The problem with following, in similarity not story, the aspects of Hannibal and the series prequel Hannibal Rising is that they are the heftiest and sometimes the dullest. In fact, most of the time they were dull and unnecessarily so against the backdrop of the thrilling Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon. See, they were weighted with back story and preposition that changed the dynamics of our cannibalistic murderer. After all, wasn’t he more chilling when there wasn’t a sob story to sympathise with? That he only killed the rude and unapologetically so! Those were the good old days.
by Cookie N Screen
The problem with following, in similarity not story, the aspects of Hannibal and the series prequel Hannibal Rising is that they are the heftiest and sometimes the dullest. In fact, most of the time they were dull and unnecessarily so against the backdrop of the thrilling Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon. See, they were weighted with back story and preposition that changed the dynamics of our cannibalistic murderer. After all, wasn’t he more chilling when there wasn’t a sob story to sympathise with? That he only killed the rude and unapologetically so! Those were the good old days. ![]()
by Cookie N Screen
I’ve thrown a lot of praise at Outlander recently. None of it is unwarranted, mind, but I am very aware of how much I’ve given to Outlander in term of performances, storyline and evocative themes. Similarly to series such as Hannibal and Orange is the New Black, nothing is perfect and the episodes are certainly going to have wavering levels of excellence as they plod along. For some reason, the return to Lallybroch has squandered a lot of the tension in this episode and the whole hour is placated - sleepy even - which is surprising because it kicks off with someone waving a gun in Jamie’s face... ![]()
by Cookie N Screen
Our over reliance on technology has been the source of fiction and terror. Where does artificial intelligence and robotic servitude end? The answer is becoming a reality that draws closer every day. Highlighting the general fear that we all have, our cinemas and television shows are opening the doors for creative scientific exploration into the possibility of being replaced by metallic beings made to look like us, who are faster, smarter and have none of that messy “emotions” business. With X-Men: Days of Future Past, Ex_Machina and Chappie all recently devouring the semantics and resonance of sentience in machine, and Terminator Genisys coming up, Channel 4 has waded in on the debate with their stirring television series Humans. ![]()
by Cookie N Screen
One of the main issues with season two was separating Will and Hannibal. With the incarcerated Graham stuck lamenting on his bad dues, Hannibal went on a spree trying not to be caught which wasn’t hard with Detective Jack “Hannibal is not a Cannibal” Crawford. The problems with splitting them up for the first half of the series, which was thankfully rectified when Hannibal missed his little experiment and endeavoured to see him escape. See one of the pair is highly interesting while the other has become a little stale and one-note. And you know who I’m talking about. So imagine our dismay when continents separate the pair, instead of confinements. Whilst the opening episode to the series was excellent, the second is lacklustre at best with no really purpose other than to show us one of them is sad. Hint: It’s Will Graham. ![]()
by Cookie N Screen
I’ve never been the biggest fan of The Office, both UK and US versions. It’s not that I hated it completely but I could never really get into it. Perhaps it was the characters or perhaps it was the set up. See I could never completely grasp the idea that a film crew, unseen, is following some lowly office workers around and they are interviewed after a certain event happens. It seems like a cheap trick. But while I couldn’t wrap my head around The Office, I most certainly dived head first into Parks and Recreation without a second thought. Why? Because of Leslie Knope and her collection of incredible characters who lifted this show into exceedingly good comedy. ![]()
by Cookie N Screen
Before I begin, let’s talk about Jamie Fraser. It feels as though Outlander has been very clever to use last week’s episode as a halfway point between the two characters. The focus on Claire, up until her decision to stay with Jamie, left her newly appointed husband in a bit of a cliché quandary. Apart from his belt beating, Jamie was a Knight in Shining Armour who could do no wrong. He took lashings for women, protected Claire from everyone and defended his family’s honour. So the focus away from the time travelling heroine and filling Jamie with a more in depth look at this character in episode twelve - Lallybroch ![]()
by Cookie N Screen
Outlander very quickly became one of the best shows on TV. Well, Video on Demand anyway. Amazon Prime did something courageous in adapting Diana Gabaldon’s work that rivalled Game of Thrones and Vikings so well. The writing is splendid and gifted us a full fleshed “modern” woman, bringing her into the 1700s and exploring the tensions between Scotland and England. The story of Claire Randall magically being whisked back in time from 1945 to a war torn Scotland and scooped up in the arms of Highlander Jamie Fraser whilst trying to get back to her husband Frank. All the while the pair are pursued by the ruthless and sadistic Black Jack Randall, a distant ancestor to her husband… ![]()
by Cookie N Screen
Our stomachs have been emptied, our television tongues salivating with the lack of gore and horror, our appetites un-whetted and our palate fervent and begging for a little culture in our tastes. Hannibal has left us crying out for more as the cliff-hanger finale of season two, missing its psychological prowess and cannibalistic poetry. But now it’s back, answering some much needed questions (and leaving some still very much up in the air). Curving across the world and jetting off from the destroyed Baltimore, in the aftermath of a finale as four lives hang in balance, Hannibal’s third season lifts off into a much more seductive territory, Florence. ![]()
by Cookie N Screen
Despite a few middling episodes, Outlander has quickly become a popular and well-written show, perhaps one of the best on television now. If you, like me, are following it weekly since its UK premiere on Prime, then you’ll have heard rumours of story lines to come. And articles that solidify the fact that Outlander continues to defy and has transcended into a smart, emotional and riveting television series. This episode sees it fully unhinge the middling episodes that were weighing it down at the belt. With ferocity, it leads off into a second half of the series much stronger than the first. ![]()
by Cookie N Screen
It’s a fair to say that television shows are allowed a few weeks off. Unlike film, the objective to continuously provide excellence week in and week out is a tricky task to muster. The writing has to be fully fleshed out, the acting needs to be spot on and the storyline must lift off from the week before and delicately in to the week that proceeds it. That element of impeccable continuation is never achieved in a television series and you’ll find that the show is often blighted but one or two “bad egg” episodes. This week’s Outlander - By the Pricking of My Thumbs - is one of those middling to poor episodes that is trying to continue with the change of dynamics of its predecessors. |
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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