stebsmeister Reviews

The Irregulars (2021)

Awful

[2/10 · 22 November 2021]

Utter dross. Why pretend that this is in any way inspired by Holmes when it deviates so much from the source material?

Holmes devotees will hate The Irregulars, and a young audience probably won't be able to watch due to the occasional swearing.

Years ago, the BBC showed the adventures of the Irregulars in The Baker Street Boys. And it was miles better than this.

The Beast Must Die (2021)

Enjoyed the book, trudged through this

[2/10 · 25 September 2021]

At five episodes, The Beast Must Die is arguably two or perhaps even three too long.

The original novel is a nice mystery with a clever plot twist at the end. This adaptation was a trudge, and by the time the conclusion arrived I barely cared.

Anonymous (I) (2011)

Anonymous? Egregious

[2/10 · 18 September 2021]

Derek Jacobi gleefully predicted that Stratfordians would be apoplectic over Anonymous. Instead, it met with amused indifference, and sank at the box office.

Intended to prove that the plays ascribed to William Shakespeare of Stratford-Upon-Avon were in fact written by Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, Anonymous instead shows how daft the theory is. A supposedly illiterate man successfully masquerades as a playwright for years, with virtually no-one suspecting the truth?

I've given it two rather than one stars, as, if you switch off your critical faculties and common sense, you can at least enjoy Anonymous as a conspiracy thriller. And Rhys Ifans is very good.

Upstart Crow (2016–2020)

It's no Blackadder II, but it's still good fun

[7/10 · 18 September 2021]

Upstart Crow probably appeals more to Shakespeare lovers than the casual viewer, but there are a lot of decent gags. Kate is a bit insufferable, but portraying Anne Hathaway as a loving wife and mother works well, and the grumpy Susannah and rascally John Shakespeare, taxing Will's patience as a father and a son respectively, also raise a few chuckles.

No, it's not Blackadder II - but it's worth a watch.

Late Night Mash (2021–2022)

Awful

[1/10 · 18 September 2021]

The Mash Report was poor, but Late Nigh Mash is worse. The latter still gives the same odd impression that the former did of watching a dress-rehearsal rather than a polished production, but it's compounded by a palpable sense of failure, as if everyone involved knows that they've been given a stay of execution rather than a reprieve and it's only a matter of time before they're again given the chop.

I May Destroy You (2020)

Is this a drama or a lecture?

[4/10 · 6 March 2021]

I'm kind of baffled by people raving about I May Destroy You.

I don't mind, and usually quite enjoy, political drama, but not like this. Almost every episode seems to involve a sermon of some kind, telling us how we should both challenge our preconceptions and stay within our lane, speak up about issues but shut up unless we haven't directly experienced them.

The Beatles Anthology (1995–1996)

Largely excellent, with some minor reservations

[9/10 · 21 February 2021]

I remember watching the Anthology when it was originally broadcast, and then on video when it was released, with extra footage.

This was largely very good, showing the origins of the Fab Four, their rise, their domination, their disintegration, and their dissolution.

Ringo is generally good-natured throughout, and McCartney is as consummate a showman as ever - although he can get a bit irritable with a prickly Harrison, who seemed to have taken it upon himself to take up Lennon's role as acerbic truth-teller, with Lennon himself, of course, only available via old interviews.

Is it a warts-and-all documentary? No, but, again, it was never meant to be. And as a celebration, the Anthology can sometimes feel a bit self-congratulatory, shying away from, or not going into enough detail about, the sacking of Pete Best, or the impact of Yoko. Best received millions of royalties, which I'm sure he wasn't unhappy about, but it would have been interesting to have had him appear and hear his perspective. And while the remaining Fab Four do admit that they found Yoko's presence in the studio inhibiting, it would have been nice to have heard how she felt. Instead ,neither she, nor any of the Beatle's wives, or ex-wives, or girlfriends even, appear.

But this is still very good. There's the pathos of watching McCartney, Harrison and Starr reminiscing about their glory days, but what days they were. Even if you've seen some of the footage before - like the Beatles arriving in New York for the first time - it still crackles with excitement. As McCartney sang, the Beatles are going to have to carry that weight for some time, but what a precious burden it must be.

Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)

First Sybok, then Michael...

[1/10 · 3 February 2021]

...how many half and foster-siblings does Spock have?

And why did Michael, raised on Vulcan, become so overly emotional in season 3?

And who are the crew members? I can barely remember their names. And why do they spend so much time smugly smirking?

Happy Days (1974–1984)

These days are ooooouuuurrss!

[8/10 · 22 December 2020]

Happy Days exists in four distinct stages:

Seasons 1-2: Filmed without a studio audience (barring one episode) and a more realistic, if sentimental, evocation of the 1950s, with Fonzie a mysterious cool guy rather than near demi-god. There's some genuinely great, heartfelt moments in both seasons, and the episodes almost feel like mini-movies.

Seasons 3-4: A more traditional sitcom, with Fonzie more pronounced (and Potsie dumbed down. And don't mention Chuck!).

Yes, the humour is broader, but it's also genuinely laugh out loud funny, and it's not hard to see why Fonzie-mania took off.

Seasons 5-7: Chachi! Why didn't Baio just play a re-cast Spike, who they'd already introduced in previous seasons?

Fonzie increasingly demonstrates ridiculous super-powers, and, while it's funny, he's also prone to kiddy-like petulance that ruins the mystique of the character as it was originally portrayed.

Ralph and Potsie are still good value, particularly when they get their apartment together - what a shame they didn't get a spin-off show.

The show itself becomes noticeably more sentimental - there are still clever jokes, and very funny jokes, but also lots more heart-to-heart moments.

Seasons 8-11: Ah, the post-Richie years. They really ought to have called it a day after he left, but I suppose when you have a hit show you want to keep it going as long as possible.

Fonzie becoming a teacher is a massive betrayal of the character - I'm assuming Arthur lied his teeth during the interview! - but Live And Learn is a brilliant episode, with Winkler the undoubted star of the show having nominally shared first position with Howard since season 3.

Roger Phillips, played by Ted McGinley, is an obvious attempt to have a new Richie - but, as noted above with Baio, why not just have McGinley as the old Chuck, returned from - oh, who cares! Chuck is back! :)

Fonzie is starting to look his age, and his hanging around high school girls is getting a bit weird at best, and creepy at worst. Giving him a permanent girlfriend in Ashley in season 10 was a logical development, but also seems to diminish him as a character.

Too many old favourite characters are gone (even if Joanie and Chachi do come back), many of the new ones - KC in particular - are just bland, and everything's starting to look a bit threadbare.

Season 11 was a fine return to form, with Richie getting a genuinely emotional return AND goodbye. Although it's a shame that Ralph and Potsie weren't in the show's proper finale, Passages.

All in all, a great show. Come on Paramount, pay up for the music rights and give us a complete DVD/Blu Ray box set!

The Box of Delights (1984)

The best kids serial the BBC have ever made, bar none

[10/10 · 22 December 2020]

Despite the many cracking kids programmes the BBC have made, nothing stands comparison with this.

I remember watching it as a kid in 1984, and when it ended on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day felt something of an anticlimax.

Where to begin with the praise? Simply the title itself sends a shiver of expectant delight down the spine. Kay Harker is a great, pluck protagonist, well played by Devin Stanfield, and Cole Hawkins is marvellously mysterious - but what else would one expect from Patrick Troughton? And who but Robert Stephens could have portrayed Abner Brown with such gleeful malevolence?

Yes, of course the effects, amazing at the time, have dated now - but oddly, it adds charm to the piece as a whole.

If the BBC were to repeat this, or make it available on iplayer, it would make a lot of big kids very happy, and easily win a new audience.

Moondial (1988)

Watched it as a kid when it was originally broadcast...

[8/10 · 22 December 2020]

...and rewatched it for the first time in over thirty years this summer as part of a general binge of kids telly.

This was then, and still is now, really good. There's a real sense of mystery and eeriness, and the young cast act really well. The music/score is excellent, and while perhaps some of the effects have dated, the story hasn't, because it doesn't rely upon them.

British kids telly used to be brilliant, didn't it?!

The Stranger (I) (2020)

Broadchurch with bullets

[6/10 · 22 December 2020]

There can be such a thing as too many plot twists, but this is highly enjoyable tosh - the kind of thing that ITV could have done (and arguably did, with Broadchurch - not quite as many guns in it, though).

Armitage makes for a fine protagonist - confused, but determined to make sense of what's happened to his life. And the cast as, including Jennifer Saunders in a rare straight tole, are generally pretty decent, with Stephen Rea is as wearily beleaguered as only he can be.

Out of Her Mind (2020)

Awful

[1/10 · 3 November 2020]

The characters are both anodyne and unlikeable, the acting is largely terrible (although Juliet Stevenson gives it her best), the comedy isn't funny and the drama isn't compelling.

I'm oddly impressed by the BBC for having the courage to broadcast this, as they must have realised within five minutes of the first episode what a stinker they had on their hands.

Frankie Boyle's New World Order (2017–2022)

Frankie, what happened?

[1/10 · 30 June 2019]

Your opening and closing monologues are arguably the only funny part of the show, and even they're like a ghost of what you used to come out with.

Giving female comics such a high-profile platform is laudable, but the ones you've had on have largely been awful.

The show is nowhere near as dangerous as it obviously sees itself as being, the topics discussed and the arguments made both trite and lazy.

There IS an appetite for a funny, genuinely transgressive political comedy show but this isn't it - but, gallingly, once upon a time, you'd have made it.