you know, if i was watching a show five seasons in and still moaning about it i think I'd probably have given up by now but that might be just me
Think this episode has pushed me in the camp of Season 4 > 3 as much as I love 3A. Love the attention they're giving to the characters - it's spent the past few episodes addressing the complaint about not spending enough time with the bridge crew and it's moving in a clear direction. Plus, it's always great to see Jett Reno show up!
Love how Tarka has become one of the most compelling characters in the show - his arc with Book is just as great as the main one. Such a great stakes raising episode, really care a lot more about the bridge crew than I have done in previous seasons!
There are more New Order songs out there than True Faith!
Shocking first five minutes - Yellowjackets doesn't really hold back at all. Insane episode, as usual.
TV as the 6th estate, completely damning of the police and a complete tour-de-force of a performance by Sheridan Smith. Stephen Merchant in an against-type role but Port is never glamourized. Essential.
The running kidnapping gag is probably the best comedy-related thing of the year so far
Best show on television right now, a real rollercoaster in every sense. My MVP changes from week to week - and for all the Lost comparisons there's tons of Leftovers DNA here.
A masterclass of a finale to such a terrific season - more than rewarding of the slow start. AppleTV+'s best original series.
Love the show, wish it had a better score as the music has hurt it all season.
Would be great if all the people who went out of their way to comment how much they hated the show for like the past four seasons every single week just... stopped watching it.
Marvel need to start paying David Aja and given that his influence over the series is absolutely everywhere, it's criminal that he hasn't been yet.
Excellent. Fantastic portrayal of the Sontarans - arguably the best of the current era - and the Crimean War is a perfect backdrop for them - great visuals with the work of director Jamie Magnus Stone, and the humour that the Sontarans have always had comes through. Chibnall's fantastic at writing classic monsters + historicals so classic monsters + historicals is a match made in heaven, and although his storyline was rather short this week almost echoing The Lie of the Land with the suburban fighting of the Sontarans straight out of The Stolen Earth (and the parents/companion dynamic too!), Dan is already becoming a favourite. The set-up with Swarm and Azure is brilliant - just hope it sticks the landing with both of them. Jodie Whittaker is at her best in the confrontational scenes with the Sontaran/British General - and playing to the Sontarans weaknesses is classic Doctor Who.
Proper good Doctor Who - one of the best of the current era, suitably chaotic and all over the place but I love the dog monster and both Vinder and Dan Lewis are more charismatic than both Ryan and Graham, who I admittedly quite like. The Doctor being a Liverpool fan I'm less of a fan of though.
Chibnall's best at serialisation and this is him playing to his strengths, the ending shots of all the major players involved felt very Broadchurch episode 1 ending-y. There's a lot going on - almost too much, but it's fairly simple to follow - The Doctor fighting the end of the universe, and I loved it. The bit about the alien Dogs being man's best friend was hilarious too (as was The Doctor being Trent Alexander Arnold's ball boy, and the nod to the Scottish accents) - very Moffat-y in tone and sheer amount of stuff going on. This feels like what Series 6 would have been like had it been allowed to be full serialised and I'm absolutely here for this Shada/Trial of the Time Lords approach. The smaller TARDIS crew works wonders for now, and Yaz has gone full Clara here - meaning her days are surely numbered (possible death of both The Doctor and Yaz at the same time but with The Doctor regenerating looking on the cards here?) - but I like that she's getting to call out The Doctor.
Also like - as one of the 5 people that didn't mind Timeless Children - that they're going full in with The Division plot. Hopefully this leads to more surprise cameos and it'd be rude to not see Ruth!Doctor one more time - Jo Martin was excellent in Fugitive of the Judoon. The Weeping Angels haven't been overused (they last appeared in Obama's first term) so I'm excited to see more of them especially under a different showrunner than Moffat. More to come with most of these - it's all set-up and so much is now riding on the payoff, but what a way to keep me hooked for next week.
Might actually rewatch this before next week's as I'm also in the middle of a Series 12 rewatch (just ran out of time to do it before Series 13, sadly) - and it's been a while since I watched a Who episode twice in the same week. Big fan. Will miss 13 when she goes...
A bit rushed especially in its climax but there's a lot of novelty to be had about Kate Stewart, UNIT's return and The Doctor adjusting to life outside the TARDIS despite the fact that he handled it quite well in The Lodger and Closing Time.
One of the best Doctor Who episodes of an otherwise lacklustre Series 7 - everything Cowboys & Aliens should have been, a complex moral thriller set against a classic Rio Bravo/High Noon-type set-up filled with plenty of planned anachronisms and Who fun that questions the morality of The Doctor and allows the show to explore deeper themes than it normally does in monster of the weeks. Darker edged and hard hitting - Ben Browder is a surprisingly good guest star in his all-too brief appearance. Smith is great in this one.
Probably the longest TV commercial I'll ever watch in my life (until WB try the same thing a few years later). Made by committee filmmaking that's capitalism at its absolute worst
Overcomes a shaky, shock-heavy start and frequently confusing time-jumps that force the show to explain everything that's happening over and over again leading to a lot of repeated exposition, only to plunge you deep into the thick of Roman political intrigue once the early episodes are out of the way. Game of Thrones this isn't, but there's a lot of promise especially for fans of historical period dramas of the more talky side.
A brilliant, darker-edged, hard-hitting Fleabag-esque dark comedy featuring an astounding performance by Billie Piper - bloody hell, how good is the Baftas right now? Gloriously inventive, completely unafraid to go where it wants to go and might just well end up being one of the best shows of last year.
A genuine revelation - Mae Martin is an absolute star. Entirely personal, brilliant comedy that is far too easy to get through in one sitting. Savour this, you'll miss it once it's done.
Hard-edged, sometimes self-serious modern-day Peaky Blinders. Gets a bit too far fetched at times (there's no way half of this would be possible in modern-day London) and some of the characters are very thinly drawn, but Gareth Evans delivers some of the best possible action on television that not even the likes of Daredevil match. Could have used shorter episodes, especially in its first, though - I don't think it earns its length, or its ending.
Jared Harris continues his hot streak of appearing in very good things and being very good in them. The on-location shooting on the Isle of Wight is the true star, but Cush Jumbo gives you a character to root for and the Knives Out of it all is suitably compelling. Not bad for Britbox's first original show.
Star Wars is turning into the MCU, relying on inter-connectivity and cameos, some work better than others - it makes a big universe feel smaller than ever. Some work better than others but at this point this time period has been done to death and I just wish the franchise would try something new. It still can't figure out what it wants its audience to be.
Haunting, breathtakingly unique puzzle box from Stephen King and Pablo Larrain that has all the hallmarks of both at their best. Great performances from across the board - and whilst King stories tend to fizzle out with a whimper rather than a bang, the signs are strong for this on that it won't suffer the same fate. Dane DeHaan is appropriately sinister, and the high-budget production makes it look better than most movies.
A brilliant continuation of one of 2018's best movies, wickedly smart, clever and tonally just right - a hangout TV show if there ever was one. Might just be even better than the film.
A genuine delight, soars like a firecracker on all cylinders - matches the same chaotic energy that films like We Are the Best! (no doubt an inspiration) had - grippingly authentic and a genuine breath of fresh air on the British comedy scene.
Jimmy McGovern is unmatched in writing brilliance - shining a spotlight on prisons a world away from what the Daily Mail would have you believe they're like - he paints a damning portrayal of institutionalised corruption with astounding performances from the always brilliant Sean Bean and Stephen Graham - few actors have a better track record of appearing in good stuff than Graham.
Season 14 started off on a pretty weak note with this enjoyable but imperfect caper set in San Martino. It really needed a better alien.
A promising storyline let down by a weak second half, saved by a strong final classic series outing for Elisabeth Sladen who makes those final moments instantly memorable.
Quite a comedown after the brilliant Stolen Earth and the weakest of the post Unicorn and the Wasp era episodes, but there are some great ideas in this and it aims big and succeeds in resolving the massive cliffhanger the only way RTD knows how: deus ex machina. The departure for Donna never fails to be emotional even when Rose's send-off is a bit too melodramatic, but as a way to close off one of the best eras of the show, Journeys End does so in style. The Russos blatantly nabbed the whole Infinity War "50% of the population" thing from this.
Murray Gold is at his peak here - Song of Freedom is top-tier. Love the Sarah Jane/Davros reunion too, it's well overdue.