TV Critic

 I first decided to do this badge much earlier in the year. In preparation for this I started watching Happy Valley - and I watched it from the start - starting with series 1. I wasn’t particularly bothered when this first came out, but I do seem to remember people talking about there being an issue with the sound for the programme - that people were mumbling, that it was too quiet. I don’t remember that being so much of an issue, but as it was about 9 months ago that I watched it now, it is hardly surprising that I don’t remember. Certainly Happy Valley wasn’t something I would usually watch…I like crime programmes, but things like Bergerac, Midsomer Murders, Morse, Endeavour, Lewis…you get the picture! I watched Line of Duty either last year or the year before - simply because people were talking about it - and once again, I started at the very beginning. With streaming services it is easy to catch up on what you’ve missed. I’ve discovered that I quite enjoy binge watching series - I find it makes it easy to follow what is going on - and I do like to get to the final episode. We usually watch one programme of each series per evening, so we can get through a six episode series in a week. I do find that once we get towards the end of the series, I prefer to watch two episodes at once.

The TV shows I chose to watch over about 4 weeks were: Wife on Strike, Great British Bake Off, Shetland, Good Omens, Star Wars Clone Wars, Time and Bosch Legacy. The two particular programmes that were totally new to me were Wife on Strike and Great British Bake Off.

Great British Bake Off - this is something I’ve not watched before, as I’m not such a fan of reality type programmes - I find things like X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Great British Sewing Bee and the like rather stressful. It is the extended period between announcements about decisions that is rather stressful, and the time pressure too. However, I decided to put this to one side on this occasion. I found that I quite enjoyed this programme - learning about the techniques, and different flavours being put together. Having done the Confectioner badge earlier in the year, and also as I’ve been working on Chef and the Baker badge, I found it more informative and enjoyable than I thought I would. It is still a little stressful waiting to find out who will be leaving - and I don’t like the cooking time left reminders, because I find it stressful. However, I realised that clever TV editing makes it feel more stressful, as I don’t believe that the scenes we see when it gets to 1 minute remaining are what is happening when there is only 1 minute left! It did surprise me that I quite enjoyed this - and I think I may end up watching it in future, if only to learn some tricks to hone my baking skills!

Shetland is a programme that we tend to watch, although only in recent times. We did not watch it from series 1 and so actually used BBC iPlayer to watch previous series at the same time as watching series 8. Series 8 sees a departure from what we’ve known before; two of the main characters are not in it - we’re missing Jimmy Perez and Duncan Hunter. Instead we see Tosh stepping up. She is helped by Ruth Calder who works in London, but was born and raised on Shetland. I liked seeing familiar faces in this series, but I was surprised not to see more of Tosh’s daughter and her partner - who were important aspects of previous series. We learned a little of Ruth Calder’s past, but not enough to satisfy my curiosity as to why she left Shetland. By the end of the series we are left wondering whether Ruth Calder will return, or whether Tosh will be made DI permanently.

Wife On Strike is a programme I saw advertised, and thought it would be an interesting addition to the TV Critic requirements. I had this programme on series repeat, but only two episodes recorded. The premise is fairly interesting; one person (often the wife) is fed up of doing the majority of chores in the house, and so leaves temporarily until the partner has bucked their ideas up. One of the first couples we saw included a man who grew up in South Africa, and had had a servant in the house, so didn’t know how to do some simple household tasks. Did the series seem a bit contrived? Perhaps, but it was evident that some partners did not do their fair share of tasks in the house. Did I like the programmes? I watched them, and I was curious to see how much the errant partners changed. The errant partners did make some changes, but a couple of times I was left wondering if they had made enough of a change - certainly their wives thought they could do more, and that would have been an interesting twist - for the wife to stay away longer to see further progress being made. In one of the programmes, the husband went on strike - and the wife who was left had to make her own coffee. I was astounded that she’d never made her own coffee previously, and I thought it a bit of a cop out that she went to get a takeaway for her and her son, rather than cook something. Still - I’m in a lucky situation where we share the different tasks; neither of us think that a task can only be done by a specific person. What surprised me was that the partners who left temporarily hadn’t done something about their partners’ behaviour previously, especially with children in the house who need to see good examples of how housework is accomplished.

Good Omens is a programme we’ve previously watched, and this was the second series. It is a bit convoluted to follow; this series focuses on Gabriel going missing, and trying to find out why all the records in a Juke Box in a pub in Scotland all end up playing just one song - ‘Everyday’. I don’t think there was anything I didn’t like about the series; that being said, some of those in charge in Heaven and Hell are very set in their way of thinking. This turned on its head by the heads of those places by the end of the series. What I liked particularly is that minority groups are represented - there are gay couples, non-conventional couples, people in a wheelchair - and combinations of these. This programme certainly gives you food for thought about Heaven, Hell, Gabriel, Beelzebub, amongst others.

Star Wars Clone Wars - we decided to watch the Star Wars films in timeline order. After watching the first two films we needed to start on the cartoon Clone Wars. The animation is very good, with some of the characters and places having superb definition. At the start of each programme there is a little saying, which is usually something that we can apply to our own lives. What I didn’t like about this programme is the way that Yoda talks. Maybe it is down to not listening carefully in the original three films, but for me the syntax seems a little off - his speech follows object-subject-verb pattern, but hearing much more of it in The Clone Wars is rather wearing and hard going. It is good to see the Star Wars story being fleshed out before Revenge of the Sith.

Bosch Legacy sees Harry Bosch as a private detective / investigator, having retired from LAPD at the end of Bosch. Over the two series we see Bosch working with Honey Chandler (a bit of a change from when he was in LAPD), and the progress of his daughter Maddie. What I didn’t like about this series is that we don’t get to find out what happened with regards to Harry’s house - which was left in a bit of an unsafe state following an earthquake. There are a few twists and turns in the second series, where it looks like things might not all work out for Harry and Honey. However - like all good series, things are resolved by the end of it, and it is great that there is a longer game at play.

I’ve read several different reviews of series 8 of Shetland - found on Rotten Tomatoes, Press and Journal, and The Arts Desk. The reviews are a mixed bag - some have really enjoyed the new series, and accepted DI Ruth Calder, whilst others have been quite disparaging about the amount of unnecessary bad language. Personally, I enjoyed the series. There were other aspects I would have liked to have seen - e.g. more information about Tosh’s baby and family, a bit more interaction with Sandy. It was strange to think that there would be some people who would go as far as travelling all the way to Shetland in order to retrieve money. Some critics are concerned that the series paints Shetland in a poor light; I don’t believe that this is the case. I think that people will recognise that it is just a story - much like people realise that the area of Midsomer is not actually the murder capital of the world.

Sticking with Shetland, I arranged to watch episode 2 of series 1 with another rebel. We watched it at the same time on Thursday 28th December, finding it on BBC iPlayer. We then had a Whatsapp video call this afternoon to discuss it. We found that we had picked up on different things - I had considered the music whereas Lisa had considered the acting of the individuals. She considered it to be quite light easy going writing - not something heavy and gritty, and I would agree with this. I like looking at the scenery - and it makes me want to go and visit Shetland. We both picked up on there being no trees on Shetland - stated by DI Perez’s daughter, Cassie. We gave consideration to the assertions made by Jimmy Perez at the end, that you would see Norway in one direction and Iceland in another. I question the veracity of this - especially when at sea level. I liked seeing the local custom of Up Helly Aa - and reference to it as being the largest fire festival in Europe. As I saw this episode after having been acquainted with the main characters, it has been good to see how the characters have developed in future series. Another aspect I question is whether a DS would forget the words when making an arrest - surely it is something you would practise again and again - like I learned and practised the words for the second verse of the National Anthem as a Brownie over 40 years ago; and yes, I still remember the words! I think I look on such series as they are - I don’t tend to delve deeper into them, - I enjoy them at face value.

For the final clause of the badge - the TV drama series with at least 3 parts; I originally thought of Happy Valley for this, but decided on Time instead. This is a programme I wouldn’t normally watch - it is a bit more gritty than I am used to watching, and I don’t usually enjoy such gritty watching. However, it being for a badge, I decided to go for it. The three main characters are Orla, Abi and Kelsey. Orla is portrayed as a mother who is down on her luck, Kelsey as a teenage / young adult drug addict, and Abi as a hard woman and baby killer. The series focuses on these three women who arrive in Carlingford prison together. As the different episodes air, we discover a bit more about the women and what changes they choose to make, and what changes they are forced to make. The series doesn’t hold back on the violence that seems to be a part of prison life for many. For Orla we see how her past has influenced her current behaviour, and the steps she takes to try to make things right - everything she does is for her children, and we see the desperation and the lengths she will go to for her family. It is heartbreaking to see one of her children refusing to visit her - and so see the children being taken into care. Even more emotional is the scene at her mum’s funeral - being in handcuffs, and yet still managing to put a little humour into her words. Kelsey starts to turn her life around on discovering that she is pregnant, due to the benefits she will get - being able to spend time with her baby and get out sooner. She gives up the drugs, and you can see her appearance change - she starts looking healthier, her skin is clearer. You feel for her when her drug dealer boyfriend gives her drugs on a visit, and she really doesn’t want to take them - which results in her baby being taken away from her. However, she is resilient, and decides that she will do what is best for her child, and takes the stand against her boyfriend - showing real bravery. Abi is shown as someone who is quite hard, and keeps herself to herself, but also gives good advice to her roommates. As the series progresses, we can see that she is battling with something - something in her past and that relates to water and a child. She is attacked physically and tormented by other inmates - she is aware that she is a target for others. Her background is one of a nurse - so she is called on when Kelsey goes into labour - and she is given some credit for her actions by the other inmates at this time of crisis; all the prison wardens were dealing with an incident that had been instigated by Orla - after she returned to prison having been released. Attitudes start to soften towards Abi, and one day she is brave enough to tell her story; not many of the other inmates are not moved by her tale. Far from being a baby killer, she can be regarded as a woman, a mother, with post-natal depression; a woman who is struggling with a new baby, and who is not getting any support from her husband. Her story is harrowing as it was evident to me that she needed help - there is always a reason for every behaviour, you just have to work out the meaning - but that could be my foster carer experience coming through. By the end of the series things were looking more positive for Kelsey, and also for Abi as she is able to work through her grief; it is Orla I feel most sorry for, as although she was released, all she was given was a tent - no housing or accommodation for her. We see her meeting the son who didn’t want to see his mum in prison, which is positive for her, but we know she has had to pack everything up in a rucksack and take it with her to see him - she’s having to live on the streets.

Having not seen series 1 of Time, I didn’t know what to expect, and didn’t know if I was going to enjoy it. However, as it was for a badge I kept watching, and by the end I realised that I wanted to go and watch series 1 of Time - which I will do in the new year.

This long essay - the detailed account of each of the clauses marks my work for the TV Critic badge - which I now claim! I also now qualify for the Creative section patch (I actually qualified when I finished the Builder badge in November!).