If anything, the dystopian world Charlie Brooker created to show us how we will misuse benign technology until it destroys us all, is a little too convincing. I know this because I’ve just watched the latest series, and it would appear that Black Mirror has finally fallen into a black hole of its own making.
Continue reading “Black Mirror 4: It’s Life Jim…”
Today I learned that America’s opiate abuse problem is, to all intents and purposes, sponsored by the major pharmaceutical companies, who are also substantial donors to presidential campaigns of both colours.
I wish I’d gone with my first instinct and watched Susan Calman on Strictly instead.
Continue reading “Louis Theroux: Dark States, Heroin Town”
The beauty of Cleverman is in it’s simplicity.
Rich v poor
White v black
Indigenous v migrants
Fight v flight
Brother v brother
And that’s where the creators of this show got it spot on because at the centre of the show is something we all relate to; family (Peggy Mitchell voice). Whether you had any or not, it shapes all of us. And that basis is what shines through every one of these characters.
Continue reading “Cleverman: We’re never as clever as we think”
This brilliant new comedy started life as a successful Edinburgh Fringe show.
The titular Fleabag (we never learn her real name, but we do learn EVERYTHING else about her) is a woman of around thirty or so, trying to manoeuvre her way through life with a failing cafe, a big sister who is her polar opposite, a distant father, a discreetly nasty step mother, and the recent death of her best friend and business partner.
Continue reading “Fleabag: Disgustingly dirty and cleverly caustic “
Oh, Stranger Things. I wanted to love you with all my heart and soul. My friends kept telling me in hushed tones about a show so evocative and unashamed in its expressions of love for the eighties that I felt you were almost made with me in mind. I caught glimpses of your BMX, your bad bowl cut, your D&D obsession, your dark streets and subtle manipulation of my childhood fears and something deep within me stirred.
When you proffered your mixtape with the handwritten liner notes and cracked case, I was helpless to resist.
Continue reading “Stranger Things: It’s Good, But It’s Not Right”
