Category: TV

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Cuckoo (Season 1) TV Review

Ben

  It was great to see the American, “Hollywood,” comedy star, drafted in to add a bit of weight and notability to the sitcom, outshone and out-funnied by the UK comedian. It’s not that I didn’t like the idea of having the American star come in and play the “main character” but it felt slightly like the comedy wanted him to be at the center of the show when there was a much funnier character in there already. Maybe I’m reading too much into this but Greg Davies, the tall, aggressive looking, UK comedian managed to get the funniest lines, moments and … Continue reading Cuckoo (Season 1) TV Review

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The X-Files (Season 1) TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! If The X-Files had made its tv debut in 2012, I genuinely believe it would have been cancelled after season 1. It’s not that season 1 is particularly bad, it just doesn’t really feel like The X-Files that I was obsessed with as a kid. I remember it being a show about monsters, aliens, conspiracies and shady, cigarette smoking men. It does have elements of that but only hints of it. … Continue reading The X-Files (Season 1) TV Review

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The Office (An American Workplace) (Season 7) TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! I don’t know many television shows that have successfully survived when their lead actor/character decides to leave. The only shows that I can think of that have tried to continue once their lead has decided to move on to other things are X-Files (David Duchovney), Scrubs (Zach Braff), and Two and Half Men (Charlie Sheen). I’m sure there are many more and each of these had various degrees of success. Unless you … Continue reading The Office (An American Workplace) (Season 7) TV Review

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The Office (An American Workplace) (Season 6) TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! The American version of The Office is better than the original, UK version. Pretty bold statement and one that is actually silly and pointless. By this point, with (I think) the ninth season airing in America, the similarities between both programs is so slight and superficial, that comparing them would be like comparing James Bond and Johnny English. Yeah, they’re both spies, but apart from that? I have been a fan of … Continue reading The Office (An American Workplace) (Season 6) TV Review

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Moone Boy (Season 1) TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! No matter what setting you choose for a sitcom or who your characters are, you won’t ever be able to beat the sitcoms set in and around a family. The most successful or memorable are the sitcoms that focus on the family dynamic, Only Fools and Horses being one key example, The Royle Family being another. They probably make double the amount of sitcoms set in and around families than they do … Continue reading Moone Boy (Season 1) TV Review

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Bad Education (Season 1) TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! I’m now going to be a complete hypocrite. I’ve reviewed two sitcoms recently (Trollied and Gates) and highlighted, as positives, how closely they try to show a mundane but recognisable environment and find the humour in that. Bad Education does something similar, but then veers off in its own direction. The sitcom is set in a secondary school, following the lives of the teachers and students at the school. This has … Continue reading Bad Education (Season 1) TV Review

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Gates (Season 1) TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! Gates takes the original situation of a school yard at “dropping-off” and “picking-up” time. As the series develops, the real location becomes the primary school as a whole, but the real comedy is in the increasingly strange but funny characters that all have some root in truth. Our central characters are the most “normal.” They are the parents of Chloe, played by Tom Ellis and Joanna Page. Of course, they have their … Continue reading Gates (Season 1) TV Review

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Trollied (Season 1) TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! Britain do a particular style of sitcom better than any other… the “everyday” sitcom. What I mean by that is a sitcom where the “situation” is actually very mundane. Not a coming together of unlikely family members or two mismatched people forced to live together with “hilarious” consequences, but a sitcom set in an everyday, very familiar environment. The most famous (and arguably the most successful) is probably The Office. The … Continue reading Trollied (Season 1) TV Review

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Doctor Who (Season 7 Part 1) TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! For my first ever TV review, I thought it best to start with my favourite ever television series. I’ve been a fan of Doctor Who since I was a kid, watching the “classic” series on UK Gold whenever I could get to my Gran’s house (she was the only person in my family with Sky.) When it returned to our screens in 2005, I was slightly concerned that it was going to … Continue reading Doctor Who (Season 7 Part 1) TV Review

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Should the UK have a TV Pilot’s season?

Ben

Channel Four’s recent “Funny Fortnight” was pretty hit and miss to say the least. For people who may have missed it or may not be familiar with Channel Four, it is a UK channel which celebrated 25 years by revisiting their “greatest hits of comedy.” As well as showing the best of their past series, they also aired pilots for new comedy series, in an attempt to gain interest or an audience, hopeful for a new series. I really enjoyed the fortnight for this reason. I liked the idea of getting a small taste of a show and then voting with … Continue reading Should the UK have a TV Pilot’s season?