Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (5000)

Content

Code Unknown (2000)

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Movie

A young man harasses a homeless woman, another man protests, the police arrest both and the woman...

Letters from Whitechapel

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Tabletop Game

A hidden movement game with a Jack the Ripper theme. Play as the Ripper or the Police officers...

Cracker - Season 1

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

TV Season

Dr Edward 'Fitz' Fitzgerald (Robbie Coltrane) joins Manchester Police as a consultant criminal...

The Assassin (1961)

9.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Movie

Alfredo Martelli is picked up by the police at his apartment without justification. In the precinct,...

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Line of Duty - Season 1 in TV

Apr 22, 2019 (Updated Apr 22, 2019)

Deserving of the hype

Over the past few months, one of the shows that I kept getting told to watch is Line of Duty. Nearly everyone I know is raving about this, and despite the fact that they’re all on series 5, I decided to give this a go from the very first series. And for the most part, this is fairly deserving of the hype.

Police dramas have inundated our screens over the past few years, and it’s unusual to find ones that rise above average - Luther is one, and now I think Line of Duty is another. This has at least found a new angle on the police instead of the usual murder mystery, focusing on the Anti Corruption unit. Whilst I’m pretty sure AC isn’t anywhere nearly as interesting in real life (and indeed the real life name of Professional Standards used for the unit by most actual police forces isn’t as catchy either), Line of Duty at least makes this highly entertaining and intriguing. Corruption sounds boring, but in this it really isn’t and is full of twists and turns and reveals throughout the series. It has a great cast too that really helps and isn’t afraid to show a bit of blood and violence. As sad as I am, I also enjoyed the little nods to real police - the modern glass plated buildings and the police lanyards etc - these made this a lot more relatable.

This isn’t perfect though. I sometimes found some of the jumps in storyline confusing and I don’t feel like everything was wrapped up at the end of the series. I also found that the three main AC12 character weren’t very well developed and there could have been more done to show their backgrounds or personal lives. I don’t doubt that this will be expanded in later series, but it would’ve been nice to see it here! I am however very much looking forward to seeing the next few series.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2340 KP) rated The Skeleton Stuffs a Stocking in Books

Sep 27, 2019

That Bone Isn’t Sid’s

When Dr. Georgia Thackery’s dog, Byron, gets out one afternoon, and when she and her daughter Madison find him again, he is clutching a bone. Naturally, the two assume it is part of Sid, and they race home to apologize to their friend. However, all of Sid’s bones are present and accounted for, so they get the police involved. It turns out that Byron has found part of a normal skeleton (you know, not walking and talking), and the police are able to determine that the skeleton was murdered. The police have no leads on who the skeleton might have been in life, but Georgia’s friend and fellow adjunct, Charles, approaches her. He thinks he might know the victim, but the only way to give the police that information might lead the police directly to Charles. And so Georgia jumps into action again, with Sid doing his best to research the case on the internet. Was the victim Charles’s friend? If so, who killed her?

If you are new to the series, you might be a bit lost. You see, Sid is a walking, talking skeleton and Georgia’s best friend. That’s the only paranormal element to the series, and it is done is a realistic manner, which makes it feel very natural. The characters, including Sid, are very strong, which certainly helps make it all seem real. The plot, while not a traditional cozy mystery plot, is very strong with plenty of twists and surprises along the way to the climax. In fact, I liked the fact that it was something different plot wise, and it certainly kept me engaged the entire time. I did think that Christmas aspect could have been stronger, but that’s my only complaint and a very small one at that. As a lover of puns, I absolutely loved the puns and other humor in the book. If you are just now meeting Sid, you are in for a treat. If you are already a fan, you’ll love this newest visit with him.