martimusross

The Cockfields

Wow, has situational comedy really sunk to these depths, bland characters expressing inner micro-observations population by gross and offensive stereotypes. How can this script have been given the green light, why does this tripe exist at all.

It clearly seemed to tap into The Royale Family as an example of this type of kitchen sink drama, however that was inspired comedy writing this is a car crash of epic proportions?

But clearly the key criticism was it failed the minimum bar of 5 out loud laughs per episode, I didn't laugh once! Take this show off the BBC, remove it from iPlayer, bin the script, burn the video tape and shoot the writers. I'm thinking of hypnotism to erase it from my memory so it never existed.

I'm giving this a week one out of 10 it was terrible. No one watch this. It was mind numbing tripe!

We Live In Time

This was a real mixed bag of the good and bad. What was bad the cutting backwards and forwards in time, it was just to frequent and just to many times. The only way we could tell which segment we were in was the hairstyles on Florence Pugh, this trick has been done before. I think it grated and perhaps a simple linear story would have been far more powerful.

The supposed time shifting was meant to highlight pivotal moments in their relationship, but as the script writers ran out of material these became ever more absurd. I won't identify these dodgy scenes but we all know which ones in hindsight.

I must mention the food, this looked mostly disgusting and should have gone from stove to bin and cut out the middle man. This elevating of micro-portions with a kiwi jus to something we supposedly desire when we all want KFC and a steak-bake from Greggs is pushing a worldview and the aberration that is Herne Hill and denying the virtues of our fabulous British cuisine.

What was good, the camerawork, the music and sets. But we had some stellar acting hitters in Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, they could turn anything into a Shakespearean drama with their intuitive thespianic skills and micro gestures. Their relationship was believable despite the script lol. Why oh why do we not get some great parts for Andrew he can do anything!

Largely I was irritated and manipulated by the contrivances and the movie left an unsatisfactory taste in the mouth. The central leads tried their very best and their chemistry felt real, but the script was a banal reworking of the movie Love Story. I think it worth a watch so I'm going to give this a week 6 out of 10 meaning enjoy the ride but don't expect anything else.

Amandaland

This was quite a spin-off, who would have believed it. It was perfect from start to finish.

We had a script that had me laughing out loud every 30 seconds. Some great characters and the cherry on top Joanna Lumley.

I loved it and I think there is great potential for a second and third series, take Amanda on holiday to Spain, put her in amateur dramatics, make her do volunteering after a brush with the law, make her a school governor, there is some future comedy gold here.

One thing I particularly liked with all the up-to-date modern references that this sitcom sent up from start to finish. But really the stand out excellence of this show was the brilliant ensemble acting an amazing comic timing.

I am going to give this a firm 10 out of 10. I will watch it again and again.