Doctor Who: Series 7 - The Angels Take Manhattan

So there it was. The end of the Ponds, and it was sad and tense.

 The Weeping Angels, who have become kind of the main enemy of Amy and Rory's time, return and they are used as the device in order to make sure the Ponds won't return and they fitted well into the New York setting. Also there is this suggestion of passing time in Amy and Rory's storyline and the ideas of witnessing or reading your own future that makes it set in stone, which I thought were interesting ideas.

From the start there was anticipation of the how Amy and Rory's fate would play out and when the idea of them both sacrificing themselves came around I was surprised and hoped it wouldn't be the end. Then when the end came it felt heartbreaking and sad, which were further amplified by the main cast's performances. I'm also left with mixed feelings as its good that Amy and Rory remain together but at the same time its sad because they can't live out the lives they should have had in their normal time. The use of the timey-wimey aspect also helps to create a mystery around what would happen throughout the episode and this kept me guessing on how it would end.

Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill give some of their best performances as they tackle the end of their characters. Matt Smith also gives a great performance especially in the last scene, and we can clearly see the chemistry between the three actors. Furthermore, we couldn't have the end of the Ponds without River Song and Alex Kingston gives her all in bringing the humour of the episode to the fore. Also have to give credit to Murray Gold's score that gave some great gravitas to the episode.

Mrs Biggs

This is a dramatisation of Charmian Powell's love affair and marriage to the famous train robber Ronnie Biggs.

Starring Sheridan Smith (Charmian) and Daniel Mays (Ronnie), it's a very interesting portrayal focusing on Charmian's life. In this way, it makes it feel that it's more about the characters behind Ronnie Biggs instead of focusing on his crimes. Also its interesting to see how Charmian is led into Ronnie's criminal antics and how much she grows as a character which helps me to believe in the passage of time that takes place and the strength of their relationship..

Obviously the drama tackled the train robbery and does it in a way where the perspectives of Charmian, whose blissfully unaware, and Ronnie, whose every much a small part of the operation, are juxtaposed cleverly. I think this along with Charmian's horrified and then protective response, made it very easy to understand her reaction and how she struggles to hide the truth. I found that showing all the things she did including helping in the plan for Ronnie's prison escape and then their life on the run abroad, made it very easy for me to understand and warm towards her.

Smith gave a superb performance, with Mays also giving a good portrayal, allowing me to be able to see how much they have worked on their character's relationship and chemistry. I get a great sense that Charmian and Ronnie did love each other, but maybe Charmian more, and how much it affected Charmian because of being cut off from her family and facing life as a single mother and under the supervision of the criminal associates of Bruce Reynolds. Within this situation I felt a lot of sympathy for Charmian as she faced the horror of having an illegal abortion as a result of an affair. Furthermore, I felt that the death of their eldest children Nicholas due to a car crash was approached and done in a very sympathetic and powerful way, making me see how and why their relationship crumbles. Smith was very powerful in these scenes and gave a heartbreaking performance.

I very good and fascinating drama-documentary.

Parade's End

This is a period drama based on the set of novels by Ford Madox Ford, centred around the unlikely marriage of Christopher Tietjans and Sylvia Satterthwaite over a period of time including the First World War and his love of suffragette Valentine Wannop.

Benedict Cumberbatch does a great performance as the nice and dutiful Christopher, while Rebecca Hall makes me sympathise with the flirtous Sylvia who has had affairs. This is because Hall gives a layered performance of Sylvia showing a vulnerability and need for Christopher to love and fight for her. Tom Stoppard's script works well to use the Edwardian language effectively to allow me to follow the story without being confused by the pomp and ceremony of it. Cumberbatch also shines in his role and especially in the wartime scenes. He clearly shows the struggles that Christopher goes through to try and not have an affair with Valentine. Adelaide Clemens also does a good portrayal as the strong and political Valentine, who very much represents the changing of attitudes.

I like how the drama examines and shows the harshness of the climate of the time including the suffragettes and the First World War, but also the strictness of the social etiquette. This especially seen when Christopher and Sylvia have to publicly reunite after she ran off to France with another man and this social pressure is very much represented by the character of Sylvia's mother.

It's also interesting how the drama also examines societal attitudes towards the war and the dividing attitudes of Christopher and Sylvia. This comes mainly in the fourth episode where Sylvia travels to France to see Christopher and shows how their relationship has done a great deal of damage to Christopher's life. The ending of the series feels quite fitting and I think overall it's been well written and performed.

Leaving

This is an intriguing drama about an affair between a 44 year old married deputy manager, Julie and unemployed 25 year old Aaron.

Following the typical set up we see Julie, whose marriage has lost its spark and seeks for fun and to be young again, fall for Aaron in what I found felt like a natural progression and not at all sordid. It's also very interesting how the relationship develops and how in the final episode the consequences made me feel great sympathy for mainly Julie as she can't walk away from her family as easily as she thought. Also the use of Aaron's parents as an unhappy couple in which you would expect this situation would arise showed that the situation isn't just black and white.

I found it interesting how they had the contrasting sub-plot of Julie's husband Michael engaging in a harmless flirtatous that resulted in him being suspended and later convicted of threatening behaviour but you can see that this situation was blown out of proportion. I found myself routing for both couples, which is very interesting to try and work out how I want it to end, but I was quite surprised by Michael's violent reaction to finding out about the affair which I'm not sure was necesary.

The final scenes gave me mixed feelings as I wanted both Julie's relationships to work and we're left unsure as to what her future will be. Meanwhile, I thought Helen McCrory did a great job as Julie especially in the last episode. Callum Turner also gave a good performance as Aaron and his chemistry with McCrory worked well to communicate the character's developing relationship.

Inspector George Gently - Series 5

This was a great series, set in 1968 and among an atmosphere of change, and feels very different to other detective dramas.

Focusing on Inspector George Gently, played by Martin Shaw, and Sergeant John Bacchus, played by Lee Ingleby, the two characters work well together and even though Gently might be seen as a dinosaur, he is instead quite progressive and helps to mentor Bacchus. The mysteries in this series were very thought through and kept me guessing, especially in the third episodes where a baby was snatched.

Each episode, 4 in total, worked very well as individual stories, but they also had underlying elements of questions about social change and society. For instance, the first had suggestions of attitudes towards immigrants and racism, the second looked at the association of different classes and the third explored gender roles and perceptions on women. Meanwhile, the fourth had thoughts on corruption in the police force and within society. These elements are used effectively as they were hidden by the murder mysteries that acted as the stories foundations.

The series finale was a very dramatic and tense thriller. It saw Gently being accused of corruption and framed for two murders and story worked well to show the level of corruption that is easily manipulated against a clean officer. Also I was surprised by the dramatic final scenes where, as well as most of the guest cast being killed, the fates of Gently and Bacchus are left in the balance after both being shot in a showdown with the remaining criminal in a cathedral. I also think that Shaw and Ingleby gave great performances throughout the series but especially in these scenes.

Doctor Who: Series 7 - The Power Of Three

This was a great episode and found it was a good bit of fun before the finale.

I really liked the ideas of the Doctor having to live time and the domesticity of it. I thought it was interesting that it explored how a companion would cope with real life and life with the Doctor colliding and one living out the other. I think that sometimes we can forget that the companion has a real life and age while their in the TARDIS and looking at this through Amy and Rory's developing life on Earth was very good.

One thing I really liked was that the character of Kate Stewart was the daughter of established character Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. This was a lovely and appropriate thing to do as it gave another nod to the Brigadier and the actor that portrayed him, Nicholas Courtney who died in 2011, and having her heading up UNIT and it being more scientifically led, showed a great respect for the classic series.

The idea of the cubes and how their mystic and initial lack of action was able to place people under a false sense of security. I wasn't quite sure about how Brian Williams could have stayed in the TARDIS for four days just watched a cube and why didn't anyone else notice that. Anyway, this episode felt like it was more about the Doctor, Amy and Rory and I think it's probably an interesting set up towards the finale episode.

The Bletchley Circle

This three part series centres around 4 women who were code breakers in WW2 and now have returned to a normal life, but when one of them, Susan Gray, spots a pattern in a set of murders, the women come together again to solve the mystery.

I found this was an intriguing and interesting mystery drama because of the complexity of the storyline and the strong assets of all the women which are clearly shown. Also interweaving the women's domestic lives into the story also helped to create a steady pace and show the character's motivations. Also I think the reason why it works is that if these were just ordinary housewives deciding to investigate the murder, the audience might ask why, but the characters Susan, Millie, Lucy and Jean miss their wartime experience and the fact they made a difference every day.

The later episode did a good job in building the tension as the story came to a climax and the way the serial killer's psychology was structured was very affective. Also with it being set in 1952 it had more validity to the danger and disbelief from the police that the characters have to face.

The main cast, including Anna Maxwell Martin, Julie Graham, Rachael Stirling and Sophie Rundle, all gave good performances. I also have to praise Martin for her strong performance in the final scenes of the last episode.