Lucy

So pleased it's nearly Strictly season again! This is one reality show were the contestants really grow and develop, learning new things about themselves and pushing themselves to do dances they never dreamed of at the start of the season! It's so nice to see them becoming more confident and happier each week with what they are doing.

The dances are wonderful to watch and the professionals are all a lovely, charismatic bunch who choreograph some stunning routines. The judges and presenters are all knowledgeable and make the show flow wonderfully. I'll definitely be watching again this year :)

Jericho was one of the first tv shows I was allowed to stay up late to watch (it originally came out late at night on an obscure channel in the UK ) so I will always be fond of the show. However, even with rose tinted glasses on, this was a really great show. Great acting, unique central concept, characters you cared deeply about and conspiracy theories, there was a lot going on at times and plenty of action and mystery to keep me watching.

Small town politics in the wake of nuclear and countrywide terroism feels even more real now than when the show originally aired, and having the 'bad guys' as ordinairy Americans certainly amped up the tension, when you weren't sure exactly who to trust. Jake Green is such a solid main character, and remains one of my favourites ever thanks to his growing leadership skills, quick thinking and growing sense of self worth that are developed naturally through the season.

It was a shame the series was cancelled so soon, but the show probably needed a few tweaks to really solidify itself as 'one to watch'. Mainly in that with a show focused on small town issues, storylines can dry up or drag if not expanded properly and some issues were dragged out a little too long e.g. the salt mine ownership. Though the series ended on a satisfying conclusion, with enough premise to return to one day (please CBS?)

High quality children's adaptation of Margaret Mahy's brilliant book, it has excellent writing, good acting and time travel (all hallmarks of a good show!) The series is set in a post-apocalyptic future and features a group of circus performers who unexpectatantly are given the task of saving their city as their troupe journeys across the desolute world to make a living. Along the way, they are joined by 3 children who have travelled from the future, although their intentions aren't entirely clear...

Strong characters and plot twists keep you watching, and with the added elments of time travel and dystopian elements, it's a really well crafted fantasy/sci-fi drama that showcases New Zealand's beautiful scenery and tackles issues such as parental death, poverty, family and sacrifice in a mature way for its young intended audience.

Not as intense as the original Japanese version, but still a fun, watchable game show with plenty of ridiculously hard obstacles to tackle.

An intriguing sci-fi show, with interesting story arcs and great acting that really sells the main premise of humans being 'imprinted' with different purposes (mainly for others entertainment). However, this is really Eliza Dushku's show - she is amazing at playing Echo and her many imprints providing a wealth of emotion, distinctiveness and stunts in her different roles.

The main concept of imprinting different personalities into different bodies and wiping minds etc is a really unique concept and the secretiveness of the Dollhouse makes it a far more mysterious place, keeping you watching and guessing what might happen next. I certainly didn't see a few events coming!

Lots of good characters in the show, most of which have satisfying arcs across the two seasons. Topher the genius programmer, Victor and Sierra are probably the most developed, and therefore the most interesting other characters aside from Echo. It was good to see all of them overcome challenges, support each other and have vital roles to play in the final episodes.

Season 1 is much better in terms of pacing and overall structure, whereas season 2 is a bit of a rushed mess, with not much pay off in the big reveals and plot twists. You can tell the show and main corporate/central mystery are being forced to move much quicker as the story wraps long before it should have, which is a shame as I think 3 seasons would have been a better fit! Either way, I'm glad there is a solid ending for the show, and a hope for an alternate future (always a plus for a sci-fi show!)

A powerful, moving and deeply depressing look into the American justice system, this documentary focuses on a series of inter-connected events in the 60's in Baltimore that are horrifically shocking and still to this day the murder of Sister Cathy is officially 'unsolved'.

The storytelling and structure of the series is superb, but the real strength of the documentary are the remarkable people (almost all women) who share their heartbreaking stories and show their incredible dedication to solving the central mysteries. What an inspirational group of ladies, who talk intimately and articulately about everything that's happened, now and since the events, with such depth and honesty. I'm truly inspired by the courage of these ladies to speak out and not let any part of the story be forgotten.

It doesn't quite have the same charm as the original series, but it's a well written and produced adaptation of the excellent book series. The episodes intorduce all the characters, the school, the teachers and its history really nicely and the series culminates with an exciting finale putting everybody in jeopardy!

The child actors are all pretty good, and Mildred Hubble herself plays the fan favourite Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones (it took me a while to work out where I'd seen her before!) The CGI is a lot more advanced and effective than the original series; it's one element that really adds a lot of magic to the show.

This newer series definitely has branched out from the books more, and updated the stories with some added modern equivalents such as the texting blackboards, the tv skype calls and 'celebrity' witches and wizards, which will ultimately please a younger audience, but felt a wee bit gimicky at times. One change I really like however were the changes to Mildred's background. Essentially she is a 'muggleborn' and lives in a council flat tower block with her single mother, until she is invited to attend Cackles academy. It gave her naiivity more grounding and allowed the audience to learn about magic with Mildred which was great.

Overall a fun series, that I will definitely keep tuning into!

British comedy at its finest, sketches from Blackadder are part of British culture, and are endlessly quotable (though skip series 1). Historical accuracy is thrown out the window and replaced by puns, dry humour and excellent comedic writing. Rowan Atkinson is perfect as the constantly suffering Blackadder, Tony Robinson is great as his even more long suffering sidekick Baldrick. Tons of British comedians are in each series and all deliver a fine array of performances to make this one of the most well rounded, and timeless, comedies ever.

Top of the Lake is a very dark and emotional mini series, with plenty of twists, turns and complications (although a fairly predictable narrative overall) The case of a missing, pregnant minor is explored in beautiful rural New Zealand, with many small town personalities and politics crossing and sparks flying die to the return of Detective Robin (the excellent Elizabeth Moss).

The series spends 6 hours piecing the case together from fragments and slowly working out who could be trusted and who couldn't. What really makes Top of the Lake different from other crime dramas is the stark contrast between how men and women are written. We see things through Robin (and outsider/insider to the community) and she distrusts all the men at some point, for different reasons. They all give her, and the audience, reasons to dislike them and seperating the truth of this from Robin's bias is all part of the drama. The reach and influence of the men in Laketop is incredible and the series shows just how destructive this can be in a very startling way, with bombshells being dropped in the last episode, one after the other. In contrast, the women are shown to be survivers and fighters, from the mothers losing their children to the women in GJ's shelter, caring for each other and standing in solidarity after every horrific event in Laketop.

The series lacks a complete resolution to the crimes in the final episode, and GJ's exit let down her character a lot, but aside from that, there's not too much I can fault in the drama. I enjoyed putting together bits of Robin's past from flashbacks and it solidified her as a flawed, but strong character. Elizabeth Moss plays her with subtly and strength and goodness knows how she got into Robin's mindset, but she does so brilliantly and convincingly.

Season 2 of Top of the Lake is really quite a different beast. Firstly, we were shown the case (no pun intended) and who was behind the missing body, completely deviating from the 'whodunnit' structure of the first season and to be honest making the actual police case far less compelling this time around. Although Robin Griffin is still an excellent character, she is working towards something we already know, and without the tight-knit community of suspects and constant second guessing of who/where/why the case exists the crime drama part of season 2 is definitely lack luster. Although the focus on sex workers and surrogacy was a 'tighter' mystery/case, it was all too predictable and at times frustatrating to watch Robin play catch up.

However, the second season worked as an exploration of Robin's character, especially in coming to terms with her biological daughter, her own estranged family and coming back to a workforce that essentially hates her. Robin's work struggles were written well and reflect an all too real struggle, showing how tough it can be for women in the workplace. Pairing Robin with gawky constanble Miranda worked well for the most part but Robin's struggle at work wasn't always enlightening to watch.

The only real worthwhile watch of the series is how Robin begins to bond with her biological daughter, her daughters family and comes to terms with giving up a child 18 years ago. The character study aspect of the season worked well and definitely provided a strong foundation to explore other aspects of Robin's life (it's just a shame those other aspects were a bit mundane). Her brief reconciliation with Al Parker was a dynamic and charged scene, but it reminded me more of how good season 1 was rather than added to my enjoyment of season 2.

Even the finale wasn't really anything special, mostly predictable and not an altogether satisfying (or happy) ending. It lacked the emotional punch of season 1 and to be honest I missed the scenic forest shots of the lake (New Zealand wilderness is far more captivating than shots of crowded Bondi Beach). I'd recommend watching this season if you're a fn of Robin and want to see her reunite with her child, but if you're looking for dark gritty crime drama again, best look elsewhere.

The buildings they creat eon this show are amazing! Architects and builders with such grand dreams and aspirations, it really is inspiring to see people so positive about architecture and creating their personal family home. The building projects often take forever (sometimes spanning a couple of seasons of the show) but the stunning end reveals are superb to look at.

Host Kevin McCloud is brilliant and his gentle advice, eye for detail and rousing hearty speeches each episode keep me tuning in!