DoctorStrabismus

When I was at school a very long time ago, the early 1960s in fact, we had an inspirational English teacher who instilled in me a lifelong love of Shakespeare. He spoke of those who doubted the authenticity of some of hos works, and he said "the really important issue you all have to grasp here is whether the plays were written by Shakespeare, or by somebody who called himself Shakespeare!" And that was really the nub of it.

We have enjoyed every episode of 'Upstart Crow', and the brilliance of Ben Elton shines though. But this one was very special in its perfect spoof of Mark Rylance and all others who devote their 21st century time and effort to questioning just who it was who sat down with a quill pen more than 400 years ago, and wrote this magnificent body of work.

So Ben Miller was "The Actor Wolf Hall", showing off his specific facial expressions for the three Thomases, these being Wolsey, Cromwell and More. It happens by chance that we have also been watching 'Wolf Hall' and this has put a whole new light on all those deep and meaningful silent expressions of Rylance. We fall about laughing!

Well done, Ben Elton and Ben Miller!

10/10.

We have really enjoyed the first two episodes of Ellis, so it was a shame to go out on this confused pile of mush.

What really made the Ellis character was the palpable tension that existed between her and the ultra-defensive, highly-dubious, non-performing police forces she was sent along by Leighton to sort out. Here she had a sort of bumbling country bumpkin lot, amiable pheasant-pluckers every single one of them, and no real tension whatever.

And no real plot either.

In the first two episodes, Ellis would stride purposefully in wearing that calf-length coat, just like a wild-west character in one of those long 'dusters' of which Clint Eastwood was so fond. Dare I say an authentic Eastwood re-creation as a "not-so-pale rider", and this gave her so much screen presence and forcefulness. Here she was just being nice to everyone, even just about nice to the painful Lydia of multiple surnames, whom she surely should have had cuffed and taken out of the equation, sans mobile, until the crime(s) were solved. All this surfeit of niceness was such a reversal of character, someone of whom we get glimpses of being deep-down nice underneath, but who gets things done by being tough when she has to be.

4/10, and we will hope for better if the series comes back.

I think that title quote paraphrases the late Tommy Docherty, and sums up this whole aimless and pointless effort. Richard Harrington very rapidly used up his full stock of ten facial expressions, at least two of which are 'confused', and it was downhill all the way from there.

I really can't believe I watched this right through to the end, and I think it was only for the Welsh. My work took me to that nation for some years, long long ago, and I made an effort to acquire a basic smattering of the language, so I was interested to hear it spoken again. But of course the dialogue was way too fast for me, and I was totally reliant upon the subtitles.

And what did I see? A convoluted story with more plot holes than a Swiss cheese, and incompetence upon incompetence from the two central police officers. As for the ending, the very final shot, well no, NO, NOOOOO!

I should give it one, but for the small enjoyment I had trying to follow the Welsh, so a very generous three out of ten.

Now go away, Harrington boyo, and don't come back, OK?