REVIEW - The Borgias - S03E07

Episode seven is about unions. Bad ones, passionate ones, religious ones, tangled ones and forbidden ones.

Cesare and his army are trying to capture Milan in a carefully balanced power negotiation with the French army. Micheletto gets some rare downtime from killing and torturing on behalf of the Borgia dynasty and is shown around Milan by a handsome stranger who takes him to a deserted house which belonged to Leonardo Da Vinci. He shows him Leonardo’s contraptions and inventions as well as something else entirely. There should be more of Sean Harris on screen as Micheletto has such a presence, intriguing story and is acted so well you are left wanting more every time he leaves the screen. It is a real treat when there are episodes which focus on him.

Back in Rome Guilia Farnese makes a re-appearance after being extricated from the Papal house. She has a new suitor and wishes Pope Alexander to approve the union while in Naples Lucrezia pushes hard to toughen up her soft yet pretty Duke husband. However, he is not interested in conflict and just wants a peaceful life. The price you pay for a peaceful life in the time of Borgia is a short one. It looks like Lucrezia has to wear the pants in this partnership and protect herself by making a power play of her own.

By far the most interesting storyline in this episode is Ludovico Sforza’s deal with the devil (or should that be the Pope?). He has been keeping Caterina’s only son in hiding and gives him up to the Borgia’s in return for safe passage and a life spared. What he didn’t count on was Michelleto mistaking capture for murder and as with every deal made by anyone it this season of the Borgia’s, there will be dire consequences.

Review by JoAnn Duff

You can find more of JoAnn's work on her blog.

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REVIEW - The Borgias - S03E06

Death, pestilence and the plague are rife in Naples, so is it the right place to bring a Borgia heir? Michelletto thinks so as he smuggles Lucrezia's baby from Rome back into his doting mothers arms to the disbelief of her husband.

Meanwhile in Rome it’s turning 1500 AD and Pope Alexander sees fit to plan a spectacular show to mark the 1500th year of our Lord. He expects pilgrims to come from all over Christendom and hopefully donate and fill his coffers. The narcissistic egomaniac also commissions a portrait and gets busy organizing an outrageous event. One of his cardinals comes up with a grand idea for gold coin where Pilgrims literally pay for their sins with coins with a coin box outside each confessional.

Caterina Sforza is still plotting as usual and pulls a stunt with a plague filled rag. I am unsure if she really does plan to destroy the Borgia family or maybe she just enjoys pontificating and walking up and down in front of good looking sons from powerful Italian families. Now we reach episode six I hope that thinks will begin to happen.

The Jews are descending on Rome daily, more and more are pouring in and Pope Alexander sees a chance to grab yet more gold coins. For the Jews to stay and trade and live happily in Rome they must contribute generously. While the negotiations are in full swing the Pope is interrupted. The French army is descending with the newly married Cesare as it’s Commander. Is there anyone else in the world in 1500? Or is the whole world’s population nestled and squeezed tightly into Rome. Surely is only a matter of time before the pressures give way.

Review by JoAnn Duff

You can find more of JoAnn's work on her blog.

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REVIEW - Grimm - S02E21

In ‘The Waking Dead’ every subplot and storyline going on throughout season two reaches boiling point. Juliette sees for herself what a wesen is, Captain Renard and his brother find out about Adalind’s child and there is an undeniable tension between Frau Pech and Stefania. The story also introduces a new species of Wesen and a new recurring character which promises to wreak some havoc in the finale.

As the name implies, we deal with zombies of all things in this episode. It’s interesting to see how the series integrates them into the mythos; I’m also impressed that they chose a more traditional approach than Night of the Living Dead-esque monsters. It was still a little hard to avoid eye rolling given how often they’re used in Hollywood.

The presence of the new character was jarring and when it got to three quarters into the episode I wasn’t sure what they were going to do with him. It wasn’t until the very last scene with said character that I was impressed.

Grimm seems to have focus issues in many of its episodes and while this is not an exception it is impressive to see all these side stories come together for what seems to be a grand finale. After several episodes of silence Eric Renard and his brother’s confidant return on screen to react to the possibility of an illegitimate heir. While this plot simmers in the background its influence in the next episode is clear by the end. Juliette’s subplot, however, has more focus than it probably should have at this point in the arc. The benefit is the arc is done and shouldn’t come up next episode.

This episode is notable for being the one of few episodes where Adalind’s scenes aren’t jarring additions. I love how the show toys with whether she is being played or doing the playing—this episode leans more to the former, but it’s still intriguing to watch.

‘The Waking Dead’ tries its hardest to bring everything together so we can watch worlds collide in the next episode. As a result the episode has focus issues at times and can be disorienting. It’s a must watch for the impending finale and completes a storyline that has stretched out just a little bit too long. I wouldn’t recommend it as a standalone episode but for someone who wants to understand the storyline this is one you can’t skip over.

Review by Greta Rehak

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Teen Wolf Season 3 Trailer review

A couple of weeks ago Teen Wolf told us that “This Might Hurt” but it was only with the release of the first full length trailer for the show’s third season that fans actually understood just how much it was actually going to hurt. The heart attack inducing two minutes led fans to lament the choice they made when they decided to engage with what was supposed to be a silly MTV show about teenage werewolves.

Those of you that have not yet fallen under Teen Wolf’s spell might be wondering why I’m getting so emotional over something that sounds so utterly ridiculous but I’m going to have to ask you to take a leap of faith and just trust me on this one. Teen Wolf is actually one of the best supernatural dramas on television at the moment and the trailer this week suggests that it’s only going to get better.

Video title: Teen Wolf Season 3 Preview

Fade in, Stiles runs down a corridor cut to Derek bloodied, beaten and being comforted by an unknown woman. Derek’s voiceover states: “everyone around me gets hurt” and the next 2 minutes proceed to prove his point. All is not well in the town of Beacon Hills; the Alpha pack is here with their charismatic leader Deucalion and they are not looking to make friends. No one is safe including Scott’s mother who is shown getting her throat ripped out. In the final moments of the trailer Scott’s eyes shift from their familiar amber to Alpha red.

Those of you that are familiar with this show’s first two seasons will notice that this is a much darker and more dangerous Teen Wolf than we’re used to. While the familiar romantic plot is still visible it’s definitely taken a back seat to the suspenseful horror narrative. The budget has definitely increased and the few glimpse we had of fight scenes and stunts were a vast improvement on what we’ve seen before. This is Teen Wolf all grown up and it’s not so much shedding it’s innocent past as obliterating it.

It’s seems ‘might’ was not a strong enough warning because this already hurts and something tells me it’s only going to get worse. Sorry, I guess I’m not really hiding the fact that I’m a fan of this show but I’m ashamed to admit it. This show is so much better than it appears on paper and if you just give it a chance you will be seduced by it’s charm as well. You should probably just watch it because I am not going to stop until everyone has fallen into the same trap as me.

Teen Wolf season 3 returns June 3^rd in the US and airs on FOX8 in July.

By Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.

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REVIEW - Doctor Who - S07E13

“The Doctor has a secret he will take to the grave.  It is discovered.”

While the Doctor did have a secret it certainly wasn’t what we thought – well those of us that managed to stay spoiler free after the Series 7 DVD’s were incorrectly shipped early. Spoilers drama aside there is so much to say about this episode and I have absolutely no idea where to start.

As the episode begins with Clara – the impossible girl – let’s start with her shall we. I haven’t been silent about my disappointment with Clara’s characterisation and while this episode didn’t make me fall in love with her it was definitely a satisfying conclusion to the only mystery worth solving. The way they inserted Clara into past Doctor Who adventures could have been gimmicky yet somehow it was practically flawless but that might be the nostalgia talking. So far, I have re-watched that scene 7 times and I’m sure I’ll watch it again before I finish writing this review; I’m in awe.

Then there was the inclusion of my favourite occasional guests Strax, Madam Vastra and her wife Jenny. And the fact that they interacted with the always-brilliant River Song was icing on the cake. While we’re on the topic of River Song, I have to say this is the first time since Series 5 that I felt her character was done the justice she deserves. Alex Kingston sizzles on screen and the chemistry between her and Matt Smith is electric.

Other notable aspects included the return of Richard E. Grant’s The Great Intelligence, some seriously scary looking monsters that can literally stop your heart and the fact that we never did learn the Doctor’s name (thank goodness). Of course Clara saved the day, as companions always do, and her sacrifice was actually rather emotional but that had more to do with Jenna-Louise Coleman’s performance than anything else. And I can’t praise Matt Smith enough because my words are inadequate, that man can act.

This episode was everything it needed to be, a fantastic final filled with near death experiences, tear-jerking goodbyes and mind-blowing revelations. It’s basically everything I wanted and it almost makes up for the fact that the last two Series lost some of their heart in order to set up this epic final, and the upcoming 50^th Anniversary Special.

We did not learn the Doctor’s name but this episode reminded me why I fell in love with this show in the first place. It’s somehow takes these complicated crazy storylines and makes them relatable. So while I was disappointed with this series as a whole – not that I hated it just didn’t live up to pervious expectations – “The Name of the Doctor” did enough to renew my excitement for not just the 50^th Anniversary Special but the next full series as well. Besides now that Clara’s finished her life as a plot device she might actually become a real person.

Well that’s it for Series 7, there is not much else to do now except try to survive the anticipation of Matt Smith and David Tennant teaming up in the 50^th Anniversary Special.

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.

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TV Podcast #4 Cancellations

Join Alaisdair & Todd as they discuss the heartbreaking cancellations that happened last week across all the networks. You can listen below or subscribe to us on SoundCloud!

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REVIEW - The Big Bang Theory S06E24 'The Bon Voyage Reaction'

'The Bon Voyage Reaction' was the season six finale of The Big Bang Theory. Although it did not really end in a cliffhanger, the episode kept throwing curveballs to make me think of it as one of the better episodes this season: Leonard is invited on an expedition at sea for four months, Lucy and Raj break-up, but the most exciting thing about this episode was that Raj speaks to women without alcohol!

Howard recommends Leonard for a scientific expedition to the North Sea, which means he will be on a boat for the next four months. Sheldon is clearly jealous of Leonard and does his best to talk him out of going, but isn't having much luck until he mentions Penny... Leonard begins to worry that leaving for four months won't be good for their relationship, but Penny tells him to go since it's such a great opportunity. As a show of support, Penny decides to throw Leonard a "Bon Voyage" party.


I was hoping that this episode would reveal who got tenure (maybe none of them did... maybe it was Kripke!), but it was an interesting move for them to send Leonard away for four months (especially when he and Penny are doing so well!). When he and the other guys went to the North Pole for three months at the end of Season Two, Penny was pretty happy to see him when they returned in Season Three so I wonder what will happen this time... Although I will admit, I'm probably more interested to see how Penny goes 'keeping an eye on Sheldon' for Leonard while he is away - it's always funny watching those two together.

Raj would like Lucy to meet his friends, but she worries that she will not be able to meet so many new people at once because of her social anxiety. Raj suggests just meeting one to start with, so Amy joins Raj and Lucy for dinner one night. Lucy and Amy seem to be getting on well, but Raj keeps interrupting and drawing attention to how uncomfortable Lucy must be feeling. This of course freaks her out, and she ends up hiding in the bathroom.

The next day Raj apologises for his behaviour, and convinces Lucy to come to Leonard's going away party. During the party Sheldon pretends to be happy for Leonard and makes a toast to him. After this, Raj gets a text from Lucy: she has decided that she cannot handle going to the party after all, and furthermore, she does not think they should continue their relationship.

I understand where Lucy is coming from with this, since Raj has been putting a lot of pressure on her to do things she is uncomfortable with, but, I also understand that Raj is only trying to do this because he cares about her (as was made clear in last weeks episode), so I am sad to see their relationship end because of this.

The next day Penny drops Leonard off at the airport for his trip, they exchange a kiss and 'I love you's, before Leonard gives her a present. They smile and say their goodbyes, but since Sheldon is so worried they are parked in the wrong spot and could get a fine Penny does not open the box. What I'm wondering is: WHAT'S IN THE BOX? It wasn't that big... jewellery perhaps? Surely it must have some significance, otherwise it probably wouldn't have been included, or maybe I'm just reading too much into it...

On her way home from the airport, Penny stops in to see how Raj is doing. He is absolutely devastated - he can't believe that he ruined the best relationship he ever had. He begins to cry and call himself unlovable, and Penny tries to console him by saying it's just all the alcohol he's had. That's when the revelation is made: Raj has not had a drink since last night - he is talking to Penny properly for the first time in his life!

The were two things I really loved about this scene. The first was Kunal's acting: his crying over Lucy was so touching that I just wanted to give him a hug - I have never felt so sorry for him before! The second reason was because of how unexpected this was - when Penny went to visit him, and they were both upset about being alone, I was worried we were going to have a repeat of the Season Four cliffhanger, but was pleasantly surprised when it turned out the way it did.

At the very end of the episode, Raj is telling Amy, Bernadette and Penny all about his problems (without having had a drink first), and Amy wonders when he is ever going to shut up. Although a predictable joke (that I bet the writers have been sitting on for a while), it still made me chuckle, and I am looking forward to what the next season will bring. 

Although this season did not end in much of a cliffhanger, there are still some things I am wondering about - are Raj and Lucy going to stay broken up, or is there a chance they could get back together? Or will Raj find someone else now that he can talk to girls? And what will Lucy think of this? Will Amy and Sheldon reach a new level of intimacy? Will Howard and Bernadette start a family? Who gets tenure? What is going to happen between Leonard and Penny?! AND WHAT'S IN THE BOX?! I can't wait four months...

Review by Heather Bale.

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REVIEW - 90210 - S05E22

After last week’s cliff hanger the explosion that destroyed stage the question on everyone’s mind was is Adrianna or Navid dead?

In “We all Fall Down” the series finale it was time for the friends to take their final bow and find some must need resolutions.

Sidney was left asking questions about Annie and Liam’s relationship after she finished reading ‘Undressed’ the book based around Annie’s love life. Liam, who is of course in denial of the on-going feelings for Annie, continues to ignore obvious signs-they should be together.

Navid is found safe and sound but Aid is nowhere to be found. Still in pain, Navid runs into the damaged stage to find her. It was nice to see Navid be heroic and they sat there until rescue crews came, discussing their future together.

Naomi throws a massive concert to raise funds for recent disaster which featured the amazing vocals of the Goo Goo Dolls. The concert is put to stop when a gas leak is found that could harm Aid and Navid inside. With no money for the ‘Naomi Clark Disaster Relief’ the only way out was to sell her tell all story about her so called night with Prince Harry. It worked in Naomi’s favour as Jordan’s mother delivered the news that the Emperor (aka. Prince Harry’s father) was happy to see his son react to the story by entering rehab. Naomi agreed to meet the Emperor as long as she and Jordan could see each once again.

As if Silver needed more pain in her life, the doctor called to announce she had cancer. Dixon had a heart-warming conversation with Silver and it motivated her to fight the cancer: “You reach deeper until you can find the strength. That’s all life is, one big fight after another.”

Later Sidney confronted Liam and told him to read the ending of Annie’s book. Aid calls Silver about the baby incident and they make-up from their on-going war. The group said their goodbyes and I teared up when Annie hugged Dixon.

As Annie, Naomi and Jordan walk towards their private plane. Annie looks miserable as rolls her luggage and gets on the plane. Little does she know that Liam is driving his motorcycle beside the plane along the runway until eventually Jordan notices him. Annie gets off the plane and Liam says:

“I read the end of your book. The person you made me, the guy who rides up on his motorcycle and says exactly how he feels and what he wants, even if it’s complicated. That’s the guy I want to be.”

Then in one bold and romantic move, Liam gets one knee and asks her to marry him. She says yes.

Although, 90210 did not have the best ending I mean what happened to Silver or Dixon? Did Navid and Aid marry? We could have seen more of a happy ending for all the characters and Max should have returned to sweep Naomi off her feet once again. The show had an overall bitter sweet end but it was still worth it to watch. I see a 90210 marathon in the near future!

Review by Jessica Tisdell

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REVIEW - How I Met Your Mother - S08E24

It finally happened, the thing we have all been waiting for for the past eight years, we met 'The Mother' (aka Ted's future wife, played by Cristin Milioti) in the season eight finale of How I Met Your Mother. ...Well, okay, Ted hasn't met her yet, but we have... well we saw her for a few seconds just before the episode ended, but still, she was there, 'The Mother' does exist! Unfortunately we had to sit through a rather underwhelming episode to get to this big reveal.

When Lily accidentally blurts out to Marshall's mother that they are moving to Italy, Marshall takes baby Marvin to see his mother in an attempt to appease her, leaving Lily free to do as she pleases. Ted has finally finished renovating the house he purchased and takes Lily to see it. When they get there, he reveals to Lily that he is selling the house and moving to Chicago. Ted says that since everyone is moving on (Lily and Marshall are moving to Rome, Barney and Robin are getting married), and that he hasn't found 'the one' in New York, he has decided to try his luck in Chicago. This is when Lily realises that not finding 'the one' isn't the real reason Ted is moving to Chicago: it is because he thinks Robin is 'the one' and can't stand the thought of her marrying his best friend. 

Ted tells Lily the story of how they went looking for Robin's 'something old' (a locket she buried in Central Park when she was a teenager), but couldn't find it, and Lily tells him she knows where it is. Ted decides that giving Robin the locket would be a great wedding present... Lily tells him to be careful.

It's really hard to feel sorry for Ted at this point since we know he is so very close to meeting the mother, that he probably won't move to Chicago and sell the house (since this house is the one his kids grow up in), so this storyline fell kind of flat. It was interesting that Ted ended up having Robin's locket all along (it would have felt false if they revealed Barney had it), so there no doubt will be more Ted/Robin/Barney drama when the series returns next season. I'm growing pretty tired of the whole Ted/Robin thing and cannot wait for it all to be over and for Ted to finally move on.

While Marshall is staying with his mother, she is doing everything in her power to convince Marshall to stay in America. Marshall assures Lily that nothing can stop him from going to Rome with her... that is until he gets a phone call offering him a job as a court judge. Marshall accepts, but does not tell Lily.

I was wondering if/how they were going to stop Lily and Marshall moving to Rome (at least for any extended period of time), so this came as a nice surprise and will no doubt cause some friction between Marshall and Lily next season.

Meanwhile, Barney and Robin have finished all of their wedding planning, and decide to take an evening to relax at their favourite restaurant. Of course things do not go to plan when another couple takes Barney and Robin's favourite table. Barney and Robin decide to get revenge against this couple by trying to split them up. They think their plan has succeeded, but the couple gets engaged instead.

This was a pretty lame storyline (not to mention mean), and hardly felt season finale-worth... especially when most of us were probably expecting to see Barney and Robin get married! I guess they're just going to keep milking this one for all it is worth. I suppose it was nice to see that Barney and Robin do work well as a team, and is the shows way of indicating they are *meant* to be...

Thankfully, this rather lacklustre episode was saved at the end when we saw the mother for the first time. I was really glad that they didn't wait until the very last episode of the very last season to reveal her, and now (hopefully) we will have all of next season to get to know her, as well as to watch her and Ted's courtship... Well, that's the hope, but as we all know by now, How I Met Your Mother just loves to drag things out...

Review by Heather Bale.

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REVIEW - Grimm - S02E20

This week on Grimm, Nick picks the worst possible time to start an affair with a wesen. He spends the majority of ‘Kiss of the Muse’ obsessed over a musai while the rest of the cast work to both arrest another one of her victims and find a cure for him. Meanwhile Juliette has obtained all her missing memories and wants to reconcile with Nick.

Nick’s gradual descent into obsession, while not subtle, is effective. From the moment that she kissed his hand it was obvious something was going to go down, but it is not cemented until he goes to her house instead of dinner with Juliette. The more time he spends with her the worse he gets and it starts to show after his second and third visits. Bravo, David Guintoli. Bravo, Sean Calder.

Speaking of performance and writing, it was great to see Munroe, Hank, Rosalee and (yes, even) Renard working together while Nick was under the influence. Hank and Renard do the policing while Munroe and Rosalee do their usual research in both the trailer and the spice shop. The supporting cast are usually downplayed in importance when it comes to each case so it was nice to see them taking over investigation this episode. I believe it was ‘Mr. Sandman’ that first had this opportunity to play with this idea but it’s this episode that does something with it.

This is also one of the few episodes so far where there is no cure or counterspell for a wesen’s ability provided by either of the cast’s main resources. Munroe and Rosalee had to improvise a solution using their own deductive abilities. Again, I love seeing the showrunners try something different.

As mentioned above this is the episode where Juliette remembers everything and tries to apologise to Nick for how she alienated him. For someone who has been watching this whole time it’s both cathartic and heartbreaking. In any other episode Nick might have loved to hear those words coming out of her mouth. In ‘Kiss of the Muse’, however, he’s too busy thinking about sparkly blue wesen ladies to care.

While I was applauding the writing this episode just a few paragraphs before, there’s two things that really bother me; first and foremost, I have a problem with Juliette’s memory of the talk she and Nick had in the trailer. It is a complete reversal of her original reaction for no other reason than ‘having time to gradually process what happened’. Just a few months ago I would have been screaming ‘why is this so hard to believe’, but the change in attitude here was too jarring. Nick needed her this episode, but that could have been achieved by her having a five second freakout, calming down and then coming to conclusion she did in that scene.

The other issue I had was the musai and the ending of her arc—to put it bluntly we are given no motivation for her actions other than ‘I’m a musai, it’s what we do’. This is lazy writing. While it’s implied she enjoys seeing men fight over her, I have no idea if this is a species trait or just her abusing her powers. Her interrogation scene, which would have been great to establish any kind of backstory, gives her no depth. The idea of her is great and the conflict she creates makes this episode one I won’t soon be forgetting but I’m in no rush to see her again.

In conclusion this episode is great save a few jarring moments and a bland villain. With Juliette in the loop I imagine the team dynamic will be shifting next week. Whether or not it’s for the better is yet to be seen.

Review by Greta Rehak

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REVIEW - New Girl - S02E23-24

Last week, was one of best episodes Of New Girl probably ever. Although, the gang did not actually leave the house for the whole episode, the storyline compensated for that. As they all share their ‘first time’ to have sex. Jess claims that she has the worst story, she makes out in kids playground castle, gets stuck, the guys she is with announces he might be gay and they police discover that guy sleeping on the bench near them was dead the whole time. Jess is rescued by a strong fireman named Teddy who takes her up in his arms and she explains that lost her virginity to him. I think Jess has the wrong of idea of what disastrous first time is.

Schmidt tells the story of his first time with his first girlfriend Elizabeth that involved a little much lubricant and a stoned Nick who was there to witness it all. While Winston who believes he had the best experience has his whole world crushed as Nick announces that the woman named ‘Mysteria’ who was actually a prostitute. Although who names their child Mysteria? Cece who also claims to have a “bad experience” was lucky enough to lose her virginity to legendary star Mick Jagger.

As Jess leaves the apartment to meet her date at the end of the episode, Nick stops thinking for once and just does exactly what we have been waiting for. He stops Jess in the elevator and sweeps her off her feet like in a romantic novel. Sigh.

In this week’s episode “Winston’s Birthday”, Nick and Jess are lying in bed when they realise after all that sexual tension, they finally did it. Nick is as happy as one can be after sex and decides to make Jess a cute breakfast in bed when her dad (Rob Reiner) arrives at their apartment doorstep.

Jess is offered a job to tempt at a school and Nick is stuck at home with her father trying not to blurt out anything but it does not go so well. The children are giving Jess hell but she takes charge of the situation. At home Nick eventually pours out his heart to Bob (Jess’s father) who has a lot to say about Nick and Jess beginning a relationship.

Bob turns around and says “ I know him, when I was young I was confused, I was lost, I had no plan- you’re not your father your me and I’m not good enough for my little girl.” Ouch.

Cece is preparing for her wedding to Shivrang but will she go through with it? I say bring back the Cece/Schmidt relationship. It’s just plain awkward between Cece and Shivrang, they barely know each other.

The worst part is the whole time that all this drama is occurring they have forgotten about Winston’s birthday.

Watch New Girl next week to find out whether Cece goes through with the wedding and Taylor Swift is set to guest star.

Review by Jessica Tisdell

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REVIEW - The Borgias - S03E05

This episode is all about the women. Strong women, sexy women, evil women and mad women.

Katarina Sforza is back on the scene after an episode of absence and is still building a union of key Italian power families with her narcissistic self at the helm. Lucrezia is heartbroken as she gives up her illegitimate baby who is to be brought up by her parents out of the public eye as per her marriage negotiations. As she leaves with a heavy, weeping heart to set up her marital home in Naples Michelleto, the Borgia’s faithful guard stays by her side. The Pope however barely notices her sadness and shows no empathy as she leaves her baby behind for a new life without her beloved son. The faithful Michelleto seems to be the only one to listen to Lucrezia’s woes and who understands her pain and want for revenge.

The pre-occupied Pope rather than be a good father and grandfather, seems more interested in sleeping with other noblemen’s wives. However the latest seductive conquest may be one of the most beautiful to ever visit the Vatican, but is also the most unhinged. Has Pope Alexander bitten off more than he can chew?

Cesare arrives in Avignon, France in search of another woman (as if The Borgia’s don’t have their hands full enough). He needs to find a wife to strengthen the Borgia dynasty and also to hopefully snuff out the fires of passion that burn deep for his little sister. Whilst surrounded by strong, beautiful French ladies-in-waiting he is also there to work on powerful negotiations with France, which could take the Borgia household to new heights of control, power and wealth.

Review by JoAnn Duff

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REVIEW - Doctor Who - S07E12

There was a lot of hype surround this episode as not only did it herald the return of one the Doctor’s most popular foes but it was penned by Neil Gaiman (who previously wrote the praised “The Doctor’s Wife”). The problem with hype is that it rarely lives up to the expectation. While “Nightmare in Silver” is not as good as “The Doctor’s Wife” it still manages to be one of the most entertaining episodes this year.

The Doctor takes the children Clara nanny’s for, Angie and Artie, to Hedgewick’s World Of Wonders, a popular theme park, only to find that it has long since closed down. The only people left are a small military troop, Webley (Jason Watkins) who runs a sideshow (including several deactivated Cybermen – remnants from the cyberwars), and a man who calls himself Porridge (Warwick Davis). They soon discover that the Cybermen are not as deactivated as they once thought and the park is currently over run by tiny mechanical bugs, cybermites.

These are not the Cyberman we know and love, these are the extreme version. It turns out the only way humans could defeat the Cybermen during the cyberwars was to destroy an entire galaxy. Angie and Artie are captured and the cybermites attach to the Doctor planning on uploading him (and all his knowledge) into their databases but the Doctor isn’t going to let go easily. He challenges the Cybermen inside his mind to a game of Chess. Meanwhile Clara is hanging out with the local military troop, whose mission was technically to search for the missing lecture but in the reality they are a punishment troop for the army’s failures.

The Doctor fights the Cybermen in a game of wits, Clara fights a trigger-happy platoon Captain who wants to blow up the planet and it turns out Porridge is actually the missing emperor. Ultimately the Doctor wins the battle, the children are saved, the planet gets destroyed taking the Cybermen along with it (after they escape of course) and the emperor proposed to Clara, she turns him down.

This episode was a little confusing at times but there was a lot to love starting with the fact that Gaiman has managed to make the well-loved but let’s face it, kind of laughable, Cybermen threatening again. Porridge’s plot-twist identity was fairly easy to guess but guest star Warwick Davis makes the predicable role incredibly likeable. The rest of the guest-cast are unmemorable but it’s over shadowed by a brilliant performance from Matt Smith.

Matt Smith spend much of the episode acting against himself, which is rather more interesting than when he’s acting against Jenna-Louise Coleman, and it’s amazing to watch. In fact every time the story left the Doctor’s inner battle to focus Clara’s military role I found myself getting increasingly frustrated. Had this episode focused solely on Smith’s performance it could have been fantastic but as is it felt rushed at times and loses some of it’s impact.

Next week it’s time to ask the question that must never be answered… also the conclusion to the mystery of Clara and the return of the always-wonderful River Song (Alex Kingston).

Review by Yvonne Popplewell

More of Yvonne’s work can be found at her blog.

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REVIEW - The Big Bang Theory S06E23 'The Love Spell Potential'

Love is in the air in this weeks episode of The Big Bang Theory, ‘The Love Spell Potential’, as two couples take their relationship to the next level!

After an incident at the airport stops Amy, Bernadette and Penny going to Las Vegas, they end up playing ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ with Howard, Leonard and Sheldon. Although reluctant at first, the girls get into the game (aided by Howard’s celebrity impressions as the dungeon master). Things all seem to be going well until Bernadette casts a love spell on Amy and Sheldon. The others start mocking Amy and Sheldon, and their (lack of a) sexual relationship. Amy gets upset and hides in Sheldon’s room.

Amy doesn’t like that the others think their relationship is a joke, but Sheldon does not think it is. He tells her that although they may not be as intimate as other couples, “for me, what we have, is extremely intimate”. Sheldon goes on to say that although he is not ready for more intimacy at this stage, he has not “ruled it out” for the future. Sheldon decides to go along with the D&D love spell scenario as evidence of this, which quickly cheers Amy up.

This scene was so very sweet, and so true to Sheldon’s character. They may not be progressing in their relationship as fast as Amy would hope, but they are progressing. Although Amy may struggle with this at times, she does understand Sheldon and is willing to wait for him to be ready. More importantly, despite what Sheldon says sometimes, he does indeed care for Amy, he is just scared of increasing their intimacy. I have been on the fence for a while about the whole Shamy situation, but this scene has convinced me that it might just/should work after all.

Meanwhile Raj and Lucy go on another date and she confesses she is trying to push herself into more situations she feels uncomfortable with, such as telling her hairdresser she doesn’t like her bangs or sending food back in a restaurant. When their meal comes, Lucy thinks her crab-cakes taste “funky”, and decides she just won’t eat them. Raj thinks this is a good opportunity for Lucy to send food back, but she refuses. He keeps pressuring her, and she eventually excuses herself to go to the bathroom and sneaks out the window like she did on their first date. 

Unfortunately, Lucy becomes trapped at the back of the restaurant which is surrounded by a fence and padlocked gate. She calls Raj who is annoyed with her for bailing on another of their dates. Lucy says she is scared and does not like Raj pushing her. Raj confesses he is scared too, but that is because he likes Lucy a lot. Lucy is shocked, but Raj convinces her of his feelings... and they have their first kiss! Sure it was through a fence, but their relationship is moving forward and I am glad it all seems to be going so well. Of course this is TV-land, where no couple seems to be able to function for more than a few episodes at a time without any relationship drama to keep us watching, so I wonder what, if anything, TBBT has in store for Raj and Lucy... It is the season finale next week after all, so we will all just have to tune in and see what happens!

Review by Heather Bale.

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REVIEW - 90210 - S05E21

After a long time we will finally get the answers. Liam is preparing to leave for Australia with Sidney but something is holding him back? The Offshore is supposed to be sold to Annie but first Liam must get the signature of Old Salty (the guy who sold him the bar). When reality sinks in for Liam, he doesn’t seem so eager to start off fresh in Australia and lies about finding Old Salty. Annie on the other hand is fed up of watching the one guy she truly cares for choose other girls when she has been standing right in front of him the whole time. With that Annie tells Dixon that her trip to Paris may not be so short after all and explains that she too needs a fresh start.

Nothing seems to be going Silver’s way; Michaela has been missing for two days while Silver’s doctor also gave her bad news about her health. To top it off Michaela explains why she was avoiding Silver…she lost the baby. This was a really sad scene that seems to be written in the storyline to redeem Silver’s character. Teddy (Trevor Donovan) also made a return to the show and was there just in time to comfort the heartbroken Silver.

Adrianna and Navid continue to see each other. When Ade offers to take Michaela’s place to perform the song they wrote together, everyone accuses her of returning to old conniving ways to steal the spotlight. Although, they don’t know that Ade helped out. Why don’t these people communicate more?

Jordan breaks off his relationship with Naomi because of his controlling mother. A Prince is in town and Jordan’s sister (who had the task to look after the prince) parties a little too hard with him. Naomi comes to rescue and although, she doesn’t rekindle her relationship with Jordan, you got to see how amazing Naomi sometimes.

This week’s episode finished with a huge cliff hanger: Sidney tells Liam they still have enough money to leave. Ade is singing on stage when everything around her collapses. Navid was on his way to the stage area to apologise, Dixon and Annie are stuck in the rampaging crowds. Will someone die? I have a feeling the end will be sad and frustrating, probably leaving us wanting more. Next week will be the last episode EVER, so tune in guys.

Review by Jessica Tisdell

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Ratings - Tuesday

Broadcast primetime final ratings for Tuesday, May 7:

Time	Net	Show	18-49rating	18-49 Share	Viewers Live+SD (million)
8:00PM	NBC	The Voice (8-10PM)	3.7	11	11.35
	CBS	NCIS	3.1	10	17.56
	FOX	Hell's Kitchen	1.9	6	4.71
	ABC	Splash	1.0	3	4.30
	CW	Hart Of Dixie	0.5	2	1.19
9:00PM	CBS	NCIS: Los Angeles	2.4	7	13.18
	FOX	New Girl	2.1	6	3.94
	ABC	Dancing with the Stars	1.7	4	10.79
	CW	America's Next Top Model -R	0.2	1	0.50
9:30PM	FOX	The Mindy Project	1.3	3	2.61
10:00PM	NBC	Grimm	1.8	5	5.67
	ABC	Body Of Proof	1.4	2	8.24
	CBS	Golden Boy	1.2	3	6.99

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Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2013 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.

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