Showing posts with label Television Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Television Reviews. Show all posts
After five long years of waiting, enduring the longest dragged out mysteries in the history of television, it finally happened. The big bad A was finally revealed after all the tortuous horror Charles put little Allie and the Pretty Little Liars through. But was it really all we imagined the moment to be? Let's talk about this in glorious detail!
Continuing on from the fatal fall that left Oliver Queen on the brink of death, Season 3B finds itself exploring consequences of past actions and mysterious of the Arrow's future in Sterling City. Team Arrow find themselves soul searching and questioning their identity outside of Oliver, while trying to keep Starling city safe. So many mysterious and events lurk in the path of Team Arrow, as they collide against the league of assassins forces and the devil Malcolm Merlyn himself.
This season blew my mind. It's crazy that our biggest concern was about weather Oliver was truly alive. Who knew there were actually things worse than death and being imprisoned on an deserted island for five years? What started of as an identity crisis for Team Arrow turned into a fight for survival, where trust is no longer a given.
Between Olicity, a budding relationship developing between Felicity and Ray Palmer, and tension between Team Arrow and the league, this season was jam-packed and so thrilling! It's only unfortunate that the season finale rushed it's end conclusion, tying up storyline way too neatly packaged.
Spoiler Alert: Readers enter at your own risk.
If you liked Gossip Girl and have a soft spot for period dramas like Downton Abbey, this show is so for you. Reign has the most enchanting historical elements, alongside some pretty gossip like events. It's so gripping. I literally have consumed every single episode, so curious to find out what would happen next. I see so much future potential for this show, and I can't wait to see what Season Two has to offer.
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Highlights
It's been a while since I've seen something so historic, and gosh it was so wonderful to watch. I was just in such awe of it all - the set design, the costumes and dialogue. It was very enchanting and enticing. Reign has this element of old school Gossip Girl, where romance and everyday life experiences are central, but yet there is a political conflict thrown into the fold. Mary and Francis - the main leads of the show - are constantly obligated to fulfil their duties to their respective countries (England and France), which complicates things for their personal love lives and the decisions they make. I found the political aspects of this show so intriguing. I don't think I've seen a show full of such heightened emotion, depicting what it could have been like to be a royal historically before the age of democracy took over.
Now I'll admit Reign probably isn't the most authentic show around, and it also takes quite a few liberalities with the events history, but that's what I enjoy about it. It leaves room for exploration beyond history. I can only hope the producers of the show don't abuse that freedom too much in the next coming seasons.
Shortcomings
The first half of Season One was definitely the strongest part of Reign. It established the show very well, and gave it so many dimensions to progress and evolve. But as the episodes continued on, the producers focused way too much on certain romantic relationships more than they should have. I wished they'd paid more attention in those episodes to more - like the political power relationship between each character, and the English threat. There was so many dynamics that I felt didn't reach their true potential. It was definitely a lost opportunity.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed Reign. I fell in love with the historical elements of the show, and the complexity of relationships between characters - especially between Mary and Francis, when their political duties to their own countries came into play in their lives. I'm excited to see the next step this show takes as it continues to develop!
So what did you think of Reign: Season One? Hit or Miss?
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Red Band Society is a story about the lives of a group of teenagers living in the paediatric ward at Ocean View Park, struggling with their own issues. Together they form the 'Red Band Society' to stick together through the trouble life throws at them.
When I first heard about this show, I remember feeling reluctant to watch it at all. I felt torn about the way media is - in a way - exploiting stories of children with terminal illness, and almost turning them into a trend of somesort. Since The Fault In Our Stars became so successful, why not capitalise on that by creating something similar. That idea pretty much put me off. But I decided to give it a try, and I'm so glad I did.
Red Band Society is a show with so much heart and emotion. It's like My Sister's Keeper meets One Tree Hill. Each character has their own journey and struggling to face, with family and relationship drama added to the mix. The way this show handles addressing cancer and other diseases is powerful. Although it falls short on truly representing characters and storylines at times - which I'll get into later - this show does a good job of representing the teenagers time at the hospital, and bringing attention the social impact illness can have on them.
Now - Time for spoilers!
After the tragedy we faced in season 2A, The 100 came back biting stronger than ever. This season was definitely much more darker and intense than the previous two, knocking them straight out the park. It's crazy how much this show continues to evolve. Season One was child's play compared to all this drama. There were so many moments that really stood out this season on The 100. Here are a favourite few.
Note: This post contains spoilers, so if you are not currently up-to-date with The 100 - come back later and check it out.
The Nine Lives of Chloe King tells the story of a young girl Chloe, whose mythological heritage is awakened on her 16th birthday. She is the uniter of the Mai, a species from ancient Eygpt - who are basically super human with cat-like reflexes. Her powers make her a target against human supernatural hunters, who have an ever-long-lasting fued with the Mai.
Though this series started off a little rocky, it was entertaining and fun to watch. Between the action of Mai universe and the family-friendship dynamics in the show, there was always something to keep you entertained. The Nine Lives of Chloe King really had the potential to grow as series. There were so many intriguing story lines to develop, between exploring the mysterious of the Mai, other mythological creatures, and their feud with supernatural bounty hunters. Unfortunately just as the show finally found it's footing, it was cancelled before all those beautiful plot lines could reach their full potential, and come to their final conclusions.
Heads up - if you don't want to get spoiled, skip to the conclusion! I can't contain my feelings for this story!
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Highlights
What I loved about the series the most was the whole mythology between the Mai and humans - not to mention Jackals too! I was amazed how unique the whole concept was - seeing as we have vampire and werewolf story-lines running from left, right and centre these days. Out of all the characters on the show, Skyler Samuels - who played Chloe - stood out to me the most. Her acting felt natural and very quirky. She was a pleasure to watch as the show continued, which makes me so excited to see her performance in The DUFF!
My favourite moment of season one was that amazing cliffhanger! It literally set up future storylines, and gave this sneak peak at where the series could go - like exploring Zane's gurdge against the Mai even though he is Mai himself. Oh and the fact that Alek is his brother - who he might even try to kill! What truly happened to Chloe's father since Brian's grandmother was impersonating him? What was going to happen to Chloe's mother, since Brian's dad has her? If Brian survived - who would he side with? His dad or Chloe? Did his mother die at the hands of his grandma? As you can see so many questions! Oh, it's so sad knowing that they'll never be answered on the big screen.
Shortcomings
The two main flaws that I found with this series were to do with the script and casting. I found Benjamin Stone didn't hold the exact charm and charisma that the character of Alek needed. While charming on the surf, he wasn't really able to pull of that snarky, cocky but endearing attitude. I hate to say it, but he felt pretty wooden. One-dimensional. I wanted more emotion, more feeling from him! As for Brian (played by Grey Damon) - I wish he'd been been given more quality, than just his 'nice' guy role. I actually cared more about Xavier - who was only in the pilot episode - than Brian.
As for the scripting, there were times I found dialogue to be so artificial. I wish the dialogue had felt more natural, something you would hear in everyday conversation rather than scripted. Sometimes in the show dialogue felt pretty out of place, and kind of disconnected me from the story. I wonder if this may be why the series fell a little short in the first place.
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Conclusion
All in all, The Nine Lives of Chloe King was a show with promise, which held intrigue and depth. Despite it's shortcomings, this show had potential to grow into a pretty awesome show, expanding on the Mai universe and it's origins. Unfortunately it was cancelled before everything could come to fruition.
Seen The Nine Lives of Chloe King? What did you think of the series? Let me know!
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