Midsomer Murders, The Christmas Haunting. Television Review. I.T.V.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Neil Dudgeon, Fiona Dolman, Gwilym Lee, Tazmin Malleson, Les Dennis, Emily Joyce, Perdita Avery, Elizabeth Berrington, Nadia Cameron-Blakey, Pamela Betsy Cooper, Paul Blair, Anthony Farrelly, Mark Heap, James Murray, Nikesh Patel, Jonah Russell, Hannah Tointon, Susie Trayling.

It is a good job that the county of Midsomer is a fictional region. Not because of the many murders, ever intriguing, ever inventive. It is the abundance of the Detective Sergeants that pass through the doors of the Police Station in Causton that make the programme, though entertaining and almost compulsive viewing, a baffling place in which regular continuality strikes real terror in the community.

Midsomer Murders, The Christmas Haunting. Television Review. I.T.V. full post

(485 words, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)

The Escape Artist, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: David Tennant, Toby Kebbell, Sophie Okonedo, Ashley Jensen, Jeany Spark, Tony Gardner, Katy Dickie, Brid Brennan, Monica Dolan, Anton Lesser, Roy Marsden, Alistair Petrie, Patrick Ryecart, Stephen Wright, Gus Barry.

David Tennant doesn’t seem to have been off the television during 2013 and thank heavens for that. Not content with playing the lead role as Detective Alec Hardy in the phenomenal Broadchurch, Aiden Hoynes in The Politician’s Husband, the dashing Jean-Francois Mercier in the acclaimed Spies of Warsaw and a little matter of reprising his role as the tenth incarnation of The Doctor for the 50th Anniversary of the much beloved Science Fiction programme, let alone his work on stage for the R.S.C, it’s fair to say that the Scottish actor has never seemed busier.

The Escape Artist, Television Review. full post

(457 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

No Sinner, Boo Hoo Hoo. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Every so often you might fall in love with a voice, not just a voice but an attitude that makes the worst storm at sea, tempest driving, fear inducing, awe inspiring, feel like a grain of sand casually flicked into the remains of a puddle slowly being eaten by the hot summer sun.

No Sinner, Boo Hoo Hoo. Album Review. full post

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

The Whale, Television Review. B.B.C.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Martin Sheen, Jonas Armstrong, Charles Furness, Adam Raynor, Jolyon Coy, Jassa Ahluwalia, David Gyasi, John Boyega, Ferdinand Kingsley, Paul Kaye, Chris Starkie, Andre Aguis, Joe Azzapardi, Macram Borg, Stephen Buhagiar, Jimi Busutti, Graham Charles, Aklileu Gudetta, Ian Shaw, Bolton White, Valentino Stojanov.

In amongst the seemingly endless repeats, festive cheer, tear-jerkers and the inane, sometimes a made for television film comes along in the run up to Christmas Day that is a sparkling jewel, a reason why television actually deserves its place in the lives of all, a piece of quality so rare that it has been worth being forced to listen to other people’s conversations about the latest celebrity gossip and ghoulish-like fascination of the box in the corner.

The Whale, Television Review. B.B.C. full post

(459 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

Natalie McCool, Gig Review. The District, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

No matter the venue, no matter the time of day, to catch one of the finest female performers around live is a must.

Natalie McCool has already cemented her growing reputation, not just in a city that looks to her as one of their own, but also further afield. Anybody who makes their way to see her and sees the unhindered blaze in her eyes stoking fire from the very pit of her stomach and channelling it through her incredible talent; will be taken on a journey by a woman who epitomises the very heart of music. She is a woman whose devastating, almost coy, smile can bring as many goose bumps to the skin as the simple yet haunting way that her guitar manages to with stunning effect.

Natalie McCool, Gig Review. The District, Liverpool. full post

(414 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Dominic Dunn, Gig Review. The District, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It doesn’t seem like five minutes since Dominic Dunn was hoisted upon stage at the Rodewald Suite Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and bought his music to an even wider audience. The young man from Kirkdale has been championed by one of the city’s finest in the form of Ian Prowse and no matter where he seems to be asked to perform this young 16 year old lad gives off the kind of confidence, a stark understanding of his guitar that you can only feel safe in his company.

Dominic Dunn, Gig Review. The District, Liverpool. full post

(389 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

Dave Clemo, Hard Times. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The diary of a person who has lived an interesting life is always so much more fun and enlightening to read but without having the nose to root through someone else’s life, be they alive or having left this mortal coil for enough time to make a journal bearable reading, the next best thing is to listen to an album by someone who has a tale to impart.

Dave Clemo, Hard Times. Album Review. full post

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

Black Neon Knights, Dawn Of The Knight. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision * * * *

It starts with a hint of menace, gathers pace and ends up being a set of four songs that have the destructive power of a cyclone in mid-flow; the early days of Iron Maiden at the Ruskin Arms are not lost upon the listener as they take in Liverpool’s Black Neon Knights.

Black Neon Knights, Dawn Of The Knight. E.P. Review. full post

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

Joe Symes And The Loving Kind, Gig Review. Williamson Square, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There are times when Williamson Square can seem like a veritable oasis, calm in an ocean of the oncoming Christmas storm. Whilst shoppers make the most of the last weekend before the festivities begin, Williamson Square’s bandstand plays host to some of the great talent that not only braves biting cold but can grab people’s attention as they bathe beneath the neon lights of The Playhouse Theatre and shadow of the Radio City station and its imposing beacon.

Joe Symes And The Loving Kind, Gig Review. Williamson Square, Liverpool. full post

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

The Great Train Robbery: The Copper’s Tale. Television Review. B.B.C.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Jim Broadbent, Luke Evans, Philip Glenister, Nick Moran, James Fox, Tim Piggott-Smith, James Wilby, Gwyneth Strong, Ken Bones, Tom Beard, Richard Hope, Tom Chambers, John Salthouse, Lee Starkey, Kelly Marie Autumnberg, Mark Ashwell, Ross McCormack, Eric Hulme, Alexa Morden, Tommy McDonnell, Al Powell, Alistair Donegan, Matthew Jure, Christine Cox, David Halliwell, Mark Mathieson, Anthony Hunt, Jacob Smyth, James McGregor, Bradley Snelling.

The Great Train Robbery: The Copper’s Tale. Television Review. B.B.C. full post

(498 words, estimated 2:0 mins reading time)