Tag Archives: Drama Television

The Residence: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a delightful time as we pulled apart the motives of all the many people in the White House who possibly wanted a man to die.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this show.

The White House.

The Residence Review –

Many genres rise and fall as time goes on, and unless you live in the British countryside, one example of that is the humble Murder Mystery. There are times when we can’t get enough of them, and then there can be a desert with none in sight. They are also one of the oldest genres in the industry, and you have to wonder if there is space for anything new? Well, today, we get a delightful new entry that shows it can.  

So, to set the scene, it is just a typical day at The White House as everyone prepares for a state dinner with Australia who the Americans are currently on poor terms with. There is chaos in the kitchens, disasters in the seating plans, and some unfortunate kangaroo placements. However, all of that changes when a piercing screen from Nan Cox (Jane Curtin) echoes through the halls of power. For the chief usher, A.B. Winter (Giancarlo Esposito), is dead under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Anyone dying in the White House would be a calamitous event, but murder? That is unheard of. And while everyone fights to find out who actually has jurisdiction in this case, Larry Dokes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), the Chief of Police at the MPD, calls upon the one person that he knows can take on such a challenge, Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba), a consulting detective. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Dune Prophecy: Season One – TV Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating look into the Dune world when it was just starting, but it felt more like half a season than a full one.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Bing service that viewed this series.

Dune Prophecy Review –

Before we dive into our best of 2024, there is one final review we have to finish, and that is for a TV version of one of my favourite novels and movie series: Dune. I have always loved diving into this world, even if I would never want to live there. Today, we have had the chance to catch up with the entire first season of Dune Prophecy, so it is time to see if it all worked.

So, to set the scene, in the years after the Butlerian Jihad against the Thinking Machines, humanity had to find a new way forward. There were many competing forces during that time, one of which was the witches of the Bene Gesserit. On Wallach IX, those same sisters are grieving the death of their first Reverend Mother. The sisterhood is at a future point. Which way forward would they proceed? Shall they point people in the right direction, or should they be the ones controlling things from the shadows? Thirty years after, blood was shed in the Bene Gesserit cloister, 116 years after the end of the Great Machine Wars, and 10,148 years before the birth of Paul Atreides. It will be time to see which direction the sisterhood takes. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Earth Abides: Forever is Tomorrow is Today & Full Season – TV Review

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TL;DR – A beautifully contemplative end to a fascinating series.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this series.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Year 20.

Earth Abides Review –

One of the interesting little gems that I found towards the end of the year was an exploration of life and death in the aftermath of absolute tragedy. What do you do when you are alone in a world that was once teaming with life? Do you survive? Do you pack it in? Do you reach out? Or do you close yourselves off from everything? These are the questions we ask in the ruins of the old world.   

So, to set the scene, twin tragedies have struck the small community of San Lupo. First, Heather (Aleksandra Cross) has returned home alone after a long sojourn north without Raif (River Codack). Even worse, after twenty years, the virus returned, and soon, many members of the town became ill. Sadder for Ish (Alexander Ludwig) and Emma (Jessica Frances Dukes), one of those affected is their son Joey (Elias Leacock), whose shoulders much of the future was resting on. We will be looking at the episode and season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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The Diplomat: Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – A fantastic follow-up from the first season that had me on the edge of my seat at times and ended on one of the most bonkers moments I have seen all year.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

A coffin draped in the USA flag.

The Diplomat Review –

My background is in International Relations, and it does not come up here as much as I would like, other than the occasional The Hitman’s Bodyguard jaunt. Well, today, I get to dive back into a series that plays on a lot of those themes, so much so that we get a deep dive into Australian defence policy that I never thought I would see on the big screen.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Season One, Ambassador Katherine “Kate” Wyler (Keri Russell) and Austin Dennison, UK Foreign Secretary (David Gyasi), discovered that while they know which terrorist undertook the attack on the British Aircraft Carrier. It was not the Russians who paid for the attack but Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear), the UK Prime Minister. What do you do when you discover the head of one of your most trusted allies might have undertaken a false flag operation, killing thirty of their own military personnel? A secret that not only could sink at least one government but could fracture alliances, and destabilise the world. Who do you trust when your main allies could be the ones not only stirring the pot but could be targeting you as well? Now, from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Penguin: A Great Or Little Thing & Full Season – TV Review

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TL;DR – A phenomenal ending to one of the great surprises of 2024

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this series.

Penguin wakes to see Sofia looking down on him.

The Penguin Review –

To say that the DCU has had a bit of a bad run up until now might be putting it mildly. Indeed, even this year, they had the absolute disaster of Joker: Folie à Deux. So, I am not sure that I had much hope in a television spinoff of The Batman, which was not even in the DCU as it was made during the bifurcation period. However, I have never been gladder to be wrong. In today’s review, we will first look at the season finale and then the season as a whole.

So, to set the scene, things are coming to a head in Gotham as the war between Oswald “Oz” Cobb (Colin Farrell) and Sofia Gigante (Cristin Milioti) comes to an explosive climax. Now Oz has been captured by Sofia and has been brought to a final confrontation with Francis Cobb (Deirdre O’Connell). Because a profound revelation is about to drop after some prompting from Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi). Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Penguin: Top Hat – TV Review

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TL;DR – While this is an episode of big action beats, I was more interested in the small conversations that spoke loudly.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this series.

Oz returns home.

The Penguin Review –

Goodness, we are already at the penultimate episode of this series, which is astounding. This season has flown by, but it never felt rushed because it was always captivating. However, as main cast members start dropping like flies, can it keep what is unique about the show all the way to the end?

So, to set the scene, at the end of the last episode, things were starting to look precarious as Sofia Gigante (Cristin Milioti) walks into the house where Oz (Colin Farrell) is trying to keep his mother Francis (Deirdre O’Connell) safe. Vic (Rhenzy Feliz) doesn’t even see it coming, but Sofia does not kill the pair. Only take Francis hostage because she is the best bargaining chip, the only person in all of Gotham City Oz might actually care about. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Penguin: Cant’anni – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is phenomenal character work that had me on the edge of my seat, wondering just what would happen next.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this series.

Sophia in Arkham.

The Penguin Review –

When I first started watching this episode, I mused to myself, ‘Oh, tis the seasons of flashback episodes’. While that first gut reaction did have some truth to it, it did not prepare me for what followed. The depths that we would go to, and how the episode ended.

So, to set the scene, everything was going well in Bliss. That is until Nadia Maroni (Shohreh Aghdashloo) arrives and drops the bomb that not only is Oz (Colin Farrell) playing the two families off each other but that he was the one who killed Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen) back in After Hours. While Vic’s (Rhenzy Feliz) surprise entry into the scene saved everyone from an execution, it still rocks Sofia’s (Cristin Milioti) world, which was already precarious thanks to her time in Arkham. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Penguin: Bliss – TV Review

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TL;DR – A stunning character-focused episode that showed just what a powerful actor Rhenzy Feliz is.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this series.

Vic watches the explosions.

The Penguin Review –


When we first heard that there was going to be a Penguin series, I was not sure how it was going to go. Sure, Colin Farrell was a great side character in The Batmanfilm, but was there enough there to build a series off? Well, if these first three episodes have anything to say about it, the answer is yes.

So, to set the scene, Vic (Rhenzy Feliz) is spending time with his family as he continues to be frustrated with his father that he won’t get paid for all the work he does. Staving off another argument, Vic goes to the roof of a nearby building to watch the fireworks with his girlfriend Graciela (Anire Kim Amoda). But it is not fireworks that go off that election day, but explosions across the city as the sea walls collapse and a surge of water crashes into Crown Heights. Today, Vic is working for The Penguin (Colin Farrell), and they are in a precarious position as two families are circling. Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) is about to make her move, but now they need the Triad’s help. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Slow Horses: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a weird and wonderful delight, where you never know if a character will get a bullet to the head or fart themselves awake.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the AppleTV+ service that viewed this series.

Hodded man holding up the day's newspaper.

Slow Horses Review –

When I dived back into the catalogue of AppleTV+, there was one show that more people had recommended to me than any other. “You have to watch Slow Horses” was the call, and well, I am always one to take a recommendation when it comes as strong as that, and well, I am glad that I did because I am not sure I have ever watched something quite like this.

So, to set the scene, we open in on an airport in England as River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) is on-site leading the hunt for a terrorist. But when a bad call means that information got mixed up and the terrorist got away, River can only watch as the bomb is set off in the middle of peak hour traffic. It was only a training exercise, but it is a stuff up so bad that Cartwright was jettisoned to the worst job in MI5: Slough House. Led by the ever-flatulent Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), there is one word to sum it up: dull. But while Cartwright is looking to find a way out of this purgatory, they may have slipped onto something bigger than anyone that could get them all disappeared. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Last Days of the Space Age: Only Kids Dream About Being Spacemen – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is an interesting, if overwhelming, exploration of the characters that we will be getting to know across the series.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ Service that viewed this series.

The Moon rising through a smashed windscreen.

Last Days of the Space Age Review –

One area that truly excites me is space, its exploration, and the history and impact that it has had on the world. Everyone can cite that one story about a pencil v pen in a spaceship or one small step for man, and that is this far removed in time from when it happened. What must the impact did those events have on the world in the years just after it happened? Well, in today’s series, we explore just that.

So, to set the scene, it is a tumultuous point in Perth’s history as several competing factors look to crash into each other just when the world’s spotlight is placed on the city. These fracture points are brought into stark highlight when a brick goes flying through the front windscreen of Tony (Jesse Spencer) and Judy Bissett’s (Radha Mitchell) as they travel at 60km an hour. How do you get on when you have a house divided? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.     

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