This Is England 88, Sherlock: TV Special

#1 - THIS IS ENGLAND 88

Stars - Joe Gilgun, Vicky McClure, Johnny Harris, Rosamund Hanson, Thomas Turgoose, Danielle Watson, Andrew Shim

Director - Shane Meadows

Memorable Quote - 'I wanted to die because of you.'

Review - Phew. I previously reviewed 'This is England '86' as being "a bit harrowing at times", but two years later 'harrowing' is the rule rather than the exception. There are rarely glimpses of hope in this three-parter, mostly concerning Joe Gilgun's interactions with his boss, and those are only of a dark humour as you watch his painful attempts to fit in with people he has nothing in common with. Lol's turn is nothing but dark, dark, dark all the way through, and although it is of course true that not everyone can be happy all the time, I feel a little bit let down by this choice of scripting. What has always been brilliant about the series is that the moments of darkness are matched by those of happiness and laughter, but here it was not so; even Shaun could not provide comic relief, and that I feel was a mistake. The beauty remained intact and the acting as ever was astounding, but if there's to be a next one, let's make sure it returns to the way we loved it before, eh? 3.5/5

#2 - SHERLOCK SERIES 2

Stars - Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Andrew Scott, Loo Brealey, Rupert Graves, Una Stubbs, Lara  Pulver, Russell Tovey

Director - Paul McGuigan, Toby Haynes, 

Memorable Quote - 'Who the hell knows about Sherlock Holmes, but for the record, anyone out there still cares, I'm not actually gay.' (Watson)

Review - I'm not actually sure that I'm going to be able to review this without flailing and descending into gibberish. I'm seriously in love with this series - with all aspects of it: the acting, the casting, the way all the old familiar stories have been modernised, the text on the screen, the dialogue - ALL of it. This season saw Irene Adler appear for the first time - and what an appearance she made! The idea of Sherlock having feelings of that nature was an interesting element to add to the existing dynamic, and I'm glad that it was not pushed too far by her continuing in the other episodes (small doses are the way to go). The relationship between John and Sherlock is brilliantly portrayed - you can feel the tension of their differing worldviews under the surface along with the genuine friendship that allows them to tolerate it. The script was witty and wonderful, and the second episode brought in an appropriate Holmesian level of fear and psychological thrills. The Reichenbach Falls, the third and final episode, brought with it a lot of drama along with - at last - a full glimpse of Jim Moriarty's insane evil genius, portrayed fantastically by Andrew Scott. It was a heartbreaker as well as being the cleverest yet, but of course a true Holmes fan would have guessed the twist ending from the corresponding Doyle story, and therein lies the fun... There was also the development of Sherlock's feelings: in the first season he is accused of feeling nothing by John, but in episode one we see that it may be possible to feel attraction to a woman; in episode two he admits he has one friend, John; and in episode three he admits to four, John, Lestrade, Mrs Hudson - and Molly. There could not be a more perfect update for the franchise, and I can only look forward to season three with the wish it would come a little sooner. Is tomorrow too much to ask, boys? 6/5

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