Masters of Sex

If you’re not already, you should be watching Masters of Sex, the second-best new show of the year (after Hannibal). The show follows the scientific research of Bill Masters (Michael Sheen) and his assistant Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) into human sexuality. Set in the fifties, it bears more than a passing resemblance to Mad Men,…

Ja’mie: Private School Girl (Episode 2)

Tonight’s episode of Ja’mie: Private School Girl has to shoulder the burden of being a second episode, moving the plot along while ensuring viewers who missed the pilot won’t miss any key details. It does a decent job, but it’s a step down from the premiere, spending a lot of its time laying out what…

Homeland – “The Yoga Play” (Season 3, Episode 5)

Ridiculous twist aside, last week’s episode of Homeland at least gave the series an opportunity to return to what it clearly loves best: high-stakes spy shit (even if it as at the expense of realistic consequences for its protagonists). Unfortunately that opportunity was squandered in an episode that’s compromised my already waning faith in the…

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Girl in the Flower Dress” (Season 1, Episode 5)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been demonstrating a gentle incline over the last four episodes, progressing step-by-step from “okay” to “good.” Unfortunately, “Girl in the Flower Dress” warrants an underwhelming shrug of one’s shoulders. The early scenes are promising, with Renshu Tseng (later known as “Scorch”) and Raina (the girl in the flower dress) demonstrating more…

Ja’mie: Private School Girl (Episode 1)

Chris Lilley’s latest series sees him take on the role of Jamie – sorry, Ja’mie – King (she added the apostrophe in Grade Eight). Ja’mie first appeared in Lilley’s outstanding We Can Be Heroes, but anyone outside Australia might be unfamiliar with Lilley’s early work and a little puzzled at the notion of a thirty-nine…

Homeland – “Game On” (Season 3, Episode 4)

This review is much later than usual. At least that delay gave me the opportunity to put the episode in the context of Alex Gansa’s recent interview (one I wouldn’t recommend reading – note the interviewer’s description of Carrie as “slutty”). Beforehand, my review would have touched on the beautiful, dreamy unreality of Carrie’s post-asylum…

Homeland – “Uh… Oo… Aw…” (Season 3, Episode 2)

As with last week’s premiere, “Uh… Oo…  Aw…” is a messy and not-exactly-great episode of television, but it’s to be commended for considering the ramifications of its characters’ actions with some degree of realism, rather than putting them at the mercy of plot contrivances. The episode wasn’t perfect, incorporating one of 24’s favourite clichés, the…