BODYGUARD – episode one review.

Posted on September 1, 2018 by SCARFMAN

After all the hype and dramatic trailers, it was finally time to see the new BBC1 prime time drama Bodyguard.  Created by Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, this was a first episode that promised so much and it duly delivered.

You do not get much more tense and gripping openings to a drama than a potential suicide bomber being discovered on a train.  Straight away the narrative reached out and grabbed our attention.  It was high stakes stuff indeed as our hero character David Budd(Richard Madden), helped to disarm the would be attacker.  It really was acting of the highest order here.

Working as a bodyguard for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch(RaSP) of London’s Metropolitan Police Service, Budd soon receives a promotion and is assigned to protect the Home Secretary Julia Montague(Keeley Hawes).  Budd, for the majority of the time appears to be a man firmly in control of his role.  However, this is set against the fact that he is a war veteran suffering from the crippling effects of PTSD.

We soon learnt that Budd’s personal life was in turmoil largely due to his PTSD.  For example, he is separated from his wife and the mother of his two children Vicky(Sophie Rundle).  We see him find solace in drinking late at night.  The writing needs commending here because Budd is a complex character but he is absolutely a believable one.  Actor  Richard Madden also needs congratulating because it would have been so easy to overact this role.

Trust was a running theme in this first episode that was fundamental to the narrative.  At first we trust Budd as a good guy, however as the plot unfolded this trust we had in him potentially appears misplaced.  This was near the end when he saw him air his severe grievances about politicians to an ex-Army comrade.  The Home Secretary now appears in possible danger due to being protected by him.

The trust we have in politicians was questioned when we saw Julia Montague, deliver an interview on a fictitious version of The Andrew Marr Show.  Did she really believe what she was saying, or was she just saying what she thought should be said?  Due to Budd’s traumatic past in the army, he clearly no longer trusted those in positions of power.

We saw another brake down in trust raise itself in Budd’s personal life.  He is utterly shattered and crest fallen upon hearing that his estranged wife Vicky, has started seeing another man behind his back.

As well as the great compelling performance throughout by Richard Madden, the rest of the performances in this stellar cast were top notch.  Of particular note, was of course Keeley Hawes, as the Home Secretary.  Keeley, remains one of the most talented actresses to grace our TV screens at the moment.

The narrative never wilted or burnt itself out at all.  It was high octane stuff for the full sixty minutes from start to finish.  This is a series to really get excited about such is its high quality.  This is a series that can only continue to thrive and get even better! 5/5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hang Ups- Episode one review.

Posted on August 18, 2018 by SCARFMAN

Surely, a brand new sitcom co-written and starring Stephen Mangan, had to be good hadn’t it?  Add to this, it also featuring the always utterly brilliant Katherine Parkinson, as well as the legendary actors Richard E. Grant and Charles Dance, and this had all the TV ingredients to be a sure fire hit hadn’t it?

With such a great cast and great writing(co-written also by Robert Delamere), this first episode of Hang Ups was indeed a successful triumph.  Although adapted from the American series Web Therapy, it had an original fresh feel to it and most important of all in this sitcom genre, it was funny.  It was not vulgar and nor did it try too hard to be funny either.

You know you’ve really enjoyed a programme when you’re regretful of the ending credits coming up so soon.  Without the adverts, the duration of this show was only twenty-three minutes long so again this was testament to the brilliant witty writing and on point editing.

Stephan Mangan stars as Dr Richard Pitt, who is a troubled therapist due to his last practice failing.  Therefore, this first episode saw him launch his new business venture, which was therapy over the web.  The problem being though that he leads a chaotic life, what with teenage kids to look after, a career go-getting wife(Katherine Parkinson) and a strict father(Charles Dance as Jeremy Pitt), who continues to treat Richard like an infant.

Richard’s one and only solace is speaking to his own therapist Leonard Conrad(Richard E. Grant).  Except that Leonard, rather amusingly,  seems a little unique should we say in his own therapeutic advice to Richard, e.g he suggested that Richard cup one of his testicles in one of his hands the next time he speaks to his father.

Actress Katherine Parkinson, seems to be fantastic in everything that she does right now.   Here as Karen Muller(Richard’s wife), she was once again magnificent.  The ensemble of the cast is what made this show so good.   Each different funny character complimented the next one beautifully.  Alice Lowe as Celia Cain, Richard’s clinical supervisor, was very amusing.  As was the menacing but funny performance given by Steve Oram.  Steve plays furious Neil Quinn, a man that Richard owes some money to.

A great a first episode and it’s so good to have a new funny sitcom on terrestrial television once again. 4/5.

 

 

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AGE BEFORE BEAUTY – Episode One.

Posted on August 5, 2018 by SCARFMAN

Tuesday saw the launch of a new BBC1 family drama called Age Before Beauty.  Set in present day Manchester and written and created by Poldark writer Debbie Horsfield, it centred on a family run beauty salon called Mirrorbel.  Notable actors in this family include Robson Green, Lisa Riley and The Royle Family’s Sue Johnston.

The narrative was quick and in your face from the get-go, but not in a bad way.  With an unusual nonlinear narrative structure this gave the drama a fresh feel about it.  It did enough to draw you in straight away and also via a series of narrative twists, managed to hold your attention for the full sixty minutes.

It was entertaining, funny and yet also had a slightly dark side to it as well.  It contained all the things that a good quality drama should have.  The cast featured an array of British stars and so with this came quality acting throughout.  Bel Finch, for example, was played by the wonderful Polly Walker. She really was the glue so-to-speak, that held this first episode all together.  Her performance was utterly convincing and very natural.  A special mention must also go to the fantastic bitchy character Leanne Roxton, played by Kelly Harrison.  Kelly played this over-the-top role so well and was the vehicle for much of the humour.

A storyline about infidelity might not be the most original one to feature in a drama, however it was how well it was written that gave it a new fresh impetus here.  Not long into this first episode we saw Bel discover that her husband Wesley Finch(played by James Murray), had betrayed her with a much younger woman, personal trainer Lorelei Bailey(Madeleine Mantock).  The twist about this affair is what made it interesting to watch.

The other main storyline involved Bel finding out that the beauty salon was in financial dire straits.  As a result, this drew Bel back into managing it again and we saw Mirrorbel stage a dramatic relaunch.

Slightly reminiscent of Cold Feet on ITV1, if you love the city of Manchester then you will have warmed to this programme due to the repeated breakaway shots of the city’s landscape.  I can’t explain it properly, but this great northern city just feels right to be the location for chirpy drama such as this.

Overall, a very encouraging first episode that fully warrants we watch episode two! 4/5.

 

 

 

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IT REALLY WAS A BIG DEAL! Me and my mental health.

Posted on July 26, 2018 by SCARFMAN

Today was another good day on the OCD front.  Today was another good day where once again I stuck two fingers up at this enslaving, bullying and debilitating illness.  I am continuing to fightback and it feels amazing!

Today, the challenge was to meet up with my new Occupational Therapist at the cafe bit of my local Tesco’s.  I’ll be honest and say how I was slightly taken aback when she suggested to me last week that we met up there.  You see, I have had contamination OCD since I was about fifteen years old(I’m now forty-one), with my vomit phobia getting particularly bad about ten years ago.  I have had this long held irrational fear about sitting in sick anywhere that I go, so sitting down in a strange cafe was definitely going to be a big challenge for me.

It was a challenge that was definitely possible though.  I knew I needed to do this achievement today so I could carry on saying to people and believing, that I was continuing to take baby steps forwards in terms of my recovery journey.  I woke up nervous at the day ahead.  I gave myself a good talking too and listened to music to distract myself.  Today was going to be tough but I kept thinking how proud of myself I would be once I’d done it and it was over.

‘You’re looking well’, these were the words that my Occupational Therapist greeted me with as I joined her at a cafe table.  I only mention these words because they are the exact same ones that my Godfather said me only a few days ago.  It felt nice hearing these words because you know what, I’m feeling well these days too.  These are feelings that are so new to me that they even feel slightly surreal at present.  It so nice having a positive frame of mind nowadays because the very dark days are still so vivid in my mind.

The appointment went very well and as I walked down the stairs and out of the cafe, a surge of delight went throughout my entire body.  That had been the FIRST TIME EVER that I had sat down in the cafe of a supermarket.  This is quite staggering when you think I hardly went anywhere as little as twenty-four months ago.

Now I’m going to the gym, going shopping regularly and meeting up with friends in restaurants.  Today’s achievement was another thing to tick off the list and it feels really good I’m not going to lie.  I have bigger things coming up on my exposure hit list but today I’m happy with how it went.  Slowly I’m getting there with my recovery and nothing I swear is going to stop me moving forwards!

 

 

 

 

 

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NADIYA’S FAMILY FAVOURITES – SEASON ONE, EPISODE ONE.

Posted on July 20, 2018 by SCARFMAN

The BBC is at its finest when it makes shows like Nadiya’s Family Favourites.  This was a new cookery show that was traditional, yet at the same time it also had this original fresh feel to it too.

After she won over the hearts of the nation by winning The Great British Bake Off three years ago, Nadiya Hussain’s television career has truly blossomed in a somewhat overcrowded genre.  Nadiya is a natural on camera and definitely has the likeability factor about her.

This first episode was entitled ‘Family Days Out’.  It was thirty minutes long and not once did it drag.  There was this sunny effervescent energy to it all that made it really appealing to watch.  What with her very enthusiastic nature as well, Nadiya was the one who made this show interesting.

The cooking elements of the show were never boring, instead they were rather captivating.  Nadiya obviously comes across like an extremely talented cook, but none of the things she made seemed out of reach for the good amateur cooks amongst us.  We saw her make a samosa pie that conjured up the emotions of ‘I love you’ she said.  Other things she made included cheese biscuits with a tomato jam as well as a huge pot of prawn saffron biryani.

In order for the cooking sections not to stagnate, the most interesting elements of this episode were when we saw Nadiya come away from her kitchen.  Firstly, we saw her meet Cornish pasty amateur world champion, Gillian.  Here, Nadiya learnt what exactly goes into a Cornish pasty and how to master the tricky art of crimping pastry.

Secondly, Nadiya then went and investigated the use of cold pressed rapeseed oil.  For example, how it tasted different from other cooking oils and the health benefits that it has too.  On two or three occasions we got these stunning almost all yellow, breathtaking establishing shots of rapeseed fields in the glorious British countryside.

The duration of this programme absolutely flew by.  Throughout it was informative, educational and entertaining to watch.  A highly encouraging debut episode that fully deserves we tune in for helping number two next week! 4/5.

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STATH LETS FLATS- Episode one – A Pushy Boy.

Posted on July 2, 2018 by SCARFMAN

New sitcoms these days tend to be very hit or miss.  ‘Stath Lets Flats’, a new sitcom that aired on Channel 4 recently, firmly belongs in the latter category.

In fact this show was that bad that I am not sure how it ever got commissioned in the first place.  It wasn’t funny and was just really corny throughout. It wasn’t even slightly humorous in places. Instead,  what we got was a bad attempt at somebody trying to be Alan Partridge.

The Alan Partridge wannabe was the main character, Greek-Cypriot letting agent Stath(Jamie Demetriou).  It was an utterly woeful performance by him it really was.  Just when you thought this show couldn’t get sillier, it then went up a notch much to my dismay.  There was this scene near the end where he was trying to catch a pigeon for a tenant, and he kept breaking television sets supposedly to much hilarity.  Honestly, I’ve had funnier toothaches it was that bad!

This first episode was called ‘Pushy Boy’.  This was based on Stath pushing over a man at the start who wouldn’t agree to rent a place from him.  Again, this behaviour was supposed to be amusing but wasn’t.  Furthermore, I groaned out loud with the whole wheelie bin banter between Stath and his business rival mate next door.  It was just childish, unoriginal and bordering on the pathetic.

The plot of this first episode was all about Stath trying to prove himself to his father Vasos(Christos Stergioglou), so hopefully he would let him run the family business one day soon.  As you’ll have guessed all did not go according to plan for hapless Stath.  Firstly, he had confidence issues answering the phone. Then, upon nicking a client from his co-worker Carole(Katy Wix), the showing turned into a right disaster.

Problem is that it was a comedy writing disaster for me.  The loud burglar alarm that Stath couldn’t turn off wasn’t funny, and neither was his ongoing work battle with Carole.  I also did not find his overly dense sister Sophie(Natasia Demetriou) funny either.  Apart from all that I quite liked it……….I jest!

One of the worst things that I have seen so far in 2018, really it was that bad! 1/5.

 

 

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INSIDE THE AMERICAN EMBASSY : Episode one – Trump’s Man in Britain.

Posted on July 1, 2018 by SCARFMAN

‘Inside the American Embassy’ is not the most catchiest of titles for a political documentary, nevertheless as that well-known advert goes, ‘it does exactly what it says on the tin’.

Furthermore, episode one was boringly entitled ‘Trump’s Man in Britain’.  The titles might not be very imaginative but the content was extremely insightful and fascinating.  This was a serious sixty minute fly-on-the-wall documentary, where Channel Four it was claimed gained unprecedented access to the workings of U.S Embassy in London.

The documentary started off with the inauguration of the sixty-sixth U.S Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Robert ”Woody” Johnson.  Superbly narrated throughout by John Michie, we were told that seventy-one year old billionaire businessman Johnson, is a close personal friend of President Trump’s who helped part fund Trump’s election campaign.

In terms of UK politicians, the ultra positive Johnson reminded me somewhat of the ex UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.  We got glimpses of his speeches and press briefings, and lets just say Johnson didn’t really seem to have an eye for detail.  There was a line from him where I nearly fell off my chair when he stated about Trump,

‘you can look at Donald Trump and look what he’s done and maybe take some inspiration and actually do some of the things he’s done’.

Nevertheless, you didn’t have to be a Trump fan to enjoy this documentary because it wasn’t about whether you liked or hated him.  It was about getting a privileged look at such an organisation at work.

Very soon into this first episode, President Trump’s notorious use of Twitter became an issue for the Embassy to have to handle.  This was down to him retweeting largely discredited videos by a British extremist far right group, which the British government condemned.  It was interesting to see how Johnson’s press team handled this tricky situation.  Deputy Head of Public Affairs Matt Goshko, stated that this was the first time ever that a U.S President had publicly spoken out against a British Prime Minister.

Goshko needs to be mentioned again here, because there did seem to be a certain amount of tension between Johnson and himself.  As a viewer, this became humorous the more we saw these two men interact with one another.  Particularly enjoyable as well as fascinating was the ‘murder board’ sequence, where Goshko deliberately fired potentially difficult questions at Johnson.

The other two main strands of the documentary were Brexit and the opening of the new U.S Embassy in Vauxhall.  Once again, Johnson told us how disappointed he was about all the British pessimism now regarding Brexit.

Regarding the opening of the new U.S Embassy, it genuinely was interesting and indeed historic television to see the closing down(albeit recorded) of the previous building in Grosvenor Square.  This is the building we were told where D-Day was planned as well as where the Cold War was fought.

From a production perspective, it needs to be congratulated for showing bits of speeches that were said at the time by Johnson, President Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May.  They gave the documentary a sense of authenticity, tension and spectacle.

All-in-all, a really well put together first instalment. If you are in to your political history and current affairs then this definitely is a programme for you! 4/5.

 

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Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing – fun, fishing, and friendly banter

Posted on June 23, 2018 by SCARFMAN

Think of a fishing version of that classic road movie Thelma and Louise, but with less sex and more jokes, and that pretty much sums up episode one of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing!

In this first episode, we saw lifelong friends and comic royalty Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse, fish for tench in Norfolk.  It was funny, interesting, and at times surprisingly poignant.  This was perfect easy viewing television that is just what the doctor ordered just before bedtime.

The poignancy of this show came from it being revealed that both of them had suffered with heart complaints in the past.  In the case of Bob, he had recently had a triple heart bypass we were told.  You do not get much more serious than that, and so it was moving to hear him recount his tale about being told the news by his doctor.  He told us how when he finally got home with the news he wept.  There was something very striking about hearing something so serious, come from a man that is usually so funny.

The format of this show took the form of a bit of fishing interspersed with bits of amusing chat along the way.  The humour did not feel forced in any way, and instead what we got was a glimpse of just two good old mates enjoying the banter as they enjoyed a day out.  Bob trying to learn how to fish was funny, and another comedy highlight was when they visited a local brewery.

Whereas Paul was the fisherman out of the two of them, Bob came into his own in the cooking sphere.  He oversaw cooking the meal by the camp stove, which rather amusingly had Brokeback Mountain connotations about it all.  Bob was also seemingly in charge of the itinerary for the trip.

A stunning contrast to the banter and fishing, were the glorious scenic camera shots taken of Norfolk that we saw.  These shots helped to punctuate the action and helped give the show a lovely tranquil flow about it.

There are no negatives to comment on for this first episode.  It was a really enjoyable watch that had this lovely genuine feel about it all.  This coupled with the humour made it a viewing delight.

Definitely one to watch again next week! 4/5.

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‘THE AMERICANS’ – My love for this show will live with me forever

Posted on June 18, 2018 by SCARFMAN

June 17th, 2018, was somewhat of a momentous day for me.  You see, finally I finished watching the incredible spy thriller drama series that is The Americans.  All six seasons of it I have now watched, and I feel rather sad that it is all over.

Series one of the amazing Happy Valley remains my favourite ever drama series.  From start to finish, it simply is sheer perfection.  The biggest compliment I can give The Americans though, is to say that this programme is right up there with it in terms of quality.

You know you must love a show when you get butterflies in your stomach just before the opening credits and theme music are about to start.  This is what happened to me when watching the final few episodes of The Americans.  Furthermore, you also know you must love a show when after it has just ended, you feel that you could burst into tears at any given moment.  This is what happened to me yesterday after seeing the penultimate episode of The Americans.

For a lot of TV dramas I struggle to lose my suspension-of-disbelief(forget that it’s a TV show), but very rarely did this happen with me during the entire six seasons of this show.  Being genuinely moved by outstanding acting and writing, this is what is so great about the television drama art form when it is done right.

In case you haven’t seen it, then I guess at this point I should briefly state what The Americans is all about.  In a nutshell, it’s a spy thriller set in the early 1980’s, during the Cold War years.  It focuses on the lives of two undercover KGB officers called Elizabeth(Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings(Mathew Rhys), posing as an American couple with two children who live in the North Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.

The viewing delight and suspense of this show lies in the possibility of their true identities being revealed at any given moment.  With every episode I was sat there on the edge of my seat(that’s a lot of minutes I can tell you).  It really is like going on the very best white-knuckle ride you are ever likely to go on.

Matthew Rhys as Philip Jennings, gives an absolutely outstanding performance.  If there is any justice in this world then he will finally win an Emmy for it.  Keri Russell and he are so convincing in the numerous roles and personas that they play.

The acting, the writing, the mise-en-scene and the music, there simply is not a substantial weakness in this drama. I guess the only slightly negative thing I could suggest is that at times it was slightly tricky to follow in places, but not enough to ruin your enjoyment of it.  I also did not think the very last episode was perfection, however it was still very good all the same.

As the ending credits rolled belonging to the final episode, I felt so incredibly emotional.  If I am honest, I still feel this way a bit today too.  I feel so glad and privileged to have had this series in my life. Nevertheless, there is definitely a feeling of sadness there that there are not anymore episodes left to see.

If you love your TV dramas then YOU HAVE TO WATCH THE AMERICANS!  I love this show that much that I watched it via Amazon Prime Video(not on terrestrial TV in the UK).  Thank goodness that my love for this show will live with me forever! 5/5.

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Fight Like a Girl: review.

Posted on June 16, 2018 by SCARFMAN

As thirty minute documentaries go this wasn’t a bad effort at all.  As part of BBC1’s Our Lives, it focused on the life of Glaswegian, Kimberly Benson.  Kim being twenty-six years old and said to be Scotland’s most popular female wrestler right now.

Through a combination of fly-on-the-wall footage and present day interviews, what we got was a documentary that was engaging, interesting and at times moving.  In fact, you could easily argue that because the subject matter was so intriguing, then justifiably it could have run for an hour instead of just half an hour like it did.

The most pleasing aspect of this programme was that it challenged stereotypes and stigma surrounding female body image.  Kim(known as Viper in the wrestling world) is a large lady and so she spoke about how during her ten years in the wrestling business thus far, she has had to fight preconceived ideas about her abilities due to her size.  As wrestling promoter Mark Dallas said on camera, many see Kim as a role model(a positive one for younger girls).

Narrated well throughout by Edith Bowman, we learned of Kim’s supportive family and how vital a support network they are for her.  To help pay the bills, we also found out that Kim worked for the family coach hire business.

Contrasts and polar opposites in Kim’s life are what gave this documentary an emotive quality.  For example, Kim talked about the adrenaline rush of putting on great wrestling performances, countered then by the injuries and toll that it takes on her body.  Kim told us, ”It’s torture but it’s great”.

In the midst of her living her wrestling dream via touring the world and receiving much fandom, we saw Kim at her most vulnerable when she described to us just how lonely this world can feel at times.  She told us, ”being in the spotlight is the loneliest place in the world”.

Kim also talked of regrets when it came to missing out on building up relationships with people due to all the travelling involved overseas.  ”You belong to everybody and nobody at the same time”, is how she best described it to us.  Moments like this were moving to watch without being overplayed though.

Visually, we saw numerous stunning establishing shots of Japanese architecture, as we followed Kim over there for her all important double title match against Toni Storm.  These glorious sights of Japan definitely added a sense of the spectacle to the piece.

Critically speaking, it would have been extremely insightful to have got Kim’s opinion on the female wrestlers that work for the WWE(arguably the biggest wrestling promotion in the world).  Here, it appears to me that unfortunately the male gaze is still very prevalent with female wrestlers and that indeed size does still matter.

It also would have been interesting to have heard more from other female wrestlers that she competed against.  Were they too following a lifelong dream like Kim I wondered?  Including what some male wrestlers thought of their female counterparts would have been good too.

All in all, a great little documentary that had brilliant aspirational undertones throughout.  4/5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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