Accused: Series 2 Episode 4 - Tina's Story

This was a very insightful episode, displaying the failings of the prison system and its environment that leads to some horrible situations.

Focusing on the perspective of prison guard Tina Dakin, played by Anna Maxwell Martin, I felt that it clearly showed the failures including the prison being short staffed, lack of contact between prisons over information on prisoners and the dealing of relatives in current situations, and it made me believe how easily it was for the tragic events that happened to take place. The story also had a strand of narrative from the previous episode, where the inmate that Tina brings in at the start is Stephen Cartwright. Although you may think that this would detract from Tina's story, I thought it actually added to it for her and the audience because we could clearly see problems that led to his death and how Tina's lies in the face of a grieving parent could easily happen.

I think Maxwell Martin did an excellent job, especially during the rape scene, which I found was done in a very sophisticated way as it showed Tina being attacked by an inmate, but there was no cut away and instead a full scene where it appeared to be quick and Tina left but you could see in Tina's face that it would have felt like a never ending nightmare. This event probably arranged by her colleague Frank after she planned to reveal his negligence that led to Stephen's death, made me feel that her action at the end of the episode, which resulted in her being in court for aiding an offender, was understandable and justified.

I also thought John Bishop gave another good performance as Stephen's grieving father Peter, who was appalled by the treatment of his son and the prison guards' lack of knowledge of his mental state and background. I think this helped to reinforce the disgust I felt that this sort of situation could be allowed to happen.

This is was powerful and well made episode, just like the rest of the series. Well done to Jimmy McGovern, the other writers and the cast for a great series.

The Last Weekend

This is a chilling 3-part series centred around the character of Ian played by Shaun Evans, whose friendship with Ollie is very competitive and toxic, and hits breaking point at the latest annual weekend get together where they both compete in a triathlon.

The story is told in the past tense, with Ian narrating to the audience and retelling the seemingly tragic events of the last weekend. The show keeps the tension as Ian's state of mind deteriorates and his obvious obsession with Ollie's wife Daisy grows, while being married to Em, which leads to him raping her. This made me question and judge Ian in his role as a narrative, especially as Ian's falseness changes the role of the narrator as usually the audience trust a narrator as they are the one that provides us with the story. Also Evans gives a good performance as a man who is completely driven by his obsession and sees that there is nothing wrong with him, when he is clearly very ill.

Rupert Penry-Jones is great as Ollie, who as a sub-plot is suffering from an inoperable brain tumour which he apparently hasn't told his family about but these facts turn out not to be whole truth and has a very dark perception on his fate. Ian's manipulation of Ollie in believing that Daisy is having an affair with her colleague Milo leads to a devastating conclusion that is done in a very tense way.

I thought that it worked as a 3 episode story arc as the tension and pace was good and fluid. Although the ending was quite abrupt but maybe that was to shock the audience.

The Midwives

This is a series documenting the work of midwives mainly based at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester.

Episode 1 and the series in total have been an eye-opening watch, not just because of the detail of the labour that is shown including the delivery of the baby's head but because of the strength and mentality that a midwife has to have in order to be able to cope in sometimes the most horrible circumstances.

In Episode 2 the show displayed the difficulties that training midwives face, while also showing how unexpected a labour can be because of the many complications that can happen.

Episode 3 saw the contrast between rich and poor expectant mothers who live in Wirral, which is separated into a rich and poor distract by a river. The amount of contrasts are obviously very high including the birth plan, their homes and their lifestyles, but at heart of it is the birth of new life and it is amazing to see these really tiny babies being hugged by the new parents.

Episode 4 further explored the high risks of pregnancy and labour as it focused on the specialist midwives who deal with situations that could endanger both mum and baby, and also the expectant mothers who have experienced the tragedy of several miscarriages.

Episode 5 relocates to the maternity ward at Wirral's Women & Children Hospital, looking at the work midwives have to do in order to support anxious mothers and parents who can't be at home before or straight after the birth. It shows how the parents or mothers are supported in trying to get use to looking after the baby. It shows the difficulty of pleasing all the mothers and making sure that the parents feel confident to take their baby home and feel able to look after it.

In contrast, Episode 6, the final one, focused on the work of the community midwives who look after the parents for about 10 ten days once they return home and those having home births. This episode displayed the responsibility the midwives face in making sure they give the right advice and support, while making sure both baby and parents are safe. This was seen when midwife Di had difficulty in tracing down a mother who had only given birth the day before, but is soon found. The support is especially important in cases of postnatal depression, which the midwives experience a lot.

This series showed the importance of the midwives and their work in supporting the expectant mothers and looking after the babies especially when complications occur. It must be such a rewarding job to have, but also a hard one which the show portrays.

Waterloo Road: Series 8 - Episode 1

Series 9 opens with the school of Waterloo Road, some of its student and teachers transferred to a new site in Scotland.

Furthermore, the school's design is different but similar to the old one which I think helps the transfer for the audience, while it can be seen that the dynamics of the school now being independently run instead of the its state status in earlier series and how this will conflict with the local state school, will be explored.

As the opener to the series we can see the first storylines of the series developing including the students dealing with the aftermath of the bus crash of the last series in which a character, Denzil Kelly, was killed. Other storylines include female bullying, Tariq Siddiqui dealing of being paralysed due to the crash and the dealing of alcoholism of a mother and her son's battle with her.

The first episode was mainly set around runaways Jade Fleming and Drew Kelly (no relation to Denzil). Drew, who is hiding out with Jade from the police, tries to control Jade as she tries to regain a life by attending the school, but their true identities are found out and Drew's mental state flatters leading him to realise what he's done and turn himself in. This story showed that the show is still the show it's always been and dealt with the hardship of being a homeless runaway who wishes they were back to a proper life.

It was a strong opening, displaying a fresh start for the series with lots of new characters and more guest stars to come.

Doctor Who: Series 7 - Asylum Of The Daleks

This was a great opener to the 7th series and the fall of the Ponds. I liked the passage of time in Amy & Rory's relationship and how real life had caused a great blow to it.

And one major thing to say is the Daleks getting scarier! I am a big fan of the Daleks, especially the bronze ones which I was really glad to see were the main ones featured. But it also had a good nod to the series, especially with the 50th anniversary next year, by having the different incarnations of the Daleks from across the years. Also, for the first time saying that the redesigns were apart of the Dalek's narrative and their own recognition of that. I also loved the massive Dalek building on Skaro used at the start. I think showing the Dalek mutant again in the form of the Dalek Prime Minister and having the mass of Daleks in the asylum appearing to be dead but then awakening and slowly exclaiming 'EXT...TER...MIN...ATE!' helps to re-establish the Daleks as a scary monster.

From the start of the episode it felt tense and mysterious and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series and how the fate of the Ponds will play out.

Now out of respect for Steven Moffat I will say that if you haven't seen the episode, then don't read below as a major spoiler is there.

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It was such a surprise to see Jenna-Louise Coleman having a guest star in this episode before she starts as the new companion. Whether this new companion will be similar to the character of Oswin Oswald that Coleman plays, we will have to see, but I thought she did a great job. I like that the main interaction was between her and the Doctor, thereby separating the paths of the Ponds from Coleman's future involvement in the series. And when Oswin's real fate is revealed it's heartbreaking, showing the strength of a human being despite being turned into a Dalek. But I suppose if it is going to be a completely new character that Coleman will play then I suppose like Karen Gillan's Soothsayer character in The Fires Of Pompeii, Oswin had to be in position where she couldn't return.

Accused: Series 2 Episode 3 - Stephen's Story

This was a very interesting episode, exploring the destructiveness of grief, especially when the issues of terminal illness and moving on are explored.

Focusing on 17 year old Stephen Cartwright, portrayed by Robert Sheehan, whose mother is terminal ill and later dies. His grief starts to cause his mental state to fall apart, especially when his father, Peter played by John Bishop, starts a relationship soon after his wife's death with the nurse who looked after her. The story is very good at the displaying the deterioration of Stephen's health as he believes the nurse, Charlotte played by Sheridan Smith, is poisoning him and his family.

His paranoia tragically leads him to push away his family, friends and then stab Charlotte, landing him in court for attempted murder. One interesting thing is Stephen's denial of his mental state which is probably quite realistic and the twist at the very end of the episode might support this. I also hope that this will be picked up in the next episode as the final episode will feature Stephen as he goes to the juvenile detention centre and supported by the prison guard Tina, who the episode will centre around.

I think the performances by Sheehan, Bishop and Smith were superb, displaying the different viewpoints of the situation and I think the script works well to deal with the issue of mental illness in a very understanding way.

New Tricks: Series 9 - Episode 1

This opening episodes to the 9th series of the show saw a certain change take place.

And this was the departure of one of it's main characters Jack Halford, played by James Bolam. He was one of the major characters to have been apart of the series since its start in 2003 and so it came as a surprise, as to the other characters, that the Jack would be retiring. I think the show did a very good job of dealing with it by having the team basically contained to the unit offices as they had to investigate an 160 year old forced upon by a Whitehall official, Stephen Fisher. Having this plot allowed for the show to not overload the audience with the fact of Jack leaving, but to slowly prepare the viewer for the end of the episode, whilst displaying the characteristics of Jack that the audience know well.

This especially came forth in his final scene, revealing the real reason for his departure and it's done in such a dignified and Jack-like way, and with only one of his colleagues, Brian Lane, knowing the truth, we know that it will have some lasting effect on the rest of the series.

I think this was a strong opening, especially with the team solving the complicated case in their unique style, while trying to fight the political hound of Fisher and getting use to Jack's sudden resignation.

Really looking forward to the rest of the series.