I love this show so much.
The music for the big attack on the Venture Compound is superb. It really makes the whole action sequence exciting. You completely forget that you’re watching a half-hour animated comedy series for a few seconds there.
10/10
Depressed Holt is hilarious. Even funnier than regular Holt, if such a thing is possible.
The next funniest character, in this very funny episode, was Gina as fended off Charles’s concerns about their parents’ divorce.
Terrific final scene.
9/10
Magnificent.
First off, Ncuti Gatwa is a great Doctor. He’s flamboyant and fun. There’s a couple of long moments where he’s deep in thought (before eventually speaking) that I absolutely loved. It’s a performance that really pulls you in.
This was a fun adventure. Very different to anything else that I’m watching on TV at the moment. Also very different from previous Who. Yet, having said that, all the core elements of Who were in place. It’s clearly Who. But it’s been completely reinvented. Again.
The fate of the world wasn’t at stake. Or even the universe! It was all just about one baby. And the (implied) power of that baby to change the world. Except for excursions to the villains’ ship, it all took place inside one normal, crowded flat.
But then, Russell T. Davies has always excelled at making the ordinary fantastic. Here, he hangs a lot of the story on bad luck and coincidences. Normal stuff we all experience. So, no matter how bonkers things get we can always relate.
Who is Ruby’s mother? Who is Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson)? And where are they going with the “mavity” thing? So many questions….
10/10
Gripping.
Two major ongoing storylines come to their climax here. The Ruth-Connie one is dark but completely relatable. It collides with the ongoing problems everyone has been having with June Johns all season long. She’s always been an unlikeable troublemaker, but here we are 100% on her side when she’s accused in the wrong, and most of the class turns against her.
Skilfully done.
Excellent cliffhanger.
10/10
Lovely.
Lots of focus on Keeley and her new job. Plus on Roy post breakup. There are some interesting developments in the big storylines.
Show is full of emotional moments and it always nails them because it’s so smart.
10/10
Friday, August 24, 1984.
Terrific cliffhanger to end the week, with Joe about to be run down in the road.
Strong Augusta-Joe scenes in this one, and a stellar Peter-Joe confrontation. No real changes anywhere else. The Santana-C.C. scenes a bit flat.
8/10
Investigating deaths at a ranch populated by mostly awful people, it feels like Hunter & McCall have crossed over into a soap opera.
The guest cast is strong, particularly Maurice Roëves and Amy Benedict.
Great ending. I really had no idea who did it.
9/10
Lethargic.
Billy Connolly and Peter Falk are hit-and-miss in an aimless episode with a lot of very long scenes. Our hero starts hassling the killer for no reason; no clue drives him there. Their lengthy exchanges are meaningless/irrelevant, and Columbo is over-the-top buffoonish in many of them. It is embarrassing to watch. Worst of all, the gotcha at the end is weak. It proves nothing.
One of the worst episodes.
4/10
Sam Groom.
Once again, the show pairs Jaime with a youngster. This time, a troublemaker who refuses to speak. It works because her Vietnam War-related backstory is dark and tragic, and the child is a very good actress.
It’s not subtle, and it’s a bit contrived towards the end, but it’s an episode that works well.
7/10
Average episode with Heather Menzies, and lots and lots of stock footage of oil rig fires.
The bar fight is pretty good, and there’s impressive stunt work with a bulldozer pushing a man along the ground.
Oscar is working with Steve in this one.
6/10
Bill Kirchenbauer absolutely steals the show as cheesy lounge singer Tony Rolletti. He’s hilarious and the banter between him and Barth is razor sharp.
Loved the second guest, too. A mobster who is clearly murdering his rivals.
9/10
Blinded, Goldman is behind enemy lines with a VC prisoner.
Rosalind Chao and Stephen Caffrey are both superb. The script is smart and honest, and some of the scenes are hard to watch.
With this and the previous episode, the show conclusively proves it’s much more than an action show.
10/10
We go into this episode knowing who the villain is, and the script has a lot of fun with that as we watch the remaining characters repeatedly place their trust in the wrong person. Great source of tension.
The episode also delivers action. And gives a whole lot of closure. Even for things I did not expect.
10/10
Nail-biting stuff.
This episode answers most of the big questions. And by the end of it we have a much clearer idea of what’s going on.
It’s also an episode of big reveals/twists, particularly in the final seconds. (We might have seen that one coming but it was still fun to see it play out.)
10/10
Best episode so far.
The show doesn’t have an unstoppable action hero like Jack Bauer, but it’s clear that the writers/producers have learned a lot from 24. As the bodies pile up on the airplane, down on the ground the story adds espionage, mistrust in the halls of power and - of course! - a sniper to kill someone who knows too much.
Great fun.
10/10
The first quarter here is devoted to a flashback, showing us the events that occurred directly before the start of episode one. We also leave the plane multiple times as action heats up on the ground, particularly with DC Hana’s journalist sister. All elements we’ve seen before but they work really well in this show.
9/10
Solid second episode doesn’t lose any momentum, as a second person dies on the plane.
It’s clear the people behind this show are familiar with 24 (Twenty Four) and that’s no bad thing. I know I’m gripped and eager to watch the next episode immediately.
9/10
Smart thriller.
Likeable hero, who we are led to believe is being framed. Some exciting action, and plenty of ominous foreshadowing.
The location is the star.
9/10
Terrific episode. Very different to the usual, with Gwen holding a bomb that might explode at any second!
The hidden room storyline comes to fruition. And there is plenty of humour amid the tension.
A standout episode by any standards.
10/10
Very good indeed. There’s a very strong hook and a decent pay-off at the end.
Clark finds himself in a town where everyone is frozen still. Except… it turns out he’s the one who has been sped up.
Very intriguing, and very cool to watch.
Only episode written by David Gerrold.
9/10
A very average episode with almost no story. It seems we are on the verge of Mike and Laura spending the night together, so it should feel significant, but it’s actually quite a dull instalment. There’s another party at Helen and Phil’s, and some clumsy moments from Mike. That’s it.
6/10
The narrative here is evenly divided between Ted, Rebecca, and Nathan. This is their story.
There are funny moments, and heartwarming moments, and plenty of set-up for the season ahead, cementing the rivalry between AFC Richmond and Rupert’s team.
9/10
Lovely episode.
Wonderful warm performance from Peter Hobbs as a former children’s TV host who learns he is no longer relevant.
It flags a little in the middle, when the focus shifts to Teddy’s home/family, but it’s mostly a heartfelt tale with a realistic outcome.
Co-written by Richard Sanders.
8/10
Lovely episode.
Wonderful warm performance from Peter Hobbs as a former children’s TV host who learns he is no longer relevant.
It flags a little in the middle, when the focus shifts to Teddy’s home/family, but it’s mostly a heartfelt tale with a realistic outcome.
Co-written by Richard Sanders.
8/10
Brent Spiner.
Is there such a thing as a perfect episode? One instalment that encapsulates all you could ever want from a particular show…
If there is, then this is Night Court’s. It was enthusiastically ridiculous, laugh-out-loud funny, heartfelt, and beautiful. All at the same time.
Also, I want all of these guest characters to return multiple times.
10/10
Simu Liu.
Early episodes had me thinking the show had maybe lost its mojo, but these last two have been fantastic.
All the storylines here were rock solid, very funny, and oddly sad.
Curtis calling Cary out for being a dick to him all season was magnificent.
10/10
Superb!
One of the best and most memorable episodes of the entire series. It take Percell, Taylor and Ruiz out of Vietnam when Percell’s father (Robert Fuller) has a heart attack. They meet a wide variety of characters, each with their own take on the war (and war in general).
It’s bleak, but damn is it powerful.
10/10
“Life is unpredictable. Not everything is in our control. But as long as we’re with the right people, we can handle anything.”
Some lovely, heartfelt sentiments in this season finale. Also, a bomb at the wedding! Everyone gets something to do to save the day.
Crazy to think that Fox cancelled the show at this point.
9/10
Terrific season finale wraps everything up. For now. There are callbacks to all sorts of things we saw during the season, as well as a lot of love for Richard Kind (playing himself). There are some great songs. (The main song near the end is lovely.) And, as is usual, the episode was packed with hilarious gags. My favourite? The digs at the TV industry.
10/10
My favourite Hunter stories are the elaborate ones where you genuinely don’t know what is going to happen next.
Tom Chehak’s script delivers this and a trio of shady characters connected by a 7-year-old murder-robbery case. But who did it?
The screentime is divided equally between Hunter, McCall and Charlie in this one.
10/10
