vinterrace

"Tales from Malory Towers" is an audio (podcast) version of the British-Canadian television series "Malory Towers" (seen in the U. S. on BYU-TV). To understand and enjoy the podcast, it is important to know what the TV series is about: Malory Towers, located in Cornwall, England, is a prestigious girl's boarding school where the incidents that befall a group of students, assigned to the North Tower dormitory, are depicted. The main students for the podcast are Darrell Rivers (played by Ella Bright), a doctor's daughter whose temper often gets her into trouble; Gwendolyn Mary Lacey (Danya Griver), the spoiled, rich daughter of a financier; Mary-Lou Linnett (Imogen Lamb), a shy, sensitive girl who lacks courage; Irene Edwards (Natasha Raphael), a talented musician (piano); Beth Bradford (Jean McDonald), a smart girl who is often the one who keeps the peace between her classmates when a situation arises; and Sally Hope (Sienna Arif-Knights), Darrell's best friend, who with Darrell, are always there for each other no matter what happens. There are eleven podcast episodes, each with a different running time (between 10 and 14 minutes that can be heard on the BBC Sounds website. Each episode is presented like a series from the Golden Age of Radio and narrated by either Darrell or Gwen ("It's Gwendolyn Mary Lacey," as she insists, "not Gwen"). Credits are given at the end of each story. Each episode is written especially for the podcast and not based on any TV episodes. The production is first rate and the sound quality excellent but also an issue. Although the girls speak with a mild British accent and are easily understandable on TV, those accents become a bit harder to understand in the audio version (perhaps because the visual aspect of seeing the girls is missing). For anyone who has become a fan of the TV series in the U. S. and chooses to listen to the podcast episodes, this will most likely not become a problem; it just means concentrating on the dialogue and not becoming distracted by what visuals may surround the podcast. If you are looking for different adventures encountered by "The Malory Towers Girls" (as they are called) then "Tales from Malory Towers" will fill the bill; like 1930 and 1940s Old Time Radio, let your imagination become the picture. A worthwhile addition to the "Malory Towers" TV series and book series.

"The Really Loud House," a live-action spin-off from an enjoyable live-action Nickelodeon Christmas TV movie, "A Loud House Christmas" (which was based on the animated series "The Loud House") presents a number of problems, the upmost being "How did this nightmare ever get on the air?" The program does have a large cast for a half-hour sitcom, but it also suffers from being absolutely ridiculous, with characters acting like total idiots. The plot revolves around Lincoln Loud, the only boy in a 13-member family (his parents and 10 sisters). The dialogue appears to have been written by a pre-schooler (that's how intelligent it is) and the parents are just so unbelievable that you can't believe what you are seeing; don't even get me started on the super-ridiculous plots (e.g., Dad, a chef, becoming the family doctor). The Christmas movie, although outrageous in its plot (Lincoln seeking a way to keep his family together for the holiday) was, at least decently acted. The series retains ONLY one good aspect of the movie: the character of Lucy Loud (Aubin Bradley), a very pretty girl whose face is mostly obstructed by her black hair, which covers her eyes (how she can even see is a wonder). She is the spooky one of the family (obsessed with the macabre) and easily accepted as being what she is; the same as in the Christmas movie. Her sisters were portrayed as a bit over the top in the movie but here they have been rewritten (that pre-schooler sure gets around) to act as total embarrassments. Nickelodeon cancelled two decent series, "Side Hustle" and "Warped" for something that should have never seen the light of the day.

Kesha (who originally spelled her name as Ke$ha) first came to my attention when I saw her on an episode of the Nickelodeon series "Victorious" (with Victoria Justice). Although she didn't have a big part on the show, she was eye-catching. When "Conjuring Kesha" finally came to the Travel Channel (it premiered on Discover +) I thought it would be great, like some of the Travel Channel's other supernatural-based series. The concept is there (having a beautiful girl investigate haunted locations--and become really frightened) but the presentation is simply horrible. The scenes are shaky and often presented in a not-so-clear soft focus; Kesha also appears to be using a somewhat antiquated video camera (more like what video tape cameras were like) and to make things even worse, there are video-tape glitches that often pop up (like white streaks flashing across the screen or other video tape defects like large static lines running up and down the screen, as would occur if a piece of video tape was "eaten" by your VCR and this effect would occur if you tried to play it). The glitches also make you feel like there is something wrong with your TV or the cable box. Kesha does invite a celebrity friend (like Whitney Cummings) to accompany her and she does have a camera crew with her but the overall effect is anything but pleasing (although what Kesha encounters is convincing). I hope, if the program receives a second season order, they will do away with the cheesy video effects and the annoying shaky camera technique and focus on Kesha's investigations which would be a lot more enjoyable to watch without all the nonsense.