Reacher – Season 3
Never seen a case of Chekov’s Gun that featured a gun that frigging big. Once again, this Reacher show pushes all the right buttons and drags you through a satisfying plot arc while remaining almost entirely predictable.
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The Jetty
Decent 4-part BBC whodunnit which bounced you along from theory to theory as the episodes unfolded so that the fact landscape at the end of a show was very different to how it was at the start. I enjoyed the moody Lancashire setting, and the in-your-face attitude of the protagonist. It’s got to be said…
Taskmaster (Season 18)
I was really taken by this season, involving Andy Zaltzman, Babatunde Aléshé, Emma Sidi, Jack Dee, and Rosie Jones. Zaltzman naturally is one of my comedy heroes and I’m delighted that he found a vehicle to be exposed to the mainstream. I was really impressed by Emma Sidi and will definitely keep an eye out…
Loudermilk (Seasons 1-3)
I doggedly stuck with this because I think I just want to see Ron Livingston in something good again – not convinced this was it though. The annoyingly-named Sam Loudermilk leads an AA-style group filled with characterful misfits and fuckups. I find it really distracting watching the way that a lot of American shows portray…
The Diplomat (Seasons 1 & 2)
Compelling but a bit trashy story about an American ambassador to the UK whose husband was previously an ambassador but now is without post, and how they interact with the political intrigue of the many machinations going on around them. It’s quite engaging if you’re prepared to overlook the massively visible fact that it’s utterly…
MasterChef: The Professionals (Season 17)
A real game of two halves this season – the format whittles down 2 cohorts before bringing them together for a further winnowing, and I’ve never seen such an outrageously talented group in one half, and then a more “survival of the least lame” in the second. A couple of people toppled when you knew…
Viz Top Tips
What the hell was this? It could only have come from the 90s – comedy legends Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer, presenting Viz Magazine’s “Top Tips”. Comics performing other peoples’ material, whilst trying to imbue it with their own essence/schtick, but also clearly being directed by the people whose material it was. As much as…
Slow Horses – Season 4
By this point everyone knows what Slow Horses is about, and how utterly fabulous Gary Oldman is in it. He’s like Captain Jack Sparrow – he’s the only one you want to watch, and at the same time, it’d be useless to have a show all about him. A very fine show, indeed.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – Season 2
I don’t feel they dialled back the visual splendour on this show much – but they DID start getting the fuck on with the storyline – to the point where it was actually starting to pick up some real momentum. Of course in the process of trying to piece together what’d been happening this mean…