSON, AM LLOYD, ANDY LLOYD, ANDY SCARF, BAD ACTING, BBC, BBC DRAMA, BBC ONE, BBC1, BBC1 CRIME DRAMA, BILL DOUGLAS, BRITISH TV, CHRIS FULTON, CLARE ELLIOT, CRIME DRAMA, DRAMA, EDINBURGH, EMOTIVE DRAMA, entertainment, GARY LEWIS AS ALASTAIR, GOOD ACTING, GORDON RAMSAY, JACK AND HARRY WILLIAMS, JOANNA VANDERHAM, JOE DEMPSIE, JOHN LYNCH, JULIE GRAHAM, JULIET, JULIET STEVENSON, LAURA FRASER, MEREDITH, MISE-EN-SCENE, MOIRA DOUGLAS, ONE OF US, ONE OF US REVIEW, ONE OF US(TV SERIES), PARKINSON'S DISEASE, PETER ELLIOT, PLOT TWISTS, popular culture, Scarfman_, SCOTLAND, SCOTLAND DRAMA, STEVE EVETS, TELEVISION REVIEW, THE ARTS, THE MISSING, TV, TV CRITIC, tv review, UK TV, UNCATEGORISED, UNCATEGORIZED | Leave a comment

BIRTHS, BABIES AND BOREDOM! IN THE CLUB : SERIES 2, EPISODE SIX REVIEW!

Posted on June 14, 2016 by SCARFMAN

In 2008 Gareth McLean in The Guardian asked if there was ‘a TV equivalent of difficult second album syndrome’? He went on to confirm that indeed there was and cited a few examples to support his theory. He was referring … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC DRAMA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BBC1, DRAMA, EMOTION, ENTERTAINMENT, NHS, POPULAR CULTURE, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged ANDY LLOYD, BABIES, BABY DRAMA, BBC, BBC DRAMA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BBC1, BOREDOM, BRITISH DRAMA TELEVISION, BRITISH TV, CHRISTINE BOTTOMLEY, CORNY, DEV SIDHWA, DISAPPOINTING SECOND SERIES, DRAMA STORYLINES, FOLLOW UP SERIES, GERALDINE, GERALDINE PARKS, HANNAH, HERMIONE NORRIS, HOSPITAL DRAMA, IN THE CLUB, IN THE CLUB SERIES 2, IN THE CLUB SERIES TWO, JASMIN SIDHWA, JONATHAN, KATHERINE PARKINSON, KAY MELLOR, KIM HALL, LONDON'S BURNING, LORRAINE CHESHIRE, LUKE, LUKE THOMPSON, MIDWIFE, NEIL PEARSON, NHS, OVER DRAMARISED, REVIEW, RICK MANNING, ROANNA WILSON, SACHA DHAWAN, SCARFMAN, Scarfman_, SECOND SERIES SYNDROME, SIMON LAMBERT, storylines, TAJ ATWAL, TELEVISION, TELEVISION REVIEW, TV, TV CRITIC, tv review, TWINS, VICKY, VICKY BRIERLY, WILL MELLOR, YOU THE CRITIC | Leave a comment

RESOLUTE, RELENTLESS REG! ‘REG’ – A REVIEW.

Posted on June 9, 2016 by SCARFMAN

Reg Keys : “A five hundred strong mob armed to the teeth baying for blood, came after my son and he had fifty bullets and no radio. Now I can accept that just about, but if I find out this … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, BBC DRAMA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BBC1, death, DRAMA, EMOTION, ENTERTAINMENT, FAMILY, grief, POPULAR CULTURE, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TRUE STORIES, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV | Tagged 2005 GENERAL ELECTION, ACTING, ANDY LLOYD, ANN MAXWELL MARTIN, ANTI WAR, ANTI WAR PROPAGANDA, ARMY, BBC, BBC DRAMA, BBC ORIGINAL DRAMA, BBC1, BIASED, BOB CLAY, BRITAIN, BRITISH ARMY, BRITISH DEMOCRACY, BRITISH POLITICS, DAVID AND GOLIATH, death, DEMOCRACY, EMOTION, entertainment, Family, Grief, GRIEVING, IRAQ, IRAQ WAR, JIMMY MCGOVERN, LABOUR PARTY, MURDER, POLITICS, popular culture, REG, REG KEYS, ROBERT PUGH, SADNESS, SALLY KEYS, SCARFMAN, Scarfman_, screenplay, SEDGEFIELD, SPECIAL EFFECTS, TELEVISION, TELEVISION REVIEW, THE ARTS, THOMAS KYS, TIM ROTH, TOM KEYS, TONY BLAIR, TRUE STORY, TV, TV CRITIC, tv review, UK, UK TV | Leave a comment

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