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Doctor Who - Series 4 Vol.2 [2008]

starring: David Tennant, Freema Agyeman, Catherine Tate
directed by: Douglas MacKinnon, Alice Troughton, Graeme Harper

July 07, 2008
Series 4 of the new Doctor Who has been in my opinion, one of the finest series ever. David Tennant remains as brilliant as ever, and if anything changes, it's that he can only get better as time goes on. Catherine Tate, has surprised and amazed me, with her portrayal of Donna Noble in this series, making the character such a credible, efficient and lovable assistant to the Doctor.

All this excellence continues in this fine volume of the fourth series, as Russell T Davies revives another old villainous race from the Doctor's past, introduces more allies and facts from the Time Lord's past (the older series to be exact) and includes some more good old interaction with one of history's greatest figures.

To start of, we ... Read More:

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The Flying Scotsman [2007]

starring: Jonny Lee Miller, Laura Fraser, Billy Boyd, Brian Cox, Morvern Christie
directed by: Douglas MacKinnon

November 05, 2007
Thanks to my Cineworld season ticket, I see many films in the cinema; one or two a week throughout 2007. My favourites for the year included Zodiac, the latest Harry Potter, The Lives of Others, and Brick Lane. But the best of all - and the best by a long way - was The Flying Scotsman. As others have mentioned, this is a biopic of Graeme Obree and about ordinary people doing great things. I found found myself drawn into the story and began to think (fancifully) about doing great things myself. The acting is great and tremendously realistic, the story is heroic, and yet there is a sensitivity at the film's heart as we follow Obree's obsession. As the film progresses (as is the case with all good biopics), you begin to get a sense that you understand the main character. ... Read More:

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The Last Detective [2003]

starring: Peter Davison, Sean Hughes
directed by: Pip Broughton, Douglas Mackinnon, Mathew Evans

February 09, 2004
Leslie Thomas' Dangerous Davies novels are a comic treat that manage to combine the dismal but ctatclysmic consequences of crime with an affection for the human condition. To render this onto the screen poses a challenge as the touching banality of everyday life and dogged determination of individuals such as DC Davies to be respectful and honest may not compare with the flashier exploits of criminal profilers like Cracker or the sepia hued intellectual flattery of Morse. All those involved in the television incarnation of The Last Detective should be proud as they have more than risen to this challenge.

This adapation is not an exact translation from book to television and in this viewer's opinion is none the worse for it. On the screen we get a ... Read More:

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Last Detective: Series 4 [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

directed by: Matthew Evans (III), Gavin Millar, Nick Hurran, Pip Broughton, Douglas Mackinnon

April 08, 2008
With the exception of the first-class performance by Peter Davison as Detective Constable "Dangerous" Davies and the occasional glimmer of a murder mystery that might be promising, is there any particular reason to stay tuned to this television series? The writers and the producers, it seems to me, have fallen into the old trap of taking their audience for granted, and at the same time trying to juice up our interest with extraneous bits of sex. Too bad, because the basic idea -- a police detective too self-effacing and too dedicated for his own good -- has all sorts of possibilities. Dangerous, the nickname friends and enemies all call him because he's the least dangerous man they know, is a quiet guy with a well-developed sense of justice. When we met him at the start ... Read More:

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Gentlemen's Relish [2001]

starring: Billy Connolly, Sarah Lancashire, Douglas Henshall, Katie Blake, Liz Ewing
directed by: Douglas Mackinnon

March 19, 2001
Billy Connolly (Swann) can hardly do any wrong in his choice of acting slots, since - even if he's on auto-pilot - he can bring an enthusiasm and delight to his performances most others crossing from comedy to acting fail to bring (we know who we mean). Sarah Lancashire (Violet Askey) additionally provides a wonderfully measured foil to the hapless Swann. She conveys her unrequited ardour and genteel dowdiness with wonderfully comic and touching delight ("Do you have it in black?" she asks having tried a stunningly colourful dress on in a shop). As you would expect in an Edwardian costume drama the sex is more titillating than erotic (and all the better for it), though Douglas Henshall (Cromwell Marsh) lends a charmingly wicked tone to the proceedings with his ... Read More:

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The Last Detective: Series 3 [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

directed by: Matthew Evans (III), Gavin Millar, Nick Hurran, Pip Broughton, Douglas Mackinnon

May 15, 2007
Series 3 of The Last Detective, if nothing else, establishes that the writers have placed themselves in a box.

The last detective is Detective Constable Davies --"Dangerous" Davies to his coworkers. He's the least likely cop to find himself in a dangerous situation, or so they think. His boss has said that Davies is the last detective he'd ever assign to an important case. Davies (Peter Davison) may be a bit of a plodder, may be too nice for his own good, but he's also thorough, conscientious and firmly committed to find the bad guys wherever the search takes him.

It's an interesting concept that worked fairly well in the first series. There, we were getting to know Davies and the men he worked with. The problem is that as The Last Detective has ... Read More:

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The Flying Scotsman [2007] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

starring: Jonny Lee Miller, Sean Brown (III), Joseph Carney, Crawford McInally-Kier, Jan Plazalski (II)
directed by: Douglas Mackinnon

September 18, 2007
Series 3 of The Last Detective, if nothing else, establishes that the writers have placed themselves in a box.

The last detective is Detective Constable Davies --"Dangerous" Davies to his coworkers. He's the least likely cop to find himself in a dangerous situation, or so they think. His boss has said that Davies is the last detective he'd ever assign to an important case. Davies (Peter Davison) may be a bit of a plodder, may be too nice for his own good, but he's also thorough, conscientious and firmly committed to find the bad guys wherever the search takes him.

It's an interesting concept that worked fairly well in the first series. There, we were getting to know Davies and the men he worked with. The problem is that as The Last Detective has ... Read More:

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Gentlemen's Relish [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

starring: Billy Connolly, Sarah Lancashire, Douglas Henshall, Katie Blake, Liz Ewing
directed by: Douglas Mackinnon

March 13, 2007
Billy Connolly (Swann) can hardly do any wrong in his choice of acting slots, since - even if he's on auto-pilot - he can bring an enthusiasm and delight to his performances most others crossing from comedy to acting fail to bring (we know who we mean). Sarah Lancashire (Violet Askey) additionally provides a wonderfully measured foil to the hapless Swann. She conveys her unrequited ardour and genteel dowdiness with wonderfully comic and touching delight ("Do you have it in black?" she asks having tried a stunningly colourful dress on in a shop). As you would expect in an Edwardian costume drama the sex is more titillating than erotic (and all the better for it), though Douglas Henshall (Cromwell Marsh) lends a charmingly wicked tone to the proceedings with his on ... Read More:

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The Vice - The Complete Series 1 [1999]

starring: Marc Warren, Garry Cooper, Anna Chancellor, Victoria Shalet, Tim Pigott-Smith
directed by: Matthew Evans (III), Justin Chadwick, Ashley Pearce, David Thacker, Julian Holmes

July 07, 2003
Being a longtime fan of UK police drama, I was delighed to discover the release of The Vice Season 1 on DVD. Unlike any other television detective, Ken Stotts brilliant portraýal of dedicated, caring Metro copper Pat Chappel really gets to you in an sort of uncanny way. Simply a must have if you are a fan of this genre! The Vice has all the elements of a great crime story. One can only hope for the release of the rest of this magnificent series on DVD. I know I do!

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The Last Detective: Series 1 [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

directed by: Matthew Evans (III), Gavin Millar, Nick Hurran, Pip Broughton, Douglas Mackinnon

April 25, 2006
Detective Constable Davies (Peter Davison) is a mild-mannered man, easy going, always willing to help others, unwilling to hurt others, easy to take advantage of. He is separated from his wife, Julie (Emma Amos), who is divorcing him. She still likes him at times but is utterly tired of his niceness and imperturbability. His boss, Detective Inspector Aspinall (Rob Speedlove), has no use for him, especially since Davies began looking into the disappearance of a 17-year-old girl which took place more than 20 years ago. Davies didn't do a very good job of letting his boss know what was going on, then Davies discovered that the murder was something of an accident and that the murderer was a fellow cop still on the force. "What about me," the man pleads. "I didn't mean to do it. It ... Read More: