sgodrich Reviews

Mike & Molly (2010–2016)

Situation comedy at its best

[9/10 · 2 November 2017]

Mike and Molly are two members of 'Overeaters Anonymous' who met, dated and fell in love. Mike is a police officer and Molly is a fourth grade teacher and the show centres around their families and work lives.

Mike's family consists of his battle axe of a mother who loves her boy and resents having to share Mike's affections with Molly. Molly's family are her alcoholic mother and drugged up sister. Despite the negative connotations of those labels, they are lovely people but Molly has to be the adult in the family.

We also get to meet and enjoy Mike's partner's family (Carl and his Nana). Nana both adores Carl but is cuttingly harsh with him too and had me in hysterics every time she appeared.

The stories are light and generally with an emotional touch included. The families, jobs and general situations are enjoyable to watch and give you another glimpse into the lives of this lovely couple.

I'll warn you (spoiler alert) that Season 4 starts with Molly deciding to quit teaching to become a writer and her personality goes of on a tangent for 5 or 6 episodes. Combine this with the new (and not as good) opening credit sequence and you start to feel that there have been too many executive changes and they have spoilt a winning formula to gain a few digits in viewing figures. (This strategy almost always fails, why they do it I have no idea!) My advice is to stick with it, the Molly we all know and love will come back although there are plenty of 'stupid moments' that seem to be a forced change to Molly's personality. Not a disaster but a touch annoying.

To finish, I will say I was disappointed to learn the show was cancelled but I'll advise you to keep watching because there is an ending of sorts. I won't spoil it but it's both a great place to leave them but also leaves you wanting more. I clicked the show off after the last episode (Watch for Chuck Lorre's story card at the end for a nice message) and felt a sadness in my heart knowing I laughed, I cried (well, nearly) and that there are no more Mike and Molly episodes to enjoy.

Watch it, if you're not hooked on a show with real people having real lives after 6 episodes, you never will be!

The Twilight Zone: Shades of Guilt (2002) Season 1, Episode 3

Potentially great but one point kills the whole story!

[2/10 · 13 June 2011]

This episode is about a man who refused to help someone based on the colour of his skin. Well, that's what it is supposed to be about. What it actually does is place someone (who is white) in a situation where a crazy seeming person (who is black) comes running breathless and screaming, banging against the window, even demanding he be allowed to get into the car. Naturally, the car owner drives off (totally startled and afraid) thinking they were about to be carjacked. Skin colour has nothing to do with this.

The episode then moves on to the car owner being turned into a black man and experiencing racism first hand.

This in itself would have made a great episode, the problem I have is that what originally happened WASN'T RACIST! For me, this led to the episode being based on a false premise and destroyed its credibility.

The Twilight Zone (1959–1964)

Legendary perfection

[10/10 · 13 June 2011]

Twilight Zone is the brainchild of Rod Serling whose frustration with the censorship on television at the time forced him to create a fantasy show allowing him to express his ideas and beliefs in a way that the censors couldn't touch.

The show is famous both for its twist endings and its infamous theme music. Using top writers such as Charles Beaumont, George Clayton Johnson, Earl Hamner jr. as well as Serling himself, the viewer was treated to an episode set in a fictional world whether it be similar to the 'present day', the future or even another planet altogether. Stories varied in quality but were generally of a high standard leading to 2 Emmy awards and 2 Hugo awards.

The show itself has entered popular culture and has been resurrected twice, first in the 1980s and then again (less successfully) in 2003.

The show is also a popular staple having Halloween, Thanksgiving and new year marathons on the sci fi (syfy) channel.

This show is a masterpiece of television and can easily be traced as the pioneer in television that made you think. Highly recommended!

Stiff Upper Lips (1997)

Watch the preview and laugh, watch the film and cry

[3/10 · 13 June 2011]

I went to see this movie when it came into the cinema in 1998. The preview was gut-bustingly funny. What was shown had to be the funniest film to come out in a long time. I eagerly awaited the release date, rushed down to the cinema and watched 94 minutes of the worst cinema I've ever had to see. Quite literally every funny moment was in the preview.

Although the story in itself was quite amusing, I felt completely cheated by the promise not meeting the actuality. Maybe the film is worth a couple more stars but after what happened, I can't bring myself to award higher than a 3.

Dear John.... (1986–1987)

'evening tiger!

[10/10 · 13 June 2011]

A fantastic show from the late, great writer John Sullivan. Somewhat darker than "Only Fools and Horses", it still had the knack of popping up with the well scripted comedy situation.

By many standards, the show is far more basic then OFAH but I feel that it was also far better. I love OFAH and DJ has that sympathetic, endearing quality that is only touched upon in OFAH.

John is a recent divorcée who decides to meet new friends in the 1-2-1 club. Run by Louise whose interests seem more to do with digging up the dirt than allowing people to open up and share experiences.

Regulars include Kirk who tells tall stories and is full of swagger, dressed like a 1978 disco diva and brimming with confidence. The main question being, "Why is he at a singles club?" with such obvious confidence? Pretty Kate, who is self confessed frigid and gets mercilessly abused about it by Kirk (who secretly has the hots for her). Ralph who is the victim of a marriage for repatriation scam, which is obvious for all to see but himself, who he still holds a torch for. Also, Louise who is your typical middle class housewife type who wants to run the club for people to get their love lives on track but is far more interested in the juicy gossip their stories bring.

Although the show was a little slow in getting going, it warms up after a couple of episodes and we follow the life of John, whose wife has shacked up with John's best friend, has the house, car and custody of Toby while John lives in a one room flat.

In summary, 14 episodes of enjoyable sitcom. It doesn't feel like enough but, upon review, is just about right.

Tales of the Unexpected (1979–1988)

So many great memories and just as fresh when repeated!

[10/10 · 10 June 2011]

Tales of the Unexpected is an iconic series which lasted around 10 years starting in the late 1970s to the late 1980s. As you'd expect with any TV series, there are fantastic, classic episodes and some that aren't so great. Thankfully the great episodes outnumber the not so great quite significantly.

Originally, the series was meant to showcase the stories from Roald Dahl's books "Tales of the Unexpected" and "More Tales of the Unexpected". Each of these episodes were introduced by Dahl himself in a mock sitting room in front of a roaring fireplace. A short description of where the idea came from regarding the upcoming story then led to 25 minutes of television magic. Each story was meant to end with a twist. Although many did, some had a twist of not actually having a twist but a natural conclusion which you think could never go all the way but it does.

After Dahl's stories ran out, other similarly themed stories were used by well known authors such as Henry Slesar, Bert Salzman, Jeffrey Archer and many others. They didn't have the Dahl introduction and the name "Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected" was thus shortened to the familiar "Tales of the Unexpected".

Many big names have appeared in the show from Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Stephanie Cole, Toyah Wilcox, John Mills, Telly Savalas and many, many more. Some early in their careers, others in their prime and some in the twilight.

So if you like a story with a twist ending, you can do far worse than check out this gem. When you hear Ron Grainer's fantastic theme tune starting up and the silhouetted lady dancing in the flames, you'll be gripped for 25 minutes. After that you'll hunger for your next fix of 'The Tales'.

My top 10?

1. The Eavesdropper 2. Would you Believe it? 3. Taste 4. The Tribute 5. The Flypaper 6. Shatterproof 7. The Way To Do It 8. Kindly Dig Your Grave 9. Never Speak Ill of the Dead 10. Down Among the Sheltering Palms

Up Pompeii! (1969–1970)

All time classic

[10/10 · 25 January 2007]

With the release of this series in its entirety on the Frankie Howerd DVD boxed set, I've had a chance to review these episodes. Surprisingly, they were as good as I remembered. They were shown during my mid-to-late teens (early 1990s) and I recall having a good giggle at the double entendres and Nausius' terrible odes.

The image quality was rather poor in some instances due to the archive nature of the episodes. This has been fixed in the DVD release with quite clear images and sound. If you're not offended by sexual innuendo, bad puns and corny jokes, I'd highly recommend this show. The last episode in the first season is hilarious ('The Love Potion'), especially the scene with the sorceress! Fans of Frankie Howerd would call this 'his series' as although he had many shows of his own, this is the one he is best remembered for.

Hammer House of Horror (1980)

A truly classic series from the masters of horror

[10/10 · 11 July 2006]

1000 words are not enough to review this entire series but I'll try my best. These are 13 one-hour stories with the usual horrific ending. Standard fare? No. Quality actors, great direction and superb scripts make a great series of stories that are long gone but definitely not forgotten. 25 years have passed since the original airing and upon review, they're still great! Madness, revenge, greed, jealousy and the occult are just some of the subjects covered by these stories. The effects are dated, the actors look unfashionable and the locations look dated but that isn't unexpected. This is the third decade since then and life moves on. You may recognise familiar faces from Peter Cushing (Famous Hammer Actor: From Beyond the Grave, Asylum, Top Secret) to Lucy Gutteridge (Top Secret, Secret Garden) and Denholm Elliott (Trading Places).

If you love British horror, made during the 'golden era' of British television, get the DVD and start watching!