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by Robbie Jones
It seems so cruel to say that True Detective has lost its touch based on two episodes, but the writers of this show are capable of so much more. The ending of this week’s episode was interesting, but up until then, it was horseshit. 
by Cookie N Screen
Technology and sex go hand in hand, don’t they? After all, without porn, the internet wouldn’t be as nearly as popular as it is today. In fact, surprisingly, nothing is advanced as much as sex toys are. Particularly synthetic dolls. In the pursuit of advancement, vagina based droids are pushed beyond uncanny valley so that lonely people across the globe can feel some sort of manufactured flesh against them. In some ways, that is the basis of Humans this week, which sees sexual desire and robotic humanity clash intricately whilst others battle with being seemingly replaced or an impending war from the robots. 
by Helen Langdon
Sense8 could have been awful. A science fiction series about humanity with eight different main characters across the globe, written by the Wachowskis (coming off the high of Jupiter Ascending – because critics loved that, right?) and J Michael Straczynski, who created a hit with Babylon 5, but... that was about 20 years ago. Given the Wachowskis’ penchant for long-winded dialogue and high-minded philosophical ideas that teenage boys find radical, could the series pull it off? Spoilers: yes. Settle in, because this is going to be a long-winded love letter to Sense8’s first season. 
by Cookie N Screen
The shrieks of pain howled across the globe. No. No. Not the whining of detective Will Graham but the copious amount of Fannibals (that’s the nickname for the obsessive audience who dine greedily on Bryan Fuller’s show) all sobbing into their pocket squares this week. Including this intrepid critic, the devastating news that Hannibal has been cancelled by NBC. Despite a loss of ratings and many lamenting that the television series was too graphic or stylish for modern audiences to consume, a large fanbase has formed. Now a rally cry has been made as people practically beg for Netflix to option the show in all its gory wonder. And despite two shaky episodes, episode four Aperitivo finally staged its strength away from Hannibal’s murderous trek through Europe. 
by Helen Langdon
First season finales are always difficult, because there’s no way of knowing how the show is going to be received. If all goes well and you’re going to get a second season, then you want the finale to give closure to the first season and tease at the stories which lie ahead. But there’s always a chance that things might go badly, and if you’ve left any hanging plot threads, audiences are going to be left with a hole in their hearts (the wounds of Atlantis are still fresh). Sense8 gave us an episode that occasionally reached the heights of the very best episodes of this short series, but overall felt a bit anti-climactic given how good the series could be at its best. 
by Cookie N Screen
Another week goes by and yet another filler episode has descended on Outlander. As we move further into red coat territory again, it becomes apparent that either the television show has no idea where it is heading or it is blighted by trying to adapt everything from the book. Stringing the plot and fleshing it out to fit twenty plus episodes means that, rather than focus on the drama, we get a pained and strained second half of a series that should have sprung into some sort of action. It’s disappointing that we’ve galloped back to dullness once more. 
by Helen Langdon
Today in the USA, it’s National Catfish Day, celebrating “the value of farm-raised catfish”. Apparently that’s a big deal. Yeah, we don’t know either. But here in TV, and on the internet, the word Catfish means celebrating something entirely different. It’s the MTV show about people on the internet who might not be all they claim to be. Following on from the original documentary film, four seasons have thus far aired. But exactly why do audiences keep coming back? 
by Robbie Jones
For years now, HBO has constantly put out quality entertainment, even some of the best TV shows of all time. Last year saw the first season of their new show True Detective, starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as two detectives on the hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana. The show was about as close to perfection as TV has come since The Sopranos ended, with its exceptional performances, beautiful cinematography and incredible writing garnering praise from just about everyone. So when it was announced that show would return with a new cast and plot, audiences became sceptical. Could they possibly top what they had already done? Do we want a show without Rust and Cohle? It lead to some worrying thoughts, but lo and behold, Season Two has arrived, to an incredibly underwhelming start. 
by Cookie N Screen
There is a lot of criticism about how much we use technology. It’s every day and it sweeps, ironically, the internet in waves of criticism - as a generation, are we spending too much time with computers and the like? Humans pictures a world where menial tasks are replaced by Synths, including sex, and it brings up these themes again - are we becoming lazy in our advancement, or is this just progression? |
TV Editor: Graham Osborne
TVReviews on the best TV has to offer, as well as retrospective looks at the shows of yesteryear we miss so much. Email: [email protected]
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