Paul Dobbyn

Constantly brilliant - both in terms of complex, believable characters and equally complex and intriguing cases. Easy to see why the series has such high ratings. Do yourself a favour and watch if you haven't already.

Gut-wrenching, haunting, powerful in a way very few series are...Why? One reason is 1883 manages to realistically depict the rawness of human relationships in desperate situations when there's nothing to distract - no skyscrapers, technology or other trappings of civilisation. Nothing to distract except the battle for survival. Nothing to depend on but each other and sometimes even that fails...1883 also gives a sense of what an incredibly tough time those pioneering settlers must have had dodging myriad perils - from lurking rattlers, to outlaws and the country's indigenous people still angered and untrusting after being forced from their traditional lands.

Ending left a bad taste. Ideology, in this case MeToo, often gets in the way of good drama. Far more satisfying would be for Kate/Holly to have been arrested for unethical conduct as she strode triumphantly along to her next court case. That'd have wiped the cocky smirk off her face and put one on this and maybe other viewer's.

Didn't know much about Rick James other than his music powered that incredibly catchy hit MC Hammer Can't Touch This. This documentary captures James' incredible highs, his influence on performers such as Prince and his eventual slide into drug-induced darkness, scandals, three or so years in jail, temporary redemption and an early death. Haunting in the ways such documentaries of great talent squandered tend to be.

Fascinating to see the disparity in opinions - critics v the public maybe? More than 90% of viewers enjoyed it which makes sense to me, but then a critic gave it only two stars. I liked everything about the movie...the creative structure eg use of cartoonish sketches to move the action along, notebook entries as Hector distills his discoveries on that elusive state etc etc.