TV Review: Broadchurch

"People are unknowable. You can never really know what goes on inside someone else's heart."

This eight-part series is yet another brilliant whodunnit mystery as the lives of people in Broadchurch are turned upside-down after the death of local boy Danny Latimer. Unlike various other crime programs, Broadchurch did not only focus primarily on the police investigation, as we were also able to explore the grief and emotional trauma experienced by the victim's family, the role and perspective of the media, and the consequences of these elements intermingling.

image from here but damn yo look at all these suspicious faces

The exploration of grief and how to deal with death is portrayed through multiple perspectives - the family, friends, detectives, journalists, and complete strangers - each bringing something different to this overarching theme of the series. This was expressed through some phenomenal acting and, at times, I was overwhelmed by the emotional performances - honourable mention to Olivia Colman. The space of eight episodes also gave ample time to not only delve into these feelings but also the backstories and motivations of the characters involved.

I thought the inclusion of the media's perspective was not only fascinating to watch but also a smart move on behalf of the writers. So often we are given a one-sided view of the impact of the media: journalist writes something and the police get angry. In Broadchurch, we were able to watch the media spiral into a frenzy and through other characters we were able to view the impact and the consequences of articles that spread damaging information about people. It was also interesting that they mentioned only featuring "attractive" families that had been victim to a crime - a disappointing truth about our society indeed.

While I would recommend this program to anyone interested in crime drama this is not to say the program is without flaws. Despite the pacing of episodes being excellent in conveying grief and emotion with various scenes involving music/crying/staring out to sea, I suspect there were probably a few people that lost interest due this fact AND that this series was revolving around one murder that was going to be aired over eight whole weeks. There are also a few things that some characters do that appears a bit out of place or just downright odd. But to me it was worth it. I loved every second of it and was forever wanting the next episode to air and to know more about the characters in this little community. I was often left thinking about the episode long after it had finished. So, if you're looking for a interesting crime drama with excellent acting and writing (and desire the need to fling your heart into the sun) then I would recommend checking out Broadchurch.

Let me know what you think in the comments below or tweet me @faultystairs :)

Doctor Who EP 7.08: Cold War

WoAH no wAY! An episode review on a M0nDaY?? This can’t be tRUE! I only just got around to watching the episode a few hours ago and amazingly I am now writing a review. It may or may not be because I have a lot of work for uni to complete this week, as well as, it being more ideal to write an episode review for something that is still in the forefront of people’s minds. Spoilers ahead folks, so if you haven’t watched then don’t read.

note: all screencaps are from grande-caps and here is clara legitimately looking terrified

Episode Summary: The Doctor messes up his co-ordinates (as he so often does) and he and Clara end up on a sinking Russian submarine in 1983 during the Cold War. The professor on board believes that they have obtained a frozen mammoth on their travels. The professor is wrong.

In comparison to the last two episodes, the pacing for ‘Cold War’ felt right. It didn’t need to be any longer to fully develop the storyline and characters, and there didn’t appear to be any major plot holes either. It was definitely visually impressive (as usual) in a perfect kind of way, the blue, pink, yellow and red colour palette for the episode was just gorgeous. I wouldn’t say it’s one of the best episodes I’ve ever seen and I’m a bit undecided on how to feel because it felt like there was something missing, but it was still a good episode overall. There were definitely some great one-liners though. But if there’s one thing to note, I would have expected the characters to be a bit more scared considering the TARDIS just, you know, DISAPPEARED and they were all AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN but I guess they were kind of preoccupied by Skaldak the Ice Warrior.

noooooooow KISS

Let’s talk about the Doctor/Clara relationship because it’s so precious. Clara is supposed to be the impossible girl, the girl who can’t exist, and yet she does and she’s just so normal it’s hard to believe. It’s becoming clear that the Doctor is quite protective of her, which is entirely reasonable considering she has died twice in two separate time streams. Last week on the pyramid when she asked to help, he told her to leave and that “when we hold something precious, we run, until we are out from under the shadow.” This may not just be referring to the child, but also to Clara. If this is the case, does this mean there will be an episode in which they simply run? And this week when she wanted to face Slakdak, the Doctor outright refused ("You?! No. No, no way! You’re not going in there alone, Clara. Absolutely not. No, no, never.") but she went ahead and did it anyway. I think I’ll wait for more to be revealed throughout the series.

Doctor Who EP 7.07: The Rings of Akhaten

This is an undeniably late review for, in my opinion, an undeniably good episode. As per last week, and every following week, there will be spoilers in this post so I would recommend not reading on until you’ve watched the episode.

note: all screencaps are from grande-caps BUT AREN'T THESE TWO SO PRECIOUS??

Episode Summary: Clara sets off for her first adventure with the Doctor to the Rings of Akhaten. There are aliens strolling around market stalls everywhere but they’re primarily all there for the Festival of Offering and to hear a young girl sing to keep the Old God asleep. Shenanigans ensue!

Firstly, I need to address the disappointment surrounding this episode. It appears as though the critics enjoyed it, however after browsing the comments and trawling through Twitter, there were a fair few people who didn’t like this latest installment (or the speech???), with some going so far as to call it the “worst episode ever”. Really?

the epic symbolism of the Doctor/companion relationship

I thought this episode was heartfelt and was very much focused on establishing the Doctor/Clara relationship for the rest of the series. I will admit, that some aspects were quite similar to Amy’s first adventure on ‘The Beast Below’ and it risked being a bit samey; but there were different needs and values explored in ‘The Rings of Akhaten’. However, I think that there were too many monster villains for the length of the episode and I would have honestly enjoyed more character development of the Vigil, whom could have been a standalone DW villain. But did I still love the episode? Yes. Yes I did.

It became clear that Clara is not someone we, and the Doctor, should just view as a problem to solve or just view as “the new companion” as a portion of her back-story was revealed and we learned about her parents and the significance of that mysterious leaf. There was also the bonus of her quite bluntly saying that she would travel with the Doctor but she is not there to replace a ghost of his past. A+ response.

Doctor Who EP 7.06: The Bells of Saint John

It is time for the delayed post-mortem discussion, examination, timey wimey exploration (or whatever you want to call it) of the latest Doctor Who episode. As a forewarning, if you still haven’t watched the latest episode, this post will be rife with spoilers and I would suggest that you stop reading right about now (and y’know go watch the episode).

note: all screencaps are from grande-caps but otherwise clara pLS

Episode Summary: There is an unknown WiFi connection appearing around the world and each person who clicks the mysterious symbol (┓┏ 凵 =╱⊿┌┬┐) will have their souls taken from them and uploaded to a soul keeping (??) server. I think at this point we should acknowledge the “cleverly” nicknamed Spoonheads committing the deed on behalf of an organisation.

I personally thought that this episode was a good start to series 7B (yo I watched it twice). The storyline was definitely intriguing as WiFi is basically a huge part of our lives now but I honestly thought that the ideas presented could have been further explored and developed in an hour-long episode rather than the given 45 minutes. Besides, who wouldn’t want to spend more time watching Doctor Who?

Since their fateful meeting in 1892, the Doctor has been searching for the mysterious Clara who we have now seen die in two separate time streams. There was definitely some great chemistry between the duo which has been built on since the Christmas episode.

bless the hairstylist

Exhibit A:

Doctor: You and me, inside that box now.

Clara: I’m sorry?

Doctor: Just get inside.

Clara: Both of us?

Doctor: Oh trust me, you’ll understand once we’re in there.

Clara: I bet I will!

Doctor: No...

Clara: What is that box anyway? Why have you got a box?

Doctor: Clara...

Clara: Is it a snogging booth?

Doctor: A what?

Clara: Is that what you do? You bring a booth. There’s such a thing as too keen.

I just...how can you not fall in love with this exchange? I’m looking forward to seeing how her character develops throughout the series and I really hope she’s not too ‘samey’ by basically being the same character as Amy and River. There were a few moments that reminded me of Donna though - like when the Doctor realises that he’s talking on the phone to the girl he’s been trying to find for years and he just rushes across time like a bumbling idiot (still dressed like a monk from 1207) and greets her at her house. She is confronted by this odd man wanting her to repeat the phrase “Doctor who?” over and over, and like any sane person would, she slams the door in his face. By the way the "Doctor who?" joke is getting old.