Saturday, September 10, 2016

Every Inch The Queen

We're into September and we're back into the swing of many things both debuting and returning, so here's a look at some of the things I've watched lately.


Newzoids: I sort of missed this one last year, bar seeing a few of the sketches on YouTube but last week, I watched the first episode of Series 2 along with The X Factor. Well, it's an interesting and amusing enough modern version of Spitting Image and a somewhat more successful version of Headcases from a few years back. The targets are current (Will & Kate, Tom & Taylor, Trump, BBC rivals etc) and the jokes virtually write themselves but for a half hour programme, it's pretty diverting nonetheless.


Orange Is The New Black: I effectively blitzed through nine episodes the last time I talked about this show and can I just say how much I fucking loved this season? Easily the best we've had so far with some genuinely great flashbacks episodes (Lolly, Maritza, Poussey, Bailey, Suzanne), one hell of a comedown for Piper, the amusing antics of Judy King and Black Cindy and the more serious problems of overcrowding, growing racial tensions and the worst CO's we've ever seen in Litchfield along with the death of a beloved character and a prison riot with one hell of a cliffhanger. On a nicer note, it's also great to have Nicky and Sophia back into the mix as well.


Stranger Things: The most hyped show of 2016 and while it took me a little while, I did get around to finishing the series off. By now, everyone knows that a second season (along with all the titles) has been announced but the second half of the show's debut year upped the ante as the gang and Eleven worked with the adults to bring back Will. I did like that we got more details on the sheriff's family life and Joyce somewhat improved as a character along with Nancy's boyfriend, whom the show managed to humanise a bit more. It'll be interesting to see where things go in the second season though.


Victoria: In her first major role post Clara Oswald, Jenna Coleman has swapped the BBC for ITV. A TARDIS for a palace and being an immortalised school teacher to being a young queen at the beginning of her ruling. Three episodes in and ITV's latest regal smash is certainly trying it's best to fill the void left by Downton Abbey's ending and for the most part, it's a success. Coleman is excellent as the young Victoria and she's ably supported by a great cast, notably Rufus Sewell's Lord Melbourne. While there's certainly a sense of writer Daisy Goodwin playing fast and loose with historical factor and while the downstairs staff are a little hit and miss at times, this is certainly some excellent Sunday night viewing, even with Poldark proving to be some stark competition.


Young Hyacinth: For the last fortnight, the BBC have been on sitcom revival fever. Already we've had updated versions of Are You Being Served, Porridge, Goodnight Sweetheart but Young Hyacinth possibly stood out that little more for the fact that it was a prequel unlike the others. With Kerry Howard taking on the role of everyone's favourite snob, this opening episode certainly took a little getting used to but it was certainly fun and despite needing a few tweaks here and there, I wouldn't mind seeing this one actually become a series more than anything else.


- Tobias Menzies has signed up for a leading role in upcoming AMC anthology series, The Terror.
- Tyrant, Devious Maids and Mistresses have all been cancelled.
- Mariah Carey will be playing a character named Kitty in Empire's third season.
- FOX have commissioned a pilot for Greg Berlanti's Black Lightning series.
- Grey's Anatomy will tackle domestic violence in the new season.
- Kara Royster will be guesting in an episode of Supernatural.
- Richard Madden will star in Amazon's sci-fi pilot, Strange New Things.
- Meryl Streep and JJ Abrams will be working together on a series named The Nix.
- Zayn Malik and Dick Wolf will be producing a boyband drama named Boys for NBC.
- Narcos has been renewed for a third and fourth season respectively.

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