The last couple of weeks have been incredibly busy, unexpectedly so, not leaving me a whole lot of time for doing much of anything, let alone getting my head around blogging. However, I have an uncanny ability to be able to work and watch TV so have been enjoying some fab shows of late and there’s quite a few fab ones returning to TV, which I am very much looking forward to.
{Trapped – BBC4 || Vinyl – Sky Atlantic || Jordskott – ITV Encore/Now TV || Vikings – Amazon Prime}
{The Walking Dead – Now TV || House of Cards – Netflix || The Night Manager – BBC One}
We happened across Trapped one day when we were looking for something, anything, to watch. (We were going through a bit of TV drought!) A crime drama set in Iceland is pretty much ideal TV for me and Trapped doesn’t disappoint. It’s not as slick as The Killing or as deep as The Bridge but it’s still pretty decent TV and it’s growing on me every episode. It’s set in Iceland, during some wicked winter storms, meaning they have to battle the elements while getting to the bottom of a murder. As with everything, there are twists and turns all along the way and with most Scandi dramas, they are dark. Fab stuff.
Vinyl is about the development of the music industry in the early 1970’s and as you might imagine, it is full of sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, with a little bit of murder and plenty of drama thrown in for good measure. The main character is played by Bobby Cannavale and pretty much everything he is in is awesome so I knew it would be well worth watching and it is. I’m not quite sure what is coming next, as I don’t think it’s historically accurate plus I have no clue about 70’s music, but it’s really interesting to watch.
I know we’re late coming to the Jordskott party, but the whole series is on ITV Encore on Now TV and while we were waiting for new series to start and old programs to return to TV, we thought we’d give it a go. It’s based in Sweden (yes, another Scandi drama with subtitles) but this is not like other Scandi dramas, we thought it was, but quickly it became like a cross between The Killing and The X-Files. We’re only half way through the series but I’m intrigued to find out what on earth is going on. Well worth watching, especially if you’re short on shows.
Vikings is back and it’s time we found out what Rollo is playing at with the French, whether Floki will be punished for killing Athelstan and what injured Ragnar’s next move is. I really enjoyed the last series and think this one has the potential to be epic. I know that it’s not historically accurate, but who cares! Vikings is full of drama, action, intrigue and mystery. If you haven’t started watching it, then you most definitely should.
The Walking Dead is back for the second half of it’s sixth series and it shows no signs of slowing down. After the action packed mid-season opener which had me on the edge of my seat, hardly taking a breath, there are a few new characters that are sure to mix things up a bit. And by mix, I mean get some of the main characters killed. Who knows which characters are going to the survive the series. I have my fingers crossed for some of my favorites (some I don’t mind losing!) I’m not 100% about this Jesus guy, but then, he may be the one to save them.
So we might* have watched series 4 of House of Cards in one weekend. (*definitely did!) This series see the presidential campaign really starting to pick up speed, and I really think that this series sees a return to form for the Underwoods. There’s plenty of planning, scheming, inappropriate behaviour and lots and lots of soliloquies. I don’t want to say to much as I don’t want to spoil it but OMG! Good to see more of those. My only complaint? Having to wait twelve months until the next installment!
I’m officially nominating Tom Hiddleston for the next Bond film. His performance in The Night Manager is pretty smooth, as is the whole show. It’s like watching a film in one hour weekly installments. I am hoping that with the standard set by War & Peace, followed by The Night Manager will continue a run of excellent drama shown on the BBC. (Lord knows they don’t show much else!) Not only that, it’s got the superb Olivia ‘can-do-no-wrong’ Coleman as well as Tom Hollander playing a pretty epic baddie. If you haven’t seen it yet, hop on to the iPlayer and check it out. You will not be disappointed.
Not only have I been enjoying these, I have also been loving the latest (and possibly final) series of The Good Wife, Happy Valley on BBC, which is one of the best TV police dramas I have ever seen. Sarah Lancashire deserves every acting accolade for her performance in this as far as I’m concerned; Life and Death Row on BBC 3 has also been breathtaking. It’s a documentary series based on convicts on death row and explores how they got there. It’s pretty dark and disturbing, when you realise what humans are capable of, but it does also make you think about the justice system and whether it’s fit for purpose. Well worth a watch if true crime is your thing.