TV & Streaming

TV Review: The Feed Season 2 Episode 12 – 27th February 2014 (SBS2, Australia)

Whilst it’s not exactly ‘already done news’, it certainly feels like you could be accurate in reporting each night that there’s “more tragedy from Ukraine”, and unfortunately this evening was no exception. With the backing of SBS’s new team, The Feed is able to regularly show some harrowing and awful footage from Ukraine- this time…

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TV Review: Rake – Season 3, Episode 3 (Australia, 2014)

At last! Cleaver Greene is back in the legal saddle with a case we can all get excited about. Scarlet has been promoted to Senior Counsel and now has an enormous workload, so at Barney’s suggestion, she agrees to take Cleaver on as one of her juniors. It seems like a pretty illogical decision for…

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TV Review: New Girl – Season 3 Episode 16 “Sister” (USA, 2014)

And so the arc that will take us through to the end of the season begins. The title “Sister”, predictably, means the introduction of Abby (Linda Cardellini), Jess’ younger sister. Imagine Jess, but hard-core and confident – oh, and needing picking up from jail. This, of course, means trouble, leading to sibling guilt, leading to…

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TV Review: The Feed Season 2 Episode 10 – 25th February 2014 (SBS2, Australia)

Certainly the most noteworthy of The Feed’s headlines for its February 25 episode was the proposed fatwa being put on a mission to Mars by the United Arab Emirates. Whilst this sounds like an Onion article or a bizarre pulpy science fiction plot, this is actually the situation many Muslims may find themselves in. Not…

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TV Review: The Walking Dead – Season 4 Episode 11 “Claimed” (USA, 2014)

‘Claimed’ wasn’t all about our three new characters as most would have expected; instead, Rick’s plight was the highlight of this episode The Walking Dead. In continuing the bleak prospects that come with separation – and both the human and zombie threat that doesn’t allow for any sort of rest – we were split between…

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TV Review: The Feed Season 2 Episode 8 – 20th February 2014 (SBS2, Australia)

Thursdays come around so quick eh? And with it comes the week’s last episode of The Feed. This episode took a slightly different approach – with a core focus on the third anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake (yes that was somehow three years ago). Before that though- we were treated, if that is the right…

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TV Review: Rake – Season 3, Episode 2 (Australia, 2014)

Well, that was surprising. Not the fact that Rake is back on the streets— that was to be expected— but the fact that everything in his outside life has become so egregiously shithouse in such a short amount of jail-time. This is the episode where Cleaver Greene gets thrown into a landfill-sized hole, so that…

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TV Review: The Walking Dead – Season 4 Episode 10 “Inmates” (USA, 2014)

With the writers seemingly placing character development first, ‘Inmates’ continues the artful slow-burn that worked so well in ‘Alive,’ but this time they have four disparate storylines to play around with. Despite multiple arcs not working so well in previous seasons, ‘Inmates’ handles the situation quite nicely, patching each tale together with not-so-subtle easter eggs,…

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TV Review: New Girl – Season 3 Episode 14 “Prince” (USA, 2014)

It was one of the most anticipated episodes of the series and for one enormous reason: Prince. All right, maybe two: the “l word” was in there as well. The episode started out strong, laughs right from the get go before Jess and Cece regaled the boys with a curious anecdote, ending in an invitation…

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TV Review: Sleepy Hollow (USA, 2013) Season 1, Episodes 6 – 13

For those of you who haven’t yet hopped on board with Sleepy Hollow I’m here to once again regale you with a recap of episodes to give you a chance to check the series out now that it’s completed all 13 episodes. Episodes 1-5 of Season One introduced us to Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) and…

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TV Review: The Feed Season 2 Episode 5 – 17th February 2014 (SBS2, Australia)

The Feed kicked off the second week of its second season with what seemed like a cruel tease of Back to the Future technology only to lead us into decidedly heavier news. The riots and breakouts on the Manus Island detention centre are troubling and depressing realities to our current asylum seeker policy are always…

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TV Review: The Feed Season 2 Episode 4 – 13th February 2014 (SBS2, Australia)

What was probably the heaviest (and last) episode of the week saw the crew from The Feed tackling pig hunting, sexual abuse, Olympic hanky panky and nudist churches. Just another evening on SBS2! The lead headlines are always the least fascinating part of the show, yet Marc Fennell manages to get the show cooking with…

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TV Review: Rake – Season 3, Episode 1 (Australia, 2014)

When Cleaver Greene was sent to prison at the end of Season 2 of Rake, I have to admit that I was pretty dubious about how the next season would play out. Surely they’d have to think of some legal fandangle that would have Cleaver waking up to find it was all a bad dream— a…

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TV Review: New Girl – Season 3 Episode 13 “Birthday” (USA, 2014)

Any episode entitled “Birthday” is probably going to have an aspect of significance to it, particularly when the birthday in question is that of Jess. Within the very first minute it was established that Jess has unrealistically high expectations for her birthday, evidenced by a flashback of Cece gifting her a sweater made in China,…

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TV Review: The Walking Dead – Season 4 Episode 9 “Alive” (USA, 2014)

Last season The Walking Dead kicked off their second half of season 3 by introducing Tyreese, a character which hasn’t yet made the impact he does in the comics, and hasn’t yet been developed properly. Despite this, it was still a big moment in the series and kicked the mid-season off with a finale-quality feel….

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TV Review: The Feed Season 2 Episode 2 – 11th February 2014 (SBS2, Australia)

As if it needed anything to prove at all, The Feed easily showed that its success and ease in the half hour format was no flash in the pan with its second 2014 episode. The Feed has clearly got its format down-pat with an opening few minutes dedicated to what’s gone down in the day’s…

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TV Review: The Feed Season 2 Premiere – 10th February 2014 (SBS2, Australia)

A new year and, thankfully, a new season of SBS2’s The Feed. After making its debut last year in 15 minute format, the current affairs/news review program has now returned to the airwaves in extended 30 minute version and was clearly in no mood for time wasting. Kicking off with its trademark wrap up of…

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TV Review: True Detective – Season 1, Episodes 1-4 (USA, 2014)

Bringing together two giants of Hollywood; Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, True Detective is the latest offering from quality television provider HBO (broadcast on Showcase, Foxtel in Australia). The story, told across eight episodes in this first season, moves the viewer from past to present as ex-detectives narrate their investigation into the murder of a…

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TV Review: American Horror Story: Coven – Episode 13 “The Seven Wonders” (USA, 2014)

We finally arrive at the big event the season has been hinting at, the “Seven Wonders” witch trial. If you’re expecting a thrilling build up of tension, ambitious witches sabotaging each other or anything that’s generally exciting in anyway you’ll be disappointed. It’s less like watching the end to a triathlon and more like watching…

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TV Review: New Girl – Season 3 Episode 15 “Exes” (USA, 2014)

After such a strong previous episode, there was a module of apprehension about this episode. Would it reach the newly set New Girl standard or would it fall short? With the first mention of Caroline, Nick’s ex-girlfriend who he nearly left the gang for back in season one, it was clear this was going to…

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TV Review: American Horror Story: Coven – Episode 12 “Go To Hell” (USA, 2014)

Despite repeating structural felonies, I was impressed with the ending to this episode. I didn’t see it coming and it definitely had a shock value that put new motions into practice. The Seven Wonders Witch trials loom, but there isn’t much preparation or focus on them. Instead, the episode prefers to tread on already explored…

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TV Review: New Girl – Season 3 Episode 12 “Basketsball” (USA, 2014)

Who doesn’t love an episode that begins with a spot of impromptu vocals by Nick? Completely unrelated to the episode, it seemed, as the plot centred around two primary storylines: Jess’ desperation to have Coach regard her as more than just ‘his buddy’s girlfriend’, and Winston’s decision to look in on Schmidt’s life of marketing…

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TV Review: American Horror Story: Coven – Episode 11 “Protect The Coven” (USA, 2014)

For anyone waiting for the macabre and gore to amplify are about to have their wishes fulfilled. Episode 11 steps up the suspense and blood levels to create a more engaging episode. This being said, there are still issues with script including scenes that should be tense but aren’t. As far as plot construction goes,…

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TV Review: American Horror Story: Coven – Episode 10 “The Magical Delights of Stevie Nicks” (USA, 2014)

We’re nearing the end to American Horror Story: Coven and episode 10 throws some new tricks into the equation. It starts where episode 9 left off, with Marie Laveau being sheltered by the Coven. The truce that was once over seems to be back, joining forces to tackle Witch Hunters known as The Corporation. Meanwhile,…

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TV Review: New Girl – Season 3 Episode 11 “Clavado En Un Bar” (USA, 2013)

New Girl was back with a bang with a surprisingly original episode that really brought out the best of the gang. The episode was essentially a flashback episode, formed under the guise of Jess needing advice concerning the possibility of taking on a new job. Jessica Day, not a teacher? I’m not sure if any…

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TV Review: Doctor Who – The Time of the Doctor (UK, 2013 Christmas Special)

If you’re a Doctor Who fan, “The Time of the Doctor” was more than just your usual Christmas Special. It means the end of the Matt Smith era and the beginning of our time with Peter Capaldi. Before we get to those eyes who appeared quickly in “The Day of the Doctor” (the 50th Anniversary…

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TV Review: American Horror Story: Coven – Episode 9 “Head” (USA, 2013)

The season has been hinting at Witch-hunters for a while but now they finally become a prominent part of the storyline. This steers the narrative into an interesting direction bringing with it fresh characters and conflicts and pushing the possibility of an alliance between Marie and Fiona. Meanwhile, Queenie educates Delphine on racial prejudice and…

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TV Review: Homeland Season 3 Episode 12 – “The Star” (M) (US, 2013)

Homeland is back for another year. I will be chronicling the journeys of Carrie, Saul and Brody throughout the third season of the best show currently on television. Spoilers within so don’t read before viewing the episodes! *SERIOUS SPOILER ALERT* Previously on Homeland… Brody (Damian Lewis) has managed to assassinate Javadi’s boss, and Carrie (Claire Danes) is doing…

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TV Review: Homeland Season 3 Episodes 7-11 (M) (US, 2013)

Homeland is back for another year. I will be chronicling the journeys of Carrie, Saul and Brody throughout the third season of the best show currently on television. Spoilers within so don’t read before viewing the episodes! Previously on Homeland… Saul (Mandy Patinkin) has been successful in his plan to use Carrie (Claire Danes) as bait in…

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TV Review: American Horror Story: Coven – Episodes 7 and 8 (USA, 2013)

More secrets are unveiled in this episode and things begin to look interesting again. In episode 7, Queenie and Delphine’s friendship grows as Zoe and Cordelia attempt to discover Madison’s murderer. The turning points in this episode are quite dramatic but, as observed in previous reviews, the lack of effective characterisation has decreased their impact. Unlike previous seasons where the…

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