I can only echo what the other reviewers have said, but I would add that Don Galloway gives a wonderful performance. Whenever people recall Ironside they think of Raymond Burr, and rightly so, he is the solid centre of this highly memorable series. Episodes like this one, however, remind us how good the supporting players were. It's brilliantly directed but Galloway gives the powerful, star performance...
Reviews
7 Reviews
I loved it!
1 October 2021
I'm working my way through the entire series and am now, sadly, reaching the end! Most weekday afternoons I retire to my "Manshed" and watch an episode with a large cigar (I think William Conrad would have approved!) Wonderful trips down memory lane.
Anyway, I found this episode to be one of the best. I appreciated the bullish, no-nonsense nature of the client (played with great gusto by Alan Feinstein), the tough woman boss (excellent Vera Miles) so different from her performance as the damsel in distress in the pilot. And great to see former Tarzan, Denny Miller roll Cannon out of his office and give him a thrashing. I love that on his next visit to see him, Cannon held a ship-in-a-bottle for protection!
The plot has been covered by other reviewers but I thought it moved at a great pace and was extremely well directed.
Cannon is really up against it in this one and takes more lumps that usual. The conclusion may not be a great surprise but the whole show is well acted and stands up really well.
Don't be put off by the other very low ratings; this one is a corker!
Anyway, I found this episode to be one of the best. I appreciated the bullish, no-nonsense nature of the client (played with great gusto by Alan Feinstein), the tough woman boss (excellent Vera Miles) so different from her performance as the damsel in distress in the pilot. And great to see former Tarzan, Denny Miller roll Cannon out of his office and give him a thrashing. I love that on his next visit to see him, Cannon held a ship-in-a-bottle for protection!
The plot has been covered by other reviewers but I thought it moved at a great pace and was extremely well directed.
Cannon is really up against it in this one and takes more lumps that usual. The conclusion may not be a great surprise but the whole show is well acted and stands up really well.
Don't be put off by the other very low ratings; this one is a corker!
All Creatures Great and Small
(2020– )
Some nice acting but....
26 September 2021
Yes, well acted and suitably twee for a Sunday night audience. Unfortunately, the heavy 2021 stamp renders it a tad Woke, which ruins any period charm. Yes, Woke! Some of the characters are entirely out of place in a drama from this period. If we are going to distort the past to this degree you might as well give Herriot a mobile phone!
Grantchester
(2014–2025)
Series 6
19 September 2021
You can't impose 21st century morality on a drama set in 1958! Far too Woke, and as a result totally unrealistic. And they have characters saying things like, I don't have an appointment. In those days people would have said, I haven't got an appointment, not I don't have... Don't have is a 21st century Americanisation. I suppose the writers are too young to know the difference. It just jars when people use this kind of New Speak. Finally too much music playing over the dialogue. Good acting is worth the three stars.
The End of Classic Drama as We Knew and Loved It!
24 June 2020
This expensively made film is too long, boring, bloated, self-conscious, unfunny and indulgent. And I am sorry to say I found it quite unrecognisable as a production based on a novel by Charles Dickens.
The book was written in 1849 and yet key characters are played by the following actors:
Fisayo Akinade - Nikki Amuka-Bird - Tuwaine Barrett - Faisal Dacosta - Ranveer Jaiswal - Divian Ladwa - Phaldut Sharma - Peter Singh - Jairaj Varsani - Benedict Wong - Neilesh Ambu - Antoniya Gerimpapazi - Arun Kapur - Lamissah La-Shontae - Kwok Ng and of course, Dev Patel as David Copperfield.
The casting doesn't seem very faithful to the book. In fact, it seems to be an exercise in heavy-handed, woke point scoring. Can an Asian actor play David Copperfield? Only if you accept that Benny Hill can play a Chinese man. And we all know that Benny Hill will never be seen, mentioned or heard of ever again. Why? Because what he did is now deemed TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.
I smell double standards! White man plays black or Asian character = Unacceptable!! Black or Asian man plays white character = Great. Can no one else see the comparison?
Like I say the film is not that great, but what jars most of all is the false, unrealistic, frankly laughable, placing of actors who in no way resemble the characters they are there to portray.
Progress or a return to the 70s with the roles reversed? You decide...
Oh, nearly forgot: The character Mr Micawber is described as "a stoutish, middle-aged person". Here he is portrayed by the tall and wiry Peter Capalbi. Need I say more?
The book was written in 1849 and yet key characters are played by the following actors:
Fisayo Akinade - Nikki Amuka-Bird - Tuwaine Barrett - Faisal Dacosta - Ranveer Jaiswal - Divian Ladwa - Phaldut Sharma - Peter Singh - Jairaj Varsani - Benedict Wong - Neilesh Ambu - Antoniya Gerimpapazi - Arun Kapur - Lamissah La-Shontae - Kwok Ng and of course, Dev Patel as David Copperfield.
The casting doesn't seem very faithful to the book. In fact, it seems to be an exercise in heavy-handed, woke point scoring. Can an Asian actor play David Copperfield? Only if you accept that Benny Hill can play a Chinese man. And we all know that Benny Hill will never be seen, mentioned or heard of ever again. Why? Because what he did is now deemed TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.
I smell double standards! White man plays black or Asian character = Unacceptable!! Black or Asian man plays white character = Great. Can no one else see the comparison?
Like I say the film is not that great, but what jars most of all is the false, unrealistic, frankly laughable, placing of actors who in no way resemble the characters they are there to portray.
Progress or a return to the 70s with the roles reversed? You decide...
Oh, nearly forgot: The character Mr Micawber is described as "a stoutish, middle-aged person". Here he is portrayed by the tall and wiry Peter Capalbi. Need I say more?
Jeremy Vine
(2018– )
...with me, JEREMY VINE!!!!!
29 January 2020
The Jeremy Vine show is a lovely way to start the day. Screened each weekday morning on Channel 5 between 9:15 and 11:15 it brings together a panel of three guests who discuss the day's news and engage in light banter with genial host Jeremy Vine and his delightful co-host, Storm Huntley.
It seldom fails to raise a few laughs and gives the viewer food for thought. Some of the panel members can be too opinionated, rude and aggressive (but enough about Yasmin Alibhai-Brown - she seems to be on every week!) Generally, the group gets on and it makes for excellent entertainment while you have breakfast and ease into the day.
On the downside, the music is too intrusive and the ad-breaks too many and too long! I always record the show and start watching half an hour into it to avoid the dire adverts which tell me how to plan my funeral, the plight of donkeys and how I can get an over 50s plan to help others after I die. One suspects the ad-men and women know their audience.
After watching the show for about a year I began to notice that very often the panel consisted of three women. Nothing wrong with that and why not. But I then found that they never had a line up of three men. I wrote to Channel 5 asking them if this was a policy of the show or the channel. I received a slightly curt response telling me, "We should point out that we have previously had all-male panels." Naturally I trawled back through all the shows since it started (which were recorded on my Sky Box and found out that there had NEVER been an all-male show.
Again, I asked why. No response. I phoned Channel 5 (I was too curious to let the matter drop) and was told my comments had been passed on to the producers for a reply. To cut a long story short I never did get a reply. The Customer Services rep I spoke to on several occasions was just the right side of dismissive.
The Jeremy Vine show remains great viewing with truly entertaining hosts and some marvellous guests. The only burning question is why can't men be trusted to appear in all three guest seats. We will never know but I suspect the producers feel a bit of positive discrimination is fine these days. After all it is Channel 5! Right on...
By the way, the audience is virtually the same every day. It has a sturdy company of die-hard "extras" who sit expressionless and don't dare look into the camera. I dare say they are not allowed to move or say anything unless prompted. Don't think Jeremy would like it if they did. And he can be short sometimes, especially with callers if they don't LOVE cyclists!! But that's another story!
One last comment. Every so often Anne Diamond fills in for Jeremy. When she does the show is sublime to watch. She is truly wonderful. She comes across as a lovely, warm, person. Harmony prevails as does good humour and genuine laughs. No angst, no ego. A class act...
Recommended. Enjoy...
Update 16 December 2020: I have just added a photo of Yasmin Alibhai-Brown aggressively making defamatory comments about Laurence Fox in October. I am delighted to report that she has not been on the show since!
It seldom fails to raise a few laughs and gives the viewer food for thought. Some of the panel members can be too opinionated, rude and aggressive (but enough about Yasmin Alibhai-Brown - she seems to be on every week!) Generally, the group gets on and it makes for excellent entertainment while you have breakfast and ease into the day.
On the downside, the music is too intrusive and the ad-breaks too many and too long! I always record the show and start watching half an hour into it to avoid the dire adverts which tell me how to plan my funeral, the plight of donkeys and how I can get an over 50s plan to help others after I die. One suspects the ad-men and women know their audience.
After watching the show for about a year I began to notice that very often the panel consisted of three women. Nothing wrong with that and why not. But I then found that they never had a line up of three men. I wrote to Channel 5 asking them if this was a policy of the show or the channel. I received a slightly curt response telling me, "We should point out that we have previously had all-male panels." Naturally I trawled back through all the shows since it started (which were recorded on my Sky Box and found out that there had NEVER been an all-male show.
Again, I asked why. No response. I phoned Channel 5 (I was too curious to let the matter drop) and was told my comments had been passed on to the producers for a reply. To cut a long story short I never did get a reply. The Customer Services rep I spoke to on several occasions was just the right side of dismissive.
The Jeremy Vine show remains great viewing with truly entertaining hosts and some marvellous guests. The only burning question is why can't men be trusted to appear in all three guest seats. We will never know but I suspect the producers feel a bit of positive discrimination is fine these days. After all it is Channel 5! Right on...
By the way, the audience is virtually the same every day. It has a sturdy company of die-hard "extras" who sit expressionless and don't dare look into the camera. I dare say they are not allowed to move or say anything unless prompted. Don't think Jeremy would like it if they did. And he can be short sometimes, especially with callers if they don't LOVE cyclists!! But that's another story!
One last comment. Every so often Anne Diamond fills in for Jeremy. When she does the show is sublime to watch. She is truly wonderful. She comes across as a lovely, warm, person. Harmony prevails as does good humour and genuine laughs. No angst, no ego. A class act...
Recommended. Enjoy...
Update 16 December 2020: I have just added a photo of Yasmin Alibhai-Brown aggressively making defamatory comments about Laurence Fox in October. I am delighted to report that she has not been on the show since!
Vera
(2011–2025)
Just about the worst detective series ever made!!!!
25 January 2020
I have just been forced (by the wife) to sit through an episode of Vera. I already knew it was dire from the snippets I have been unlucky enough to witness in the past. Enduring a whole episode has helped me hone my dislike to a sharp point. Here are the reasons why I regard this as a pile of you know what:
The lead actress, Brenda Blethyn OBE is beyond terrible in the lead role. Her accent is an insult to all Geordies. In fact, it is so bad that even I, a Londoner, feel slighted. She warbles too. A ghastly, geriatric warble which lets us all in on the fact that she is acting. And acting very badly.
She clearly has no idea what's going on. The pathetic, unconvincing barking out of orders. The bad-tempered face when bellowing, "Ah don't believe yer pet" to any and all suspects.
And the outfit! Can you imagine the team behind this turkey of a show coming up with, Let's dress her like a bag lady with a battered hat? Yeah, like a sort of female Columbo. Great! Only problem is Peter Falk was a very good actor and he did it to perfection 40 years ago.
One last thing, they play music behind almost the whole grisly 100 minutes. Even when people are talking. The idea, presumably, is to help us poor, stupid views understand the mood they are trying to create. Now feel scared, now feel happy, now feel tense etc, etc...
This is meat and drink for the undiscerning. The Aw, isn't she great, that Vera brigade? I place it two steps behind Midsomer Murders, which I rate at a zero.
The lead actress, Brenda Blethyn OBE is beyond terrible in the lead role. Her accent is an insult to all Geordies. In fact, it is so bad that even I, a Londoner, feel slighted. She warbles too. A ghastly, geriatric warble which lets us all in on the fact that she is acting. And acting very badly.
She clearly has no idea what's going on. The pathetic, unconvincing barking out of orders. The bad-tempered face when bellowing, "Ah don't believe yer pet" to any and all suspects.
And the outfit! Can you imagine the team behind this turkey of a show coming up with, Let's dress her like a bag lady with a battered hat? Yeah, like a sort of female Columbo. Great! Only problem is Peter Falk was a very good actor and he did it to perfection 40 years ago.
One last thing, they play music behind almost the whole grisly 100 minutes. Even when people are talking. The idea, presumably, is to help us poor, stupid views understand the mood they are trying to create. Now feel scared, now feel happy, now feel tense etc, etc...
This is meat and drink for the undiscerning. The Aw, isn't she great, that Vera brigade? I place it two steps behind Midsomer Murders, which I rate at a zero.
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