BabsbytheBeach

I just finished Dr. Blake Mysteries and came across APtCH, what a lucky stumble (I've watched 3 episodes). I am bored with shows from the US, where I am from, and love BBC and now Australian shows. What I love about them are the global and historical story lines. Blake is set in the 1959, APtCH is also in the 1950s, Foyle's War begins in 1930s. All of these fantastic shows beautifully weave in what is going on politically, wars, race relations, class structures, women's (lack of) rights, and so on.

Some gems: * Marta Dusseldorp--Sarah Adams--a strong leading actor who can carry the weight of a scene with gravitas and depth. Her haunting looks enables you to feel a pain that the writers brilliantly hold off revealing until later episodes. * Noni Hazlehurst--Elizabeth Bligh-- she is a character I love to hate and hate to love. I love how the writers do not allow you to put her into any fixed category. She is such a fine actor you never know where she is going to take you but you willingly follow her there because she is that fantastic. * Brett Climo-- George Bligh--what I enjoy about his role as patriarch is that he is present without being overwhelming. I can't wait until they cut him loose. * Craig Hall--Jack Duncan--he, like George Bligh's character, have suggestions of depth, Duncan's role is becoming more fleshed out and I like where it is heading. * David Berry--James Bligh--his anguish, he wears on his sleeve, but it seems the writers have pulled him back a bit, which is welcome. * Abby Earl--Anna Bligh--she, to me, is the most refreshing character. Her humor and representation of the younger generation is fantastic. Instead of setting her up as a bitchy-foil, which is where most US shows would have thrown her, she is a joy to watch.

I will leave it here, as I am sure you want to read other reviews, but my thumbs are up in the air for APtCH!

I cannot believe BBC even thought about canceling "Ripper Street." Beautifully written, amazingly acted, you believe these characters are from the turn of the century. They bring a weight of their time to their acting. I decided to give it a go when I saw that Matthew Mcfayden, who broke through in "MI-5", another of my favorite shows, was heading the cast. And I am so glad that I did. RS has not had a slow moment or a poorly written episode. Each one is gritty, detailed and sucks you into the muck of Whitechapel. The (anti-)comradery between Mcfayden's, Rothenberg's and Flynn's characters makes the shows that much richer. Instead of just using it as an easy hook, they really develop their interactions to move the plots into very uncomfortable areas. Friggin brilliant show!

When I read an article in The Guardian, "Why working-class actors are a disappearing breed," I thought, wrong, they underestimated the disappearing. It's not only the working class actors getting muscled out, but the shows about working class families as well. "Raised by Wolves," is one of the smartest and bravest TV shows I have ever watched. Caitlin and Caroline Moran's brilliant scripts maintain lightening fast verbal and visual jokes. From their first episode about a middle sister's first period, which The Herald labeled a "bloody mess"--those bloody buffoons missed the bloody jokes--to their kick ass mother played by Rebekah Staton. What I truly love about this series (that could never be shown in the puritanical US) is that the Moran sisters wrote honestly and brutally about how girls grow up and out: embarrassing bra and underwear fittings; even more embarrassing feminine hygiene products' awkward and horrifying sexuality; hormones; poverty; boys, boys, men, boys; and the utter embarrassment a teen feels about those you are related to. FRIGGIN BRILLIANT!