Reviews

Miranda is a throwback to the classic female led comedies of the 1960's like I Love Lucy and the Carol Burnett Show Like those two legendary funny ladies of days gone by Miranda Hart is masterful at pulling hysterical faces, many of them at the camera as she reacts and comments to the viewers her observations of what's happening on the screen. She is an extremely tall (often gets mistaken for a man} and socially awkward woman . Many of the funny scenes as in many great British comedies involve Miranda desperately attempting to extricate herself from awkward, embarrassing situations. She has a mate, Gary whom she fancies and sets out trying to win his heart but has her lack of self confidence due to her physical stature and shyness to overcome. In spite of it all she is wickedly funny and utterly charming. You want her to succeed in her quest to win Gary over. Will it happen for her? You will have to watch for yourself.

My wife and I love Shakespeare and Hathaway. We are American viewers .We have only just found out that this wonderful program is shown on daytime telly in Britain. And also the great show Moving On is shown in the afternoon there. Speaks volumes of the quality of television in the UK. There are few programs here in prime time as good. I digress. What is so special about this show then? The 3 lead actors. They have great chemistry together. Lu Shakespeare is one of the private investigators. She drives a little red Mini that her partner Frank Hathaway calls a hair dryer on wheels. Lu has a bubbly personality, always happy and smiling. She is the sweetest most feminine cop or detective character I've ever seen. Frank is the lovable portly male detective. Invaluable to the show is their assistant, Sebastian who is a trained actor that Frank and Lu use his acting abilities to go undercover to find information. His disguises and role plays are hilarious. The murder plots are secondary to the playful banter between Lu, Frank, and Sebastian. Another thing I like is neither Frank and Lu are portrayed as sleuth geniuses. Sometimes Frank solves it, sometimes Lu does and they sometimes stumble onto it. Also the show is set in Stratford Upon Avon and Shakespeare buffs would appreciate the lines from the Bard that are often quoted. The scenery is gorgeous. We have just finished the third series. The first two series were a tad better than the third. However the biggest flaw of the first 2 series was Inspector Christina Marlowe, the glum unsmiling nemesis of Frank and Lu. I groaned when she appeared, a dreadful character played by a wooden actress. Thankfully they got rid of her after Series 2. Series 3 was mostly good, and the writers seemed to be going more for comedy. Some of the slapstick from Frank was a bit cringe worthy. A couple shows from Series 3 were tedious. Now we are awaiting Series 4. I would like to see from Series 4 more scenes with Inspector Joe, the Frank hating full of himself cop. He is hilarious in his over the top arrogance. A new character from Series 3 is PC Viola. She seems to fancy Sebastian a bit and would love to see some interaction between those two. And she's drop dead gorgeous!

For you American readers of a certain age this show kinda reminded me of the old Andy Griffith Show. Like Andy Griffith it begins with a catchy tune , a soft rendition of Somewhere Beyond The Sea sung beautifully by a female British singer in a folksy ballad style. It's a perfect theme song for this program. The Cafe is billed as a comedy. If you are expecting typical off the wall raucous British humor you have come to the wrong place. Instead the jokes are a bit corny. The kind that would appeal mainly to older folk but that's OK. The show is set in a seaside British town called Weston Super Mare. The jokes ,the dialogue, and laid back characters all fit in this environment. The title Cafe is struggling to attract customers. The cafe is run by a middle aged woman named Carol. Her daughter and Mum frequent the cafe most of the day shooting the breeze with one another. Where this comedy differs from most modern day comedies is the comedy here is gentle, not the mean spirited smart ass urban dwellers that most comedies are based on today. There are oddball characters that visit The Cafe, a loopy hairdresser that loves to say "OMG", a gay guy that wears weird costumes on the beach for tips and a homeless bloke that sits outside the cafe selling newspapers homeless folks sells. He begs for food from the proprietor of the restaurant and she reminds him that he gets it at the end of the day. None of these characters are over the top and you grow to like them. I know others may find it annoying but I love how everyone says laters constantly to each other when they depart. I have adopted it myself. One thing about the show that I love is how kind and nice everyone is to one another. You watch it hoping the cafe is a success and that the daughter finally gets her book published. The seaside location looks lovely too.

I watched the first episode and thought the show looked promising. Upon watching episodes 2 and 3 I became bored with it. I found that each episode had the same formula. Always a chase of some sort within the first 15 minutes of the show. Chases on foot, on golf cart, with a car etc. I don't really see the chemistry between the the 2 main actors that other reviewers have stated. Comparisons have been made between the Mallorca Files and Moonlighting. The male lead here, Julian Looman is woefully lacking in the charisma department. His acting is very wooden. He mumbles his lines. He doesn't have the swagger this role requires. The actress that plays the Chief of Police of Mallorca is quite laughably bad. Some reviewers have said it gets better after the first few episodes. So I'm not giving up completely on it.

Just watched series 1 episode 1 of this drama. This episode right off the bat commenced in a furious argument, (or row as the Brits call it) between husband and wife while the young children are listening in the background frightened. Without giving the plot away the story contained scenes of adultery and violence with some f bombs thrown in. The violence is graphic , you cringe and can almost feel the punches yourself as you are watching. There is no way this show would make it past American censors. I was drawn in quickly from the first scene until the conclusion. A tragic occurrence caused by one of the characters happens about 15 minutes into the episode. After the tragedy each character swings back and forth from blaming someone else to blaming themselves. They all have feeling of anger. Sadness , and guilt. The director does a magnificent job showing close ups of the guilt ridden angry and sad faces of each character. The actors were all superb, each one did a great job portraying their angst delivering their lines and in their facial expressions. There were no wasted scenes throughout the entire hour long episode. I was very moved by this episode and it compelled me to do some research into the program. First of all I enjoyed the outdoor scenes of the gritty titled street of the show. I would not exactly call it a slum. But it looks like the type of street that has seen its share of late night boozy brawls. This street is inhabited by tough, hard nosed working class Brits. No Little Lord Fauntleroys or Lady Chatterleys live here. Evidently there were many well known stars of British cinema and telly that starred in some episodes. I recognized the lead from the one I watched as Jane Horrocks the ditzy blonde from AbFab. She did a great job in her lead dramatic role. One of my all time favorite British actors Bob Hoskins is in another one. Can't wait to see that!

My wife and I have watched the first 3 seasons of Bread and we both love it.It is often described as the Northern England version of Only Fools and Horses. For my money, Bread is superior to the beloved Only Fools. The series is about the close knit Boswell family that live in a bleak row-house estate flat in the gritty city of Liverpool. The family consists of the devout Catholic, tough, separated Mum, Nellie Boswell and her 5 grown children ,four sons and one daughter, all living together. Jean Boht , in a role she seemingly was born to play does a simply magnificent job portraying Nellie. She dotes on her children, cooking meals for them and for the cranky Granddad that lives next door. The family always sit together at mealtime while they take turns knocking on Granddad's door ,tray in hand , bringing his meal. He rudely grabs the tray, complaining about the meal and slams the door. None of the family has a proper job, They all exploit Britain's generous welfare system and all have schemes to bring in money which they all contribute to Nellie in a bowl during a pre - dinner ritual. One of the show's strengths is these actors have wonderful charisma and they seem like a real family. The eldest son Joey is a handsome smooth talking leather clad Jaguar driving dude that serves as a surrogate father to his siblings in the absence of Nellie's husband. He regales the skeptical female welfare office worker with tales of new expenses the family has incurred, all for a bigger welfare check. He is supremely confident and wise and he always has advice for his bewildered brothers. His brother Adrian, a recently laid off real estate salesman, has a pretty blonde oversexed girlfriend and he cannot satisfy her voracious desires. He is quite embarrassed by it and is very nervous with her. He is philosophical about it all. The youngest son Billy , is a father to a little girl named Franchesca. He earns money first by busking and when that didn't work out, sells sandwiches from his cranky little car. He cannot figure out his sarcastic girlfriend Julie and he is not ready for fatherhood. The other brother Jack, earns money finding or buying junk and selling it for profit. His character so far is the least interesting. Then there is the ditzy lone sister Aveline. She is a delight. The brothers are fiercely protective of her. She aspires to be a model and her life revolves around it. Her catchphrase is "I need to do me modeling". Gilly Coman is simply adorable as Aveline. Every line she delivers makes me laugh or smile. Smaller roles are Freddie Boswell and Lilo Lil. Freddie is Nellie's husband and the kids father that left the family for his mistress Lilo Lil. Freddie cannot make his mind up which woman he wants , he bounces back and forth to his family and Lilo Lil, of which Nellie often says "she's a tart". This comedy is so enjoyable , the half hour just breezes by. It has a bit of a soap opera feel to it, there's a story line wrapped up around the comedy. I am eager to find out what happens to this Boswell family. I love the outdoor scenes of Liverpool and the Liverpool accents too. Another British comedy gem.