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Skins: Cook (2010)
pure skins. (this is quite lengthy)
the best example of why skins is what it is.
this episode was Cook's episode of the fourth series and it was a remarkable insight into why cook behaves the way he behaves.
in the previous episode he "punched the f**k out of shanky Williamson" - as his jaded lawyer so elegantly put it- because of his jealousy of Freddie and effy and he is now facing the ramifications. the episode begins with him sitting in a prison cell when he is disturbed by a policewomen to take him to his lawyer; this is where we meet Duncan (paul Kaye) who doesn't seem to care much for anything, and at first thinks cook is a moron because he decides to plea not guilty despite 83 people witnessing the act. cook is given an electronic tag and sent to live with his mother where a strict curfew is in place.
we meet cooks mother (tanya franks); a wealthy conceptual artist with a massive libido and the means to satisfy it (if you get what i mean). we then meet his little brother, who seems quite happy as he plays rock band, and is delighted to find his older brother has returned back home.
cook wakes up and finds his mother in the kitchen with a journalist who is in awe of a picture of cook's mother's breasts. he then takes his brother to school and sorts out his little brother's bullies with the most ominous glance ever. he then goes to college to find that nobody wants to be around him; but then effy and Freddie offer him an olive branch, which he declines, then he notices a bruise across jj's brow, but before finding out who hurt his friend is reluctantly escorted from the premisses by the Dave blunt and his henchman. on his way out he stumbles upon a memorial for Sophia (the girl who overdosed and killed herself in episode 1).
we then find him at Naomi's house trying to get some closure on his feelings (although he doesn't admit this) and goes off shouting defiantly. he goes back to his lawyer's office to discuss his case but is told he doesn't have a case and goes off in a fit of swears and anger to see his mother's work, he also talks to her about his dad and why he was thrown out. he also finds out that his mother had a sexual experience of some kind with Freddie from one of his mother's artworks, who he still resents because of his relationship with effy. this causes him to storm off in sickened silence and accidentally destroys his mother's master piece; this sends her into a state.
he then goes back to his mother's house to discover Freddie waiting for him and then his mother passes out and a tense scene between cook and Freddie follows (about the sex with cook's mum), where cook finds out that he "smashed jj". he then huffs and puffs and cries after realising, yet again, that he is too out of control. he then goes down stairs to find his little brother being brought home by a policeman because he is feeling rebellious (spurred on by cook's return), his mother then brakes down and smashes the rock band drums (how dare she) whilst telling cook that he is like an infection; this prompts him to leave the house with his little brother to go on a drive and nihilistic rampage (violating his curfew in the process), where he realises that his brother is turning into him and this upsets him.
we then find him at Naomi's house once again where he, after leaving his brother on Naomi's sofa, talks about Sophia with Naomi, they share a kiss and Naomi realises cook's fragile and regretful inner core. he then goes back to Duncan to have a talk, and after an emotionally raw conversation he decides to plea guilty and also take the rap for selling drugs to Sophia. he is visited by effy and decides to stop chasing after her. he is then at his court trial where not only his friends show up for support but his little brother also comes to vie for his brother's freedom but that ends with cook walking away morosely. then in the courtroom he is sent down for two weeks and told that he is no longer wanted by his mother. he is then sent to the slammer and gives a look to effy in the last few seconds, to which she replies with a nod (what could this be about).
this episode is the epitome of skins and displays perfectly why it has lasted this long; beautiful cinematography and well composed editing accompanied by an excellent story and relatively strong supporting performances (all bar Luke pasquelino). special note has to be made for jack o'connel though, he delivers an utterly compelling performance and completely wins our sympathies. however his performance did have one down flaw, which was some badly written dialogue, which no matter how good his performance was is still a palpable flaw which does detract from the episode itself. the entire episode is great; the ensemble are the strongest they've been in a long while and the guest stars are so colossal it's unbelievable.
all in all an excellent episode and an insight into why cook is who he is and that he is capable of change.
How Not to Live Your Life: Don and the Wedding (2009)
what an episode!
oh my god this episode was good, for once some proper acting from Dan Clark as don and a cliffhanger (even if it was a bit cliché) i like the character of Sam much better than i like Abby and this episode is a great example of why; she's funnier, more attractive, smarter, and doesn't have whiney dialogue. Sam and don have always been good friends even when don was being a "dick head" and in the last episode they explored their relationship a bit and it subtly done as well but in this episode those subtle feelings that were bubbling under the surface were presented brilliantly and shown by the good acting of both actors and then there was all the funniness in between the little trips into don's Psyche and obviously ms treatcher, the character of Dave explains a lot about don and how he is i also really like his wife and her friends when Sam absolutely owns them at the hen party. in summary brilliant episode can't wait to find out what happens next series.
Chuck: Chuck Versus the Dream Job (2009)
absolutely what i predicted, but still absolutely brilliant!
wow, what an episode, for once you see a properly emotional performance from Levi, in all the other episodes he's so repetitive but in this Scott bakula's role really supported him in his role.
chuck is always a great show; it has the right amount of drama, action and comedy to balance it but it's like the speed distance time triangle in a sense, with the comedy being on top supporting the other aspects of the show but that usually doesn't matter because it's awesome and in this episode the drama is nailed to the top making this episode one of the best of the series.
now i predicted with the clues they had put in the series that when chuck's dad showed up, he would be orion, and how brilliantly Mr. bakula played it; recluse dad by day- super computer hacker by night.
9/10 for this episode bravo Mr.bakula.
Doctor Who: The Next Doctor (2008)
doctor who presents "hard times"
this is a good episode and i enjoyed it but the dialogue was poor yet again by Russel t Davis and the direction was sloppy at times. this is essentially hard times but with a few twists; instead of a business man it's a cyberking and the setting is Victorian Britain, there's a labour force a lot like hard times and the new doctor is being hunted down by cybermen, a lot like gradgrind Jr. being hunted down by the business man. the performances are exceptional, considering the rushed and badly plotted script. David tenant plays his part to a tee and despite the previous comment it was consistent with his other performances and not over the top. morissey stood out and plays turmoil really well and his character resembles the turmoil of Louisa from hard times.
if you like doctor who then this is a good story but if you don't and are just passionate about the art of film then avoid at all costs as this wasn't the serial's best. also in my opinion the best scripts of the series are written by Steven moffat even though some of his plots are flawed.
You Have Been Watching (2009)
the parody/ review thing with quick wit and a pessimistic host... bravo!
this is a review show from Charlie Brooker which parodies other quiz shows. i hadn't heard much of Charlie brooker before i saw this, i had only seen dead set and i didn't think too highly of it. but this is quality despite the naysayers, there isn't canned laughter it's genuine giggles and hysteria, i haven't seen screen wipe so i don't know whether the guy who commented before me had a valid comparison but I'm not willing to trample this ingenious creation. it's funny the way that he takes a show that's doing relatively well and then tramples it into nothing, i definitely want to see more of this show. bravo Mr brooker.
watch this if you love funny stuff