STACK NZ Dec #58

REVIEWS

DVD&BD

Recolonising Earth THE 100: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

Let’s be cops! BROOKLYN NINE-NINE: SEASON ONE

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Release Date: 10/12/14

Release Date: 05/12/14

TV

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

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

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.

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.

Call the midwife LOVE CHILD: SEASON ONE

Grim oop north HAPPY VALLEY

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Release Date: 10/12/14

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Release Date: 11/12/14

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

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

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.

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.

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