Bish - My Executive Summary

So, Steven Moffat's second season (well, half a season) has come and gone. My executive summary, for those that are too busy to read on, is that it's really not that easy to sustain a whole season, or even half of one, unless you write everything yourself! That said, I'll try to explain.

Steven Moffat's a great writer. He's clever, witty, techy and surprising. He's also very different to the previous Head Writer, Russell T Davies. But more about that later... In this season, in particular, and to a lesser extent in the previous season, Moffat's episodes have outshone all others. I know that Neil Gaiman's episode was praised, and although that style of story isn't to my liking, it was a stand-out episode among the non-Moffat episodes. Just like the Richard Curtis episode from the previous series was.

I tend not to watch episodes more than once. I remember watching “The Impossible Astronaut” and feeling quite deflated afterwards. I'd read too much about the episode, and elevated my expectations far too highly from reading all the gushing reviews and tweets from those who had been to the advance screening. However, I watched it again the following day, and it was so much better! I've learnt my lesson. But moving back to season two in general, the acting has really been top notch. Matt Smith, in the title role, continues to impress. And both Karen Gillan's and Arthur Darvill's characters have improved. And Alex Kingston is just as brilliant now as she was when she first appeared.

Generally, though, probably the one thing that's missing for me is the link to Earth. I know we saw Utah in the season opener, but I mean ordinary, council estate or village, type Earth. It makes the the fantastic all that more fantastic when it's contrasted with the normal and mundane. Like when Rose rang her leggings-wearing, kitchen-bound, washing machine-loading mother from a billion years in the future while watching the death of the Earth!

Having said that, however, Davies' series arcs were fairly simple. His episodes were fast and furious. I like Moffat's more involved arcs, and the way they flow. I love River Song's time line slowly unfolding. I had been worried that it was just going to run and run, but it looks as though the pay-off is coming. But there's one element common to both the Davies and Moffat eras that does grate. Davies tried to make the Doctor into a god-like figure. And Moffat seems to be trying to turn him into a warrior to be feared. He's neither. Feared, maybe, because he's clever and can go to any where and to any time. But he's neither a god nor a warrior.

So, in conclusion, the Moffat episodes were by far the best. Both the season opener and mid season finalé were great. I miss Rose and her mum. But I don't miss David Tennant. Oh, and I want Moffat and Davies to co-write an episode. Together. That would be awesome!

Shameless - Another Review By Ian B

So the Chatsworth Housing Estate's local brothel has a new, feisty young prostitute, Bonnie. And the brothel's madam, Lillian, has taken her under her wing and become her "mother". There's no adoption involved, though. Bonnie merely changes her surname to Lillian's. Which happens to be Tyler! Geddit?

Meanwhile, Libby, who used to be Mrs Doyle from Father Ted, has become a post woman and hires a carer, Jenny, to look after her elderly mother, Patty, during the day. It soon becomes clear that all is not well. Patty has not got the crossword clues in the paper at all right; she's written "she's" and "drugging" and "me" in the squares, regardless if they fit or not!

The episode progresses, with liberal use of the word "cunt". By a woman, no less! But in the final act, these two strands are played out side-by-side. Lillian goes to see her new "daughter", Bonnie, in her posh apartment, while Jenny, wheels Patty (in her wheelchair) into the woods.

All quite innocent you might think. Except that Jenny, the carer, has tied Patty to her wheelchair, and, back at her apartment, Bonnie is downing Smirnoff like it's water. And true to form, when one character has been drinking, and the other is about to kill, the explanations start to flow.

If you think your life is bad, well it's not as bad as theirs. Probably. You can tell that, because the strains of "Time to Say Goodbye" well up in the background, as they tell their respective tales.

Jenny, the carer was denied a normal girl's life by her father's long illness. When he finally died, her mother became ill, and she was forced to care for her too. She was actually doing Libby a favour by tying her mother to her wheelchair and leaving her to die from exposure. Bonnie's real mother, however, was quite well. Apart from the fact that she'd forced her ten year old daughter into prostitution!

As the editor turns up the volume of "Time to Say Goodbye" Libby turns up and rescues her mother. At the same time, a tearful Bonnie, having downed even more Smirnoff, retreats to her bedroom, tells her new "mother" to go. She edges towards the balcony, and to the final bars of the track, falls back and plummets to the ground.

Shameless, while very watchable, is normally full of drugs, masturbation, teenage sex, repressed sexuality and shoplifting. However, this episode, with the help of Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli on vocals, was quite moving and shocking.

Casualty - Guest Review By Ian B!

Casualty. It's a soap. Digital Spy has it in its Soaps section. So it must be. But it doesn't feel like a soap. Last Saturday's episode felt like a very good "Play For Today" that the BBC used to make. Carrying on with the soap analogy, it was a bit like that Eastenders episode where Dot Cotton has a half hour long soliloquy or something.

Ruth, the focus of the episode, is a very good doctor. Not the best bedside manner, granted, but she's very good technically. In the last series, she attempted to hang herself. She survived, and after recovering, carried on working a a doctor. As time went on she married a surgeon who turned out to be be gay. After he left her she soldiered on and impressed management, started throwing her weight about, and pissed off colleagues.

But last week, for reasons best known to herself, she decided to take a teenage girl patient into a side room at the hospital, locked the door, and tried to drill into the girl's skull. Not something she'd normally do, but as mentioned above, she's not had a good time lately. Fortunately for the girl, Ruth was sectioned before she could do any unintentional damage.

Now Casualty, being a soap (apparently), normally serves up a its fair share of blood, gore and vomit. Well, it's a medical show. The viewers expect it. They'd complain to OFCOM otherwise. But it's also very good at the human angle of things. It's something it does very well. But tonight it did something I don't remember it doing before.

So, the episode starts with Ruth in the psychiatric assessment centre, having just been sectioned. She's confused, pissed off, and not at all happy. The next day she meets Matthew Kelly trying to delve into her psyche .“Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be sane.” Actually, he's very good at playing her psychiatrist.

Slowly, he gets her to tell him about a patient she treated. One who apparently invented symptoms, took drugs and rat poison, in an attempt to get noticed by Ruth, her doctor. As the counselling goes on Ruth tries to remember more details about the case in question.

Meanwhile, she meets a young pianist who had slashed his wrists. She'd been outside with him for  a cigarette, after he'd asked a member of staff for a light, as they're not allowed lighters or matches, you see. But as the cigarette goes out, the pianist produces a lighter he shouldn't have. She'd previously been given a warning not to get involved with him, but after seeing him “air playing” an imaginary piano in his room, decides to take him to the centre's chapel where there's a real piano.

It turns out he's rather good at the piano thing, and plays some Beethoven. Ruth looks on, and then (obviously!) they have sex on the floor. They're discovered, and afterwards the pianist goes to a room, gathers lots of paper together, wraps himself in a duvet, and sets himself alight with the lighter he's not supposed to have.

The next day Ruth is with her psychiatrist again, and he explains that the pianist, despite being brilliant, couldn't perform in front of an audience. Apart from that one time in front of Ruth. He then asks her to continue to tell him about the case she mentioned earlier. It turns out that the patient who had taken rat poison, and had faked symptoms, in an attempt to get noticed, was all in Ruth's head. It was her!

I realise I've been a bit flippant with some of this review, but seriously it really was an outstanding hour of drama. The direction and writing was excellent. Georgia Taylor, who used to play Toyah Battersby in Coronation Street, was really outstanding. In fact, her acting all along, from the hanging episode (which deserves a whole review in itself) to present has been superb.

You expect Casualty to be its normal self, which is great telly in itself, but then it hits you between the eyes, as it did tonight. It entirely focussed on Ruth and her story, with only a very brief scene back at the hospital. It was quite a brave episode, given it has pretty high ratings. Hopefully the viewing public at large will agree with me, and we'll see more wonderful, special episodes like this.

By Ian Bishop