peterrichboy

It's very rare for me to binge watch an entire five-part series in one night, I started to watch Mr Bates versus the post office at around 10 o'clock and finish the last episode at three in the morning! Needless to say I'm feeling very tired this morning. But boy was it worth it.

I had been vaguely aware of the Post Office scandal involving a new computer system that had been installed in all the UK Post offices. What I wasn't aware of was how these poor people who had lost there jobs there integrity and in some cases their lives had to fight to clear their names and their reputations and at least get some sort of compensation for what has happened to them.

This is a classic David and Goliath story of the small man taking on the massive corporate Conglomerates in this case the post office and Fujitsu computer company who installed the system. At times this is a truly heartbreaking story of how honest hard-working people are made to look criminals and thieves when they clearly weren't.

This has a top-notch cast headed by soon-to-be National treasure Toby Jones who is perfect for the role of Mr Bates.

I have to admit I new little of the life of Cary Grant, apart from he was called Archibald Leach from Bristol and went on to be one of Hollywoods biggest stars. His journey there is a truly remarkable one, from a poverty stricken background and a lonely childhood Grant's journey to being one of the richest actors in Hollywood.

The show focuses on the years Grant spent with Dyan Cannon a stunning attractive much younger actress. Which is hardly surprising as it is based on her memoirs. And this would be my only criticism as Grant was married four times in total and made some of the greatest movies of the 50s and 60s.

I new nothing of Grant's later relationship with his mother who he assumed was dead for many years. The performance's by this all British cast are excellent and Issaacs just about get's the voice and mannerisms of this Hollywood legend right. 8/10.

I notice there are some 10/10 reviews here. Well it's Hardly in the same league as Line Of Duty! It's a totally ridiculous story of a middle class suburban neighbourhood, that starts when a young attractive couple move in to one of the houses. They become friends with a couple across the road and this leads to a an affair and it all starts to kick off, especially when a creepy resident from across the road played nicely by Hugh Dennis starts spying on them through a telescope.

There are several other sub plots along the way including corrupt police, diamond smuggling and a local online paper trying to catch a major criminal.

To be fair they cram hell of a lot in these six episodes and it moves along at such a fast pace you don't stop to think how daft the plot is. 6/10.

Then it would more than likely be along the lines of Boat Story. Its all here drugs, money, greed and some of the most violent shot outs I've ever seen on the BBC. I binged the whole lot in two day's, Daisy Hoggard and Patterson Joseph make an unlikely double act as they take on a very angry French drug lord who's drugs they have stolen, played superbly by the Missing's Tcheky Karyo.

The storylines are of course utterly ridiculous and totally unbelievable but when you get a mixture of violence and very dark comedy it really does not matter.

Overall a really enjoyable six hours of television. 8/10.

I can understand why people would question if there was any purpose to this program. As it put into the limelight an evil child abuser who should be consigned to the history books.

However I would like to think this program would act as a warning from history that such a thing should ever happen again. Steve Coogan is utterly brilliant portraying, this evil predator who used his fame wealth charity fundraising to cover his crimes.

It's just sad it did not take to his death for the victims of his sexual abuse to come forward and bravely tell there stories.

The production is very high quality showing the life of Saville from DJ to Top Of The Pop and Jim will fix it. 7/10.

I don't normally write reviews after just one episode so I may come back at a later date and amend this review. After episode one of the seven part ITV series based on the Yorkshire Ripper it's unlikely I will change my opinion. Mainly because the cast is almost a Who's Who of the best British acting talent out there. In episode one We have Toby Jones, David Morrissey, Lee Inglbey and Daniel Mays. And more to come in later episodes.

ITV have clearly pushed the boat out to produce a drama of the highest quality, not only the superb cast, but the script direction and attention to detail of the period is at the top drawer. For Once I'm quite glad that this hasn't been put on ITV Player as it gives me something to look forward to On Monday nights. 9/10.

I've had the pleasure of visiting Ireland on several occasions. And have always received a warm welcome which is nice considering the past between the two countries. However it seems whenever the BBC make a program in Ireland it's either about Easter rising or the Irish Catholic Church in particular taking of children from women, Who had given birth out of wedlock.

Not only were these children taken away from the mother's, the women themselves would be sent to convent's run by the Catholic Church and nun's who give the gestapo a run for their money.

Ruth Wilson is excellent as always as the mentally disturbed woman who's life it seemed had been destroyed by her time in the convent.

I suppose it's an original twist on ground we have trodden on before.

7/10.

I really don't know where to begin when reviewing Wolf. Is it a black comedy? Is it a crime drama? Or just a thriller? Trouble is it really doesn't fall into any of these categories, and the result is something of a mess.

Firstly we keep jumping from a horrific murder of two young school students from five years previously, we then move on five years to what I presume is the present day. And we have on the anniversary of the murders two psychopaths pretending to be police officers holding a wealthy family hostage in their luxury house in the same town where the original murders have taken place.

For the following six episodes we have a psychopathic murderer who dresses up in forensic costume committing atrocities, the dog that swallows jewelry and escapes the hostage house, a mad commune which contains a girl on a swing been dumped in a lake chased after by fake crocodiles! And this is only the tip of the iceberg you can throw into the mix A returning police officer who spends most of his time having sex with his former DI.

The cast to their credit do their best to make the most out of this just plain daft story and there are some interesting twists at the end.5/10.

I remember seeing the documentary on Channel Four about the true story in which this BBC drama is based. The perpetrator of these murders Ben Field, liked to portray himself as a kind church going Christian. But in reality he was a cruel nasty criminal, who prayed upon the vulnerable elderly lonely people of a small Buckinghamshire village.

He would worm his way into there lives getting them to change their wills into his name. This was a extremely hard case for the police to solve as there was a lack of evidence to prove Field had committed murder.

The cast are all excellent in particular Timothy Spall as the closet frustrated homosexual Peter Farquhar who's detailed diaries helped bring Field to justice. 9/10.

If this was from a book by John Le Carrier telling a tale of a former traitor to the Russian state, who was poisoned to death whilst living in London by the most lethal poison on earth then you would dismiss it as piece of fiction.

But this was no Cold War piece of fiction but a truly frightening tale of the lengths that Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin would go to, to take out Sasha Litvnenko a former Russian agent.

Rather like the Salisbury poisonings this was Putins way of sticking up two fingers to the west. With compulsive evidence from CCTV to trace's of Polonium found, it became impossible to get the killers to trial due to a communist regime and diplomatic immunity.

With high production costs and superb performances throughout I would highly recommend this show. 8/10.

The Days is an attempt by Netflix to match the huge global success of Chernobyl about the breakdown of a nuclear power plant in modern day Ukraine.

This story is based on 2011 tsunami that struck Fukushima power plant causing the plant to go into meltdown and release radiation into the atmosphere. Episode one is truly spectacular as we see the earthquake and the impending tsunami destroy the plant with some brilliant and convincing CGI. After this we see the after affects of the tragedy and how the government and scientists deal with the aftermath.

This is where the program starts to go downhill, it just seams we jump from the same scenario over and over again. We go to the leading scientist looking very grim staring into blank space as scale of the tragedy unfolds. We then cut to one of the three reactors where we see the army, firefighters and power plant workers trying to limit the damage. Cut then to the Japanese prime minister looking very grim staring into space and start shouting at someone for no particular reason. You get the picture.

Overall The Day is fascinating insight and at times worrying one about the dangers of nuclear power. It's just at least two episodes to long. 7/10.

As I watched the opening ten minutes of this Netflix war film "Blood And Gold". I was starting to think this could be a contender for the worst war film ever made. But I'm glad I stuck with it as the longer the movie went the more ridiculous the plot, the more I began to enjoy it.

In a way it's made in the same style of Tarrentinos "Inglorious Basterds". With moment's of Nazi brutality and bit's of dark humour thrown in.

With the war lost a group of mercenary SS soldiers head of in search of hidden Jewish gold in a remote German village and really that's all you need to know. As the film reaches it's climax there's plenty of shoot outs to keep your average war film fan happy plus a few unexpected plot twists along the way.

7/10.

After watching the three episodes of Maryland. It really felt that I had sat through a three hour play rather than a television drama. Co created and starring Suranne Jones this is a family drama set on the Isle of Man. A woman's body is found on the beach and her two daughters played by Jones and the excellent Eve Best discover there mother has been leading a double life. And this opens up some family wound's.

Unless I missed something at the start it's never explained why the mother is on the Isle of Man? As it seams her husband played superbly as always by George Costigan are still married.

To sum up not an awful lot happens but if you want to see two of Britains finest actors on top form then give Maryland a try. 6/10.

There can be no doubt that DNA has been a huge game changer in solving crimes. And in particular cold case crimes as shown in this four part true crime drama by the BBC.

The story evolves around the brutal murder and rape of three teenage girls in Port Talbort South Wales in 1973. With similarities to the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper the only options were endless hours of door to door searches, index systems and eye witnesses and a hope that they somehow come up with a credible suspect. It's no wonder so many innocent people ended up in jail for crimes they didn't commit.

We move on 30 years and the still early days of DNA and the cold case detectives now can use samples to find matches in the DNA database, and before long a prime suspect emerges.

With nice attention to the 1970s it's a really interesting insight into how policing has changed over the last 30 years.

Despite a dodgy Welsh accent Phillip Glenister does a decent job as the lead detective to help put to rest a crime that many thought would never have been solved. 7/10.

I've often wondered why the Aussies call us whinging poms. After watching this six part BBC drama it would seem they had a lot to whinge about. Placed in cockroach infested one bedroom huts on some multi national camp in the middle of nowhere.

Whilst the show has some high quality production, with some impressive CGI and great attention to detail from the period. It's unfortunately let down with some just plane daft storylines like Michele Keegans character travelling the other side of the world in search of her son, after drugging her fiancé who seamed a perfectly decent bloke to go after her son.

Our Australian friends don't come out of the series to well with most being stereotyped as hard drinking wife beating foul mouthed Aborigines hater's.

Overall it feels like a wasted opportunity as the story itself is a fascinating one about a forgotten part of Anglo Australian history.

6/10.

I'm not sure under what category I would put The Diplomat under? I would say political comedy drama. The show starts when a Royal Navy aircraft carrier is attacked and 41 crew are killed. The British suspect it's from the Middle East while the newly arrived American ambassador played by a slightly over the top Keri Russel who mange's to appear in every scene like she has been dragged through a bush backwards (as I said do not take this to seriously!) has reason to believe the Russians are behind the attack.

What follows is the ambassador desperately trying to avoid a war with Iran and keeping the special relationship between the USA and UK.

Of course no political drama would be complete without extra marital affairs. The script is so fast it's a wonder the actors get time to draw breathe. And I particularly enjoyed Rory Kenneir as the UK prime minister, hell bent on blowing something up in retaliation!

As always with Netflix the production is top draw, with some stunning scenery, country estates and some great aerial shots of the American Embassy.

8/10.

Here we are 25 years after the Good Friday agreement, and after watching the BBC'S latest crime drama Blues Lights, you would be hard pushed to believe anything has changed since the troubles.

Whilst the British army may no longer patrol the streets and car bombs are not going off every 5 minutes, there can be no doubt the underlying tension between Catholic and Protestant communities remains and sadly always will.

Blue lights is the story of three rookie cops, who after basic training, team up and patrol the streets of Belfast. With the IRA is still a dark menace in the city mostly through organised crime and in particular drug running. This is not your local Bobby on the beat stuff you see in the UK. It is bulletproof vest wearing firearm trained police officers, who are now the enemy of the IRA.

Whatever your thoughts on this show, it is at least an insight to a part of the UK which is unlike anywhere else. For those dishing out the low scores remember this is a fictional drama for our entertainment, if you want to watch what it's really like then watch the excellent Peter Taylor documentaries on iplayer. 8/10.

This was an enjoyable 6 part drama loosely based on the 1983 Brinx Matt robbery at Heathrow airport. I do use the word loosely, having watched several documentaries on the robbery and in reality these were not a bunch of lovable rogues who by chance stumbled upon the biggest robbery ever but extremely unpleasant violent thugs.

People in the UK will know the name of Kenneth Noye who viciously stabbed and murderd a police officer in his own property. But miraculously was acquitted of the crime. But it was John Palmer the Bristol jeweller who smelted the bars claiming he was not aware they were from the Brinx robbery who in reality was an extremely violent criminal who would later flee to Spain and make millions from a time share scam.

Overall this is an enjoyable watch with great attention to 1980s clothes, hair and music. And fine performances throughout particularly Hugh Boniville as the lead detective Brian Boyce. 8/10.

Based on the book by Nick Hornby Funny Woman start's with a Blackpool beauty queen, who has her future mapped out for her. Bored in her Blackpool rock making factory, destined to marry the local butcher. She gives it all up to head south to London in search of fame and fortune.

As always this does not go to plan wannabe comedian actress Barbara Parker aka Sophie Straw. Works her way through various mundane job's in between auditions before getting her break in a TV situation comedy written and staring by oxbridge performers who fail to grasp her northern humour.

Set in the swinging sixties Funny Woman is a delightful nostalgic trip through the period of early television and how women were faced prejudices to be seen as funny in what was a man's world. 8/10.

If you have never watched a Scandinavian Nordic Noir crime drama and maybe put off by the subtitles, then I would recommend North Sea Connection as a good place to start as 90% of the dialogue is in English.

Set in a small fishing village on the west coast of Ireland, a Swedish detective teams up with the local Garde officer as she believes drugs are being transported via fishing boats from Sweden to Ireland.

As well as this being the main storyline there are several sub plots along the way. Sinead Cusack is just about convincing as the only female trawler woman in the village, and the rest of the cast all give solid performances. Without spoilers I can safely say there will definitely be a second season! 7/10.

That is not a headline I ever expected to write. Channel 5 Have had a few attempts at making crime dramas in the past, but it's fair to say most haven't worked. In their defence they don't have the high financial backing of channels like Netflix or ITV but in the case of the catch, They have managed to pull off A really enjoyable four part drama based on the bestselling book by T. M. Lawrence.

It helps when you can get one of the countries current leading actors in Jason Watkins on board to play the lead role about a fisherman Who seemingly has a sinister past which he has kept hidden from his family for many years. This finally comes back to haunt him and this is the premise of the show.

The performances for all the cast are solid but it's a stunning glorious Cornwall coastline which is the real star of the show.

8/10.

We take soap operas for granted these days but back in the 1970s there were very few to choose from and all of them in the days of just three channels were all on ITV. Emmerdale was just a farm, Coronation Street was on twice a week, and then you had crossroads the first five nights a week soap opera.

In years to come crossroads would become a byword for badly made television, wooden acting terrible scripts and shaky scenery. The star of the show was Noel Gordon who was already something of a star in her own right. But it was Crossroads who put her into the nation's living rooms five nights a week and in the days of three channels over 15 million people with tune into this rubbish because really there was nothing else on!

This is a wonderful nostalgic return to the 1970s and a reminder of how bad TV was in those days.

Helen Bonham Carter is terrific as the matriarch character Meg Richardson, But there was far more to this woman than just crossroads. Russell T Davies script and high production values make this a must watch for those like me who remember this period in television history. 9 out of 10.

I recently picked up this series when I discovered it on the Internet so decided to buy the box set. And I'm so glad I did this is without doubt the best French television drama I have ever seen.

I was a big fan of spiral and on the cover noticed two stars from that show Audrey Fleurot and Thiery Godard. This series is a dramatic account of life in a small French village during German occupation in the Second World War. The series is not so much about the Germans but how the French survive the occupation with the rationing, curfews and living by any means possible.

As far as I'm aware the series has never been shown on British television which is a real shame as I'm sure it would've built up a huge following. You can't help but Try to imagine what would you have done given the circumstances the residents of the village would've done if you had been put in their position. Without doubt the best French television programme I have ever seen. 9/10.

The amazing story of John Stonehouse says everything you need to know about political life in the 1970s. A labour MP starts work on his way up the ministerial ladder happily married with children, Stonehouse goes on the journey of self destruction first of all getting embroiled as a useless spy for the Czech government.

All of a sudden the money dries up labour lose the election and Stonehouse is dropped as a spy on the money dries up and he finds him self in a whole heap of trouble.

From here on in is the stuff of legend even though I was only a young boy when this took place, I remember it very clearly and this TV series, brings this remarkable story to life.

Matthew McFadden is perfect as the corrupt politician, whilst Kevin McNally as Harold Wilson and Keeley Hawes are excellent in the supporting cast.

Written by John Prescott the program strikes a nice balance between humour in fact. 8/10.

Well no Christmas would be complete, without at least one version of Charles Dickens classic Christmas yarn a Christmas Carol, in this case the carol being played by Suranne Jones, a very successful business woman Who takes on the part of Ebeneezer Scrooge, she hates Christmas and everything it stands for as is told in the classic tale.

The ghosts of past present and future are played by stars of light entertainment. The past is represented brilliantly by Morecambe and Wise. Played by Jonty Stevens and Ian Aspinall, and if you only watch the show for one reason watch it for their performance because if your as old as me and remember Morecambe and Wise then you will realise how good these performances are. It goes a little bit downhill after that and we all know the story and how it ends, but the performances particularly by Jones and the ever reliable Mark Benton make this a good family watch at Christmas. 7/10.