Review of “The Equalizer”

Posted on February 8, 2021September 10, 2023 by TvMegasite Admin

TV Review!

Cast of "The Equalizer" on CBS

“The Equalizer” on CBS Review by Suzanne 2/8/21

It’s nice to see a woman (particularly an African-American woman) kicking ass and taking names on TV. However, I’m not too fond of the concept of this show (as I wasn’t of the original series, either). That is, I’m not too fond of vigilante justice, whether it comes from a cop or a former CIA agent. Sure, I’m fine with vigilantes like Dexter, Batman, and Supergirl because those are not at all realistic. They’re fantasy shows. No real person could be like them. No one person should have the power to just shoot people and get away with it. I’m not saying that this show is gritty and realistic, because it’s not. It doesn’t quit fit into a fantasy world, either. It walks a fine line between reality and fantasy, much like most broadcast TV shows. If you want gritty reality, watch shows on AMC or HBO. Those who loved the original 80’s series, or the Denzel Washington movies, may not enjoy this one as much for that reason.

In this new series, at least they’ve toned down the violence from the original show. Robyn McCall (Queen Latifah) doesn’t seem to kill people. She does use violence, but she doesn’t kill. I’m not sure if that makes the show better or worse. Perhaps they think that having a woman killer won’t fly on broadcast TV. I hope not. It makes sense, though, because of the changes they made in the story (compared to the original 1980’s version). Edward Woodward’s McCall went after violent offenders (the focus was on the villains). This McCall defends women that are being targeted (the focus is on the victims). This makes her a little less vigilante and a little more superhero. Because it’s 2021, she has a computer geek helping her out (like most dramas do now). Woodward’s McCall hid in the shadows, at night; while she works during the day, using disguises.

What makes this show great is that she has a sordid past that she’s trying to make up for. She has a police detective who both helps her and wants to put her behind bars. This makes for an interesting dynamic. They also have a sexual attraction between them. Besides making up for her past, McCall experienced some serious trauma that she’s having to deal with, which affects her daughter. This makes her a very interesting character to watch, which is great if you watch the show.

MORE INFORMATION:

THE EQUALIZER is a reimagining of the classic series starring Academy Award^® nominee and multi-hyphenate Queen Latifah (“Chicago,” “Bessie”) as Robyn McCall, an enigmatic woman with a mysterious background who uses her extensive skills as a former CIA operative to help those with nowhere else to turn. McCall presents to most as an average single mom who is quietly raising her teenage daughter. But to a trusted few, she is The Equalizer – an anonymous guardian angel and defender of the downtrodden, who’s also dogged in her pursuit of personal redemption. Robyn’s clandestine work and her personal life collide when her smart and observant daughter, Delilah, and her aunt Vi, who lives with Robyn to help her balance life as a working mother, discover her secret career as a vigilante. While Robyn contends with uncertainty at home, she is joined in her pursuit of justice by William Bishop, her former CIA handler and longtime friend; Melody “Mel” Bayani, an edgy bar owner, and sniper from Robyn’s past; and Harry Keshegian, a paranoid and brilliant white-hat hacker. As Robyn aids the oppressed and exploited, she sometimes works with Marcus Dante, an NYPD detective who once sought to uncover her identity, but now respects the need for Robyn’s type of justice even as he often questions her methods.

Begins its second season Sunday, Oct. 10 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available live and on demand on the CBS app and Paramount+.

ON AIR:

Sundays (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT)

ORIGINATION:

New Jersey

FORMAT:

Drama (Filmed in HD)

STARRING:	Queen Latifah	(Robyn McCall)
	Tory Kittles	(Detective Marcus Dante)
	Adam Goldberg	(Harry Keshegian)
	Liza Lapira	(Melody “Mel” Bayani)
	Laya DeLeon Hayes	(Delilah)
WITH:	Lorraine Toussaint	(Viola “Vi” Marsette)
AND:	Chris Noth	(William Bishop)

PRODUCED BY:

Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with CBS Studios

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:

Andrew W. Marlowe, Terri Edda Miller, Dana Owens (Queen Latifah), John Davis, John Fox, Debra Martin Chase, Shakim Compere and Joseph C. Wilson

CREATED BY:

Developed for television by Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller, as based on the original series co-created by Richard Lindheim

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theequalizercbs

Twitter: https://twitter.com/theequalizercbs

Instagram: @theequalizercbs

CBS Twitter: https://twitter.com/CBSTweet

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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

Queen Latifah and Chris Noth of "The Equalizer" on CBS.

Y&R Article: Twitter Upset with Donny Boaz

Posted on November 19, 2020November 19, 2020 by TvMegasite Admin

Young and the Restless Opinion Article

Donny Boaz (Chance on Y&R)

Article by Suzanne 11/19/20

Actor Donny Boaz (Chance) is taking some heat on social media (especially Twitter) because some fans think that he’s too conservative. More specifically, they’re upset that he supports outgoing president Donald Trump. Donny has clicked like on some tweets, and retweeted some tweets, that make it clear that he is a Republican and favors Trump. Some fear that he is a conspiracy theorist. He also follows the president and Ivanka on Instagram, and he follows Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham and many other Republicans on Twitter. Also, there are many fans who like him or don’t care about his politics. To be fair, Boaz also follows many liberals on Twitter – and not just ones that he’s worked with.

These Y&R fans believe that if you support Trump, you also must be anti-gay and racist. They’re calling out Boaz and even arguing with him about his conduct on Twitter. Now, let’s make it clear that Donny is not exactly James Woods (an actor who posts constant right-wing things on his Twitter and argues vehemently with people about it; Boaz follows him and sometimes retweets his comments). He has only clicked like on a few posts, and retweeted some posts, like most people do on Twitter. He’s not ashamed of his views, but neither is he confrontational about it. Yes, he supported President Trump when he was elected. We don’t know what he thinks of him now or how he voted.

What this disagreement comes down to is this: if you’re an actor with a particular political opinion, should you be tweeting about it; and if so, do fans have a right to make a fuss about it when they disagree? And should the TV show that you’re on be concerned that your views might conflict with their more inclusive (or at least, centrist) message? After all, most TV show networks are businesses, and they do care about their image and how they’re being represented.

Boaz was born and raised in Waxahachie, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), so he’s bound to be conservative. If you read his social media, it’s clear that he loves football, and he’s religious. In fact, according to his town newspaper, “Boaz graduated from Cornerstone Christian School in Waxahachie in 1998, where he was a standout athlete in football, basketball, cross country and baseball.” He also supports the military. Indeed, he had parts in both “Dallas” and “Six,” but that doesn’t really have anything to do with his point of view. Those jobs just happen to coincide with his views, which you may or may not agree with. Many people who grew up in that area of the country are Republicans (Texas usually votes Republican, as it did in this recent election). Some are not. He was probably raised that way. Most people get their political and religious views from their parents, especially if their parents are very active in their church or more politically engaged.

Like many Texans and Southerners I’ve known, however, Donny is always respectful to his fans on social media. Even those berating him are treated with respect.

When Y&R posted this message, asking fans to show Donny Boaz some love, Cait Fairbanks (Tessa) said “psh,” which is a dismissive remark. And then Camryn Grimes (Mariah) posted an animated GIF that says “that’s my girl.” Both actresses post a lot about politics and are very left-wing, so, judging from this, they apparently have some problem with Donny’s politics as well. I like them both, but perhaps they should have talked to him personally at work instead (unless I’m completely misreading this, and they’re just teasing him, and they really have a good rapport with him). I like both actresses, but that seemed kind of tacky to me.

Personally, I believe that it’s fine for actors to express whatever beliefs they want. However, I don’t think that their viewpoints should affect their jobs, as long as they do their jobs well and they don’t say anything particularly reprehensible. Actors are entitled to be Republicans and support Trump, whether anyone likes it or not…just like actors, such as Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis, GH), are very outspoken about being liberal Democrats and hating Trump. Fans, of course, are free to disagree. Many celebrities have gotten in trouble before for things they’ve said online. Sometimes they lose their jobs because of it – such as Hartley Sawyer (ex-Kyle), who lost his job on “The Flash” because of some old tweets. I really don’t think they should, in general, and their beliefs shouldn’t affect your enjoyment of their work. I think that people who have time to search through old tweets and who’s-clicking-like-on-what really do have too much time on their hands. If you only have friends and followers who agree with exactly everything you do, then you probably won’t have too many friends or followers left. Also, the world would be very boring if we all agreed on everything.

I completely understand the anger that people have about Trump and his supporters, and I understand that people who are LGBTQIA+, women or persons of color feel particularly upset because they’ve been targeted by many on the right, and Republican Senators are slowly taking away their rights. However, I think that our time is probably spent better in fighting for change in positive ways than griping about some daytime actor who is just trying to do his job. Perhaps instead of villifying Donny Boaz, we should be reaching out to better understand him and why he feels the way he does, and he could do the same for us. As President-Elect Joe Biden says, “There’s no place for hate in America.”

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

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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Donny Boaz on a horse

Primetime DVD Review: “The Good Fight – Season Four”

Posted on October 22, 2020April 18, 2021 by TvMegasite Admin

DVD Review!

“The Good Fight: Season Four” Review by Suzanne 9/20/20

I love this show and always enjoying watching it. They took some interesting chances this season, but they worked. The first episode was an alternate reality (a dream by Diane). Most of the season is about Diane and company trying to find out what the mysterious “Memo 618” is.

The season was cut short (as it was for most TV shows). Episode 7 was the unintended finale for the season, so they had to add some scenes that were intended for later episodes. They usually have 10 episodes per season. I don’t think it’s all that noticeable, though. They did a good job with it. I guess that’s why there are no features. That’s too bad.

Still, it’s a great season of this show and worth buying or renting. Don’t miss it!

MORE INFORMATION:

The Good Fight: Season Four

Street Date: September 22, 2020

Format: DVD

Season four of The Good Fight finds Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart navigating a very different landscape. After they lost their biggest client, Chumhum, and their founding partner’s name was tarnished, Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart was forced to accept an offer by a huge multinational law firm, STR Laurie, to become a small subsidiary. Suddenly, all of their decisions can be second-guessed by the giant firm that is literally on top of them. While STR Laurie initially seem like benevolent overlords, we find Diane Lockhart and her colleagues chafing at their loss of independence while simultaneously investigating the emergence of a mysterious “Memo 618.”

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.

The Good Fight pic season 4

Blog: It’s May Already!!??!!

Posted on May 6, 2019June 28, 2020 by TvMegasite Admin

Blog Post #210

Girl watching TV

Once again I’m apologizing for not writing another blog post for the past 5 months! Well, you know, it’s hard when you work full time and also take classes part-time. Last week was finals, so I will have more free time now, until the Fall. I hope, anyway!!

Lately I’ve been using my “Free time” to move our “Bold and the Beautiful” section from our old site to this new site. I spent the past few days writing up character The Forrester family on Bold and Beautiful descriptions for all of the main characters. I hope you enjoy it! It was fun, reading up on all of the character histories and then summarizing them. I never realized all of the changes they made in the soaps. For instance, I had no idea that Phoebe and Steffy were originally identical twins, and then later, when they rapidly-aged them to adults (as they do in soaps), they were then fraternal twins! Of course, they didn’t want to have to cast real twins, so they cast two actresses that looked completely different. They should have just had Jacqueline MacInnes Wood play both roles…it’s not like she couldn’t have handled it! But, on the other hand, I really did love the actress who played Phoebe (MacKenzie Mauzy).

Wanda is still choosing our “Best Lines” for B&B, which you can now see on our new site. I hope to finish the rest of the B&B site this month and move on to another section.

Yesterday they aired the 46th Annual Daytime Emmys online. Apparently it was a big disaster! I don’t usually watch them live….I watch them when I get around to it. Now I can’t watch the whole thing, and I guess I’m in the same Y&R cast at Daytime Emmys boat as everyone else. They had major technical problems, so they lost quite a bit of it. That is insane. They’ve been doing this online for a few years now, and before that, they did it on regular TV. You’d think they’d know how to do it by now. So, big deal, they lost the internet…why didn’t they just record it, and put the whole thing up online for fans to see a little later? Rather than just leaving the botched version up. That’s really stupid and short-sighted on their part. Here’s the full list of Daytime Emmy winners! Congratulations to all of the winners! “Young and the Restless” got most of the awards for writing, directing etc. while “General Hospital” cleaned up in most of the acting awards. That alzheimer’s storyline was a big winner for them. I hope that the other soaps don’t copy it, though! That’s too depressing.

All of the soaps have been very sad and depressing lately. We need angst and drama, but there needs to be more balance between Kristoff and Shemar - tribute at Daytime Emmys that and the fun and romantic stuff. On “Bold and the Beautiful” it’s mostly been about Hope losing her baby and blaming herself. On Young and the Restless, it’s been about Neil’s and Kristoff’s death (did we really need THREE DAYS of that???). I loved Kristoff, but that was just too much. On General Hospital, a teenager got cancer and died. I don’t watch “Days of Our Lives” very often, but I hear Will has cancer and baby Holly dies. I mean, come ON!!! I watch soaps for escape, not for sad stuff. Real life has enough of that kind of thing, especially for those of us over a certain age. Most soap fans are over 40 (and that’s being kind). Our friends and relatives are all dying on us. We don’t need to see babies and teens dying on our soaps, too.

I’m very sad that “Arrow” is being canceled. Next year is the last year. Of course, the very first TV show we cover that I chose to move over to the new site, is now canceled….that just figures, doesn’t it!!??!! I’m in complete denial still about next year being the last season of “Supernatural!” I’m also sad about next season being the last for “Legion” on FX. What a great show that is. It’s really mind-blowing. And I’m still upset about all of the Netflix superhero shows getting axed. (SIGH!) Lately I’ve been catching up on all my CW shows, like “The Flash,” “Arrow,” “Supergirl” et al. I really loved the crossover episodes “Elseworlds.” They did a good job with that. I only have a few nitpicks. When Barry Allen came back to Central City, he never once wondered where Nora, his daughter, was. All it would have taken is a simple exchange, like: “Barry: Where’s Nora? Iris: Who? Barry: Oh, okay, I guess she doesn’t exist in this timeline” See, simple. I really don’t like their Lois Lane, either. She’s too skinny. I’m always happy to see Superman, though. I’ve really been enjoying the new transgender character on “Supergirl” Nia Nal. Great character. I’m glad they used a real transgender person. She has a book, too, about her family and their experiences. I bought it but haven’t read it yet. It’s on my Kindle, along with 2,000 other books I haven’t gotten around to reading Nia on Supergirl yet! 😆

I had to do my annual binge-watching of “Bosch” on Amazon recently. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it now! It’s the best cop show on TV. It’s based on some really good best-selling detective novels, too.

May is generally a time of year when the networks announce the new shows on their schedules, so we get sad because our favorites are canceled. I’m very happy that the CW renewed most of its schedule, especially the new shows “Roswell, New Mexico” and “In the Dark.” I’m loving both of those. I never watched the original “Roswell” series, but I love this one. “In the Dark” is just great. They finally have a good show about a blind person that isn’t getting In the Dark on the CW canceled. Perhaps because it’s not a sitcom like their previous attempts…? It does have plenty of humor, though.

Looking at the list of what might get canceled, I hope that “How to Get Away With Murder,” “The Rookie,” “Blindspot,” “AP Bio,” “Cool Kids” and “Ransom” are renewed. Especially “Blindspot!” I love that show so much. I’m sad that “Big Bang Theory” and “Elementary” are ending this year. I’m sad to hear that “Murphy Brown” is a long shot. I’m still bummed about “Gifted” being canceled. None of these are as Dead To Me on Netflix heartbreaking as last year’s cancellation of “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World,” though. Focusing on the positives, there are SO MANY shows that I’m grateful that have been renewed, like “The Resident” on FOX!

I’m not very good at keeping up with reviewing all the new TV shows. There are way too many! I’m trying, though (with a little help from Eva, who reviews some shows, too). I love “The Act” on HULU and “Dead to Me” on Netflix. Great series. I already had way too many shows to watch on regular TV. The streaming channels make it just impossible for us TV fans to keep up. Yes, I’m stressed!! But in a good way. It’s a wealth of options.

Which shows will you miss? Let us know in the comments!

Here are all of our Articles!

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.

B&B Article 5/6/19

Posted on May 6, 2019June 26, 2020 by TvMegasite Admin

Bold and Beautiful cast at Christmas

Our Opinions

My Letter to the Powers That Be By Suzanne

Here’s an email I sent to CBS. Please send your own and let them know how you feel! You can go to cbs.com and scroll to the bottom, click on “feedback” to get to their form. They do read all emails and letters.

I’ve been watching the show off and on since the 90’s. I stopped watching after Brooke “accidentally” slept with Oliver (that was incredibly idiotic) but started again with the transgender story, which was really good. I’m close to stopping again because the show is so boring most of the time. First of all, the baby-switching story was terrible. No one wants to see that. It was sad and now just boring. Reese was great, but then you ruined him with that story. Flo, too. I like that actress, but the character will be hard to redeem. I really can’t stand the actress who plays her mother, either. I’m fine with Liam and Steffy getting back together, but this is not the way to do it. I hate that Sally and Wyatt are having problems. I hope that you don’t break them up the way you did Wyatt and Katie, and Katie and Thorne. Those were stupid breakups, too quick and made no sense. Same with Ridge and Caroline, and Donna and Justin, in the past. Thanks for listening!

PS I forgot two things. The new Thomas is terrible — I hate the way he’s now evil and scheming. Yes, evil. It doesn’t matter that he’s in love, or that he wants a mother for his child. It’s evil to intentionally break up a married couple, especially after what they’ve gone through. Thomas was never that bad in the past, so it makes no sense.

Second, I forgot to mention, we want more ROMANCE and love, not just constant tragedy and heartbreak. What happened to the sweeping romantic gestures that Ridge used to do for Brooke? That’s the kind of thing we want. Oh, and how about a wedding for Charlie and Pam, too? Fans love weddings. We like seeing everyone in their best clothes and seeing how much love the couple has for each other, etc. Do more of that sort of thing. That’s why we love soaps!

Oh, and where is Maya? And why did she and Rick break up?

Thanks again.

Thorne and Katie's wedding on Bold and Beautiful