Primetime TV Review: “Japan Sinks!”

TV Review!




The Muto family with disaster around them in "Japan Sinks!" on Netflix

Japan Sinks! 2020” on Netflix Review by Suzanne 7/9/20

This is an animated series, based on a book from the early 70’s about an earthquake and tsunami in Japan. They made a movie out of it, too. That explains the terrible title, I suppose (it’s the name of the book, too). The artwork is so good, and the story so interesting, that sometimes you might forget that you’re not watching a live-action show.

The action centers on the Muto family, who are in different parts of Tokyo when the first earthquake hits. The dad is working at a construction site. The mom is flying home on an airplane. The daughter is at a track meet in a stadium. The little brother is playing video games at home. There is another, worse tremor, and then all find each other, but they have to deal with more tragedy and disaster.

This is not a series for children. There is blood, violence, and death. For the rest of us, it’s a really good action/family drama. It’s very different from American disaster movies and books. Usually, they start with a lot of different characters, before the disaster, and then we see who survives and who doesn’t. That’s the same formula used in “The Poseidon Adventure,” “Airport,” “The Towering Inferno,” and all the rest. It’s nice to see that someone has made a disaster epic without adhering to the same formula. Check it out because it’s worth watching.

MORE INFORMATION:

After catastrophic earthquakes devastate Japan, one family’s resolve is tested on a journey of survival through the sinking archipelago.
From director Masaaki Yuasa, the project marks the first anime adaptation of the bestselling science fiction novel by Sakyo Komatsu.
Masaaki Yuasa (Director) Sakyo Komatsu (author)

An ordinary family is put to the test as a series of massive earthquakes throw Japan into total mayhem. From director Masaaki Yuasa (Devilman Crybaby), the first anime adaptation of the bestselling science fiction novel by Sakyo Komatsu, Japan Sinks: 2020 premieres July 9th only on Netflix.  Trailer

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The Muto family of "Japan Sinks: 2020" on Netflix

Primetime TV Review: “Was It Love?”

TV Review!




Was It Love? cast

Was It Love?” on Netflix Review by Suzanne 7/9/20

This is a fun little Korean romantic comedy about a woman, Noh Ae Jung (Ji-Hyo Song) trying to be successful and provide for her daughter. Along the way, she finds that she has more suitors than she can deal with. Ji-Hyo is very funny. She really made me laugh.

Although the series is light and fun, it also addresses an important social issue in South Korea. Single moms there are treated horribly by everyone and feel great shame. I didn’t know this, myself, until I looked it up. In the show, Noh is defiant about how she’s raised her daughter, No Ha-Nee (Um Chae-Young) alone, but she’s treated rudely by some people because of it.  Thankfully, she does have her mom to help her out (even if she does sometimes smack her on the head).

In one scene, her teenage daughter gets in trouble for fighting a bully. When she arrives to the school, the parents of the bully demand to speak to the girl’s father. Apparently, they have a big problem there with gender inequality, too. When Noh speaks up to tell them that she is both mother and father to her daughter, the bully’s dad tells her that she must be stricter with her daughter, so that people won’t know that her bad behavior comes from not having a father. Ouch!

Most of the show, though, is about how Noh tries to become a film producer and keeps running into guys she knew growing up. Then she suddenly has four different men interested in her, after being single for a very long time. It’s worth checking out if you don’t mind reading subtitles!

MORE INFORMATION:

There was no press release. This is from Netflix’s site: Was It Love? 2020TV-MA 1 Season  International TV Shows
When four very different men appear in her life, a single mother who hasn’t dated in years begins to rediscover love — and herself.
Starring:Song Ji-hyo, Son Ho-jun, Song Jong-ho
Creators:Kim Do-hyung, Lee Seung-jin

This is from Wikipedia: Was It Love? (Korean: 우리, 사랑했을까; RR: Uri, Saranghaesseulkka; lit. We, Were in Love) is a South Korean television series starring Song Ji-hyo, Son Ho-jun, Song Jong-ho, Kim Min-joon, Koo Ja-sung and Kim Da-som. It premiered on JTBC on July 8, 2020 and is available for streaming worldwide on Netflix.

Noh Ae-jung (Song Ji-hyo) is a single mother with a strong survival instinct who has been single for 14 years. All of a sudden, four men who appeal to her in different ways appear in her life. Oh Dae-oh (Son Ho-jun) is a bad but attractive man, Ryu Jin (Song Jong-ho) is pathetic but handsome and rich, Goo Pa-do (Kim Min-joon) is scary and sexy, and Oh Yeon-woo (Koo Ja-sung) is a flirty younger man.

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Noh Ae-jung (Song Ji-hyo) and her friend in "Was It Love?"

Primetime TV Review: “Stateless”

TV Review!




refugees i n "Stateless"

Stateless” on Netflix Review by Suzanne 7/9/20

This is an Australian show, developed by Cate Blanchett, who plays a small role as the wife of a cult leader (she sings!). The drama follows a family of immigrants from Afghanistan (Fayssal Bazzi plays the father, Ameer), who are tricked by greedy con artists. To say that terrible things happen to this poor family is an understatement.

By contrast, a beautiful flight attendant, Sophie (Yvonne Strahovski) gets involved with a cult (one where they dance a lot). She’s got some serious mental problems, which are made worse by the cult and its leader (Dominic West). She ends up swimming out to sea and gets tagged as an immigrant. In her delusions, she tells them that she’s German, so they put her in the same immigration detention center as the others. The show really tells us about the plight of immigrants, especially in Australia in the early part of this century.

These people are all brought together in an Australian immigration detention center in the desert, along with some others. It’s a compelling drama, and the acting is top notch. It’s based on a true story.  There are only 6 episodes to this miniseries, so check it out.

MORE INFORMATION:

Six-Episode Limited Series “Stateless” Premieres July 8 on Netflix
Yvonne Strahovski, Jai Courtney, Asher Keddie, Fayssal Bazzi, Dominic West, and Cate Blanchett star in the project.

Stateless is a limited series about four strangers (an airline hostess running from a cult, an Afghan refugee, a young father, and a bureaucrat trying to contain a scandal) whose lives collide at an immigration detention center in the middle of the Australian desert

Trailer

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Sophie (Yvonne Strahovski) dancing in "Stateless"

Primetime TV Review for “Ju-on Origins”

TV Review!




Poster for the show Ju-on Origins

Ju-on Origins” on Netflix Review by Suzanne 7/9/20

This is a horror show about a house that is haunted and affects the people who visit it. There are many different characters, so it’s sometimes hard to remember who’s who. There’s a writer who’s investigating the paranormal, and a young woman who kept hearing things in her apartment. It turns out that her boyfriend is haunted from visiting the house. He keeps seeing the ghost of this young woman, holding her dead baby. A young girl, who had some sort of scandal at her previous school, starts at a new school. Two girls and a guy convince her to go to the haunted house, to see the stray cats living there, but they have something darker in mind.

The show starts out a little slow, but it gets better, and scarier. The ending of the first episode is shocking. This is probably too scary for me to keep watching, but you may like it.  Plus, it’s only 6 episodes!

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JU-ON: Origins

Season premiering in United States on July 3, 2020 2:00 AM CDT

The legendary horror franchise that is “Ju-On” is set to once again shake the world as Netflix Japan sets to release its first-ever horror of Netflix Japan Original, “JU-ON: Origins.”

“JU-ON: Origins” will focus on the true events of which is the inspiring base of the story. Those are the beginning of the “curse” and give a raw look at the chain of terror that befalls all of those who come into contact with the house.

Netflix Original series: “JU-ON: Origins” (6 episodes)

Director: Sho Miyake

Starring: Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Yuina Kuroshima, Ririka, Koki Osamura, Seiko Iwaido, Kai Inowaki, Tei Ryushin, Yuya Matsuura, Kaho Tsuchimura, Tokio Emoto, Nobuko Sendo, Kana Kurashina

Script: Hiroshi Takahashi and Takashige Ichise

Executive Producer: Toshinori Yamaguchi (NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan)
Kazutaka Sakamoto (Netflix)

Producer: Takashige Ichise, Mikihiko Hirata

Music: Kuniaki Haishima, Photography: Hidetoshi Shinomiya, Lighting: Hidenori Nagata, Art: Tatsuo Ozeki, Audio: Masato Komatsu, Sound effects: Kenji Shibasaki, Editing: Yoshifumi Fukazawa, Visual effects: Hajime Matsumoto, Modelling: Screaming Mad George

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various cast members of Ju-On: Origins

Primetime TV Review: “Amar Y Vivir”

TV Review!




Amar Y Vivir poster

Amar Y Vivir” on Netflix Review by Suzanne 7/9/20

This is an entertaining telenovela from Colombia. It follows two main families: the Hererra family, who lives out on a farm; and the Romero family, that lives in the city (Bogotá). It is in Spanish, so you’ll have to read the subtitles if you’re not fluent. It’s worth it, though.  Netflix translates the title to “All For Love,” but it actually translates to “Love and Live.”  They even sing a song about it.

The incredibly handsome soldier, Joaquín, comes home from military service to help his mother, and sister Alba, on their farm. He’s not too happy to learn that their powerful neighbors have been taking part of their land and harassing his family. Their neighbors (the villains of the show) burn down their house, kill his mother, and kidnap his sister. He frees his sister, but the villains beat him up and throw him into the river to drown. He survives but learns that his sister was put on a bus to the city by helpful neighbors.We recommend buying your favorite at super low prices with free shipping, https://www.swisswatch.is/product-category/rolex/gmt-master/ and you can also pick up your order at the store on the same day.

The Romero family’s daughter, Irene, wants to be a famous singer. Her family owns a fruit stall in a market. Her friend takes videos of Irene singing and posts them to YouTube. Irene is also concerned because her father (who also plays in her backup band) is an alcoholic and gets involved with the local mob (he owes them money).

Joaquín and Irene meet in a coffee shop when Joaquin goes to Bogotá, looking for his sister, Alba. He doesn’t know that she’s become a stripper/prostitute. The love story of Joaquín and Irene is the big romance of the show.

If you like good drama, with some action, music and romance, you should watch this.

MORE INFORMATION:

A penniless country boy goes in search of his runaway sister in Bogotá, where he falls for an aspiring singer, but gets tangled up in organized crime.
Starring:Ana María Estupiñán, Carlos Torres, Yuri Vargas Creators:Nubia Barreto

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cast of Amar y Vivir

Primetime TV Review of “Quiz”

TV Review!




Quiz on AMC - The Ingrams and Tarrant

Quiz” on AMC Review by Suzanne 7/9/20

I apologize for the lateness of this review, but you can still watch this On Demand, on the AMC website or on Amazon Prime.

This is an excellent 4- part series, based on a play, of the true story of a British family, Charles and Diana Ingram, and her brother, Adrian, that kept trying to win on “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?” Matthew Macfadyen (“Ripper Street”), who’s always excellent, plays Charles, the Army Major. Sian Clifford plays his wife, Diana. Trystan Gravelle plays her “loser” brother. Michael Sheen, who is also a fabulous actor (whom I love in “Prodigal Son”), plays the host of the game show, Chris Tarrant.

The first part shows what happened from the point of view of the TV studio. We see how they come up with the idea for the show, and how it becomes successful. Then it looks like the family, and their friends, are cheating. In the second part of the series, we see it from the family’s point of view. They contend that they didn’t cheat. They just practiced a lot for the show and then won. However, since it’s based on real events, it doesn’t have the best ending.  It seems to me that these folks got a raw deals.  See what you think!

MORE INFORMATION:

AMC Announces New Premiere Date for Miniseries Quiz

AMC announced today that the premiere date for its three-part drama series Quiz will be Sunday, May 31 at 10/9c. The second and third episodes will air on Sunday, June 7 and Sunday, June 14 at 9/8c, respectively. The full series will also be available to binge on AMC Premiere beginning Sunday, May 31 at 10/9c.

A three-part drama directed by the globally renowned Stephen Frears (A Very English Scandal, Florence Foster Jenkins, Philomena, The Queen) and written by playwright James Graham (Brexit: An Uncivil War, Ink, This House, Labour of Love), Quiz tells the extraordinary and sensational story of how Charles and Diana Ingram attempted an ‘audacious heist’ on the quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 

Major Ingram (Matthew Macfadyen), his wife Diana (Sian Clifford) and an accomplice, Tecwen Whittock (Michael Jibson), who was sitting in the audience, were accused of cheating their way to a million pounds on what was the most popular game show on earth in 2001. The couple stood trial for conspiring by coughing during the recording to signify the correct answers to the multiple-choice questions posed to the Major by host, Chris Tarrant (Michael Sheen).

For more of the latest news from AMC, sign up for the Insiders Club.

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The Ingrams in the courtroom - Quiz on AMC

Primetime TV Reviews of “Trackers”

TV Review!




Trackers poster

Trackers” on Cinemax Review by Suzanne 7/8/20

This is an action drama with too many characters. I had trouble following it… a little bit. There are three main groups of people. The PBI (Presidential Bureau of Investigation) is trying to find out all they can about some terrorists that are planning something. Their main hero is Quinn (Thapelo Mokoena), who likes to ignore his superior’s orders. Meanwhile, they’re told that they’re going to be disbanded soon. A former PBI detective, Lemmer (James Gracie), who doesn’t say much, takes a job helping someone, in a shady deal. A woman gets a job at what looks like a magazine but it’s secretly some kind of spy place. I’m guessing that they’ll all intersect at some point. I think Lemmer and Quinn are probably the real main stars of the show, but it’s hard to say at first.

What’s confusing to me is that sometimes they speak in English, and sometimes in Afrikaans, and sometimes in other languages. The closed-captioning sometimes just says “speaking Arabic” and that covers up the subtitles that tell me what they’re saying. That’s highly annoying. That’s the fault of Cinemax, though, not the show itself.  Also, the name “trackers” doesn’t make much sense as a title.

If you like action shows, this has a lot of action. It reminds me a little of “24.”

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Drama Series TRACKERS Debuts June 5, Exclusively on CINEMAX

An adaptation of internationally acclaimed author Deon Meyer’s crime novel, the six-episode drama series TRACKERS, shot entirely in South Africa and debuting FRIDAY, JUNE 5 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), deftly interweaves three story strands into a sophisticated action-packed thriller that covers the length and breadth of the country, explosively colliding in Cape Town in a violent conspiracy involving organized crime, smuggled diamonds, state security, black rhinos, the CIA and an international terrorist plot.

TRACKERS stars James Gracie (“Siberia,” “The Gamechangers”), Rolanda Marais (“Lied van die Lappop”), Ed Stoppard (“Knightfall,” “The Pianist”), Sandi Schultz (“NYPD Blue,” “City of Angels”), Brendon Daniels (“Arendsvlei,” “Lockdown”), Trix Vivier (“Sterlopers,” “Waterfront”), Thapelo Mokoena (“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”), and Sisanda Henna (“Tsha Tsha,” “This Life”).

All six episodes are directed by Jyri Kähönen (“Bordertown”) and shot by cinematographer Ivan Strasburg (“13 Reasons Why,” HBO’s “Generation Kill,” “Treme”).

Executive producers, Cobus van den Berg, Tim Theron, Jonathan Drake, Robert Thorogood, Deon Meyer; executive creative producer, Steve Maher; series producer, Rebecca Fuller-Campbell; directed by Jyri Kähönen; cinematography by Ivan Strasburg;  adapted for television by Robert Thorogood from the novel by Deon Meyer; a Cinemax presentation of a Three River Fiction and Scene23 co-production in association with M-Net and ZDF.

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Trackers cast

Primetime TV Review of “McCallum”

TV Review!




McCallum on Acorn and Ovation

“McCallum” on Ovation Review by Suzanne 7/8/20

This is a British TV series from the 1990’s, but it’s very good. It’s new to us here in the US, as far as I know. You can also watch it on Acorn TV if you don’t have Ovation.

Scottish actor John Hannah plays a motorcycle-riding forensic pathologist who works in the morgue at St. Patrick’s Hospital in London. In the first episode, he gets involved with a co-worker who ends up dead. He’s married but separated from his wife. Still, she’s not too happy to learn that he had a one-night stand with this other woman. From what I can tell, he has relationships with other women in the series as well.

The police are not so friendly or great in this series. They seem to be crude and ill-tempered, and they don’t treat McCallum very well.

The series lasted for two years, which is a shame because it’s kind of a cool show.

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OVATION DEEPENS THE MYSTERY WITH ELEVEN TITLES FROM DCD RIGHTS INCLUDING SIX FILMS AND FIVE DRAMA SERIES

Featuring Matthew Goode, Lucy Lawless, John Hannah, Joanne Froggatt & more

NATPE / Miami, FL: Ovation TV, America’s only arts network, has acquired the non-exclusive U.S. broadcast rights for eleven mystery titles from DCD Rights. As part of the network’s Mystery Mornings block, the deal includes two seasons of McCallum (9 x 90’), three seasons of Rebus (10 x 90’), drama series The Code (6 x 60’), drama series Missing (2 x 90’), and drama series The Strange Calls (6 x 30’), plus six films: The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1 x 90’), The Poison Tree (1 x 90’), Bloodlines (1  x 90’), A Model Daughter: The Story Of Caroline Byrne (1 x 90’), Safe House (1 x 90’), and Venus & Mars (1 x 90’).   The announcement was made today by Scott Woodward, EVP Programming and Production, Ovation.

Set in the East End of London, STV produced show McCallum follows the life of Dr. Iain McCallum (John Hannah), a motorcycling forensic pathologist with a passion for truth and more women problems than he can handle. Surrounding him are the dedicated St Patrick’s team of Angela Moloney, Sir Paddy Penfold, Fuzzy and Bobby… close friends at the sharp end, making up a formidable body of opposition to those determined to flaunt the law.

“We’re pleased to have these mystery titles bolster our ever-expanding Mystery Mornings slate,” said Woodward. “Our audiences have responded extremely well to the international flair and artistic storytelling of mystery titles and we are happy to deliver more of this content across all of Ovation’s platforms.”

Nicky Davies Williams, CEO DCD Rights adds, “These drama titles each have strong storylines and characters to engage and enthrall viewers throughout the world.  We are delighted that Ovation has acquired them to air on their channel later this year.”

All titles set to air in 2020.

About OVATION America’s Only Arts Network

Art has the power to inspire us, elevate our thinking, and awaken our senses. As an independent television, production and digital media company, OVATION has an unparalleled commitment to the arts, culture and captivating entertainment. Showcasing a lineup of critically-acclaimed premium dramas, arts-related specials and documentaries, and iconic films, OVATION salutes innovative storytelling, lives for the art in entertainment, finds beauty in the everyday, and applauds art in unexpected places. OVATION is available to nearly 50M subscribers via cable, satellite and telco systems including Comcast Cable/Xfinity, DIRECTV/AT&T U-verse, SPECTRUM, Verizon FiOS, as well as on VOD. Through THE OVATION FOUNDATION, the company is committed to advocating for the arts, nationally and locally, and has provided more than $15M in contributions and in kind support to arts institutions and arts education.  You can follow OVATION on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, OvationTV.com, and through our App, OVATION NOW.

About DCD

DCD Rights is one of the UK’s leading independent television programming distributors representing 3,200 hours of content across a wide range of genres, including drama, factual entertainment, lifestyle, music, documentary programming and formats. DCD Rights’ catalogue contains shows from top international producers/directors and independent producers and also features classic and cutting-edge concerts. An independent for more than 30 years, the company formerly named NBDtv became part of production and distribution group DCD Media plc in 2006. Find out more on www.dcdrights.com.

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McCallum

Primetime TV Review of “Crossing Swords”

TV Review!




Crossing Swords' Patrick

Crossing Swords” on HULU Review by Suzanne 7/8/20

This is a pretty funny show. It uses stop-motion animation, similar to “Robot Chicken” on the Cartoon Network (it’s created by the same people). The show is about a young man named Patrick who yearns to leave his horrible family and be a squire to the king. Along the way, he finds that things in the Kingdom are not what he’d dreamed.

The series uses both slapstick comedy and wordplay in its humor. It’s not as gross as some of the animated shows I’ve seen today. The characters are peg people, similar to Legos. It’s not a kids’ show, though, because it does have sex, violence and nudity.

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CROSSING SWORDS
*OFFICIAL TEASER RELEASE*
New Show Debuts on HULU June 12, 2020
ABOUT “CROSSING SWORDS”: Patrick is a good hearted peasant who lands a coveted squire position at the royal castle however his dream job quickly turns into a nightmare when he learns his beloved kingdom is run by a hornet’s nest of horny monarchs, crooks and charlatans. Even worse, Patrick’s valor made him the black sheep in his family, and now his criminal siblings have returned to make his life hell. War, murder, full frontal nudity—who knew brightly colored peg people led such exciting lives?
CAST: Nicholas Hoult, Adam Ray, Tara Strong, Tony Hale, Luke Evans, Seth Green, Alanna Ubach, Adam Pally, Yvette-Nicole Brown, Maya Erskine, Breckin Meyer and Wendi McClendon-Covey.
CREATORS: Created and written by John Harvatine IV and Tom Root (Executive Producers of “Robot Chicken”). Directed by John Harvatine IV.

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Patrick and his siblings in "Crossing Swords".

Primetime TV Review of “The Woods”

TV Review!




The Woods on Netflix

The Woods” on Netflix Review by Suzanne 7/7/20

This is an interesting Polish murder mystery. Much of it is seen in flashback. Something happened  to some teens in the past at a summer camp. We see pieces of it, and one of them is a Warsaw prosecutor in the present. A body is found, and he’s questioned because the man has his contact information in his pocket. This person is one that disappeared that summer, along with his sister. He’s never been able to get over her disappearance, so this body showing up may lead him to find her.

It’s not too slow, like some dramas I’ve seen lately from foreign countries. It does a good job of showing you the characters and circumstances. It does reel you in. It has beautiful locations and lots of interesting flashbacks. What more could you ask for in a murder mystery?

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NETFLIX ANNOUNCES POLISH ORIGINAL SERIES – “THE WOODS”

Sometimes, it’s best to leave things alone because you never know what you might find…

Amsterdam, September 12, 2019 – 2020 will see the premiere of the next Polish original series from Netflix! Production of The Woods, an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s bestselling thriller of the same name, has already begun.

The six-part mystery series is directed by Leszek Dawid (You are God) and Bartosz Konopka (Rabbit a la Berlin) and was written by Agata Malesińska and Wojtek Miłoszewski. ATM Grupa is in charge of production. Anna Nagler (The Coldest Game) joined the show as a creative producer, whilst Andrzej Muszyński and Harlan Coben serving as the series’ executive producers. The Woods is another collaboration between Harlan Coben and Netflix, adding to upcoming British series The Stranger and Spanish series El Inocente.

Set in two time spans: 1994 and 2019 The Woods tells the story of a Warsaw prosecutor, Paweł Kopiński, who is still grieving the loss of his sister from twenty five years ago – the night she walked into the woods at a summer camp and was never seen again. But now, the discovery of a homicide victim – a boy who vanished along with Paweł’s sister – reveals evidence that links him to her disappearance. As hope rises that his sister could still be alive, dangerous secrets from his family’s past threaten to tear apart everything that Paweł has been trying to hold together.

“I’m so proud to be teaming up with this incredible cast and crew from Poland – and helping introduce their brilliant work to Netflix’s global audience” – said producer and writer, Harlan Coben.

Leszek Dawid, director: “The Woods is a story full of secrets – a story you will want to follow. Try as hard as you might to bury unresolved issues from the past, but one day they will find their way back to you anyway. What I find fascinating is the way the film deals with the idea of a carefree adolescence. Looking back at the time in your life when you lived your most beautiful but, at the same time, your most atrocious experiences. Learning the truth. You cannot go any further without doing that.”

Bartosz Konopka, director said that for him, Paweł Kopiński is an extraordinary character. “I would like to be as strong as him. He has been through a lot in his life – has lost loved ones and has been abandoned and betrayed – but despite this, he still manages to stay standing and keep on fighting; he has faith in other people and refuses to give up hope in them. If he can win over his own demons, acknowledge his mistakes, confront the past, seek the truth, find peace and forgive himself, then I believe I can do that too. This is the most encouraging aspect of this story.”

Michael Azzolino, Director of International Originals, Netflix said: “We are excited to announce that our second original series for Poland will be an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s dual timeline mystery The Woods. ATM Grupa has assembled a top notch team of producers, writers and directors who have created a faithful adaptation of the book while adding local nuance and specificity of character to complete a gripping tale of innocence lost and the power of redemption.”

Project financially supported by the Polish Film Institute.

About Harlan Coben

With over 70 million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben is the perennial number 1 New York Times author of thirty novels including Fool Me Once, Tell No One, No Second Chance and the renowned Myron Bolitar Series. His books are published in 43 languages around the globe. Netflix has entered into a multi-year exclusive overall deal with Coben. As part of the deal, Netflix will work with Coben to develop 14 existing titles and future projects, into English language and foreign language series, as well as films, to premiere on Netflix around the world. Coben will serve as an executive producer on all projects.

About Netflix

Netflix is the world’s leading Internet entertainment service with 151 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

About ATM GRUPA S.A.

ATM GRUPA S.A is the biggest independent production studio in Poland, specializing in feature film and series production, few of which has been distributed internationally.

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The Woods on Netflix

Primetime TV Review: “Love, Victor”

TV Review!




Love, Victor on HULU

Love, Victor” on HULU Review by Suzanne 7/7/20

This is the series sequel to the movie, “Love, Simon” (2018). That movie was directed by Greg Berlanti, who has created most of the shows on The CW. I hadn’t seen the movie, so I watched that first. It was pretty good. In the movie, Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) is a closeted gay high school boy at Creekwood High. It was based on a novel, “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.”

This new series follows a different gay high school boy, Victor (Michael Cimino) – one who is Latino and has a very religious family. Both the movie and show take place at a high school, Creekwood High, in Atlanta (not a real school). However, there are no Southern accents to speak of. That’s what happens when you cast people in L.A., I guess.  Like Simon, Victor is very handsome.

Ana Ortiz (“Ugly Betty,” “Devious Maids”) plays Victor’s clueless mom. Anthony Turpel (“Bold and the Beautiful“) plays his dorky friend that lives in the same building. Victor tries to figure out if he’s really gay or not. He has feelings for a girl, Mia (Rachel Hilson), but also lusts after Benji (George Sear), who is openly gay.

It’s a fun little teen drama. I think it’s slightly more realistic in the TV show than in the movie. I don’t know why any gay teen would be closeted nowadays, unless their parents are super religious – especially in a big city like Atlanta. The movie didn’t quite ring true to me for that reason, but the show does seem true.  Not only does Victor have to worry about his conservative parents, but he’s the new guy in school, which is always tough.  Check it out. Teens should love it.

Victor and Mia in Love, Victor on Hulu

MORE INFORMATION:

School’s back in session, so get ready for all the feels with the official trailer for Hulu’s upcoming YA dramedy series Love, Victor, set in the world of the 2018 groundbreaking film LOVE, SIMONThe series will premiere with all 10 episodes (binge) on June 19th, only on Hulu.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/uh-IaEaEdE0

Synopsis: Set in the world of the 2018 groundbreaking film LOVE, SIMON which was inspired by Becky Albertalli’s acclaimed novel, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, the series follows Victor, a new student at Creekwood High School on his own journey of self-discovery, facing challenges at home, adjusting to a new city and exploring his sexual orientation. When it all seems too much, he reaches out to Simon to help him navigate the ups and downs of high school.

The series stars Michael Cimino (ANABELLE COMES HOME), Ana Ortiz (“Whiskey Cavalier,” “Ugly Betty”), James Martinez (“One Day at a Time”), Isabella Ferreira (“Orange is the New Black”),  Mateo Fernandez, Rachel Naomi Hilson (“This Is Us”), Bebe Wood (“The Real O’Neal’s”, “The New Normal”), George Sear (“Will”, “Into the Badlands”), Anthony Turpel (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) and Mason Gooding (BOOKSMART).

The film’s original writers Isaac Aptaker (“This Is Us“) and Elizabeth Berger (“This Is Us“) serve as executive producers alongside Brian Tanen (GRAND HOTEL), Jason Ensler (“The Passage”), Isaac Klausner (THE HATE U GIVE), Marty Bowen (FIRST MAN), Adam Fishbach (“Narcos”), Wyck Godfrey (“I, Robot”), Pouya Shahbazian (DIVERGENT) and Adam Londy. 20th Century Fox Television serves as the studio.

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Victor and Benji in Love, Victor on HULU

Primetime TV Review: “Perry Mason”

TV Review!




Perry Mason on HBO

Perry Mason” on HBO Review by Suzanne 7/6/20

So far I’m liking this new series. It’s based in part on the Perry Mason novels from the 1930’s, rather than the old TV show. This Perry Mason is a disheveled private eye in Los Angeles. They do a good job of making everything look like it’s from that period. I suspect that we’ll see, eventually, how Perry goes from this scruffy war vet to the dapper lawyer that we know in the TV series….just like other prequel series, such as “Gotham” and “Smallville.”Perry Mason and Della Street

In the first episode, Perry is following and taking photos of a rotund film star (similar to Fatty Arbuckle), to see if he’s staying true to the morals clause in his Hollywood contract. He has some rough dealings with the studio when he hands in the photos of the man, having sex with one of their up-and-coming starlets (and asks for more money). Meanwhile, Perry is helping his lawyer friend E.B. Jonathan (the always-terrific John Lithgow) by investigating the kidnapping and murder of a baby. Police corruption is an important part of the show.

While I enjoy the show, I wish they hadn’t told us in the first episode who the murderer was. That’s one of the best things about the original Perry Mason and most other old cop and detective shows. We learned whodunnit at the same time as the heroes. Seeing the “spoilers,” as it were, really did spoil it for me. I’m sure there are other, bigger mysteries, but that was disappointing.

Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”) plays a preacher woman. We also get to meet Della Street (Juliet Rylance) and Paul Drake (Chris Chalk). Check it out and see if you like it.

Tatiana Maslany as Sister Alice

MORE INFORMATION:

Drama Series PERRY MASON Debuts June 21

1931, Los Angeles. While the rest of the country struggles through the Great Depression, this city is booming! Oil! Olympic Games! Talking Pictures! Evangelical Fervor! And a child kidnapping gone very, very wrong. Based on characters created by author Erle Stanley Gardner, drama series PERRY MASON, starring Emmy® winner Matthew Rhys, debuts SUNDAY, JUNE 21 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. The series follows the origins of American fiction’s most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason. When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason’s relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself.

The series will also be available to stream on HBO GO, HBO NOW, and on HBO via HBO Max and other partners’ platforms.

PERRY MASON stars Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason, a low-rent private investigator who is living check-to-check and is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and suffering the effects of a broken marriage; John Lithgow as Elias Birchard “E.B.” Jonathan, a struggling attorney and a semi-regular employer of Mason; Juliet Rylance as Della Street, E.B. Jonathan’s creative and driven legal secretary; Tatiana Maslany as Sister Alice McKeegan, the leader of the Radiant Assembly of God, preaching to a hungry congregation and a radio audience across the country; Chris Chalk as Paul Drake, a beat cop with a knack for detective work; and Shea Whigham as Pete Strickland, who is hired by Mason as an extra set of eyes on his various investigations.

The series also stars Stephen Root, Gayle Rankin, Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcón, Jefferson Mays, Lili Taylor, Andrew Howard, Eric Lange, and Robert Patrick. A full list of character descriptions is available HERE.

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Perry Mason on HBO

Primetime TV Review: “The Sommerdahl Murders”

TV Review!




The Sommerdahl Murders"

The Sommerdahl Murders” on Acorn Review by Suzanne 7/6/20

This is a Danish police show, set in the seaside town of Elsinore, but it also involves relationships between the police and their families. Based on a series of books, the main characters are Dan (Peter Mygind), a police detective; and his wife Marianne (Laura Drasbaek), a forensic pathologist, who work together and celebrate 25 years of marriage. Dan is your typical TV cop who works long hours and puts everything into his job, neglecting his marriage and family. Dan’s partner is Flemming Torp (Andre Babikian), another detective. A woman’s body is found washed up on the shore, so the detectives try to find out who she is and who murdered her. They discover she gave birth, so they try to find the baby. Marianne and Dan’s anniversary dinner is pre-empted by the investigation in the first episode.

Up until this point, I was pretty bored. It moves very slowly. Towards the end of the episode, though, things picked up quite a lot as Marianne meets an old school friend, which inadvertently (in a somewhat contrived way) gets her dragged into the murder mystery. Quite a few shocking things happen. It might be worth tuning in to the rest. There’s only 8 episodes. The writing is pretty good, and the characters are more like real people than what you normally find in a police drama.

If you want a more detailed review, go here, but it does have spoilers.

MORE INFORMATION:

“The Sommerdahl Murders” Acorn TV June 29

Monday, June 29, 2020

THE SOMMERDAHL MURDERS, Series 1 (Acorn TV Exclusive, Foreign Language, Danish, with English subtitles)In the beautiful Danish coastal town of Helsingør, Detective Chief inspector Dan Sommerdahl (Peter Mygind, Flame and Citron) is the undisputed hero at North Sjælland Police. But while he can look back at a remarkable history of solved homicides, things aren’t going as well at home with his wife, Chief Criminal Technician, Marianne Sommerdahl (Laura Drasbæk, Pusher), who feels neglected and distant from her husband. When the body of a young woman washes up on a beach, Dan and his best friend and colleague, Detective Flemming Torp (André Babikian, The Protectors), quickly determine this wasn’t an accident, and they are in hot pursuit to find the murderer and the baby the female victim had just given birth to. At the same time, when Dan finds out that his best friend is in love with his wife and the admiration is mutual on the wife’s end, these new dynamics put these relationships to the test, under the stress of trying to solve new murders and keep the city safe. (8 EPS, 2020)

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"The Sommerdahl Murders"

Primetime TV Review: “BNA: Brand New Animal”

TV Review!




"BNA: Brand New Animal"

BNA: Brand New Animal” on Netflix Review by Suzanne 7/6/20

I wasn’t sure if I would like this series, but I got hooked pretty quickly. The animated show takes place in a world where beastmen (humanoids with animal characteristics) are treated like second-class citizens by humans. The series is from Japan but made for Netflix. The heroine is a girl named Michiru, who escapes the regular world to go to a land called Anima City, where beastmen can live and not be bothered by humans. She looks like a raccoon girl, but she’s something called a tanuki, which is a kind of dog that looks like a racoon. Tanuki are featured in Japanese legends and folklore.

As we get to know Michiru on her journey, we learn that she has special powers that she uses when scared, cornered or in danger. When she gets to Anima City, she finds out that nothing she thought about the place is right. The beastmen live in their human form most of the time. Michiru, however, is unable to return to her human form. Also, she was a human teen and then suddenly turned into a beastman, whereas the other beastmen were born as beastmen. She meets up with a superhero called Silver Wolf, whose real name is Shirou Ogami. They form a friendship as they try to figure out what happened to Michiru, as well as fight crime and corruption in Anima City.

We learn that Michiru had a friend back in school who also turned into a beastman and was carted away. My guess is that both girls are the “Brand New Animal” hinted at in the title.  Perhaps Shirou is, too, since they all seem to have superpowers.

The show has a lot of interesting characters. I watch Netflix shows with the closed-captioning on. The problem with that is the CC dialogue can be very different from the dubbed dialogue. What I found very odd, though, is that, on the one hand, Michiru is very childish. She doesn’t act like a teen. She acts more like a child or pre-teen. Many times in the series, it is very loud, exaggerated and has bright colors, like many children’s shows I’ve seen. However, the show is also very violent. Shirou kills criminals in a very violent way. Remember that these are animals. In one scene, he rips off the villainous antelope or deer beastman’s antlers, and then stabs another beast with it. In a fight with a rhino beastman, he tears off its horn. Even though it’s animated, it was horrible. There is also a series of violent baseball games, where some of the beastmen fight to the death. I think it’s strange to have a show that seems very childish in many ways, yet it’s also very violent. The story is good, and it has some adult themes (no sex or anything), but it’s a strange mix. I would not recommend this to anyone under 18.

I have some friends who watch a lot of anime, and apparently, Japanese youth are more used to violence in their pop culture than our kids are, so I guess that explains it. I’ve seen a little anime before, but it never had this odd mixture of “kid’s show” and “violent action show.” If you’re an adult, it’s worth watching. The mystery of Michiru’s background and how it affects both the beastmen and the humans is intriguing. Also, I can’t wait to see whether they’re going to keep Michiru and Shirou as friends (almost like brother and sister) or develop it into something more.

MORE INFORMATION:

Morphed into a raccoon beastman, Michiru seeks refuge, and answers, with the aid of wolf beastman Shirou inside the special zone of Anima-City.

Starring:Sumire Morohoshi, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Maria Naganawa

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 BNA: Brand New Animals

Primetime TV Review: “Warrior Nun”

TV Review!




Warrior Nun

Warrior Nun” on Netflix Review by Suzanne 7/6/20

This series is based on a comic book, “Warrior Nun Areala.” The heroine in that is Sister Shannon. In the TV series, they kill off Sister Shannon, and she’s replaced by a young quadraplegic girl. The nuns battle some demons, but they manage to put Sister Shannon’s halo (which is some sort of powerful device in her back that gives her superpowers) into the body of Ava Silva (Alba Baptista), who died recently. The halo revives her, and she has to not only fight off the demons but then rejoice in the fact that she’s alive and has full control of her body.

After that, Ava finds some other young people to hang out with, not knowing that this ancient order of nuns (and a priest) is looking for her. There’s a lot of action and special effects. There are many characters, but not so many that you have a hard time figuring out who’s who. It’s a good, fun superhero show. I enjoyed it and will probably watch the rest.

MORE INFORMATION:

NEW SERIES WARRIOR NUN

Inspired by the Manga novels, Warrior Nun revolves around a 19 year-old woman who wakes up in a morgue with a new lease on life and a divine artifact embedded in her back. She discovers she is now part of an ancient order that has been tasked with fighting demons on Earth, and powerful forces representing both heaven and hell want to find and control her.

Episodes: 10

Writer / Showrunner / Executive Producer: Simon Barry (Ghost Wars, Continuum)

Consulting Producer: Amy Berg (Counterpart, Da Vinci’s Demons)

Co-Executive Producer: Terri Hughes Burton (The 100, Eureka)

NWEPs: Stephen Hegyes (White Noise, 50 Dead Men Walking)

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Warrior Nun on Netflix

Primetime TV Review: “The Baby-Sitters Club”

The Baby-Sitters Club” Review by Eva 7/5/2020


The Baby-Sitters Club PosterThe Baby-Sitters Club,  based on the book series by Ann M Martin, has been made into a series now streaming on Netflix.

For those (like me) who have never read the books, they center around a group of best friends who start a babysitting business. The show has been updated for 2020, with nods to the past — like the fact that the girls use a landline to get their babysitting job calls.  The phone is a white princess push button phone that they bought on Etsy.  The girls also want to use social media to advertise their business, but they can’t because they are not thirteen and are unable get an account.  The girls decide to use an old-fashioned form of advertising: they print fliers and hand them out in their neighborhoods.

I really enjoyed this show; it is very well-written and smart.  The girls speak like junior high girls and don’t sound too grown-up or younger than their age.  I originally watched this show because I thought my six-year-old niece might like it, but I think this show is more appropriate for kids ten years old and up… not because it has anything bad in it, but because older kids will be able to understand it better.  I think this show is great for families to watch together.  Parents will enjoy it, and so will the kids.  I think it is the perfect show for families to binge-watch together because it is a positive, happy, funny show.  I give this show 5 stars.

More Information:

Watch it at www.netflix.com/thebaby-sittersclub

THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB RETURNS!

ORIGINAL LIVE-ACTION DRAMEDY BASED ON THE BELOVED BOOK SERIES BY ANN M. MARTIN COMES TO NETFLIX

  • Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, Stacey McGill, and Dawn Schafer are back … this time on Netflix!
  • Based on Ann M. Martin’s best-selling book series, The Baby-Sitters Club is a contemporary live action original series that will follow the friendship and babysitting adventures of five best friends in Stoneybrook, Connecticut.
  • The family-friendly adaptation comes from Walden Media and Michael De Luca, who will executive produce. De Luca Productions’ Lucy Kitada will also serve as an executive producer. Rachel Shukert (GLOW) will serve as showrunner and Lucia Aniello (Broad City) will serve as director and executive producer. Ann M. Martin and Walden Media’s Naia Cucukov will produce alongside Aniello’s Paulilu Productions. There is a 10-episode order.
  • The beloved and best-selling book series is a timely story of female friendship, entrepreneurialism and empowerment. The series has over 200 books licensed in over 20 territories with more than 180 million copies sold to date.
  • “I’m amazed that there are so many passionate fans of The Baby-Sitters Club after all these years, and I’m honored to continue to hear from readers – now grown, who have become writers, editors, teachers, librarians, filmmakers – who say that they see a reflection of themselves in the characters of Kristy and her friends. So I’m very excited about the forthcoming series on Netflix, which I hope will inspire a new generation of readers and leaders everywhere,” said Ann M. Martin, author of The Baby-Sitters Club.
  • “For generations, young people have been captivated and inspired by the enterprising young women of The Baby-Sitters Club,” said Frank Smith, president and CEO of Walden Media. “Bringing this iconic series to life comes at a pivotal moment in Walden’s expansion into scripted televised content. We are honored to be part of this special collaboration with Ann M. Martin, Netflix, and Michael De Luca.”
  • “The themes of The Baby-Sitters Club still resonate 30 years after the original book series was released and there has never been a more opportune time to tell an aspirational story about empowering young female entrepreneurs,” said Melissa Cobb, vice president of Kids & Family at Netflix. “Together with Ann M. Martin and the team at Walden Media, our ambition is to contemporize the storylines and adventures of this iconic group of girlfriends to reflect modern-day issues.”
  • “The entire team at Michael De Luca Productions is ecstatic to be working with Netflix and Walden Media to bring Ann M. Martin’s best-selling book series to a global audience,” said De Luca and Kitada. “These iconic books have sold more than 180 million copies to date and now, through Netflix, they will be brought to life in a new way for audiences in over 190 countries.”

De Luca recently was nominated for a PGA Award for producing Ben Stiller’s award-winning Escape at Dannemora. De Luca was Emmy-nominated for producing both the 89th and the 90th Academy Awards.

About Netflix

Netflix is the world’s leading internet entertainment service with 139 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

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The Babysitters Club

 

Interview with John Savage

TV Interview!




John Savage Emmy picture

Interview with John Savage of “SEAL Team” on Lifetime by Suzanne 7/1/20

This was quite a fun interview.  John is being considered for an Emmy nomination for his recurring role as  Emmet Quinn (Sonny’s father) on SEALTeam.  He is quite a character and very interesting to chat with. He’s had a long and amazing career that started in “The Deer Hunter” with Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep.  He went on to many great movies, such as “Hair,” “The Onion Field,” “Godfather III,” “Do the Right Thing” and a lot more, including many TV roles. My favorite was his role in “Dark Angel” as Lydecker.  I hope he gets the nomination and wins!  We had an amusing chat.

Here is the audio version of it.

John: I’m glad I reached you.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: I’m kind of excited about coming to be able to just express my feelings. What an honor it is being considered for an Emmy, as a guest [performer].

Suzanne: Yeah, that is awesome. That is wonderful.

John: Yes.  The show has meant a lot to me. They are one of the things I have kept looking for was just to see some contact with their home life. When somebody goes back man or a woman he has officers back to Camp. There are leaders and experience back at this camp in the middle of, I forget, Pakistan. I have got a lot of my friends have been sitting service in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Vietnam and second world war. Some of them are up there in age and get they have gotten that supply for years. They have been acting with others in recovery for veteran activity and also in their community and Korean War. Let us not forget the Invisible War.

Suzanne: That is right.

John: A lot of people and that is what this show has done. It has got people, it has put people in the service, home.

Suzanne: Right.

John: And I just see the interplay on this camp between a team that has been around, the middle of these people have not hit the age of 30, yet. And they have been there for ten to fifteen years or at least in the back of duty-

Suzanne: Okay.

John: And you see their interplay with newcomers, like my son and I show, AJ Buckley here was shiny coin and understand that every coin. He gets ticked off where … some new guy starts laughing at the situation like, “You guys. Hey. How you been you little one out. Do not worry about it. You got to be always some smack”. You know, you are talking down to me because you cannot predict the future. You have got to stay prepared. I mean, somebody comes along and offers a back rub or another way for him to make a lot of money by doing his old trade. It is going to be a tough decision for him, you know, and human beings have a lot of trouble in a lot of our lives just being. And the difficulties we are facing in our country today. Demand what this team shows, is working together, working through the differences

Suzanne: Right.

John: When somebody comes back from active duty away from the team and away from camp and it has been difficult. Maybe he lost his partner, a sniper, what is these issues even with others and he wants to stay by himself and sit in the corner is he has got a team around them. I got to shake it up either I shake him up, they are going to talk to him, they are going to hold him, they are going to let him stick his swing at them, you know, they are going to move through this because they can not isolate, they have got to keep working together.

Suzanne: Right.

John: And the people around them understand that, you know, the people who have been in act of duty, the going through the issue of dealing with outside directions coming in and like, and the feeling like, I had as a little tiny boy about my dad’s experience in recovery and you know, he went through losing a squad as a tough six-footed gunner in the Marine Corps in the court Guadalcanal and anything wrong with guys he did not know who  … one service in Europe and at that point, my life, it was his young men to all of being at home to me, the next four or five years old. Dealing with recovery after service in North Korea, you know, I know women who had dealt with the first world war as children and this excitement of success. They were going to the two extremes. The government was absolutely helping, these people are broke, they were broke for a long time. My family, the community still we are living. If you could, If you could have get somebody find a kid. My dad’s life is a number of all moments who had a basketball, you know, if the key was not to share it you still think, you know, you play, you play with that ball,

Suzanne: Right.

John: And you are going to places where people like to play. Baby, they were different color, baby you argue, baby you fought over a rough play, Maybe you do it, but you played basketball. My dad was a freaky with like six feet tall at one thirteen or fourteen. But you know, I see a lot of more-

Suzanne: Right.

John: -kids on a street corner hanging out at one kid who is sixty, sixty-five and he is thirteen, fourteen years old.

Suzanne: Yes,

John: My dad commemorated here walking into when we finally got to have a house and live it. Which was government-

Suzanne: Sure.

John: -Do not make it sound a major cooperative, corporation getting a tax break.

Suzanne: Right.

John: And he had GI bill, so even though no work was available and he, but he would get up and see to the people in the community, men who serve them. He physically brought me to visiting the kind restaurant. It has only two tables in that place. I only thought decorations but it was a man who served in American forces and he was Italian and had family in Italy and I learned all this as I was growing up.

Suzanne: Okay.

John: You know, he introduced himself to manhood, served and they were willing to talk and share their experiences and these guys would get in the corner, usually in town, at our house went high. With the leather cut, Blacksmith Road, and I could not figure out what they would never hear any dialogue. You know, what are you talking about? They’ll kind of crunch together but they were supporting each other.

Suzanne: Right.

John: With a drink in their hand, you know, drinking was the thing, they were quiet and usually peaceful, strong men. Unless, they were dreaming nightmares at night like my dad. And again, you know, Rhythm women respect him, but they would not want to usually went to college. And that whole idea of opening schools up to men who lived close to Adelphi University or that gratitude and my daddy got the plan of basketball team.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: To do not fly-.

Suzanne: That is great.

John: We could all of the basketball games in Adelphi. As he grew up, he got a car, you know, there’s a GI Bill, you made it clear.

Suzanne: Wow.

John: You know, you can brag about new brand new Studebaker, you know, that car was four hundred dollars, you know,

Suzanne: Oh, you will not back down. Yes.

John: That car is four hundred dollars and they see my mama told me years later while that house we bought in Levittown with the help of the GI bill was five thousand dollars. And it might have even been less but those houses were tiny little boxes, right? No songs and my generation from Pete Seeger and other brilliant, not now, I am listening more to those songs on the radio.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: Called the Graham Station, you know, wow! these guys still some of them are still around. I know women and the songs are beautiful like they were then and you know, the idea that we look at those places that were you know, as a kid, I loved it for me, it was heaven. But can I start hearing, you know, the criticism of these areas, you know, too close together. Looking there now and I know those trees that grew that we planted, covering the houses. You can not see the houses for the amount of growth that –

Suzanne: Right.

John: There is few and I have not been there a long time but I was. Twenty, thirty years ago, I went through to go to the hospital I was born in, better Brooke hospital, to just do some kind of a meeting with others in my programs and oh my God, it is still a shame that hospital. Guys are not  …

Suzanne: Yes.

John: Guys have been more maybe ten bucks. Wanted to, you know, rejuvenating something on new machine, you know, but it is still the same and for me. I remember eating being born here, you know, for some storage, my mom told me.

Suzanne: All right.

John: An isolation, isolated because I had, you know, weak lungs. I was very premature. My twin died, sister.  … Tough. Name is John when he would be paid but then the issue having polio in there.

Suzanne: Oh right.

John: That came around the fifties, I was weak. Everybody have one look like a fool. But I was paralyzed. What is it had the flu my buddies all my age had the flu. No, it was not a flu.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: I did not even make they called it the flu at that time. I remember the words right, but I ended up being paralyzed and I could not breathe. And my joy, I found happiness because I had to. Being stuck in that iron lung. I could read-

Suzanne: Does today, sir, does today’s pandemic remind you a bit of that time? Yes.

John: Deeply, deeply, deeply, fear is a false evidence appearing real. We have fear in many things today. Where is the reality?

Suzzane: Yes.

John: How we adapt, how do we accept certain things? How do we accept the danger of others or of children being in communities or rooms or other areas that they may not even get sick, but they do and they do, they do get very sick. I mean, I have family members who are in COVID hospitals-

Suzanne: Really?

John: -to working as nurses or service. They are there holding the hands of dying people. They have been with other activities and these children that are sick. The courage because they have no energy-

Suzanne: Sure.

John: -but I feel like I am burning up from the inside out. I barely can get those words out-

Suzanne: Yes,

John: -that night they died.

Suzanne: Well, let us hope they get the vaccine like they did with polio.

John: Well, with the fathers of a lot of my buddy who got polio, one man was a psychiatrist, a wonderful man is helping me and my mom with the therapy because I was a premature kid and had issues with things and physically, mostly. But the, he had crippled and he had to wear the braces on his legs.

Suzanne: Right.

John: What will it sound, doc [?]. Well he has not called me or you will be all right, you had a different form of childhood polio you will get to, you will be okay. I didn’t, I didn’t, I didn’t really believe that-

Suzanne: Right.

John: -and then you know, within a year or two, he died, sort of the other father. What is this disease? We do not know.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: You can not tell me there is no more different diseases out there waiting, you know-

Suzanne: Right.

John: -we are living in a changing world. We are so gifted for so many things in this country. How do we help people in India? How do we help people in Africa? How do we do this? How do we do that? Well, if you can not go there go to a different community here.

Suzanne: Right.

John: Pick some friends. Do not try to do things by yourself, but catch some friends that think to say, well, I want buddies do not think the same way as me. All right, even women are going to sell out, “Zip it, John.”, you know, with the idea, we get together because these other ways to go. These wrecks, they put this area to this movie about this experience and what their lives were for years after service in Iraq and Iran, in or in Vietnam. It has brings us to now what they went through. It would be government relationship with friends, with family, with community, and it’s uplifting it, moving it, heartbreaking because the courage is there. The beauty of this effort among each other and these guys have the political opinion. We do not discuss whatever.

Suzanne: That is good.

John: You know, because I can get off the track. Really. Why do not we maybe do this and they have those little podcast, like I share with them and they get out of it about people’s activities and maybe this was a good well that was appropriate why could not have done this. Why do not we go help those people that cut their shocks, destroyed. Let us see what we can do. This guys can not, most of them don’t have that much money. Or tools I am actually help to move again refining the last four measures. But when I see this show, feel pain, I see what they are doing now.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: I see their activity after coming home, after we united, after dealing with each other’s issues, whatever they might be, actions, emotional, physical. Let us get things going, now. Let us look at it, now. What can we do now and a lot of that reactionary stuff, you know, it is going on internationally.

Suzanne: Sure.

John: Let us get groups together that actually, you know, fight all those people of different color or kill those people from that country. That is whatever, communism. Do this, do that. Give me a break. You know, give me a break. What can we do?

Suzanne: Right.

John: We can do what we are doing, taking one step at a time.

Suzanne: So, had you watched your team before you were on the show. I mean, did you watch them regularly as a fan?

John: Yes, as best as I could. We have had issues, my girlfriend and I. I wanted that too much, not between us but just these area of a place burned down.

Suzanne: Oh no. Oh no, no. Let me have the fires.

John: How we have to keep hiding places, work, etcetera, issue with that and I have been blessed, you know, with this show.

Suzanne: That is good.

John: And feel things for me. It made me feel like, If I die tomorrow it is worth it. You know-

Suzanne: Right.

John. -I mean what I have been doing.

Suzanne: Well, you have had a long great career anyway, but yes, this is a great capper on that, regardless, right?

John: Are you trying to tell me I’m getting old-

Suzanne: No, no. No. I was just reading through all the movies and things you have been on are so many.

John: We have to talk more sometimes. All right.

Suzanne: Okay.

John: I admire your position in this activity.

Suzanne: Well, thank you.

John: Journalism.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: Journallism. It is for me, it is a part of journalism

Suzanne: It is. Yes.

John: It is gorgeous. It is great.

Suzanne: Well, thank you.

John: My grandson who is mix race, South American. He is twenty six years old, who is very young, he has written for three of the major papers.

Suzanne: Wow.

John: He is an athlete. He is a great, fun-loving guy, most of the time. He was on the Boston Globe in northeastern, a great school.

Suzanne: He is doing better than me.

John: Huh?

Suzanne: He is doing better than me.

John: He is gonna look up to you. He has got to. You know, and now, and then he, now he is to the Wall Street Journal. He was always interested in the community with other buddies.

Suzanne: That is great.

John: They are still up together, still till now, some issues they face is part of what our world is having to deal with today about unity of people who came here from Muslim countries.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: Oh my God.

Suzanne: They go through a lot here. Yes.

John: And again, I mean, it is difficult for, are they going to be against the forest with me or against me, you know, and it is hard. It is hard for them. It is hard for us, languages different people have different dressing could be different and there was one kid in the family who was late and only behind and came over Lake from Uzbekistan in their original chechnya background forced out by Russian. They did not have any more food in those countries. After that fall wall, the Iron Curtain, I mean. They kind of, the connection to Moscow fell apart.

Suzanne: Oh, Yes.

John: And the area and effort for trying to work more maybe with connection to the Western World. Well, ninety-nine percent of those people, had no way to make connection to Western World.

Suzanne: Sure.

John: Christian Jewish and other Muslim groups coming into those areas to help with service. They bring a little food, a little medicine, a little and you know what difference that makes to their survival, you know, I have stories with people who were kidnapped. In Afghanistan I can not, and men and women and the people kidnapped and more young voice, but they were part of the Taliban.

Suzanne: All right. Yes.

John: And yet, were not connected at that time with a major leadership. They put the women on cots, they had rifles and they will make him commit for them to make connection with the Americans. Marines. Army. Who will kill them and yet, at the same time they do not want to let go of those weapons. We kept praying that Americans come quickly. And they did, they wanted their family to get more help who had no, I am not man in that area, the roads are destroyed. They need help with food. They need help with medicine.

Suzanne: Right.

John: And that is what this crew was there to do for.

Suzanne: That is good. Yes.

John: And the people as best they could. Hey, America. All over the world people may be aggravated about it. I got yelled at after a couple years working with young people in South Africa with the development of a new Union and finally one of my friends who was a native of the community there because he is always talking and he stood up and said “Mr. Savage, doing on a South African we going to handle this now.”, you know, and that was it, it was like, okay, I got you. The ups and downs is still going on but we were a team.

Suzanne: That’s good. So, you do a lot of this. So you do a lot of this outreach and helping communities and that kind of thing?

John: Well, right now, but I still have the telephone, I still have the Zoom. And my feelings, you know, I am an actor. I’m a dreamer I live with hope, I have to the opposite end of that for me finding a middle is difficult for me, you know, I get very emotional. And you know, I have to take a breath once in a while.

Suzanne: I understand.

John: I love a good script. Yeah, God.

Suzanne: So, can I ask you, do you were in four episodes of sales team, right? And do you know which one you know, which one that they are considering you for an Emmy or is it all for?

John: Well, I believe it is the last one. It is a gentle scene, over solution. I believe that no. I don’t know. I think they gave me your for to suggest which I thought and I thought it was the gentle one of reconciliation.

Suzanne: At the great, at the mother’s, at the mother’s grave site you try about that one?
John: Yes.

Suzanne: Oh, Okay. And do you know it, sorry, go ahead.

John: No, I can keep talking with the fact that I did getting attention because of this show. Even with the dialogue with these men and women. I mean the leader of the Seal team, David Boreneaz. That is always important. He is losing his sense of purpose, men died that he is trying to get to do these things. His people, his family, his guys. The commitment and service is really tough, you know. My dad had a bunch of guys from the shop. Crack. Crack Rifleman in the Marines do a much tinier than him, but they are all in their mind. They were they were white. They were very strong appreciations of Southern dialogue, some of it as gentlemen very nice, very beautiful issues of home and only black it will ever become president, the dialogue went away. They want to ignore it, some bad. You kept him okay, but that did not participate in that-

Suzanne: Right.

John: But he was the toughest kid in the group and he did not fight with them. You just brought them to the presence. And we are here and if they felt they knew that they were trained for it and believe me when a man gets that is nice someone cut his throat at night. From having called in from the army. I will name it but the you know, nobody knew when they are trained Marines. How did we know? Why is not somebody awake? You know, I do not know what they want to I am imagining that and they were a team they had to. One you people are keeping me alive because I’m keeping you alive. And that’s why we’ are here. That is it.

Suzanne: Right.

John: And he lost them and he had dreams about not making it. Not saving the people, he cared about them. But believe me, as soon as he got home his whole idea with my mom was active civil rights duty.

Suzanne: That is great.

John: Two wars. They wanted depression, have all gone through depression. Who does he go to find the best basketball players? So, you know tell me about it and the idea that when we got older and people were dating different races, but one who continue to have us her relationship and some of those women who came to help us at the house with my mom or she put you in there in her shop, these women had children. They call me now. They are still alive in North Carolina, have a shop, which my mom, they thank my mom for helping him put that together. They are working with church groups for kids and they have lost their houses in a second flood. Yeah, you know today that I can not tell you. it is just when you see these stories on TV it brings stuff back.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: Suddenly, here are in their life. She said say to me, I do not know. I do not know which goes to, they from different races and they are married. What are those children going to deal, how they got to deal with this. How are those children? She was scared. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. You know, what are those kids are eight more? All right. How are you dealing with us?

Suzanne: Yes. it’s always something huh.

John: Maybe it is better.

Suzanne: There is always something to do with her. Right?

John: Yes. Really. It is again. I don’t know what how do work and it’s come up a few times in my profession and other areas of mental health, the areas of narcissism. It is not like an accusation if it is like a lot of work. Like mental health, “Get away from me.”, witchcraft. Okay. Yeah. All right. Well, you know why people get together and play games maybe, go for a book club about poker game, sure, whatever. Why? because we need each other.

Suzanne: Yes, it is tough. It is tough right now. It is tough right now because so many people are isolated and they cannot get together.

John: There are many more, there is a list of the people have not committed suicide for military service. My last couple months is very high in the air force.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: Why? Pick a number. Mental health, frustration, no money, no job, whatever.

Suzanne: Yes. It is got to be probably pretty high in Hmong civilians right now to in the last few months people not used to being unsociable.

John: I think it is one of the coolest coolest places we have lived so far and it has got, it is an apartment building but we have got this much more area here, there is more space, more spacious and it is cheaper.

Suzanne: Good.

John: It has got a swimming pool.

Suzanne: Oh, that is nice.

John: People who are giving space.

Suzanne: That is good.

John: A lot of the apartments. They have to move out because they can not sleep at night and their ritual of screaming at each other all night long. Oh, God. Yeah, you know my girlfriend. She is right. What are they going to do to each other. “Maybe we should call the police”. I said “Well, in my experience with police activity when a couple is together like that. They actually love each other and they kill the police officers. I’m trying to help.”, you know, maybe we should just you know, both of us need to take a walk, living in a small place together. Maybe space between each other is helpful.

Suzanne: Yeah, definitely.

John: You know older cultures do not shake hands, you know, they do not go and run and hug each other right away. Out of respect, they bow from a distance because in the old days, maybe somebody hold a weapon in the other hand, you know, but that is like New York, so I am familiar with that. This is our chance we have a lot of gratitude is necessary. Thank you.

Suzanne: Right.

John: We could be we could have been dead by now. We got another chance. Give us a break.

Suzanne: For now.

John: So, I do not know. I love your laugh.

Suzanne: Thank you. Well, I appreciate it. And I appreciate your making me laugh.

John: Good, good. Well, this show might have some little rough humor to look at me. Sometimes, the craziness that we do between semi train each other and then the next up it is like a lot with men they need that senior officer, a woman now saying, you guys you two guys say one more word. I will put you both down in a break for a week or two. Whatever. Like I am going to hit the ground for a thousand push-ups. You can not leave till you finish. However, whatever the demand is they have to answer to a higher power.

Suzanne: Right.

John: They have to let go of the thinking they may still have emotions. Just gotta walk with it for a while. Let go, you know God blesses. We need, we need help a lot today.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: Yes to that. I think you do not mind being liked. Appreciate it.

Suzanne: Oh, yes. Well, thanks so much for calling me. I really do appreciate, I have watched so many of your movies and things over the years and I am only about 13 years younger than you. So I am not some young reporter in case you did not know I saw I sound yeah.

John: You know, the youth is there. That means there is something going, you know, sometimes the excited, excited juvenile behavior, right, is appropriate but when you can feel the sense of a heart, that is young and yet the consciousness of wisdom in the background.

Suzanne: Yeah. That is a good thing.

John: You have got that. You are a professional.

Suzanne: Thank you.

John: You are handling. What I consider, well, it is not a difficult role, but it is.

Suzanne: It can be.

John: Work is different.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: You know, what is it like when you get home to the failure you the same?

Suzanne: Well, luckily. Luckily for me I get to work at home. So, that is good.

John: Now you are here, we are getting to work at home. Okay?

Suzanne: Yes, I always worked at home.

John: You live alone?

Suzanne: No, I have my husband and my dog and, but I get to work at home. So, I have my own website.

John: How much does a dog help in a relationship?

Suzanne: It does help. Yes. She is goofy. And she makes us laugh and you can not stay mad.

John: I could hear every once in a while, you could schedule like a private meeting, either he goes or you go.  … your dog, you know, whatever. Exactly, I had that one bunny rabbit, I would not have gotten it but I blame her, the two of us. We saw this wonderful Latina woman, my girlfriend speaks Spanish and I get to listen to the beautiful language. Maybe, I have learned. but there are words that I forget and the woman had two baby bunnies and her little thing and she is talking to her about. Yes, and I do not know what is going on. But she is there to take two little, one little tiny bunny out and hold it, you know, we are both looking at it both are looking at each other like, you know, no, no, no, no ,no, no, no, no, yes. We bought, we bought it for a few dollars. And now that this little baby girl. Oh God, it is our baby. It is our child. Yeah, let us look into the eyes of the soul. And we know her, she knows us, and understands some of us, she will thump her foot when she hears my loud voice. And she will go under the couch. That is a violence that I watched on TV. Sometimes, same thing. Powder [?] the room and tighten another room.

Suzanne: Yes. Our last dog did that whenever he heard loud sounds whether it was us arguing or the TV or the thunder, whatever it was. He would go run in the other room.

John: All right, right, right. Yeah. Find a place, find a safe place quick. Or they want to share in the conversation, and my, little bunny, does have a small voice.

Suzanne: Really?

John: If you went to her up there when she is concentrating on something in her cage, and does not want to be bothered and I want a pair of this or move something inside, she will bite it, pull it back and growl like a lion, very straight.

Suzanne: That is strange.

John: I did not know that about bunnies.

Suzanne: I did not either.

John: Well, we gave that tiny bunny a whole head of lettuce. I gave her a whole head of lettuce, just to sit and see how, she picked it up and threw it, up in the air, this thing was two inches long, and I know you got to be careful, but not you sweetheart, very gentle.

Suzanne: That’s funny.

John: I hope I’m not pushing you to follow this.

Suzanne: What’s that?

John: I am really appreciating, you know, my chance to talk about my team that I had a time. I think it is great. And your child has called.

Suzanne: Yes. She barks whenever anyone walks by the house, so it is okay.

John: Yes. She wants to share in the community.

Suzanne: She wants to protect them. So yeah. I appreciate it. Go ahead.

John: It is my pleasure. If you have anything you would like to discuss, please call or contact my email.

Suzanne: Okay.

John: I think you have that or not. We have yours.

Suzanne: Yes.

John: And my girlfriend has been trying to just make sure that we stay in touch with all the folks that we contact on this.

Suzanne: Okay.

John: Wonderful effort.

Suzanne: Well, thanks.

John: Because we have nobody else to talk to. God bless and-

Suzanne: Thank you.

John: -in your work.

Suzanne: All right. Thanks. Good luck on your nomination.

John: I appreciate that a lot. All right, I am praying for everybody in the seal team and the real ones, too. Have a good day.

Suzanne: Thank you.

John: You are part of the team.

Suzanne: All right.

John: Take care.

Transcribed by Transcription Puppy

MORE INFO:

John SavageIt’s rare for an actor the caliber of JOHN SAVAGE, primarily known for exquisite turns in iconic films like Deer Hunter, The Thin Red Line and Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thin  to transition to television for a standout role.  But when it is a recurring role on a top-rated, critically lauded series like Seal Team (CBS, Wednesdays, 9pm). Savage jumped at the opportunity.  And now his portrayal of ‘Emmet Quinn,’ the father of devoted Seal Team character, ‘Sonny Quinn’ (A.J. Buckley), is a leading Emmy contender as Guest Actor in a Drama Series, for Savage’s emotional performance as patriarch of the family legacy and the father-son relationship is put to the test before America’s eyes.

Savage, whose career was launched in the motion picture, Milos Forman’s Hair, is credited for standout roles in numerous landmark films.  As he assumes the role of stoic and proud patriarch in a multi-arc special guest star appearance, Savage brings a gravitasse to ‘Emmet Quinn’SEAL Team who was raised to love two things: his land and his wife with equal commitment.  “When my on screen’s persona’s wife tragically passed away before her time, I poured my grief for her into the land — to the detriment and disillusionment of our young children,” says John of his Seal Team character.  Now, decades later, Savage’s ‘Emmet’ is forced to confront the push-pull relationship he has had with son, AJ Buckley’s ‘Sonny,’ for so very many years it takes the crisis of literally nearly losing the family farm to discover what truly is important in life. The military top-rated primetime drama that follows the professional and personal lives of the most elite unit of Navy SEALs as they train, plan, and execute the most dangerous, high-stakes missions the country can ask of them stars David Boreanaz, Max Thieriot, Jessica Pare, Neil Brown Jr. and Toni Trucks.

Savage’s all new episodes aired as Seal Team was wrapping its third season in April and are re-airing all summer on CBS: https://www.cbs.com/shows/seal-team/

The shows are also available on CBS All Access.

Savage’s intense focus on the subtleties of this Emmy contending role is something you truly will want to spotlight in an interview that will be one long remembered. High res series stills, background material and selected scenes (from Seal Team as well as his current critically lauded feature, The Last Full Measure with Sebastian Stan, Samuel Jackson, Ed Harris and more) are available upon request. This past week, John was cast in the starring role of the hard-nosed judge presiding over the case in a new feature film, domestic abuse drama Finding Nicole, based on the Chris Cuomo-fronted CNN doc, Inside Evil – Until Death Do Us Part which will be shooting in Michigan later this year.

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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John Savage as Emmet Quinn in "SEAL Team."

Interview with Tim Russ

TV Interview!




Veteran Actor Tim Russ

Interview with Tim Russ of “Star Trek: Voyager,” “iCarly” and many other TV shows and movies by Suzanne 6/30/20

This interview was one that I actually sought out, which is rare for me. I usually get invited to interviews via email, but lately I’ve been more pro-active and have been emailing PR reps to ask for interviews. I received an email from a new upcoming channel called The Atomic Channel. A lot of it was about Nichelle  Nichols (ex-Uhura, original Star Trek), and her work for NASA. Tim Russ was mentioned, too, as hosting a new show for the channel. So I asked them if I could interview either actor. Unfortunately, Nichols has a health condition that prohibits her from doing interviews.  They told me that I would have to contact Tim Russ directly.  I thought, “Oh, is it that easy?” Apparently it was. I found his website and emailed him.  He very kindly replied, and we set up the interview.

Make no mistake, this man is very busy, so it was very nice of him to take time out to let me interview him. He has quite a few movies and shows coming out, not the least of which is the upcoming “Where’s My Jetpack?” on the Atomic Channel, which they haven’t started filming yet.  He also has a band and a family. You will hear all about it here. I informed him upfront that I was not going to ask him a lot of “Star Trek: Voyager” questions because this site pretty much covered everything I could have possibly asked in their interview with him last week.  I enjoyed talking to him about the future, social media, music, his daughter, astronomy and more.  He’s a very cool guy. Perhaps the coolest person I’ve ever talked to.

Here is the audio version of it.

Suzanne: Growing up, you moved around a lot. How did that impact you?

Tim: Well, it probably led to my choosing this as a career because there was a lot of insecurity in terms of not knowing where you were going to be year after year. Not knowing if and when you were going to move. If you made friends, you’re only with them for a short period of time. That’s very typical to the kind of lifestyle there is in terms of working in film, television or theater, the same kind of thing.

Suzanne: Sure.

Tim: There’s a lot of uncertainty. There’s getting close to people for a period of time, and then not seeing them again after that, going our separate ways. And I think having to adapt to different situations in different places also, I think it lends itself to that sort of lifestyle, which is you’re not sure what’s going to happen next. It doesn’t bother me that much. It had an effect that was [inaudible 00:01:21] probably beneficial for my pursuing a-

Suzanne: Well, that’s good.

Tim: An acting career.

Suzanne: That’s good. When did you get interested in acting?

Tim: I was 16, in high school. I took an acting class a few times. I really liked it, really enjoyed it. Then I did a couple of musical plays in high school, same time. I got a really big kick out of that as well. So I decided to go and study it in college.

Suzanne: Great.

Tim: It was as early as I was 16. I think I was 16 or so.

Suzanne: Do you remember what musicals you did in high school?

Tim: I did West Side Story and You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown. I did those two. I also play music. I started playing music when I was about 15, as well. I was playing guitar. I was performing in bands during that same time. So, I mean, I got started in all of that stuff roughly at the same age.

Suzanne: Sure. Yeah. I was in high school musicals. West Side Story is actually my favorite musical. So-

Tim: That’s good.

Suzanne: That’s a great one. I saw that you did some graduate theater work at Illinois State University. Did you graduate there?

Tim: No. I went to Austin, Texas. [inaudible 00:02:30] University, four year school. Bachelor’s degree down there. Then I went and did some postgraduate work in Illinois State University, on a scholarship. I didn’t stay there more than a year, about a half. Then I came back home. I didn’t get a Master’s degree. I just stayed there for a short time and came back home.

Suzanne: Okay. I got you. My husband’s a professor and we’ve moved a lot. We were there two years at Illinois State, so that’s why I asked.

Tim: Oh, okay. Yeah. It was all right. I did a show when I was there. I did a play and then the rest of it was just classroom work, mostly. It wasn’t as fulfilling as it was in Austin when I was pursuing my Bachelor’s degree. That was a much better college because it was a lot of hands on.

Suzanne: Right.

Tim: [inaudible 00:03:18] University is not so much hands. There’s a lot more theory and class work. It was all right but I wasn’t that interested in doing it. So, I could have possibly stayed longer and done… I would have had to put in another semester or a year, something like that to try to get that degree but I don’t know. At the time, I didn’t feel it was necessary.

Suzanne: Well, I had no idea that so many famous actors went through there. It’s amazing.

Tim: Yeah. There’s a few that have gone through there. Looking at it from the timing standpoint, it might’ve been… if I hadn’t left when I did and then moved to Los Angeles when I did, I don’t know if my career path would’ve been the same. I might have missed the career path. It’s very possible that I would not have done what I’ve done now. I don’t know how it would have turned out. That would have been an alternative universe for the story because I have no idea if that would have hurt me or helped me staying longer there then moving to California and maybe not moving to Los Angeles when I did it. I don’t know. I don’t know how it would have worked out.

Suzanne: It’s hard to look back on all your choices in life and try to second guess them because you just don’t know what would have happened, right?

Tim: It’s impossible.

Suzanne: Yeah.

Tim: It’s impossible to do other than looking back. Yeah.

Suzanne: Yeah. Now, you’ve had a long career in many types of shows and movies from sci fi to comedy to soap operas. Do you have a favorite genre?

Tim: It depends on the circumstance. I like doing sitcoms because you have, in many cases, a live audience. They’re a lot more exciting and thrilling, adrenaline pumping than doing… and its immediate feedback [inaudible 00:05:21] stage than doing straight film and television in terms of single camera. So, the genre doesn’t really matter that much other than I would enjoy doing, period pieces or, in terms of films, action pieces in terms of films, things like that would be a lot of fun. They’re a lot more of a challenge to me. In that regard, I have enjoyed doing those types of projects. Sci fi is fine. It’s interesting. It could be fun and kind of challenge as well, as the genre for a type of film to work on. In those respects, yes. Film, television, if it was standard stuff, it would be action and sci fi, period pieces. And if it was comedy, sitcoms would be great or television as well for those students. Stage is always fun just because, why? I would enjoy doing those genre in the [inaudible 00:06:25] that they’re in.

Suzanne: Is there any type that you haven’t done yet that you would like to do?

Tim: I haven’t done a lot of period stuff and that’s what I would like to do. I haven’t done hardly any period pieces. Most of them have been contemporary or science fiction feature pieces, but not in the past, half period pieces. I would love to do something like that. Have not have a chance to do too many. I’ve done maybe one or two.

Suzanne: Well, I think you’d probably have to move to England to do something like… They seem to do a lot of those over there.

Tim: That’s entirely possible. That is entirely possible. I’ve done a Western, which was a kick. I’ve done… Let’s see, late 1800s. I’ve done a couple of pieces in the late 1800s that were pretty interesting, that were different, but literally only a couple. Not many more.

Suzanne: Tell us about the show, Where’s My Jetpack?, on the new Atomic TV channel.

Tim: Well, I haven’t done that show yet.

Suzanne: Oh okay.

Tim: It’s on the slate of stuff that they want to do on that screening thing that they’re putting together. I have not done that. I haven’t spoken to them in a long time about how that’s going to be. It’s going to be some kind of TV talk show format, and it’s going to be a show based on futurism. Based on where the future might lead us, what we might have in the future, where it might go and what we have now compared to what was projected, decades ago.

Suzanne: Cool.

Tim: That’s the concept of that show. We haven’t actually filmed or taped any of that yet.

Suzanne: Okay. I wasn’t sure from the description of whether it was going to be a regular thing or it was a one time thing, so it’s going to be a regular thing?

Tim: I think it’s supposed to be a regular thing, semi-regular. I don’t know how many episodes they’re going to do. [inaudible 00:08:29] having different guests on every time they do it and it might be once a month or something like that, that they actually put a show together and put it on. That’s probably what the schedule will be, once a month. Then they’ll run that for a while and then do the next one and run that one. Or it might be every two weeks. I have no idea because they haven’t actually gone into production on that yet.

Suzanne: Right. Well maybe they’re waiting to see what happens with the whole pandemic.

Tim: Yeah. Yeah. There is that isn’t there? Really nagging and annoying pandemic.

Suzanne: Yeah, I follow you on Twitter. So I see all your tweets.

Tim: Do you?

Suzanne: You’re active on there.

Tim: They come in waves. I think there was a wave last night and this morning. Yeah. I don’t know. That’s kind of been my outlet here of late, rather than trying to do a podcast or anything like that. People keep wanting me to do podcasts and [inaudible 00:09:41]. That’s seems like a lot of work to do all that. I almost want to say to myself, “Who cares?” I rant about whatever it might be, the subject. Who’s going to care whether I got that going on or not. I mean, it’s just setting up a microphone and blabbing for half an hour, about whatever. I just don’t see that as being that big a deal. Whereas, the Twitter, I can just put those out in the soundbites and pretty quick and I can post things that people have sent to me, just pass them along. That’s cool, relevant. I do that. I think it’s an important forum. I mean, we were discussing the most important issues in the country.

Suzanne: Right.

Tim: Via tweet, now. I mean, they’re [inaudible 00:10:38] via somebody tweeting, including the leader of the country who is using that forum. I mean, that’s never been done before, along with a myriad of other things that haven’t been done before. So, if everybody’s wanting to be on board and do it, since I started using it, there’s been quite a response in terms of followers. I was not aware that would happen, but apparently it has.

Suzanne: Oh yeah.

Tim: Yeah, yeah. It shouldn’t matter whether or not I worked on a television show or whatever I’m into business. It shouldn’t matter.

Suzanne: Right.

Tim: What I post on their in terms of that. It generally isn’t that. I don’t usually talk about anything that has to do with Trek. It’s usually politics and social issues that are happening and anyone should be on top of and aware of and tuned into what is happening.

Suzanne: Well, probably people read what you say and they decide whether they want to keep all… if they’re just interested in Star Trek, they’re probably not going to keep reading what you say. You probably have gotten people more interested in the subject.

Tim: Yeah. I’m thinking it’s the case. I still get a lot of Trek stuff on there. People respond with Trek stuff, which is fine. I don’t mind that. It’s just, if they’re also getting a dose of what’s happening and what’s going on and becoming aware of, and maybe even passing that information on and talking to other people about it, getting a discussion going. Even if it’s just getting a discussion going, that’s a good thing. Just to get people to show that they’re aware of it. I’m not talking about… I don’t tweet about sports. I don’t tweet about the Kardashians. Tweeting about stuff that’s actually really relevant and important. If people can get on board with that because, if they’re asleep and one day they wake up and they don’t recognize anything and it’s going to be too late by that time to be aware of stuff.

Suzanne: Now, have you… I forgot what I was going to say. Oh, sorry, I lost my train here. You had a lot of interest in astronomy. Are you still doing that?

Tim: Absolutely. I post stuff on Twitter. I post the images that I take on Twitter and on Instagram and Facebook as well. I’ve been doing it for 35 years. I own about seven or eight telephones. I’m actually an ambassador for one right now. Sort of a rep for a brand new one, that I’ve been imaging with, lately. It’s Unistellar EVscope combination, their name. It’s really a nice piece unique to the astronomy in that it sort of merges across the line between an optical telescope, one that you could look at through the naked eye and see objects and a camera. You’re basically combining both of those elements into one piece where you can still look at the object through the eye piece. Yet, you can also image and download the object that you’re looking at to be able to send it to other people so they can see it as well-

Suzanne: Oh, that’s nice.

Tim: Outside of the telescope. That’s what that’s for. It’s pretty cool piece.

Suzanne: Do you post those on Instagram, the photos?

Tim: Oh yes. I post the photos on Instagram and Twitter. Go on my Twitter feed, they’re all on there. Have I don’t know-

Suzanne: Okay. I have to go look there.

Tim: Seven, eight, 10 on there. I just posted some recently. As a matter of fact, last week I posted some more. So yeah, they’re on there and it’s a really sweet piece of equipment. I use the other ones as well. They’re optical. I look at planets, the moon and all that kind of stuff. I’ve been doing it for, I guess, up to 35 years. I know it’s been past 35.

Suzanne: There seems to be a renewed interest now in space travel. Do you think we’ll ever move to other planets or travel the stars?

Tim: Yeah. We will eventually do all of that. We’ve covered this globe by exploration and also by migration. As a species, I think we’re destined to do the same thing in space. We will evolve physiologically. We will develop technologies that will allow us to make that transition. That’s a tough transition because we’re not designed for space. Not by any means are we designed for space. It’s been one of the most hostile environments you can imagine. We will have to adapt. That’s what we’re really good at. We will adapt our environment space and we will adapt ourselves physiologically in space, as well.
We will eventually, genetically evolve to a point where we can survive or live on another world, perhaps breathing another type of atmosphere perhaps, and dealing with a lower gravity and things like that. We will eventually evolve to the point of where we can live anywhere. Space travel will… It’s already started. It’s not going to be any stopping it. It’s going to happen.

Suzanne: Good.

Tim: So, yeah. It’ll be fascinating to see it starting and really getting going in my lifetime. [inaudible 00:16:37] and my daughter certainly witness the changes and things like that. Yeah. It’s going to happen.

Suzanne: That’s good. I like that positive Star Trek type of vision for the future, rather than so many… there’s so many negative ones out there, now. I guess, because so many bad things are happening in real life.

Tim: Yeah. Yeah. Well, being earthbound is, that’s another challenge in itself. What remains of earth, people who are [inaudible 00:17:04] and staying on earth is going to require revolutionary, heavy lifting as well. We have to figure out how we’re going to deal with ever increasing population and depleting resources and the waste generated and the effects on climate, et cetera. We’re going to have to deal with our home planet, almost in the same way. We will be dealing with our gene cells genetically and modifying ourselves, genetically. We will be eradicating disease. We will be not having to suffer pandemics. We will be resistant to all kinds of things. We’re doing it with plants, now. We’re going to be doing it with people as we go along. Injuries and recovery from this and fixing physical issues, occurring.
It’s all going to change. That I think is positive. It’s very positive, but at the same time, we have to deal with the size of our population and the food and water that we have to keep everyone alive. And also, the whatever quality of living there may be for 8 billion plus, whatever comes out to be people. That’s-

Suzanne: Right.

Tim: That’s the challenge that we have here on earth. We will have to apply the same technology, the same type of innovation and invention by those brilliant minds to come, that will have to deal with solving those problems and those issues in a collective effort by nations and nations leaders to put the priority of humankind and people, families first over everything else. Material wealth, for example. [crosstalk 00:18:53].

Suzanne: Well, I sure hope that does happen.

Tim: Yeah. That’s where we’re going to have to head.

Suzanne: You mentioned your daughter. I know she’s acting as well. Did she get your love for astronomy?

Tim: Does she what now?

Suzanne: Did she picked up your astronomy interest?

Tim: Oh, well, did you say is she interested in Astronomy? Or did you say is she interested in the career? I missed the last part.

Suzanne: No, I said, I know she’s acting. Is she also doing astronomy? Does she have that interest?

Tim: Oh no, no. She doesn’t have that bug right now. She’s much more into, let’s see, her boyfriend dancing and singing and acting. She’s much more into that, than she is Astronomy. She’s still a young one and has not really picked up any outside hobbies, really.

Suzanne: She’s a singer like you though?

Tim: What’s that?

Suzanne: She’s a singer like you?

Tim: Yes, she does sing. Yeah, she does sing. She’s got a couple of recordings that are on iTunes right now and she’s still pursues it from time to time. It depends on the job or gig that might come up. She has done a number of musical plays and shows and things, and she’s a really good dancer. She actually choreographed hip hop performances with a dance crew that she has. She trying to stay up on all of that right now.

Suzanne: Oh, great.

Tim: Yeah. She’s still interested in all that.

Suzanne: That’s cool. I noticed that your singing voice is very different from your speaking voice. It’s a little more raspy. Who were your influences in singing?

Tim: Well, there are a number of influences because I’ve been listening to music for 45, 50 years.

Suzanne: Sure.

Tim: It’s been everything from back in the day with some of the super groups that existed. Fantana, Sly And The Family Stone, the rock group, Chicago, things like that. And then moving on it to, I’d say a little bit of Bruce Hornsby, Peter Gabriel. There’s been a lot of singers and bands I’ve really been influenced by. Some RnB groups and things like that. There’s stuff that I have recorded and that I did perform live is quite a variety of material. I used to… I’ve played everything from hard rock, back in the 60s and 70s, to RnB [inaudible 00:21:32] 70s. Into pop in general, top 40, which encompasses a lot of stuff. Into folk, music, guitar, acoustic guitar, solo vocal did that for a long time.
And then back into top 40 and alternative and, kind of, what I’m doing now, which is sort of classic rock. There’s old school roots music, moves and things like that-

Suzanne: Yeah, I was going-

Tim: I’ve [crosstalk 00:22:00] the entire gamut. My voice has sort of matured and sort of evolved into having a range of different styles. I use that range. So yeah, I’ll get… some of the stuff might be a little bluesy, and a little bit more gravel range. And then I can turn around and sing, Keb Mo or Eagle Eye Cherry or something in the next minute.

Suzanne: Okay, great. Yeah. I only listened to a few on your YouTube channel and it was very bluesy.

Tim: Yeah. There’s some of the stuff that’s blues based on there. On iTunes, I’ve got a wider variety of stuff on that, as far as all those songs go. There’s a whole big range of things on there. The stuff on YouTube is probably the band demo. I don’t know which one you heard. I think it might have been the live band demo. I’ve got maybe one or two of those on there. [crosstalk 00:00:23:00].

Suzanne: One was a recording. I think you were by yourself on the other one, but I’m not sure.

Tim: Yeah. I’ve got two music videos on there. One is called, We. The other one is called, Lead Me Home. And-

Suzanne: That’s the one, yeah.

Tim: They’re pretty different. Yeah. Lead Me Home. And then there’s one called We, which is more, I want to say 80s, techno pop. Completely, day and night different, from Lead Me Home, the one you listened to. [crosstalk 00:23:25] that’s on there is called, We.

Suzanne: I’ll have to check that out.

Tim: If you listen to that, you will see the difference. And then I’ve got band demos my band live band demos. Tim Russ crew are also on there. That’ll give you a smattering of the live performance and the difference between all the songs.

Suzanne: Okay. It sounds like you have quite a range. I understand because I’m a singer too. I do all kinds of stuff.

Tim: Oh, are you?

Suzanne: Yeah. I mean, I’m about five years younger than you are. I know a lot of the same kind of music. I had a band briefly, but we live in a small town now, so there’s not much of a musical presence here.

Tim: Yeah?

Suzanne: So when we move-

Tim: You sing? What style did you sing?

Suzanne: Well, I like oldies, rock and pop from the 60s and 70s, little bit of 80s. That’s pretty much… but I’ve done musicals and stuff like that. I took voice lessons.

Tim: Is it more rock? Or is it more [crosstalk 00:24:21].

Suzanne: I used to be a music major, and I took classical training, and I did that kind of music, and I was really into musicals. Then I got into karaoke, where it’s mostly pop and rock. I did that for many years and I still do that quite a bit when I can go out. Then lately, I’ve been taking lessons again and I’ve been focusing more on musicals. So it just depends on my mood. Just like you, different styles. (I forgot to mention that I was also in a band, briefly)

Tim: That’s cool.

Suzanne: Yeah. It’s fun.

Tim: The band stuff is always fun. Fronting a band is always fun. To me it’s always been a question more of choosing the right songs rather than how well it’s been or didn’t sing. I did more just getting the right tune that seems to work with audiences on a regular basis, or that seems to work with the band.

Suzanne: Right.

Tim: That’s been my experience more so than whether I liked it a whole hell of a lot or whether it was popular or on unknown or whatever. I tend to pick songs that are not that well known because I like to rearrange and do my own stuff with them. I don’t write that much of my own material because I’m personally not always in touch with all the stuff I’ve written. So I don’t usually perform it. I’d rather perform really good songs period.

Suzanne: Sure.

Tim: Good meaning, they work with me and they work with the band and they also work with the audience.

Suzanne: Right, right.

Tim: Play attractive and appropriate to the instrumentation that you have also in the setting that you have. I mean, to stand there and pound the ground and scream and holler some song out there that’s just mostly noise and not a lot of vocals, it waste of time.

Suzanne: Exactly.

Tim: My band is vocally driven. The songs have to have meaning. The lyrics got to mean something. They got to have something going on. The types of songs, the [inaudible 00:26:32] have to be a variety of stuff. My thing is about the variety.

Suzanne: That’s good.

Tim: If you listen to a 45 minute set, you’ve heard 12 different groups and 12 different types of songs, all in the same genre, same ballpark based on the instrumentation that I have. But, I want to say tasty. I want to say that they’re not going to give you a headache. It’s not some bracket or noise that I’m going to play just because I wrote it. I don’t give a rat’s ass if I wrote it, man. I just care about whether it’s a good song, man. Then, if nobody responds to the tune when I play it at three or four different gigs, then I’m going to cut it. I mean-

Suzanne: That’s good.

Tim: If I don’t get the feedback, if I don’t get a reaction from it, [inaudible 00:27:19]. If you don’t feel that coming back to you, then it’s no good. It’s just not working. I’ll dump it. To me, it’s just about, whether the track has to be right. The song has to be right. The setting you’re playing in has to be just right. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of time. A lot of people make that mistake. It’s not picking the right tune.

Suzanne: I think you’re right. I think too many bands pick, “Oh, this is easy. Let’s do that,” rather than trying to get something better.

Tim: Yeah. Yeah. The song, the tune, the song’s only got a couple of changes in it or whatever it might be. And that’s fine. It’s just that what the song is. Is it a track that works with your band? Works with your vocals? Works with the band and works with the audience and the shedding and the instrumentation that you have? If it works like that, it could be simple or it could be complicated as long as it works. I was doing one not long ago, trying to get this damn tune. I kept trying it and trying it and trying it. It had a few changes in it. It was not as simplest song in the world, but it was just not working.

Suzanne: All right. Sometimes, yeah.

Tim: It just didn’t work. It just never coalesced really.

Suzanne: Well. You never know. You come back to it later, in a few years, you might decide you like it.

Tim: No. I’ll just dump it and get something else. I’ll just replace it with something new, something different. I’ll grab something right off Shazam, if it’s a great tune. I’m going to go grab that and did that one. Nobody’s ever heard of it, but it’s a good track. Let me run that down.

Suzanne: Sure. Why not?

Tim: Not too many super popular. I don’t do super, super from… I don’t do classic pop tunes that much. Maybe a couple of them here and there, but not… well, some that are just way too popular to play live. You just don’t want to do that. Let them beat me to the ground [inaudible 00:29:18]. So I don’t tend to do that.

Suzanne: I understand I could go the rest of my life without hearing, Mustang Sally, from a band ever again.

Tim: Yeah. Wouldn’t that be something, right? Mustang Sally.

Suzanne: Oh my gosh.

Tim: Yeah. Like that. Yeah. Old Time Rock And Roll. [inaudible 00:29:32] Old Time Rock And Roll. Yeah. We’re not doing that. That goes into the wedding bands, in a pile somewhere.

Suzanne: There you go.

Tim: That’s where that belongs.

Suzanne: All right, well, I think I’ve taken up enough of your time and I really appreciate it.

Tim: Thank you very much. No worries. I’m glad you got some stuff for that. Is this going to be an article that you’re doing or?

Suzanne: Yes. Yes.

Tim: All right. Cool.

Suzanne: Well, I do interviews and TV actors. I’ve been doing it for about 15 years and I was taking classes for a few years and I graduated again. I’ve been trying to get more interviews to try to, yeah.

Tim: Very cool.

Suzanne: It’s fun.

Tim: You say the class is in Journalism? Is that what it was?

Suzanne: Yes. They were mass comm, mass media courses and I graduated-

Tim: Mass comm. Mass media. There’s a lot of mass media out there now.

Suzanne: Oh, there sure is. So-

Tim: It is a smorgasbord. It’s a free for all. That’s what it is.

Suzanne: It’s hard to get heard, even though my site’s been around since, before the turn of the century, as they say.

Tim: Yeah. Well, there’s been people writing stories about stuff that’s happening since the [inaudible 00:30:53] play tablets. The Symarians. I mean, that’s been written down since that long ago and I think they just found some [inaudible 00:31:05] that’s even older than that by a couple of thousand years. Anyway, that’s cool. That’s what it is now. All at our fingertips. We just pull it up.

Suzanne: That’s right. That’s right. Well, I appreciate it. I will send you a link when it comes out. If you could send me links to you and your daughter’s iTunes songs, that would be great.

Tim: Oh yeah. Shoot. Let me figure that out. I think they’re on… I don’t know if I have them on, they’re not going to be on the channel because I don’t have… you have to have a picture with one of the songs. The other one, she had a music video for, with a friend. This was a while back. I’ll send the one I recorded with her in the studio, then. This was a while ago. Her voice has changed since then.

Suzanne: Sure.

Tim: The other one after that she did, and she did it, a friend of hers in a studio, which is one of a dance pop tune. It’s not that great in my opinion. Somebody else wrote it and she recorded it. I said, “Ah, whatever.” I paid for the music video, to get it done but it’s kind of a bubble gum pop track. I think I’ll send Mystery to you. That’s like a regular song. It would be something for Disney radio. Disney radio, pop radio station, wherever they have. It would be something suitable for that or something. I’ll do that. That’ll be probably just, I’ll just send the link to whatever. I’ll send the track to you.

Suzanne: Okay, whichever works.

Tim: You can check the video out called, We, on YouTube, that’s on my channel. You can see the difference between the songs. That one is mine. We, is mine. Lead Me Home, is not. Lead Me Home is somebody else.

Suzanne: Well, thank you.

Tim: All right. Thank you.

Transcribed by Rev.com

MORE INFO:

The AtomicTV streaming channel is coming. Like in the early days of Netflix, Hulu and, Amazon we will compiling a library of classic sci-fi films and television shows as well as creating original content, both scripted and non-scripted.

Such as: WHERE’S MY JETPACK – An entertaining news program, hosted by Tim Russ of Star Trek: Voyager fame, who will discuss the history and current development of future technology such as flying cars and the personal jetpack.  What happened to the future promised to us in the past?

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

Back to the Primetime Articles and Interviews Page

Tim Russ as Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager


Interview with Lyndsy Fonseca

TV Interview!




Lyndsy Fonseca - photo from https://www.listal.com

Interview with Lyndsy Fonseca of “You Can’t Take My Daughter” on Lifetime by Suzanne 6/30/20

This was a wonderful interview! Lyndsy is such a great actress. She was so nice on this call, and we had a fun chat. Make sure you watch her movie on Sunday, 6pm July 7! More info below the interview.

Here is the audio version of it.

Lyndsy: Hi Suzanne.

Suzanne: Hi Lindsay. How are you?

Lyndsy: I’m doing good. How are you?

Suzanne: Pretty good. Can’t complain.

Lyndsy: Good.

Suzanne: So I’ll get right to it because I know you’re running late.

Lyndsy: Okay. Thank you.

Suzanne: You’ve been acting professionally since you were 13, correct?

Lyndsy: That’s right. Yeah.

Suzanne: And did your parents support you on this pretty much?

Lyndsy: Oh my gosh. The only reason I was able to do it. We lived in Northern California around Oakland area, and I wanted to do it so badly that they would fly me back and forth for auditions. It was really when I got the three year contract on The Young and The Restless, my parents decided to move for me. They sold their house, quit their jobs, and we all moved to Los Angeles.

Suzanne: Wow.

Lyndsy: We started a whole new life here. So they have made all of this possible. Yeah.

Suzanne: Yeah. That’s quite a commitment.

Lyndsy: It is. Yes.

Suzanne: Yeah. I used to watch you as Colleen on Young and The Restless.

Lyndsy: Oh my gosh.

Suzanne: Yeah. Yeah. I’ve been watching that show off and on since 1986 when I was in college. So before you were born.

Lyndsy: And a lot of people are still there. Yeah.

Suzanne: Some of them, yeah. So what was the best thing about working on that show?

Lyndsy: Oh gosh. It was like a bootcamp. It was so… It was the only job I ever knew, so I didn’t have anything to compare it to. We were shooting like 30 pages a day. The pace of it was so fast that anything since then has been pretty easy compared to how much lines I have to learn, or the fast paced schedule of television. I think doing a soap opera was a really great training ground.

Suzanne: Right? Yeah. I’ve heard that. I’ve heard their work even faster now. I don’t know how they do that.

Lyndsy: I don’t even know how either.

Suzanne: Do you ever still watch Young and The Restless or keep up with the people that you knew from it?

Lyndsy: I do talk to Crystal quite a lot. We keep in contact, but gosh, no. I don’t watch the show just because I have a two year old, and I don’t really get to watch much.

Suzanne: That keeps you busy.

Lyndsy: Are you there?

Suzanne: Yeah. I’m here.

Lyndsy: I’m sorry. You just cut out for a second.

Suzanne: Oh, sorry. I said that keeps you busy having a two year old.

Lyndsy: Oh, yes. Yes it does.

Suzanne: So is it the terrible twos yet? Or just…

Lyndsy: You know, I get why they say terrible twos for sure. We had… I think right when she turned two, she’s two now and four months and it ebbs and flows. They want more individualism, but they’re not quite ready to do things, and they get frustrated, and it’s just been an amazing learning experience to be a parent. I loved every… Even the challenging moments are fascinating from a psychology point of view. I love diving into a parenting book and figuring it out and understanding it. It’s so fun.

Suzanne: Okay, great. I saw that you were married to your former Costar, Noah.

Lyndsy: Yes.

Suzanne: Yes, he’s great. I love him.

Lyndsy: I love him too.

Suzanne: Yes, I know you do. He’s always good too. So I…

Lyndsy: He’s a great actor and a great father, and a great husband.

Suzanne: I used to watch your show, so I like that.

Lyndsy: Oh, good.

Suzanne: Yeah. Your other show. You’ve been on so many, it’s hard to keep track. So you’ve done so many TV shows and movies since The Younger and The Restless. What made you want to do this particular Lifetime movie?

Lyndsy: Well, I think mostly because I was impressed that they didn’t shy away from some pretty explicit and difficult things to talk about and to portray. I was impressed how they were telling a true story, and I thought it would be a great honor to play a woman who has been through so much and prevail through. Not only is a great mom and a great person, but she dedicated her life to changing the policies that were not in place to protect her. So I just was really impressed that Lifetime cared about a story like this. Tori, the director, she was so committed to telling this truthfully that I felt like I was in good hands. My experience with Lifetime after doing five films many years ago, was such a great experience as well. So I knew that it would be a good partnership.

Suzanne: Yeah. I watched it this morning. It was very intense, especially at the beginning, but it was good.

Lyndsy: Thank you. Yeah, it is intense.

Suzanne: It’s a little hard to watch in that sense. Yeah. It’s just in the wow. They did that.

Lyndsy: I know. The great thing is, is that to portray her and to shoot, it was probably only a fraction of what it was like for her to live it. So it was the least… I felt like telling the story was really important.

Suzanne: Right. Now, it first aired back in February? And have you gotten a lot of feedback about it?

Lyndsy: Yeah, I have. I think a lot of women who have been through similar situations have responded to it, and I know that Lifetime has had really good, positive feedback about people being aware that this isn’t actually a Countrywide law. Still, there’s a couple of States that don’t protect women from this situation. So I think overall, just politically and getting the word out, it’s been really a great… I think it’s been very important.

Suzanne: Yeah. I’m sure it must’ve opened a lot of people’s eyes about the laws regarding rape. Did it surprise you when you-

Lyndsy: Oh, my Gosh, totally surprised me. I couldn’t believe what she’d been through, and the fact that there were so many women that have gone through it and are going through it. It just blew my mind. It just seems like a story I wanted to tell.

Suzanne: Right. And what was the toughest part about filming the movie for you?

Lyndsy: I probably just the balance of shooting all day with such heavy material, and making sure I had time to spend with my baby. My real family at home and that balance, but it was only a month shoot, so it was something I knew I needed to fully dive into and commit to because it was going to be important. The thing that was amazing, that surprised me was Analynn, the woman I played, she was so concerned about my emotional wellbeing. She said, “I just I want to make sure that you are okay doing the subject matter.” And I just was in awe of the fact that after everything she’s actually been through, she was worried about me pretending to go through some of this stuff. I was just… It just goes to show what kind of a person and loving human she is.

Suzanne: And what did you enjoy most about making the film?

Lyndsy: I really enjoyed working with a female director, especially with the subject matter and the collective. I think just as a crew, the crew knew that this was a story that was real, and the respect that we all needed to have for one another, and have each other’s back. I think when you’re doing something that the story like this people are just there for the greater good. They’re not just fooling around and stuff. So it felt really important. I just really wanted to make her proud, and other women that have been through this, I just wanted them to feel like it was authentic and that they could relate to it.

Suzanne: And when it came to the physical scenes, did you have a stunt double or was that all you?

Lyndsy: Yeah. I did have a stunt double, and coming from Nikita and my fighting days. I did all my own fighting on Nikita. It was really not that… It was very easy as far as stunt wise, but because it wasn’t an action show, everybody was like the producers, the director, and the writers, everyone was like, no, no, no Lyndsy, don’t’ do that. I’m like, guys, I can’t do this, I swear. I’ve done plenty of stunt scenes, but they were so worried that I’d hurt myself. So I had to let the [inaudible 00:09:06]. She as great, but it’s just part of… I like to get physically involved in all of it because I just think it helps the other performance aspects of it if it’s all together. But yeah, it was emotionally draining and tricky for those certain things.

Suzanne: And had you worked with Kirstie Alley before?

Lyndsy: No, I had not. I had not met her before or worked with her, but she was lovely. She was great. She came in, she’s a ball of energy. She’s funny. She’s spiky. She’s [inaudible 00:09:43]. It was great. I was just telling the story that she was a great breath of fresh air because we were doing some pretty dark, heavy subject matter. And Kirstie, as a person, is always cracking jokes.

Suzanne: Oh, that’s good.

Lyndsy: So it was really fun to have her around.

Suzanne: I’ll bet. Did you know that she got her start on a Star Trek movie?

Lyndsy: Oh really? No, I didn’t.

Suzanne: The second Start Trek movie.

Lyndsy: I watched her on Cheers, and [crosstalk 00:10:12] plenty of her work.

Suzanne: I don’t remember if this was… Now that I think about it, it might’ve been… My memory is terrible, but it was either her first movie or right before Cheers, I don’t remember which, but it was Star Trek, The Wrath of Kanya. She played a Vulcan. Imagine being that funny, and cracking jokes, and having to keep a straight face as a Vulcan.

Lyndsy: I’m sure the crew loves it. She is fun.

Suzanne: That’s good. Now so did you have any… With that comedy in mind, did you have any funny or interesting stories about the filming? I know it was quick.

Lyndsy: Gosh, I think just being on location in Atlanta was really fun, and the whole cast was incredible. I was just saying that the girl who played my daughter was this incredible prodigy. She was so… I’ve worked with lots of kids, and she was the most normal kid, but loved her performing. She was such a joy to work with, and I was so lucky to be able to play her mom. And yeah, it was just overall… And actually Dimitri, the actor who played the rapist was one of the most kind, loving, generous people. And he made the experience really great because after every taste would be like, “Are you okay?” He was just always checking in on me. And I was just amazed by how well he would be able to play this person, and then how kind good he was real life. He was amazing.

Suzanne: Oh, that’s nice.

Lyndsy: Yeah.

Suzanne: So it’s great that Lifetime is showing the movie again during their 30th Anniversary. Independence Day Marathon. Were you happy to hear about this?

Lyndsy: Yes, I was so honored that it would be a part of a marathon. Its so great. I’m so glad more people will get to see it while we’re all celebrating all the great films that Lifetime has done.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Do you have anything else coming out that was filmed pre COVID-19? If anything?

Lyndsy: No. I’m actually waiting. I’m about to go shoot a Disney Plus show called Turner and Hooch. So we’re just waiting on all the new side regulations and travel precautions and all the things we have to worry about in today’s time. So I’m just preparing and getting ready for that. Getting our cast rounded out, and I’m really excited and looking forward to it. It’ll be… Hopefully it will start shooting in another month or two.

Suzanne: Cool. Do you know who your costars are on that? Anybody I’ve heard of?

Lyndsy: Yeah. Josh Peck. Josh Peck is the lead, I play his sister. We’ve got a few other people that are about to. I don’t want to mention anything that is finalized, so I’ll just leave it with Josh. He’s great. I’m so excited. We worked together on Grandfathered and have known each other since we were a little kids in the acting world. So we’re both parents now and playing brother and sister and it’s like, I’m so excited, and he’s so funny and yeah. There’s going to be lots of slobbery dogs running around the set. It’s going to be fun.

Suzanne: Good, good. I’ll have to check that out. And so what have you been doing while you’re staying at home?

Lyndsy: So my husband was shooting in New York, and so as were as a family out there, and then everything shut down. So we have basically been quarantined with his mom on the East coast for like four months, and just living in a small town in Connecticut, and out in country, and just trying to stay out of busy cities. We finally decided we need to come home, and get our dog. I’s just been a tricky transition back into the LA life.

Suzanne: Wow.

Lyndsy: Yeah. We’re just trying to navigate. We just been back only a week now, so it’s been tricky with a two year old trying to figure out things to do, and go be with her, and keep her busy. So we’re just trying to stay safe, and use the time to just appreciate one another and be home. We’re lucky to just be able to be home. So that’s what we’re doing.

Suzanne: You flew on an airplane home?

Lyndsy: Yes, we did. We survived, and we got tested, and we’re free and clear. So we’re feeling like we got through that hurdle.

Suzanne: Yeah. I don’t know anyone at anyone flying right now, but yeah, that’s good. It’s pretty… You probably didn’t want to drive country with a two year old.

Lyndsy: It was definitely not an option. We probably would have, if we didn’t have her, but she was great. The flight was only half full, and she was so good, and everyone wore their masks. We just tried to be healthy as possible. And then luckily it worked.

Suzanne: That’s good. That’s good.

Lyndsy: Yeah.

Suzanne: All right. Well, when you’re talking about being in a small town in Connecticut, it reminded me of one of those cable movies. Christmas movie or something.

Lyndsy: No, totally. It was, it was like that. And we were just trying to survive this pandemic in our own little bubble and try and get through it. But we had to come back to reality soon enough, get ready for my next show and stuff. So, yeah, but it was great. I’m grateful for the time and it’s just, everyone’s doing the best that they can right now.

Suzanne: Right. And I’m glad you’re all staying safe and I hope you all get to go back to production soon. I know it’s up in the air still.

Lyndsy: Yeah. Thank you. I know. Every day we’re just getting more and more information, and it’ll happen.

Suzanne: Yeah. Well the soap operas are just now starting back to film again. I think everybody… Maybe the other industry is waiting to see what happens with them.

Lyndsy: Yeah. I know. I know we’ll be one of the first shows too, to go back, and I think we’re all just trying to… We know we’re the little Guinea pigs of big production. So I think we’re just trying to… I know the producers are working hard to get all the protocols and just do it safely as possible.

Suzanne: Right. Well, at least being a kid show, you won’t have to worry as much about things like kissing and stuff like that. Like they do in the store.

Lyndsy: No, I feel I’m so grateful. I [inaudible 00:16:33] just that. There’s no kissing, no sex scenes. No nothing. It’s just a family comedy. So I’m like, thank goodness.

Suzanne: Yeah. That’s good. Yeah. All right. Well, so thanks so much for talking to us today.

Lyndsy: Oh my gosh. It was a pleasure. Thank you so much.

Suzanne: All right. See you later.

Lyndsy: Bye.

Transcribed by Rev.com

MORE INFO:

You Can't Take My Daughter movie posterIndependence Day Marathon Info –

Lifetime continues to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Lifetime Original Movies this summer with a special Independence Day weekend marathon, featuring 10 popular throwback titles from Lifetime’s movie vault and two new film premieres.

SATURDAY, 7/4

11a: Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003) Thora Birch

12:30p: Steel Magnolias (2012) Alfre Woodard & Queen Latifah

2p: Abducted: The Carlina White Story (2012) Aunjanue Ellis & Keke Palmer

4p: Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleading Scandal (2008) Jenna Dewan & Ashley Benson

6p: Bad Seed (2018) Rob Lowe

8p: The Twisted Nanny (New to Lifetime Premiere – previously aired on LMN)

SUNDAY, 7/5

10a: We Were the Mulvaneys (2002) Blythe Danner & Beau Bridges

12p: The Pregnancy Pact (2010) Thora Birch & Nancy Travis

2p: Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story (2011) Taraji P Henson & Terry O’Quinn

4p: Lizzie Borden Took an Ax (2014) Christina Ricci

6p: You Can’t Take My Daughter (2020) Kirstie Alley & Lyndsy Fonseca

8p: Driven to the Edge (New Premiere)

Saturday, July 4th

All Times ET/PT

Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story – 11am PT/ET

Thora Birch and Kelly Lynch (2003)
Based on the true story of Liz Murray (Birch), Homeless to Harvard tells the moving story of a young woman, raised in poverty by loving yet drug-addicted parents, who is determined to rise above her station in life and into the Ivy League.

Steel Magnolias –12:30pm PT/ET

Queen Latifah, Phylicia Rashad, Jill Scott and Alfre Woodard  (2012)
Six women congregate at Truvy’s beauty shop to ponder life’s mysteries and support each other over the years through all of their personal triumphs and tragedies. The television adaptation is based on the iconic play and 1989 film of the same name.

Abducted: The Carlina White Story – 2pm

Aunjanue Ellis, Keke Palmer and Sherri Shepherd (2012) 
A young woman who was abducted as an infant from a New York hospital works to solve her own kidnapping and find her biological parents. Based on a true story.

Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleading Scandal – 4pm

Jenna Dewan, Ashley Benson, and Tatum O’Neal (2008) 

A gutsy teacher fights to end the reign of misbehavior enjoyed by five beautiful, well-connected cheerleaders given carte blanche to do as they please at school. Based on a true story

The Bad Seed – 6pm

Rob Lowe and Mckenna Grace (2018)
Executive producer, director and star Rob Lowe re-imagines the iconic 1956 psychological horror film, The Bad Seed. Lowe stars as a single father who seems to have everything under control. But when a terrible tragedy takes place at his daughter Emma’s (Grace) school, he is forced to question everything he thought he knew about his beloved child.

NEW TO LIFETIME THRILLER PREMIERE (previously premiered on LMN)

The Twisted Nanny – 8pm

Tara Erickson, Annika Foster, Joey Rae Blair and Brey Chandet

When single mother Julia (Erickson) realizes night nanny Olivia (Foster) is turning her children against her, Julia must fight to prove that Olivia is not who she says she is before she gets custody of the kids for good.

Sunday, July 5th

All Times ET/PT

We Were the Mulvaneys – 10am

Beau Bridges, Blythe Danner, and Tammy Blanchard (2002) 

A close-knit rural family is shattered by the emotional toll of shame and rage in the aftermath of a rape.

The Pregnancy Pact – 12pm

Thora Birch, Nancy Travis and Camryn Manheim (2010)
The Pregnancy Pact explores the cost of teen pregnancy with a fictional story set against the backdrop of actual news reports from June 2008. A blogger investigating a sudden spike in teenage pregnancies in her hometown finds herself at the center of media firestorm surrounding the teens’ “pregnancy pact.”

Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story – 2pm  

Taraji P Henson & Terry O’Quinn (2011)

When her young son is abducted by his biological father, Tiffany flies to Korea to execute a high-stakes plan to bring her boy home. Based on a true story.

Lizzie Borden Took an Ax – 4pm

Christina Ricci, Billy Campbell and Clea DuVall (2014)
One of the most legendary figures in American history, Lizzie Borden (Ricci) was one of the first women to whet the public’s voracious interest in scandalous crimes with her own gruesome story involving the brutal murder of her parents.

You Can’t Take My Daughter – 6pm

Kirstie Alley & Lyndsy Fonseca (2020)

Amy Thompson (Fonseca) is a vibrant law student in Charlotte who is attacked and raped by Demetri a friend of a friend she met once. Discovering that she is pregnant, Amy makes the difficult decision to keep her baby, despite the fact that Demetri continues to harass her as she waits for the long-delayed trial. She gives birth and decides to start over in Atlanta. Six years later, Demetri finds her and, to her horror, sues her for custody of her daughter.

NEW THRILLER PREMIERE

Driven to the Edge – 8pm

Taylor Spreitler and Danielle Burgess 

Fashion designer Tess (Spreitler) is a true millennial obsessed with using rideshare apps to get wherever she needs to go. When she meets a new friend, Jaye (Burgess), during a car ride as a fellow passenger, they immediately form a strong bond. But as Tess’s friends start to question Jaye’s odd behavior and even recognize Jaye as one of their past rideshare drivers, Tess slowly realizes the new friend she’s made is harboring a disturbingly dark secret with an agenda to ensure Tess never leaves her.

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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Lyndsy Fonseca (Amy) and Madison Johnson (Maddy) in "You Can't Take My Daughter"


Primetime DVD Review: “Evil – Season One”

DVD Review!




EVIL: Season One DVD cover

“EVIL: Season One” Review by Suzanne 6/25/20

This is a good show, which isn’t surprising, since it’s written by the same writers that make “The Good Fight” and made “The Good Wife” (husband and wife team Michelle and Robert King)  You might be surprised that the writers, who are so good with legal and political shows, would do a horror show.  That means you forgot their previous CBS show “Braindead,” which was a horror-political-satire back in 2016.  Sadly, that one didn’t last longer than a year. In part, I think it’s because it was a little gross, and in part, it tried to do too many things at once. Not say that there isn’t some humor in “EVIL” because there is plenty. It’s mostly serious, though.

“EVIL” is about a team of three – David, an ex-journalist, now training to be a priest (Mike  Colter); Kristen, a psychologist (Katja Herbers) and Ben, the tech guy (Aasif Mandvi).  The team investigates events that may be spiritual, such as possessions or miracles.  David is a believer, of course.  Ben is a skeptic.  Kristen is somewhere in between. She isn’t sure what to think. Most of the show is seen through her eyes. The Catholic church pays for them to investigate these possible demon- or angel-involved events. The marvelous Christine Lahti plays Kristen’s mom.  The show gets more interesting when we see the flaws of the characters. It can also be creepy and scary, like any good horror show.

Make no mistake, this is a show about the supernatural. In the very first episode, we meet Leland (the wonderful Michael Emerson), who is either the devil or working for him.  Kristen is visited by a demon named George in her dreams.  Each episode has its own event, but there is also a larger story arc here, involving 60 demons.  As you watch more episodes, you learn more about the story arc.  I’m not saying it’s a perfect. There are some things in the show that don’t make a lot of sense. For instance, in the first episode, Leland steals her therapists’ notes and then uses them against her with the criminal she’s been analyzing (in her previous job, working for the D.A.). So why doesn’t she press charges against him? Her therapist saw the guy and could identify him.  They merely glossed over it in the second episode, with the D.A. saying that Leland explained his account was hacked. At the end of another episode, a man they have been investigating jumps off the roof. They never mentioned that again. Sometimes the characters do things that just make me scream at the TV, “Why are you doing that? Stupid!” but not too often.

It’s compelling drama, fun horror (and sometimes very scary), and well worth watching, despite a few flaws. I’m very glad to have the DVD because I didn’t watch the show regularly when it was on TV. I’m glad it got renewed for a second season, too.  If you’re very religious, especially Catholic, then you may not like it.  You’ll have to watch it and judge for yourself.  I’m sure it would be extra fun to watch this during Halloween.  Some of the episodes are  very scary, such as the Christmas episode, or the one where David is in the hospital. The show really exploits our fears, like things in our ears, or creepy children, or being in the hospital.

There are a few great extras. First, they have deleted scenes for many of the episodes. There are also two nice features. One is “Season One: Genesis” and the other is “Does Evil Exist?”  The first talks about the show and its background. The second is very interesting and a bit philosophical. You should definitely watch this DVD.

MORE INFORMATION:

Coming to DVD on June 30 is the new hit series Evil: Season One from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment.

The supernatural drama Evil: Season One stars Dutch actress Katja Herbers (Westworld) and Mike Colter (Luke Cage). The new series follows skeptical female psychologist Kristen Bouchard (Herbers) who joins carpenter and priest-in-training David Acosta (Colter) as they investigate the Church’s backlog of unexplained mysteries, including supposed miracles, demonic possessions, and hauntings.

Street Date: June 30, 2020

Format: DVD

Description: Evil is a psychological mystery that examines the origins of evil along the dividing line between science and religion. The series focuses on a skeptical female psychologist who joins a priest-in-training and a carpenter as they investigate the Church’s backlog of unexplained mysteries, including supposed miracles, demonic possessions, and hauntings. Their job is to assess if there is a logical explanation or if something truly supernatural is at work.

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.


EVIL Season One on Prime

Primetime DVD Review “Earth’s Sacred Wonders”

DVD Review!




Earth's Sacred Wonders DVD cover

“Earth’s Sacred Wonders ” Review by Suzanne 5/20/20

There is a lot of beautiful scenery in this documentary, and you will learn about a lot of great places in the world. You’ve no doubt seen many PBS documentaries with beautiful scenery from around the world. What makes this one different is that it’s about places that are considered sacred or spirtual.

If that kind of thing appeals to you, buy this DVD. It would make a great gift for anyone. I’m not really into sacred or spiritual things, though, so it’s not really my cup of tea. I would rather just worship mother nature and her wondrous places, and not other spiritual entities.

MORE INFORMATION:

Earth’s Sacred Wonders

­The earth’s architectural landscape, throughout history, has largely been sculpted and inspired by faith. Today, more worshippers than ever are flocking to these sacred structures and global landmarks. For some, these places are settings to quietly contemplate, but for others they are sites to find extraordinary acts of worship, dangerous challenges, and remarkable deeds of devotion, rarely seen by outsiders. Earth’s Sacred Wonders takes viewers on a journey, set against the most breathtakingly stunning backdrops this world has to offer, to discover the lengths that people will go for their faith. Filmed across 5 continents in 12 different languages, filled with compelling stories, this program showcases how some of the most profound sites of worship are places of powerful spiritual significance and human drama.

Street Date: Available now
Run Time: 165 min.
SRP: $24.99
Format: DVD, Digital
Genre: Science & Nature

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.


Earth's Sacred Wonders on Prime

Primetime DVD Review “Amazon Empire”

DVD Review!




FRONTLINE: Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos DVD cover

“FRONTLINE: Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos” Review by Suzanne 5/20/20

I have to confess that I love Amazon. I started online in 94 and started shopping as soon as I could, on Amazon and other places. I also started in their affiliate program (I’m still on there, although it doesn’t pay that much). I’ve been shopping on Amazon in 1997 and spend hundreds of dollars there every week. I even wrote a paper for my class this past spring about it. I knew about some of the drawbacks of the site; how they treated their employees. This documentary, however, shows me that there is even more to know.

One thing that Amazon does well is take care of its customers. They are rare in that sense. As it says in the doc, Amazon puts customer care over everything else. This is why they have that customer loyalty. I think some people might be shocked if they watch this documentary, though.  Some of their business tactics are pretty underhanded. Part of the reason Amazon thrives is that they always try new things, and they treat their customers well. If more companies did that, then they would give Amazon more competition.

You should enjoy watching this. Some of it the stuff they claim about Jeff Bezos is scary. You have to decide for yourself whether it’s worth it to keep shopping there or not.

MORE INFORMATION:

Frontline: Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos build a business empire that is unprecedented in the history of American capitalism–delivering endless products, entertainment services and technology innovations to customers with just a click of a button. But what is the cost of Amazon’s convenience?

FRONTLINE examines Amazon and Jeff Bezos’ ascent to power–and his ability to shape everything from the future of work, to the future of commerce, to the future of technology. From award-winning filmmakers James Jacoby and Anya Bourg (The Facebook Dilemma), the documentary draws on interviews with current top executives and former insiders, as well as regulators and critics, raising tough questions about Bezos and the empire he built. Through these interviews, Jacoby and Bourg’s investigation presents an inside look at who Bezos is, and how he transformed a tiny company run out of a garage into a staple of American consumerism that critics contend is willing to dominate the market at all costs.

Street Date: Available now
Run Time: 120 min.
SRP: $24.99
Format: DVD, Digital
Genre: Issues/Events: Society

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.



PBS Frontline on Prime

Primetime DVD Review “East Lake Meadows”

DVD Review!


East Lake Meadows DVD cover

“East Lake Meadows – A Public Housing Story” Review by Suzanne 5/20/20

This is very educational. As someone who grew up in the 70’s, I enjoyed watching their old films and hearing about life in the public housing. I had heard about Cabrini Green and some other public housing places before and always wondered how the residents could let their homes get so filthy and filled with drugs and graffiti. Now after watching this, I know how wrong I was to think that way. The residents had no money, and the city was supposed to be taking care of the grounds and repairs of the houses. They didn’t, so the places went to ruin. That’s just sad, and another disgusting part of our history when it comes to treatment of the poor (especially poor and black).

They did a good job showing what went on back then, with photos, testimony and some videos. It’s too bad that so many people were forced out. This was done by Ken Burns, but it’s not one of his really long documentaries. It’s definitely worth watching.

MORE INFORMATION:

Ken Burns Presents: East Lake Meadows

In 1970, the Atlanta Housing Authority opened East Lake Meadows, a public housing community on the edge of the city. Over the next 25 years, many thousands of low-income Atlantans, mostly African American, would call it home. Shoddy construction and a lack of funding left the project and surrounding landscape in disrepair and led to a rapid decline in the quality of life. As public housing in America became increasingly stigmatized, and a crack epidemic overwhelmed East Lake Meadows, the neighborhood became nearly uninhabitable, but residents nonetheless found ways to overcome violence and neglect, raise kids, find work, and create moments of joy. In the mid-1990s, Atlanta bulldozed East Lake Meadows to make way for new mixed-income housing, as government and philanthropic funds poured into the area in an effort to create a thriving community.

Through the stories of the former residents, East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story gives voice to some of the most marginalized people in our society and raises critical questions about how we have created concentrated poverty and limited housing opportunity for African Americans, and what responsibility we have as a people to ensure decent housing for our most vulnerable citizens.

Street Date: Available now
Run Time: 105 min.
SRP: $24.99
Format: DVD, Digital
Genre: Issues/Events: Domestic

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.


East Lake Meadows on Prime

Primetime DVD Review “Blood Sugar Rising”

DVD Review!


Blood Sugar Rising DVD cover

“Blood Sugar  Rising” Review by Suzanne 5/20/20

This was very interesting and informative. I think everyone who is pre-diabetic or loves someone with diabetes should watch it. For those of us who already have diabetes, we probably know most of the information already. Still, I did learn some things. I didn’t know that you could be thin and young, and still get diabetes. I knew diabetes was an epidemic in this country, but I didn’t realize how bad the numbers are. I didn’t know that 10% of us have it. That’s very sad and disturbing.

Until the federal and state governments really work together on this, nothing is going to change. There needs to be free diabetes medicine and supplies for everyone. There needs to be much more nutrition information in the schools, especially with regards to sugar. Schools should not have soda and candy machines on campus; nor should the cafeterias be selling junk food. Schools should have plenty of money, too, for making nutritious food for their students. They also need to bring back home economics for all students and really teach them about growing, cooking and eating healthy food. Since most parents today don’t know how to cook or eat in a healthy manner — the schools need to fill in those gaps. Also, the schools could have programs for the parents to learn about these things as well.

Anyway, it was a good program, although hard to watch in some ways. There is also a very good short film with it, all about diabetes in Native American reservations and in Hawaii. I found this particularly interesting, since I used to live in Hawaii.

MORE INFORMATION:

Blood Sugar Rising

Diabetes is hidden epidemic that affects over 100 million people in the US, costing close to $350 billion each year. It’s now predicted that one in three children born in this century will likely develop the disease.

Blood Sugar Rising puts human faces to these statistics, presenting intimate stories of Americans living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and personal voices from the battle against the disease. Their struggles and successes showcase the dramatic impact of this national public health crisis. The two-hour special also reveals new hopes for diabetes management and prevention–from the rise of new medical treatments to exciting discoveries about lifestyle and environmental factors–and asks a provocative question: Why isn’t there a war on diabetes?

Street Date: Available now
Run Time: 120 min.
SRP: $24.99
Format: DVD, Digital
Genre: Health: Medicine/ Nutrition

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.


Blood Sugar Rising on Prime

Primetime DVD Review “World on Fire”

DVD Review!




World on Fire Season One DVD cover

“World on Fire” Review by Suzanne 4/20/20

This is a great wartime series, which I started watching on PBS. I love Helen Hunt, and she’s outstanding in this. I love Sean Bean and Arthur Darvill from their previous work, too. All of the actors do a great job. One of the young actors looks like a young John Cusack, only more handsome.

It’s got everything you’d want in a wartime drama, plus a little romance and fun. This is what they used to do as miniseries, back in the 70’s and 80’s, with “Winds of War” and things like that. This is more realistic than those were, though. The war still rages by the end of the season, though, so I can’t wait for season 2 to see what happens to the characters.

Make sure that you watch this with the closed-captioning on, especially if you’re American or older because it’s hard to understand, otherwise, with the thick accents.

MORE INFORMATION:

ACADEMY AWARD®-WINNER HELEN HUNT AND SEAN BEAN STAR INWORLD ON FIRE” PLUS A FULL SLATE OF NEW SERIES AVAILABLE NOW

Arlington, VA – April 27, 2020 – PBS Distribution released eight new programs on DVD and Blu-ray last month. This slate of releases included an extraordinary performance from Helen Hunt and Sean Bean inWorld on Fire,” new additions to the critically renowned Frontline series, as well as a Ken Burns presentation and two new Nature programs. Learn more about global landmarks, American wildlife, public housing, and the diabetes epidemic, among other topics. Information about each program listed below. Every purchase supports public television for all.
Masterpiece: World On Fire
Summer 1939. Harry, a translator at the British Embassy in Warsaw, is falling in love with Polish waitress Kasia. When German tanks roll into Poland, and Britain declares war on Germany, Harry and Kasia face terrible choices. With her life in grave danger, can Harry help her–and if he can, how will he ever explain himself to Lois Bennett, the girl he left behind in Manchester? As the Nazi threat spreads across Europe, Kasia must choose between love and fighting for her country, Harry must find his place in the world, and Lois must seize new opportunities the war presents.
The conflict overturns everything for Harry’s snobbish mother Robina; for Douglas, Lois’ pacifist father; and for her younger brother Tom, who joins the Navy and finds himself under fire in one of the first major battles of the war. In Berlin, outspoken American journalist Nancy risks her life trying to help her neighbors; while in Paris, Nancy’s nephew, medic Webster refuses to leave the city and the man he loves.
World on Fire traverses the first year of WWII, from ordinary life in England to the beaches of Dunkirk, diving deep into the hearts and minds of those living their lives during this extraordinary time as they grapple with the unthinkable: a world in flames.
Street Date: Available now
Run Time: 420 min.
SRP: $39.99/$49.99
Format: DVD/Blu-ray, Digital
Genre: Arts: British Drama

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