The third season of Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal sees the crime-procedural-turned-art-film bloom into a full-on romance drama – and the results are nothing short of glorious to behold. The season’s opening arc concerns itself with the international manhunt for Hannibal kicked off by the end of Season 2. Later episodes tackle the long-awaited arrival of Francis…
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With the monstrous success of The Walking Dead it does seem like a good idea to rewind the story a little bit and check out the origin of the zombie/walker outbreak that, as we’ve seen, completely destroys society and threatens to drag humility with it. Robert Kirkman’s hit comic series and eventual AMC megashow became…
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The second season of True Detective was always going to be a hard-sell. The first season of Nic Pizzolatto‘s crime anthology series combined exceptional writing, acting, direction and cinematography to great success. As a result, the pulpy and philosophical series became an instant classic amongst critics and audiences. However, this left the inevitable follow-up burdened…
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Whether we’re talking about the impressive work that Neil Marshall has done on Game of Thrones or the Wachowski’s ambitious Sense8, it’s becoming clear that a lot the directors that cross the line from Hollywood to TV bring their reputation with them. And love him or hate him, M. Night Shyamalan is a director with…
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A fun blend of period piece and gothic horrorshow, the first season of Penny Dreadful wasn’t quite the slam-dunk Showtime might have hoped it would be – but it still managed to be solid debut for a show refreshingly different to much of the prestige and genre drama on offer these days. Season 2 is…
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Take the title character from Dexter, throw him into a world where instead of killing the bad guys, he’s destroying their lives through digital espionage, and you start to get the vibe of the new USA Network series Mr. Robot, which had a special episode one premiere at SXSW earlier this year, ahead of its official…
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Though far from outright awful, Orphan Black’s second season failed to escape the shadow cast by its debut. It frequently found itself bogged down and tangled up in its own mythology – losing a grip on the masterfully-paced escalation that made the show’s first season such a thrill. Season 3, however, hits a bit closer…
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When we were first introduced to the inmates of Litchfield Penitentiary in the 2013 debut season of Orange is the New Black, it was quite clear that we were supposed to be introduced to this new environment through the show’s protagonist, Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling). The upper-class NYC dweller’s transportation to a world completely different to…
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With a premise encompassing the lives of eight individuals who find themselves connected by a strange psychic bond, Sense8 often feels like a bunch of different shows blended together. Depending on the character, the show can feel like a techno-thriller, mobster drama, romantic melodrama or sprawling science fiction mystery. Even back when I wrote-up my…
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Once again, Game of Thrones reminds us that the series owes us – and our feelings – nothing (no “fan favourite”, no “hero” to root for – nothing), and the showrunners are still committed, despite all the book differences this season, to showing what an inventive, murderous author George RR Martin is by staying faithful…
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I often watch an episode of Game of Thrones more than once, and happily re-watch scenes over and over again. But there is one particular scene in “The Dance of Dragons” I won’t be watching again, not because it was boring or mishandled, but because it was emotionally draining and incredibly depressing, even if it…
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Game of Thrones upped the ante in “Hardhome”, bucking the trend of Episode 9 being the big action-packed set by giving us a ferocious, layered, and brilliantly executed big battle in the episode’s last half. That isn’t only why “Hardhome” is the best Season 5 episode yet though, every other story line during the first…
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While pacing was surprisingly rapid in the half of “The Gift”, the episode served us up some big, although fairly quiet, developments. Similarly to last weeks “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” focus was on the smaller character moments here, with storylines leaping forward involving Sansa, Tyrion, Cersei, and Sam. Let’s start with the more negligible part of…
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Westeros is not somewhere I’d ever like to live. It’s dark, brutal, and defeating, full of liars, manipulative Littlefingers, and selfish Queens who do not put the same amount of value in life as we (most of us) do in the real world. If you’re looking for justice, you’ve come to the wrong place. George…
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This marks the final week The Late Show With David Letterman will be on the air with new episodes, bringing an end to over 20 years of nightly television tradition in the iconic Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City, and a television career spanning 35 years. Having watched the show since it first arrived…
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This marks the final week The Late Show With David Letterman will be on the air with new episodes, bringing an end to over 20 years of nightly television tradition in the iconic Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City, and a television career spanning 35 years. Having watched the show since it first arrived…
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We’re now at the halfway point of season five, and things are really kicking into high gear. Storylines from all areas of Westeros, and Essos, are being born, nurtured and steered on what is sure, in many cases, to be a disastrous course. Much of the focus of this episode wasn’t in Westeros, but across the…
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The bloodiest Season 5 episode yet, “Sons of the Harpy” was packed full of important happenings, especially showcasing chaotic power plays from two of the seasons newest threats. The dark, sinful corners of King’s Landing weren’t safe from the uprising the pious Sparrows brought with them, letting loose the Faith Militant (knights/warriors committed to enforcing…
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Now that we have passed the first two episodes and caught up with the working storylines for this season “High Sparrow” was perfectly placed to shake things up a bit, and it did so with a very eventful episode that gave us one very satisfying death, one very shocking betrothal, one new and important character,…
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Wesley’s death may have come as a shock, especially given who pulled the trigger. But the death of Ben Urich? Well that’s just something else entirely. For the sake of the narrative of this show, I get why Ben had to die, but I still feel as though the writers have made a pretty big…
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Just when you thought Foggy discovering Matt’s secret identity was the best cliffhanger pulled off by Marvel’s Daredevil, “The Path Of The Righteous” comes along and knocks it straight out of the ballpark. When Wesley kidnaps Karen following a phone call with Wilson Fisk’s mum, I knew that there was no way there could ever…
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There are some big plot changes from the book going down right about now, but none quite as significant as Jamie’s fifth season quest and some other changes which begin in this episode. “The House of Black and White” sets everyone’s favourite kingslayer on a much different course than in the source material, and the…
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The previous episode of Marvel’s Daredevil ended with perhaps the biggest cliffhanger of the series to date, with Matt’s best friend and partner Foggy Nelson discovering the truth about his secret identity. As the title “Nelson v Murdock” suggests, this episode is largely occupied by the repercussions of this discovery, and the consequences it may have on both their…
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“Shadows In The Glass” is most definitely the Wilson Fisk show, and it may just be the best episode of Marvel’s Daredevil so far. The show has spent a great deal of time flashing back to Matt Murdock’s past, but this episode is all about taking a trip back in time to meet young ‘Willie’…
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“Speak Of The Devil” is an hour of television that really had it all. It dug deep into the vaults of Daredevil lore to spin a narrative that would make diehard fans more than happy, whilst also setting up major repercussions for the remainder of Marvel’s Daredevil’s first season. There were two major highlights to this episode, with…
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With the Russians out of the picture, Marvel’s Daredevil needs to send Matt in a new direction and what better way to do that then introduce his mysterious mentor Stick? Yes, Scott Glenn finally makes his appearance in the series, and though he is only due to appear in this one episode boy does he make it…
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“Condemned”, or as I like to call it, “The Matt & Vlad Power Hour”, is a world changing episode for our titular hero. Not only does he find himself one massive step forward in his quest to take down the criminal enterprises of Wilson Fisk but Matt (or at least his masked alter ego) also…
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Netflix is currently on a renewal steamroller having just announced its acclaimed dramedy series set in a prison Orange Is The New Black will be renewed for a fourth season. The third season of OITNB takes us back to Litchfield Prison and some of our favourite inmantes Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren…
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Don’t ever mess with Wilson Fisk on date night or you’ll end up with your head being decapitated by a car door. That’s the major message learnt in the fourth entry of Marvel’s Daredevil, an episode that gives a far greater glimpse into the life of the series villain. And let me tell you, it…
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In “World On Fire” Wilson Fisk manages to get himself a second date, Foggy gets his first ‘date’ with Karen, and Matt and Claire share a kiss whilst he nurses her back to health in his apartment. We also get our first explanation (and visuals) of how Matt’s powers work, as he explains to Claire…
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