Review: This Is England ’90, Episode 4: ‘Winter’ (The End)

“You’re clocked in”

It’s taken me a while to ruminate on the final episode of This Is England ’90 (and the last episode ever!). The feature-length ‘Winter’ gave the audience plenty of stuff to chew on. From Kelly’s wilful estrangement, to Combo’s redemptive job and inevitable confrontation with Milky, to the wedding of Lol and Woody (and everything in between), the episode was stuffed to the gills with stories and characters. Almost perfectly plotted, with incredible acting from all involved, ‘Winter’ was a suitably bittersweet but brilliant ending for the characters that we’ve grown to love. There was even a happy ending, but an ending inhibited by the demons of the past and present.

Review: This Is England ’90, Episode 3: ‘Autumn’ (Winter Is Coming…)

“The past does matter…it shapes the future if we face it”

After two uneven and (sometimes painfully) slow episodes of This Is England ’90, we returned to the familiar drama that has defined the film/TV series. Let’s face it; the drama and darkness are what we have been waiting for. It was necessary and nice to see our characters being happy, but what we wanted was misery, tears and arguments. For better or worse, that’s what we received in ‘Autumn.’ The sunlight is fading, and the cold nights are drawing in. Happiness is being sucked out of our characters slowly but surely…

Review: This Is England ’90, Episode 2: ‘Summer’ (Look On The Bright Side!)

“Are you moving out?”

If you were looking for ‘This Is England’s’ trademark darkness, then you’d be satisfied with ‘Summer’…but only after forty-five minutes! It was very much like ‘Spring,’ with a more light-hearted approach that set the scene, rather than plunged us into the nitty-gritty. However, unlike last week’s dull hour, ‘Summer’ offered genuine humour and meaningful dialogue. Of course, there were moments of boredom where nothing of substance happened. But it felt like a worthwhile hour of television, and an improvement on the debut episode of This Is England ’90.

Review: Humans, Series 1, Episode 7 (Family Fortunes?)

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

“It’s not safe out there”

What a penultimate episode of Humans, Series 1, we witnessed! It encapsulated everything a penultimate episode should do: answer some questions, pose some more questions, and leave us with baited breath waiting for the finale. Although it only furthered the themes of the series as a whole, rather than adding more themes to the mix, the episode still developed and twisted the themes in diverting directions. A few minor niggles aside, Episode 7 continued the overall high quality of Humans.

Review: Humans, Series 1, Episode 6 (Sex and the Synths)

“Humans and machine; the lines are blurring”

After Episode’s 5 slower paced dose of Humans, Episode 6 puts the pedal to the metal (well, as fast as a show like Humans can go!) and delivers entertainment and food for thought in generous doses. The definition of ‘family’ was explored and deconstructed throughout the episode. Not one, but two sexual encounters between humans and synths added more depth to Joe’s ‘infidelity’ with Anita. And the ending left us close to tears and on the edge of our seats at the same time!

Review: Humans, Season 1, Episode 3 (Robot Supernanny!)

“Why don’t you share?”

Humans is slowly becoming must-watch TV. It isn’t quite there yet, but there’s the impression that the slow build of the first two episodes is starting to pay off. Laura’s fear of being replaced by Anita became a reality. And, as Anita became a parent-figure, the personhood of another synth, Niska, was denied. Her murder of the client was treated like an accident in in a factory; the result of human error, not a conscious synth decision. And the difference between humans and synths is getting ever more obscure and abstract…

Review: Humans, Series 1, Episode 2 (Robot Whores?)

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

“He’s the Mona Lisa, he’s penicllin, he’s the atom bomb”

Episode 2 of Humans continues the slow build of episode 1, adding bits and pieces to the overall storylines. We delve deeper into the murky underworld of the synths, with synth Niska’s brothel life becoming even more disturbing and Leo’s venture into a murky underground synth assembly/torture chamber of sorts. Anita, in the face of Laura’s hostility, becomes more likeable, even with a sinister edge. George’s bittersweet life descends into comedy with the arrival of an NHS synth, Vera. While still not grabbing us by the lapels and screaming “BET YOU CAN’T WAIT FOR NEXT WEEK’S EPISODE,” Humans does just enough to become satisfying Sunday night television.

Review: Humans, Series 1, Episode 1 (Aye, Robot)

(SPOILERS AHEAD)
“This is the best thing that you will do for your family”

At first I thought all of my dreams had been answered when I saw an advert about ‘synths’ on Channel 4. A robot that can do the house chores? Bingo! However, it all turned out to be a con…and so we have Channel 4’s Humans. The show lands at just the right moment. Stephen Hawking has warned us about the unrelenting advance of A.I., a new Terminator film is hitting our screens, and there’s a hotel in Japan fully staffed by robots. Is Humans a glimpse into our future? Better yet, is Humans a worthwhile glimpse into our future? The first episode introduced almost too many plot lines and characters to reconcile over eight episodes. But the themes it brought up, while some were less subtle than others, will strike a chord with the masses. What about the unrelenting progress of A.I.? What about the impact on humans? What about jobs? The first episode of Humans managed to encase these BIG QUESTIONS in an enthralling drama that sometimes got caught up in the common problem of today’s TV: too much going on!

Review: Agents of SHIELD: Season 2 Episode 14: Love in the Time of Hydra (What’s Love Got To Do With It?!?)

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

“She doesn’t know herself anymore”

It seems that every other episode of ‘Agents of SHIELD’ is lacking quality. Last week’s offering was lacklustre, so that could only mean that this week’s offering, ‘Love In The Time of Hyrda,’ would be decent…and it was better than average! It set up plenty of things that we will look forward to later on in the series. While it wasn’t without it’s problem, it still gave us some entertainment.

Review: Agents of SHIELD, Season 2 Episode 13: One of Us (I’d rather be alone…)

Fight on…fight off…

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

“It’s a different SHIELD now”

Unfortunately, I watched ‘One of Us’ after watching the first episode of ‘Daredevil.’ The latter showed us an almost perfect Comic Book TV episode. The former, well…let’s say it wasn’t perfect. In fact, it was far from perfect…Even disregarding ‘Daredevil’, last week’s ‘Agents of SHIELD’ was a darn good showing, and this one failed to keep up the quality.