#when my favourite shows get renewed for another season... or three

[roennq]

Me and my favourite shows

[crazycatfaery]

A wonderful morning from your holiday anon. I'm here with, you guessed it, more questions! of all 13 eps which one is your favorite? which 3 things would you change about season 2? do you have 3 favorite fanfic tropes?

Omg hi anon!!! So happy to hear from you again! 😄💚

So sorry for my late reply, but it turns out you stumped me with the first two questions this time, so I went and rewatched the whole series with a notebook and pen in hand (I had to go through all the feels again because of this, how dare you! /affectionately).

My favourite episode: OMG WHAT. I can't choose just one! I liked the first episode of S1, because its an introduction of all the characters, and I like that Farah is in there a lot. I also like the last episode of S1, apart from the fact that Farah gets forced into her nap. My favourite scene is in that episode, with Farah opening up to Bloom and them hugging 🥺. But then I also really like episode 6 of S2, even though that's when we say goodbye to Farah. The whole conversation between Stella and Luna, Bloom's stasis dream with Aisha's words, Farah freeing her after wiping her tear...just, ugh 😭❤️. The problem is that I have things I love and things I don't in every episode of the show, so picking only one is so hard! The best I can do is narrow it down to S1Ep6 and S2Ep6 (hah, both episode 6), which are equally high up my list.

Three things I'd change about S2: Ooh are you ready because I have THOUGHTS.

Saul's emotionless reaction to the mention of Farah by Terra. Like, what the heck was that?? I already have a couple HC explanations for it, but I would've much preferred the addition of a small scene where we see a hint of him breaking down or very obviously keeping in his emotions (like punching a tree and then pretending everything is fine while someone looks at him with sad eyes, maybe Sky? *takes note of this for future fic*) to signal that he does, in fact, know about her death and DOES care a GREAT deal! I'm very passionate about this as you can tell.

Bloom and Rosalind's "fight". I don't like how Rosalind just kind of... stands there while Bloom gets ready to flambé her into a crispy piece of chicken. Couldn't they at least have done a little exchange of magical blows or something? Rosalind trying to attack Bloom (futile attempts ofc but still)? At the very least make it so Rosalind doesn't feel so weak in that moment. She's supposed to be a powerful fairy, more than Farah! I actually jumped on this scene for the fix-it event this year, and wrote THIS fic, if you haven't read it yet and want to know more about what I'd change. I even go more in-depth in the comments.👀

The pacing. Most of this season felt rushed. Maybe it would've helped if they'd added another episode and stretched it out a bit (as they initially promised), maybe they should've ended the season with Rosalind's crispyness so they would've had more room for all the previous storylines that season. Then again, we wouldn't have had that final goodby of Farah, unless the show did actually get renewed, in which case they could've scrapped that whole bit and just have Farah come back because Eve Best's filming schedule would've possibly alined better (wishful thinking, I know). Overall, I feel there were a lot of things left out that could've been told, and weren't because they focused on rushing towards Bloom going to the Dark Realm.

Three favorite fanfic tropes: Good god I have to breathe for a minute after that rant😂. I'm glad you put a positive question after that one!

I like to read all sorts of stuff, but the tropes I gravitate towards the most are: Fix-it fics (or canon-divergence AU), because of obvious reasons. Angst/fluff (or hurt/comfort?) fics, because I love me some angst as long as it has a happy ending (although sometimes I like a bittersweet ending too, if I need a good cry). And lastly I love Mutual Pining, because what else would I have my two favorite idiots do?❤️

I hope I understood this question correctly, because I always confuse tropes, genre's and styles? Have a few bonus ones I also enjoy, for if I actually got it wrong: There was only one bed, Five times fic, Missing Scene, and Friends to lovers.

[lameravigliadoro]

oh so you're learning french, Twitch edition : 5 french streamers

you have some kind of basis in french, but you want to go further with fast-paced, advanced level vocabulary? here's a non-exhaustive list of some of the best french speaking streamers to improve your language skills and understanding of the language in a native context, as well as discover interesting people and expand your knowledge on french culture and history!

domingo : video react, most popular talkshow on twitch & League

fun, easy-going livestreams! he hosts a talkshow every Tuesday evening (8pm-10pm, +1) called "Popcorn" : in fact, it's the most popular talkshow on the french twitch and you can get introduced to most of the streamers with interviews of singers, actors, or even a football player, games, worldwide news ("les actus de PA" --'PA' is actually Domingo's real name alias, Pierre-Alexis --'actus' means 'news'). He talks clearly most of the times, though is pretty fast-paced.

here's a video extract in which Ponce (brown-haired, rond glasses), Baghera (blond girl), Simon Puech (brown-haired, black t-shirt) and Domingo (on the far left, black beard and beige sweatshirt) talk about alcohol consumption in France as well as regional clichés and their own relationship with alcohol.

littlebigwhale : singer & pubg

she actually livestreams in english sometimes! she mostly plays PUBG and other games, and on sundays she sings during her karaoke. she doesn't talk that fast so don't hesitate to go and see for yourself! if you want to sing and have fun, she does karaoke nights every so often with another streamer, Zerator, (available on youtube too, just search "littlebigwhale zerator karaoke and you should find two or three streams).

here's a stream from a among us night when pokimane joined some french streamers! littlebigwhale is the one wearing bear ears and glasses.

etoiles : culture & smash bros

smash bros player and host. also, he has a thing called "la nuit de la culture/la nuit de la cult'" (= the culture night) during which he watches a "Question pour un champion" episode (="Going for Gold" french version on the national channel) and tries to answer the questions to perfect his general knowledge skills and he spends hours looking up stuff he doesn't know --a very fun and smart way to actually get more knowledgable on french culture and history, expand your vocabulary in sciences, gastronomy, botany and just be in a friendly, positive mood on saturday nights! the culture night is every saturday from 8pm to midnight or even more. ==> fun fact : the Question pour un champion host (called Samuel Etienne) is actually livestreaming on twitch too after Etoiles showed him! his channel is samueletienne and he reads french press every morning, it's very fun and interesting if you want to be in touch with french news in an easy way.

jean massiet : french politics expert & pilot

he's one of my favourite streamer! he's a specialist in the french political life as he worked for several secretaries of state (in french, des "ministres") as a parliamentary attaché. he often does news roundups, livestreames every wednesdays debates at the Assemblée Nationale (national assembly), and is careful about democratizing politics to the youth, making it easy to understand. he's been hosting a political talkshow on his twitch channel too (named "Backseat", every thursdays, starting at 19:30, though the season finale was in last june, let's hope it gets renewed in september), i highly recommend you try and watch some episodes! they invite french politicians (ministres, députés, chefs de parti, porte-paroles) and interview them. when i say they, i talk about the commentators who are on the show with Jean and who are all knowledgable, politicised and funny and come from different political backgrounds to respect a sort of 'neutrality' : this way, ideas and visions from the far-left, left and centre-right are freely expressed on the show. another thing i appreciate is that, nevertheless this neutrality, they refuse to invite far-right politicians and fascists, even when it comes to popular candidates for the présidentielle.

rivenzi : sport games, history & all kind of nintendo games

he's famous for broadcasting and commentating sport matches (football, rugby, he also commentated the Olympic Games in Tokyo!) so if you like sport games go check him out he knows a lot and can make everything interesting! rivenzi also organises history lives as well : the one i've linked below is one amongst many on his channel in which he invites a french historian to talk informally and in-depth about subjects like nazism (like this one), the Algerian war, etc. there's more history live replays on his Spotify account so don't hesitate to check it out! i love these history lives because rivenzi is also knowledgable (he went to the uni to study history) and interested in history, so these conversations are gold mines, especially for people who know nothing about the subjects, the goal is to democratise and vulgarise difficult and heavy topics!

+ he's one of the funniest people on this platform (according to me) + he's also Breton and is very proud of it (we all are)

for this history live, rivenzi invites the historian and college lecturer Nicolas Patin to talk about his book, "Kruger, un bourreau ordinaire" (= "an ordinary executioner"), a biography about the nazi chief of the S.S and police in Poland during the WWII and is responsible for the mass deportation of Polish Jews.

don't hesitate to ask for clarifications, i tried to be as clear and consice as possible! for most twitch lives, you can find a lot of free replays on their twitch channels or even on their youtube channels, don't be afraid to do your own digging! also, i know it can be intimidating to watch un-subbed videos in french, but the more you'll hear spoken and native french, the more you'll get used to the natural speaking flow and internet slang vocabulary. finally, i restricted the list to 5 streamers, but i'm sure that if you watch a few of these streamers' videos or even catch them on live, you'll hear about other streamers as they pretty much all know each other and are friends, like Mister MV, Ponce, Zerator, Ultia, AngleDroit, Gotaga, Maghla, DFG, RebeuDeter, Aminematuer, Squeezie (most famous french youtuber and streamer), Horty, BagheraJones, etc.

have fun! :)

[downtonabbeyrevisited]

Season Two Episode Two

Following a typically chaotic opener, Episode Two of Season Two strikes a far more sombre tone. The arrival of Henry Lang as Robert’s valet brings the first of this episode’s three plot points that address the impact of WW1 on the mental health of its soldiers. There is nothing funny to say about either shell-shock or suicidal ideation both of which are vast, complex issues that, for my money, Downton Abbey isn’t the vehicle explore in (because they require more time and depth than the pace of the plot in Season Two affords) and it certainly isn’t my place to make light of them in this rather irreverent corner of the internet. So I’m going to have a go at treading a fine line here. Forgive me if I stumble. 

Lang is clearly in the grips of something awful and yet in an attempt to avoid the indignity of having maids in the dining room, he is bumped up to footman duty. He struggles throughout, culminating in him depositing his cargo on Edith’s dress. Mrs O’Brein has firmly taken Lang under her wing, recognising that he is struggling and offers him assurance and comfort that she has never gifted to Thomas. 

Across the Village, Lieutenant Edward Courtenay is in the hospital having been blinded by gas. The use of gas (both chlorine and mustard) had a devastating impact on soldiers in WW1 but was also the root of the development of Zyklon B. Frtiz Haber, a German Jewish chemist, enabled chlorine gas to be used a weapon in WW1 and his research was later developed into the Zyklon process which was used by the Nazis to murder millions, including his own family. This is only one of a dizzying number of appalling ironies to be found in the World Wars but as I said last episode, I’m not a military historian so I’m going to leave it there. Edward had plans to return to the country after his graduation from Oxford to pursue the simple life (although one gets the feeling that his idea of the pursuit of a simple life will still be one that is very well upholstered). Thomas has taken it upon himself to read Edward’s letters to him and  together with Sybil is helping him to adjust to living life with a different set of parameters. But growing pressure on the hospital’s limited capacity means that he is to be transferred elsewhere. All three voice their dissent at varying volumes to Major Clarkson who falls back on the very real backlog of wounded men. After Edward has died, Major Clarkson, Isobel and Sybil talk about a renewed need for the Abbey to become a convalescent home, an idea that has been bubbling under the surface for a while now. Meanwhile, Thomas has been left on his own to process both Edward’s death and the implications of witnessing a lack of support given by his own physician to those with depression.  

The usually reliably jovial Mrs Patmore also has a more somber episode with her pursuit for the truth about the death of her nephew Archie. Robert finds that he has been shot for cowardice. Not only does this mean that her family is in mourning but they will now have to navigate the stigma and undue shame that came with having a relative die in this way. So entrenched in British life was the derision levelled at those who were shot for cowardice or desertion that it was only in 2006 that pardons were offered by Britain for 309 of those that were executed by firing squad during WW1. I know I said I’d leave it there with the military history, but that felt like an important bit of context. 

We are now in 1917 and Matthew is still in the same trench that he was in 1916 (a detail I hadn’t actually noticed until I got the screen cap for this) so it looks like his strategy of downing tools mid-fight and continuously popping back to Blighty for important plot developments isn’t really paying dividends. Perhaps the addition of William to the ranks will help him? William certainly seems to think so and if the speed at which he moves through the various stages of his ‘relationship’ with Daisy is any indication of his tactical prowess, the British Front will not only be well within Germany’s borders but will be breathing down Russia’s neck in a fortnight. In any other episode, this would certainly get the award for oddest relationship dynamic but Sir Richard Carlisle exists. 

Sir Richard makes his debut at Downton, having been introduced in name only in the previous episode. He and Mary met at Cliveden which is a regular haunt of mine, giving me hope that one day I too will from a strategic alliance with a newspaper magnate. He may know how to talk his way around a boardroom but he is lacking in the sartorial department. Whilst Sir Richard manages to avoid catching fire in his tweed, Lavinia is not free from the heat as he threatens her with his connection to her uncle. He may not know much about navigating the niceties of Downton, but at least he has cottoned on to the fact that any major disagreement should occur under a specific tree. Whilst Mary’s signature move is weeping into her gloves, Sir Richard’s is grabbing women by the forearm. A female friend of mine told me that one of her favourite things about the pandemic and the compulsion to keep 2m away from anyone (and not just emotionally) is that she has not been ’steered’ by a male hand on her lower back since 2019. It turns out that she can enter and exit rooms just fine on her own and I get the impression that Lavinia could get the gist of Sir Richard’s rage without the vice like grip of a man probably about twice her age. 

Twinned with the ’tree of emotional conflict’, the ‘platform of romantic uncertainty’ provides the backdrop for Sir Richard’s proposal of marriage to Mary which is a declaration that really feels like it should come with a series of well-formatted charts. Mary’s heart, however, is still very much with Cousin Matthew. After being counselled by Carson in a type of conversation I cannot imagine her ever having with her father, she is on the verge of coming clean with Matthew. But in the second round of Lavinia vs. Mary, Lavinia declares that she ‘could not go on living’ without Matthew and Mary winds her neck in. 

Also having a romantic entanglement this episode is Edith. Drake, previously of dropsy fame, has lost his farm hands and Edith turns up to offer her help in a wildly unsuitable trouser and heeled boot combo. But she soon gets down to it by pulling up a tree stump and flirting in a barn whilst a rather lovely border collie looks on (I’m currently trying to talk myself out of getting a border collie and this incident has done nothing to help things). After showing Drake that she can drink from a bottle like literally every single other human on the planet, the two share a kiss and some highly awkward dialogue that only slightly resembles ‘Carry on Downton’. 

Whilst Edith is more than happy to crack on in a barn, Mr Molesley is much more backwards about coming forwards. Apparently having predicted the creation of ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’, he figures that a book is the perfect kindling for romance when you exist in a glossy depiction of the past. Sadly neither Elizabeth nor her German garden can lure Anna from Bates who is fast shaping up to be schrodinger’s boyfriend. Anna proceeds to make some odd analogy where she compares Mr Bates to her moon-based child, revealing a rather unhealthy amount of codependency in that particular relationship. 

Romantic declaration of the moment 

Again, it feels like anyone but Sybil and Branson should get this but I am an agent of chaos and here we are. Branson defends Sybil’s will to work and has ample opportunity to see her shine in her chosen field. The admission that she will not be returning to her old life is a little chink of light that Branson basks in. 

Expressive eyebrow of the week 

I nominate Carson’s entire face when he realises that he has taken on too much and goes an impressive shade of red. As Carson frets about spoons, sauce, and something I can’t quite fathom, he starts to resemble a man who is re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. Carson’s battle to get a cork out of a bottle and knocking into chairs is a warm up to his rather dramatic collapse which is accompanied by a pretty disturbing groan. Sybil springs to action and he is soon efficiently ensconced in his own quarters. 

Wait, what? 

“I got a lot done on the train” Clearly Richard was on a train that was unencumbered with the wifi issues that plague the Pendolino.  

“It takes a good deal more than that to shock me.” Mary’s shock-o-meter is a pretty odd instrument. It is unresponsive to corpses of diplomats but goes into absolute meltdown at the notion that she might have to live in a cottage. 

“Let's hope my reputation will survive it.” I’ve not checked (and I categorically never will) but I would put money on the fact that someone has created a rarepair out of this. 

“How can Matthew have chosen that little blonde piece?” Is Lavinia blonde? Women’s hair is not really my forte but I would have thought she was more akin to Tim Minchin than 1998 Justin Timberlake. 

“I believe in this war. I believe in what we are fighting for.” William seems to have a better grip on what all of this is about than I ever did in high school history. The ‘A’ that eluded me is heading his way. 

“I thought he might've died for love of you.” How I love snipey Thomas. It’s good to have him back. To borrow a quote from Bottas (another man who is currently living a life in which his destiny is his own demise) ‘traditions’. 

“Fold it in, don’t slap it” The more season two goes on, the more I think that Moira is just an amalgamation of some choice elements of Julian’s kingdom. 

[drdelphinecormigay]

Hey there! How are you?

What are your thoughts with Grey's being renewed for another season?

Hello!! I’m good thank you, how are you? I’m currently busy af with my final year but I’m getting there!! Missing writing fic a lot :(

See, I feel I’m not fully qualified to comment as I haven’t actually gotten around to watching greys post season 15. I meant to, I really did, but when faced with the question ‘do I want to keep going with characters that I don’t care about that much, or would I rather just go and start again from season 3?’, I guess you can guess my response. One day I’ll watch it.

That being said, I do think there is a point when something needs to end, and in my opinion greys is kinda past it’s prime now. All the good characters (or at least my favourite characters) are long gone, other than like Bailey and Amelia. I just wonder how many more original plot lines they have left in them - surely they’ve covered pretty much everything by now? As far as I got to it felt like some of the plot lines were recycled (was it three super rare cases of necrotising fasciitis we’ve had now?). And is Meredith Grey an immortal being? That would be a plot twist. It’s a good show and will always have a place in my heart, but I think from like season 10ish it kind of just went downhill. And sometimes a badly written continuation is more painful than an ending.

(Although if they bring back calzona I’ll eat my words and watch all seasons 15 onwards and yay greys anatomy is the best show ever it should never die!)

[shipmistress9]

Favorite movie & show?

That's not really a question I can answer just like this in a short comment. 😂 But I'll try to keep it on the shorter side.

In general, whether I like a show/movie or what it means to me depends a lot on the circumstances.

For example, one of my favourite movies will always be Thor: Ragnarok. I wouldn't say it's among the top best films I ever watched. But the first time I ever watched it was a wonderful experience, and simply because of that, this movie will always have a special place in my heart. And the same is true for How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Sometimes, it's the people around that make a movie special. 💜

Then there are two movies specifically that mean a lot to me because they're the ones I watch when I'm feeling down (and have the time) and that make me feel better without a fail. Mamma Mia and The Greatest Showman. They make me laugh, they make me cry, the music always gets to me. To me, they're cathartic, and at the end, I always feel renewed.

Another favourite I need to mention is The Last Unicorn. It's been my favourite movie though out my entire childhood, and even though I haven't watched it in ages, it's still dear to me.

With favourite shows it's similar. One of my top favourite shows is Doctor Who, simply because of the experience of watching it with a friend who lives so far away, and because of how much fun it is to fangirl with friends about it. 💜💙

Another favourite show would be Race To The Edge. This show is what got me into fandom, into writing, into editing, into drawing. It's what caused meeting all my wonderful pocket friends (and some of them in RL, too). I'll never forget the excitement of waiting for the release of a new season, of binging it all in the span of one morning. Of being totally flashed for days afterwards. It's so much fun!

Then there is my current favourite show, Miraculous, Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. It took me some time to get into this one , because the early seasons (especially the first) are rather bare of any deeper or over-arcing plot lines. But this is a show that grows and matures with its audience. Season three caught me off guard a couple of times and season four now is nothing but an emotional rollercoaster. And I expect it'll only get worse--in the best way possible.

Other shows and movies I love would be Anastasia, Teen Wolf, Lucifer, Sherlock, and more, but that would get too long now.

Thanks for the ask, that was a lot of fun! 💜

[dansnaturepictures]

21/07/2021-Jackdaw, Greylag Geese and more out the back and butterflies, Cinnabar moth and more at Lakeside 

I was happy to see the Jackdaw in the first picture I took today in this photoset out the back in more great bright sunshine this morning, the Greylag Goose soon flew past the window again as they have been doing so much lately no doubt spreading their wings with the youngsters in their usual disappearance (or at least beginning of less time spent at) from Lakeside with the breeding season progressed to an advanced stage. I took the second and third pictures in this photoset of lovely pink flowers on the balcony and buddleia out the front on my way out for my Lakeside lunch time walk. 

On the way to Lakeside at lunch I took in some beautiful views of the flower patch around the estate with the carrot I believe looking very nice and white. I also liked seeing the oxeye daisy and cornflower again. I got into Lakeside and walked towards the steam railway station from the north eastern kissing gate. Here I loved taking in some flowers which I saw starting to come here last week I often do similar routes on days week to week especially Wednesday, the smashing quite large chicory the flower I took the fourth picture in this photoset just one of the flowers on a nice plant. It looked very special and imposing and very bright and colourful it just stood out so nicely in this grassy area. Carrot, cow parsnip/hogweed, a delightful patch of bird vetch, bird’s-foot trefoil and bindweed together and others made for an exuberant array of flowers adding much beauty to the landscape on the walk today. The fifth picture I took today in this photoset shows this. 

And of course in this area I know as a brilliant butterfly meadow I did another Big Butterfly Count here today. Meadow Brown and Small White dominated once more in the fifteen minutes with sixteen and eleven seen respectively, Marbled White and Gatekeeper went up a little bit from previous counts this week to five and four seen respectively and Ringlet was present nicely with two. I also saw four Small Skippers and one lovely bright scarlet ladybird which was nice. A Brimstone on the buddleia in the garden today also gave me my first chance this year to submit this species to the count. Walking round into the area I nickname Ringlet meadow a spin off of the bit I call Marbled White meadow further up after a memorable Ringlet sighting when I came to this bit after barely doing so in 2019 on the walk and a delightful Cinnabar moth shown in the sixth picture in this photoset caught my eye. A great bright and sweetly coloured little moth which I got a nicely intimate view of. Whilst I had seen their caterpillars here before this was the first adult I’d seen at this site both the adult and caterpillars key parts of my spring and summer. 

This sighting today inspired me to do a little bit of work on my lists. Not create a patch and from/at home list for moths as a lot of the new ones I will see are ones that come into the house so there’d be duplicating so I colour coded the spreadsheet to denote eight moths seen at Lakeside in my life and fifteen at home, some of them both to celebrate the patch and home. I did the same for my beetle and caterpillar life lists. And I also reinstated my moth year list. This is something I seemed to do for three years, 2011, 2013 and 2014 with my interest in moths whilst my butterfly one boomed dropping off a little after 2014 much of that to do with lack of knowledge of them and my year list only really containing Six-spot Burnet and Cinnabar moth with maybe one or two other notable ones I learnt in a year I ceased to do them. But with my renewed interest really starting in 2018 but coming to the fore this and last year I decided it might be nice to keep a track of where I see what in a year and how many and I feel I have the potential to get towards seeing 20 identified moth species in a year its worthy of a year list.  With moths as I am still enthusiastically learning neither my patch figure of year list figure will be as accurate as say birds or butterflies as there will be some I don’t get to identify I’m sure. My moth year list sits at eleven. To have something to compare it to I calculated how many moths I saw which I knew what they were in 2020 and it was eighteen. So I have hopes to do well with them this year. A nice invigorating little fun challenge of pulling this all together and reliving my moth year so far which has presented some brilliant moments this evening. 

I took the seventh and eighth pictures in this photoset of the great looking bowl area which I walked back through at Lakeside, and ninth and tenth of the same pink flowers and others on the balcony being lit by the evening sun coming through the back of the house and the scene out the front with the brilliant moon getting fuller I took a close up of it tonight too. I hope you’ve all had a good day. 

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first on patch of one of my favourite moths the Cinnabar moth, one of my favourite butterflies the Marbled White, Small White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Ringlet, Small Skipper, Brimstone, Song Thrush, Starling, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Greylag Goose and ladybird. 

[constantviewings]

The TV Show Trials - Inside No. 9

Inside No. 9 is a British black comedy anthology series that first aired in 2014. It is written by Reese Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. Each 30-minute episode is a self-contained story with new characters and a new setting, and all star both Pemberton and Shearsmith.

12 Days of Christine

When Christine brings Adam home from a costume party, her life begins to unravel. Her happiness slowly turns to sorrow.

It’s only fitting that this episode is the most popular as it is what introduced me to this entire series. This episode is phenomenal and I really enjoyed it, even though I knew the entire plot going into it. Shearsmith and Pemberton where really smart in placing the elements of the conclusion throughout the entire episode for you to piece together at the end.

Rating: 5

The Devil of Christmas

In a film within the episode, The Devonshires arrive at the alpine chalet for a holiday. The caretaker, Klaus, tells them about a local legend of Krampus, the Devil of Christmas. Meanwhile, the film’s director provides audio commentary.

I really like the production of this episode, with it being shot entirely on equipment from the 70s, but I have issues with the ending. The ending, and the twist, feel unceremoniously tacked onto the third act and come out of nowhere, which left me confused and unaware of how to feel.

Rating: 3

Cold Comfort

Andy takes a job at Comfort Support Line’s call center, a helpline for the lonely and desperate. Will he be able to cope with the emotional stress after he becomes the target of a stalker?

The choice of having this all shown through security cameras is fantastic, as you can watch camera-by-camera as a character does something and provides visual interest to otherwise standard framing methods. The story is also pretty good with the twist being satisfying, but it doesn’t make much sense in the context of the characters.

Rating: 3

The Riddle of the Sphinx

Nina breaks into the office of Cambridge Professor Nigel Quires, who publishes cryptic crosswords in the student newspaper as “The Sphynx”. Squires proceeds to teach Nina how to solve cryptic crosswords using the next day’s puzzle.

This is my favourite of the episodes that I watched. I’m a big fan of ‘double twists’ where a character thinks they’ve won, but they’ve actually lost everything and that happens twice in this episode.

Rating: 5

Tom and Gerri

Tom is a frustrated primary school teacher and aspiring author. One night, a homeless man named Migg returns Tom’s lost wallet, and Migg ends up living with Tom, to the frustration of Tom’s girlfriend Gerri. Tom’s life changes dramatically as a result.

This episode doesn’t stand out to me like any of the others, it’s reasonably enjoyable but didn’t leave a lasting impression.

Rating: 2

The Bill

A group of friends go out for tapas at Number Nine after a day of golfing; but tempers escalate quickly when they can’t agrees on how to settle the bill. Who will pay the ultimate price?

I’m going to be completely transparent, the bickering between the four main characters is extremely grading and I was over it ten minutes into the episode; but I’m interpreting that as fantastic writing. I also think they could have been a bit more inventive with the ‘No. 9’ element of this episode by having it take place at table nine instead of the restaurant “Number Nine”. Despite those two less than stellar elements, the final twist almost makes the thirty minutes of grading bickering worth it.

Rating: 3

La Couchette

A group of passengers in carriage nine on a train from France try to get some sleep, but the compartment quickly fills up and the possibility of sleep dwindles away. Then one of the passengers suddenly dies.

Similar to Tom and Gerri, I could take or leave this episode. It’s not that it’s particularly bad, it just isn’t particularly good or memorable. In a hypothetical situation where you can only choose five episodes of Inside No. 9, this one wouldn’t make the cut unfortunately.

Rating: 3

Once Removed

According to the Holes and Rahe Stress Scale, the three most stressful experienced in life are the death of a spouse, divorce and imprisonment. Moving house is only 32nd on the list. But anything could happen in the last ten minutes inside no 9.

I’ll be honest, most of the points for this episodes rating can be chalked up to its unique story structure where it jumps back in ten minute intervals whenever the plot catches up. Other than that, I found this episode quite standard.

Rating: 3

To Have and To Hold

When Adrian’s career as a wedding photographer starts to get in the way of his own marriage, his wife Harriet is determined to find out why.

This episode is somewhat mediocre, until the twist rears its head and then it’s all uphill from there.

Rating: 4

Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room

It’s been 30 years since Northern double-act Len and Tommy last appeared on stage together. Then Tommy walked out on Len, and that was curtains for Cheese and Crackers. Until now – and one last gig in front of an invited audience.

This episode hits different, the entire episode (apart from maybe a minute) is just Shearsmith and Pemberton doing old, outdated skit comedy and it’s fantastic.

Rating: 4

Thinking Out Loud

Inside house no. 9, seven extremely disparate characters share their stories with a camera, their fats inevitably, inextricably, and unknowingly set for a head-on collision.

I’ll be completely honest and say that I was let down with this episode. Every time a new character was introduced I was piecing together the ways in which they could be connected to the others, only for them to all be split personalities. While I can’t comment on the accuracy of the portrayal of DID, it still felt stereotypical as a narrative device.

Rating: 3

And the Winner Is…

We join jury no. 9 of a television awards company as they decide on who is going to win the Best Actress award. But only one of the eight actresses can be chosen.

This episode was a little bit, dare I say it, uninspired? While it stars an impressive cast, it doesn’t make up for the lacklustre story. Maybe you need to know more about the industry to get it…

Rating: 2

Zanzibar

Strangely-farcical goings-on are in store for a group of unwitting guests, who have all booked adjoining rooms on the ninth floor of the Zanzibar hotel in London. This episode’s dialogue is written entirely in iambic pentameter.

On top of all taking place in a single hallway, this episode has another gimmick in that it is all performed in iambic pentameter which adds a unique charm to an otherwise unimpressive story.

Rating: 4

The Harrowing

In this horror comedy with a grim twist, a teenage girl is hired to housesit a gothic mansion, but it appears that there are scary things going on inside no 9.

I’ll give them this much, they tried something different. Did it work out? Not for me. Though Shearsmith singing Lord of the Dance flung me back into catholic school mass…

Rating: 2

Sardines

Rebecca and Jeremy hold their engagement party as Rebecca’s family mansion. The guests play a game of sardines, and as Rebecca’s friends and family are packed into a wardrobe, secrets are gradually revealed, leading to a dark and sinister discovery.

Like the 12 Days of Christine, I cheated slightly with this episode. This was the first episode I ever watched of Inside No. 9 and is the whole reason I am reviewing the show. This was my third time watching the episode, and it’s still just as good as the first two.

Rating: 5

(Bonus Episode) Dead Line

When Arthur finds an old mobile phone in his local graveyard, he makes the mistake of trying to contact the owner. But some mysteries are best left unsolved, and as Halloween draws near Arthur is plunged into a nightmare of his own making.

The plot description above isn’t exactly what the episode entails, because this is the live broadcast Halloween special from 2018 where they faked the whole thing going wrong. While it doesn’t have the same effect watching it on a laptop two years after the fact, if you can put that aside and fully immerse yourself into believing what they want you to, it’s still amazing.

Rating: 5

Did I like it? Most of the episodes, yes.

Will I continue watching? God yes, thank god it’s been renewed for two more seasons…

[heartbreakingwalls]

I edited it :) - and added a bit more to the Niall part

“Are you sure you want a triple chocolate cake, love?” Louis was out of breath as he ran up the driveway with all his shopping. “Wouldn’t you like something different?”

“Louis, you’ve been baking my birthday cakes for me since I was eight and every year I ask for a triple chocolate cake. Do you really think that’s going to change when I turn 21?” Lottie teasingly asked through the phone he held to his ear. “And honestly, I love everything you bake Lou, it doesn’t matter to me.”

The rain was pouring down now, and Louis was desperate to get inside. He smiled as he fished his keys out of his coat. “Alright then, love, I’ll get started on it now.”

As a big brother, Louis felt like it was his duty to make sure all his siblings had great birthdays. However, due to circumstances that they promised they would never speak of again, Lottie’s birthdays in the past weren’t exactly spectacular, and Louis was determined to make her 21st amazing. There were some things he wasn’t telling her, like his plans to make a make her a huge three tier cake, decorated with literally everything that she loved, from her favourite characters and quotes of TOWIE (oh God, how he hated that show) to her sparkly makeup things that she seemed to adore.

Louis went inside and said his goodbyes to his sister. He put all his shopping away except for his baking ingredients, as he wanted to get started on Lottie’s cake straight away so it would be ready for her birthday on Saturday. He was getting the other ingredients out of the pantry when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work, sir?”, he asked.

“Layla left us early today, I think she was in a good mood”, came his boyfriend’s voice near his ear.

Louis smiled as he put down a large bag of flour on the kitchen counter. He turned around to face Luke and pecked him on his lips.

“That’s nice, but if you bother me at all while I’m making a birthday cake for Lots, you’re going to be sleeping on the couch until Saturday,” he said in a warning tone. Luke and baking did not mix well for Louis. At all. Past experiences showed that Luke should leave Louis to the cooking, after he had set the fire alarm off one too many times that their neighbour had offered to teach him how to cook.

Luke sighed and left the kitchen to Louis, who fell into the familiar pattern of making the batter. He was in the process of whisking the butter and the sugar together when Luke mentioned that they’d gotten some mail that morning. The pair worked in comfortable silence with the occasional crinkling of paper from Luke as he read through this morning’s mail.

Suddenly, he heard a gasp from Luke, who rushed into the kitchen with a letter clutched in his hand. Louis was ready to scold him, until he saw that Luke was thrusting the piece of paper in his face.

Louis did not understand what the hell his boyfriend was on about, but he took the letter from Luke to read it. “What are you saying?”, he said, heartrate rising when he realised the letter was addressed to him. “It’s Love Productions, they’ve responded,” he said. “You did it Louis, You did it. You’re going to be the next winner of the Great British Bake Off.”

“Are you fucking with me, babe?”, Louis was shaking, and he began to read the letter out loud. “Dear Mr Tomlinson, we are delighted to announce that you have been chosen to participate in British Bake Off 2021.”

“Luke,”he whispered. He couldn’t stop the massive grin creeping up on his face, remembering how he put lots of effort into his audition tape of him baking a difficult toffee apple cake that had taken him weeks to perfect before he sent in the final video. “Luke, I got in,” he said softly, looking at his boyfriend. “Yeah babe, you did,” Luke replied, pulling Louis into his arms. “I’m so proud of you”, he said, kissing Louis deeply. Louis smiled against his lips.

Niall POV ~

Niall sighed as he looked across the street at the dive bar. He was supposed to meet up with his brother that night. He could not for the life of him figure out why he suggested that bar. At first, he thought it was just muscle memory, but now, he is starting to think there was probably more subconscious thought behind it. He took another deep breath, then crossed the street and entered the Dolphin. It looked the same as it did three weeks ago, which was when he last visited. The memories however, seemed more vivid and each one seemed to scald him more than the previous one. 

Niall willed himself to shake it off, this was about Greg and he said that he had big news, so Niall needed to focus on that. He found a place at the bar and smiled at the bartender, Sam. “Alright there Niall?” Sam greeted with an answering smile. “Hiya Sam, I’m alright, could be better.” said Niall. 

“The regular?” asked Sam, when he noticed that they didn’t have time for idle chit-chat as the crowds near the bar started increasing. ��No, I’d like a little stronger tonight, please.” Niall internally winced, hoping Sam would not ask for details. Thankfully, Sam seemed to understand and didn’t push. Instead, his face contorted into one of sympathy and he went away to get Niall’s drink, probably something of his own making.

It had been exactly three weeks since Niall proposed to his ex and got rejected in front of everyone he loved. He had been planning it for weeks and all he got in return was “I’m sorry Niall, but I thought we were on the same brainwave here. I’m beginning to lose the spark with you, so I was thinking thinking that you took me on this date to break-up.” Niall had been devastated. He had spent the past three weeks moping around his house drinking a dubious amount of alcohol until Greg called a couple of days ago, wanting Niall to meet him at the Dolphin because he had some big news. If it was another baby, his next Christmas present from Niall would be a pack of condoms.

Someone slid into the seat next to him and he looked up to see Greg, who was wearing a black bomber jacket and sunglasses.

“You know those sunglasses make you look like a douche?”

“Fuck off Niall, you’ll understand fashion when you’re older.”

Niall just rolled his eyes at his brother who prefer to act younger than he was.

“So why’d you call me here?” Niall was eager to leave this bar full of melancholic memories and get back home to get back to the Netflix show he was binge-watching.

“Well little brother, you know how we got drunk a couple of months ago and we thought it would be funny to sign you up for the Great British Bake Off?” Niall nodded, not knowing where this was going. “Well apparently, they really liked your audition tape, and want you to join the next season of the show!”

Niall just stared at him dumbfounded. He was a baking enthusiast, but he never thought he’d be god enough to go on what is possibly the most famous baking show in the world. His audition tape was nothing noteworthy, just a video of him making an apple and lavender sponge, a strange combination of flavours that Niall came up with on a whim. The flavours weirdly worked well together and they must’ve impressed the producers of the show.

Greg didn’t seem to notice his shock as he carried on talking. “The show starts in July, so you have just over 3 months to prepare. Of course I’m always here to help if you need anything, but I don’t think I’m quite as skilled around the kitchen as you are.”

With renewed enthusiasm, Niall grabbed a napkin from the counter and started making his list of things he wanted to go through in preparation for the Bake Off tent.

[randomedrstuff]

Her rising stardom might be put down to the many years of experience she's had off-screen. She studied ballet from age nine, and at 15 attended the Australian Ballet School. She performed in quite a few productions - always giving it her best in front of very large audiences. After leaving NIDA, she joined the Prime Time Actors Studio in LA. When she got the role of Tess, she had only been on one or two auditions "Just a few in Melbourne, but Roswell was one of my first auditions, if not the first, in the states" she says. Unlike a lot of Australian actors who head overseas for work, de Ravin didn't have to get used to foreign methods, saying her experience in Australia was minimal at most, so LA was essentially the only taste of industry she'd ever had. "I only worked one acting job in Australia, so it's kind of difficult for me to compare" she says "I didn't notice any major differences." Entering the show towards the final episodes of the first season, de Ravin's Tess turns up out of the blue, and Max, Michael and Isabel, the three local teenagers/aliens in town, start to suspect she might be one of them. Within weeks, Tess had broken Max and girlfriend Liz up, which de Ravin says is just one of the attributes she and Tess don't share. "I don't really consider I have many similarities with Tess" she says, "but I had a lot of fun playing her as she had so many different sides to her. I think Tess is a very confused girl in many ways." Towards the end of Roswell's first season, rumour began to surface that the network wouldn't renew it for another season. In an effort to save the show viewers sent in thousands of letters and as an imaginative extra sent the heads of the network bottles of Tabasco sauce (Max, Michael and Isabel's favourite condiment in the series) "Oh yeah that's right!" says an enthusiastic de Ravin. "Our fans were always extremely supportive, and this in particular really made us feel so happy that all these people love our show so much, to put all that time and effort into keeping us on the air, so great." So what made the series so popular? "I think the show was very unique, having huge sci-fi aspect - obviously, as four of us were aliens - yet dealing with everyday teen issues at the same time. Viewers seemed to really enjoy that combination." She adds that she loved working with her co-stars - which included Shiri Appleby, Jason Behr and Brendan Fehr. "Everyone on the show was good friends, we all had a lot of fun" she says. No need to fret though, they might all be getting together soon, if the rumours of a film version are true. "Really? I haven't heard that one" she says. In the meantime, there seems to be plenty of work available for de Ravin. She recently finished filming a movie called Santa's Slay, with wrestling superstar Bill Goldberg. "I finished working on Santa's Slay the end of March, we shot in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada which at that time of year is covered in snow, really beautiful but, very, very cold! I had a really great experience working on that project, and its such a fun story. Bill and the rest of the cast, and crew were all fantastic." In the film Goldbeg plays Santa with a twist. Seems Santa's bad side has only been kept in check because of an ancient pact with an angel. Now on Christmas Eve, the truce expires, and Santa is suddenly free to wreak mayhem. De Ravin plays Mac, the girlfriend of Nicholas (Douglas Smith), a young man who discovers the truth about Santa from his grandfather and sets out to put a stop to his rampage. But would she ever return to ballet if the acting jobs dried up overnight? "I wouldn't be at the standard I was at unless practised for hours every day as I used to, so I think it would be a little depressing!"

What DVD - August 2004 / Issue #39

[britishlyso]

Shows To Watch This Summer

Summer is here and so are my favourite summer shows.

The first one I'm excited about is The Bold Type. It was recommended to me and I binge-watched it shortly after it aired on Freeform, I even did a podcast about it (which you can listen to here). 

The first season ended on cliffhangers leaving the door open for a new one (or would have put our imagination to work hadn't it been renewed for a season 2). The show has returned on June 12th but I have chosen to wait a little bit so that I can binge-watch it.

Our three bold ladies were left about to start a new chapter in their professional and personal lives - Jane left Scarlet Magazine for a new opportunity at Incite, Sutton officially became Fashion Assistant to Oliver, leaving the front desk behind, and Kat decided to join Adena on her trip, leaving her job of Social Media Director.

So many questions arose from this brutal change of setting - how will our three best friends continue to be each other's daily support system? How will Kat's parents react to not only her coming out but introducing her girlfriend? Will Jane and Sutton thrive in their new jobs?

The show has also touched upon sensitive subjects such as cancer, rape and religion - will they get inspired by the #MeToo movement and introduce storylines that echo the recent headlines?

The second season is currently airing on Freeform.

The second summer show I am excited about is Younger.

The show is airing its fifth season on TV Land, with Liza's secret still being the centre of the story. 

The last season ended with Josh getting married to his Irish girlfriend Claire so that she could stay in the US, with Liza as an important guest to attest the veracity of their marriage to the authorities. This new union could have brought its lot of problems with Josh kissing Liza the night before his wedding, but we escaped the disaster with Claire dumping Josh.

My Team Charles heart almost exploded with the bomb dropped at the end of the first episode - Empirical’s biggest author LL Moore was publicly laid off after being accused of sexual misconducts by several women, including Liza, and as a response, called for a late-night meeting with Charles, revealing him Liza’s real identity - a “bankcrupt divorced forty year-old single mother”, just when she finally poured out her heart to him. Ouch.

There are new parameters that come into play, besides the fact that Liza is Charles’s employee, and that his ex-wife Pauline is back in the city and getting published by Millenial Print whilst being determined to win her ex husband back. It was guaranteed that the drama will certainly reach new heights with Charles knowing Liza’s new identity, and it has - he confronted her right in front of his ex-wife-to-be who clearly picked up on something. 

We saw the hurt, the betrayal and the anger on his face. Even though he chose not to fire Liza to avoid a scandal, something tells us Pauline might cause one by revealing to the press her ex-husband has been involved with an employee of his company, because clearly she cared more about getting her husband back than earning lots of money with “Marriage Vacation”, even when an adaptation with Reese Witherspoon could be scored.

Another plot that will have an important place this season is Kelsey being torn between Zane (played by Charles Michael Davis) who is now her colleague, and her soon-to-be-published author. #LoveTriangleAlert

The other supporting characters are back with even more new prominent storylines to balance the “secret debacle” that has been centre since season 1.

The third show I want to talk about has just returned with its fifth season - STARZ’s Power. 

If you are not watching it, do yourself a favour and please do. You will not regret it. It was recommended to me and first I thought “Why would I be into a show about drug dealing and violence?” But then I started watching it and was done with the three seasons within a week. 

It follows James St Patrick, the most successful nightclub owner in New York City, happily married (so we think) and father of 3. He apparently has it all, but he also happens to be the city’s drug lord alongside his best friend Tommy Eagan, co-running the two businesses.

I love how the actual love story is between two best friends/brothers who remain faithful to one another despite all the lies, blood, the deaths and betrayals.

One of the core relationships portrayed in the show is also the one between James and Angela, his teenage love who becomes his mistress. Despite it being my least favourite storyline, it has gotten juicier when Angela, as an FBI agent, found out that Ghost the drug lord, is actually James’s alter ego, which created an inner conflict between her professionnal and personal lives.

I had high hopes of seeing James/Ghost back with his wife Tasha 100% after the big reveal to Angela, but unfortunately, it could not be this easy. 

The “couple” has been faced with several challenges and even if Tasha has suffered from the several infidelities, she remains with Tommy the most trustworthy people in Ghost’s environment.

The last season ended on a big tragedy and marked the return of Kanan played by 50 cent, former “frenemy” alongside Ghost and Tommy to undertake some severe punishment. 

Just like The Bold Type, I am waiting a little bit to be able to binge-watch it and enjoy the creative genius of the writers of these shows who never fail to surprise us with never-ending cliffhangers.

[aion-rsa]

Netflix’s Never Have I Ever: Great TV Comedies to Watch Next

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If there’s justice in this world, high school comedy Never Have I Ever will return for at least a third season. The story of 15-year-old Devi Vishwakumar, a Los Angeles teen reeling from her beloved father’s sudden death while trying to navigate all the usual boys/school/friendship mess of adolescence, deserves to continue long into the future. (Here’s our spoiler-free season two review.)

While fans wait for news on a third season commission, the 10 great shows below are well worth discovering or (re)discovering. They’re not all teen shows, nor are they all strictly comedies, but somewhere along the line, they share some DNA with Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s Never Have I Ever. Add your own additional recommendations below.

Fresh Off the Boat

Six seasons (2015 – 2020)

Since the cruel early cancellation of her show Don’t Trust the B**** in Apt. 23 (Krysten Ritter’s funniest performance to date) it’s pretty much mandatory to watch anything Nahnatchka Khan makes. Fresh Off the Boat was her follow-up comedy for ABC, based on the early life of celebrity chef Eddie Huang as his family moved from Washington DC to Orlando. It’s set in the 90s and concluded last year after six seasons. The cast is great, in particular Randall Park (WandaVision, Always Be My Maybe) and Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians) as young Eddie’s Taiwanese immigrant parents, each of whom has very different mileage on adjusting to life in the US. 

The Mindy Project

Six seasons (2012 – 2017)

This romantic comedy was Mindy Kaling’s post-The Office project – the story of self-absorbed, pop-culture obsessed, lovable OB/GYN Dr Mindy Lahiri (Kaling) and her search for love in Manhattan. After some cast changes in its first season, it really found its feet and settled into a sharp workplace comedy with a great ensemble. It survived a post-season three cancellation by FOX thanks to being picked up by Hulu for a further three seasons, and ended in 2017. US comedy fans can enjoy playing actor bingo too, thanks to appearances from many of Kaling’s The Office co-stars, including writer-producer B.J. Novak, Ellie Kemper, Ed Helms and more. 

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Four seasons (2015 – 2019)

Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna’s comedy-musical series is inventive, boundary-breaking and packed to the rafters with talent. Like a few of the shows in this list, it’s distinctly adult in theme and not a high school comedy but still shares the wit, high-key colour and bold approach to life’s harder moments as Never Have I Ever. It’s the story of high-flying NYC lawyer Rebecca Bunch, who gives up everything to move to a backwater Californian town to pursue her summer camp first love Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III). Rebecca’s love of musical theatre bleeds into the show, turning it into a mental health musical complete with funny, original, sharply written song-and-dance routines.  

Popular

Two seasons (1999 – 2001)

The debut series from super-producer Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Pose, Glee, Nip/Tuck) co-created by Gina Matthews, Popular is the story of Brooke and Sam, two high school sophomores from opposite ends of the popularity spectrum who are forced together when their single parents become a couple. It ran for two seasons on The WB before being cancelled, and has since attracted a cult following for Murphy’s characteristically sharp blend of comedy, romance and serious themes. It landed in the 90s, so yes, the teens are played by 25 year olds, the unpopular nerd (Carly Pope) has model good looks, it’s not exactly diverse (though there is LGBTQ representation) but it’s seminal in Never Have I Ever’s genre. 

Sex Education

Three seasons so far (2019 – )

Laurie Nunn��s charming British comedy-drama is a frank and funny look at sexual hang-ups and teen relationships. It has a great ensemble cast led by Otis (Asa Butterfield), a shy teen embarrassed by his sex therapist mother’s forthright attitude to all things physical. When Otis teams up with ‘bad girl’ Maeve to offer anonymised sex therapy to their schoolmates, he discovers that he’s not the only one with issues. It’s a bright and funny high school series with characters to invest in, a stand-out performance by Ncuti Gatwa as Eric, and oh, the sex therapist mother is played by Gillian Anderson. Season three arrives on Netflix this September.

Read more

TV

Never Have I Ever Season 2 Review: This Netflix Teen Comedy Deserves to Run and Run

By Louisa Mellor

TV

Never Have I Ever Season 2: Episode 3’s Last-Minute Celebrity Narrator Change

By Louisa Mellor

Freaks & Geeks

One season (1999 – 2000)

A must-see high school comedy. Paul Feig and Judd Apatow’s 1980s-set series is most discussed these days for the outstanding cast of unknowns gathered by Allison Jones (who went on to cast The Office, Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, Arrested Development, Veep and basically every US sitcom worth watching). The prematurely cancelled NBC series kick-started the careers of Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Martin Starr, Busy Phillips, Linda Cardellini, James Franco and more. It’s the story of Cardellini’s Lindsay Weir, a maths star who crosses social boundaries from ‘geek’ to slacker ‘freak’ after the death of her grandmother. It’s brilliant, weird, funny and painful, and a total antidote to mainstream, slick, rich-kid Beverley Hills 90210 high school glamour, so of course, hardly anybody watched it, the network didn’t get it, and it was cancelled well before its time. 

The Wonder Years

Six seasons (1988 – 1993)

Husband and wife team Neal Marlens and Carol Black created a classic in The Wonder Years, a coming-of-age story about Kevin, the youngest son of a suburban American family, growing up against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the hippie movement. It’s fuelled by nostalgia and the sweet romantic yearnings of its young lead Kevin Arnold (played by Fred Savage, now a top comedy director-producer), but doesn’t gloss over life’s more serious moments. Never Have I Ever’s choice of John McEnroe as its wry adult narrator may well have been influenced by Daniel Stern’s role on The Wonder Years. It’s available to stream now on Hulu in the US.

Skins

7 seasons (2007 – 2013)

Not strictly a comedy, but with plenty of comedic moments, Skins has to be in the running for the best British teen show ever made. The first four seasons especially are filled with great writing, strong performances, and characters whose lives – and complicated love lives – are easy to invest in. It followed the students of a Bristol sixth form college through their A levels, giving it the chance to renew the cast every two years as the previous generation graduated/dropped out/ran away/were murdered. Like Freaks and Geeks, its cast of young actors, from Nicholas Hoult to Dev Patel, Joe Dempsie, Daniel Kaluuya, Jack O’Connell, Kaya Scodelario and more went on to very big things. Much more layered and satisfyingly weird than the reputation it was given by the British press as an orgy of sex, drugs and bad behaviour, it’s another must-watch. 

Daria

Five seasons (1997 – 2001)

Developed from a character created for Mike Judge’s animated MTV comedy Beavis & Butthead, Daria Morgendorffer is a cynical 16-year-old with a gimlet eyed take on suburban US life. She’s a 90s icon with a monotone voice (provided by Tracy Grandstaff) and a wry take on her schoolmates, parents, and cheerleader sister Quinn. Her witty, dry animated series aired for five seasons plus feature-length TV specials, and is soon to have a new spin-off coming to Comedy Central, focused on Daria’s classmate Jodie’s travails in the modern workplace.

My So-Called Life

One season (1994 – 1995)

When My So-Called Life aired its only season on ABC in 1994, it was the anti-teen TV show. Muted and realist rather than upbeat and aspirational, it cast actual teenagers, not models, and ventured into areas avoided by many other teen dramas of the time: alcoholism, sex, domestic abuse… Its first-person narration from Claire Danes’ lead character gave it a distinctive voice, and influenced many shows to follow. It’s worth saying that My So-Called Life is a drama, not a comedy, and paints teenage life with a totally different colour palette to bright, satirical Never Have I Ever. Acknowledging that, it’s a cult favourite, and possible to trace a line from Devi’s love triangle with nerdy academic Ben and hot, popular Paxton, and MSCL’s Angela Chase’s love triangle with nerdy academic Brian and hot, popular Jordan (would that line continue all the way back to Pretty in Pink? Probably). 

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Never Have I Ever season 2 is available to stream on Netflix now.

The post Netflix’s Never Have I Ever: Great TV Comedies to Watch Next appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[coppicefics]

Masked Omens: Week Two

New chapter here, or read from the start here!

(Right click picture and select ‘View Image’ or ‘Open Image In New Tab’ for hi-res version.)

[Image Description: Image 1 - A simple rendition of the Masked Singer UK logo, a golden mask with colourful fragments flying off of it. The mask has a golden halo and a golden devil tail protruding from either side. Below, gold text reads 'Masked Omens'.

Image 2 - Twitter trending topics. For full transcription, see below the cut.

Image 3 - A hand holding a copy of News World Weekly, dated Saturday 2nd January 2021. The front page and part of the back page are visible. Full image description and transcription below the cut.]

Twitter What's Happening 1. Politics – Yesterday Former Transport Secretary Lawrence Richmond calls for end to OAP 'Freedom Passes' 2. Politics – Trending #NOT2OLD2VOTE 2,202 Tweets 3. Trending in United Kingdom The Masked Singer 2,617 Tweets 4. Trending in United Kingdom #BONFIRE 1,580 Tweets 5. Trending in United Kingdom DFS Sale 5,809 Tweets 6. Rap – Trending P-White: From CBBC to the Grammys 7. E-GATE (verified) – Last night Bagman wedding: will the striker's foodless reception set a new trend? Trending with Dr Raven Sable, Chow Show More

News World Weekly – Saturday, 2nd January 2021 Front Page [Side ad:] NOW BOOKING FOR SPRING & SUMMER 2021 “BLEW ME AWAY” CELESTIAL OBSERVER “NEVER SEEN A SHOW LIKE IT” INFERNAL TIMES “YOU HAVE TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT” TADFIELD GAZETTE THE AMAZING [obscured by thumb]-ll [obscured]-UND [obscured]-ITH [obscured]-RACULOUS FEATS OF ESCAPOLOGY HYPNOSIS CONJURING AND MANY MORE MARVELS BOOK NOW

[Masthead:] NEWS WORLD WEEKLY Mockup by DailyMockup £1.20 Saturday, 2nd January 2021

[Top bar:] DIET DOCTOR Lose weight the easy way with 10 top tips from Dr. Raven Sable - page 9 – Meal plans and more! SPORTS Esther James leads England Women to Six Nations Victory – back page – Jane Adams scores most tries MUSIC Has “Narrative Devices” made folk music cool again? - page 28 - HOROSCOPES by TV's Madame Tracy - page 12 -

[Main story:] WAR RAGES ON IN WESTERN CELESTAN Military presence increase as rebels approach university city of Ghadon [Image: Troops ride in military transport vehicle, their backs to the camera. End ID.] Photo by Diego Gonzalez on Unsplash CELESTANI ARMED FORCES “MUST ACT NOW”, SAYS TOP OFFICIAL [Image: Small close-up photo of Carmine Zugiber, a white woman with red hair and a solemn expression. End ID] War Correspondent – Carmine Zugiber It is unusual for a war correspondent to receive a telephone call on the way to the airport. As a rule, departing journalists are not favoured with exclusive information – certainly not without having to work for it. It was with some surprise and trepidation, then, that I agreed to meet a mysterious contact in the departure lounge for a brief interview about Celestan's domestic situation. For those of you who are not familiar with the conflict currently raging within the borders of this once proud nation, allow me to give you an overview. Rebels in the west of the country – particularly the Ferran Hills and Celestan's third-largest city, Nori – became unhappy with the decisions made for the country by officials in the east. After months of largely peaceful protests which fell upon deaf ears, many in the western reaches of Celestan began to call for independence – an independent state of Fernor, which would encompass most of the western half of the current nation. Peaceful protests turned into skirmishes, skirmishes became all-out guerrilla war, and now the rebel armies are sweeping through the countryside at an astonishing pace. The official who contacted me on my final day in Celestan was Gabriel Herald, a high-ranking civil servant of the variety that does not state his job title upon introduction. “It's becoming increasingly clear that the situation in Celestan is becoming untenable,” he told me, adding that I ought not to publish this article until I was back in London for my own safety. “The rebels are destroying the very land they lay claim to, and nobody in Government has the appetite for a long, drawn-out war. If there is a way to stop the fighting, naturally, we intend to take it.” When pressed on what that might mean, he explained that various options were being considered. “Our priority at the present time is to protect the eastern half of the country, where the effects of the insurgency have not yet been felt. Residents of central Celestan can expect to see an increased military presence, but I want Celestani citizens to rest assured that the Government will not permit the entire country to be laid waste to, as the western reaches have been.” Was there any truth, I asked, to the rumours that the Celestani Government were considering acquiescing to the rebels' demands and establishing an independent state of Fernor? “I can't comment on that at this time,” Herald told me, “but should Operation Lestern become necessary, citizens should take comfort in the knowledge that we are prepared for all eventualities and will protect and will protect our people from any and all consequences it is within our power to control.” Since this interview took place three weeks ago, the situation in central Celestan has developed, and it was unclear whether releasing this article was in the best interests of the people. However, it is now crucial that all parties understand the situation, and as a result the decision was taken to print it in (Continued page 2.)

[Left-hand column:] Inside your paper today... MASKED SINGER BOOSTS VETERAN YOUTUBER'S HIT COUNT It's no secret that ITV's The Masked Singer is a sensational hit, but some competitors may not be entirely prepared for its success. Week One saw an unlikely star unmasked in the form of Sergeant Shadwell, the man behind the popular YouTube channel Wytchfynder. In videos uploaded to the channel twice a week, Shadwell embarks on daring urban explorations and paranormal investigations in order to debunk all manner of conspiracy theories, urban legends, and rumours. While some videos are more dynamic than others – one features Shadwell venturing into the crypt of an old church, while another consists entirely of him sitting in his armchair at home and running through the evidence for an [sic] against his next-door neighbour being a witch – Shadwell, who retired from the army twenty years ago, says hits on all his uploads have doubled since his unmasking. “I get a lot of comments now along the lines of 'this story rings a bell',” he admitted to our reporter. “It wound me up at first, but now I'm just enjoying the surge in interest. We must always be vigilant in our fight against charlatans and misinformation.” (Continued on page 13.)

MP RICHMOND BRANDED “BUS PASS BANDIT” Lawrence Richmond, MP for Toffley South, came under renewed fire for his proposal to scrap the Freedom Pass system that allows older people and children to travel by bus or train for no charge. “We have an enormous budget deficit that needs addressing,” Richmond told the House of Commons yesterday, “if people don't want to buy tickets, they can drive their own cars instead.” Richmond, who lives in an historic 12-bedroom manor house with his wife Victoria and son Horace, has encountered staunch opposition from his political opponents, but his own (continued on page 7.)

COMPETITION: YOUR CHANCE TO WIN NEW NUTTER SET Be among the first to own a full set of the newly-redesigned Agnes Nutter books, including beloved favourites such as Picking the Winner, Time to Shine, Burn and Out with a Bang by entering our competition. Nutter herself said of the new covers, “I've always had a special place in my heart for my first novel, Picking the Winner, but this new cover is so vibrant and captures the spirit of the story so perfectly that I think I prefer it to the old one!” Agnes Nutter's new novel, Blown Out of Proportion, is due out in August and is not included in the prize. (Enter on page 22.)

Back page [Only the very edge of the page is visible.] -PORTS -VICTORY -JAMES' SIDE” -ADAMS SMASHES -APTAIN'S RECORD -hile Esther James may be the -tain of the England Women's -gby Team, her teammate and -artner Jane Adams has just -shed her record for the most -es scored in a single season. -ams' stunning performance -sterday's 36-16 victory over -nd saw her score her 11th and -try of the season – overtaking -iend James, who has no for -eleven tries for the national squad this year. -asked for comment, Adams -characteristically modest; -just an honour to be a -such a phenomenal team -score tries with that team. -team effort, definitely.” -es was more effusive; -know I think Jane's the -credible woman. Now -he stats prove it.” -DIT PULSIFER -VAR ROW -the first time, football -tor Newton Pulsifer has -d to fans after having a --air dispute with the -stant Referee during -'s Premier League -est Ham U [The rest of the article is obscured by the hand holding the paper.]

End of transcription.

[latinalesbi]

Really?!! It was Peter and Bradley‘s idea to do the spin-off?!! I just read they approached freeform about it. WTF?!! That makes me even more angry. Like how can you just dump the 2 fan favourites who you even considered as family and think anyone will be happy about it?!! It‘s even worse that they not only betrayed their fans but their leading ladies.

See, they can say whatever they want about trying to get TheFosters renewed, it doesn’t matter. Once they signed back in October, the fosters was dead. Freeform would get the young girls, they were never going to renew The Fosters without maia, NEVER. And the all knew it. They can tell themselves they did their best to try to renew, but it’s bullshit. After that, it was over. They shouldn’t have done that. they sold Stef and Lena out.

Anonymous said:                                                                      Wow wow wow! I thought it was a glitch but Teri really has unfollowed Bradley, Peter, Cierra, Maia. Maybe it will all calm down. Freeform and the writers above really need to look at how they gage public opinion,they got this one so wrong. Having said that even if they reversed the decision now and gave us the season 6 I think some serious bridges have be burnt with them all. Can’t we go back to the earlier seasons where everything was less problematic??

It’s over. It was over once some people thought it was a good idea to make a whole new show without the moms. The only thing now is to walk away, but I am not going to let them walk away like victims, “oh poor me, pity me. I am so sad.” Using their favorite “naughty, past the censors” word, BULLSHIT Oh and if they try some shit like casting other actresses for guest appearances, fuck them to fucking hell. Don’t think they would? These are the people who still think Noah actually plays Jesus.

Anonymous said:                                                                      How on earth are they going to film this three part summer finale when some of the cast aren’t  potentially speaking to one another? They need to come out and admit they fucked up royally. If this is the way they really wanted to go they should’ve announced the show was ending and given people time. Instead it’s ‘yeah we’re pulling the plug on your fav show but no worries we’ve got this instead’ like it’s going to soften the blow or smthg. They totally misread the situation and the fans.

Hey Maia and JT did it for a while, oh no they didn’t lol, hardly had any scenes. My intel is that she had a problem with him and that’s why he had to go, but there was also the drugs bit. I don’t know what they were thinking. I really don’t understand. This looks horrible like a fucking selling out of middle aged lesbians.

Anonymous said:                                                                      Bradley says he sad, it’s not coming across like that at all. I hope they themselves have now realised Teri unfollowed them on twitter. He’s trying to throw Freeform under the bus when they’ve already said it was his and Peter’s idea. Its crazy I’m more angry now than I was when it was first announced. All the behind the scenes shady crap is souring it all. Bradley etc are prob hoping it will all fade away as the season begins. People however are starting to realise more and more what’s gone on.

The problem is that he thinks we forget that he has given a shit about the fosters in a long, long time. He doesn’t think people noticed that all he posted about were his other projects. He is sad a great deal of people see right through this bullshit and feel betrayed. Of course, he can’t take responsibility for it, not even in his own mind. And yeah, they were hoping that a few would get angry but the rest would be licking his ass and so grateful and love and family. Fuck you, practice what you preach

[whopooh]

Play it again, Jack – fourth and final post of MFMM fics you love to reread

There is no thing as reading too many times, Dot. And of course I can read this on a public transportation if I want to! 

This post is the fourth and final of “Play it again, Jack” – posts that collect the fics we love to go back to and reread.

It has been so fun to hear about your thoughts and to put these posts together. Thank you to everyone contributing!

First I want to start with a comment from @bumblemama that fits perfectly to the spirit of this collection:

Aaaaand another thing... despite having read literally every story on ao3 with the mfmm tag, I realised I couldn't actually remember them all. So I've just gone back to the very start and am working my way through again. There are some lovely gems, and it's really cute to see requests for a season 3, or even a few 'wonder where s2 will go' comments. A good reminder of how perspectives change and stories evolve. There would be plenty that would fit into one or more of the year of tropes, but they somehow seem less consciously trope-ish, I guess because they hadn't been done in this fandom before. Anyway. No specific recommendations just the generalized advice to find page 82 (!!!!) of the fics and work forwards!

@chrismarieisme sent me several lovely recommendations I felt I couldn’t cut up and mix, so here they are all together:

This was difficult because I love so many of the fics, but here we go:

“Be still” by @flashofthefuse – very sweet glimpse of a moment between P&J the night before she leaves for England. It's exactly how I'd hope that moment would be.

“He Calls Her Beautiful” by @ladyroxie – simply exquisite.

“A Perpetual Feeling” by @missingmissfisher – so romantic! The intuitive connection between P&J.

“The Actor” by @ollyjayonline – Jack & Jane, Pride and Prejudice. What more does one need?

“Merciful Powers” by @scruggzi – Jack, tights, Shakespeare. Ngggh.

“The Wager” by @soupsouffle – fun, witty, deliciously, steamy URST.

@soupsouffle, “The Wager”. Reread by @kanste

A wager between Phryne and Jack about who gives into seduction first makes for great banter and flirting. I love how they both use every trick in the book to seduce the other. This fic has some of the best flirting/banter and some of the hottest smut scenes ever. Do I need to say more?

@omgimsarahtoo, “A Thief in the Night”. Reread by @rubycaspar

This story is just so much fun. I love the beginning, told from drunk!Phryne's POV, and then the lovely moment when Jack wakes up and finds her there in the morning. I love the characterisation of both of them in this fic, and the concept is so cute and so well-executed.

@ladyroxie, “The Sweetest Fruit”. Reread by @kanste

Can I just say I love Peach and this fic has a lot of it. It has no smut but it is sooooo sexy. I love to imagine Jack in the garden, especially on a hot day like today. The banter/feeding is just like them and turns up the heat some notches.

@jackphryne4eva, “Cafe Blend”. Reread by @omgimsarahtoo

I adore the meta nature of this fic – the story is of a female MFMM fanfic reader who needs to find a quiet place to read the latest chapter of a smutty fanfiction. Her anticipation is delicious, as is the small French cafe she finds! There's an element of all of us in how she is struggling against her impulse to hide her obsession with MFMM and its fic, and how she decides to read on, working to smother any shame she's been made to feel. It's got a million tiny moments that evoke the show, and so many spots that could be any one of the Phrack fangirls we know. I just love it!

@aljwritesphryne, “and stealing my heart...”. Reread by @rithebard

.... Sweet story. Jack takes Phryne home to escape her mean father and it is just such lovely touching story.

@evendale, “Finally”. Reread by @scruggzi

Set after “Unnatural Habits”, this was one of the first fics I read and I was fascinated by the exploration of phrack's developing relationship with a much more inexperienced depiction of Jack than in many other fics. Phryne in this is very much the teacher, ushering him into the modern world through their developing relationship. Their characters take on this nice point and counterpoint dynamic, with her representing the age of modernity and him a traditional approach that he's fairly eager to leave behind. It's mostly a very gentle story with some lovely banter and very sweet moments between the two of them and it's very much a comfort fic for me. Something I tend to re-read when I'm grumpy. Although I think I lean towards a more experienced version of Jack's character now, with its setting at the end of season two I think this one works as an interpretation and it fills me full of the happy feels whenever I go back to it.

@firesign23, “Grasping at Shadows”. Reread by @rithebard

Phryne and Jack go back to Paris after the war and are haunted by their past and have a hard time sharing it with each other. This is sweet and special because it touches on their vulnerabilities. And how their love bridges it. It is a lovely tale.

@aljwritesphryne, “A Collingwood girl for an Abbotsford Man”. Reread by @kanste

Phryne and Jack return to the footy field and it turns out very different then in the show. I love the flirting and how determined Phryne is to "win over" Jack.

There is desk sex too.......

@omgimsarahtoo, “The Power of the Feminine”. Reread by @kanste

Another series of fics. I love all the different aspects Sarah put into the fics. There is young Jack having sex for the first time and Sarah manages to make the life of the woman with whom it happens come alive. She also introduces us to all the different women who made Jack the man and lover he is today. Of course there is Phrack sexy time. She gives us a new family member whom I like very much and I hope makes a return sometimes.

What made me especially happy is the Happy End Concetta is getting after Jack. It is such a wonderful heart-warming story for a lovely minor character.

@phrynesboudoir/Sassasam, “Mirrors into Windows”. Reread by @scruggzi

This fic combines all my favourite elements of undercover phrackvestigation and resolved sexual tension. Phryne and Jack have been estranged since her return from London although Phryne doesn't know why Jack's not sought her out since she's been back. After being thrown together on a case involving slaughtered academics they renew their friendship and try to navigate a big change in Jack's life and what it means for their partnership. There are lots of lovely things I could say about this fic but basically Phryne as a professor was a kink I never knew I had and it made me spectacularly happy.

@promisesarepiecrust, “City that works” and "A Whole World in Here". Reread by @balticprincess

These are two of my special favourites. Unusual, but great!

There are three things that I love best in fics I like: Angst, Modern AU and a happy ending. And while the first two are not mandatory, I enjoy other fics as well, the last one is. As I watch only movies with happy endings, of course this goes for reading fic, too. "A Whole World in here" by @promisesarepiecrust is written as a play. Nevertheless you can suffer and rejoice with Phryne and Jack in this one. It is full of suspense and romantic. And angsty. So angsty. The epilogue is lovely AND it is M-rated, as I like it. So, an unusual one, but so good and well written.

"City that works" is a modern AU. Total AU: Jack is the free-spirited rich guy and Phryne the divorced policewoman with PTSD. It works so well, that one. Romance, suspense, will-they-won't-they, sex, love, misunderstandings, fun: all there. So, also unusual, but so worth reading!

lefaym, “Locked Rooms”. Reread by @whopooh​

I have probably read this fic more than ten times. It’s fun and lighthearted, and it captures awkwardness in such a wonderful way. Phryne is sure she is about to die in a cellar together with Jack, and she decides to kiss him, because she “had no intention of going to her grave without ravishing Jack Robinson at least once”. When they are saved by Dot and Hugh, they are found in the most compromising situation, and from this moment on the fic is all about delicious awkwardness, and Phryne not wanting to admit she feels awkward. She tries to push it away as not important but fails spectacularly. Here comes one of the funniest lines I’ve read: “Phryne was not going to be defeated by a small masturbatory lapse in judgment“. Finally, the people around her decides she needs a push in the right direction, and we meet the lovely concept of Aunt P ex machina. 

@omgimsarahtoo, “The Female Gaze”. Reread by @kanste

Why do I like that fic? Well, it has Jack in a shower (a lot). But that is not all. Every single reaction to Jack is spot on and lovely. Especially Elsie has a soft spot in my heart

YouknowmeasJ, “Before the World”. Reread by @scruggzi

I'm am absolute sucker for a fluffy reunion fic and this is one I especially like. Jack catches up with Phryne before she leaves Australia and they scheme together to get the Baron home without Phryne having to fly him because he's driving her up the wall. Some lovely funny banter, a little bit of smut and that nice 'you and me against all obstacles' aspect of their partnership really comes to the forefront.

@phrynesboudoir/Sassasam, “The Nearness of You”. Reread by @rithebard

I love pretty much everything Sassasam writes but I chose this one because it really touched my soul. Jack dies in 1929 on the way to meet Phryne and his ghost finds it attached to her home but no one can see him for years till her a new Phryne Stanley comes along. I love this story because you love Phryne's decedent and you feel so deeply for both Jack and Phryne Fisher's sadness and loneliness. Incredibly touching.

@gaslightgallows, “Creatures of Stillness”. Reread by @rithebard

Again I really love gaslightgallows's stories. But this one just really touches me. Jack becoming a merchant seaman to get to Phryne in a beard and dirty peacoat all he wanted to do was get to Phryne and she was delighted. She loves taking care of Jack and it is a very sexy story but it was what they discover about their feelings that really touches me.

@jeneenp/ CollingwoodGirl, "A Man in Need”. Reread by @kanste

This fic has so much going on. I love the PhrackAngst, how everyone works together to get our two idiots together, and the little glimpse in Jack's live. It has some of my favourite Phrack scenes in it. Phryne convincing Jack to let himself touch (in the train), Phryne being her goddess self and bathing in the forest lake and Phryne teaching Jack how to use his tongue. As a plus you have Dot in detective mode.

@olderbynow , ”Smoke and Fire”. Reread by @zannadubs23

According to my reading history it’s around five hits. I love this for a couple of reasons. It’s light and sweet, but still smoking hot. Phryne who is normally so wonderful at everything, just can’t handle the baking of the biscuits. I like that she wants to try, not because she’s goo-goo eyes for Jack (well, not only that—thought that’s clearly part of it) but because he challenges her. That’s it right there. It hits the essence of what makes them tick and lights our imaginations on fire with these idiots. He challenges her and she loves it. She challenges him and he loves it.

@ollyjayonline​, “For Fox’s Sake”. Reread by @whopooh​

This fic is such a happy place, it’s a fic that kind of sparkles with fun and companionship and teasing and love. Phryne and Jack are bailing out from a fox hunt to instead first save the fox and then ravish each other in a folly. The way they interact has such energy and at the same time lightness in it, Phryne’s teasing about Jack’s slightly higher levels of embarrassment is lovely, and it’s a delightful fic.

@omgimsarahtoo, “Romantic Overtures”. Reread by @kanste 

This is not a single fic but a whole series worth reading. I'm really, really fond of letters and Sarah writes some of the best letters out there. I love how Jack and Phryne get bolder with the letters and how in the later fics they keep up with the letters. I would love to have something like that in my relationship

Comeaftermejackrobinson, “Method in their madness” & Miss Templeton, Twelfth Night series (starting with “A Willow Cabin”). Reread by @rithebard

Reunion in England, "Method in their madness" is another favorite, so lyrical and poetic. It is really a story for romantics which I am and exploring the inner lives of our heroes. I also love Miss Templeton's Twelfth Night series on ff.net. She creates a fascinating arc in their romantic relationship while they professionally solve case after case. Also it is fun. And they both have their vulnerabilities with real understanding and though they don't say it out loud love.

DivineMissP,  "Impact" and "Pure Bliss". Reread by AnonM

Dark, well written hurt/comfort. Jack gets to be a reluctant hero without taking anything away from Phryne's strength.

@omgimsarahtoo, “The Breathings of Your Heart". Reread by @kanste

This is Sarathoo's take on the soulmate trope and one fic I've turned to many times. The concept of one soulmate is troubling but Sarah did it beautiful. I love that Phryne and Jack aren't really convinced of the concept (Jack marrying Rosie, Phryne is doing Europe) but when they need comfort turning to each other.  The picture of Phryne writing over her bruises without the ink gives me so many feelings. To balance it out, the conclusion and especially her last message made me laugh out loud.

@firesign23, “When I Sorrow Most”. Reread by @omgimsarahtoo

This is one of those stories that I go back to when I just need a moment to cry. It's short, but saturated with emotion, and just perfectly painful to read. It's like those movies you watch, knowing that they're going to tear your heart out and you're going to love every minute. It breaks my heart every single time.

@heavyheadedgal​, “Queen’s Gambit”. Reread by @whopooh​

This is only a ficlet, but I have found myself coming back to it agfain and again. Although Phryne and Jack are only playing chess in this fic, there is still so much happening and so much understanding flowing between them. I love the way they talk about themselves and their possibly developing relationship while they seem to be talking only about the game in front of them.

This was all.  Here are the earlier posts in the series: I ; II  ; III.

I hope I managed to include everything that has been sent to me -- if I missed something, please let me know and I’ll remedy it!

[tellybuddies]

Élite has it all: rich students with a hint of a murderous trait within, a queer romance that will have you reaching for the tissues, sweet interracial couplings, a taboo that will make your jaw drop, and mysteries you will not be able to get your head around.

What is the story behind Élite?

S1: Three working-class teens (Nadia, Samuel, and Christian) are given scholarships to study at Las Encinas, an elite school when the roof of their school collapses. Thrust into the world of Spain’s richest and their children, both worlds collide when a student is murdered.

S2: Three new students arrive at the school, and Las Encinas finds themselves entangled in yet another incident: the mysterious disappearance of a student.

First Season:

I didn’t really know what to expect while watching this, I don’t watch too many teen dramas but I had a feeling it was going to be a typical drama filled with cliches and stereotypes. That was not the case.

The first episode was so explosive, I couldn’t just stop there and not see this through to the end! There were moments where humorous lines were thrown here and there, but overall this has to be the most dramatic high school I have ever been to - I felt like that quiet student who sits at the back and just watches as the drama unfolds one by one - it was that deep.

Racism is one of the themes explored within Élite and there were times where the racism was subtly injected into a conversation: Christian meets Nadia for the first time and calls her beautiful, he retracts his statement seconds later saying “Shit, sorry. You won’t blow yourself up because I said that, right?” He laughed while saying this, showing how easily people can turn their racist comments into a joke when it is something very serious.

Eleven minutes in, Nadia begins her school day with being called into the principal’s office, the topic being her hijab. The principal begins by telling Nadia that “as per our rules, no accessories are allowed”. Watching someone be discriminated over their cultural choices sparked some disappointment, the ignorance was unreal. A teacher tried to sympathise by saying that they understood why Nadia was against this and her response gained a round of applause:

“If you understood, you wouldn’t ask me to give up my culture or religion.”

For the duration of the series, Nadia goes from strength to strength: she deals with her strict parents and the pressure they put on her to bring pride to the family while also dealing with her feelings for Guzmán, leading them into a slow-burning romance.

Christian, in my opinion, was shown to be this character who played the clown role within the trio. He could be a little bit cocky, didn’t particularly study, liked to have a drink or two and smoke a few joints, he was crazy about another student, Carla, and wanted more than a little taste of the fancy lifestyle he was exposed to. Throughout the season, he showed that there were times when he could be serious too, whether it was to do with his friends, Carla and his feelings for her, or himself -- when he got serious, he was determined to let people know his exact feelings and thoughts before going back to his humorous antics.

Samuel seemed like a decent guy, he wanted no trouble, just wanted to get through the school year, and battled with his studies and his job as a waiter. The moment he locks eyes on Marina, a cute girl who gave off a rebellious vibe and sister of popular boy Guzmán, that’s when trouble knocked on his door. He was infatuated with Marina and their relationship went from a one-sided crush to a half-boyfriend, half-girlfriend situation. When he finds out about Marina’s pregnancy, he starts to act paranoid and goes on accusing everyone around him, including a teacher; this made me dislike Samuel but then I realised that he was only acting this way because he was looking at her with rose-tinted glasses, she was his first love, and finding out who she was really in love with did nothing to stop him from loving her.

As stated in the beginning, the show includes the murder of a student and so episodes have snippets of the main core group being interviewed by an officer on the case. The intertwining interviews give an insight into the characters’ relationships and thoughts but you also begin to notice that there are too many twists and turns which made things confusing, however, it all made sense in the end.

Halfway in season one, the students (privileged and unprivileged) start to form relationships with each other - both friendly and romantic - and because they have to share classes and projects with each other, they begin to grow a sense of personal development. It was really interesting to see the elite students bring out their vulnerable side, you start to see them as more than a person who was born with a silver spoon in their mouth but as a real person with feelings and internal issues that a “normal” person deals with.

Despite the students starting to warm up to each other, there was a clear divide between the rich and the poor. The working-class students were not seen as equals and are instead seen as pawns in a wretched game they didn’t want a part of. Christian really takes this to heart and lets his feelings be known, he says “I am fed up, Carla. I want you to see me as an equal [...] I don’t want to be your gigolo, or your thief, or someone you use.” In reality, it’s a dog-eat-dog world and it is something you can’t control. People are used left, right, and centre and while some see this as a normal thing, others don’t understand it.

This season touched on a lot of issues that are reflected in reality, ranging from social pressure, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual relationships, racism, sexual identity, and a whole lot more.

The finale revealed the last moments of the murdered student and uncovered secrets that left you wondering what was next to come.

Highlights:

#OMANDER (obviously) I loved seeing Ander and Osman, Nadia’s brother, start a relationship. The thing with queer relationships in television is that it is often thrown into your faces and it is either displayed as over-the-top or very sexualised or in some cases, both. Thankfully, the most amazing queer relationship I have seen in a series was done so beautifully and realistically. Nothing was forced, the characters took their time with coming to terms with their sexuality and their newfound relationship, and it was cute, healthy, and heart-warming.

Nadia + Omar’s sibling love Although they both lived in the same house, walked home from parties or school together, and were even in the same room together, the two rarely spoke to each other but as the series advanced, we see the Shanaa siblings form a bond that wasn’t there at the start of the series. They spoke more, confided in each other, and had each other’s back.

All things QUEER Ander’s mum found out he was gay when she came home to find her son kissing Omar and rather than deny what she saw, she accepted it with a smile. Like any other teen who is in the closet, Ander was worried about coming out but receiving a warm reception from his parents and best friends Polo and Guzmán, the latter who was confused why his friend didn’t feel comfortable confiding in him about his sexuality, gave him the freedom to own his queerness and he wasn’t shy about letting people know his sexual preference.

Carla and Polo were the IT couple (other than Guzman and Lucrecia of course), as they have been together since the age of twelve, and the arrival of Christian changed their whole relationship with the three of them engaging in a sexual relationship, solo and group, and this also gave Polo the opportunity to figure out his own sexuality.

The characters in Élite had sexual freedom that is slightly frowned upon in real life and usually met with confusion, denial, and/or offensive remarks. The show really made it clear that times have evolved and people like to kiss men, women, have relationships with either gender or engage in open relationships, fwbs, or NSA and that was OK.

Second Season:

Personally, I didn’t enjoy the second part of Élite. It seemed a little bit too messy with the number of secrets and lies that were circulating around. There was nothing that gave me an oomph and the drama was a bit unnecessary and boring. While I was intrigued in the first episode, the anticipation died down quite quickly but I did find that it picked up in the last two episodes.

I did somewhat like the introduction of the three new characters that popped up, although there wasn’t much of their backstory that really got me interested which simply made them look odd and out of place.

I do have a favourite quote from this season and it pretty much summed up the whole show.

“In the end, the one you’d least expect... turns out to be the worst of the monsters.”

Highlights:

Omar - QUEER ICON He really embraced his sexuality in this season, such a pleasure to see! He smiled more, had a positive outlook, and let out the rainbow within.

Final thoughts:

There was a really nice representation in this show; PoC actors, queer characters, and religion and culture were explored. It’s not every day you get to see a person of colour on your screen - it was refreshing - and the queerness was a joy to watch.

I feel that the characters were well-thought-out during the first season and although they went in a different path in the second, I enjoyed watching them evolve and go through their journey of self-discovery.

Would I recommend it? Yes. The second season was a bit of a letdown but it has been renewed for a third so there is clearly some potential there and I hope the thrill and energy that was in the first season is brought back.

If you want to watch a show that has good character development, this is one to watch. The character arcs were really well-thought and planned. The writers of Élite managed to include a good couple of seasons worth of development in just two seasons which is a feat in itself.

There are eight episodes in each season which makes it the perfect series to binge-watch- I managed to finish both parts in two days; it’s not too long to bore you and not too short to have you groaning in annoyance.

Overall, it was a good watch and I am a little intrigued to see what comes next in season three which will be dropping in March!