Ben Homes

  • Will season three of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend be the best yet?

    Will Crazy Ex-Girlfriend season three be the best yet or will it suffer from third season fatigue?

  • Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later is dumb as hell but hilarious

    If the creators of Wet Hot American Summer (WHAS for short) want to do another series after this, I have no idea what they could do. First Day of Camp was a stroke of brilliance and Ten Years Later makes sense but unless there’s some reference in the final episode that I’ve yet to come to then who knows where this universe can now go. One of the core reasons is that there’s not a huge amount of mean spiritedness on show and it feels more like Parks and Rec then any other cruder comedy shows.

  • Who will be the new Doctor? 6 progressively awesome choices

    It may be sad to see Peter Capaldi leave the role of The Doctor as he’s often been fantastic during a less fantastic tenure of the show. As acclaimed British actors go, there’s no better than Ejiofor, whose turns in Serenity, 12 Years a Slave, Love Actually and most recently Doctor Strange have proven that he’s a versatile actor who can do drama and humour with ease. Maybe one major science fiction franchise isn’t enough for this Birmingham-born actress who, like Capaldi before her, has previous with the show, starring in 2008 adventure The Unicorn and the Wasp.

  • A Series of Unfortunate Events: "And Don't Forget Your Enormous Fortune"

    If anyone can do justice to a source material, it’s Netflix. Now, I haven’t actually read the books but I have seen how people felt the 2004 film adaptation didn’t quite do them right. The first two episodes, adapting the first book ‘The Bad Beginning’, are similar in style and tone to the Jim Carrey film, yet ultimately fit in more plot and character nuance than their predecessor.

  • Sherlock: Why I Think 'The Lying Detective' was the Best Episode Since Season Two

    I make no qualms about my disappointment with ‘Sherlock’ over the last couple of years, particularly since the beginning of season three. I often felt like it suffered from the same curse as ‘Doctor Who’, almost obnoxiously full of its own self-importance with a convoluted story in place of good writing. Though episodes would contain individual moments that I thought were strong, as a whole, the show didn’t have the same vigour or bite as it used to.

  • The Best TV Music of 2016

    There’s nothing more vital than good music or a well-placed bit of music in entertainment and when you have as much great TV as we do then it’s really an embarrassment of riches in terms of great soundtracks.

  • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: A New Hope

    Back before the end of 2016, when the lights on the Christmas trees still twinkled and we weren’t yet regretting the copious amounts of chocolate selection boxes and turkey we would consume, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was going on a bit of a seasonal break. In a small and hopeful way, I hope that it’ll work for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend too.

  • TV in 2016: Best of the Best

    Game of Thrones came back from its dour 5th season with three of the greatest episodes of the year. Netflix continued to make incredible shows, from the animated anthropomorphic wise-cracks of Bojack Horseman to the nostalgic delights of Stranger Things. Disclaimer: I’m only picking my favourites based on the episodes we were given IN 2016.

  • Charlie Brooker's 2016 Wipe Review

    With his usual blistering satire Charlie Brooker and co. tore into one of the most depressing years in my lifetime, covering everything from Brexit and Trump to celebrity deaths and Bake Off. The highlights included a The Night Manager/Fawlty Towers crossover, Pokemon GO craziness and Brooker’s reactions to Trump’s win, mercilessly taking the be-wigged pussy grabber down.

  • Doctor Who Review: Superzero

    Not since Matt Smiths departing episode, the supremely disappointing and turgid The Time of The Doctor, have I liked an episode of Doctor Who less. It’s a simple story about a bland white dude whose accidentally given super-like-powers by The Doctor’s incompetence and grows up to become New York superhero The Ghost.

  • The Ten Best Episodes of 2016

    Whilst there were many great episodes, it was perhaps this penultimate one that resonates hardest. Focusing on John Lithgow’s wonderful turn as Winston Churchill, the episode delves into his past as he sits for a birthday portrait and we learn about his demons. The preceding hour was also full of revelations, intrigue and character study that made the prior nine episodes worth every second.

  • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Ranking the Songs of Season Two

    Honestly, this season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend hasn’t been everything I’ve wanted to be. Once dear Greg left us in episode four, things started to unwind just a tad. Yet, I hold out hope for the rest of season two next year.

  • The Walking Dead: A Return to Some Sort of Form

    This episode was first and foremost, a return to form for the show since last season and the best episode since the season premiere. The last seven episodes have been a slog, with no need to split the episodes amongst different groups (as this episode so adequately proves can be done in one) and apart from some decent stuff with Daryl and Carol, it’s all been fairly rote. ‘Hearts Still Beating’ was most certainly the best episode the show has seen in a while.