The Bay has been running for six weeks, finishing on Wednesday just gone. When teenage twins go missing in the seaside town of Morecambe, Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong is drafted in to act as Family Liason Officer. Cringingly, she discovers that the man she had sex with in an alley outside a pub on the night the twins went missing is their married stepfather. She has two teenage children herself who become mixed up in the case and several suspects are put forward when one of the missing children are found dead. The finale produced mixed reviews with many viewers claiming the ending was an anticlimax, but I enjoyed it, even though Mick guessed the ending long before it came.
I'm pleased to see that a new series of Ambulance is back on our screens. The latest series of this award winning show follows the crews of the North West Ambulance Service and last week's episode showed what happened when paramedic Jon was called to a hotel where a panicked caller had asked for help for her friend who had just given birth despite being unaware she was pregnant. I'm full of admiration for the men and women who take on these roles, I know it's something I couldn't do, I'd be no good in an emergency.
I watched Ricky Gervais in his new series After Life on Netflix before my mum died. Goodness me, how I can relate to his character, Tony, now, well the grief aspect anyway. After Tony's wife dies he decides that life isn't worth living, the only thing keeping him from taking his own life is his dog. He decides that he's going to live his life by saying and doing exactly what he wants and to hell with the consequences. He doesn't care how his actions or words hurt other people as he's so wrapped up in his own grief. There's lots of bad language so I wouldn't recommend it if you're offended by that, but for anyone else, it's definitely worth watching, lots of funny scenes as you'd expect from Ricky Gervais, and some very poignant moments at the end of the series.
Mick took Daniel and Jasmine back to Essex on Easter Sunday after having more than a week with us. It took him about seven hours to get there and back so it was nice to spend some girly time with Eleanor before she went back to uni. That was the day that Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again premiered on Sky so we took this opportunity to watch it. We found it cringeworthy and cheesy in places, as was the first Mamma Mia, but we still enjoyed it. I thought that Lily James took a good part and I really enjoyed her singing, which can't be said for Amanda Seyfried, her warbling and excessive vibrato really got on my nerves in the first film and it was even more annoying this time round. I was pleased to see the original cast all making appearances, some had bigger parts than others this time but what of the over-hyped casting of Cher? Well, I don't think I'd have missed her if she wasn't there. I enjoyed the storyline and the music, of course. It's not the best thing I've ever seen but it passed an afternoon.
Have you been watching any of these? What else have you been watching this month?
I'm watching in the line of duty and gardeners world, not much else. We have Netflix, but as yet not started watching anything. April/May we are always outside, gardening.
ReplyDeleteI used to be an avid watcher of Gardener's World but haven't watched it at all yet this season. We've taped Line of Duty but haven't started it yet, we've enjoyed the other series though so I'm sure we're in for a treat.
DeleteHi Jo
ReplyDeleteI have been following The Bay and I'm with Mick I'd more or less guessed who done what before we got to the end. I did enjoy the series but did feel the last one was a bit of anti climax in comparison to the previous episodes it all seem to come together in a rush. I haven't seen the Ricky Gervais series but would have liked to as it sounded fantastic. I didn't much care for the films of Mamma Mia but did go to see the stage show which was brilliant in comparison. I do enjoy the ambulance programme and couldn't imagine how you would cope giving birth not knowing you were pregnant the fact she had had a negative pregnancy test that same day would of freaked you out even more and the poor boyfriend who would of got a call out the blue you can't imagine how that would be can you. I have been watching Line of Duty and can't wait until next weekend when it will be on for 90 minutes when all should be revealed.
Mitzi x
I read a few reviews of The Bay which summed it up the same as you. I found the ending perfectly adequate but you're not alone in thinking it was an anticlimax. I'd like to see the stage show of Mamma Mia, I do love the theatre and I think they'd probably do this better than the film, as you found yourself. I really enjoy Ambulance, I do find some of the subjects quite hard hitting though. There's so many social problems that they have to deal with these days as well as the medical emergencies, it's quite heart wrenching to see. We've got Line of Duty taped, as well as quite a few other programmes from the last few weeks, so I'm looking forward to getting started on that.
DeleteIt was quite good to watch Mamma Mia 2 on the plane as it lulled me off to sleep with its cheerful music! I've enjoyed The Durrels, Celebrity Painting Challenge, Race Across the World and surprisingly Gone Fishing.
ReplyDeleteI was a big Abba fan in the 70's and early 80's and I enjoyed the music in the films. What a mixture of programmes you've been enjoying. I watched the first series of The Durrells but didn't really enjoy it so didn't watch any more. Mick sometimes watches fishing programmes, though he only goes fishing himself when we're on holiday.
DeleteWe don't tend to watch a lot of TV except for some reason on Saturdays!
ReplyDeleteAt the moment Saturday Night viewing is Britain's Got Talent until 9pm then over to BBC4 for Follow The Money …
Mind you I still wouldn't call it a lot of TV watching!
All the best Jan
I don't think there's anything on a Saturday night that we watch at the moment. We tend to record everything we want to watch throughout the week and then fit in our viewing when we sit down.
DeleteI've yet to read Mama Mia 2 though I've watched the first one. I quite enjoyed the first one and the film - Letters to Juliet that starred Amanda Seyfried. I don't remember her singing in that one though. Cx
ReplyDeleteI don't know Letters to Juliet but I watched Amanda Seyfried in Les Miserables and hated her singing in that too, it spoilt the whole film for me.
DeleteI started watching The Bay only because it was filmed in Morecambe, a place I'm very familiar with, but I was hooked from the first episode and really enjoyed the whole series. Mamma Mia 2? I watched the first one years ago and wasn't impressed at all so wild horses wouldn't make me watch the sequel.
ReplyDeleteSome of these short drama series are a bit hit and miss but I thought The Bay was one of the better ones. I think the Mamma Mia films are meant to be a bit tongue in cheek, cheesy and corny, and I've watched them and enjoyed them knowing this.
DeleteDH wanted to watch The Bay, we enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteWe are also watching Line of Duty and of course Victoria.
We've enjoyed the other series of Line of Duty but haven't started watching this latest series yet, it'll be over before we even start it. Ah yes, Victoria. I really enjoy this but I don't think this latest series is as good for some reason.
DeleteInteresting selection & although we don't do movies much these days, we've enjoyed watching a series of Trauma Squad, which I think is a spinoff from Helicopter Heroes, which we really liked. I enjoyed Mamma Mia when it first came out, but the new one doesn't sound quite so good. Thanks for the update, take care & huggles.
ReplyDeleteI think Trauma Squad must be along similar lines as Ambulance. I enjoyed the new Mamma Mia as much as I enjoyed the first one, it goes back to when Donna came to the island and met the three dads.
DeleteI've been watching Queer Eye for the Straight guy newest season and LOVING it
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this, I shall have to look it up.
DeleteI'm a bit hit and miss with Ricky Gervais, I like some things he does and not others so I didn't know what to expect with After Life but I thought it was excellent.
ReplyDeleteI watched The Bay on catch up and enjoyed it, I wonder if there are going to be any more?
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched the sequel to Mamma Mia, sequels don't always live up to expectations I find. I really enjoyed Mamma Mia it's a real feel good film, I think the cheesiness is part of it's charm :-) I wan't an ABBA fan at the height of their fame but I did like the songs in the film. I've heard good things about Afterlife, but we haven't got Netflix so haven't watched it.
I think The Bay was quite popular so I wouldn't be surprised to see a second series. I agree, about the cheesiness being part of the charm of Mamma Mia, nothing too serious, and I really enjoyed the music.
DeleteHere in PA I've been watching 'Call the Midwife.' We are always several months behind you -- but this one was worth waiting for. P. x
ReplyDeleteSuch a good programme. It has just the right mix of happy and sad and covers some great storylines.
DeleteI'd not seen nor heard of any of these series, but they do sound good, especially the Ambulance one (although my hubby is not into medical type shows so I usually miss out unless I watch on my own, which I rarely do).
ReplyDeleteWe normally watch only one series at a time (we are currently watching Blacklist) and wait until a full season is done to catch up on those we've seen in the past, but there are just so many spoilers, etc., online about Game of Thrones, that we are watching each episode shortly after it airs.
Mick's quite squeamish when it comes to blood but he really enjoys Ambulance. I think it's getting more normal to watch one thing at once these days now we have providers such as Netflix, going are the days when we wait week on week for another episode to be released. I've never watched Game of Thrones but I know Daniel was looking forward to this series being released.
DeleteI do like Ricky Gervais, and hadn't heard about that film, I'll certainly look out for that. Totally agree about the Mamma Mia films, I thought the first one was by far better though. I'm hooked on Game of Thrones, and love The Walking Dead.xxx
ReplyDeleteI think the first Mamma Mia film had more of a story to it but I did enjoy the second one. I've never got into Game of Thrones but Daniel watches it. I've never got into The Walking Dead either, I think Mick used to watch it but doesn't now.
Delete