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REVIEWS
DVD&BD
Tapping into the current vogue for both post-apocalypse
TV shows
(Revolution
,
Falling Skies
) and dystopian teen
blockbusters (
The Maze Runner
,
Divergence
), this sleek
new sci-fi series ticks all the right boxes. Based on the
young adult book series from Kass Morgan,
The 100
is
set 97 years after the earth was destroyed in a nuclear
war, with the surviving humans now living on a giant
space station. With air running out, 100 young offenders
are sent back to Earth to see if it is habitable; it is, but
they soon discover that they are not the only humans
on the planet. The show also takes in the power struggles that develop
between the 100 and the grown-ups back in space, and the cliffhanger
finale suggests there are plenty of intriguing new directions for this
show to explore in the upcoming second season.
Recolonising Earth
THE 100:
THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
This new sitcom from Andy Samberg was the surprise
winner at this year’s Golden Globes, taking out the Best
Comedy statuette, plus the Best Actor award for the star
himself. But it has proven to be a canny choice: as well
as being the perfect showcase for Samberg’s larger-than-
life comedy antics, this irreverent cop comedy is the
funniest new US show to debut this year. It’s produced
by the team behind
Parks & Recreation
and although
not a mockumentary, like the latter, the writers’ affection
for their characters and the police show tropes they are
sending up shines through. And while primarily a vehicle for Samberg –
who plays a cross between Eddie Murphy in
Beverly Hills Cop
and Mel
Gibson in
Lethal Weapon
– it’s a true ensemble piece. The second series
is already airing Stateside, so expect this to be around for a while.
Let’s be cops!
BROOKLYN NINE-NINE:
SEASON ONE
Created by Sarah Lambert (
House Husbands
) and
set amidst the social changes sweeping through
Sydney’s Kings Cross in 1969,
Love Child
dramatises
the deplorable treatment of young, unwed pregnant
women during that period, who were treated like
criminals and had their children forcibly taken for
adoption. Alternating between Kings Cross Hospital,
where newly arrived midwife Jessica Marais (
Packed
to the Rafters
,
Magic City)
begins to question the
system, and the adjacent Stanton House, run by
belligerent matron Mandy McElhinney (
Paper Giants: Magazine
Wars
), the show addresses serious issues of equality and female
rights with guts and heart. Performances and period detail are top
notch: a second season has already been commissioned.
Call the midwife
LOVE CHILD:
SEASON ONE
Sally Wainwright is one of Britain’s top TV writers, whose
credits range from
At Home with the Braithwaites
to the cop show
Scott & Bailey
.
Happy Valley
shares
many similarities with her earlier works – strong female
characters, dry humour, a gritty sense of realism – but
the shocking jolts of violence in this intense mini-series
marks something of a departure for her. English telly
favourite Sally Lancashire plays a veteran cop in a small
Yorkshire town, whose quiet life is turned on its head by
a kidnapping that rapidly spirals out of control and the
release from prison of the man (James Norton) who raped her daughter.
The top notch cast includes familiar British telly faces such as
Benidorm
regulars Steve Pemberton and Siobhan Finneran, and the mix of human
drama and police procedural makes this a must for BBC fans.
Grim oop north
HAPPY VALLEY
Format:
Release Date:
10/12/14
Format:
Release Date:
05/12/14
Format:
Release Date:
10/12/14
Format:
Release Date:
11/12/14
TV