This Is England 88

 


Shane Meadows This is England’88 finished last night and although it was a pretty bleak Christmas for most involved there was a little hope in the end.

Joseph Gilgun’s performance as Woody in this has been nothing but superb, his transition from friendly Christmas hello’s to distraught when he heard about Lol’s overdose was amazing stuff. I’ve loved watching him in Misfits too as the replacement for Robert Sheehan’s Nathan. In that he’s had the best lines of the season, he’s also been in Emmerdale but being soap free household my view of him hasn’t been tainted by that. Vicky Mclure won a Bafta last time for her performance as Lol and reprises her role this time trying to come to terms with her actions from the last series.

There wasn’t as much room for light relief in this 3 part Christmas special and I kind of missed the antics of Gadget and gang from the last time round but the focus was more on the aftermath of the last series. A brief appearance from Combo in prison serving time for killing Lol’s Dad was touching and seemed strange as Stephen Graham is now better known as Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire. Better get used to those bars kid.

80’s nostalgia spot- Vosene Shampoo (do they still make it?)

80’s error?-I’m sure they had a fibre optic xmas tree in the window of the posh house Shaun went to. I’m pretty sure I didn’t see any of those in 1988.

The Killing - Forbrydelson

Saturday is almost here and I will get my weekly fix of the killing (forbrydelson) on BBC4. The Danish crime thriller has given the Beeb's smallest channel a genuine hit and some of its best ratings. I read that it was getting higher ratings than AMC's Mad Men got when screened on the channel. Pretty good for a dark subtitled crime thriller set in Copenhagen? Why are we so surprised that other European countries can produce drama to match the greats of HBO on a shoestring budget? Also why are great catches like this tucked away on a niche channel? The Nations dumbing down continues apace a whilst over half a million of us in the know are staying in on a Saturday night to find out who killed Nanna Birk Larson (NBL for the addicts).  AMC are remaking htis for an American audience but I don't think I'll bother as it is the Danish back drop, design, culture and general differences which I enjoy the most. That and Sarah Lund's knitwear , self cleaning jumper which she has had on so long it would put my teenage daughter to shame.

For the uninitiated I suggest you reach for the BBC Iplayer and catch up. No spoilers on here and no spoiler comments please. I genuinely haven't a scooby doo who killed NBL, she was killed in the first 5 minutes of episode 1 and I have lost count of the amount of people I suspected.

A useful selection of links for the Killing:

The BBC site including Iplayer where all 14 episdoes are available to watch

The Guardians (late starting) Killing blog

Buy yourself a Sarah Lund jumper, a snip at 280 Euros

tak for læsning

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10 O'clock live

 

I think after 3 weeks on the air, 10 o'clock live is finding it's feet and evolving into what I hoped it would be. I had a lot of respect for the crew of Charlie Brooker, Lauren Laverne and David Mitchell. Jimmy Carr I could take or leave but I understand he would bring an audience that wouldn't normally tune in and although his stand up intros have been a bit hit and miss they are always bang up to date. The first episode seemed a bit rushed and didn't flow very well but it's got better and I thought last nights show worked pretty well. David Mitchells interviews are great and Caroline Lucas MP last night was a great choice. Charlie Brooker's rants are always funnier on screen than on paper and although he's a lot more popular now than his Screenwipe days of shouting at the telly in his cluttered flat, the fire is still there. Lauren Laverne is great too, she appears the professional one who ties everything together. Lets hope it's given the time to develop. 

 



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Sky Atlantic

I am a reluctant Sky subscriber. There, I've said it. I am in constant torment over my families Sky subscription as I do not want to line the pockets of the Murdoch Empire. I will admit though that this self righteousness is not as overpowering as the sheer amount of moaning I am subjected to if Spongebob Square-pants and MTV is not available as a choice. Me, I could always take it or leave it and the expense of Sky was next on the chopping block as soon as the contract is up.

Things have changed though, I have found it difficult not to get excited about the new Sky channel, Sky Atlantic HD for the terrestrial people out there. How can I not get excited, their deal with HBO brings all the programmes that we have normally had to wait months for or go searching on the Torrent sites with increasingly dodgy adverts on (Yes I am aware that research shows busty Russian girls are attracted to western men, especially from Glossop). Mad Men, The Wire, Six feet under, Treme, The Soprano's, Battlestar Galactica. The list goes on, they are even showing the X files from the beginning which I am determined to make time for.

The main attraction and selling point has been the premiere of HBO's multi million pound series Boardwalk Empire. I watched this on the launch night and found it to be everything that it had hyped up to be by critics on it's release it the states. Serious stuff with a great turn by Steve Buscemi and a shock (for me) appearance of Combo from This is England as a young Al Capone.

This momentous small screen piece was followed by what I can only assume was made as a dare. Blue Bloods focuses on an unfeasibly cop orientated family that crams in as many cop cliches as is possible in a hours worth of television.

Dead Cop Brother. Check
Scenes in dress uniform. Check
Girlfriend disapproving of cops choice to join the force. Check
Missing child. Check
Race against time due to child's illness. Check
Hard cop breaking the rules to save the missing child. Check
Morally justifiable police brutality. Check
Relative is the DA. Check
Retired Grandpa Cop. Check
Moral dilemma by young cop to betray crooked cop. Check
Tom Selleck's Moustache. Check

Now I may be being a bit mean to this so I'll watch it again next week. The shots of New York were great and the return of Tom Selleck's moustache to television may not bring about world peace but it does brings us a little bit closer.

If he wears a Hawaiian shirt next week I'll buy the DVD.



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