I am not a Harry Potter fan, and I say that having never read the books or watched the movies, but the story of a boy wizard and magic spells have never interested me. That is, until I saw PUFFS or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic. Set during Harry and friends' time at said school of magic, PUFFS focuses on another student who was around at the time of Harry's reign, Wayne, and his friends who had been assigned house Puff, the house that no one really wants to be assigned.
Written by Matt Cox, PUFFS is littered of Harry Potter references and in-jokes, and
while some of them went over my head, if you are at all familiar with the tropes of such stories, then you will still find yourself laughing along. Cox isn't just making cardboard cutouts of fantasy stories in his play, but creating fully fleshed out characters with motivations and desires that you find yourself supporting wholeheartedly. This is done so carefully and considered, that you don't realise how emotionally attached you are to the characters until the final genuinely suspenseful scenes.
I
spent a lot of 2017 watching a variety of TV shows from a broad range
of genres and in my need to always finish what I start, I never "quit" a
TV show until I finished its entire season - regardless of how bad it
is or how much I hate it. But with the bad comes some utterly brilliant
ones, so I decided to list my top ten TV shows of 2017.
If you're not up to date with the season, read with caution as some spoilers may be revealed.
1. The Leftovers - season 3
In December, I went back and re-watched the entire series one episode per day. As I write this, I am two episodes from finishing the series again. The basis of the show is that on October 14 2011, 2% of the population disappeared. The show begins three years later but the emphasis is not about what happened to those 2%, but what happened to the one who stayed behind, the leftovers.
The Leftovers is a beautiful exploration of hope and faith and the struggle to keep them, and it is, without a doubt, one of the best TV shows I've ever seen. While it might not have been a hit in the ratings, the writing and the performances from every single cast member - most notably Carrie Coon - are the finest you will ever see. Max Richter's music is phenomenal and never have I had such emotional responses to a score before.
Also, it's pretty cool that the final season takes place in Australia and a couple of my friends got to share scenes with Coon.
I spent a lot of 2016 watching a variety of TV shows from a broad range of genres and in my need to always finish what I start, I never "quit" a TV show until I finished its entire season - regardless of how bad it is or how much I hate it. But with the bad comes some utterly brilliant ones, so I decided to list my top ten TV shows of 2016, based purely on their most recent season.
If you're not up to date with the season, read with caution as some spoilers may be revealed.
1. American Crime - season 2
This anthology series drew me in from the very first episode. Felicity Huffman is in top form as the principal of an elite high school whose job becomes very difficult when a student on a scholarship accuses the basketball team star players of rape.
Connor Jessup is a phenomenal find, so much of the season rests on his shoulders and in being able to show the conflicting emotions of his character, Taylor, in dealing with the the ramifications of his accusation.
The story is told through various perspectives and therefore you're never quite sure as to what the truth actually is. While dealing with the alleged rape, American Crime is a nuanced look at race, class and privilege and what happens when the status quo is threatened.
While we live in the era of binge watching, the themes that are explored here are quite heavy and emotive, so a weekly episode was perfect with this (and also gets you excited about what happens next - none of this instant gratification stuff!)
The beauty of anthology series' is that you don't need to watch season one first, and while the first season is brilliant, there is so much more to admire about season two, and reflect on as well.
