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Peter_Jerome
Reviews
Not Safe for Work (2015)
Well written, and very well acted drama.
I have really enjoyed the first five episodes of this series, so much so that I have watched them all again, back to back.
I largely agree with Andrew White's appraisal. I started watching because it was funny, but as the series has gone on, more and more unfunny, but deeply moving, things have happened. Characters who appeared to be quite flimsy at first become, when we know more about them, very credible people, damaged, perhaps, by what life has thrown at them, but doing their best to cope with the circumstances in which they find themselves. At the end of episode Five I am desperately keen to see the last episode - if only because there are at least two characters whose 'back stories' have not yet been disclosed.
The writing both of the plot, and the dialogue, is first rate, and the timing and acting skills generally are wonderful. I would like to list my favourite characters and actors, but I cannot. This is ensemble work of the highest order - they are all excellent, and a very well balanced team.
Midsomer Murders: Let Us Prey (2014)
Good fun - but too many plot weaknesses
As always I enjoyed this episode, because the characters were engaging, and the actors were good. The mystery gripped me, and I did not guess the identity of the murderer until the very end. Having said that I felt the episode was spoilt by too many flaws in the plot. (I can only identify these by SPOILERS - so please STOP READING NOW if you have yet to enjoy the episode). Why did the murderer choose to use a series of methods depicted on the recently discovered mediaeval fresco? In any event the need for murders two and three only became apparent after the first one was completed. How did the yellow car get used? - the victim had parked it up, and then visited the murderer. How was it taken, used, and returned? How did the victim's bag get into the water? Most seriously, that bag over her head - we are told it came from the place where the murderer worked 20+ years before; why did such a work place have sacks with a logo on, and why had the murderer kept one for decades? Other flaws include quite impossible breaches of confidentiality by a hospital, and a children's home, in revealing sensitive information to characters. Also, the knowledge of the procedures used by the Church of England in managing its properties,and of police procedures (like Inspector Barnaby's public exposure, and interrogation, of his suspect in front of a church full of people)was seriously deficient, and indicated sloppy writing. That said, it was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours on a cold, wet, miserable winter's evening.