Wild At Heart: Series 7 - Episode 11 (Last Ever Episode)

This feature length episode saw the conclusion of series 7 and the show as a whole.

At the start of the episode the family was in conflict with tension between Danny and Alice caused by new born Bobby, relationship problems between Olivia and Cedric and everyone not liking Rosie's older fiancee Dylan. This allowed for a good deal of development and exploration to took place in order have the characters go through more struggles before bringing them to a rounded conclusion.

It was also interesting to see Anders given a lot of development because he has to change his life style after receiving the news that if he doesn't he could end up killing himself. Within this Andres find himself the only one that can heal the rifts while keeping his own secret. This allowed for me to see how much the characters have grown and changed since the start of the series and this was seen through the strength and emotion of the final scenes where the family were reunited and Danny pays tribute to Leopard's Den and Anders

Meanwhile, the episode stays try to the show's usual set up by having the characters deal with a problem with their animals and this one saw them flying to Zambia and trying to save their cheetahs after it was stolen by poachers. But the stress of this ordeal, continuing to drink and the fright from the flying, causes Anders' health to deteriorate and his meddling causes the others to turn on him without thinking. Although the others slowly discover the truth and it was a sad and yet a fitting ending for the character of Anders where he goes into the bush for his last moments.

The main cast consisting of Stephen Tompkinson, Dawn Steele, Lucy-Jo Hudson, Olivia Scott-Taylor, Hayley Mills and Thapelo Mokoera all give great performances, but the most credit goes to Deon Stewardson, who gave a superb performance as Anders Du Plessis and has built a well defined and thought throwugh character.

Call The Midwife - Christmas Special

This was a very touching and poignant episode.

The show kept the strength of its first series in this special with two great stories of love and fear, which further showed the poverty and social situation of the 1950s east end. The first story I want to talk about was that of Mary-Ann Jenkins, an elderly woman living in poverty and horrible conditions. It turns out that she was a victim of the workhouse system and that all her young children didn't survive the ordeal. It was very good how the central character Jenny Lee was determined to help Mary-Ann to improve her health as well as her mental and emotional state.

This led to a scene where Jenny took Mary-Ann to the site of the public grave in which her children along with other workhouse inmates were buried. The simple script, along with the way Jenny pointed out the location of each of Mary-Ann's children and Mary-Ann's controlled reaction worked superbly well to great a very powerful and heartbreaking scene. It was then good to see how Jenny had helped Mary-Ann to regain control of her life and help out with the nativity.

The other story saw teenager Lynette Duncan giving birth and out of fear abandon her new born with the midwives. It was interesting to see how she had to keep secret the fact that she was the mother in the fear of losing her family and when she collapsed due to complications and her parents discovered the truth we saw how they in the end came around to supporting her. This was done through midwife Chummy Noakes, who, as well as providing most the comedy in the episode through her trying to put together the nativity performance, showed a good amount of strength and support for Lynette and was able to convince her that she would be able to take the baby back.

The main cast gave great performances, while Sheila Reid gave a fantastic performance as Mary-Ann and Ami Metcalf also did a good job as Lynette.

Downton Abbey - Christmas Special

This was a good episode of the period drama, with a very dramatic cliffhanger.

This episode dealt mainly with tying up the storylines from the end of the last series. Set a year later it had many continuity elements. For instance, Lord Grantham's opposition to the modernisation of Downton is reversed after he learns of the financial state of their hosts, the MacClare's estate. In turn, he comes to accept Matthew, which adds a lot to the sadness of the tragedy at the end of the episode. Within this as well was his relationship with Cora, which had suffered after the death of their daughter Sybil in the last series and it was good to see that Sybil was still making an impact among the family and staff.

Tom Branson had a good bit of development with him trying to deal with still grieving over Sybil and trying to find a balance between the old and the new him. The use of the guest character Edna Braithwaite was effective in getting him to find his balance because of her questioning of his change in character from the stubborn political-minded working class figure to being the husband of a lady and running the estate of Downton.

Other continuity aspects included Thomas and Jimmy resolving their differences after Thomas took a beating for Jimmy, Bates and Anna being able to enjoy time as a married couple and the ending of Edith's courtship with Michael Gregson. In contrast, it was also good to see the guest characters of Hugh and Susan MacClare, being a good bit of development, along with seeing a more fun side to the staff as they were able to have some free time while the family were away.

Along with these continuity elements were some new bits setting up for the next season including the MacClare's daughter Rose being entrusted into Cora's care and the birth of Mary and Matthew's first child, which had seemed unlikely in the past. This very much added to the tragic nature of the final scenes as Matthew was killed in a car crash on the way back from meeting his son. It was done in a very quick and swift way and work well to great a big surprise for the audience.

All the main cast gave good performances, while guest stars MyAnna Buring, Peter Egan and Phoebe Nicholls also held their own and added a lot to support the other characters.

Loving Miss Hatto

This was an interesting biopic, that showed what someone's love can drive them to.

Based on the true story of Joyce Hatto, a concert pianist, who became famous in her 70s after struggling for most of her life to make it in the classical world, but what later turned out to be all down to a fraud plot. The dramatisation saw how her husband, William Barrington-Coupe's love for his wife would see his determination to make her dream of being recognised for her talent by the classical world a reality by taking recordings from other pianists and tweaking them to sound like how she use to play before she was diagnosed with cancer.

This setting and the script by Victoria Wood, made it a very touching story and it easy for me to emphasis with Joyce and William. It also allowed me to see how they were drawn into making the fraudulent recordings and understand their motives behind doing it. This was done through showing Joyce's struggle to become well known through performing in her 20s, but suffered from terrible nerves and lack of confidence. Then when she does perform it was done in an exceptional standard.

William's support and determination also showed a great strength among the couple and it was good how the story was told mainly from his perspective. Then when the fraud was exposed 6 months after Joyce's death, William defended what they did and stated that Joyce wasn't involved at all int he fraud and thought that the recordings were hers. The dramatisation works well to display this by having Willliam talk to the ghost of Joyce and argue over whose fault it all was and then when he is visited by two ex-pupils of Joyce's and see how much they had faith in her, he decides to defend her honour. This brought I really heart-warming and emotional end to the story.

 Francesca Annis and Alfredo Molina were superb as Joyce and William and the chemistry between the two really worked. Maimie McCoy and Rory Kinnear also gave great performances as the younger versions of the couple.

Doctor Who: Series 7 - The Snowmen

This was a great episode and a good introduction to the new companion, Clara Oswald played by Jenna-Louise Coleman.

I thought this was a really great episode full of twists and turns. The story sees the Doctor now acting as a recluse, with him living in the TARDIS on a cloud. This was a really good idea and I liked how he tried to fight against trying to get involved with the strange happenings around Victorian London. The reintroduction of the characters of Madame Vashtra, Jenny Flint and Strax work well to add to the Doctor's determination to keep out of the affairs of others. I also thought the bit where Clara had to give one word answers and the one she used to convince the Doctor to help was 'pond', was really a nice way to sort of give a nod to Amy and Rory.

The humour of the episode was really good and well placed against the drama of the Snowmen attacks. The concept behind the Snowmen was well thought through and a good balance was made between introducing Clara and bringing the jeopardy to the story. I also liked the new design of the TARDIS and how the episode displayed the classic traits of a new companion introduction with a few twists such as Clara saying 'It's smaller on the inside.' instead of the usual 'It's bigger on inside than on the outside.' The use of the name of the parasite that was in the snow, which was the Great Intelligence, was a curious thing to do as that has been associated with the Yetis back in the classic series, so unless this is pointing to their possible return. Will have to wait and see.

Clara was a very interesting and intriguing character. It was good to see how she seemed to be near the Doctor's equal and the two bounced off each other quite well. I liked how the character changed between different personas and did a good job at showing different sides to Clara. Then when they had killed her off, it came as such a surprise and quite a bold move to play. But when the revelation over her connection to Coleman's role in the early episode, Asylum Of The Daleks, and how Clara - later revealed to be Clara Oswin Oswald - and Oswin Oswald were the same person, who somehow died in two different time periods and then seen alive in the present day, it created a lot of intrigue and made me really want to know more. Now I can't wait for the rest of the series.

Coleman gave a superb performance, making Clara a unique and interesting character, while Matt Smith also gave a great portrayal of a different side to the Doctor. The guest cast, including the return of Neve McIntosh, Dan Starkey and Catrin Stewart, and with Richard E. Grant and Tom Ward, all gave good performances. Sir Ian McKellen and Juliet Cadzow also did great as the voices of the Great Intelligence and the Ice Governess, really adding a lot to the episode.

Merlin: Series 5 - The Diamond Of The Day (Part 2)

So here it is. The last ever episode and the show ended in a very epic and emotional way.

This was a great ending to the series and to the show, full of tension, emotion and tragedy. The continuation from the previous episode of the battles scenes worked really well to create an epic opening to the show and they were shot really well. I liked how powerful Merlin was as the older version of him and it really showed his potential and strength. Then when Mordred confronted Arthur and the vision Merlin saw earlier in the series comes true there is a good deal of tension and the lack of dialogue does well to great a good death scene for Mordred and the mortal wounding of Arthur.

I think that the best thing was the scenes between Merlin and Arthur. Merlin's reveal to Arthur of his magic and Arthur's struggle to accept this, were really strong and very powerful. It was good how throughout the episode Arthur started to understand Merlin and see a different side to magic through Merlin's kindness and friendship with him. Then when Arthur died before Merlin could save him, it was so heartbreaking and very touching and Arthur thanking Merlin was so powerful and well performed by Bradley James and Colin Morgan. Merlin's grief and determination to save Arthur were superbly performed by Morgan, adding a lot of strength to the scenes.

Meanwhile, others character gave a lot to the episode as a whole. Gwen showed a great deal of control and strength, while Morgana displayed increased madness and erratic behaviour, which created a good contrast. While Gwaine and Percival were also given more action and Gwaine's death acted as an initial shock before the dramatic finally. All theses aspects add to a very dramatic and powerful conclusion to the series. I also liked the image at the end of the aged Merlin walking past the same spot that Arthur was buried in the modern day.

Morgan, James, Angel Coulby and Kate McGrath all gave superb performances and have overall really made the series and the show a great success. John Hurt, Richard Wilson, Alexander Vlahos, Eoin Macken, Rupert Young and Tom Hopper have all given great performances and have also added a lot to this final story. I will miss the show a lot.

The Makng Of A Lady

This was a good one-off rages to riches Victorian tale.

Based on the novel, The Making Of A Marchionness by Frances Hogson Burnett, the central character Emily Fox Seton was saved by the harshness of poverty when she decides to accept the offer of marriage, not out of love but of the need of security, from Lord James Walterhurst, the nephew of her once employer Lady Maria Bayne. Within this comes an interesting exploration of the importance of duty and position and how purity and kindness, that Emily showed, suffered.

It was good how Emily and James come to love each, but it was sad how his duty to his family causes this to be damaged. Emily's friendship with Walderhurst's cousin Alec Osborne and his wife Hester. The arrival of these two characters seemed to, as well as give a lot of humour, bring a darker edge tot he story, with Alec's erratic behaviour and them faking an invitation from James from them to stay.

The figures of Ameerah and Mr Litton also add to the episode, with suspicion over their true intentions and it is uncertain for most of the story as to which one I should trust. This is further amplified by the later discovery of Litton's body in the river. Then it soon appeared to be an attempt to isolate and kill Emily by Alec and Hester as they would inherit the fortune. The tension at the end was very affective and well built.

Lydia Wilson did a great job as Emily, while Linus Roache, James d'Arcy and Hasina Haque all gave strong performances. The supporting cast including Joanna Lumley, Sarah Ridgeway, Claire Hackett and Souad Faress all do gave good portrayals of their characters.