spk_0:   0:00
This is kicking and streaming podcast a Binge Watcher's Guide to Streaming Movies, TV series and stuff. Here are your hosts, Graham and

spk_1:   0:14
Jocelyn. Now we can go and say hello, everyone. And welcome to another episode of kicking and streaming on these beautiful, beautiful months

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of April we are in April already. I don't know how that happened, but it it happened.

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It almost feels like nothing has been happening other than the one thing that is happening around the world. The name that shall not be mentioned.  I don't want us to owner any more of that venom. Then we hear in the news and everywhere you go, so

spk_0:   0:58
It which shall not be named.

spk_1:   0:59
That's exactly right. So we are today with you once again with another episode in today. We're talking about a nice little, not necessarily perfect, but a nice little British detective series called Bancroft, Bancroft, Bancroft two Seasons. Eight episodes in total. Correct? Yes, and a lot happening. Very. I mean, it's no one of those shows that well, you will. You will not want to follow through with it. Even when you discover certain inconsistencies and and a certain you know absurdity in the plot. But you see, wanna wait a minute? Let me see where this is going, right?

spk_0:   1:52
Yes, yes. I think this is definitely a time for the absurd. I think the success of Tiger King on Netflix is showing that. And I think it's a time for bonkers and bats and wack a doo. And all of that is in this show. But at the same time, in my opinion, doesn't take it to the point of going Oh, my God, this is stupid. And shut it off. It takes it to a point of Oh, my God, I can't believe they just did that. And I will see how they fix it, right? Exactly. Exactly Exactly. But yeah, you

spk_1:   2:25
know, bats wack a do and what else? bonkers bonkers, that's bats and wack a do so B B W. That is, All of those are adjectives that one could say are fit for Bancroft. It is an ITV show, and it is currently on. Is it Prime or Brit Box?

spk_0:   2:52
It is on Amazon prime. You can get it through Amazon prime. It is on Brit box, but it's it's You can just get it on Amazon Prime

spk_1:   2:59
 Amazon prime. Correct. And so without further ado Jocelyn. Please tell our audience what Bancroft is about

spk_0:   3:11
What is Bancroft not about? So, um, Bancroft is a British detective series within the police, Not not a private detective or anything like that, but within the police somewhere in northern England, a fictional area. It's not set in London, and it is about Bancroft is the main character in it, Elizabeth and uh, yes, Elizabeth Bancroft, and she's played lovely by Sarah Perish, and it is about her blind ambition and pure, pure evil. I love the fact that this series never ever lets you think for a second who the bad guy is. It is Bancroft. Bancroft is the bad guy. I'm not giving anything away by telling you that cause the show is does not leave you with any any cliffhangers as to who's the baddie? Um, it is her, and it is about her essentially claw to power and rise to power and everything that she does to get there and how psychotic she is and all of the horrible things that she does without even batting an eye and it's it's bonkers. It's it's wack a doo and it's bats. But it is so much fun. Yeah. And is it

spk_1:   4:41
fair to characterize Elizabeth Bancroft as actually a serial killer in your In your opinion?

spk_0:   4:49
I think so. I think so. She's She's definitely ah, psychopath, sociopath type. But I I would I would go a serial killer. Honestly, because she kills people. Not just because they're in her way, although that seems to be her main motive, but also because some of this stuff could be worked out with a fashion without killing them. Exactly. I think she enjoys he killing just as much as the removing the problem,

spk_1:   5:23
right. You're You're absolutely right. It like it's like, Hey, how about you talk about this? How about you come to an understanding, okay. No, let me just kill these motherfuckers.

spk_0:   5:37
I really I don't enjoy talking. I much prefer killing. Yeah. And, um,

spk_1:   5:47
you know when when I started watching these this show I The first killing, for instance, was so nonchalant that I had trouble believing that she did it. Yes, I was like, hold on

spk_0:   6:04
a minute. But she's a, she's a She's a police officer. Hold on as is she?

spk_1:   6:11
Yoo

spk_0:   6:13
what? Really? That wasn't an accident.

spk_1:   6:15
Like, that's what I was trying. I could see myself trying to put together an excuse. Like you know what? Maybe yeah. No, Maybe she just you know, it's unfortunate because it seems it was after she left that shit happened. No, no, . And they were, like, just in case you had any doubt. Here's how it

spk_0:   6:40
happened. Boom. And I'm like holy fucking shit, she did it. That was me too, because I was kind of, like, you know, Oh, they're gonna leave it as a are We really sure or not sure if she did this or didn't do it. And then it was just bam! And I was like, Oh, ok Yeah. All right. I know where we stand. Right? I love that about it! I love it cause I'm kind of tired of the whole Oh, let's string you along and it turns out to be who you actually thought it was all along or Oh, my God. It's with this guy. And you were like, Yeah, I knew it. This is just nope, we're gonna we don't care that you know, we're just going to show you how insane this woman is and I love it.

spk_1:   7:23
But she is absolute. Bat shit crazy, though, like, yes, she

spk_0:   7:28
is using a relationship with her, and her son is creepy. Here is there is no normal relationship that this woman has that I've seen,

spk_1:   7:38
right? Yeah, that's exactly right. Yeah, everything is calculated. It's She has an ulterior motive And what could argue that pretty much everybody is like that. There's an ulterior motive for anything for everything, but that that is not true. You would have to be really cynical to to argue such a thing. But in her case, that's exactly what happens is that there is no thing she does. If it's no advancing her own agenda and sometimes is so in your face that I guess you almost don't even notice it if you're on the other end of it. You know, if you are the one being used by her, it's almost impossible to notice how much she's using you, because it's like there's no way that's what she's doing, you know that. So the series is created was created by Kate Brooke and Ben Morris, but I think they've managed to make a very entertaining show as long as you're not willing to take it way too seriously. Yes, yes. What do you say

spk_0:   8:57
exactly? Yeah, I It's It's very entertaining. It did not get very good ratings on rotten tomatoes. It's like 17% rotten tomatoes. On IMDB It gives it 6.7 stars out of 10. So that being said, I don't think the reason is because it's bad. I just don't think it's what people were expecting. I think they were expecting to go into a very serious dark, you know, detective work, something like Prime Suspect, um, and instead got something that is absolutely nuts. So I think that I honestly think that's the reason why because I didn't see really a bad performance amongst any of the actors, and it again, the story is, is, is nuts. But it's very entertaining, and for me it never got to the point where I was like, Okay, I can't This is just stupid. It's it's just fun. Yeah, And in some of the

spk_1:   9:57
comments that I read about the few people that said, Look, I'm not gonna watch this anymore because it is bonkers, But they were talking about like, you know, DNA facts and stuff like that. Like, you know, after you've been incinerated, there's no way they could find DNA in blah, blah, blah like people, please. For fuck's sake.

spk_0:   10:20
Take it for what it is, right? It's a damn show. Yes. Yes, Like,

spk_1:   10:26
I mean, do you know, watch law and order there's a lot of bonkers shit on Law and Order too, why

spk_0:   10:30
do we take it seriously? Yes, exactly. CSI You know, they get they get the results back from a DNA test, like the same day. That doesn't happen. I want it I want it stat. Okay, That'll be about six weeks, huh? Yeah, yeah,

spk_1:   10:49
it's absolutely crazy. And I'm, like, just just just fucking shut up, right? Because it just was one of the most entertaining little shows. And all the time I was here, let me see what I kept thinking was Let me see her next move. Now. Oh, Oh! Oh! Damn, she went there. Holy shit. She did. You know, that's where I was with this show all the time, like, oh, really? I actually found myself fearing a bit for the life of Cliff Walker, who is the sort of like competing superintendent with Bancroft. And we'll let the audience, you know, figure that one out wants to get to it, But yeah, Dad did took some some risks there, and I don't know how he's made it two seasons yo.

spk_0:   11:44
Maybe he'll turn out to be nuts too. Yeah. Yeah. And it's almost as

spk_1:   11:50
if, Like, maybe Elizabeth Bancroft is like, Yeah, you're almost dead anyway And shit, you old so I ain't even going to fuck with you.

spk_0:   12:03
That could be too. You haven't gotten quite enough of the way yet. There's more exciting things to kill. Yeah, yeah, you would be boring to kill.

spk_1:   12:13
And plus, he's like about to be retired so get the fuck out Yeah, yeah,

spk_0:   12:21
Just go away. So, what do you

spk_1:   12:24
think? The difference was between season one and season two? Which would season you find was more exciting and novel in and all that shit.

spk_0:   12:37
Um I mean, I I didn't really see a huge difference between the two and that sense for me. They were just as consistently bats. the first season, of course. Grabbed me and and and drug me right into it. I think if I'd started with the second season, I would have been really confused. So I think it's probably important to start with the first season because I think if you start with the 2nd 1 you're just gonna be like, What the fuck did I walk into? I personally

spk_1:   13:09
had found out the first season was a bit more thrilling, to be honest with you. In what way? Because in the manner in which it started, right? Yeah. Yeah. And also there was, You know, Faye Marseille, who plays Katherine Stevens, is she was so young, and yet you could see that she was onto her, You know, I mean, yes, it's very it's you can take for granted that in older detective could easily figure out it is a bad Bancroft. But this young girl, she was she was like, you know, I want to find out what the fuck you did it, you know?

spk_0:   13:56
Yeah. It's like one of those things. Like fresh eyes. You know, it's th is Bancroft. Worked with all these other people and knew how to pull the wool over their eyes. Probably for a long time. Maybe she had an easier time doing it with men in the police force. You know this since she was female, a little bit easier to have to know which buttons to push and not push. But with this young young girl, she, uh she she didn't didn't manage to do it with her. So

spk_1:   14:27
But the crazy thing is also she uses her son when When she cannot use herself. As you said, as the female in the all of her charms and shit, she has no problem using her son too. Yes

spk_0:   14:46
is very, very tainted relationship there. Yes,

spk_1:   14:50
yes. And the poor kid really things that there's no one else in the world that would love that loves more than his mother. Because that's what you know. That's how the kind of person that Bancroft is Yes, I know is a

spk_0:   15:08
narcissist sociopath psychopath. She's she's got lots of, ah, fun, uh, psychological labels we can slap on to her. One thing

spk_1:   15:23
of I'm sort of figuring out is that British shows have gotten these beautiful way of showing you the bad assesdness of women, you know, in a way like in feminists and women don't necessarily have to always be the hero. The heroine. They can be the bad motherfuckers too, and that's okay. You know what I'm saying? If you look at the show like killing Eve for instance, you know she is you like, we would never get a female Dexter in the United States. I don't know if if you could ever get that in how successful that would be, you know? Right. But then you know you have killing Eve and killing Eve was incredibly like, it's believable to the core and and almost lovable. Yes, yes, yes. And in the case of Bancroft, she is scary. But there are moments where you find yourself rooting for when she's doing her detective work. You're rooting for her, right? I

spk_0:   16:40
mean, it's just she's a good detective.

spk_1:   16:42
Is fucking good, isn't she? Yeah,

spk_0:   16:45
she's very good, detective. She's but she's she's nuts. I I love the fact, too, with British TV when they're not afraid to and I think American TV is starting to come around to this, but it's taken a long time. But from the beginning, British TV never minded using older women in in a TV show. You know, Sarah Parish is Is you know she's not. She's not in her twenties and that's that's lovely. You know, she's she's in her fifties and it's that this character needs to be in there. You just ahead of the experience, to be able to be pose, poised for what they're about to do. But I could see American TV pushing all of that out of the window to have a younger actress in the role and just be like, Oh, well, she was such a great firebrand. Just tore through everything and she's on the top already because she's just so good. Whereas British TV is fine with Hey, she's an older woman, and that's the kind of character we need. So we're going to cast an older actress, and I I like that about British television. It's definitely much more realistic in that sense, you know?

spk_1:   17:57
Yeah, you're right. I mean, one of my favorite shows are Vera. Brenda Blethyn is absolutely blinding in the show. And of course, she is an older actress, and ah, and and I couldn't see anybody else like I don't want to accept anybody else in the in the roll off. Vera. Then Brenda Blethyn.

spk_0:   18:24
Yep. So I like that. Props, props to the Brits for that.

spk_1:   18:28
Yeah, yeah, let's go ahead. And we've mentioned dropped a couple of names in terms of of the cast. But let's go through it a little bit. So there's a few people that I recognized and there's a few people that I've never seen before or or are earned that we're not recognizable to me. So was it Sarah Parish has a name of course. Otherwise she wouldn't be. You know, Bancroft, but this dude Ryan makin theguy that plays Danish. He's been in a lot of movies and in series that I've seen, but I can't I can't remember him for the life of me.

spk_0:   19:19
Hey, I haven't seen anything that he's been in on. The funny thing is to me, I kept thinking, I've seen him in something right, But it's It hasn't been any because at least what's listed here isn't anything that I've watched. You know, I didn't see game of Thrones, and so I didn't see the state, so I'm not sure I didn't see Temple. I'm not sure where I'm thinking that his face is a familiar from, but I enjoyed his performance. I think if I can,

spk_1:   19:51
if I remember correctly in game of Thrones he was we would have been one of the on sullen, you know, the crew that the nearest star, Gary, and had these dudes that were like former slaves. And they cut their junk and shit in just, you know, train them to fight or whatever. But I really like you said the face seems familiar to me. I just can't figure out for the life of me where I've seen that do it show. We're gonna leave it at that. Adam Long, Adam Long, who played Jo Bancroft, is another face that I seem to recognize, but more show on the first season. Then on, to be honest with you on the second season, actually thought it was another actor altogether because you grew a beard in the whole thing. Any?

spk_0:   20:47
Yeah, he definitely changed. He was. He was actually in Vera as poster child in 2013. He would have been a kid then, I guess, And he was in the 13th tale, which I watched that movie, but I didn't recognize him at all, but he kind of has a look of other actors. I feel like like, sort of I don't know, He has that Norman Bates

spk_1:   21:13
look going on. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right. The Norman Bates kid, That is exactly rather is a is a and, um, the same thing with Lee Boardman Lee Boardman is oh I've seen this guy. He's got the Lee Boardman has the perfect That guy from from that thing face awe always talk about

spk_0:   21:40
because, you know, you know, this

spk_1:   21:42
is a dude that you said and you've seen him so many times, but can you can you put your finger on what you've seen on? I don't know. Do you remember

spk_0:   21:51
anything? No, I don't. I'm looking at his, uh, his bio. And I'm like, Oh, I've seen that. I'm seeing what I have said he was in that. Nope. That's

spk_1:   22:05
funny. But they did cast to quite a few people that had one or two appearances on game of Thrones on this show. For some reason, because Faye Marseille also was on game of Thrones for at least five out, off 10 episodes on one season. And for for listeners who watch game of Thrones, Fay Marseille was, the character that was in the temple off the faceless God and she was blind. And she I had this very skillful fights with Aria and kept telling Aria, Who is the girl? And Aria had to say a girl is nobody or something like that. So that's Fay Marseille. Have you seen a series on stars called the, well, There's like several of them. The White Queen, the Red Queen, other white princes, the red princes. And now it's come to the Spanish princess underneath you. If you've caught any of those Jocelyn,

spk_0:   23:19
I haven't watched any of them. I'm aware that they exist.

spk_1:   23:23
All right, so I think Fay Marseille was on the White Princess. No, the white queen.  There's a white queen in the Red Princess or something like that, because it's just It's every seriesis different, but it's still about the same families, right? And so Fay Marseille was also on on on that one. He she

spk_0:   23:57
has a very interesting face. Yeah, she has a very interesting face. A very interesting facial expressions.

spk_1:   24:05
This is when I see her. I see like an eternal child like face But A very pensive in serious kid, you know, that's that's the interesting face that I see like she can stare at you and give you this look in you like look at her, Just so cute. But I know I'm in trouble, you know, like she's mad at me. She's mad at me. But you know, she's so cute. I could Hey,

spk_0:   24:45
I can't take it seriously But she's mad.

spk_1:   24:51
And Charles Babalola we're having seen this guy and the guy who played Andy Bevin because he was giving me some serious vibes. Off off Danny Hunter from Spooks from MI5

spk_0:   25:09
He was in Broadchurch. You know he played Chazz the Cook.

spk_1:   25:17
Okay, I saw Broadchurch about six years ago, so.

spk_0:   25:25
He was in Black Mirror to a couple episodes of Black Mirror looks like, but on that they they pulled a lot of actors from Black Mirror as well. It's game of Thrones because I've seen a few people with a black mirror on their on their their bios.

spk_1:   25:43
Yeah, It looks like they have the same little pool of factors, because Black Mirror figures with more than one actor there. As you said, Game of Thrones figures on more than one actor there. And that little just little shows that I told you from stars of the princess Blah blah, blah white and red And cause Charlotte Hope, the girl that played Annabelle Corners. She is currently the Spanish princess. She's playing Katherine off Aragon on the Spanish Princess. Okay, Yeah. Yeah. So there's that Shamim Ahmad, the lady who played Mrs Kamara. I I was kind of sad when she got terminated on the show because I felt like she was I wanted her to be a bit more of a thorn in Bancroft's side, you know?

spk_0:   26:40
Yeah, I agree. I agree.

spk_1:   26:43
She kind of looked like she could take on fucking Bancroft. That's what I wanted, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah, but that that didn't happen. And I don't know, but I didn't like Annabelle Corners character that that character's sort of  felt a lot more cliche than I expected. And I was like, a like, for fuck's sake. Yeah, I wasn't I wasn't really, really happy with that with their character. Oh,

spk_0:   27:19
yeah. I can't say she was my favorite. Neither.

spk_1:   27:22
Oh, then that you know, everybody else did. Everybody did great in the show. She snitched, right? Yes, yes. So snitches get stitches. So so that's cool with me.

spk_0:   27:46
Yeah, uh, doctor who fans will recognize her. She was on the Sarah Jane adventures when she was Ah, little one. And she was recently in a doctor who episode, And, uh, she was actually in bodyguard. Um

spk_1:   28:06
oh, that terrible show on Netflix. Yes, Yes, Yeah. So you should recognize her from from a lot of different things, but lovely performance. I liked her.

spk_1:   28:21
Yeah, she was dope. Huh? Amara Karan also go who played America. And she was like the forensic profiler.

spk_0:   28:30
Yeah, I liked her. The nerd. Yeah,

spk_1:   28:33
Yeah, she she was She was great. I like the partnership between her and Katherine Stevens, and but she didn't have, like, a police mentality type of things. She was more like it's a civil servant who didn't understand, didn't seem to understand the ins and out of policing. And so at some point, she cannot, you know, backed out like she she was She just wanted to just wanted out too you know, felt a bit disappointing that she didn't want. She didn't see the point where she should. She should want justice for what happened once her life seemed to be in danger. She was like, uh, yeah, you can continue doing this bullshit, but I'm out.

spk_0:   29:21
I don't get paid enough for this, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, here's

spk_1:   29:33
the thing. Um, I think from the very beginning, we've made it clear that, as Jocelyn said, this show is bats, bonkers and wack a do. Yes, but it is entertaining as hell. Yes, and it's only eight episodes over about what, 48 minutes, 50 52 minutes? Not exactly an hour.

spk_0:   30:01
A little less than an hour. It's not a huge time commitment especially, you know, for the first season, and then you can decide from there. But, uh, yeah, it's It's like I said, Tiger King is evidence that that everybody seems to want bats and bonkers and wack a do. So Here's another another one to throw in your repertoire.

spk_1:   30:24
Yeah, we'll take. That would definitely dig that, Um, so we recommend it. We're not going to give it five stars because I don't I don't think anybody in their right mind is given the show. Five stars. Um hey, it gets at least a 3.5. Almost four.

spk_0:   30:45
Yeah, and I give it a solid three. A Solid three

spk_1:   30:48
for sure. I'm with you JoJo. Oh, I'm with you. Before we go, I wanted to say I was It was refreshing to see Linus Roache there in a couple of episodes. This dude, that a lot of people would have not imagined that he was actually British. Because when he came to law and order, he was so good with his little Midwestern American accent that you could have bought that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he, uh, he was good there.

spk_0:   31:31
Yeah, he is good. And he so many Brits air good with their American accents. So much more so than the other way around.

spk_1:   31:39
Some of when they're terrible, they're terrible. Oh, when they're out

spk_0:   31:43
there, when they're bad, they make your teeth hurt.

spk_1:   31:46
Oh, my God. Yes. You know, I've been binge watching MI five right the spooks show from early two thousands. And I was telling Christine, you know, like we've talked about this before. That man, when some of these British people are making are doing a terrible American accent. You just want to just crawl under the bed. You know, I saw a lady on M I five playing from, you know, fanatical evangelical lady from Arkansas in my God. That twang was so bad, it had so much molasses in it. I like one minute she sounds like she's from South Carolina. One minute she sounds like a - come on. Just pick an accent already. He was bad. It was

spk_0:   32:41
bad. I know so many people seem to think that a Southern accent is easy to do and it's It's It's not I mean, not if you want to be authentic and regional. I mean, sure, anybody can throw in some y'alls and draw a little bit, but I mean, Arkansas sounds different from Texas. Texas sounds different from the Carolinas. Carolina sound different from Florida? Tennessee sounds different. West Virginia is all its whole little strain

spk_1:   33:09
Bloody hell.  West Virginia. Don't even get me started.

spk_0:   33:12
You've got Arkansas. You know, every everybody's different. It's It's Georgia. Georgia is different.

spk_1:   33:20
Oh, Georgia ooh Yes. Yes, yeah, yeah. You know and know every as you say not Every drawl is is actually Southern cause, like, you know, what's his name? Blake Shelton has a hell of an accent. And as soon as you hear him talk, you know, that's what The Southern accent. Hey, you know what? Is it from Oklahoma or some shit? I

spk_0:   33:49
believe so. Yeah. So,

spk_1:   33:51
yeah, I think these actors a little bit more training and shit.

spk_0:   33:59
Yeah, there. There needs to be money spent on linguistics. Coaching?

spk_1:   34:02
Yes. Definitely. Definitely. All right. So we're gonna call it a day for today. So we recommend you to watch Bancroft is It is. It is on Amazon prime and also use you have brick box. It is also on Brit Box, which is an add on to Amazon prime. As long as you, uh, you want to go ahead and pay for it. Um, So before we go, of course, we would like to ask you to, you know, look us up on social media. We are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and also our website is kicking and streaming podcast dot com.

spk_0:   34:46
We have an awesome website. It's getting there, we've got blog posts

spk_1:   34:55
It lend itself to be navigated. I would say that, right? Yes. It's user friendly. Yes, it is. And, uh, also, you can find Jocelyn as Jocelyn podcast on instagram. And she's only instagram because she refuses to do the Facebook. Oh,

spk_0:   35:14
yeah, yeah. I'm not into the Facebook on and,

spk_1:   35:19
uh, also me. You can find me as Mr Puzzetta m r p u z z e t t a on the i g and the same for Twitter. We are going to call it a day. Whatever you're doing at this point in your quarantine we, hope you're having fun. And don't let the anxiety get to you. Oh, this too shall pass, right? Yes, that's right. Keep the faith and, uh, you know, keep your sanity and let's just get through this together.

spk_0:   36:01
Yes, yes. Watch crazy things. So So you don't go crazy. That's right.

spk_1:   36:10
We'll see you next time, folks. Have a good one.

spk_0:   36:13
Thank you. Bye.