Lucy

Jessica Jones was a joy to watch, full of great character development, fantastic female character dynamics, challenging issues and gritty realism I have not seen for a long time in a tv drama. It manages to be a superhero drama, film noire centric, case/police procedural and thriller simultaneously. As rotten tomatoes perfectly puts it “Jessica Jones is… a TV detective drama about loneliness, control, and how a human soul recovers from violation”. We learn very little about Jessica’s past until later episodes, but the glimpse and truth that leaks out makes for a heart breaking backstory, tragic and angsty in almost equal measure, but most importantly, justifies Jessica’s present day actions. After being held hostage, raped and controlled for over a year, it’s no wonder Jessica is suffering from PTSD, alcoholism and a devil-may-care attitude.

It’s her relationships with other characters, her friends that bring out the ‘old’ (pre-Kilgrave) Jessica, and with Trish, Luke (and occasionally) Malcolm she jokes and actually “from time to time gives a damn” as she puts it herself. Her relationship with Trish is deep and very sisterly, although Jess doesn’t always show it, she will do anything to keep Trish safe, and Trish wants nothing more than to save the world with Jess by her side. I loved how their back story was told in flashbacks through the series, hopefully more of that will be shown in season 2.

The story lines focus around the themes of control, recovery from trauma, female friendships and agency/responsibility all beautifully shot in a gritty NEw York, film noir style with plenty of detective legwork and police procedural tropes thrown in. The guardian has a brilliant article about how Jessica Jones explores issues of rape, agency and confrontation with rapists/trauma and I agree with its main argument: philosophically it is unheard of for women in tv to confront their rapists, challenge their views and provide them with evidence that they did not give consent, and that’s what Jessica Jones does, kudos to you Marvel!

For the most part, the 13 episode series is character driven and the cast is fantastic and mostly female, a real rarity in tv and film. All the women are well rounded characters and perhaps more importantly, women with power. Jessica has her own P.I. business as well as superpowers, Trish was a famous child star but now hosts a popular radio show and Hogarth is a cut throat lawyer. Even minor female characters are presented as powerful, Robyn is maternally aggressive and dedicated carer to her brother Ruben, Claire Temple is a well established nurse and Wendy is enjoying a successful carer as a doctor. Even Trish’s abusive mother has her own successful carer and is certainly a sought after women. It’s great to see so many different kinds of strength in these women and for them to often work together for a common goal, without being too obviously written in.

Luke Cage remains mysterious for the most part of the series, but his obvious affection for Jessica and his intriguing back story make for compelling future viewing. Malcolm is a supportive neighbour to Jessica and I enjoyed how he worked his way out of a hole and made it up to Jessica, including being there in the final scene saying “how can we help”, a powerful moment showing that although not much has changed, Jessica has at least 1 friend she can rely on day to day.

Simpson and Kilgrave are not your typical ‘bad guys’. Simpson starts off as your typical police officer with the law being very black and white to him. But after his experiences with Kilgrave, his ‘savier/vigilante’ personality type resurfaces and he chooses to opt back into a top secret army programme where he can maximise his abilities using drugs. However, these drugs don’t give him the ability to think clearly/morally and he kills and destroys whilst using them (possibly to become the series 2 main villain, also possible become Nuke from the comic books?). His relationship with Trish is also interesting, but ultimately she puts Jessica ahead of him and pushes him out of her life, perhaps onto a more dangerous path.

Kilgrave is a twisted, narcissist who uses his power to get not only material possessions but people’s emotional property and physical being too. He doesn’t just tell people what to do, he tells them how to feel whilst doing it, which is perhaps the most chilling part of his ability - the people controlled aren’t able to stop showing how their supposed to be feeling - as if trapped behind glass - but appear to show Kilgrave what he wants, even if it is not a true representation of what they are feeling. This makes it hard for Kilgrave to know, love or trust anyone and this as well as parental abandonment sends him spiralling into selfishness and greed. his side of the story is given some light, and he certainly is given plenty of time to talk, but his use of abilities come first, which stands him apart from Jessica who is happier lying low, and his greed overpowers his willingness to use his powers for good.

The finale sets up next season well (What has happened to Luke and Simpson? Where did Jessica’s powers come from? What will Hogarth do about her lover’s quandary?) whilst also confronting Kilgrave and the expansion of his power. Jessica has been avoiding killing Kilgrave throughout the season so he can be used as evidence to get people off of serving sentences for several crimes. However, once her main reason for sparing Kilgrave dies, Jessica gives a damn and decides that she can’t let the world get hurt by him any more, tricking Kilgrave at his own game and twisting his neck. It’s a dramatic scene, but the aftermath hits home more, as Jessica neither celebrates nor leaves, she returns to her daily life, only slightly more relieved of her burdens than before - a powerful reminder than PTSD and trauma are more complex than revenge or protecting others and it’s wonderful that these issues are given the respect they deserve and are not simplified for the sake of plot :)

Although Jessica Jones is set in the Marvel universe (and more specifically the same time/place as Daredevil) it doesn’t feel like a superhero caper. Jessica’s strongest assest is how NORMAL she is, she forgets to charge her phone, forgets to buy loo roll, doesn’t bother with pyjamas, only has 3 differnt outfits eats badly but knows better, all of which we the audience can relate too! It’s great to see such a normal female protagonist that isn’t fashion conscience or in a different dress each scene. Jessica’s battles are mainly psychological and when she is solving cases, she puts her P.I. skills and fists into practise rather than relying on her ‘super powers’ (jumping and super strength), which makes her feel relatable and definitely the most human protagonist Marvel has.

The cinematography is beautiful throughout. The title sequence is a watercolour masterpiece and the dark, grey tonal palette of most sets remind you that Jessica’s world is still very grey and downtrodden. The purple accents in scenes all nicely link to Kilgrave’s favourite colour and evoke the cold bitterness of down town New York as well as the sufferers of Kilgrave’s mind control. The fight choreography is just as good as it was in Daredevil, albeit with more gutsy punch ups than martial arts techniques, but still emotionsally driven and varied. Jessica’s flat takes quite the beating but each time it’s with different people and has a different emotional driving force behind it, keeping it fresh and tense.

Overall I was very impressed with Jessica Jones in terms of dealing well and portraying sensitive themes, utilising a range of powerful female characters, having male characters that weren’t one dimensional, not relying on superhuman abilities and having psychological struggles as the main adversary in a well acted and written detective action drama. I most eagerly await season 2 and the next Marvel outing on Netflix - their tv world building and narratives are some of the strongest I have watched in a long time.

I’m tempted to give your 13 reasons why you shouldn’t watch this show. The whole thing was a hard watch but it can have 2 stars for the following 2 points: it is getting people to talk more about adolescent mental health (always a good thing) and Katherine Langford’s excellent acting, which I hope will land her any role of her choosing in the future.

The show starts with the usual high school drama, and incoporates the source material well to show the story unfolding. However, they add unnecessary ‘drama’ and ‘tension’ between the supporting characters which really doesn’t work and feels forced. Everyone telling Clay to “listen to the tapes” instead of actually telling him things is really annoying for the viewer and drastically unrealistic.

In terms of mental health the show is making a statement, but it ultimately gives an unclear message, wrapped up in high school politics and dramatises scenes that viewers should not see (scenes of assault and suicide), especially if they are in vulnerable or crisis themselves.

I appreaciate the show trying to promote more discussion about bullying, assault and mental health, but don’t agree with this show spreading mental health awareness or being a ‘must watch’ to explain mental health. It’s triggering and poorly executed at key moments, which will not help those who need it most.

Also Netflix, ONE SEASON IS ENOUGH, LET IT GO.

Stranger Things season 2 was an absolute blast and although it didn’t quite reach the lofty heights of the first season, it came pretty damn close. The core cast of characters, as well as some nice new additions, help to drive the story forward with new dilemmas, character development and an atmosphere that certainly is more horror-fuelled and spookier than season 1.

The plot of the season is similar to season 1, but deals more with recovery from season 1s events, developing characters, delving in the history of Hawkins Lab and Eleven’s backstory and adding yet more supernatural threats to the town of Hawkins. It treads a mostly familiar path, but keeps the pacing right, the script tight and the characters solid to ensure that you’re along for the entire ride.

The main strength of season 2 is still the group of children, who form the central cast; Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will and Eleven are still distinct in their personalities and intentions and most are developed organically as they face new challenges in Hawkins. Will had a lot more to do this season and although he was in the grips of the Mind Flyer for significant parts of the show, I felt like we got to know him more as a character, rather than a ‘missing person’, this season. Dustin and Lucas fulfil their roles of the comic relief and risk take respectfully and their families are also introduced and expanded on, giving them more depth as characters. Lucas was underused last season and I’m pleased that he was given more of the story to tell and his relationship with Max was a nice touch.

Mike had more of the focus in season 1 and takes a back seat here, which was a little disappointing (but understandable to let the other characters shine). However, Eleven comes into her own and has a whole plot driven ‘side quest’ of her own, portraying all of Eleven’s complex emotions often with just simple sentences and facial expressions. Although I enjoyed seeing Eleven explore new elements of her personality and discover more about her past, keeping her apart from the gang until the penultimate episode didn’t allow for their relationships to develop much, which was one of season 1′s highlights.

Another of season 1s successes, were the great characters of Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers. Joyce is still stuck in a ‘worry about Will’ rut (understandably so but felt a little like re-treading familiar ground) but thankfully we get to know Hopper more as a struggling adoptive Dad and secret keeper of the mysterious Hawkins lab. Out of all the characters this season, Hopper’s development and arc have been my favourite, very well written and executed!

Nancy, Jonathan and Steve all return and after a brief love triangle moment, Jonathan and Nancy establish themselves as the unrequited love fulfilled and a detective duo to boot. Steve has probably the best lines of the season and turns from ‘that popular guy’ to the world’s most loved babysitter to the kids. The partnership between him and Dustin was fantastic and their scenes were just great to watch.

New characters of Bob, Max and Billy had little to do overall but Bob was a sweet natured guy who certainly helped when the time came for it. Max was a feisty new edition and a promising team member, but at times felt like a shoe in for Eleven. Billy had little to do, apart from make Steve look a good person and make you feel sorry for Max. Even the abusive parent subplot felt like it was tacked on the end - the season could definitely have existed perfectly fine without him. (Hopefully he’ll do more in season 3).

Aside from the characters, the main difference in season 2 was the darker, more horror driven atmosphere, It certainly felt scarier and the visual effects were more dynamic and creepy this time around, upping the intensity of the show for sure. Will being attacked by the Mind Flyer was a nail-biter of a scene to watch! The Upside Down remained a great setting for the supernatural horrors to live, although I can’t help but feel that mini demo-dogs were a wee bit predictable. Surely there are more creatures about in the never-ending Upside Down?

Perhaps my own real criticism of the season though is the lack of a human villain. Dr Brenner was a cold and intense villain in season 1 and the lack of a human ‘monster’ in the show made the final battle feel a tad flat as everyone was on the same side, humans vs unknown monsters. I’m not counting Billy as a villain (he was barely there), and I suppose you could count Kali and her gang as villainous, but they ultimately posed no real threat to Hawkins.

I am certainly looking forward to season 3, after season 2s lovely ending (I cried), it will be interesting to see how they tie up the few plot strings they have left. Personally, I am hoping for new monsters (both human and supernatural), the chance for Eleven to interact more with the group and more babysitter Steve!

Exotic locations can only do so much, unfortunately they are unable to cover a multitude of sins in Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. There’s the blatant Xenophobia of the entire premise to start with, no to mention cultural stereotypes and cheesy script writing on top of sub standard acting and a lack of chemistry between the leads.

The characters themselves are very basic police procedural stereotypes: the leader who’s a sharpshooter but prefers peaceful discussion; the cultural expert/encyclopaedia of all knowledge with an emotional back story; the muscle of the team who has a large family; the rookie who’s also incredibly sassy but secretly wants to be accepted onto the team. If the actors gave amazing performances then I’m sure that even these basic charterers could be interesting, sadly they’re verging on robotic at times and ruthless at others.

The best parts of the show are the random cameos from beloved Criminal Minds characters (only reminding you how characterisation should be done) and Monty, the technical analyst and only character with a hint of personality on the show.

However, even after all my negativity, the CM addict in me is still tuning in for episodes. Who knows, maybe the series will be a slow burner but until then the 2.5 star rating stays!

EDIT: Season 2 is no better, if anything the cultural insensitivity is worse, reducing to a 2 star rating...

Everyone should watch White Collar, the smart story lines, well paced episodes and great chemistry between the leads makes it one of the best, and most underrated, US police drama/comedies out there.

So season 6 was only 6 episodes long, which meant that the show had to cover a lot of ground and round things up reasonably quickly, but since White Collar seasons are usually about 13-16 episodes, the pace didn’t feel that much more condensed to normal - which was my main worry when I began watching.

I had little to fear, as the series started off with a resolution of season 5’s kidnapping cliffhanger and jumping straight into the new story arc, The Pink Panthers - the ultimate gang of thieves. This was a nice angle for a 6 episode arc, as although White Collar has looked at pairs of criminals, but they haven’t looked at the dynamics of a high stakes criminal gang in depth before, exciting stuff!

Reintroducing Keller as a grey character did feel a wee bit convenient, but with only 6 episodes, I think it was a smart move to use a familiar character. Keller had some character development and uncertain loyalties in his character arc, which was nice to see and kept me guessing his exact role in things right until the end! The Pink Panthers themselves were all suitably thief like and scary - it didn’t take a lot to image them killing anyone for betrayal.

I really appreciated the series focus on Peter and Neal’s characters, although Mozzie and Elle got a bit of episode time which was nice, but the main attention was paid to the end of the partnership between Neal and Peter and how they both felt about this. AND OH GOSH THE FEELS. I’ve always said the strongest part of this show is the father/son bromance between Neal and Peter and this was at it’s strongest yet this season. Its taken them a long time, but their mutual trust meant that they could both be fully involved in each others lives; Peter allowing Neal to go off anklet most of the season, and Neal choosing Peter to go undercover with him as a thief.

It was their fantastic dynamic that made the final work so well, both using their skill sets to take down the Pink Panthers from the inside and dealing with Keller. Although I knew that Neal was going to fake his own death ‘Sherlock’ style to keep Peter’s family safe, I couldn’t help but bawl my eyes out when Peter cried over Neal’s 'death’. At the end of the day, and whichever side of the law they were on, Peter and Neal were truly were best friends and could admit that to each other - personally I can’t think of a better point to get to with character develop than have 'enemies’ at the start of season 1 grow into the strongest of friends by the time the show finishes. PERFECT WRITING.

The epilogue was beautifully done, I WILL NEVER BE OVER PETER NAMING HIS CHILD AFTER NEAL. Everyone got a happy ending, and a realistic one at that. It would have been nice to see Diana and Jones getting a bit more screen time but their loose ends were tied up neatly too.

For a show which focused on treasure hunts, trust issues and white collar FBI cases on a weekly basis, White Collar has continued to remain fresh, fast and intriguing - a hard feat in TV over the course of 6 years. Keeping an almost identical main cast certainly helped things, and the right balance of drama and comedy of episodes has definitely been a highlight of the show. A big thanks to White Collar for giving me endless heart attacks, super cliffhangers, plot twists, family relationships, comedy gold and the best bromance on TV. It has been a pleasure to watch!

Excellently witty comedy, full of jokes about Shakespeare's plays as well as modern irritations (the running jokes about British public transport are wonderful!) Similar to Blackadder in many ways, and taking inspiration from everything from The Office to Love Actually, Upstart Crow has a wonderful blend of originality and references to classic Brtish comedy.

Although a passing knowledge of Shakespeare's plays do help, the show's wordplay, low brow humour and fantastic dialogue make for an excellent comedy even without a scholar's understanding of the plays - often the characters themselves will explain things simply or in modern English, adding to the humour.

David Mitchell is excellent as a poetic, yet flawed Shakespeare and Mark Heap take huge joy in playing the role of the villainous Robert Greene. Though all of the casting is very very strong and I certainly hope there will be more seasons and storylines for years to come!

Prison Break is officially my favourite tv show. Hands down, it’s the best tv I have watched in a very long time (and the most obsessed I have ever been with a tv show). It has brilliant characters, tense edge-of-the-seat writing and plot lines that intersect and connect so brilliantly, they’re up there with Michael’s genius escape plans.

It’s hard to put into words how imaginative and creative the writing, acting and direction of the show has been. I pride myself on predicting plot lines of shows successfully, but Prison Break really had me scratching my head and gasping as new plot details were revealed; it certainly kept me guessing and captivated throughout.

Michael Scofield is up there with my favourite fictional characters of all time. He has such a depth to him and he sees life around him in ever more shades of grey as the seasons progress. His unique perspective of the world and strong family commitment, despite his tragic upbringing, are powerful traits that ground his character and make him a complex and fascinating indivual. By going on a journey with him throughout the seasons, he has definitely made me think about some things more deeply and taught me something about myself too. Hats off to Wentworth Miller, who acted the role spectacularly and is a perfect fit for the character!

Each season of Prison Break has a different feel to it, but still retain their original core values and a solid cast of characters. Season 1 is flawless, with its superb introduction (with an astonishingly intriguing and captivating pilot episode) to the core characters of Michael, Lincoln, Sara, LJ, Sucre, Bellick, C-Note and T-Bag. Each of these main characters is developed beautifully, driven by different motivations, reacting to the same situations in unique ways and their relationships between each other build up some of the most genuine and loveable characters on tv. The bond Michael has between each of them strengthens him as the linchpin of the show, and his powerful sibling relationship with Lincoln had me in tears more times than I’d like to admit (the prison riot hug was just, wow… I cried a lot).

Season 2 is great at further developing the characters and how they react to breaking into and out of places, the importance of a ‘normal’ life, family, doing the ‘right thing’, trusting others and living with mistakes. The intense cliffhangers, the fear of getting caught or killed brilliantly ramps up the tension as the episodes progress and the amazingly complex character of Alexander Mahone is introduced as the FBI agent leading the manhunt to track down the Fox River 8. Without Mahone, season 2 wouldn’t have worked, he’s a great parallel to Michael and to Kellerman, and we see the hunt through his eyes as well as Michael’s, keeping things interesting and certainly shedding more light on the difficulties FBI agents face in their jobs. Also, the importance of the mysterious Company slowly creeps into every episode, and the wider political and greater implications fo Lincoln’s incaceration.

This is really highlighted in season 3 which, although much shorter, works brilliantly too as a interlude between season 2′s final destination of the original plan and season 4′s last battle to take down the Company. Having several characters locked up in a prison where there are no rules really turned things on their head, especially having officers of the law Bellick and Mahone being incarcerated and of equal status with the prisoners they once were chasing. Michael and Mahone’s relationship really develops this season, and I certainly was rooting for Mahone by the end of the season (after disliking him at the beginning of season 2). Watching Michael aquire more and more criminally sophisticated skills to survive whilst trying to hold onto himself as a person was fascinatingly hearbreaking to watch.

Season 4 is a very intense a heist thriller of a series and runs without breaking a sweat through 22 episodes, killing off characters, providing more than a few plot twists but still retaining a core group of character that I’ve grown to love very much. Don’t even talk to me about the final episode or the Final Break movie - I sobbed so hard during each of them. Both episodes really packed an emotional punch that although was partly expected, the depth of feeling with the actors and the strength of love that ran throughout was just too much for my heart to handle (I find origami hard to look at these days…)

I have absolutely LOVED watching the original run (seasons 1-4) and could not reccomend this show highly enough! After recovering emotionally, I’ll definitely be watching season 5 when it comes out in the UK :)

The Defenders is a solid crossover mini-series with plenty of action, banter between the leads and a mostly satisfying resolution to story arcs first introduced in Daredevil and Iron Fist. Yes there's very little plot and a lot of exposition talking, but you can't deny it's a fun series with some great action pieces, and at only 8 episodes long, the pacing is much better than the usual 13 Marvel Netflix collaborations.

It takes a while for all the leads to come together, there's plenty of recap of all the individual story threads and where the characters are now, but when they do come together it works really well. The team works as a band of misfits and as a family unit, Daredevil and Jessica Jones have a great relationship, Luke Cage and Iron Fist bond into a nice mentor/mentee relationship and they all support each other when fighting. However, Jessica sassing everyone, all the time, is by far the best trait of the quartet. Hopefully now everyone's met each other, there'll be more crossovers in the individual seasons of each of the shows.

The villians can make or break a Marvel series and Sigourney Weaver does a great job being the leader of The Hand, coming across as driven and ruthless, holding the room effortlessly. The rest of the members of the hand, some we have previously met, are intimidating enough to seem a threat when fighting, but otherwise take a bit of a backseat this season. However Colleen confronting/fighting her former mentor Bakutu was a great mini arc that solidified her character as one to watch (aka give Colleen her own show).

The action pieces were pretty good, better than Iron Fist, but not reaching the heights of Daredevil choreography and editing. And to be honest all we really wanted was to see our four favourite heroes team up and fight bad guys together. It was great to see all their fighting styles working together and including successful hallway fight scene (they've become a 'thing' now haven't they?)

Ultimately there are a few too many characters squashed into the show, but the series takes a sensible approach and utilises the ones who have previous experience in fighting The Hand to have more of a storyline, whereas the others have fewer scenes and are more reactionary characters than taking action. Good to see Claire, Misty and Colleen get some decent screen time and it made more sense for these characters to more actively be fighting The Hand. Perhaps the biggest character success of The Defenders however, is the way in which Danny Rand was made far more likeable. By making him more comedic and less of a 'chosen one' it definitely made him more grounded and I felt like genuinely rooting for him this time around.

The Defenders is a solid superhero show, nothing groundbreaking or new but there's the 4-5 other Marvel shows where the showrunners can be inventive and push boundaries, which seems to be the way things are leaning if the closing scenes are to go by. Ultimately, The Defenders reminds you that the superhero genre is a predictable one, but such a fun one to be a part of.

This was my childhood go-to drama, I can still remeber all the lyrics to the Cackle's school song! Such a well made show, shot in a wonderful castle location, with a great cast, featuring really rather good child actors. The first couple of seasons featured many of Mildred and Co's escapades from the book series, but the show added a lot of great original elements and plot lines that worked well too.

The dodgy special effects and obvious green screens were all part of the charm and I'd happily watch the entire show again if I could find it around somewhere!

Such a warm and uplifting show about baking, with genuine contestants who just want to bake rather than be famous (such a welcome change!) There's challenges, skills tests, humour, food history and palatable tension in each episode - a very polished and highly successful format that shows the contestants off in a postive and likeable way.

Each challenge on the show is unique and offers a chance for contestants to show their skills as well as develop and expand on new ones. The hosts are great and pack as many puns as they can into each episode, in an inherantly British way. The judges are very knowledgeable and very fair on the contestants too (I suppose eating baked goods all day puts you in a sunny dispasition). Summertime in Britian isn't the same without this show, fingers crossed it remains the same when it goes over the Channel 4.