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THE LEFTOVERS, 2.1 – ‘Axis Mundi’
The first season of HBO fantasy drama The Leftovers was a hit with critics, but audiences were less receptive. It’s easy to see why, because this is a show with a tantalising hook (that 2% of the world’s population inexplicably, instantaneously vanished), but isn’t offering answers to that mystery. It just wants to explore the myriad…
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DOCTOR WHO, 9.3 – ‘Under the Lake’
The strongest opening for a series of Doctor Who in a while continues with Toby Whithouse’s “Under the Lake”. Series 9 may not be benefiting from unfortunate scheduling against the Rugby World Cup, or from Strictly Come Dancing’s lead-in, but so far the decision to run with two-part stories is at least paying off in terms…
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THE X-FILES – Examining the ‘Essential Episodes’
With The X-Files returning next year, over a decade since it closed the door on its cabinet of weirdness in 2002, creator Chris Carter revealed there are 10 episodes that X-Files groupies and newbies alike should watch before diving back into the adventures of FBI Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson).…
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OUTLANDER – Season One
Starz Network, wanting in on HBO’s success with Game of Thrones among others, has invested heavily in adapting Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander book cycle. Having previously inspired a graphic novel and a musical album, the books have been brought to the screen by Ronald D. Moore (best known for his producing and writing stints on Star…
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YOU, ME & THE APOCALYPSE – ‘Episode One’
So what kind of a show is this anyway? Good question. Initial reactions to Sky1’s You, Me and the Apocalypse (which we all know should have kept its original, absolutely brilliant title, Apocalypse Slough) was mixed, with some online commentators questioning whether this was even a comedy. For what it’s worth, I really enjoyed the…
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THE MARTIAN (2015)
If you’re going to entrust any director with the task of delivering a gripping film about loneliness in the vast emptiness of space, surely you go with Ridley Scott. His 1979 masterpiece Alien carried the famous tagline “in space no one can hear you scream”; he’s got a knack for creating unusual, distinctive sci-fi worlds;…
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BROOKLYN (2015)
Brooklyn is a period drama adapted from Colm Tóibín’s novel of the same name that follows Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), a young Irish woman who leaves her quiet seaside town on the Emerald Isle for the brave new world of America to make a new life for herself. After finally settling across the Atlantic, Eilis…
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THIS IS ENGLAND ’90 – ‘Autumn’
Sunday night, 9pm, is a TV timeslot made for the warm bubblebath that is Downton Abbey. It’s a time of the week that demands comfort and distraction in equal measure. “Keep me warm! Don’t remind me of what’s really out there!” Before you roll into bed, the flickering screen should make you crave the kind…
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DOCTOR WHO, 9.2 – ‘The Witch’s Familiar’
Perhaps it was inevitable that Missy (Michelle Gomez) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) would escape the ‘maximum extermination cliffhanger’ by using those vortex manipulators so kindly pointed out with alacrity last week. What I wasn’t expecting was a monochrome flashback where Missy showed how clever The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is at getting out of impossible situations.…
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Trailer: POINT BREAK (2015)
People always have the same conversation whenever a beloved film or cult hit gets remade: why redo something that wasn’t bad to begin with? It’s a silly question. Nobody complains when a Shakespeare play is re-staged or re-interpreted, and some films almost demand to be remade every 20 years because they play differently with other political and social backdrops.…
