'The Leftovers'
Have you ever imagined a world where there was no Pope, Jennifer Lopez or Gary Busey? (Random mix, I know.) Well, prepare for 'The Leftovers' - Sky Atlantic’s latest US drama starring Justin Theroux and Liv Tyler. We get to see the suburban community of Mapleton three years after family, friends and sibling suddenly go missing one day and never return. Basically, judgement happened and we are now witnessing the aftermath of the Apocalypse, I honestly hope to be dead before witnessing that!
Our main character is Kevin Garvey (Theroux), a police officer trying to keep the town in peace. The difficulty is that Kevin has become a single parent now that his wife Laurie (Amy Brenneman) has left them to join a cult that does not speak, and only wears white. Looking after his son Tom (Chris Zylka) and teenage daughter Jill(Margaret Qualley) is not made easy, particularly as she clearly is missing her mum and is rebelling like a normal teenager. The one good thing for Kevin is that he finds comfort in Nora Durst (Carrie Coon), who lost her family in this mysterious worldwide disappearance.
The Guilty Remnant is the cult that is taking over Mapleton and its leader Patti Levin (Ann Dowd) is one tough cookie. She brilliantly brings out the darkness of the cult with her intense stare and slow puffing of a cigarette. When Patti speaks, you go silent - being on the wrong side of Patti is not a good thing. However, as the series goes on you can see a new force in the Guilty Remnant as Laurie starts to take charge especially when dealing with newcomer Megan Abbot (Liv Tyler) who is initially targeted by the cult before becoming steadily more involved.
One of the Guilty Remnant’s biggest enemies is the local church run by dodgy reverend Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston) who is also an editor of his own tabloid that blasts sinners, mostly from the Guilty Remnant. Matt is the brother of Nora, who he constantly goes to for money issues since struggling to keep the Church going. Matt tries all different ways to keep the church going but as you'll see, some of his tactics backfire.
'The Leftovers' has to be one of my favourite offerings this year, a show that has excited me and confused me is usually a winner in my eyes. With dark sci-fi mixed in with mystery and suspense, how you could not love this show is beyond me! I have been critical of whenever Sky buy a show, thinking it would never last for a long a time but I believe with recent purchases such as 'Scandal', 'Arrow' and 'The Flash', I hope 'The Leftovers' is given the second series it truly deserves.
'The Leftovers' airs Tuesday at 9pm on Sky Atlantic.
'Dapper Laughs: On The Pull'
(Since writing this article, ITV2 has thankfully made the decision to axe the show.)
If you would have asked me a year along who Dapper Laughs (‘comedian’ Daniel O'Reilly, supposedly playing a character) was, I would have looked at you with a blank expression. Since then he has had a top 40 hit and is frequently going viral on Facebook and Twitter with his Vines. ITV2 made the very odd decision to give this serial ladies’ man his own show teaching men how to pull. To sum it up, he is basically teaching men how to be just like him - an arrogant, self-obsessed pig, who gives being a man a bad name.
Each week Dapper Laughs ‘helps’ a hopeless romantic who is not very successful with the ladies. Dapper teaches them techniques on how to attract the ladies using some of his ‘charm’ and some of his best chat up lines to woo these women who going along just so they can be on television. While all this madness is going on, Dapper Laughs takes the time to give his following some ‘funny’ dos and don’ts for picking up women.
Before actually helping these poor gentlemen, Dapper Laughs makes sure to raid their home, makes them feel bad about themselves, and becomes a cheaper version of Jeremy Kyle. Now maybe the one joke here and there would be quite funny but constantly ripping on these men as if it is School just seems so sad and quite pathetic. When Dapper is done snooping through their property, he gives them a mission he knows they will absolutely fail at. This then allows Dapper to showcase his best chat up lines to charm the ladies, while the poor guy is left to watch on as a spectator to this very clearly staged event.
There is then the transformation, where the guy is given a trim and a spray tan so he can fit in more with 'TOWIE' culture that has crept up us on over these last couple of years. We are then transported to a nightclub where the drinks are flowing and girls are getting drunker by the hour, and the victim has to start proving that this process actually works. Everyone talks to anyone after a few drinks, so if you want to say mission accomplished then I guess you can.
I have tried to see any positives to this show but I seem to go blank each time any thought of anything good about this show comes to mind. I apologize to Tom Daley for saying his backpacking show was the worst show this year as this diarrhoea-filled show tops them all.
Read previous Telly Text columns here and find more from Jordan at @jrory.
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