Well, I know it’s been off the TV for a few weeks now, but did any of you watch Liar on ITV/STV/UTV?
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Category: TV
Reign
During the last week, I have spent a lot of time in my flat, watching Netflix while blogging and applying for jobs. Once I had exhausted myself of the very few Christmas films currently on Netflix UK, I found myself looking for a new show to put on in the background, and this is where Reign came in.
Following the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, (although I’m not sure how accurately!) Reign opens with Mary living in a convent, being hidden away from the Protestant English who wish her dead, and awaiting the day when she can return to French Court to marry Prince Francis. What ensues is a brilliant combination of romance, action, adventure, and historical drama – enough to keep you wanting more and more every time an episode finishes!
Now, at the time of writing this post, I am only halfway through episode 3 of Season 1, so I may not be the best judge of later storylines or episodes, but I just had to tell you about this must see TV series before you miss the chance to see it!
Starring Adelaide Kane, Toby Regbo, and lots of other faces that you may or may not recognise, the cast transport you back in time with their portrayal of this era, surrounding you in the political and sexual intrigue of the life of Mary.
She doesn’t know who to trust, or who to turn to, as everywhere she looks more enemies seem to appear. It’s like a period drama met a crime novelist, and then, just for good measure, they threw in some saucy love scenes just to make sure you were fully enamoured with the show.
Needless to say, once I click play on the episodes I find I cannot move again until the end of an episode. The script is extremely well written, the costumes are amazing, and I just have so much love and praise for this new show! Especially the soundtrack, the soundtrack is incredible and I’ve now added the songs to a new Spotify playlist.
One thing I will be very grateful for though is the fact it has been a cloudy day so far. A lot of the scenes are filmed in darker rooms and so any light on my screen would just destroy the perfect setup I currently have.
Do you have any shows that I simply have to watch? Or have you given Reign a try? Let me know in the comments below!
Riverdale
Now that the series is over, and I’m unsure as to whether or not there will be a new series, I felt I might share my thoughts about the show. I will do my best to avoid any spoilers, but if I accidentally have included one then please let me know so I can remove it!
So for anyone who hasn’t heard of Riverdale, or has heard of it but isn’t sure what it’s about, Riverdale is a small town in which our main characters live. To be honest, I say characters because I’m not sure if there was meant to be one more important than the other or not, but we follow a groups of friends as they try to discover the truth behind Jason Blossom’s death. The story is set in modern time and is apparently based off the Archie Comics characters (I’ve never read or heard of the Archie Comics so can’t comment on them), following Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead, along with some of their friends, as the town comes to grips with the fact that Jason Blossom died. We watch as our main characters turn into sleuths (Betty actually made me think of Nancy Drew) and try to maintain their normal lives, balancing school, family, commitments, and relationships, all while trying to find out the truth about the day Jason died.
Being a Netflix Original show, I was somewhat skeptical of how it would work. I recently haven’t been overly enamoured by their productions, excluding 13 Reasons Why and Designated Survivor, and so when I saw Twitter overrun with people talking about this must-see show I decided to give it a try.
I was hooked straight away. The characters were so believable, and I just loved Cole Sprouce’s portrayal of Jughead Jones. Definitely my favourite character. If someone had asked me after watching the first episode if I would recommend it then I would’ve said yes straight away without hesitation.
Then came the mini breaks between episodes. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m used to mid season breaks, and sometimes missing a week of a show due to scheduling things. But there were times when Riverdale really was messing us around a bit, or at least that was how I felt. Thirteen episodes isn’t that many, and the first 7 aired no problem. There was a two week break before they came back for episode 8 and I was beginning lose faith in the show. We seemed to be getting nowhere with the actual mystery, with more plot twists and turns than Pretty Little Liars at some points it seemed! I just was generally losing interest and wasn’t sure if I could be bothered continuing watching. Episodes 8, 9 and 10 were alright, but it felt like the story hadn’t moved forward, like they were giving us more episodes than were necessary. However I hate leaving things when I’m only half way through a series so decided I would keep going and hope for the best. We then had another 2 weeks of a break, and I actually forgot I was watching it. Now that’s when you know you’ve lost interest. However episode 11 popped up on my screen as I scrolled through Netflix looking for a film to watch, and I remembered that actually we still didn’t know the whole truth so put it on while I studied. Things were hotting up again and I found myself somewhat looking forward to the next week’s episode! Episode 12 certainly didn’t disappoint. It was fast moving, questions were answered, and I began to feel happy with the ending. Then I saw there was one episode left. How could there be? My questions had all been answered, I didn’t really care what happened next. So when I sat down to watch episode 13 I was expecting to be let down by the series again. How wrong was I? Here was an episode I never realised we needed but we certainly did! There were tense moments, times of “oh my god I can’t watch this”, and even a few moments where I found myself tearing up. And then it ended. I sat watching the titles roll and just thought wow.
Overall, Riverdale didn’t disappoint. Would I recommend it? Yes. I’d be honest though that episodes 5 to 10 didn’t have me all that interested, but it is worth sticking through, even just to see the brilliance of the acting. My rating for this show would be a strong 7 out of 10.
Now the real question – will there be another series?
Nashville
Every year. Every year I tell myself “don’t get started on any new TV shows until after exams” and every year I do it.
When I was back at home, it wasn’t so bad. I had Lord of the Rings playing on repeat, sometimes throwing Harry Potter into the mix just so I didn’t get too bored of hearing the same 3 scripts over and over and over and over. Then I got to university and found myself blasting through the multiple episodes of 24. I saw enough of it during that exam season that I could tell exactly what episodes would have plot twists, what would be happening to Jack, and when it got to episode 3 of each series, and CTU thought they’d stopped the terrorists, I was rolling my eyes and shouting at the screen that they were all thick – I had another 21 episodes to get through before they were finished!
The following year, I blasted through How I Met Your Mother during the Christmas exams, and then restarted The West Wing for the summer exams. If you’ve forgotten how well that worked out for me I should probably redirect you to my posts from this time last year via the sidebar. I ended up with resits to do, and found myself watching Pretty Little Liars.
So then we reached this year. At Christmas, all anyone was talking about was a Netflix Original that was apparently very well done. And so I started watching The Crown over that one week of exams. But for once it just about worked! I swore to myself then and there that there would be no new TV until 19th May. Well I messed that one up…
During a couple of sleepless nights, I ended up getting back into Nashville. Mary had recommended it a few months back, and before Easter I started watching it. Then, over the easter break I decided to just finish the first series. Big, big mistake. I won’t ruin it for you but there was a massive cliffhanger in the last 2 minutes and then I had to go pick Rachel up from a friend’s house. So I suppose I did quite well, waiting 2 weeks to pick up again with season 2, but I also managed to get through it in 2 days…. whoops. And I’m now up to date with it all…
The great thing about Nashville, however, is that a lot of the plotline happens through the songs and so I really don’t need to be watching it. And if you’re a fan of country music the way I am then it’s actually really good if you’re in the mood for something light! So what’s it all about?
The show takes us through the lives of multiple fictitious country music singers in Nashville, and stars Connie Britton as Rayna Jaymes, a legendary country music superstar, whose fame is beginning to fade, and Hayden Panettiere as rising young star Juliette Barnes. They both belong to the same label, and so see a lot more of each other than either of them would like. Rayna’s perfect little family isn’t so perfect (although her two kids are just adorable!) and Juliette’s life isn’t so great either. While I love them both, my two favourite characters are Deacon and Scarlett. Deacon used to work with Rayna and then changes over to working for Juliette for a while, and Scarlett is his talented niece. So we get a wide variety of performances and styles of music throughout each episode and that’s what I love.
My favourite songs from the show include A Life That’s Good, Black Roses, and Don’t Put Dirt On My Grave Just Yet, which can be seen below!
Have you seen Nashville? Is it something you’ve absolutely no interest in?
Feel Good Fridays
Just a short post today to explain that I may be posting less over the next few days. Rachel arrived in Glasgow last night and today we’re heading to Dundee for a few days.
Before I go, I thought I’d share my most recent tv addiction with you – Pretty Little Liars. Before Rachel arrived, I finished episode 12 of season 3 (The Lady Killer) and to be honest I’m not happy with the twist that it ended on. So before I go any further…
If you don’t want spoilers, stop reading here! Do not go any further!
I’ll try and keep this as based on the one episode as possible, especially considering I haven’t seen any further and so am not sure what direction this is moving in. But why is Toby part of the A gang? I mean, yeah I get it, the girls blinded his sister and then set him up so it looked like he had done it… But I still feel he didn’t really have the proper motivation. Especially not at this stage in the story. Plus, he’s my favourite male character and I am not okay with the direction this is heading in. Also, where has Jason disappeared to? Have the A gang got to him?
I also found it rather far fetched that Mona was able to just walk out of the mental institution she’s in. I mean, I know A is capable of a lot but even managing to have night nurses on duty who didn’t recognise a patient’s face? That was very good organising on their behalf!
But I’m not going to think about it anymore. It’s a tv show (and apparently a book series?) so I shouldn’t be reading into it that much.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Ktkinnes xx
Holiday thoughts
Once again, my mind has been drawn to the upcoming holiday to Ibiza however today I haven’t been as excited as in previous years.
Looking on TripAdvisor for the hotel (link included), I’m beginning to be a little apprehensive about booking half board. According to the recent reviews, not enough diners were staying for dinner and so the dining room has been closed and meals are being served from the restricted Pool Bar menu… Not what you’d expect for over 30 euros per person per night! Fingers crossed this isn’t the case with us. Another thing is no one here seems excited. It may be down to the fact we still have our ever present house guest of my uncle, but part of me feels it may be more than that. Any ideas on how to pick up the mood?
To distract myself from the lack of holiday spirit, I decided to go back and repack my hand luggage. What I really can’t decide is whether or not to take my laptop… If I take it, I can watch DVDs on the plane. However, I don’t think I would use it any other time. So what do you think? I tend to blog from my phone so that’s not really a problem, and I’d be leaving it in the safe during the day. Let me know what you think!
Now, before I go away, I must finish Season 5 of Scandal before we go. Being on episode 15, that shouldn’t be too hard! Last year was 24, the year before was Orange is the New Black  – there’s always some TV show I’m trying to finish before we go! What’s on your summer watch list?
Speak soon!
Ktkinnes xx
That Friday Feeling
I woke up this morning with this song blasting through my head. It’s cloudy, been raining and feels cold but I don’t care because in 48 hours the car will be packed and we’ll be on our way to the airport!
Today will be spent running around gathering spending money, tidying and cleaning, and making sure we leave a list of instructions for Granny while she’s here looking after the animals. After Baron’s close shave at Christmas, when he nearly died from a stomach ulcer due to the stress of being left, we decided we couldn’t put him in kennels again and so Granny offered to come around and look after him for the time we’re away. Hopefully it’ll be okay!
On top of this, today I’ve also to get some revision done but thankfully my work ethic seems to have bounced back a little! If I can get through the Physics of Solids module today then I’ll be pleased, it’s a long module and isn’t all that interesting. But then, what physics is overly interesting?
Now, I’m sitting having breakfast and watching The Royal, a tv series set in the 1960’s and following the doctors at St Aiden’s Royal Free Hospital. It used to be shown on a Sunday night, but now it’s on between 8:30am and 9:30am on weekdays on ITV3. We used to love it, and there isn’t too much blood and gore as some hospital dramas can have! But that’s not really the point of this. While it was on an ad break, I saw an ad for Brief Encounters – shown on a Monday night at 9pm on ITV. As is so frequently the case nowadays, these ads managed to spoil one of the shocking twists at the end of last week’s episode. Don’t you hate when this happens?
Now, I’m going to have to run on and get through the shower etc. Enjoy your day, whatever you get up to, and have a great weekend!
Ktkinnes xx
Wishful Wednesday and other such news.
Okay before I begin tonight, I just want to apologise for my complete lack of posting over the past 2 weeks. Again, there’s been no real reason for it except I’m revising for resits and too lazy to write the posts earlier. Although I suppose when I first started out blogging I never intended to blog every day unless there was something worth saying.
So once again, sorry! Especially if you’ve been looking for me recently. I’ve recently started watching Scandal, especially when revising. Mary kept telling me to watch it, especially since I love Greys Anatomy and How To Get Away With Murder. How right she was! Kerry Washington stars as Olivia Pope, a so-called lawyer who acts as a “fixer” for the rich and famous (sometimes infamous) of Washington D.C. It’s a great show and I can’t honestly think of a show I’d rather be watching.
If I’m being honest, my love for all things presidential at the minute definitely adds to the reasons I’m enjoying Scandal. However, I love seeing actors and actresses from other shows that I’ve watched appearing in different roles. An example of this would be Jeff Perry. He’s a fantastic actor. I enjoyed watching him act Thatcher Grey in Grey’s Anatomy, but now I adore him as Cyrus Bean in Scandal. I don’t want to give anything away really but Cyrus and his husband are so cute together and Jeff’s acting moved me to tears today at a certain point in season 3 – no spoilers from anyone who’s seen it!
Now that I’ve covered my TV addict’s part of the post, I thought I’d move onto Wishful Wednesday. Unless you’d rather I stopped that? Again, I’m not really sure if you’re enjoying it so please please please send me some feedback!
It’s been a long week. I’ve started revising morning, afternoon and night, with very little time for sleep or anything else for that matter. So for today’s Wishful Wednesday, I choose to pass these exams and graduate next summer. For obvious reasons (I hope) I want to pass these exams. After the exams, I will progress onto 3rd year. My desire to be a teacher is still going strong. Will I have to change the theme of my blog if/when that happens? Who knows. We’ll cross that bridge when it comes to it.
The past 10 days or so, as I’ve said, have mainly been spent revising. After a few days at the library, I switched to revising at home. Rachel finished her exams and to celebrate we had an Indian takeaway and watched The Lady In The Van. Now my rating of this isn’t very high, it was good but I’m not quite sure if it was good enough to deserve all the awards and praise it received. Definitely would rather have been watching Scandal. Rachel then went camping with Cameron for a few days in the rain, while the rest of us here in Lisburn went out for dinner which resulted in a rather interesting Sunday morning. Have I told you my uncle is living with us at the minute? I can’t really go into why or how at the minute so if I remember I’ll come back to it another time.
Finally, it’s 17 days, 17 hours and 50 odd minutes until we set off for Ibiza! I’ve never been so excited to go on holiday. Brief throwback to this day last year when I wrote Packing. Can you believe my blog is 2 years old? However, please ignore the adds at the top of the picture. It would be a miracle if I was pregnant!
I can’t believe it isn’t even 10 o’clock yet, I’m exhausted! Except before I go to sleep I still have some more revision to do. Blogging is a nice change. If I’m lucky, I’ll be going to sleep around 12:30am and get up again at 7ish to start over again. Why do I do this to myself? I swear to whatever anyone believes in, I will work even harder next year. I need to.
So goodnight! Wish me luck with Nuclear and Particle Physics… Maybe it’ll send me to sleep 😂
Happy Hump Day!
Ktkinnes xx
Looking back
Once again, another month is over. Today I’m travelling back to the oh so delightful land of Northern Ireland where the only exciting thing will be seeing the animals again (Baron and Maisie).
Just thought, the last 2 summers have been spent watching 24 but now that we’ve finished it I have no idea what we can watch as a family… Will have to think about that and find something different that everyone will enjoy!
The main reason I’m posting now is to give you a chance to look back at the goals for May before tomorrow’s post includes new goals for June! This can be found here – Another month goes by. Still can’t believe we’re actually so close to half way through the year. Soon it’ll be my 21st birthday then Rachel’s 18th! Still thinking of her birthday present… Is a holiday away together a bad idea?
Speak soon! I’ll let you know what I think of my new dvds when I get them watched.
Ktkinnes xx
Quick question
Should I sign up for Disney Life? It’s
A unique digital membership giving you access to [Disney’s] biggest collection of Disney movies, kids’ TV box sets, books, music and apps, in one place for the first time!
They have a one month free trial and then afterwards it’s £9.99… Should I go for the free trial? Not sure how many films I have time for over the next month… But I suppose it is summer… Help!
Ktkinnes xx