This will be a short one, so don’t expect to be blown away. For me, writing has always been about expressing myself, and reflection. Reflection to help me understand and appreciate the experiences I have had. Lately, most of my writing has been scientific in nature, constrained by logic and reason, forcing my creative side to take a break. Does it have to be that way? I don’t believe it does. My mind has formed an artificial wall between creative and scientific writing, which is useful for some purposes, but in the process I have neglected the core of all writing. It’s all about telling a story. The tricky part can be finding that story in what appears to be an otherwise dull subject matter. If done correctly, however, it can make for more engaging experience for the reader.

And speaking of story, guess what is severely lacking in story. It’s the new series of Jonathan Creek! Barring a funny Sherlock parody in the first episode, the new series is suffering from a lack of…Jonathan Creek. He has become a meek non-magician (he’s now in advertising), hiding behind the skirts of his new wife. And his wife doesn’t even like mysteries! The episodes do have a few funny jokes, but all in all they barely do enough to sustain interest. I was hoping the 2013 Easter special would be a one-off, the whole thing revolved around a murder that didn’t even happen, but I was wrong. Being unable to finish the second episode through boredom alone, I can’t comment on how it progressed, but it’s a shame the writers have taken a great series with some really memorable characters and made it completely forgettable.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is my new favourite series and political drama, House of Cards. Kevin Spacey plays congressman Francis Underwood, Chief Whip of a newly elected administration. While he appears to be nothing more than the Chief Whip to the untrained eye, he is actually the puppet master pulling the strings for his own purposes. I’ve only seen the first two episodes, but as first impressions go, it looks excellent. Great story, script, acting, and camera work all come together to build an excellent show. It’s definitely worth a watch, even if you are not into politics.