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Reviews
Taggart (1983)
Not the best of British (Scottish?) TV
We've been binge watching several BritBox shows and came across this one. While it isn't awful, it is borderline bad. We get the impression that there are no actual scripts or screenwriters, but instead the actors are pretty much reading lines out of a book -- which makes for a flat performance. Taggart himself is almost like the American detective Kojak, who is ready at a moments notice to slap or otherwise batter a suspect (rubber hoses, anyone?), as well as being crabby and ill-willed toward just about everyone. But then again, most of the characters in Taggart are very insulting and condescending toward the other characters. Maybe that's the way the Scottish are? On a scale of 10, we'd give it a 5. Watchable, but very uneven.
Stay Close (2021)
Not bad, the storyline keeps your attention
I'll start with the bad first: WHY do the British insist on giving these various series such God-awful theme songs? Many of these series are really good; many of these series theme songs are *horrible*. This one is no exception.
As for the show itself, it's pretty good. The actors are all first-rate, and the story is interesting. All told, we're not regretting watching this series. Oddly, we found it on Netflix and not BritBox as we would have thought. You'll recognize some of the actors from other series. Just one word of advice: When the theme song comes on, it gives you the option to "Skip Intro". Do it -- you'll thank me later.
Silent Witness (1996)
Uneven at best
We found this series on BritBox and decided to give it a try. The first few seasons seemed to us to be an assortment of characters (actors) in search of a storyline, instead of the other way round. It's as if the writers and producers were given the go-ahead to make the show and were unprepared -- and it took them a long time to "catch up" and make the stories even halfway plausible.
However (and I have to mention this), the theme music is horrid. The British must like this stuff, as there have been other British TV shows with execrable music ("Unforgotten", anyone?). Every time we start or end an episode, it's like fingernails on a blackboard to our ears. Thank God for fast forward.
At any rate, we are up to Series 7, so hopefully the show will get better.
The Legend of 5 Mile Cave (2019)
Good family movie
Watched this on Prime Video. We thought it was a great, easy-going, innocuous movie with no gore, no bad language -- just an entertaining break from the usual movie fare. Worth watching, IMHO.