HBO’S CHERNOBYL: MY MELTDOWN IS THIS THE BEST TV SHOW OF THE YEAR?
Everything about HBO and Sky Atlantic’s Chernobyl is a breath of fresh air. The five part mini-series from American Craig Mazin and directed by Swede Johan Renck
WHAT’S PAST IS PROLOGUE: THE BEST STAR TREK: DISCOVERY EPISODE SO FAR
Star Trek: Discovery, why can’t you be like this all the time? This episode was thrilling, breathless, warp factor 10 ride through everything Star Trek should be every week.
COUNTERPART PILOT COMBINES THE NOSTALGIA OF A SPY THRILLER WITH SCI-FI
One day Howard Silk awoke to find himself transformed into… Howard Silk for Starz’s intriguing new drama, Counterpart.
OMG! RUNAWAYS IS AMAZEBALLS: IS THIS BUFFY FOR THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION?
If you’re bored of superheroes, you’re bored of stories but perhaps Marvel’s latest offering, Runaways will snap you out of your ego trying to make you sound all cool and alternative, you little emo punks.
DAMNATION S01E04: A GOD-DAMNED NEAR PERFECT EPISODE OF TV
Tony Tost’s depression-era series about strikebreaking in Iowa had me at hello but now, just four episodes into its freshman season, Damnation has delivered a near perfect hour-long.
USA NETWORK’S DAMNATION:IS THIS THE NEW DEADWOOD?
USA Network’s new show, Damnation takes the oldest story in the book – the man against The Man – and updates it to depression-era Iowa.
WTF JUST HAPPENED IN TWD?CAN I HAVE THOSE 41 MINUTES BACK PLEASE?
In the week that I wrote that Mr Robot has finally died a death, The Walking Dead has proven it’s kicked the bucket. Unlike an immortal Highlander, the series had been fadig away not burning out for an arguable amount of time, but S08E02 was the proof in the undead pudding.
THE EXORCIST’S HOLY TRINITY: IN THE NAME OF CHRIST, I COMPEL THREE
The Exorcist S02E02 fixes the main problem with last week’s otherwise great season opener, but gets bogged down in its own ecto-placanta.
THE EXORCIST SEASON TWO:SINKS ITS TEETH INTO NEW STATES
While not without its flaws and a serious mid-season dip in quality, I really enjoyed Fox’s The Exorcist – now the series is back and it up sticks across The States to deal with a wholly different God-fearing, gun-toting, rootin’-tootin’ society.
BBC’S RELLIK IS ARSE ABOUT FACE:MONDAY NIGHT MOMENTO MORI & MASS MURDER
After watching ITV’s Liar, written by brothers Harry and Jack Williams, I was eager to get my teeth into their BBC series Rellik, which (unfortumately for the writers) airs in the same Monday 9pm timeslot.
ITV’S LIAR HAD ME AT HELLO:PSYCHO THRILLER IS BROADCHURCH’S SUCCESSOR
With Chris Chibnall jumping ship to showrun Doctor Who and ending his Dorset coast-set detective series Broadchurch earlier this summer, ITV were looking for a natural successor.
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD S03E12:FROM CAIN AND ABEL TO OF MICE AND MEN
I say it every week, but considering how low it set the bar when it started two years ago, it astounds me how Fear The Walking Dead has become one of the best shows on television…
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD S03E11: LA SERPIENTE IS THE RECIPE FOR A PERFECT HOUR’S TV
Wow! Not content with usurping its bigger brother, Fear the Walking Dead has officially left The Walking Dead in the rear view mirror as the cast and writers flick the bird and shout “Eat My Dust!” at their sibling.
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD DOUBLE MINOTAUR & THE DIVINER SHINE BUT CONFUSE
Fear The Walking Dead arrived back with a bang last night after a hiatus and the feature-length, back to back episodes named Minotaur and The Diviner didn’t disappoint…
THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT! J.K. ROWLING’S MUST-SEE BBC DETECTIVE SERIES
Strike is a rather jolly good three-hour, BBC adaptation of J.K. Rowling (under the nom de plume Robert Galbraith) as Cormoron Strike – imagine a Charlie Brooker was a divorced, alcoholic detective with the voice and mannerisms of Kenneth Branagh.
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: CULT IS PERFECT AUTEUR TV TO RING IN THE FALL SCHEDULE
It’s 04:00 hrs, A.M. in the morning and I haven’t got time to write up a real review of American Horror Story: Cult but just need to tell you that the season opener is a sublime piece of television!
REVISITING LIFE ON MARSHEAVENLY HERO’S JOURNEY STORYTELLING
Last night, after a discussion amongst American mates who hadn’t seen it, I decided to revisit Mars. Life on Mars to be exact, and if you want to learn how to write and direct TV, I suggest you do too…
THE DEFENDERS SEASON REVIEWOR, HOW NOT TO WRITE THE MARVEL WAY
Remember when Michael Bay’s Transformers came out in 2007? Everyone over the age of 30 said “I couldn’t tell what the fuck was going on in the robot fight scenes!” Well, that’s how I feel about Marvel’s writing for their last couple of outings.
TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL WRITING ABOUT CAUSE, EFFECT & COINCIDENCE
After loathing episode one, it took me a week to dive into the subsequent episdoes but I ended up thoroughly enjoying Top of the Lake: China Girl.
BINGEWORTHY OZARK PROVES THERE’S MONEY IN THAT BANANA STAND!
Jason Bateman as a money laundering anti-hero in a Breaking Bad meets Fargo slow-burn thriller shouldn’t have hit written all over it, but after one intense hour, I’m hooked!
THE MIST’S “THE WAITING ROOM”A LESSON IN HOW & WHEN TO USE FLASHBACKS
This week’s The Mist S01E05, The Waiting Room limped along at its usual dullard pace but at least tried a couple of daring character arcs and more ambitious storytelling. Neither worked.
SYFY’S BLOOD DRIVE IS DELICIOUSA MASH-UP HOMAGE TO EXPLOITATION MOVIES
What do you get if you cross the futuristic cop shows of Almost Human or APB, set it in the dystopian world of Death Race 2000, where contestants are implanted with Battle Royale-like exploding microchips, the cars are fuelled by human blood and piss…
HBO’S THE DEFIANT ONESMUST SEE TV IF YOU FORGOT ABOUT DRE
Who you think brought you the oldies?
Eazy-E’s, Ice Cube’s and D.O.C’s and Snoop D O double G’s?
And a group that said, “Muthafuck the police”?
MAYBE DON’T WATCH GLITCH SINGLE SEX WRITERS’ ROOMS & DIRECTORS
After a compelling start, the final few episodes of Glitch went downhill faster than a long-haired flaming galah in a Cheeto-flavored cheese wheel.
WATCH GLITCH ON NETFLIX IT’S AN AUSTRALIAN “LA REVENANTS”
I just discovered the Australian show, Glitch and it injects a real breath of fresh air into the back from the dead genre which was so popular a few years back.
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD FINALÉZOMBIE-LITE BUT ULTIMATELY ENLIGHTENING
Fear The Walking Dead’s two-part, ninety minute mid-season finalé proved that it’s the human drama that matters most…
SNOWFALL ARRIVES IN TIME FOR A CRACK COCAINE WHITE CHRISTMAS
Just as I was beginning to despair at the dearth of good TV shows since The Leftovers and Fargo finished, FX flies into town like Santa with their new crack cocaine drama, Snowfall.
THE CIRCLE FLAWED, FEATURE-LENGTH BLACK MIRROR
I know, I know… couchpotato is a website for TV but Emma Watson’s latest vehicle, The Circle is so like an episode of Black Mirror that I just had to put pen to paper…
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD’S LIESCREATING LAYERS OF DECEIT ADDS TENSION
After Travis’ death, Madison finally proves she will go to any lengths to protect Nick and Alicia and Fear the Walking Dead is much improved because of it…
S10 FINALÉ “THE DOCTOR FALLS”DOCTOR WHO AND THE EMOTIONAL WRECK
You already know that TV often leaves me an emotional wreck, even adverts but when it comes to the Doctor Who season ten finalé, I’m talking about an entirely different kind of emotional wreck.
THE MIST S01E02 & E03 TWO WAYS THIS SHOW MIST TRY HARDER
After last week’s shithouse of a pilot, episodes two and three were much improved. It’s still awful yet kinda fascinating. And if you’re a writer it’s unmistable because The Mist is the most valuable lesson in how not to write television…
WORLD ENOUGH AND TIME THOUGHTS ON DR WHO’S “SPOILERS”
Doctor Who season 10’s penultimate episode would have been great, could have been great if we hadn’t seen it all already…
THE PILOT EPISODE OF THE MIST UNMISTABLE TO UNWATCHABLE IN TWO SHOTS
A confused man wakes in a forest with a dog. He doesn’t know where he is or how the hell he got there. Not a bad way first shot for the pilot of The Mist. My favorite show of all time, Lost began with the self-same opening…
BETTER CALL SAUL FINALÉ DELIVERS UNPREDICTABILITY (AGAIN!)
This third season of Better Call Saul just kept getting better and better and it did so by eschewing popular demand and finding pathos in the most unexpected ways…
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD S03E04 “100” TIMES AS GOOD AS THE WALKING DEAD
As a general rule, I hate it when you sit down ready for the continuation of a story and are presented with an episode featuring other, side characters. The Walking Dead and now Fear the Walking Dead are guilty of such crimes…
FARGO S03E09 “APORIA” FINALLY ALLOWS ITS STARS TO SHINE
After writing last week that previously unknown star of The Leftovers, Carrie Coon was criminally underused in Fargo, the penultimate episode of Noah Hawley’s brilliant anthology series finally gathered its stars in a series of one-on-one scenes which allowed them to shine…
THREE GIRLS HEART-BREAKING, HARROWING, MUST-SEE TV
From the realism of Basil Wright’s early documentaries through 1960’s kitchen sink dramas to this unmissable, harrowing, must-see, BBC three-part miniseries, Three Girls proves British film and TV has never been one to duck serious issues.
BETTER CALL SAUL S03E09 “THAT’S A BINGO!”
Just as season three of Better Call Saul should be cranking up to a thrilling crescendo, its penultimate episode goes out of its way to dash your expectations on the rocks…
AMERICAN GODS S01E07 C21ST AMERICANA MEETS C18TH LONDON
With just one episode of its freshman season remaining, American Gods finally found its heart by putting Dead Wife and Mad Sweeney front and center.
TWIN PEAKS S03E05 THERE ARE NO ANSWERS WITHOUT QUESTIONS
Even though I couldn’t make it through the first episode when I tried to watch it again a few years ago, no one was looking forward to Twin Peaks: The Return more than me…
THOUGHTS ON FARGO S03E08 “WHO RULES THE LAND OF DENIAL?”
Season three of Fargo has been an enjoyable romp, but never does it reach the dizzy heights of season two, which was incredibly tense and near-perfect storytelling.
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD NEVER THOUGHT I’D SAY THIS BUT…
Fear The Walking Dead always was The Walking Dead’s poor relation. Smaller budget, smaller group, less expansive locations, tighter shots, smaller writers’ room, fewer zombies, less thought… until now!
DR WHO S10E05 “OXYGEN” TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO METAPHOR HAS GONE
Opening with those infamous words “Space, the final frontier…” borrowed from the other quinquagenarian Sci-Fi show, Jamie Mathieson’s Dr Who S10E05 “Oxygen” felt like a breath of fresh air…
DOCTOR WHO S10E04 RUTHLESS STORYTELLING EFFICIENCY
The past few years have seen a formula to the kind of episodes we’re treated to – one haunted house story, one zombies in outer space with a space-walk adventure, so it was no surprise that Doctor Who S10E04 revisited the haunted house genre.
BETTER CALL SAUL S03E04SHOW, DON’T TELL
From the Mexican hacienda cold open to that final shot of Jimmy and Kim victoriously leaving the courthouse, Better Call Saul S03E04 needs to put its foot on the gas.
AMERICAN GODS S01E01 LATIN: AMERICANA VISCERA
From the first seconds of the opening titles, you could tell American Gods S01E01 was going to be a joyous fucking marvel to behold.
THE LEFTOVERS S03E03:IS THIS THE MOST POWERFUL TV EVER MADE?
The Leftovers S03E03 is one of the most beautiful hours of television I have seen in a long time, and this show is well on its way to becoming the most powerful the small screen has ever seen.
IT TOOK A WHILE BUT… I FREAKIN’ LOVE BILL POTTS
Not to sound too much like The Doctor, but I liked the cut of Bill Potts’ jib from the moment I saw her in last year’s teaser trailer.