Not just another TV blog! This is Donz's blog where I review my favourite (and not so favoured) UK TV programs and films. Nothing's forbidden and nothing's taboo. Soaps, reality TV, cooking programs, late night movies. Catch it all and catch it here.
Hollyoaks Channel 4 weekdays 6:30pm is
back as The Top of the Soaps for me after the explosive “wedding
crashers” storyline last week. Four deaths, one critical patient,
an unwanted pregnancy revealed and a whole bag of drama awaits those
mourning the deceased.
Rot in hell Maddie
So the wicked witch bitch Maddie
finally got her comeuppance. A burning piece of flying debris in her
face is more than the evil, manipulative bully deserved but I didn't
want her to die. I wanted her to suffer for the misery she's
inflicted on Esther and leaving poor Neil to burn alive. Thankfully,
her best friend Tilly discovered her nastiness before Maddie died but
the rest of her sheep – Sinead, Ruby and George are deep in
mourning of their heroine.
Widow McQueen
How much more can poor Jacqui take?
Watching Jacqui McQueen falling apart
over the dirty rat, Rhys wasn't easy viewing. She loved him with all
her cold heart and now joins sisters Carmel and Mercedes as a widow
McQueen. Either way, Rhys was going to leave her after being ordered
to leave the village by Tony and Myra and had the crash not occurred,
cheating Cindy was going to take off with him. I can't believe that
Tony is sticking with the munchkin minx, despite knowing of her
affair with Rhys. Is he that desperate to be married? I mean how
many times has Tony got wed now? Die-hard fans want Tony and Jacqui
back together. Its in the soap fate, they belong together.
Back to Rhys, tonight's episode (Monday
19th November), signs are showing that he could possibly
be the father of Sinead's baby. Hollyoaks never tie off things
simply (except with their black characters) so there could be more
heartbreak for Jacqui to come.
Jono dies in Ruby's arms
Will Ruby Button grow up after the loss
of Jono? What lies in store for newlyweds Ste and Doug? Ste ain't
gonna die, I'll put money on it and fans desperately want him and
Brendan to get back together. Many were disappointed that Doug
wasn't killed in the crash.
Why was Cindy's daughter Holly brought
back when she barely spoke two words and had little interaction with
her mother before swanning off screen again, and don't even get me
started on how much she's grown. Will she be back to stir up Cindy's
stewing pot? Keep your fingers crossed.
I'm loving the 'Oaks and I sincerely
hope the team will scoop some awards next year at the Soap Awards.
Powerful acting, brilliant writing, the perfect ingredients to a
Successful Soap.
Two Soap characters have been really
bugging me at the moment. The first is Maddie Morrison (Scarlett
Bowman) from Hollyoaks, Channel 4 mon-fri 6:30pm, the second, Katie
Macey (Sammie Winward) from Emmerdale, ITV1 mon-fri 7pm, thurs 7pm
and 8pm.
Malicious Maddie Image Source www.e4.com
Maddie, along with her cackling bum
lickers, Ruby and Sinead, has been a total bitch to poor Esther
Bloom. The bullying displayed is in its vilest form... internet
trolling, fake friend identity, turning people against Esther with
malicious lies and more. Scarlett plays the character so well you
just want to slap her.
Katty Katie
Bitch number two, bloody Katie
'newlywed' Macey! Ever since the equestrian businesswoman hooked up
with Declan Macey her character has become so full of herself, its
hard to believe she was once the loveable Katie. In tonight's
episode (Wednesday 7th November), I was proud of mousey
Gennie giving Katie a verbal slap down, it was long overdue. There
she was ranting about Chas's affairs and scolding Gennie for knowing
beforehand and not telling her. I was like “Hello!”. Is this the
same Katie that slept with her brother-in-law and gave a baby away in
a shady surrogacy deal on a moral high horse?
This month sees both soaps with big
storylines that will have an impact on these bitches. Next week in
Hollyoaks there will be a crash involving the student characters.
I'm really hoping Maddie suffers in some way because I can't stand
her manipulating any more. Later in the month, in Emmerdale, Katie
will fall down a mineshaft which will threaten her life. Her
character won't die but at least she'll be brought down to earth, the
cheeky mare.
When it comes to celebrity chefs,
Gordon Ramsey (Gordon Ram Jam) is up there with the best of them.
His TV shows, Hells Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmare's, as well as his
foul mouthed ranting, propelled his career in the United States.
Gordon Behind Bars seen him back in the UK, at London's Brixton
prison with the hope of getting a working kitchen up and running
within six months in order to teach inmates catering skills to help
them seek employment after completing their sentences.
MISSED THE EPISODE? CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO WATCH ON 4OD
22 male prisoners, with a history of
crimes ranging from burglary to violent assault, were under Gordon's
watch and not many of them had any basic cooking skills. After a
task of baking simple fairy cakes the prisoners had the job of
preparing five different meals for their 800 fellow inmates. Despite bickering with each other and thieving from the
kitchen, the guys managed to pull the task off with praise from their
inmates (who are called customers by the prison kitchen staff).
However, Gordon will have to eliminate 10 of them as he only wants 12
prisoners in the kitchen by the six month deadline.
I totally loved this first episode and
will be tuning in again next week. An insight to the prison community
is shown and its nice to see Ram Jam's vulnerable side. He can't
flip on these guys the way how he does the contestants in Hell's
Kitchen, as he risks blowing the scheme, as well as his life. It'll
be interesting to see how he manages to keep his cool over the next
three shows as he has some pretty testing male attitudes to deal
with.
Sad scenes as Aaron left the Dales this
week to start a new life in Paris with boyfriend Ed. Leaving with a
warrant out for his arrest for a crime he didn't commit has erupted
chaos for the loved ones he's left behind. His poor mum Chas has
lost her only son, fallen out with nearly everyone in the village and
is getting too close to niece Debbie's boyfriend, Cameron. The heat
between the pair turns up next week. It's all gonna end in tears.
Elsewhere in Emmerdale, busy body
Brenda showed she wasn't such a “Miss Prim” as she had a one
night stand with Eric Pollard and Ally revealed that she couldn't
read to son Shaun. A lot of viewers are finding it hard to warm to
the new family, just as they did all those years ago when the Dingles
first arrived. Hopefully this storyline will create viewer empathy
and a lot less shouting from the characters.
HOLLYOAKS
All The Ladies Love Riley
All the ladies are loving Riley
Costello. Mercedes wants him back, Mitzeee wants her cousins love as
well as the showbiz lifestyle. However, the only girl that stands a
look in with the hunky footballer is nurse Lynsey. I want to know
how a star player like Riley has so much time on his hands when its
the middle of the football season.
Brendan the villain we love to hate
Bad boy Brendan is back on his evil
form, bullying, intimidating and torturing American Doug. Desperate
Doug wants to go in business with Ste, Brendan's former lover and
Brendan wants to keep himself in Ste's life. Doug tried his best to
pull out of Brendan's deal to be a silent investor and failed
miserably. The Irish villain is a menace you'd never want to cross
but a pleasure to watch.
CORONATION STREET
Lesley and Eileen
Eileen finally got her man, Paul as
wife Lesley was put into a residential home. Obviously Paul is
devastated that he has lost his wife to the mind robbing Alzheimers.
Will he be able to fully commit to Eileen. God knows she deserves it.
Secret lovers Karl and Sunitta
Sultry Sunitta got her man, Karl after
his missus Stella turfed him out for his secret debts and faking a
robbery on the Rovers. With husband Dev and the kids on holiday,
Sunitta was more than happy to offer a roof over Karl's head. He's
on the sofa but how long before he gets into Sunitta's bed.
Romance was in the air for young bloods
Tommy and Tina after months of mucking around. After learning of
Tommy's grandfathers death, Tina offered a shoulder and her lips to
comfort Tommy. The pair will soon have to take their eyes of each
other to look out for mate Tyrone as his girlfriend Kirsty becomes
more manic and violent.
EASTENDERS
No omnibus this Easter Sunday and I've
missed a couple of episodes. Kim and Ray rekindled their romance
after a nasty accident with a knife and Ray's finger in the kitchen
of the Queen Vic. Alfie stepped up and double-crossed nasty Derek,
who thinks arch rival Phil stole his booze.
Kim locked lips with chef Ray
Next week will see Heather laid to rest
and one of the Mitchell guys arrested for her murder. My money's on
it being Jay, especially as Ben has the murder weapon in their
bedroom.
Is Ian about to get his heart broke again?
Poor Ian couldn't get it up with Mandy
and their doomed relationship is set to go nowhere as its been leaked
in the press that Nicola Stapleton who plays Mandy will soon be
leaving the soap. Will she marry Ian before she leaves and how will
he cope being ditched once again.
Emmerdale has produced some hard
hitting story lines recently, displayed fine acting from its cast
and, in my opinion, a seriously underrated quality British Soap
against Coronation Street and Eastenders. Explosive scenes this week
as grieving Adam Barton set fire to the garage with enemy Cain Dingle
still inside it. The farmer boy later rescued his victim and Cain
reluctantly agreed not to tell the police about his involvement,
thanks to Aaron. However, this could prove worse for Adam who will
soon wish he left Cain to toast when the villainous mechanic decides
on how to punish him.
Troubled Zach Dingle is hard hitting
his pints and showing signs of disillusion. Has Megan hit the point
that he's showing signs of Alzeihmers or is the Dingle Head just
supping one pint too many?
Sinful Vicar Ashley Thomas Image Source ITV.com
Ill treatment of the elderly is a sore
subject and a current topic amongst Brits so vicar Ashley Thomas
stands out as the biggest villain in Emmerdale at the moment. His
bestiality towards his father and deviousness in covering up to
outsiders is a huge change in the normally placid vicars character.
Things are stepping up next week when Sandy is injured and social
services are called. Can the character of Ashley ever redeem itself
to viewers.
On the lighter side, Jimmy King used
reverse psychology against wife Nicola's sex ban. Oysters and
champagne worked but will he still have to go through with a
vasectomy? My fellow soap community also kindly informed me that
Jimmy has a well packed lunch box. I missed out on the view but will
be looking out in the near future.
Watch The Emmerdale Cast &
Crew In Fabulous Farewell Video For Danny Miller
Eastenders
Shirley was absolutely bang on the nail the beginning of this week
when she told freshly released Phil that his son Ben was “...wrong
in the head”. Psycho Ben bashed 'Poor Hev' with a photo frame
causing her death then cracked jokes about her whilst he, witness Jay
and cover up expert Phil dined with the Mitchell clan. Even now he
knows he killed Heather for his brother Ian's wrongdoing, he fails to
show any remorse. Even hard nut Phil seems appalled by his coldness
and adopted brother Jay is a nervous and ill looking wreck trying to
show Mitchell loyalty. His clothes that could implicate him to the
murder were sneakily hidden by Ben. Is the psycho teen hoping to
frame Jay? The viewers already know how jealous he is of the
closeness between Jay and his father.
The most emotive impact of grief was shown by the brilliant June
Brown who plays Dot Cotton. She's lost so many people she's loved or
got close to that she believes herself to be a bad omen turning on
Fatboy and insisting he keep well away from her.
Next week sees Ben confiding in Roxy. Will he reveal all or will he
spin her lies with his wickedness?
Coronation Street
Sally Webster
Image Source itv.com
The build up to the revealing of Franks killer, his mother Anne was
well played out. Busybody Sally worked it out after the funeral and
almost paid with her life as she fell and knocked herself
unconscious, not attacked by the killer as stated in the press. With
a son like Frank, no-one could really blame Anne for doing him in.
She's now safely behind bars and the residents can move on now
Sally's out of danger and she and Carla have resolved their
differences with Sally even being offered her job back. I still feel
Corrie should have made the killer be a major character to spice up
the soap.
Glad to see the school dinnergate storyline brought to closure with
little Max back in school. It was a little far fetched for me and
didn't bring the light relief as intended.
Sunita Alahan
Image Source itv.com
Things are hotting up between Karl and Sunita as the pair kissed this
week. She walked away apologising but with her marriage to Dev in
tatters and Karl not putting up much resistance, this is definitely
going to go further and it will all end in tears.
STORYLINE SPOILER: As if Tyrone Dobbs hasn't suffered enough, his
bad luck will soon take a further knock when he becomes a victim of
domestic abuse at the hands of wacky girlfriend Kirsty.
Poor Riley is in a mixture of emotions torn between his love for his
cousin and the torch he still carries for Mercedes and the hurt of
her sleeping with his father Carl. Next week another brunette minx
is thrown into the mix as he and nurse Lynsey become closer.
Jackie McQueen
Homeless hard headed Phoebe
If you're going to mess with a McQueen, Jackie is the worst pick of
the bunch as ungrateful Phoebe will find out when Jackie gets her
hands on the homeless teen. Phoebe exploited Jackie's kindness when
she allowed her to stay the night by robbing her flat and her beloved
dog Terry. No sign of her former homeless companion, George but away
from screen viewers know he is catching up with his family who
believed the runaway was dead. He returns next week with big news
for his friends. Is he going to leave them behind to be with his
family?
A typical Big Fat Gypsy Wedding Image Source: www.chanel4.com
Never mind The Only Way Is Essex
(TOWIE), I'm more interested in the goings on in the Gypsy community.
Channel 4's 'Big Fat Gypsy Weddings' Tuesday's 9pm showed the scenes
of the well documented Dale Farm residents fighting against eviction
from the Council and prejudice from their non-gypsy neighbours last
night. The Gypsy's stood strong and they stood together as they were
faced with bulldozers and riot police and didn't give up until every
last caravan was crushed. Viewers heartstrings were pulled as
residents became homeless and gave an insight to the injustice and
“racism” shown towards them. A ten year old girl featured in the
story made TV gold when she said “If more hippies had been here
they could have saved us”. Bless her little heart.
Lightening the mood we seen the wedding
preparations and shenanigans for young Chantelle's wedding.
Thousands of crystals were sewn onto her Big Fat Gypsy dress by the
Gypsy's favourite dressmaker, Thelma and as always, the reception was
an assemble of the males getting drunk and the girls busting their
moves on the dance floor looking like competitors in a Butlins
dancing competition. Fake tan, fake hair, skimpy bright outfits and
massive heels. Gypsy fabulous.
I'm still curious as to why so many
Gypsy men are camera shy and what kind of work they do to generate
such a luxurious lifestyle.
