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Reviews
Piglets: Change of Heart (2024)
Squealing in agony
OK, maybe this shouldn't be bingewatched and us probably best not watched at all.
The series rounds off as badly as it started and continued - a complete unfunny mess.
Throwing a big team of writers at a project in the vain hope that someone will come up with something remotely funny really doesn't work.
I managed a smile at the end as Callie Cooke showed off her thighs for one last time but I failed to laugh at all.
It might be alright for thd kids on BBC 3 or ITV 2 but this is not mainstream Saturday night comedy.
The worst thing is it might tamper viewing figures for Changing Ends that is on before it.
Hopefully, this is the end. 2 stars for each of Callie's thighs.
Piglets: Questioning (2024)
Dummy joke
Julie says we have had enough twinging of Stephanie's minge but I suspect that the show hasn't or there would be nothing left of the show to enjoy.
Again, Sarah Parish is wasted here and her laughing about good cop bad cop goes on far too long.
The first rule of humour is comedic timing rather than trying to fill in 23 minutes by making an average joke stretch out for half a minute.
There is no depth here, the characters are as wooden as the sets and the script feels as though it has been written by a group of repressed fifth formers.
There should be questioning. Asking the it execs how they commissioned such rubbish. I suspect this is the best of a bad lot that thry needed to make a comedy hour to go alongside the brilliant Changing Ends.
Piglets: Tests (2024)
Out on my elbow.... Arse!
Sorry, I have told you this episode's joke in the title.
This episode had 9 credited writers but they still couldn't find a laugh out loud joke in 23 minutes.
With all the supposed sexual tension going on, there doesn't seem to be a camp
or a lesbian character which is a refreshing change for modern TV but why does it have to be such an awful show to be like it?
This really is poor. A typical run of the mill itv comedy. Thankfully, most don't return for a second series and hopefully this will follow the same path.
There is no depth or warmth to the characters that seem as wooden as the sets.
Piglets: Uniform (2024)
Victoria Pile of baloney
I have seen a lot of awful so-called comedies over the years that resort to sexy images to try and attain a laugh so having seen the first two episodes and seeing this one being called Uniform, I imagined Stephanie turning up in an Anne Summers outfit to try and impress her teacher boyfriend.
Unfortunately, the writers don't have such inspiration and this episode is just as mundane as the first two but do manage to resort to a Fanny joke.
There was a bit of excitement when Mark Heap got his truncheon to Stephanie which is surprising in these modern TV times where it is generally the man on the receiving end of punishment but then it goes back to stereotype as he compiles his white board.
I have to say "You will be having sex with me and you will enjoy it" was a limp - but enjoyable way of contriving the final scene.
Piglets: Triggers (2024)
De-escalation. Downhill fast
This episode is called Triggers and seeing Philippa Peak in a pair black pvc thigh boots certainly gave me a peak reminding me of the the thigh boots I bought for @goodgirlxoo as my alter ego @willowmistress but back to the review.
Sarah Parrish looks very different to Bancroft and Broadchurch here and the role is probably the strongest of the cast and actually has a bit of humour about it.
Callie Cooke brings some eye candy to the proceedings in her tight skirts showing off her great hips. Being born on the Libra/Scorpio cusp makes her attractive to a lot of men just not her boyfriend in the show.
The unfunny open titles tells you that this won't be great and it goes downhill from there and including a vertically - challenged character is most questionable in a so called comedy.
Fewer characters and more humour would go a long way.
Piglets (2024)
Piglets makes you squeal - in agony!
Itv isn't known for a lot of good comedy. It's not all Man About The House, Rising Damp, Only When I Laugh and this goes to show that Changing Ends is a modern exception (Viscous and The Job Lot were very good a few short years ago).
Quality actors like an unrecognisable Sarah Parish, Colin McFarlane and the usual Mark Heap are wasted here while Ricky Champ who played an inmate in a psychiatric hospital in Suspect on Channel 4 this week finds himself in another institution - an unfunny itv comedy.
Characters can take time to develop but, having bingewatched the first (and hopefully, only) series, I am no closer to liking the sexually-repressed characters that can't even supply their own catchphrase to look forward to with each episode.
Perhaps fewer characters might have given more laughs but an unfunny opening titles sequence with an unforgettable theme doesn't hold out for a good show ahead. The Thin Blue Line this isn't.
Many unfunny comedies use eye candy to hide from a poor script. Katherine Kelly in last year's equally bad Ruby Speaking springs to mind and Callie Cooke offers much the same here (Scorpio legs!) but Greeta is probably the most realistic of the recruits but she isn't funny either.
A lot of talented wasted by a group of fifth former writers it seems.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (2024)
Good grief!
As is the law now, the straight white men in programmes have to be weak or evil or both while women can never do any wrong.
I miss the old days when television depicted society rather than dictating the narrative.
I know I watch a lot of tv but does every other show have to have a "me too" Influence? Even cuddly murder show Death In Paradise jumped on the bandwagon earlier this year.
Instead of continually churning out shows like this, why not make a few shows with white men as role models showing common decency and good manners for the younger white male generation to look up to? Hope not hate.
Anyway, it all wraps up well and gives a positive message for inter-race relations.
Young girls like @goodgirlxoo will love it and rural England looks lovely despite a well-above average number of ethnic minorities in this made up rural vista.
Look out for Anna Maxwell Martin in Until I Kill You on itv this autumn. A much deeper role for her to get her talents into.
Great to see fellow serial reviewer Sleepin_dragon watching this one too.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Episode #1.6 (2024)
Marshmallow moment
Well, even though it still seems to be heading in one direction there is still, time for a twist and turn in the finale.
As is the law now, the straight white men in programmes have to be weak or evil while women can never do, any wrong.
I miss the old days when television depicted society rather than dictating the narrative.
I know I watch a lot of tv but does every other show have to have a me too! Influence?
Instead of churning out shows like this, why not make shows with white men as role models for the younger white male generation to look up to?
Anyway, it all wraps up well and gives a positive message for inter-race relations.
Teenage girls will love it.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Episode #1.5 (2024)
Something in the pipeline
A thrilling support episode to the series finale as Pippa receives a call from someone that gives her some vital clues.
The story is watchable even for a more mature pallette even if there are some quite incredulous moments.
The story begins to unravel as she acts on the clues she has been given and there is a thrilling conclusion to the episode when someone steps out from the darkness.
A slightly longer episode but still manages to fill in the time well and concentrates on the story where other TV channels would throw in promotional items at every opportunity.
The extra 7 minutes of thus and the finale means my bingewatch ends here for today.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Episode #1.4 (2024)
It takes 2 to tango
I have to say this was quite a engaging episode even for older viewers such as myself.
Anna Maxwell Martin brings the show some maturity but thd leading actress is performing rather well too.
Pippa does a lot more digging despite being warned off.
The hotel scene is a bit poor really but a younger audience might find it credible that they could obtain the visitor book through such deception.
I don't usually watch younger shows but can't believe BBC blatantly promotes Converse trainers. Just because they have been worn by generations of kids surely doesn't allow them to show off the logo.
Lovely rustic views.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Episode #1.3 (2024)
1-2-3 go, go, go!
Sleepin_Dragon: there are only 6 episodes, not the 8 you suggested (but it does go on a bit!) .
Despite the episodes being under 45 minutes long (apart from the last 2 I see), it is a struggle for me to bingewatch this but I am sure someone of a much younger age would be engrossed by it.
This would be great on CBBC apart from the swearing, sex and drugs references.
I know this isn't aimed at my generation so I am surprised I am the first to review it. It is rather light hearted with cheap thrills for those of us of z more mature age but youngsters will be on the edge of their seat feeling they are watching grown up themes.
I am impressed by thd show's star and the casting director pulls out a winner getting Anna Maxwell Martin in thd show.
Not a bad watch really with some great chocolate box village views of the north of the west country.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Episode #1.2 (2024)
Taking the Pip
I am putting aside that this is aimed at a teen audience, the low cost budget and a hard to believe storyline.
Yes, girls are inquisitive so you can understand Pippa turning into a very young Miss Marple (V we a us about to finish so maybe she could try Northumbria Police once she us old enough) but is anything else credible?
I live in an area close to where this was filmed and have only seen so many ethnic minorities in the modern era of Midsomer Murders.
But again, putting that aside, there is something engaging and, at only 41 minutes long, the 6 episodes can be bingewatched in 4 hours.
Seeing the gang go camping made me think of The Famous Five books and TV series back in the day.
Loving Anna Maxwell Martin even if she is the same in everything.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Episode #1.1 (2024)
A good girl's good start
Great to be watching the same shows as sleepin_dragon again after a few months on separate paths (the wonders of a vpn means I have watched most of ITV's autumn schedules already!).
I was tentative about watching this as obviously aimed at a younger audience than myself (Midsomer Murders - I have seen s24 never mind s23 itv is currently showing - meets CBBC!).
Great to see Anna Maxwell-Martin having just seen her in Until I Kill You (look out for it on itv this autumn. Shaun Evans as you haven't seen him before!) but a great young cast here too while the dog wins it for me.
Only 40 minutes long so much shorter than your usual bbc drama (the hour long episodes of The Jetty are a bit much in comparison!).
A good start with interesting characters and intrigue.
The Jetty: Episode #1.4 (2024)
A bit better
A, better episode but still far from brilliant. There's a twist in the tale and, from what we can tell, the driver of the car gets away with it unscathed.
What sort of message does that send out to impressionable viewers?
Its all here again. Rape, drugs, arson, murder, me too but it's all been done before. Change the record or the message justs lost in the air.
I just didn't care about the characters I believe.
The scenery is nice even in winter. Must have felt like Emmerdale Farm revisited for Jena Coleman.
At least there is no need for a second series to moan about the wokeness of it all.
The Jetty: Episode #1.1 (2024)
Same old story but nice wintery views
Ooh Look! Here's something different - not!
A detective with a past hurt and a land where all white men are either weak or evil.
The leading actress is seen coming out of a chip shop in Rochdale but, despite the storyline, you know full well that there will be no sign of the local real life Asian grooming gangs which the area is infamous for. That would be too non-Pc.
Again, as with nearly all new detective dramas, the leading detective is a woman as is her boss - there's no old school tie here for you boys.
I saw the Claire Calbraith was in this and I have loved ever since she was in Heartbeat nearly 25 years ago.
I guess she is hoping for a second series of this after being killed off as Sandy in the forthcoming series of Grace. Unfortunately, her role is short here too.
How much me too do we really need?
Changing Ends: Baby Face (2024)
Back to school. Pure class.
The best UK sitcom of 2023 (on ITVX) is back and is just as good after as hasty first few minutes.
Alan Carr is back doing his comedic asides alongside young Alan who is excellent as his younger version.
The music, the culture, the fashions and the styles are brilliantly replicated and the comedy is in the 80s rich vein of sitcoms.
The show is under 22 minutes (without advertisements) but is packed full of gags and has you sympathising with the much bullied Alan while mum hen pecks him whilst being put down herself by the neighbours.
Unfortunately, co-creator Simon Carlyle has passed away but this will be a great way for him to be remembered.
Grace: Love You Dead (2024)
Finally getting a gr-asp
A stronger episode here and a great conclusion to the series.
It's amazing how they fitted so much into less than 90 minutes. It's an emotional roller coaster here for Roy with so much going on in his private life as well as having murderers to catch.
It took a while to get into the crime story. Having read the book a while ago, I was flummoxed about the story at first.
The acting isn't brilliant to be honest but the leading guest star makes a great baddie.
John Simm just seems to be the same in anything.
As a Roy Grace fan I am pleased he is still doing this as he rarely does anything for more than a couple of series.
Brighton makes a great back drop to the series. The piers in so often they should receive accreditation for their efforts.
Such a shame they are still filming s5 as I write, it's going to be long wait to see the team back on screen.
Grace: You Are Dead (2024)
R U Dead?
I have to say that this is quite possibly the weakest episode yet but that is not saying much as it has been a strong show but new writers this series have put a big of a different slant on things.
I have read the books by Peter James and they can be quite dark and perverse and I have to admit I didn't strictly understand the proceedings so this screenplay did help in that regard.
Unlike previous episodes, this does stay quite true to the books with the storyline being left open at the end.
It is annoying that Grace never seems to lose his cool regardless of whatever is thrown his way
Looking forward to the season finale before American viewers get to see the show next week.
Douglas Is Cancelled (2024)
Have I Hugh for you?
Whatever **** you have to wade through; it's worth it is a line near the end of s1e4. Unfortunately, it is not.
It's well written with some great characters but there is little humour here and nothing in the way of drama.
It has some good moments but it is just inconsistent.
Obviously, there are likely to be comparisons to the lives of real life middle aged white male tv presenters that have made the news in recent times in this world of cancel culture but it has been said it us just a drama which was written prior to these events. The main actor being named Hugh is just unfortunate.
It's probably a great in house comedy for those in the business but it's an alien world to many of us.
You won't miss anything if you miss this.
Assume it will be cancelled after one series.
Douglas Is Cancelled: Episode #1.2 (2024)
It's no joke. It's a story.
A much better episode as we get to know the characters better with plenty of irony and farcical situations as Madeline gets under the skin of those around the story.
A lot more humour but could still be better but obviously more comedy han drama here starting with the family being on holiday in dubai on the one day of thd year it rains there.
There is still scope for greater character to come from the characters and some laugh out loud humour would be a great help rather than punctuated humour.
Steven Moffat gives us quality but this does need to improve so that the joke is not on the viewer.
Douglas Is Cancelled: Episode #1.1 (2024)
Mainly Twitter, no titter.
I was so looking forward to this but turned out to be a bit dull. It's entertaining and well done but it's just not funny which is a shame for a Hartswood Production (think Men Behaving Badly).
It was 35 minutes before i laughed and then it wax regarding the mix up over a driver rather than anything to do with the main character.
Stick with it to end for the second twitter as, during the closing titles, the driver says something ironic.
One positive is where many shows are becoming slightly longer lasting 46 or 47 minutes, this lasts around 40 yet still the material is thin on the ground. One character complains about the difficulties of writing comedy and, watching this, I can fully understand what was said.
I do hope the show will improve so will bingewatch to the end.
Grace: Want You Dead (2024)
Murky tricks
A, stronger episode here showing the grand areas of Brighton like The Pavilion but also the seedy side too making the story feel more realistic.
There are a lot of smoke and mirrors here in thd storyline and not just by the suspects.
There are good moments here with some great humour particularly between Bella and Norman plus there is a spotlight on Brandon's homelife too which gives the characters greater depth.
There is a suspenseful ending which readers of thd books might be happy to see the story changing here.
The continuation of the story lines through the series here makes a change from previous series of the show.
Filmed in the summer it seems, it's much brighter about Brighton than s4e1.
A good watch (oh no, that was the last story!)
Grace: Dead Man's Time (2024)
Ticking over nicely
It's great to have Grace back on our screens even if the screens are in Finland. Yet another ITV show being screened abroad before the UK (along with the likes of Midsomer Murders, Mcdonald and Dodds, The Bay, D. I. Ray and new true crime drama Until I Kill You starring Shaun Evans).
With that moan out of the way, it has to be said that the usual gloss of the show does see to be missing here with it seemingly being filmed earlier in the year so the background of Brighton seems a bit drab.
OK, that's two moans (don't get me started on it being very different from the book!) but a quality actor in Robert Glenister brings the show a lot of gravitas (and shows up the frailties of John Simm who just seems to talk through his lines).
I assume they paid Robert a lot of money as he is in the show rather a lot for a guest actor and, having seen him in Sherwood and The Night Caller recently, I feel he could have offered much more.
A good watch as it seem to be cutting back on their two hour dramas this year.
D.I. Ray: Wrong Place (2024)
Ray of brightness
I have just bingewatched s2. Like Midsomer Murders, Mcdonald And Dodds, The Bay and new one off drama Until I Kill You; this itv drama has been shown abroad before the UK despite being filmed at least 12 months ago.
Apart from that rant, there is the matter again of the awful Brummie accents - Birmingham is the second biggest city in thd country so surely local actors could have been found - but it is good to see the city on screen instead of London or the North.
I did enjoy the first series but 6 episodes here did seem a bit long but still enjoyable except for modern narrative of white men being baddies while women and other men doing no wrong.
Ian Puleston-Davies is a fine actor but his character isn't really allowed the depth he deserves despite the extra episodes here.
There are quite a few familiar faces on view but also some good roles for those not as well known.
Hope itv show this soon. It's set in March 2022 despite one character having a 23 plate car - circa March 2023 and we are already in June 2024 as I write, more than 2 years since the first series was, screened.
Harry Wild: Killing Me Softly with His Bad Pop Song (2024)
Disc-onsolate it has returned
The twee Irish show is back just 6 months after series 2 finished.
They know they are flogging a dead horse as there are now only 6 episodes in each series compared to the 8 in series 1.
Jayne Seymour is a talented actress so I assume she either isn't getting any roles due to her age or she owes someone a favour to continue doing this.
The landlady of thd pub left after season 1 and it's time for the rest to go too as the plots and humour have run thin.
There just doesn't seem anywhere else to go with the show without a major revamp.
The characters are one dimensional and not just the guest stars.
Not one of the show's greatest hits.