I'll need a miracle to help me this time

Or, what I have watched recently and what I think about it.

In no particular order:

Orphan Black

Have seen three episodes so far and wooooo it's exciting! And twisty. And interesting. And I'm so behind that really, I probably don't need to tell anyone this because you've seen it already. Anyway, it's really good.

By Any Means

I have only seen the first episode so far, and it was a Hustle knock-off with pretensions to being a crime drama. However I have watched so much depressing drama recently that this kind of nonsense was pretty much exactly what I needed, so hooray for a show where Warren Brown isn't going to die. </bitter>

Southcliffe

Southcliffe came across as one of the aforementioned depressing dramas - and holy crap, it was - but I found it to be a really interesting drama that went in a few ways I wasn't expecting (Rory Kinnear's character was particularly intriguing). It wasn't afraid to make its characters unsympathetic at times, but managed not to make them ALL awful all the time (looking at you, Mayday). Some of the timeshifting was a bit tricky to follow though, and as a result there were some elements of the show I wished had more focus.

Atlantis

Lovely shiny nonsense. LOVED. IT. High hopes for the rest of the series being as cracktastic.

The Bridge

Watching episode 3 as I type, and really enjoying this remake so far (also looking forward to The Tunnel). Diane Kruger's particularly great as Sonya Cross and I'm enjoying the US/Mexico stuff compared to the Denmark/Sweden stuff.

Brooklyn Nine Nine

LOVED. THIS. Loved the characters (and they were really well introduced in the first episode - I feel like I have a clear sense of who they all are), loved the acting, loved the jokes (still laughing about Terry Crews' character naming his daughters Cagney and Lacey). Really looking forward to the rest of the series.

Elementary

Oh I LOVE the casting for the UK characters in Elementary. SEAN PERTWEE AAAAAAAAAAH <3. And Rhys Ifans was great - I really didn't expect him enjoy him that much. Really liked the Lestrade plot as well, And ohhhhhhhhhh Joan and Sherlock <3 <3 <3. So happy this is back.

Sleepy Hollow

I just want to watch people who've been kept away from the modern world for some reason being confused by daily life, is that so wrong? (my GOD, this show is good for me - yes alright Lucas was away for eight years, but hundreds? OK YES PLS) Loving this, wishing I had not got through the first two episodes because now I am up to date and I WANT MORE. Loving the characters (interested in where they're going with Jenny 'Sarah Connor' Mills), not loving the occasional creepy moments that come out of fricking nowhere aaaaaaaargh.

Person of Interest

I love this show so much. It's just the best. I watched 214 and 215 today, and Logan Pierce! Zoe! Joooooohn you ridiculous man. Still not over 213 either (the rooftop aals;fk;ffd; so good).

The thing is, objectively I can tell when the show is not that great, but I just don't care. Every single thing about it just hits me on a really deep level (the reason I am still on s2 is because I save up watching episodes - I could easily marathon it) but I find it hard to explain why.

Dancing With The Stars

I am not watching this properly, thankfully - I did watch a full episode today and it was pretty tedious outside of the dancing. Mostly I'm watching for the lovely Amber Riley and Corbin Bleu, who I have loved since HSM. I have also watched him in other stuff, including Disney stuff, because I have no shame. He's great. And his week 2 jive was AMAZING, especially after the Contemporary in week 1 (it was good, I'm just not a massive fan of Contemporary):

"" (Watch on YouTube)

Strictly Come Dancing

Yay, it's the Stricty time of year! Not a great start to the series - seriously, is there ANYONE who wants Bruce to carry on presenting? HE IS TERRIBLE - and it seems to be quite a weak field atm, but it was good fun anyway. Favourites so far are Patrick Robinson (well, he is in Casualty) and Natalie Gumede (who has an amazing face and seems pretty awesome). Also slightly Dave Myers, because the Hairy Bikers are the best TV chefs. Would like Vanessa to be knocked out first, but that's mostly because I don't like her at all. Suspect it will be Tony, however. 

It'll be interesting to see how people look after the second dances - I really don't like having jives in week 1, I think they should be week 3 minimum so the celebs have had time to get used to just dancing before they tackle it. 

I think I've caught everything - this does cover a few weeks of viewing, although I watched a lot today! (the only upside to being ill)

A Matter of Blood book ramble

I hesitate to call this a review, because even in the version in my head there’s a lot of tangents. And it’s not quite a rec (for reasons which will become obvious). So I’m calling it a ramble. 

Crishna brought this book down to Cornwall for me, and seeing as it was a) crime b) with a supernatural bent and c) set in London, I had to read it.

A Matter of Blood is the first book in the Dog-Faced Gods trilogy (which I nearly just typed as God-Faced Dogs, which would be something else entirely), set in a very near future where the global financial crisis was far more serious than the real one, and most of the world is now in hock to The Bank, a shady organisation.

The book follows Detective Inspector Cass Jones over two investigations, the shooting of two schoolboys and a serial killer who calls himself the Man of Flies and who likes leaving the words Nothing Is Sacred written in blood on his victims.

At the same time, his marriage is going down the pan (although the rot set in long before the start of the book, after an undercover operation that went very bad – we find out just how bad in flashbacks).

Ok, so that’s the setup, now we get into the spoilery discussion:

( spoilers )

 

Tl; dr - in reading this book I found out my limit for depressing shit is, actually, Luther. Good to know.