Pasckie Pascua's Nerdy Squirrel Reviews: TV Series.

“Happy Valley” (Britbox) British crime drama , focusing on Catherine Cawood, a dedicated police sergeant in West Yorkshire dealing with personal trauma while fighting local crime.        This series won the 2015 BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series , and won another BAFTA for Best Drama for the second series.        Drawn from the astonishing script by Sally Wainwright and Sarah Lancashire's magnificent performance, this 3-season series could be in the Top 5 of my Best TV Series of all time. Some critics saw the opposite as in “cliché-ridden” and “blokey police procedurals" but that'd be their frigid “correctness” talking. The wicked realness of “Happy Valley” is unquestionable to men 🎥👍📽 “Karen Pirie” (Amazon Prime) British crime drama , based on the Inspector Karen Pirie series of novels by Val McDermid .         In the first series, a young detective sergeant , Karen Pirie, ...

“Riot Women” (Britbox) British series. Five women come together in Hebden Bridge to create a makeshift punk-rock band to enter a local talent contest but, in writing their first song, soon discover that they are all very angry about the way society treats women and that they have a lot to say.         Creator, writer and executive producer Sally Wainwright hits the right buttons and mixes the apt ingredients in giving us a delightful series. The intensity of the drama doesn't muddle the comic and witty intimacy of the sequences. And the ensemble performance is A-1 elite. Fierce, upfront, alluring. 🎥👍📽 “Obituary” (Hulu) 2 Seasons. Irish black comedy . A young woman obsessed with death becomes an obituarist for the local newspaper. The major reason why I clicked/watched this series is Siobhán Cullen . After I saw her in another Irish dark comedy, “Dobkin,” as the dreary but earnest and darkly alluring journalist Dubheasa Maloney, I knew I would...

“The Lincoln Lawyer” (Netflix) Season 4. L egal drama , based on Michael Connelly’s book. Lawyer Mickey Haller works in the back of his Lincoln Navigator as he takes on cases in Los Angeles . Manuel Garcia-Rulfo is Mickey .        Season 4, which is based on Mr Connelly's “The Law of Innocence,” follows Mickey defending himself against murder charges after his former client, Sam Scales, is found dead in his trunk. Mickey, jailed and under house arrest, uncovers a setup by Armenian mobster Alex Gazarian to avenge the past, while navigating a high-stakes trial.         This is the first of the popular series that I binge-watched in just two sittings. The consistently deft handling of the support characters wasn't the star in Season 4. But the overall directing and script by Ted Humphrey, Dailyn Rodriguez, Paula Garces et al kept us glued till the end credits. Tight, non-meandering, focused. Truly a David E. Kell...

“The Guest” (Paramount+) British thriller . A cleaner becomes captivated by her wealthy employer's charismatic influence. As their intense friendship grows and secrets emerge, their relationship spirals into a dangerous psychological game where nothing is quite what it seems.         Featuring the sterling performance of Gabrielle Creevy as Ria (house cleaner) and Eve Myles as Fran (rich entrepreneur), this 4-episode drama thriller is a binge-watch bet. ( Siôn Daniel Young , who was outstanding in 2021's “Deceit” as real-life character Colin Stagg is here but this is not his show.)        The plot is rather predictable but the timely placement of twists add to the excitement. But still the end game was a downer (no spoilers though). 🎥💻📽 “Lazarus” (Amazon Prime) British horror-thriller . A forensic psychiatrist investigates cold case murders after returning to his family home following the death of his fathe...

“Monster: The Ed Gein Story” (Netflix) biographical crime drama about the convicted murderer, graverobber, and suspected serial killer Ed Gein . Mr Gein (1906-1984) was an American murderer, serial killer , and body snatcher . His crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin , gathered widespread notoriety in 1957 after authorities discovered that he stole corpses from local graveyards and fashioned keepsakes from their bones and skin.         Charlie Hunnam absolutely gave his all. A very involved, focused performance. Credits as well to Laurie Metcalf in a shorter, intermittent role as Ed’s domineering mother. Undoubtedly, a well-crafted noir cinema although I don’t dig the overkill in graphic violence and, at times, cheesy dialogue. Also, I don’t ride with the Alfred Hitchcock or “Psycho” bit, not needed. That subplot took away a deeper navigation of the mom/son relationship. BTW, I am baffled by the Finale episode. Weird....

“The Night Manager” (Amazon Prime) Season 2. British spy thriller based on the 1993 novel by John le Carré . Jonathan Pine is now working a mundane MI6 role as "Alex Goodwin," until a chance encounter with a former associate pulls him back into the dangerous world of international arms dealing, this time targeting a charismatic Colombian arms dealer.        Unlike other spy/political thrillers on streaming these days, “Them Night Manager” stands out because it isn't indulgently replete with multiple back/side stories and pretentiously talky sequences yet it stays lucidly cerebral and easily navigated. And thrilling, of course. True with most LeCarre books.         Meanwhile the tour-de-force triumvirate of Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman is flawless and unfailing. Clearly, with the way Season 2 concluded, we are expecting a Season 3. 🎥💻📽 “Steal” (Amazon Prime) British crime thriller about a hei...