Reviews

Three Pines feels incredibly refreshing in a tv world drowning in samey samey crime shows. There are many elements that have this show punching way above. Alfred Molina is truly wonderful as Gamache, a world away from our usual hard drinking troubled cops. He's kind, steeped in morality and just the man you want solving your crimes.

His dialogue is peppered with quotable lines that cut you to the core, little insights into life you never thought of. Writing at its very best.

Bringing Canada's Indigenous people to the foreground, not as mere victims but as so much more is genius. The world is so rich and Three Pines gives so much insight into their lives. The costume design, art and reservation felt very different to the usual stereotypes.

Having an Indigenous cop right up there beside Gamache puts the community front and centre in a way I've certainly never seen before.

I loved the quirky villagers and small town setting. The cinematography is wonderful and the writing sings. I got Twin Peaks vibes. Loved the music too which felt really original.

10/10 for me as Three Pines hits every spot and made me want to read the books.

Late to the party but this was so brilliant. Zendaya is off the scale good and I couldn't stop watching. Binged the lot and can't wait for the new series. Stunning work.

Deceit was absolutely superb and I binged it in one sitting barely taking a breath. It held me captivated from start to finish. I remember this tragic case and how the undercover officer Lizzie James was treated by the press. It's about time the story was set straight. She was clearly an ambitious and smart officer but she was treated appallingly.

I googled all I could after watching and was pleased to see that Rachel's son and family gave their blessing for this drama and that the writer had worked closely with Colin Stagg to make sure he was happy with his portrayal. It's a clever trick to take us on the same journey Lizzie went on.

I also loved seeing a true crime drama that wasn't slow, plodding and patronising but actually made the audience think. And a great female character at the centre. I recommend this to everyone as there are valuable lessons to learn here. It's also a terrific thriller so will appeal to everyone not just true crime fans.

The original UK show was very clever and lightening years ahead. It's almost as if they took everything that was wonderful about the UK original and deliberately dismissed it in favour of very poor choices across the board from casting to writing to directing. This adaptation feels like it's been diluted until it has no flavour and not one ounce of originality left. Just skip this anodyne offering and watch the original where the writing, directing and acting is stunning, a 10 all the way.

Loved this show. Really dark and a slow burner but constantly gripping. I love how this character led drama built to it's climax rather than teasing about what was going to happen from the outset. Actually liked it more than Euphoria tbh. This new take on cheerleaders (not a lot of pep but a lot of darkness) was incredibly compelling and it didn't dumb down to it's audience which is I guess why some of the reviews say it's too slow. It's deliberately slow, allowing you time to get inside the characters heads and learn who they are. It's a perfect 10 for me.

Loved every minute of this touching comedy. Poignant moments that make you think amidst laugh out loud humour. Totally bingeable. Bring it back for more please because I could watch this all day.

Though I enjoyed it from the start it took me a few episodes to realise quite how brilliant this show is. Funny, poignant, feminist, empowering. Loved it.

Loved every second of this tense and taught, thrilling drama, stylishly directed, with the blisteringly sharp dialogue Sarah Phelps dishes out. This BBC offering is a visual treat with Rufus Sewell in fine form. The mysterious village scenes had that Midsommar chill. Crime drama as it should be!

Netflix is jam packed with incredible US drama and this is the lon awaited UK contribution? Stunned by how bad this is.

This drama becomes more compelling by the episode and I'm desperate for tonight's conclusion. The characters are utterly engaging, the mystery plot well told and the difficult material handled sensitively. Some lovely writing, wonderful direction and a story that feel relevant and original. Bravo C4.

If the first three episodes were slow, boy was this the worst yet. How ITV have dragged this mediocre drama out beyond two episodes is beyond me. It's by the numbers crime and frankly feels implausible so no wonder twitter is awash with people turning off because they're bored or pointing out discrepancies with the real case. I guess this is what happens when viewers aren't engaged and there is nothing to get engaged in here. Terrible accents, some awful acting and a wig that should have its own show! I'm just left asking why ITV wasted so much money on this dross. Surely there are better crime stories worth telling? Look at Netflix telling important and relevant crime stories like Unbelieveable and When They See Us and it just makes ITV look so old fashioned to be churning out yet more, dull as can be 'middle aged white male police officer fighting for justice'. Having seen a few ITV true crime dramas I'm getting dejavu because they're all basically about the same thing. Manhunt, A Confession and now this. ITV need to get an imagination and stop treating their audiences like idiots only capable of understanding the same old story.

Absolutely outstanding drama from C4 with superb performances and a killer script. Nuanced, emotional, relevant and urgent, this drama grabbed me from the outset. Two episodes in I am totally gripped.

I've watched both episodes but I'm finding this poor attempt at true crime painfully slow. Like some other recent itv dramas what might be an interesting two parter is strung out over 6 episodes. It's the usual tabloid style exploitative rubbish you'd expect from ITV and without Jeff Pope or Neil McKay at the helm there's really no entertainment factor either. Plodding, crime by numbers plotting, terrible dialogue and having read a lot about this case, poor research. There's some awful acting too and a script that revels in the death of a dog giving it more importance than the deaths of 5 people including two kids! Just feels exploitative and pointless and the sheer volume of ad breaks tells me all I need to know, it's about itv making money rather than shedding any new light on the case.

I'm not a horror fan so came to this with nerves but it blew me away. Surreal and compelling from start to finish and Florence Pugh is going to rule the world. What an incredible young actor. Watch it, that's all I have to say.

Exceptional storytelling and direction in this compelling series which broke the mold and reinvented the genre with its brave and brilliant style, Everything about it was outstanding - directing, writing, casting. It had humor and wit despite the bleak subject matter and it was all done with incredible style. British drama showing the world how its done.

The series started a little slowly and I worried it was going to be a bit by the numbers but it definitely got better. The best writing and performances were around the families. Jeff Pope took us into their worlds and in truth I wanted more of it and less of the cops!

ITV have a tenancy to make all their crime dramas about the same thing - middle aged, white male cop fights for the truth, to catch the killer even if it means he has to swim against the tide. And this was no exception - the same story again.

But the cutaways to the families and the sensitive story telling in these areas made this one a cut above.

Also Joe Absolom was outstanding as the killer trying to evade detection. Watch it for the family stories which I won't spoiler her, the nuanced writing around their very different battles and for a stand out award worthy perfomance from Absolom.

This outstanding series was flawless in every respect. Intelligent, nuanced writing, superb performances and direction.If you haven't seen this yet you must watch. A brilliant lesson to us all in why justice isn't always served, mistakes are made and police get it wrong. Corruption is rife and it's easier to bury a mistake than to expose it.

GO WATCH!

This incredibly difficult story was told with nuance and understanding of the issues involved. The writer managed to make it compelling, harrowing and still entertaining which is no mean feat with this subject matter. I binged it all up in a day because it was compulsively addictive.

There were stand out performances across the board from a collection of incredibly strong female actors.

The Americans do crime so well and the Brits could learn a lesson or two!

My only criticism was that some of the flashes to the attack itself lingered too long on images that survivors might find triggering and I think these could have been handled better. But that aside this series blew me away.

This first episode plodded away at a snails pace with a disappointing script lacking in any nuance or new revelation so I wonder what was the point? Presenting distressing scenes about child murder without showing us anything new is in my opinion deplorable.

As a true crime fan I have read a lot about the case including the book it was based on and another far more interesting book by Scott Lomax which presents a different view and explores the quite considerable evidence of Jeremy Bamber's innocence. In true ITV sensational tabloid style, the writer isn't interested in exploring two sides of a story but rather clubbing us over the head with a sledgehammer of Bamber's guilt. I had imagined like Making A Murderer this drama might explore both sides and let the audience decide. Apparently not. Poorly researched, the first episode was riddled with inaccuracies that while presented as truths in court have since been disproved. It seemed to be all about confirming the police and court view that Bamber was a scheming, evil killer canoodling and laughing with his girlfriend within hours of his family's deaths.

ITV has done well recently with dramas like Little Boy Blue and A Confession but those dramas had nuance and a reason to be made, a point of view we had never seen. ITV did a Bamber is guilty drama years ago not long after the trial so why bother doing it again?

Also not impressed that ITV would show this when only a week ago The Guardian ran a story about new evidence proving Jeremy Bamber's innocence and there are legal proceedings under way. How is this not tampering with justice and prejudicing any future appeal? ITV should be held to account for this tabloid style gung-ho attitude to justice.

On C4 Deadwater Fell showed how you do a family anhilation drama with pace, intrigue and nuance. Watch that, not this dross. I won't be coming back for more and wish I hadn't bothered!

So Sally4Ever is not for the feint of heart - darkly funny, sometimes toe curlingly so but just brilliantly written and performed by the wonderful Julia Davis. Must watch TV for comedy fans.

Ricky Gervais at his best in this poignant, beautifully written, beautifully acted comedy drama. Anyone who has lost someone close will find this a real tear jerker. I cried every episode but I laughed too and ultimately the message was uplifting and about survival. Mustwatch TV.

This bittersweet comedy drama is so close to perfect with wonderful writing and a terrific central performance from Daisy Haggard. The comedy is often very dark but at times laugh out loud funny. There are moments when it's gut wrenchingly sad too. Hoping season two is on the way!

I binged this over a weekend and just loved everything about it. A gentle, sometimes sad comedy with such a refreshing and unique tone. Beautiful characterization, wonderful writing and terrific direction.

Fleabag is so much more than a comedy. With groundbreaking writing, bags of style and incredible performances from the whole cast, this is quite possibly the best comedy show on our screens. Just watch it.

Wonderful writing and an important story. At times it's a hard watch but the performances are exceptional and the story is brilliantly written. Beautifully shot too.