Posts Tagged ‘BBC’

Ripper Street [Series One] Blu-ray Review: As My Teachers Always Said: “Needs Improvement”

Posted: 2 April, 2013 in Movies/TV
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Ripper Street [Series One] Blu-ray Review: As My Teachers Always Said: “Needs Improvement”

Some will tell you that life imitates art. Others will insist that the opposite is true. Personally, from what I’ve seen in the fields of film and television, I would venture to say that art imitates art. Well, sometimes it’s art that’s being imitated. Other times, you have people emulating the likenesses of other endeavors from the film and television genres that simply weren’t too terribly outstanding to start with – and which were really only popular with the masses. It’s almost like popcorn imitating popcorn: a tasty treat when you dive into it, but it’s oh-so-fleeting in the long run. And yes, I know how truly awful that analogy was, so please accept my apologies here and now for that. Read the rest of this entry »

Red Dwarf X Blu-ray Review: Series IX? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Series IX!

Posted: 18 January, 2013 in Movies/TV, TV
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Red Dwarf X Blu-ray Review: Series IX? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Series IX!

IMore than 24 years after it first hit the airwaves of a perplexed BBC and delighted jaded science-fiction comedy viewers near and far, Red Dwarf made a triumphant return to television in the final quarter of 2012 — only this time, under the compassionate guidance of Dave TV (no, not the fictitious David Lee Roth network from the mid ’80s). Previously, the Boys from the Dwarf had made a minor comeback with a three-part special in 2009, subtitled Back to Earth, which took place nine years after Series VIII — which concluded with a cliffhanger many hoped would be resolved — as well as well after what would have been Series X had the series kept running full-time. Read the rest of this entry »

DVD Review: Wallander – Series 3

Posted: 26 November, 2012 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Wallander – Series 3

Article first published as DVD Review: Wallander – Series 3 on Blogcritics.

A few years back, I checked out the first series of Kenneth Branagh’s take on the popular Swedish character, Wallander on DVD. In a nutshell, I was smitten by it — which is quite a feat indeed, considering I wasn’t a big Branagh fan to begin with. The introductory BBC adaptation lured me in like a hungry fish in a cold dark sea, and the promise of more feature-length episodes along the same caliber had me praying the subsequent contributions wouldn’t do that which so many American shows tend to do so early on in their often-limited lifespan and jump the shark real quick like. (more…)

DVD Review: Absolutely Fabulous – 20th Anniversary Specials

Posted: 28 October, 2012 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Absolutely Fabulous – 20th Anniversary Specials

Article first published as DVD Review: Absolutely Fabulous – 20th Anniversary Specials on Blogcritics.

While it would always pain me to think about how much younger I was when my pseudo-family and I would sit back and watch Absolutely Fabulous during those glorious as-first-run-as-first-run-could-be-for-American-cable-TV-back-then days, it really didn’t click with me how truly long it had been until I observed this collection of new BBC specials starring the timeless twosome of Eddy and Patsy (Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, respectively) read Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary Specials. Wait, what? Twenty years? Oh, my! And yet, as I sat there imbibing along with the gals onscreen and bearing witness to the fact that they’re still just as brain-dead as they were two decades ago, I couldn’t help but feel just as young as they surely think they still are. (more…)

*DVD Review* Dalziel and Pascoe: Season 6

Posted: 15 October, 2012 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Dalziel and Pascoe – Season 6

Article first published as DVD Review: Dalziel and Pascoe – Season 6 on Blogcritics.

There are those who say that opposites attract. In the case of the lead characters in the British mystery series Dalziel and Pascoe, there isn’t any sort of sexual magnetism goin’ on here (thank God), but there is a heap of chemistry. And that’s because Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel (Warren Clarke) and Detective Inspector Peter Pascoe (Colin Buchanan) are so completely different in their mannerisms — as well as their take on life — that they manage to get along quite well. Well, on the job, that is. But what happens when these two fellows have to pull The Odd Couple routine in Dalziel and Pascoe: Season 6? (more…)

Sherlock: Season Two Blu-ray Review: Contemporary Genius

Posted: 10 June, 2012 in Movies/TV, TV
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Sherlock: Season Two Blu-ray Review: Contemporary Genius

It doesn’t matter we’re talking about a gifted mathematician or an extremely skilled plumber: every genius is that of a flawed one. Even the fictional individuals. And there is no better proof than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s immortal character of Sherlock Holmes. Portrayed on big and small screens alike countless times since his first published appearance in 1887, the character of Sherlock is — without a doubt — the most popular of all fabricated creations to appear in film and television. He’s also the most freely-adapted character, having served as the inspiration for House, M.D. and more.

[Read the rest at Cinema Sentries.]

*DVD Review* The Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1991

Posted: 7 March, 2012 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: The Last of the Summer Wine – Vintage 1991

Article first published as DVD Review: The Last of the Summer Wine – Vintage 1991 on Blogcritics.

As Marian Gold, the lead singer of Alphaville once said: “It’s so hard to get old without a cause.” And the old farts that the long-running British sitcom The Last of the Summer Wine centers on are living proof of that statement. The series, which ran for thirty-one seasons over the course of thirty-seven years (wow) and has since gone down in the annals of television as the longest-running comedy ever, brings us the misadventures of several elderly gentlemen in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. BBC Video’s release of The Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1991 brings us all six episodes from the show’s thirteenth outing, along with the Christmas Special from the same year. (more…)

*Blu-ray Review* The Hour: Series One

Posted: 25 February, 2012 in Movies/TV
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Blu-ray Review: The Hour – Series One

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: The Hour – Series One on Blogcritics.

I suppose that, after the success of Mad Men in the United States, it was inevitable that other series set in the ‘50s would come to pass. Not that I’m declaring the UK’s The Hour to have been inspired by that famous Yankee series about advertising executives in any way, shape, or form: after all, it’s usually my fellow Americans who wind up taking a cue from British programs — so, if this BBC show set in the ‘50s truly was born on account of the glimmering limelight produced by the other network title, I would say it was a fair cop. Of course, comparing the two is like weighing an apple against an orange: they’re both of the same family, but wholly dissimilar. (more…)

*DVD Review* Merlin: The Complete Third Season

Posted: 11 February, 2012 in Movies/TV, TV
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DVD Review: Merlin – The Complete Third Season

Article first published as DVD Review: Merlin – The Complete Third Season on Blogcritics.

Though I can sit back for hours on end and watch men in unconvincing rubber suits masquerading as aliens, mutants, and other kinds of monsters in the most tacky of science fiction tales, I have a hard time with many “fantasy” tales — especially when their only reason for being called into existence in the first place was because J.K. Rowling made a mint by creating her famous Harry Potter franchise. Modern film and television has this unhealthy obsession with “reimagining” various properties these days, and timeless tales of magicians are no exception to the latter. A brief look at the BBC series Merlin (also known as The Adventures of Merlin), will solidify such a fascination. (more…)

*Blu-ray Review* Primeval – Volume Three (Series 4 & 5)

Posted: 4 February, 2012 in Movies/TV, TV
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Blu-ray Review: Primeval – Volume Three (Series 4 & 5)

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Primeval – Volume Three (Series 4 & 5) on Blogcritics.

Ever since Winsor McCay first introduced moviegoers to Gertie the Dinosaur in 1914, audiences around the world have been intrigued with tales of tailed reptilian critters from eras with funky names. In the years following Gertie’s short-lived success, dozens upon dozens of other dinosaur stories have graced movie and television screens alike, usually bearing the words “Lost,” “Land,” “Legend,” or “Last.” Most of these projects tend to meld two different world — that of modern human beings somehow meeting (and usually fighting) these big ancient scaly creatures. The UK series Primeval, which started airing in 2007, is no exception to the “clash of two worlds” motif. (more…)

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