Death in Paradise - BBC1

A new inspector on the island paradise and yet still the murders come. This series is set on a fictious island in the Caribean but you could be forgiven if you thought it was Midsommer. Yes every week there is at least one murder and in some there are multiple violent deaths including tourists. So I wonder why people still visit as it is more likely you will be murdered than having a good holiday.

Away from the plot Kris Marshall cast as the new inspector is a great choice and provides a total refresh for the series following the murder of the first inspector Richard Poole played by Ben Miller. The Richard Poole character was totally different and personally I did not like the tea drinking and briefcase elements. Now with Kris Marshall the DI Goodman character can develop throughout the series.

Overall I like the series as it is a light look at serious business of murder investigation even although the circumstances are a bit of a stretch. They might want to loan the team out to another island to get another dimension to the story lines and some new characters. 

Star Trek Into Darkness

It is always the problem with reworks of a treasured series, you always make a comparison. In this case JJ Abrams has succeeded big time. His first adventure Star Trek was outstanding, capturing many of the features we loved from the TV series. This film is no different except it has made everyone more human even Spock. The gentle humour is retained without distracting you, and as ever nowadays the CGI is fantastic.

The Doctor McCoy character played by Karl Urban is superb, close to and even exceeding the relationship between the originals. I was unsure about Benedict Cumberbatch playing the bad guy, would he be able to convince us that he is not Sherlock. I should not have worried he was fine.

The plot has some good twists and close shaves with death that you would expect, the best was Robocop ( Peter Weller ) as Marcus going power crazy, promoting war with the Klingons. This of course gave us the introduction to Carol Marcus played by Alice Eve ready for the crew in the next movie.

For Star Trek diehards I think the treatment of the Enterprise internals, warp engines and the mechanics of the ship is one of the biggest successes of JJ Abrams. In the original and subsequent series we were never shown any of the space below decks, 
this allows us to believe even more. Before we saw glossy control panels and everything operated as if by magic. Now we know there is something down there propelling the ship.

A great addition to the film series, go watch it again.

Mad Dogs : Finale

I am not familiar with drug use but after watching the finale of Mad Dogs on Sky I was beginning to doubt myself. Was this another episode of Lost or what? This ending has to be one the strangest on record for what has been an excellent series. Sadly though it started a lot better than it finished.

Woody, Rick, Quinn and Baxter are back to conclude their adventures which started by visiting an old friend in Majorca. From one freakish mishap to another the four wind with a lot of money but isolated from their previous lives. The money was not come by legally nor was it made legally. They thought the owner was crushed under their car and no longer a threat. Yet again they get it wrong and chased all over Cape Town by Tony Blair masked villains - scary!

Eventually the four mates are cornered on the beach by their now paraplegic pursuer. A mock execution kneeling at their gravesides follows serving only to teach them a lesson. Now the weird bit - driving along the motorway a Tony Blair shows himself, is it Baxter, a dream, drugs or just an overworked imagination? Lastly they are in the end terminated by a terminated motorway. Is this really the end or is there going to be a soap opera style escape, who knows?

Strike Back : Shadow Warfare

Current season concluded with a bang, literally, gratuitous sex and violence all round, excellent. The writers have been getting better and better with each season Scott and Stonebridge escaping from more and impossible situations. 

The storyline of this series revolves around tracking down terrorists and stopping their plots, which are fuelled by greed, religious mania and revenge. There are plenty of twists to keep hold your interest (even without the sex and violence), the best is saved for the end, with Kamali double crossing section 20 to gain revenge for the killing of his wife.

Scott and Stonebridge are amazing the way they can soak up the punishment handed out to them in every episode. From beatings, bullets and weaponised virus they have had it all and survived - how do they do it?

The new commander of section 20 Locke played by Robson Green is great addition, following the killing off of Dalton. She was beginning to get a little whiny and obsessive. This sets it up nicely for a season 5. Great, cannot wait.

The Walking Dead - Mid Season break

Mid season break for the fourth season, and what a way to break for Christmas, no cheer here. Herschel gone, the Governor gone and the prison is gone. Wow!

The writers again are excelling themselves, having just survived a nasty breakout of a killer disease the prison group are now attacked by the Governor's new group with a tank. Rick give a very convincing speech of reconciliation and conceding they could live together in the prison. But no the madman Governor is not having it and takes off Herchel's head starting the battle ending their occupation of the current home. 

When it returns in the New Year where will they be, who has survived and who will they encounter? I personally cannot wait, can you?

Strictly Come Dancing

It is beginning to tighten up at the the top in Strictly Come Dancing, with all the lame celebs being eliminated apart from Mark Fenton. Hopefully now the concentration will be on dancing as a whole and not just it being entertaining - it is a competition.

The judging this year has deteriorating with really only Craig Revel Horwood performing as I would expect for a professional judge. The marking in general has been unjustifiably higher than normal and only Craig deducting for technical faulting. This has been disappointing as normally you rely on Len Goodman the traditionalist to mark on technique and dance step content, but no he has surprisingly switched camps and being high marking his favourites whilst totally ignoring the technique etc. This was clearly demonstrated with Dave Myers and this week with Mark Fenton.

Tens I think should be used sparingly and only awarded for a fault free dance which also entertained to a high standard. It is difficult for the non dancer to understand the difference, when 3 judges give tens yet Craig has identified mistakes or sub standard technique. Are the judges losing focus or are they to busy thinking up their witty or camp repartee for the post dance panel feedback.

The time will come when the BBC must change the judge line up again and this time casualty has to be Bruno Tonioli, his excessive camp and wide spread legs are too much to bear for another season. Who to replace Bruno? What about Anton DuBeke? This has to be his last season as a dancer. 

My favourite for the season is Sophie but perhaps it could be Patrick who can win the prized glitter ball.

Person of Interest - Channel 5

Just got to be the best series on TV at the moment. A small team of people are protecting people from danger and death. The target people to be saved " a number" are selected by a computer once sponsored by the US government using networked resources of databases and CCTV. 

James Caviezel as John Reese an ex CIA operative recruited as the muscle in the team is fantastic, displaying ultra cool when under pressure. He works closely with Michael Emmerson playing Harold Finch ( Lost ), the inventor of the computer. They have roped in two city detectives to help them in their quest to protect the "numbers", building very interesting but different relationships with both detectives.

Now halfway through the second series the writers have introduced a great new character - a dog " Bear" who takes commands in the Dutch language. Graubaer’s Boker, dog actors name is a purebred Belgian Malinois that is well trained and extremely talented. The dog is providing Finch the confidence to face the outside world after a period of captivity.

Their methods may be unorthodox but they do deliver results and as the story revolves around " a number" it gives the writers plenty of scope for exciting and interesting episodes. Try it, it's on Channel 5.