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Poldark (2015)
Season 5 ruined it for me, sadly.
Mainly because there are still a lot of Winston Grahams books which could have been adapted and would have continued the story for a couple more generations.
Instead we get 4 very good seasons and 1 terrible one. It's unlikely to be remade again, and if it is, it is likely that the whole thing will be just as bad as season 5 was given the tendencies of TV productions these days.
I watched this version before I read the books and loved seasons 1-4. The I read the excellent books, and eventually watched this again. The re-watch was a bit of a disappointment, but the changes they made were mostly harmless and advanced minor plot points without using up too much screen time, which is necessary for TV.
But their economy with the storylines turns out to be a bit pointless because they used up the entire final season without any reference to the books at all. I guess it could conceivably have happened in the 10 years or so between one book and the next. Maybe. But why did they turn Ross Poldark into Ned Despard's faithful little puppy?
And it's especially irritating because the books were so excellent. Lots of new storylines and characters to depict, but instead they just ... ruined it.
Poldark (1975)
"Based on"
"Based on" but quite loosely!
Yes it's good, particularly given its age. But I don't understand all the glowing reviews.
The characters behave in ways which are contrary to their book personas. And it doesn't help the characters. Ross didn't marry Demelza because she was pregnant - she wasn't pregnant! Demelza did not intend to abort her baby - she wasn't pregnant! Elizabeth had no intention of running off with Ross - the idea is unthinkable given the time and their situation. Where would they go and how would they live? And what about her baby son? It's a joke! And these changes do not reflect well on the Character of the characters.
The Poldark books are truly wonderful. Ross and Demelza's relationship is the bedrock of their story and is quite inspiring. None of that is apparent in this adaptation!
I have come to the conclusion that the 2015 version is more faithful to the books than this version, except the final season which as I mentioned above is not based on any of the books and was made up to tell a different story.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Subspace Rhapsody (2023)
I was totally wrong
I saw the trailer for this a week or so before it aired and I was not happy. I'm not a fan of musicals generally, and couldn't believe that they would waste 1/10th of a season on such horrible nonsense. If I want to watch Glee, I'll watch Glee.
So I started watching it the day after it aired, and fast forwarded through the songs because that's really not my thing. Tried again the next day, but still couldn't bring myself to watch it. Life's too short.
Then, on the third day my wife and I put it on without fast forwarding and I was amazed. It was absolutely excellent.
It's still Star Trek and the premise for the episode was no more far fetched than many other episodes throughout the whole ST franchise.
SNW is utterly brilliant. I will add the caveat "so far" because there's still time for it to turn into Discovery (a steamilng pile of ... ). But so far the only weak episode was the storybook kingdom one, and even that might merit a re-watch based on the how surprisingly great Subspace Rhapsody turned out to be.
Wow. I really hope they can keep this kind of quality up. Please don't turn into Discovery.
Upload (2020)
Saved my holiday
I came down with the flu on day 2 of my holiday in the Isle of Wight, but discovered this gem and binged 14 episodes.
Love it, great stuff. "condom size dispute on aisle 4". Excellent.
Just needs more episodes!
Star Trek: Discovery: All Is Possible (2021)
Bye bye!
This is the last episode of STD that I could bring myself to watch.
Many thanks to other reviewers who recommended The Orville. It's vastly superior to this pile of crud.
And now we have Strange New Worlds, which blows this out of the water.
So STD can keep it's blubbing and whispering. I'm amazed it's still airing.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)
so far, so great
I just finished episode 4, and this new Trek is great.
I don't know what the negative reviewers want. Yes, there were a lot of women on the bridge, but there are plenty of men around too. And it's not like these women have blue hair and tattoos, whining about their feelings all the sodding time.
Captain Pike might just be the best Captain of them all. I like that we are introduced to the rest of the crew - unlike ST:D which literally revolved around the most miserable Trek character ever devised. Yes, Burnham, I'm talking about you.
Discovery was painful to watch. SNW is a joy. Of course, it's early days and it could woke itself into oblivion at some point. But so far, so great.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
I tried. But it's not easy.
Season 1 was irritating. It was very much Current Year rather than the future. But it did have some redeeming features.
So I stuck with it, even watched it again and came to the conclusion that it's very good sci-fi, even if it has little in common with any other Star Trek and is too far up it's own behind.
Seasons 2 & 3 passed. Don't really remember them off the top of my head. Still the same woke nonsense in there.
I'm having real trouble with season 4. It's so slow. And so emotional, kind of. It's like Oprah in Space. Self indulgent and whiny. Lots of long emotional conversations about stuff that Starfleet Officers should be able to deal with. Don't they go through training? Ugh. And all the women. Every leader has to be a female these days, apparently. And they'll still find something to moan about. How about some balance?
If these people wanted to do a sci-fi show set on a spaceship in the future why not just do that? This isn't Star Trek.
And one more thing - they created a body for a person that was somehow floating around and seen by only one other person. Then they somehow managed to get that disembodied phantom to actually enter the new body. BUT. If they can just make new bodies and transfer consciousness into it, they have literally just ended the medical profession. And found a way to make everyone immortal. A very stupid storyline indeed.
Inside No. 9: The 12 Days of Christine (2015)
Totally unexpected
As so many others have already said, this is probably the best 30 minutes of TV I have ever seen. I can't think of any other TV show that has packed such a punch into so short a time.
We shared Chrissy's confusion as the story unfolded towards the amazing end.
I didn't expect the ending, and I didn't expect such quality in both writing and acting. Bravo. And thank you for this episode.
Gravity (2013)
Gaah.
This movie has great visuals. Extremely detailed CGI rendering. I have no idea how accurate the representation of all those space vehicles is, but it sure does look impressive.
There's almost no plot. I put a spoiler alert on this review, but really there is next to no plot for me to spoil. Astronauts on a space walk, it all goes wrong, one of them dies and the other one tries not to. Pretty basic stuff. **spoiler alert** - she doesn't die at the end. George Clooney doesn't make it half way through, although we don't actually see him die.
I don't write a lot of reviews, but I do read them. This movie is currently rated 8.5 and there are over 1000 mostly glowing reviews, so it should be worth watching, right? I thought I could trust you people!
Big Brother (2000)
This is not Big Brother UK!
Most of these reviews are either really old, referring to earlier seasons, or even referring to the UK version which is not the same at all. It's a whole new game these days.
Big brother UK is mindless pap, where a bunch of people sit around and do almost nothing. It is a popularity contest, and nothing else. Absolute drivel. No strategy, no game, the only drama comes from the personality (or lack) of the house guests.
Big Brother US is awesome. The house guests compete for power and privileges, they scheme and conspire, with the goal of being the last one standing and winning the $500,000 prize.
The format of the show provides loads of drama. There are 3 episodes per week. First, they compete for head of household. The HOH nominates 2 house mates for eviction. Second, 6 of them compete for the power of Veto which allows them to save one of the nominees. The third show is the live vote and eviction, followed immediately by the next HOH competition. The contestants narrate the show and their personal strategies via the diary room.
There is a different "twist" every year, but the game remains the same. Be the last one standing. Trust no one. I love it!