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”
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you.
Continue reading “Mr Robot: Deep web”
For most of us, pretending racial tension doesn’t exist is key to our continued happy existence on this planet. It’s awkward, uncomfortable, alien and most importantly, we really don’t want to make fools of ourselves. In the context of daily life, that’s more or less manageable, depending on where you live, what news sources you engage with and how many idiots you count among your friends on Facebook.
In a fictional US penitentiary like say, Litchfield, less so.
Continue reading “Orange Is The New Black: Now in Glorious Technicolor”
The show that never got cancelled…in the parallel universe.
I know what you’re thinking; that maybe a show that has only been off the air for a little over three years can’t be considered an Oldie, but trust me, for all of Fringe’s loyal fan base it feels more like 10 years have gone by.
Continue reading “Golden Oldie: Fringe “
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has received almost nothing but plaudits since its launch on Netflix.
It’s not your typical sitcom setting, however; Kimmy is trying to get by in modern New York after spending most of her life in an underground cell, taken hostage at 14 by a cult leader who claimed the apocalypse had taken place and they were the sole survivors.
Continue reading “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Six reasons to watch”
