Christmas specials

Keep getting asked about these.......check back here Sunday night (which is about 12 noon Monday if you're on the east coast of Oz).

Liz Smith 1921 - 2016

Actress Liz Smith has died at age 95. She was 50 when her professional acting career began with appearances in Mike Leigh's 1971 film Bleak Moments and an appearance in an early episode of Last of the Summer Wine. She last appeared in the first series of The Tunnel a few years ago. Her appearances in between makes for a long list and include her popular roles in the Vicar of Dibley and The Royle Family (and she was killed-off in both!)

Liz Smith

Liz Smith

Liz Smith credits

Un Village Français - Disc 6

Disc 6, containing Series 7, of Un Village Français, one of the all-time big French television blockbuster drama's. It began in 2009 and, from what I'm reading, this is the end of the show.  Some of the subtitles in this series have a slight glitch where a vowel character with an accent is used (whether a circumflex, acute, or grave)  a diamond-shaped character appears in its place. Since we don't use those in English, it's usually just in a person's name.

Un Village Français - The Telegraph

Un Village Français - Euro TV

Citizen Khan - Disc 2

Citizen Khan

Emmerdale 2016 - Disc 10

The Comedy Company?

Does anyone Down Under have the four disc DVD release of material from this late 80's / early 90's Australian comedy sketch show?   The Comedy Company

Deddie Davies 1938 - 2016

Deddie Davies has died. Her TV career spanned nearly 50 years, first appearing in two 1967 landmark series, The Forsyte Saga and Vanity Fair. She followed that up with a leading role in 1970's classic The Railway Children and her supporting appearances in drama and comedy remained nearly continuous since: Clochemerle, The Rag Trade, Father Charlie, A.J. Wentworth BA, That's My Boy, Chance In A Million, My Husband And I, Time After Time, Waiting For God, Mr. Charity and Stella and appearances in New Tricks, Midsomer Murders, White Van Man, Whitechapel, Land Girls, Catherine Tate's Nan, Sensitive Skin, My Hero, Keeping Mum. You Rang M'Lord?, Jeeves & Wooster, Trouble In Mind, No Place Like Home, Miss Marple, You're Only Young Twice, Get Some In!, Upstairs Downstairs, My Old Man, Some Mothers Do 'ave 'em, Doctor at Large................

Deddie Davies

Close To The Enemy + In Plain Sight

Close To The Enemy

Close to the Enemy wiki

In Plain Sight

Aftermath

Canadian apocalyptic drama.

Aftermath

Would I Lie To You? - Series 10

Would I Lie To You?

Trollied - Disc 3

Supermarket sitcom Trollied keeps rolling along and has returned for its 6th series.

Trollied

Two Doors Down

Originally airing a pilot as a Hogmanay special a few years ago, Scottish comedy Two Doors Down returned for not one, but two series in 2016 and has been cleared for a third. Starring Alex Norton (Taggart), Arabella Weir (The Creatives, Posh Nosh, The Fast Show, Drifters), Doon Mackichan (Beast, Bedtime, Taking The Flak, Plebs, Toast of London), Jonathan Watson (Naked Video, City Lights, Bob Servant Independent, Fried), Elaine C. Smith (Naked Video, City Lights, Rab C. Nesbitt),  Sharon Rooney (My Mad Fat Diary, Mountain Goats), Jamie Quinn (Bluestone 42, Still Game). 

Two Doors Down

Y Gwyll - Series 3 + Anita

Welsh noir crime drama Y Gwyll returned for a third series. It's English-language version, Hinterland, will probably air sometime next year. As a bonus, also on the disc is the mostly Welsh language comedy-drama Anita, which aired earlier this year. 

Y Gwyll

Anita

Humans - Disc 2

UK Channel 4 scifi drama Humans returned for a second series with Tom Goodman-Hill, Katherine Parkinson, Danny Webb, William Hurt, Colin Morgan, Jill Halfpenny, etc.

Humans

Modus

More Nordic noir. This one is a Swedish psychological crime thriller.
"During a snowy Christmas season in Sweden, psychologist and profiler Inger Johanne Vik finds not only herself but also her autistic daughter drawn into the investigation of a number of disturbing deaths, through which she meets detective Ingvar Nyman of "Rikskrim", a Swedish national police force. Nyman is dispatched to Uppsala to investigate the shocking Christmas Eve murder of bishop Elisabeth Lindgren. In Stockholm, the bodies keep turning up - though the causes of death vary. But before long, Inger Johanne starts noticing a pattern. MODUS is a thrilling story that raises questions about religion, human rights, and the very nature of love itself. It goes beyond conventional crime and peppers the story with red-hot political issues and criticizing intolerance."

Coronation Street 2016 - Disc 8

Fair City 2016 - Disc 7

Midnight Sun (Midnatsoll)

Here's the latest in Nordic Noir thrillers. Unfortunately, I was put off by the very first scene that opens the series. Physically impossible. Don't Swedish writers know what happens to a helicopter with unbalanced rotor blades? 

Midnight Sun {Midnatsoll}

My Mother And Other Strangers + Rillington Place

Two new drama series.

My Mother And Other Strangers

I couldn't find any websites on this other than reviews of the previous night's episodes. Not sure why I would bother reading about something I've already watched. Doesn't make sense, but then that's the media for you. Here's the basic story line:

Drama series set in 1943 Northern Ireland following the Coyne family and their neighbors as they struggle to maintain a normal life after a US Army Air Force base is set up in the middle of their rural parish.

Rillington Place

Rillington Place

Murdoch Mysteries - Disc 12

Finishing off with last night's feature-length Christmas special.

Murdoch Mysteries

This Life - Disc 2

Canadian drama This Life returned for a second series.

This Life

Graham Norton Show - Series 20 Disc 1

30 Degrees in February - Series 2

Four years after it's award-winning first series, the Swedish drama 30 Degrees in February returned for a second series.

The Romeo Section - Series 2

Canadian spy thriller The Romeo Section has returned for a second series.

The Romeo Section

Shoot The Messenger

Shoot The Messenger is a new Canadian drama. "A young journalist who witnesses an apparent gang-related murder is drawn into a criminal underworld with ties to the city's political and business elite."

Shoot the Messenger

Peter Vaughan 1923 - 2016

Actor Peter Vaughan has died. His television and film credits span over 60 years. 

Peter Vaughan

A Place To Call Home - Disc 4

The elusive 12th episode has turned up for the Australian drama A Place To Call Home. 

A Place to Call Home

EastEnders 2016 - Disc 8

The Coroner - Disc 2

The Coroner returned for a second series.

The Coroner

I can also provide HD .mp4 files of The Coroner and .mkv files of Jack Taylor for those you just plugging-and-playing with your smart TV's. Only 9 of the files will fit onto a Coroner disc, but if you also got Jack Taylor the 10th file would fit on there. 

Jack Taylor - Disc 2

Jack Taylor returned with three more feature-length episodes. This is all very confusing. It's an Irish crime drama produced by a joint Irish/German team. It's takes place in Galway and is filmed there and in Germany. It stars a Scottish guy speaking with an Irish accent who spoke with an Aussie accent in Cleverman and the last episode has Laura Aikan using some sort of a pseudo-Texan accent (although I don't recall her ever saying "y'all" which really blew it for her). The show is made for TV3 but so far it's only aired on Channel 5 in the UK. Is this another New World Order ploy? 

 Jack Taylor

Andrew Sachs 1930 - 2016

Andrew Sachs has died, but he will live on as a TV legend for many years to come for his role as Manuel in Fawlty Towers. He also starred in the early 90's comedy Every Silver Lining with Frances da la Tour.

Andrew Sachs

Machair - Series 8

The Missing - Series 2

The Missing

Upper Middle Bogan - Disc 2 + Rosehaven

I was happy to see Australian comedy Upper Middle Bogan return for a third series. 

Upper Middle Bogan

To fill out the disc it includes a new Australian comedy, a Tasmanian comedy to be precise, Rosehaven...and I have to say I found it to be a very pleasant surprise. If some of your favorite British comedies of the past few years were shows like The Cafe, The Mimic, Rev., Detectorists, Car Share....then you may want to check out Rosehaven. 

Rosehaven 

Bannan - Disc 2

Scottish-Gaelic drama Bannan {The Ties That Bind} returned for another 5 episodes. Filmed on the Isle of Skye....home of Talisker Single Malts which are out of my price range.....and it's a good thing too. I couldn't find anything new on this. Here's an older link.

Bannan

Dirty Laundry

New Zealand drama Dirty Laundry

Dirty Laundry

The Brokenwood Mysteries - Disc 3

New Zealand crime mystery drama
The Brokenwood Mysteries

Ordinary Lies - Series 2

Ordinary Lies

Hyde and Seek + The Secret Daughter

Australian drama

Hyde and Seek

The Secret Daughter

The Organization + The Old Men At The Zoo

Two vintage British satirical dramas.

The Organization had a great cast including Donald Sinden, Peter Egan, Anton Rodgers, Bernard Hepton, From the big A site:
"This witty, sharply observed drama series reveals the intrigues, resentments, bewilderments and betrayals of the staff of a large corporation. Based on writer Philip Mackie's own experiences.
The Greatrick Organization is a faceless, multi-million-pound concern dedicated to making more millions. In its headquarters we meet an assortment of middle and junior executives, among them new boy Richard Pershore a handsome young hopeful who knows he's just walked into a jungle; press officer Rodney Spurling, widely known as the Chairman's whipping boy; and PR head David Pulman, with his beautiful, ever-efficient but possibly treacherous secretary, Veronica.
Their lives may look cosy enough, but appearances are deceptive. All they have to do is carry on being loyal corporate slaves until they're 60 or 65, but there are a hundred different ways to put a foot wrong..."

The Old Men At The Zoo (from old video tape but very watchable). If you scroll down the IMDB page someone has volunteered a nice review.

The Old Men at the Zoo

Emmerdale 2016 - Disc 9

The Wrong Girl

Australian drama

The Wrong Girl

Doctor Doctor - Disc 1

Australian drama

Doctor Doctor

Holby City - Series 18 Disc 5

Josh

BBC ||! comedy Josh returned for a second series and has a third in the works.

Josh 1

Josh 2

Borderline + Damned + The Agency

Some new UK comedy.

Borderline

Damned

Morgana Robinson's The Agency

Drifters

Channel E4 comedy Drifters returned for a fourth series.

Drifters

Boy Meets Girl

BBC Comedy Boy Meets Girl returned for a second, and final, series.

Boy Meets Girl

Dark Angel + Deep Water + Him + Tutankhamun

Some new drama. Three from the UK's ITV and one from Down Under.

Dark Angel

Deep Water

Him

Tutankhamun