My Top TV for 2025

1. Slow Horses

2. The Rings of Power

3. The Studio

4. Clarkson's Farm

5. Brassic

6. Department Q

7. Bookish

8. Severance

9. Rivals

10. Alien : Earth

And just outside the top ten:

Stranger Things

The Pitt

Apple Cider Vinegar

Adolescence

Pluribus

Platonic

Shrinking

The Outlaws

North of North

Andor

Pluribus

Down Cemetery Road

Rogue Heroes

The Last Frontier

Ludwig

Silo

My cat's favourite TV for 2025

The cats' TV favourites for 2025:-

1.STRANGER THINGS - Season 5 (Netflix)

This triggers my nostalgia for the 1980s - rollerskating, the music.  Great story with wonderful characters

2.  SLOW HORSES Season 5 (Apple)

Latest season. Best yet - hilarious, dark and tragic. The last scene of Jackson's Lamb feet... 

3. DEPARTMENT Q (Netflix) 

Witty dialogue, intriguing characters, disturbing story.

4. BLACK DOVES (Netflix)

Ben Wishaw, Sarah Lancashire, Keira Knightly are all brilliant in this action thriller

5. DOWN CEMETERY ROAD (Netflix)

Emma Thompson is superb as a private investigator. Well-made and entertaining.

6. MURDERS IN THE BUILDING (Disney)

Fun, charming, as always.

7. THE RESIDENCE (Netflix)

Loved it - the humour, eccentric characters, learning about the inner workings of the White House. Excellent case, clever script and birdwatching - what's not to love.

8. THE DETECTORISTS (Amazon Prime)

Charming comedy about a small metal detecting community, starring Toby Jones.  The funniest thing is that, in this series, it's always sunny in England.

9. CALL THE MIDWIVES (ABC)

Have loved and been moved by every season of this. Brilliant cast, moving stories, wonderful recreation of the era.

10. BOOKISH (HBO Max)

Love the recreation of the era immediately post-World War II Britain.  Again, some interesting characters.

But ALSO:

CLARKSON's FARM Season 4 (Amazon Prime)

Still enjoying this. Cute animals, interesting information on the business of farming in England. 

HOMICIDE All Seasons (SBS) 

At times witty. Interesting characters and character development; precursor to True Detectives, successor to Hill Street Blues (best cop drama ever, may be the best drama series ever!)

SHERWOOD Season 2 (ABC)

Preferred this to season 1.

THE BOAT (ABC)

Starts off strong, with dark humour; ends weaker, but still entertaining.

BRASSIC (Amazon Prime)

Improved with each season, as characters gained in depth; funny; highlights the value of friendship and community; empathy for its, at times, troubled characters; impressive ensemble cast

UNTAMED (Netflix)

Eric Bana and Sam Neil. Set in beautiful Yosemite National Park (though actually filmed in equally beautiful Canada).  Loss and trauma echoing through the generations.

PROFESSOR T (ABC)

A criminal forensic expert struggling with his own Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  

SMILLA'S SENSE OF SNOW (SBS)

Melding the traditional and spiritual with futuristic society. 

LUDWIG (BBC)

Again, a charming story of detective work, starring the endearing David Mitchell (love his work - Back, Up Start Crow, Mitchell and Webb).

SHRINKING (Apple)

Again, funny and moving.  

THE STUDIO (Apple), THE FRANCHISE (HBO Max)

Couldn't choose between these - found them both very funny. 

ROGUE HEROES (BBC) 

Thoroughly enjoyed this World War II tale

SEVERANCE (Apple)

Thought the second season was the best.

RIVALS (Disney)

Didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did - brilliant ensemble case. Fun 1980s fashion and soundtrack, and vicarious enjoyment of life of the wealthy.  

So much wonderful television, so little time. It's lucky the cats are unemployed. 

My Cat's Top Ten Films 2025

1. EDDINGTON - usual Ari Aster fare - overly long, in need of editing, but intriguing ideas. Thought provoking commentary on COVID and anti-maskers, q-anon related conspiracy theories, Black Lives Matter, sovereign citizens, USA gun culture,  falsely accusing Antifa of domestic terrorism; gun violence, as usual Ari takes it to the extreme - darkly humourous, but given the underlying truths about current USA society, also deeply disturbing. Joaquin Phoenix is brilliant.  Just as I loved the first hour of Beau is Afraid, but loathed the next 2 hours, this is also too long, in need of editing, but better than Ari Aster's previous self indulgent material

2.  ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER - scary commentary on racism, authoritarianism in the USA today, the use of violence by all sides to promote their cause - Benita Del Torro, Leonard Di Caprio, Sean Penn and Chase Infinity (best name ever) are all compelling

3.  UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE - whimsical, surreal, charming, hilarious with Wes Andersonian influences 

4.  BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND - charming comedy with themes of loss, grief and moving forward - set on a remote Welsh island, which adds to the appeal

5. THE GRAND TOUR - original blend of the historical and modern, East and West; and the impact of colonialism.  Told with romance and humour.

6. MICKEY 17 - dark science fiction comedy - great story, sweet Creepers

7. HOUSE OF DYNAMITE - utterly compelling all the way through - good ensemble cast - tension building throughout.  Reinforces one's concerns that Trump is the decision maker for the USA and holder of the nuclear codes...

8.  SEPTEMBER 5 - fascinating depiction of the politics, ethics and mechanics of news making in the 1970s. Based on 1972 Munich Olympic Games and the taking of Israeli hostages.  

9.  BRIDGET JONES - MAD ABOUT THE BOY - funny, sad, poignant story of grief and loss. All our favourite characters return.  

 

10. CONCLAVE - visually compelling; brilliant ensemble cast; fascinating exploration of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, & internal politics, and rituals in the Catholic Church; excellent costume design - and as it turns out, somewhat prescient, given the death of Pope Francis  

Honourable mentions:

DEAD OF WINTER - Emma Thompson at her best (coincided with us watching Down Cemetery Road - also Emma in her prime). Thrilling and compelling throughout; magnificent scenery; and the ending - so moving

THE ACCOUNTANT 2 - interesting plot, great character development, humour, tragedy and action

WILDING - inspired documentary on re-wilding of Knepp estate, England.  Some wonderful cinematography in capturing nature

THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME - Wes Anderson, hilarious, but not one of his best

EL JOCKEY - Spanish - colourful, bizarre, surreal 

THE HISTORY OF SOUND - Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor are both brilliant; gorgeous soundtrack; depicts the long impact of the repression of same sex relationships; a story of loss and grief beautifully told

I SWEAR - based on the true story of a man living with Tourette's Syndrome - well acted. Inspiring, moving, educational and hopeful

THE GOLDEN SPURTLE - utterly charming documentary about how seriously some people take their porridge - delightful 

My Top Ten Films of 2025

Having seen a respectable 120 films last year, there were many highlights. However it was concerning to see the increasing number heading straight to streaming, or having a very short theatrical run. 

1. Grand Tour - a unique Portugese historical fantasy, set in the Far East in the 1920s

2. The Ballad of Wallis Island - my favourite comedy of the year

3. House of Dynamite - incredibly tense countdown to nuclear war

4. Black Bag - the best thriller, reminds me of Spooks at its best  

5. The Count of Monte Cristo - watch this instead of reading the novel

6. 28 Years Later - featuring very entertaining zombies

7. Weapons - thought provoking horror

8. One Battle After Another - Leonardo, and Paul Thomas Anderson deserve an Oscar

9. Wake Up Dead Man - even better than a Midsummer Murder

10. Tron Ares - great visuals, simple to follow plot (but disappointing soundtrack)

Honourable mentions:

Old White Man - a German comedy about a guy who becomes politically correct for the wrong reasons
Mission Impossible Final Reckoning
The Materialists - not a romantic comedy, but a romantic drama. 
Mickey 17 - creative comedy reminiscent of the 2009 film Moon