Category Archives: TV

Midsomer Murders: Crime And Punishment. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Neil Dudgeon, Fiona Dolman, Nick Hendrix, James Atherton, Frances Barber, Neil Morrissey, Sam Troughton, Manjinder Virk, Philip Bird, Phoebe Campbell, Marty Cruikshank, Emilio Doorgasingh, Susan Fordham, Ty Hurley, Vicki Pepperdine, Sara Powell, Katy Cavanagh, Joe Sims, Clive Swift.

When those who watch become all powerful, is it any wonder that those under the microscope start to wreck a little havoc of their own, to tip the balance back in the favour of common sense rather than authoritarianism, the pettiness of the small minded that can lead to people in rural villages falling out with each other.

Midsomer Murders: Crime And Punishment. Television Review. full post

(409 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Sherlock, The Six Thatchers. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Amanda Abbington, Louise Brealey, Sian Brooke, Lindsay Duncan, Mark Gatiss, Rupert Graves, Una Stubbs, Marcia Warren.

It is one way for a television writer to divide an audience and more than half enjoying the spectacle of seeing a former British Prime Minister’s bust of her head smashed to the ground in annoyance and righteous anger and fair play to both Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss for having the courage to be bold in making it a part of the return of Sherlock and its opening episode of series four, The Six Thatchers.

Sherlock, The Six Thatchers. Television Review. full post

(430 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Peter Pan: The Play That Goes Wrong. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: David Suchet, Dave Heam, Chris Leask, Ellie Morris, Henry Lewis, Charlie Russell, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields, Greg Tannahill, Nancy Zamit, Michael Bodie, Bryony Corrigan, Niall Ransome, Harry Kershaw, Adam Meggido, Rachelle Beinart, Rebecca Hyland.

Many times you may have found yourself wondering what it would be like to see your favourite play acted out on television, not in a sense that television sanitises it, completely takes over and muddles up the magic on stage but to catch it raw, completely as it is with all its minor fluffs and possible dropped lines; would it give it a different perspective, would it generate more income for the theatre world which is stretched by budget constraints and a typical government that doesn’t care about the arts, just the bottom line.

Peter Pan: The Play That Goes Wrong. Television Review. full post

(402 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

I’m Not In Love: The Story Of 10cc. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

They remain an enigma, the product of fusion, of two distinct writing styles between the members that graced the name and the now iconic nature of the band, a natural progression from the 60s fashion in which they could trace the first roots of the group and one that quite rightly is still performing today, albeit with only one original member at the helm. 10cc were a group of diversity, of experimentation and of a solid reliability, you could not fault them in the day and anyone taking time out to devour the rich back catalogue will soon follow the point that you don’t have to just like 10cc, you have to love them unconditionally as well.

I’m Not In Love: The Story Of 10cc. Television Review. full post

(494 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

To Walk Invisible. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Finn Atkins, Chloe Pirrie, Charley Murphy, Adam Nagaitis, Jonathan Pryce, Mark Frost, June Watson, Megan Parkinson, Matt Adams, Kris Mochrie, Luke Newberry, David Walmsley, Rory Fleck Byrne, Rebecca Callard, Joe Armstrong, Thomas Howes, Thomas Nelstrop, Karen Shaw, Jonathan Carley, Hugh Simon, Freddie Meredith, Gracie Kelly, David Prosho, Paul Knyman.

To Walk Invisible. Television Review. full post

(547 words, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)

Ethel And Ernest. Television Review.

 

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Jim Broadbent, Brenda Blethyn, Luke Treadaway, Roger Allam, Pam Ferris, Peter Wright, Virginia McKenna, June Brown, Simon Day, Alex Jordan, Harry Collett, Gillian Hanna, Duncan Wisbey, Karyn Claydon.

 

If we were all as fortunate, as happy in life as the parents of British artist, cartoonist and graphic novelist Raymond Briggs then the world would arguably be a happier place. In a touching, beautiful piece of animation, the celebrated artist’s portrayal of his mum and dad’s life from the first time they met to the day they both passed away was explored, visually described and heartbreakingly detailed with praise, attention and sheer craft in the feature length Ethel and Ernest.

Ethel And Ernest. Television Review. full post

(473 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

Jonathan Creek, Daemon’s Roost. Television Review.

Top of Form

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 5/10

Cast: Alan Davies, Sarah Alexander, Warwick Davis, Ken Bones, Georgie Lord, Emun Elliott, Rosalind March, Jason Barnett, Caoimhe Clough, Sisan Coyle, Jo Martin, Ryan Oliva, Nicole Cooper, Chris Forbes.

 

Let someone get away with murder once and they will believe it can be done again, they will come up with another ingenious way to sidestep justice and the person that helped them be free the first time round will undoubetedly be called upon again to provide the alibi they require.

Jonathan Creek, Daemon’s Roost. Television Review. full post

(492 words, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

Witness For The Prosecution. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *

Cast: Toby Jones, Andrea Riseborough, Billy Howle, Hayley Carmichael, Monica Dolan, Kim Cattrall, David Haig, Miranda Nolan, Charles De’Ath, Dorian Lough, Paul Ready, Tim McMullan, Robert East, Adam Jowett, Andrew Havill, Ted Robins, Reid Anderson, William Atkinson, Grant Crookes, Carla Langley, Paul Dallison, Keith Lomas, Charlotte Mason-Apps, Dennis O’ Donnell, Graham Partington, Nicola-Jayne Wells, Patricia Winker.

Agatha Christie is such a staple of television and film that sometimes it can be hard to overlook or forgive when an adaptation has not quite hit the high marks expected of it, sometimes you have let it wash over you and remember the good times, when a marvellous suspense mystery would have the viewer glowing with anticipation and the television schedules would be moved accordingly.

Witness For The Prosecution. Television Review. full post

(445 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

Maigret: Dead Man. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Rowan Atkinson, Lucy Cohu, Shaun Dingwall, John Light, Mark Heap, Katia Bokor, Aiden McArdle, Karen Cagnon, Amber Anderson, Michael Fitzgerald, Ian Puleston-Davies, Peter Schueller, Hugh Simon.

There are many interpretations to any role, there are sublime ones and there are fresh readings, the ones that are arguably more remarkable because you know deep down the actor portraying the part has spent virtually all their lives preparing for the part and have therefore found the moment to give the exact reading the character deserves. For Rowan Atkinson, the role of Maigret must have played over and over again in his mind, the right nuance, the deliberate thought, the compassion, even to those in who do not deserve it, has to played just right and in the tale Dead Man, Rowan Atkinson plays Maigret with absolute conviction.

Maigret: Dead Man. Television Review. full post

(370 words, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

King Lear, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Don Warrington, Alfred Enoch, Mitos Yerolemou, Pepter Lunkuse, Rakie Ayola, Fraser Ayres, Norman Bowman, Thomas Coombes, Wil Johnson, Debbie Korley, Philip Whitchurch, Mark Springer, Rhys Bevan, Miles Mitchell, Sarah Quist, Sam Glen.

There are times when television isn’t brave enough to stand up to the dictum laid down by the B.B.C. at the beginning of its lengthy life span, to not only entertain and inform but also educate those willing to be edified in something other than endless reality programmes or the often insufferable endless round of celebrities plying their trade on panel games or news items. Yes it sticks the mission statement in many ways but the bravery is truly seen when it puts on its screens a captured live recording from a theatre of one of William Shakespeare’s more complex and lengthy plays.

King Lear, Television Review. full post

(465 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)