Category Archives: TV

The Bletchley Circle. Series Two, Episodes Three And Four. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Julie Graham, Rachael Stirling, Hattie Morahan, Sophie Rundle, Faye Marsey, David Hounslow, Nik Blood, Edyta Budnik, Brana Bajic, Orestes Sophocleous, Ian Stuart Robertson, Rupert Holliday, Michael Wedder.

With Anna Maxwell Martin’s character having departed the confines of London to go abroad with her husband, the team is one woman short but where better to look for a replacement than the colleague the women of The Bletchley Circle saved from hanging in the previous two part story.

The Bletchley Circle. Series Two, Episodes Three And Four. Television Review. full post

(403 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

The Musketeers: Sleight Of Hand. Television Review. B.B.C.Television.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Tom Burke, Peter Capaldi, Howard Charles, Luke Pasqualino, Santiago Cabera, Alexandra Dowling, Ryan Cage, Mainie McCoy, Hugo Speer, Jason Flemyng, Bo Poraj, John Poston, Carl McCrystal, Lukas Vychopen, Sean Cernow, Denise Gough, Jan Holik, Ian Barritt.

Two episodes in and B.B.C.’s The Musketeers already looks to be to living up to the ultimate ideal that has promised so much over the last 100 years but has never quite been able to live up to. With the very obvious exception of the set of films starring Michael York and Oliver Reed, all that has gone before this adaptation has been lacklustre, almost afraid to live to its full potential, the taste of an éclair filled with inedible garlic could not have not have left a more sour taste in the mouth of those entranced by Alexandre Dumas’ work.

The Musketeers: Sleight Of Hand. Television Review. B.B.C.Television. full post

(486 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

The Musketeers, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Tom Burke, Luke Pasqualino, Santiago Cabrera, Howard Charles, Peter Capaldi, Tamla Kari, Maimie McCoy, Hugo Speer, Ryan Cage, Alexandra Dowling, Will Tizard, Roger Aston-Griffith, Abigail Rice, Bo Peraj, Daniel Gosling, Dave Florez, Nicholas McGaughey, Oliver Cotton, Chris Barnes, Philip Brodie, Joe Wredden, Flip Webster, Emily Beecham, David Verrey, Alex Austin.

There doesn’t seem to have been a great action adventure in the void that is Sunday night for ages. Lots of great detective drama but no real daring, swords, and the thrill of a well written narrative interlaced with seeing some of the great heroes of literature being bought to life like never before…that is until The Musketeers.

The Musketeers, Television Review. full post

(583 words, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

The Bletchley Circle, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Anna Maxwell Martin, Rachael Stirling, Julie Graham, Sophie Rundle, Hattie Morahan, Mark Dexter, Faye Marsey, Paul McGann, Tim Piggott-Smith, Simon Chandler, Richard Hun, Paul Ritter, Simon Darwen, Mabel Watson, Freddie Anness-Lorenz, Nick Blood, Joanne Adams, Victoria Alcock, James Weaver.

The Bletchley Circle, Television Review. full post

(442 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Timeshift: How to Be Sherlock Holmes, The Many Faces Of A Master Detective. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Sherlock Holmes, just his very name is enough to bring a smile of satisfaction to the millions of fans of the science of deduction. Whether in the abundance of stories created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, including the classics The Sign of Four, The Red Headed League and the gothic horror The Hound of The Baskervilles or in the many film adaptations staring such luminaries as Basil Rathbone, Roger Moore, Robert Downey Jr. and Peter Cushing.  There have been the very successful early stage production or in the television series’ that has caught the public imagination starring Jeremy Brett or Benedict Cumberbatch, everybody who has ever enjoyed the detective has a point of view on him and the many faces he has worn.

Timeshift: How to Be Sherlock Holmes, The Many Faces Of A Master Detective. Television Review. full post

(470 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Sherlock: His Last Vow (Series Three). Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Amanda Abbington, Lars Mikkelsen, Louise Brealey, Mark Gatiss, Lindsay Duncan, Una Stubbs, Yasmine Akram, Rupert Graves, Andrew Scott, Jonathan Aris, Tom Brooke, Wanda Ventham, Timothy Carlton, Calvin Demba, Tim Wallers, Glen Davies, Brigid Zengeni, Matthew Welsa, Louis Oliver.

Some things are just over a little too quickly. They are still magnificent, they keep you entertained and intrigued but the sense of having to wait for a lengthy period of time for a new series just as the action has reached a boiling point, a natural high of deduction, is far too much for some to bear.

Sherlock: His Last Vow (Series Three). Television Review. full post

(610 words, estimated 2:26 mins reading time)

Midsomer Murders, Let Us Prey. Television Review. I.T.V.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Neil Dudgeon, Gwilym Lee, Fiona Dolman, Tazmin Malleson, Rebecca Front, Michael Jayston, Roy Hudd, Andrea Lowe, Vincent Regan, William Postlethwaite, Patricia Brake, William Beck, Paul Copley, Gerald Horan.

In Midsomer, the trouble an old church relic can cause is enough to drive a whole village to thoughts of murder. In the latest episode of Midsomer Murders, Let Us Prey Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby is not only coming to terms with impending fatherhood but also trying to capture the murderer who is using the finding of an old forgotten fresco in the village church, a disturbing piece which portrays gruesome ways of killing humans, as inspiration.

Midsomer Murders, Let Us Prey. Television Review. I.T.V. full post

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

The 7:39, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: David Morrissey, Sheridan Smith, Olivia Coleman, Sean McGuire, Izzy Meikle-Small, Bill Milner, Justin Salinger, Lashana Lynch, Mohammed Ali, Ancuta Breaban, Raj Ghatak, John Hiorns.

We have all looked at the person on the other side of train aisle at one time or another and caught a furtive glance coming our way, thoughts of introducing yourself brushed aside by responsibility and those waiting at home.

The 7:39, Television Review. full post

(390 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Sherlock, Sign Of Three. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Amanda Abbington, Louise Brealey, Rupert Graves, Mark Gatiss, Una Stubbs, Alistair Petrie, Vinette Robinson, Lara Pulver, Oliver Lansley, Alice Lowe, Yasmine Akram, Ed Birch, Jalaal Hartley, Adam Greaves-Neal, Alfie Enoch, Tim Chipping,  Will Keen, Rita Arya, Georgina Rich, Debbie Chazen, Wendy Wason, Nicholas Asbury.

Most weddings end up feeling like murder so why not have Sherlock Holmes somewhere in the room to bring out the best in the proceedings?

Sherlock, Sign Of Three. Television Review. full post

(502 words, estimated 2:00 mins reading time)

Sherlock, The Empty Hearse. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves, Mark Gatiss, Louise Brealey, Amanda Abbington, Timothy Carlton, Wanda Ventham, Lasco Atkins, Elizabeth Coyle, Paul Warren, Paul Dawkins.

Sherlock lives and all of London can breathe just that little bit more comfortably and soundly as they drift off to sleep, safe in the knowledge that the game is back on…

Sherlock, The Empty Hearse. Television Review. full post

(463 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)