bkdsl Reviews

Spirited (2010–2011)

Give it a chance - really worth it!

[7/10 · 13 October 2010]

Having just seen the full season 1, I was pleasantly surprised by Spirited. What first grabbed my attention at the start was intrigue about Henry's story but what kept me hooked was the relationship between Henry and Suzie. Both parts are played by brilliant actors - Claudia Karvan always brings a realism to the characters she plays, and just something that makes you empathise with her. Henry seemed like such a caricature at the start but he quickly develops in to a really interesting character. The relationship that grows between them is something quite special and I really loved the scenes between the two of them. You can just see how the uptight and awkward Suzie relaxes around Henry and how her child-like, fun loving side emerges.

The thing that I didn't like about this show were a couple of the supporting characters. The worst is Jonquil, I cringe every time she's on screen. I get that she's supposed to be irritating (her last name is 'Payne' afterall...) but there is no realism to her. Her character is just too farcical in a show that is otherwise quite realistic. Ex-hubby Steve walks a fine line between funny and a little over the top, but I think he manages to stay on the right side of that line most of the time. He is the likable tosser and is pretty good value for comic relief. I think we all know guys like him! Looking forward to Season 2!

Unexplained (2008– )

A doco based on groundless claims

[3/10 · 5 August 2010]

The premise is interesting enough - in the 1960s a woman from Bath England sees a psychiatrist about vivid nightmares she's had since childhood. The details she gives leads the psychiatrist to believe that she is remembering a past life, where she was a Cathar (a religious group that was massacred by the Inquisition).

The problem with the story is that it is quite clear from the start that it is very likely completely fake. There isn't really anything to suggest it could be true. It's not as though the woman revealed things that she or the psychiatrist couldn't have known about. True, the dreams were detailed and named characters from history - but the same way the psychiatrist checked up these facts, either of them could have found them out beforehand. Most likely, the psychiatrist cooked up the whole thing.

The worst part is the two women from present day Dublin who claim to have a "sense" that they too were Cathars in a previous life. Their belief is based on the fact that they felt "something" when they heard the word "Cathar"! There is really nothing more to it than that! The whole ordeal where they visit the site of their death in a previous life is just ridiculous. They just claim to feel things.

Stories about past lives are interesting, but there has to be something that makes it believable. Nothing in this show was.