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Reviews
Douglas Is Cancelled (2024)
It's not a comedy, but it is very good drama...
Great stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and watched it all in one sitting. I thought the acting was very good, especially that of Karen Gillan who, over the course of the four episodes, portrayed many different character traits extremely well. Ben Miles as producer Toby also portrayed more than one character dimension - including one that was cringingly disturbing. Hugh Bonneville was very Hugh Bonneville, so he made a decent job of that as you might expect. Alex Kingston maybe had most of the 'comedic' lines in portraying a ball-busting Red Top editor, but overall I would class Douglas is Cancelled as drama rather than a comedy. It definitely was not in any way trying to emulate any aspect of W1A, so don't watch this expecting something similar. But...do watch it if you enjoy very entertaining drama with excellent acting from the main characters.
Maryland (2023)
Better than most reviews
I have to say that I enjoyed this more than most reviews suggest I should have. Whilst it did seem slightly implausible that the mother could in any practical sense spend so much time away from home as the story required she had, the premise of a parallel life away from her domestic situation (and husband) was understandably appealing to her. The evolving relationship between the daughters was the main thread throughout, and although the 'spiky testiness becomes newly found reconciliation and affection' is a path well trodden, I felt it played out well. I rather enjoyed the performances of Suranne Jones and Eve Best as their relationship evolved over the three episodes. Whilst the dad was a bit of a cliche character for me, and the karaoke story brought nothing to the party, I enjoyed Maryland and watched all episodes back to back. I recommend.
The Teacher (2022)
OK story, but laughable 'Yorkshire' setting
There are other reviews here picking holes in the plot and some of the script, but I found the series moderately engaging and watchable. But what really grated throughout was the ridiculous setting of the story in Bradford when none of the external or internal scenes bore the slightest resemblance to anything either British or Bradford. The whole story could or should have just been set in Hungary so that every time Sheridan Smith stepped out of her very European style apartment's door into her very non-Bradford street setting I didn't want to shout, "that's so not Yorkshire!!". All that apart, Sheridan Smith was definitely the best aspect of this series which I did binge watch and quite enjoyed; comedy location notwithstanding.