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MuadDib11
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Mock the Week (2005)
This show has now lost its way.
I used to watch this show religiously but it's been on a decline since Frankie Boyle was propping it up. Hugh Dennis is the best thing on it but over the last two or three years it's gone seriously downhill just re-treading the same old format; the most boring being a number that's shown, usually quite high, that anyone, even the viewers, could create a stupid or juvenile witty line for.
Dara O'Briain isn't half as funny as he thinks he is, and notice how the panel reacts when he extends their one-liner into something he believes he can run with and improve upon, as if they've been told to stay quiet and let him have his moments.
It's now a vehicle to showcase new faces. I was going to say new talent which wouldn't be a bad thing, but that's not always the case, with many being on because they represent a small minority of the UK population and seriously aren't funny even though they've been given the questions and subjects beforehand, and have their pre-prepared lines scrawled on the palms of their hand.
Let's face it, the OED would need to expand on its definition of 'comedian' with some/most of them. Even the best have to tread carefully in case a handful of people (humour police) on social-media are on standby to make a point for the PC/easily offended brigade.
Now, the only part I bring myself to watch, is the last five or so minutes.
Debris (2021)
Worth watching but the pacing is a bit off
As a fan of SF, and The X-Files, I waited to binge-watch this rather than face the drag of one episode a week fiasco. I'm glad I watched it over four nights as opposed to 12 weeks.
I've just found out the show has been cancelled! This really annoys me how often it happens. Why should people invest their time with a show not knowing how it will pan out. There should be a process whereby the creators of shows are given the opportunity to conclude a series with a 90 min (2hr with ads) TV special. This would please the fans and essentially be easier to sell to other networks/distributors.
Thinking back over the season it had an intriguing premise and quite an active start. However, episodes 3 and 4, to me at least, were weaker and slower than the lively start of the season. The pacing was off and not enough was happening to convince those debating to stay with it to do so; especially if it meant waiting another week or two for it to pick up. I watched the season over four nights, but three months would have been a stretch!
I think the actors grew into their parts, although I do believe Finola was at times turning into the annoying know-all Michael Burnham from the shockingly bad Star Trek Discovery series. I had to look past this.
Overall, The season did pick up and I would have happily given Season 2 a chance... over the course of a few nights though. It's a shame it's been cancelled, but I also think creators shouldn't plan on their series definitely being picked up for a further season, like I believe happened to Flash-Forward back in the day. That was made to follow in the footsteps of the success of 'Lost' but dragged out the opening episodes that people became bored.
RIP another SF series.
Algorithm: Bliss (2020)
Absurd doesn't cover it!
This movie would have worked better as a straight-to-video VHS B-movie in the '80s with a touch of David Cronenberg thrown in, or perhaps an entry for Hammer House of Horror back in the day.
As it stands now, it's absurd! Even the poster is a lie - Vic doesn't use a handgun in the movie. Watch it if you're not expecting a blockbuster, but a low-budget affair with some ropey editing and a poor audio/foley mix.
Still, they made a movie so congratulations.
Chaos Walking (2021)
Hard to watch
Slight spoilers:
From the outset I had to resort to subtitles to make sense of the inane and constant ramblings. It was a sensory overload of nonsense as though I was unwittingly tagged to a teenager with Tourette's. I wanted to give up after about 10-15 min but as a SF fan I waited till Viola made an appearance.
I was slightly intrigued to see where it was heading but the early explanation of what happened to the village's women immediately made me think of an alternative reason which ultimately turned out to be the actual twist/revelation which made as much impact as Viola's craft did on the planet; none.
The basic and western-themed set and music reminded me of an episode of Firefly, although it was acceptable in Firefly and done better! The whole film, apparently based on a book or even a trilogy just seem to exist around the idea that men's thoughts could be heard by anyone on this planet, but not women's. So, guess what...
Poor story, poor character development. I can't really recommend it. One watch was enough and that was difficult.