Who would have thought, watching the Justified pilot, that the line separating Boyd Crowder and Raylan Givens would become so blurred? The two men, inextricably bonded, have always been two sides of the one coin, but after the season finale “Ghosts,” it’s not clear that they don’t deserve to inhabit the same, grimy side of…
One of the more surprising discoveries of my Easter holidays has been that practically everyone loves Game of Thrones. Sure, a glance at Facebook might tell me that most people in my demographic watch the show, but while catching up with my extended family I found that my relatives, from younger cousins to older aunts…
The presentation of Game of Thrones second season on Blu-Ray is, frankly, exceptional – the packaging is sumptuous and the discs come with a raft of special features, most impressive of which is the “In-Episode Guide” – essentially an appendix, providing for each scene, character bios, setting details and animated shorts where the characters narrate…
Aunty Peg’s death was a surprising development at the end of last week’s episode of Please Like Me, but it served as a springboard for the strongest episode of the show yet (and, sadly, the finale of this short season). “Horrible Sandwiches” largely eschewed comedy to focus on the characters’ reactions to Peg’s death at…
“Peace of Mind” followed many paths that the show has travelled in the past, but effectively put a new twist on familiar ground. Like “Decoy,” the episode concerned a hunt for one individual; except this time Boyd, Augustine and Givens were after Ellen May rather than Drew. Like “Decoy,” there was a constant threat (and…
Given there’s only have three episodes left, the first half of “Separate Paths” is surprisingly slow, bringing the inevitable Crixus/Spartacus conflict to a head with genuine respect for the difficult relationship that has developed between the men since they met in Batiatus’s ludus. Given the short shrift Crixus has had this season, it was good…
The first two episodes of Please Like Me underwhelmed me – the characters were too likeable. Significantly, there was too little conflict. How things have changed. “Spanish Eggs” is wall-to-wall conflict. There were enough quarrelsome conversations in the half-hour that it might have well been an episode of Justified. Tom’s pregnancy scare turns out to…
There’s nothing like the ever-present threat of death hanging over an episode of television to keep things interesting. Every moment in this week’s episode of Justified was heightened, every line carrying extra weight, as everyone manoeuvred to either protect or abduct Drew Thompson, whose history was fleshed out as he was frantically ferried from one…
The outstanding season finale of Girls, “Together,” was filled with unrestrained, honest conversation, people cutting through bullshit to share their innermost thoughts, fears and hopes. Marnie’s ultimatum to Charlie could have been yet another disappointment for her, but her raw confession unearthed a heartfelt reciprocation from her ex-(now-current)-boyfriend. On paper, I don’t know that I…
“Mors Indecepta” showed the best and worst of Spartacus. At its best, we had the continuation of the thrilling chess match between Spartacus and Crassus, with Spartacus’s catastrophic attempt to assassinate Crassus followed by his stunning turnaround: conquering the trench and building a bridge out of hundreds of fucking corpses. At its worst, the episode…
ccpopculture 