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Renegade Nell (2024– )
7/10
Worth watching
17 April 2024
The first three episodes of the show are quite dark and serious in comparison to the rest of season 1. There are themes such as violence against women and children resulting in injury, murder and sexual harassment of a (presumed) minor (no sexual harassment takes place on screen). Episodes 4-8 are slightly lighter in tone, and I believe this is so they can keep the rating a 12+.

Nell is a fantastic character and I can only applaud the actress for her talent. Her sisters, Rassalas and Isambard Tulley are equally wonderful, and the character of Billy Blind grounds the fantasy theme that underpins the entire plot.

Some reviewers have complained about the use of an ethnically diverse cast for a show set in the 1700's, but this is a fantasy show which displays magic and magical creatures as real. The realities of real life in the 1700's are both irrelevant and unnecessary, in a plot that is clearly divorced from real history. Anyone looking to this show to provide real historical context is (in my opinion) crazy.

My criticism of the show is based on the last two episodes. I was a little disappointed by episode 7, as Nell's fight scene wasn't taken in the direction I was expecting. Episode 8 was even more disappointing. I think the show left too many character arcs and plot points to be concluded within the final episode. There's too much jumping around between characters, most of whom are facing separate (if overlapping) problems. I was surprised and disappointed, that the central villains of the show were not dealt with how I expected (or wanted) them to be, though they all did face consequences in different ways. Nell and her family do get a happy ending, so it's worth watching for that alone. Overall it's a decently entertaining show, that I didn't find difficult to watch, and would recommend to others.

There are a few musical numbers in the later episodes of the season, and there's a good soundtrack throughout, in particular Nell's fight song. Whoever created that should be very proud of themselves.
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6/10
Not as good as original
13 April 2024
Raylan Givens is back and he's as awesome as ever, but the show still falls down when it comes to the other characters and the overall plot.

The lack of complexity within the plot is the biggest problem. The main villain just wanders about with no real plan or central goals, and honestly he would be better as the chief henchman of a much smarter, more ambitious villain. That lack of powerful central villain, makes the lesser bad guys far less impactful then they should have been.

Carolyn and Sweety are interesting characters on their own, but their personal struggles take up screen time and don't add much to the plot. (The original Justified was great because everything connected back to Raylan, Harlan or the US Marshall service in one way or another.)

The corrupt cop storyline is also a big let down. The cop is not corrupt enough to bring any real tension to the story.

The plot needed a corrupt cop acting against the investigation throughout. I wanted to see them actively tampering with evidence, silencing witnesses through murder or threats, I wanted to see them in secret meetings with other bad guys, passing along information and taking bribes from them. Instead we see the cop clumsily trying to pin the crimes of the villain on an innocent person, and they're so bad at it, that all their colleagues instantly know what they've done.

Willa (Raylan's daughter) is another disappointment. Her "little girl voice" is grating, and she seems very naive for a 15 year old, and especially for a law enforcement officers daughter. We see her exploring the secluded graffiti laden back streets of Detroit, all by herself with zero thought for her own safety. A strange man shows up at her hotel, claiming to know her dad, and she instantly believes him. Honestly if they recast the character as a 10 year old I wouldn't know the difference.
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Obliterated (2023)
4/10
Plot felt shallow
13 February 2024
I only got a couple of episodes in before I quit. The writers use sex and drugs to add humour to the situation, and mask an otherwise underdeveloped group of characters and plot. Honestly I've never found sexual humour to be appealing, but I will stick with something where the plot and characters are compelling, which definitely didn't happen here. Worse, I found that the seriousness of the main plot was undermined by the shows constant attempts to be funny. Trying to stop a terrorist attack on US soil, and prevent a nuclear weapon from falling into foreign hands isn't naturally funny, in fact it's the opposite, so I don't understand why the writers did what they did. ( For writers of anything fictional: get your audience to feel interested in/connected to your characters first, then focus on the other stuff.)

Maybe the plot and characters became more interesting in the following episodes, but frankly I'm not going to keep watching something I don't yet find interesting after the first two episodes.
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8/10
Great season, but Martin needs to tone it down.
18 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Another fantastic season of an amazing show, there's nothing else like it on netflix, honestly before watching season one I didn't think I could like a real estate focused reality TV show. My favourite person is of course Majo, who makes me laugh every time she shares a story!

I confess that I've gone less fond of Martin, who I felt acted disrespectfully at several points in season 3. The way he kept choosing to show properties far beyond his clients budget, was rude and greedy behaviour.

Then he low key badmouthed his sister in law, complaining about having to deal with both his wife and her sister at the same time. I don't know why, she seems nice, and has he ever thought about how his wife must feel having to deal with his family 24-7? They're nice people too of course, but still it must be stressful at times. He even pulled his wife aside and told her off for "not supporting him" in trying to sell her sister a home she didn't like! She's there to visit her sister and to help her choose the perfect house, not to act as a second real estate agent...

Anyway, I'm excited for season 4 and the succession style battle they've set up!
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5/10
I will not be watching season 5
6 June 2023
I won't be watching another season, they absolutely chose the wrong winner. How can someone who has never won a single challenge (before the final), and who every challenge makes mistakes, becomes easily overwhelmed and keeps losing focus, be the right winner? When the alternative is a person who has consistently shown their skill and talent, and rarely made a mistakes. I know who I would trust to design a space for me, and it's not the winner.

Both finalists have real talent, but consistency and focus are key when dealing with real clients. I feel like the show's creators got carried away with creating an underdog to champion narrative, because it makes good TV, and no one really cared too much about the winner.

Honestly I'm hoping the winner's errors were over exaggerated by the show's editing process, because otherwise the owners of that cocktail bar (the winning prize) will be in for a chaotic renovation process.
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Homeland: Q&A (2012)
Season 2, Episode 5
7/10
Carrie is obsessed with Brody, but otherwise great episode.
26 March 2023
This is a very exciting episode, they finally have Brody in an interrogation room, and it's pretty exciting stuff. I really wasn't sure how Brody would escape from the consequences of being discovered, but the writers found a way. What's not great is Carrie's "I'm in love with you" angle. It literally makes me cringe. If they'd just kept the relationship physical I would be less annoyed. I just can't believe that a woman like Carrie who works so hard (obsessively hard) to take down terrorists, would fall in love with a man she (at the time) didn't trust and was investigating, because she believed he was a terrorist. Honestly Carrie's obsession with Brody just feels like an extension of her mental health crisis.
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Homeland: Achilles Heel (2011)
Season 1, Episode 8
8/10
Carrie's acting a little off
24 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
A decent episode but I didn't like the way Carrie kept apologizing to Brody and acting all heartbroken by him. It's ridiculous because they were not in a relationship.

For me the exciting thing about them hooking up is that I saw it as them using each other, both for stress relief (they both have very stressful lives) and more importantly as information gathering. She wants to know if he's been "turned", he wants to know if the CIA suspect he's been turned. They both use the truth as a weapon to confuse/convince each other that they're trustworthy. It's a total mind bender and I love it. I also think it's silly that Brody is suddenly no longer a suspect, when their new suspect is so closely connected to him. Especially since Brody went on the record saying that the guy is dead and buried.

Despite my complaints this is a great show and it definitely has me hooked.
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Bull: The Illusion of Control (2017)
Season 2, Episode 4
5/10
Weak writing
27 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
At first I was excited by the fact that it's Bull himself getting sued by a former client, but as the episode progressed I found my excitement disappearing. This episode is about an overseas adoption gone wrong. For some reason Bull was hired/asked? For advice by the adopted mother. The "mother" just happens to be very rich and very famous.

Bulls company does trial science but there was none of that in this episode, he's not even being sued because of it, but because he gave out professional advice which unfortunately didn't work out. It seems ridiculous that he's being sued by the client, instead of the former clients legal team being sued. Bull had no part in the custody negotiations between the child's father and adopted mother.

I also didn't like the way Bulls team took it upon themselves to track down and retrieve the child from his father. On what authority?

I rolled my eyes, when I realized that they'd managed to find a signed document relinquishing custody of the child, just lying around in the father's apartment. How convenient!! The writers couldn't even manage to successfully paint the father as a bad guy, he wasn't abusive, he hadn't willingly abandoned his child, he wasn't even trying to demand money from the adopted mother. Honestly I felt sorry for him.
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Pressure Cooker (2023– )
5/10
More Big Brother than MasterChef
15 January 2023
This is a show steeped in tension and drama and toxicity. The producers have done everything possible to pit these people against one another, every episode the contestants who are up for elimination practically beg the other competitors to not eliminate them. It's humiliating for everyone involved, and distasteful for viewers looking for an honest cooking competition.

Contestants forming partnerships for the cooking challenges, and former contestants coming back to be judges does add excitement, but the actual judging should be blind or carried out by third parties. Food critics should have chosen the winner.
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Goliath: Tongue Tied (2018)
Season 2, Episode 8
4/10
Senseless violence used to cover up a paper thin plot
22 August 2022
Season 2 is filled with senseless violence, death threats, a lot murder and unnecessary sexual fetishism. It watches more like an extended horror film than a legal drama.

What I find particularly annoying, is how little connection there is between all of the violence/fetishism and the central plot of the season. In the end both the double murder case, and Julio's arrest for said murder have no real importance to the "villains" plans, no matter how desperately the writers try to convince the viewers otherwise.
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Goliath: La Mano (2018)
Season 2, Episode 1
4/10
Nothing compared to season 1
22 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I've just watched the whole of season 2 and it's nothing compared to season 2. By the end you'll realise that Julio's case is insignificant, Julio himself is insignificant, as are his dead family members. Even the two murdered guys Julio was arrested for killing aren't actually significant in any way, neither is the real killer, nor are the majority of the people who are hellbent on covering up the truth. None of it matters!! Literally the only thing that actually matters in this season, is Billy McBride's personal life.
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Castle: Rise (2011)
Season 4, Episode 1
6/10
An ok episode
6 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The beginning of the episode was dramatic as expected with Beckett barely clinging to life, but Castle barely managed to look worried, when he should have looked distraught! Frowning is not enough of an emotional reaction! Josh showed more distress than Castle.

I wish they had just focused on Becketts recovery and relationships, and not bothered with a case this episode. Becketts emotions and reactions were in line with her character, I'm glad they wrote her going back to therapy. It's rare to see such a healthy reaction in fiction.

Alexis' negative reaction to Rick and Kate continuing the case was unexpected but perfectly justified. I'm excited about the police captain, her presence will definitely cause drama, and personally I think she's being fair. As much as I adore her, Beckett came off a little bratty in that confrontation. I think Castle's decision to hide the mystery phone call from Beckett Is risky, but I'm looking forward to the drama.
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Castle: Countdown (2011)
Season 3, Episode 17
7/10
It's ok, but not as good as previous seasons double episode
2 August 2022
I watched setup and countdown back to back, so this review is about both of them. In my opinion the plot is too complicated, and can be confusing at times. I feel like the writers did everything they could to make the original suspects seem guilty, and then were scrambling to prove their innocence, leaving several plot holes behind. What makes these episodes great is all the Beckett/Castle moments we get, the ending is hilarious too.
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9/10
I loved it!
26 July 2022
Hilarious! I haven't laughed this hard at a comedy special in ages, situational comedy at its best. I find his jokes very relatable and I can see myself re-watching this special, and other shows of his in the future.
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Ronny Chieng: Speakeasy (2022 TV Special)
7/10
Not a total loss
5 April 2022
I've been waiting for this special for weeks, and while I'm glad I watched it, I prefer his past work.

Ronny's performance is decent, but is not as harmonious, or humourous, as his previous Netflix special. To me his demeanor seems rather tense, frustrated at times, and in certain parts he's almost nervous. I laughed several times, but I also had several moments when I felt uncomfortable. I'm not easily offended, so I ultimately enjoyed the show, and I see myself watching more of Ronny's comedy specials if he releases them.
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Beat the Chef (2019–2021)
6/10
Revamped format needs MORE revamping
1 June 2021
Season 1 was a disaster, and though season 2 is better ( with only 2 rounds instead of 5), the show producers need to remove the ' 'potential elimination' aspect from the 1st round. There's only two people competing (the chef Vs the amateur) each episode, so it's a useless clause anyway. Unless they plan to start producing 15 minute episodes, which is what we'd get if the amateur cook was eliminated at the end of round 1.

They should make the 1st round a play for points, with each judge having 1 point to give each round, to their favourite dish. The contestant with the most points (totalled) over the 2 rounds wins.
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Bling Empire (2021–2022)
4/10
trash tv
16 January 2021
I watched episode 1 and that's enough for me. I can't stand the majority of the cast, their aimless, appearance obsessed, pleasure driven existence horrifies me. Of the main cast there's only four people on the show who I can stand to watch, (Kelly, Anna, Kevin and Gabriel), Kevin's not wealthy, Kelly makes her own money and the other two are not obnoxious with their wealth. I know with some reality tv series stuff is exaggerated/faked for more drama, and i really hope that's the case for this show. Living like this in real life seems toxic to me, and some of these characters just seem miserable. On a more positive note if you like goggling at outrageous wealth, this is the show for you!
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