What to Watch: Smoke, My Mom, Jayne, Deal or No Deal, Grantchester and Do Not Watch This Show
Get ready for your kids' squeals of delight: Andy Lee has reimagined his interactive children's book series for the small screen.
It's hard to overestimate just how popular his book series is: they've sold an astonishing 3.5 million copies worldwide, and are popular right across the world, topping bestseller lists in places as far-flung as Japan and Iceland.
This 12 x 11-minute series brings Lee's funny blue monster character Wizz, (which he voices), to life. The premise? Wizz is stuck in a TV show he doesn't want to be in, and he's desperate for kids to switch off.
Like the books, which implore little readers NOT to turn or open the book, it's a simple premise, but it works.
Joining Lee is a great guest cast, which includes Joel Creasey playing a camp lime (I know, what?) comedian Denise Scott as a slow-talking tortoise, Kura Forrester as a New Zealand kiwi fruit (a Kiwi Kiwi — get it?), and Dave Hughes as a goblin.
Douglas, an expert scientist who acts as the sane-talking counterpoint to Wizz's ridiculous antics and outlandish statement (also voiced by Lee), rounds things out and provides an educational component.
Look, real talk: if you're looking for some gentle talking Bluey-esque niceness, forget it — there are a lot of outlandish loud antics in this show. But something tells me kids are probably going to enjoy spending time shouting at Wizz from their living rooms.
Whether their parents will enjoy the ruckus still remains to be seen.
Grantchester must surely rival Midsomer in the murder stakes — 10 series on, and the body count is high. This season sees Alphy (Rishi Nair) finally feeling as though he's found a home. He's settled into a nice rhythm and established a great bond with Geordie (Robson Green). Finding love is proving more elusive, but that could all be about to change after foul play at the village's Easter Fete potentially leads the way to a new romantic interest. Sign us up.
Taron Egerton and writer Dennis Lehane are back working together for this series, which sees Egerton playing an arson investigator on a quest to uncover who's responsible for a spate of attacks. Joining him is Jurnee Smollett, playing the hard-as-nails detective working alongside him. This is much more than a simple crime procedural. Great performances and some fantastic cinematography (those fire scenes!) make this well worth a watch.
Mariska Hargitay is setting the record straight on her screen siren mother, Jayne Mansfield, in this deeply personal documentary (the Law & Order star's directorial debut). Hargitay and her siblings all speak for the first time about their complicated mother, who passed away in 1967 aged just 34 in a car accident (three year-old Mariska was in the backseat, and survived the crash). A deeply personal story.
Sometimes you just want to watch a bunch of people unlock a briefcase. And this week, Sandra Sully is stepping in to do just that, in the hopes of raising money for SpinalCure Australia. Can she take home the $100,000 prize and break the bank? Both celebrity and normal versions of this show are reliably fun to watch. If it's been a while between Deals, get stuck back into this special — silly, family fun.
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West Australian
20 hours ago
- West Australian
What to Watch: Smoke, My Mom, Jayne, Deal or No Deal, Grantchester and Do Not Watch This Show
Get ready for your kids' squeals of delight: Andy Lee has reimagined his interactive children's book series for the small screen. It's hard to overestimate just how popular his book series is: they've sold an astonishing 3.5 million copies worldwide, and are popular right across the world, topping bestseller lists in places as far-flung as Japan and Iceland. This 12 x 11-minute series brings Lee's funny blue monster character Wizz, (which he voices), to life. The premise? Wizz is stuck in a TV show he doesn't want to be in, and he's desperate for kids to switch off. Like the books, which implore little readers NOT to turn or open the book, it's a simple premise, but it works. Joining Lee is a great guest cast, which includes Joel Creasey playing a camp lime (I know, what?) comedian Denise Scott as a slow-talking tortoise, Kura Forrester as a New Zealand kiwi fruit (a Kiwi Kiwi — get it?), and Dave Hughes as a goblin. Douglas, an expert scientist who acts as the sane-talking counterpoint to Wizz's ridiculous antics and outlandish statement (also voiced by Lee), rounds things out and provides an educational component. Look, real talk: if you're looking for some gentle talking Bluey-esque niceness, forget it — there are a lot of outlandish loud antics in this show. But something tells me kids are probably going to enjoy spending time shouting at Wizz from their living rooms. Whether their parents will enjoy the ruckus still remains to be seen. Grantchester must surely rival Midsomer in the murder stakes — 10 series on, and the body count is high. This season sees Alphy (Rishi Nair) finally feeling as though he's found a home. He's settled into a nice rhythm and established a great bond with Geordie (Robson Green). Finding love is proving more elusive, but that could all be about to change after foul play at the village's Easter Fete potentially leads the way to a new romantic interest. Sign us up. Taron Egerton and writer Dennis Lehane are back working together for this series, which sees Egerton playing an arson investigator on a quest to uncover who's responsible for a spate of attacks. Joining him is Jurnee Smollett, playing the hard-as-nails detective working alongside him. This is much more than a simple crime procedural. Great performances and some fantastic cinematography (those fire scenes!) make this well worth a watch. Mariska Hargitay is setting the record straight on her screen siren mother, Jayne Mansfield, in this deeply personal documentary (the Law & Order star's directorial debut). Hargitay and her siblings all speak for the first time about their complicated mother, who passed away in 1967 aged just 34 in a car accident (three year-old Mariska was in the backseat, and survived the crash). A deeply personal story. Sometimes you just want to watch a bunch of people unlock a briefcase. And this week, Sandra Sully is stepping in to do just that, in the hopes of raising money for SpinalCure Australia. Can she take home the $100,000 prize and break the bank? Both celebrity and normal versions of this show are reliably fun to watch. If it's been a while between Deals, get stuck back into this special — silly, family fun.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Squid Game's second season was a dud. Can the third save Netflix's killer Korean hit?
Squid Game (season three) ★★★★ For anyone who found the second season of Squid Game a huge disappointment, here's some good news: the third and ostensibly final season is a big improvement. But there's a caveat. I have seen the first five of six episodes, so not the finale, because Netflix is concerned about the risk of spoilers. And that means I can't tell you if it sticks the landing or not. On the basis of those five episodes, I'm hopeful – but it wouldn't be the first show to flub it. And without knowing how it plays out, any judgment can only be provisional. Season two veered all over the place in tone (especially in its first two Keystone Cops-esque episodes), lost momentum every time the action shifted to the boat, and felt repetitive in the game play within the arena. At its cliffhanger ending, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), player 456, was a deflated mess. His ambitious plan for a rebellion had left most of his co-conspirators dead. Worst of all, he discovered he had been stooged all along by Player 001, Oh Young-il (Lee Byung-hun), who was in truth the game's controller, Front Man. He was never an ally, always a saboteur in waiting. Now, as we enter the home stretch, the key question is whether Gi-hun can rouse himself enough to (a) survive, (b) choose between vengeance and compassion, or (c) destroy the game once and for all. Loading There are, of course, secondary storylines, the most important of which are twofold: the quest of policeman Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) to locate his brother In-ho, whom he now understands to be the Front Man; and the efforts of North Korean defector and guard Kang No-eul (Park Gyuyoung) to save the man she worked with at the amusement park (Lee Jin-wook), who entered the game hoping to fund his young daughter's cancer treatment.
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
Squid Game's second season was a dud. Can the third save Netflix's killer Korean hit?
Squid Game (season three) ★★★★ For anyone who found the second season of Squid Game a huge disappointment, here's some good news: the third and ostensibly final season is a big improvement. But there's a caveat. I have seen the first five of six episodes, so not the finale, because Netflix is concerned about the risk of spoilers. And that means I can't tell you if it sticks the landing or not. On the basis of those five episodes, I'm hopeful – but it wouldn't be the first show to flub it. And without knowing how it plays out, any judgment can only be provisional. Season two veered all over the place in tone (especially in its first two Keystone Cops-esque episodes), lost momentum every time the action shifted to the boat, and felt repetitive in the game play within the arena. At its cliffhanger ending, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), player 456, was a deflated mess. His ambitious plan for a rebellion had left most of his co-conspirators dead. Worst of all, he discovered he had been stooged all along by Player 001, Oh Young-il (Lee Byung-hun), who was in truth the game's controller, Front Man. He was never an ally, always a saboteur in waiting. Now, as we enter the home stretch, the key question is whether Gi-hun can rouse himself enough to (a) survive, (b) choose between vengeance and compassion, or (c) destroy the game once and for all. Loading There are, of course, secondary storylines, the most important of which are twofold: the quest of policeman Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) to locate his brother In-ho, whom he now understands to be the Front Man; and the efforts of North Korean defector and guard Kang No-eul (Park Gyuyoung) to save the man she worked with at the amusement park (Lee Jin-wook), who entered the game hoping to fund his young daughter's cancer treatment.
