TV Reviews

REVIEW: Skins Fire – Part Two

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So…the concluding episode to Effy’s story in Skins Fire Part Two continued tonight on E4 and well what can I say. If you read my previous review for the first episode Skins Fire Part One you would know that I wasn’t really feeling the first episode at all. I mean, I did like it but I was a bit disappointed. Because of how occasionally dull I found the first episode, my excite for this episode wasn’t that high but seeing as I am a massive Skins fan I decided to watch it just to see if something good or at least interesting was going to happen. So the episode opened with Naomi’s stand up performance. Once again, I thought it was a genius move. I’m not gonna lie I found myself laughing at one of the jokes. For some reason I find myself being more interested in watching Naomi’s story than Effy’s. Anyway the episode continues on to the appearance of Emily Fitch which might I add I found quite pointless however that being said my face did light up when she came on the screen. It felt nice seeing another old classic character back in Skins; it’s just a shame that most of the other characters couldn’t make an appearance.

So just when it seems that Effy had it, the man, the job and the money; it all falls out of her hands…very predictably. The love affair between Effy and her boss (who’s name I still haven’t learned yet) was very interesting. It was clear that he was going to play her right from the very start and the only person who didn’t see it coming was Effy. The most touching and heartbreaking scenes from this episode was Naomi’s cancer story line. I felt the emotion and the pain of the character and it touched me. To tackle a story line with such pain and heartbreak behind it, I must say I commend Skins for. I felt from early in the episode that Naomi’s character was going to die and I honestly didn’t want her to. The scenes of Naomi laying in the hospital bed looking so ill were good scenes and very heartbreaking.

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The episode ended with Effy being fired after all her financial scheming were outed. Although once again I did find myself drifting off especially at the beginning of the episode I must admit that I liked this episode a lot more than the first one. It was emotional and I’m gonna be 100% percent honest when I say that I am gonna miss Effy. Over the last couple years her character has provided me with so much life and even inspired me when I was younger to be a bad ass teenager. I will miss Effy and Naomi and Emily.

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Don’t forget to catch the next episode Skins: Pure next week on E4 at 10pm.

What do you think? Leave a comment at the bottom of the page.

REVIEW: Skins Fire – Part One

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The highly anticipated return of the final ever series of Skins premiered tonight on E4 and I have to admit it wasn’t quite what I expected. Skins Fire Part One which sees the return of the legendary character Effy Stonem reveals her current life after we last left her and the gang in Bristol in Series 4. I have to be 100% percent and admit that in the beginning I did find it a bit dull. Being such a Skins fan I thought that they were going to open the episode with someone explosive or at least something eye catching. But no. What I got was Effy walking around London looking nothing but miserable. As the episode continues we see that Effy is working in a dead end stocks and shares job which I found quite confusing to be honest. I’ve been watching Effy since series 1 and if you know anything about Effy you that education wasn’t her forte so the fact that she now has a job in one of the most intellectual and brain-using industries confused me however I have to admit that I liked the fact that she was working in an office (even if it was just an assistant job).

Effy wasn’t just the only old character to resurface in this episode as Naomi (also from series 3 & 4 like Effy) returned to Skins as Effy’s room mate. Out of all the confusing elements to this episode and the story this confused me the most. Since when did Effy and Naomi become ‘so close’ that they end up being room mates? Not only that but when I was watching the episode I felt like the roles had changed. If I remember Naomi from series 3 & 4 she was somewhat sensible and Effy was the ruthless drinking druggie but now I feel like the roles have changed and now Effy is the moderately sensible one and Naomi has become the rebel that Effy used to be. Also, what was with the dancing in the club scenes that appeared every now and then? I didn’t get that all.

The new characters that we are introduced seemed okay. I liked Dominic and I also liked the girl who works in the office with Effy. The ‘not-so-battle’ between Effy and her female boss was a little disappointing. Maybe it’s just me and maybe I just like to see people pump and have rival off but all of those scenes weren’t necessary. Effy’s boss (who by the way I felt looked a bit like a older Freddie from series 3 & 4) was an interesting character. The whole affair situation between Effy and her boss was the only thing currently keeping me interested in the episode. Naomi having cancer was very touching. It was a typical Skins story for me and I liked it. The stand up scene for was A+ amazing. Let’s be honest we all knew that stand-up wasn’t something that Naomi could do.

I know and understand that this series/episodes are meant to display the characters growing up and moving on from the previous life but honestly I would have preferred to see that than what I saw tonight. I did like the episode however I found myself being confused and sometimes switching off throughout the episode. Part 2 which continues next week looks like it’s 10x better than Part 1 and I predict that it is going to be good. I give the episode 3 out 5 stars.

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Skins Fire – Part Two continues on the 8th July on E4 at 10pm.

What do you think? Leave a comment at the bottom of the page.

Hollyoaks: The Last Chapter for The Brady’s

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Oh man! This week in Hollyoaks has been one of the most fascinating and exciting weeks ever since Hollyoaks has started and its all been down to one man….Mr. Brendan Brady. This week is to be the final week we will see Brendan and Cheryl Brady as they both mark there exits and bow out of Hollyoaks. This storyline has to be one of the best storylines I have ever watched on Hollyoaks and I’ve been watching Hollyoaks for over a decade and a bit now.

So where do I start? Well…Brendan’s days of terrorising the folk of the village, killing vulnerable people and slapping the life and soul out of Ste is over as He leaves Hollyoaks in one of the best ways possible…in jail! Yes, Brendan isn’t dead which begs the question…will he ever return? Probably not but if he does that will be an episode everyone will watch. This storyline between Walker and Brendan has been brewing for sometime now as you guys who watch Hollyoaks might know and it has finally reached ending point. For those of you who haven’t seen Hollyoaks this week I hate to be the spoiler and ruin the plot for you but what fun would it be if you didn’t know?

Walker is dead. Yes that’s right, the ever so suspicious looking Walker is dead and it’s all down to Brendan. See Brendan and Walker had one of the most weakest and funniest fights I’ve ever seen which resulted in Walker beening kicked in front of the train by Brendan. But before all of that had happened, Walker somehow managed to kidnap both Seamus (Brendan’s dad) and Brendan himself and video recorded Seamus admitting that he used to sexual assault Brendan when he was young. The amazing thing about this was Walker got arrested after this and then escaped which resulted in him meeting with Brendan for the fight.

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After all that we thought it was all over but oh no it didn’t stop there. Like I said before Walker had recorded Seamus admitting so assaulting Brendan and just before he was kicked in front of the train he somehow magically managed to put the footage on a USB stick and send it special delivery to Cheryl so she finally knows the truth about what Seamus did to Brendan. During this time Cheryl had found the gun that Walker had kicked under the sofa when he was fighting with Brendan in the house. Now while all of this was happening Seamus and Brendan was fighting it out like all Irish men do and let’s just say Seamus was beating the life out of Brendan. Just at that point where Seamus was going to repeat history and sexual assault Brendan one more time, Cheryl walks in and shoots Seamus right in the back.

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I know what your thinking? Since when did Cheryl grow such big balls? Well she kinda always had the balls to get in your face but she never really had the balls to shoot someone dead let alone her old man. So…Cheryl shoots Seamus dead and let’s Brendan know that she has found out the truth. Brendan being Brendan trys to tell Cheryl that everything is going to be okay and that he will take the wrap for her but she’s not having it. Brendan finally manages to convince her and just as he does he decides its time to face the music.

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Brendan walks to the door of the club, kicks it open and confesses to all the murders he has committed. Just as he is doing this, Cheryl realises that he has taken the gun and given her the bullets from the gun meaning that he had already planned what was going to happen. Ste is downstairs screaming his head of and at that point Brendan whispers the words “in a next life Steven” and shots at the police and SWAT team.

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Thursday’s episode had everyone holding there breath as we saw/heard Brendan get shot by the SWAT team. Now I know I wasn’t the only person in the county who though that Brendan was dead. I have to admit, I almost cried. I did, I almost cried. E4 at 7pm couldn’t come quicker because I desperately wanted to know how the last chapter in the Brady book ended. Now for those of you who don’t wanna know click off the page now cause I’m gonna be the one to ruin it for you. Well firstly, Brendan doesn’t die. It turns out the SWAT team just shot him in the arm. Ste demands answers and wants to know what really happened and well you’ve guessed it Cheryl’s big mouth goes and ruins it. She tells Ste everything and Ste demands that he tells the truth just so Brendan can get set free but that doesn’t go quite according to plan.

Brendan tells Ste that he loves him but he has to let him go and Ste just can’t except it. Cheryl breaks up with Nate only to get back with him and they both leave Hollyoaks together with B*Witched playing in the car. Gosh that is so Cheryl. The final scene is of Brendan sitting in the ceil ready to go down. Like I said in the beginning…..fascinating and exciting.

I have really enjoyed Brendan and Cheryl in Hollyoaks. I do hope that one day there characters will return to the village and cause commotion. I have to praise Emmett J Scanlan for his portrayal as Brendan Brady. He is an amazing actor and I hope he wins big at this year British Soap Awards 2013 so go and vote now! #GoodbyeBradys

What do you think? Leave a comment at the bottom of the page.

TV Review: Once Upon A Time Season 1 Finale

I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE fan of Once Upon a Time and less than an hour a go the season finale to Once Upon a Time left me speechless as the dramatic effects of the past series came to an interesting end. It thrilled to me so so much. Nothing disappointed me at all. So where do I start…hmm…If you’ve been glued to this series like I have you will know exactly what the show is about. For those of you who don’t know let me give you a brief intro as to what the show is all about. It’s based around fairytale character being torn real life by a book. The season finale definitely lived up to the expectation. There was a death, a resurrection, magic, Rumpelstiltskin, love, a kiss and a curse being lifted. The events didn’t actually go in that order but you get what I mean.

I have to admit I was quite surprised with amazing graphics that was displayed in today’s season finale. The scene where Emma had to kill/fight the dragon who’s face we never saw was quite interesting. The graphics on the dragon’s body was amazing especially when Emma through the sword and it went straight through the dragon. Also, the purple mist that came from the well when Rumpelstiltskin drop the purple magic down it was very beautiful to watch.

The whole series including the season finale is getting a 10/10 from me. At first I was a bit skeptical ABC producing something like this only because ABC hasn’t really had any good shows besides Desperate Housewives and Modern Family. I can’t wait for Season 2. Unfortunately for me and everyone else in the UK we have to wait till 2013 to watch however Series 2 comes out in September in the US.

What do you think? Leave a comment at the bottom of the page.