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Reviews
A Touch of Frost: No Other Love (1997)
Beware a man in uniform
This truly shocking episode works on many levels. You have an army man who will gleefully father a child with his own flesh. Frost looked stunned. The viewers are left stunned. Yet it's all believable. That's thanks to the acting of David Jason. The episode woves a standard thread of murder that you think leads you to the suspect. However a member of the cops is surprisingly a victim. Truly haunting. What about the scene in Blackpool? You have a girl protecting her sister. She tries to run and hide but all her family know the disturbing truth beneath all their eye contact. The family are the criminals. Frost has exposed the reality.
Who Killed Jill Dando? (2023)
Part 3 never asked one question
The question being where was Barry George when Jill was shot ? This was half eleven on morning of 26 April 1999. They didn't ask Barry himself who they managed to get who had put on a considerable amount of weight in 23 years since the events. He was never asked so he didn't have to volunteer the answer. They didn't ask the copper who lead the investigation had they determined his location at the time of the murder. They even showed police footage of him being interviewed but was never asked his location. Proving it was elsewhere would have straight away ruled him out .
This sort of question would have been asked on a popular crime television programme at the time The Bill. Also where was the motive ? Was he lying that he didn't know nor even heard of Jill Dando? Did he even watch television at all ? One amusing aside was his Steve Majors jumper he wore whilst doing an evil knievel stunt . That was clearly a nod to Steve Austin /Lee Majors who was the six million dollar man .
At the end of it all it is interesting that the head policeman is still convinced that they got the right man originally despite having too much circumstancial evidence on him . Whether or not though was it right that the police stop their investigations into her death ? Are they not undermining their very own British legal system?
Minder: You Gotta Have Friends (1980)
The natural habitat of Terry McCann
As someone else pointed out there is a totally different vibe to this intriguing episode that probably requires repeat viewing.
The plot itself is pretty straightforward Minder stuff but where Dennis Waterman takes centre stage and where George Cole as Arthur was originally planned to stay as a sort of comic sidekick.
Terry has a huge flirtatious section with the almost irresistible Deborah Grant and it's no coincidence that it does play like an episode of Bergerac which started its own long run on BBC a couple of years later.
Anyway it all ends with Arthur being a fool of ( which George Cole didn't mind for whatever reason) and Terry saving the day and punching the bad guy in a vicious and very dangerous and convincing manner.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Hitch Hike (1960)
Robert Morse does his best James Dean !
Robert Morse is front and centre in this brief tale of a so called James Deansesque juvenile delinquent who seems to have been just released from detention and looks relieved from it .
Even Suzanne Pleshette in a weak role could double for Natalie Wood ( they were even of similar age ) .
McIntire plays the higher moral ground against them for most of the journey until he's caught by a cop speeding. After he's gone Morse finally shows he's a rebel with a cause as he pickpockets the cop in aid of McIntire . The latter essentially calls it quits with our delinquent and the three of them carry on their journey as the drama ends.
Knight Rider: The Scent of Roses (1986)
Knight Rider goes James Bond OHMSS
In this thrilling episode Michael seems to be genuinely torn between the gorgeous Stevie and his erstwhile employer FLAG. After a close call with death thanks to a Blofeld type character yet again Michael decides to call it a day.
He reunites with his long lost love and sets up a wedding that quickly ends in tragedy not totally dissimilar to the 1969 Bond movie On her majesty's secret service. While it took James Bond another movie (Diamonds are forever) and another actor (Sean Connery) and a gap of 2 years to get revenge of sorts on his wife's death Michael does it in double quick time by dangerously meeting up in a basically gauntlet type situation as cleverly pointed out by KITT. He turns the tables on this set up and after avoiding a bunch of missiles that only James Bond could achieve he finally reminds the bad guy that he would rather see him do a long spell in prison than merely kill him.
In the end scene Michael finally decides to return to FLAG on a beach similar to the one where James Bond meets Tracey at the start of On her majesty's secret service . A poignant scene in a truly tragic and simultaneously fantastic episode.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Crackpot (1957)
Bizarre connection to Halloween 1978
The plot is of course typically twistian Hitchcockian . A man helps a couple change a tyre of their car . The man seems pleasant then let's loose when the husband dirties the man's expensive looking suit . The couple are aghast at the man's change in temperament. The man doesn't want to know when the husband offers to pay for cleaning the man's suit .
The story then proceeds to the hotel of the honeymooning couple . Things seems fine momentarily until that man reappears as having booked a room . This man known as Moon stalks the couple and their room but does he have a genuine ulterior motive?
What is really bizarre is the connection to hallowe'en 1978 . The couple's surname is Loomis. Donald Pleasance played Dr Sam Loomis . The second cop's name is even Sergeant Carpenter. John Carpenter directed the original 1978 version and worked in a production capacity on others in the franchise. Obviously a total coincidence!
Minder: All Quiet on the West End Front (1994)
The two female characters are key to this episode
Arthur decides he wants to dive into the London west end and make a quick profit from tourists who want a good time on the town .
He gets a quick lesson on the scam from another business man ( Ian McNeice). Then two women get involved with Ray (Natasha McEnroe and Samantha Janus) . Ray for some reason is very attracted to McEnroe and only considers Janus a good friend when probably it should be the other way round . How Ray feels about them is probably the central theme of the episode.
Eventually McEnroe gets sussed out as the dodgy character she is and Janus sings her delights to Ray and everything ends up just fine .
Minder: A Taste of Money (1993)
Arthur thinks he's heading to a pot of Aussie gold
Ray and Arthur had got word that they are up for a possible inheritance from an Australian relative Joshua Daley from the previous episode. They are given a couple of tickets to Sydney to contest the inheritance from other relatives.
At all times in this episode Arthur is absolutely positive he will get the inheritance and they book into a plush hotel and lap it up with expensive booze and food (apparently Mel Gibson couldn't afford it). They engage an attractive lawyer (Nikki Coghill) to confirm their case. Sadly she turns out to be pretty useless , literally! Meanwhile Ray and Arthur go to the Joshua's home territory but get lost and thankfully rescued by their very own Australian minder Bill McCabe (Simon Childers). They learn eventually the whole exercise was a waste of time but find themselves stuck down under in the end !
The Professionals: Killer with a Long Arm (1978)
Gripping from start to finish
A long gun is brought into the country via ferry and the guys find out about it and its links to the Greek community. The bad guys use a golf course and an innocent golfer to test it for whatever reason .
Of course they're not thinking of the long arm of the law . Why is it here ? They're using it for a political murder at Wimbledon finals day and using an apartment within range . It's up to our heroes to find them and their apartment. Naturally they save the day but only just . It's also reminder of the importance of their jobs . If this happened in the real world Wimbledon would be cancelled forever or certainly for a few years . A disaster for all sports fans.
Minder: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Retiring (1993)
Another side of the business
Have you noticed there was no motor vehicle belonging to Arthur Daley in sight?
Here we show Ray trying to take over the business and Arthur pretending he wants to retire from the business. If you notice Arthur only tries to retire halfheartedly and then pretends to Ray that he actually wants to retire. It comes together over a dealbreaker with some costume jewellery. Ray simply wants to make a profit from the transaction. Arthur cleverly identifies that whilst this is normally a confidence trick maybe there is something more involved.
Arthur brings Ray to Delilah (a character played by the adorable Liz Fraser )and they solve the puzzle.
The Sweeney: Jack or Knave (1978)
Regan treated like a common criminal
This episode involves Richard Griffiths and his bent registration plates . However the more important story is Regan and accusations of corruption on his part with no support coming from Canning ( nobody played a slimy copper better than Barry Ingham )
When regan is arrested he's frogmarched into a cell and even asked to remove his belt and tie thus being treated like a common criminal. Now step in Carter and with no help coming from Canning must do his own legwork. He finds out about an old girlfriend Gloria who was a typist at Regan's own section , who helps him get off his charges. However at the end Regan shows his disdain towards the bureaucratic nonsense he must put up with and threatens to resign and leaves in a taxi. I think he did resign as we never see any more Sweeney episodes or even a TV movie given its huge popularity in the mid 70s and that sure is finality . Dennis Waterman was probably also too busy with his own popular show Minder to put to bed any Sweeney return. The London Sweeney had just lost a great asset in Jack Regan.
Minder: The Cruel Canal (1991)
Cassettes vs recorders confusion
The whole spine of the plot is Big Dai ( a wonderfully crafted bible quoting character from Anthony O Donnell) and him missing a few video cassettes of his old Welsh boxing days .
Arthur is informed of this and mistakes this for his latest dodgy deal of purchasing quite a few video recorders from equally dodgy electronic dealer Two Tone . What follows is Arthur's decision to transport the recorders (with Ray) on an old canal boat to Two Tone's retail outlet inspired by a couple of old quotes from Winston Churchill! All the while Big Dai is doing his own malicious investigations .
Arthur and Ray of course encounter their own difficulties and adventures going down the canal ( water rats and monopoly cheating)before finally getting to their destination but to find the painful truth from Big Dai and Two Tone.
Arthur and Ray head back strangely delighted with their sentimental journey.
The Bill: Complicity: Part 1 (2001)
The bill goes fast and furious
The fast and the furious was released in the UK in September 2001. This was transmitted in UK television screens a few months before. Who can accuse this famous television show of not being with the times ? Raji James takes centre stage in this episode and yes he does seem to fancy himself as a vin diesel character. Raji is most well known for East is East and was well regarded on this show.
It's a double episode blockbuster with a car cruise . Raji makes full use of car registration copper tracking. Eventually of course everything is investigated and sorted like pretty much everything on this show.
Minder: Him Indoors (1991)
Hiring a decaffeinated tea leaf
Arthur pays the price for hiring and trusting Ron (Kenneth Colley) for installing a security system on the cheap. This sort of formula of him hiring dodgy handymen was used to much better effect in other episodes and there is something off (or badly written ) about this one . Watch out for a pre Bill Simon Rouse in another appearance as a high ranked copper . We have Arthur swigging vodka thanks to the generosity of his old Barman pal Dave in the lockup when I doubt he needed to be there in the first place and attempting to feed some of the vodka to a dangerous dog to quieten him down.
Bizarre episode overall.
Black Bird: WhatsHerName (2022)
What's really spooky about this show is...
How Taron Egerton looks like jake McLaughlin. So in the climatic scene we see Larry talking to his brother Gary and they're about the girls they met and all that . Yet it's like as if Larry is talking to James yet again. Is this deliberate on the part on the filmmakers or am I just imagining things ? Guess we will find out.
Loot: Hot Seat (2022)
Undeniably stupid show but fun episode
This is worth watching for the hot chicken wings YouTube interview with Maya Rudolph which is beyond hilarious. I also liked the relationship between the straight black guy and the gay Korean guy where they seem to be helping each other out with relationships being very honest with each other in the process.
Physical: Don't You Want Me (2022)
Energetic start to the new season
Sheila now has promoted herself to direct selling her workout videotape in - store where she seems to have mixed success but she's not giving up !! Her husband is giving off bad vibes so her friend says two words : lawyers and divorce. However almost in sync the husband retorts he'll do anything to keep her including being a stay at home dad . She agrees to stay with him but how long will they last ?
Minder: A Fridge Too Far (1994)
Arthur gets double two times
Arthur gets done by a couple of blokes and then gets a very conniving revenge . Mum's the word . The bingo scene is truly the highlight of the whole series.
Prehistoric Planet: Coasts (2022)
Visually appealing but same old things
Dinosaurs are basically made up word for animals in the prehistoric era . So what did they get up to in this "made up bit of guesswork " documentary? Well the same as animals in present day on the coast anyway. They feed themselves, sometimes at war with neighbours, seek mates and create younger spawn . That's about it and of course David Attenborough could do this in his sleep which he sounds like he's doing.
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey: Sensia (2022)
Just fantastic drama from Sam Jackson
Much more enjoyable than the first two episodes as he gets more injections and his memories start flooding back . It takes us back to 1976 and he meets his old girlfriend Sensia . Events conspire such that this triggers his mind on where this mysterious buried treasure is which is much closer to home than he thought. The episode ends with him "digging " for it . However is his mind playing tricks with him? Guess we'll find out in episode 4.
Cocktail (1988)
Bryan Flanagan seeks wisdom and truth
Finally light dawns on his marble head. His buddy dies at the same time he falls in love with unexpectedly the girl of his dreams. Why love this film!? Well it has Tom cruise before he became Ethan Hunt and a old fashioned tale that would warm any heart in the Bahamas. After all a barman is the aristocracy of the working class. Right?!?
The Afterparty: Zoë (2022)
Zoe the animated schizophrenic!!
This episode uses animated fun to show us the many faceted personalities of Zoe . Even though we are not really given any new exposition (except for the nuclear bunker hiding room!) maybe it was Zoe who did it. However was it fun Zoe , was it normal Zoe or was it Mama Bear 🐻 Zoe ?!? That's why she told the detective she didn't do it , she doesn't even know she has split personalities !!
Servant: Ring (2022)
Excellent episode where things happen!!
Too many episodes have nothing happening, this is the opposite!! There is hiring going on here . The guys get a guy for internal house security for Jericho but he seems more interested in Leanne. Another sous chef is hired but she has a gruesome accident involving a ring . Those people keep on staring at Leanne but she prefers to dance her troubles away. Highly entertaining.
The Afterparty: Brett (2022)
Never laughed so much
The laughs come thick and fast in this episode centred on the character Brett who not only gives plenty of reasons to kill the Dave Franco character but also somehow points out another female character who could have done the dirty deed. We get to see more of Franco himself and hams it up brilliantly to give us logical reasoning that someone might have killed him yet it's all done with knowing clever sarcasm.
The Morning Show: A Private Person (2021)
This episode did not miss Alex/Jennifer Aniston
It's the best episode of the show so far. Why? Bizarrely it wasn't constrained by its biggest star, Jennifer Aniston. Her storyline so far this season has been strangely uninteresting and her acting has been actually poor. So. Step forward Reese Witherspoon to save the day with a truly spectacular performance in this episode. She finally admits she's in love with Laura and it takes the actions of Billy Crudup's character and her brother to force her to admit it . A tour de force ms Witherspoon .