Tag: opinion

Primetime TV Review of “Quiz”

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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).

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The Ingrams in the courtroom - Quiz on AMC

Primetime TV Reviews of “Trackers”

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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.”

MORE INFORMATION:

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”

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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.

MORE INFORMATION:

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”

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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.

MORE INFORMATION:

“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”

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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?

MORE INFORMATION:

2 September 2019

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”

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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, SIMON. The 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”

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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”

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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”

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"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

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.


 BNA: Brand New Animals

Primetime TV Review: “Warrior Nun”

Posted on by TvMegasite Admin

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)

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.


Warrior Nun on Netflix

Primetime TV Review: “The Baby-Sitters Club”

Posted on by Eva Diaz

“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.

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.

Back to the Main Reviews Page



The Babysitters Club

 

Primetime DVD Review: “Evil – Season One”

Posted on by TvMegasite Admin

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”

Posted on by TvMegasite Admin

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”

Posted on by TvMegasite Admin

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”

Posted on by TvMegasite Admin

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”

Posted on by TvMegasite Admin

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”

Posted on by TvMegasite Admin

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 IN “WORLD 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 in “World 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

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.


World on Fire on Amazon Prime Video

Primetime DVD Review “Star Trek: Short Treks”

Posted on by TvMegasite Admin

DVD Review!





Star Trek: Short Treks DVD cover

“Star Trek: Short Treks” Review by Suzanne 5/20/20

I’m a huge “Star Trek” fan, and I had just gotten around to watching “Star Trek: Discovery,” so I was very happy to get this DVD collection of “Short Treks.” I hadn’t seen them before. They’re very good. Some are funny, and some are cute, and some are very poignant. After watching all of these, I had to track down the last one, “Children of Mars,” which is not on this DVD. It aired much later, so that’s probably why. It’s very good and should win an Emmy, IMHO. Scifi rarely wins Emmys, though.

You should definitely watch “Star Trek: Discovery” before watching these because otherwise you might be a little confused because the characters are from that show. Too bad they didn’t make any Short Treks for all the other Star Trek series!!! Those would have been fantastic to watch.

There are a lot of features on the DVD’s, too, such as “The Making of Short Treks.” I especially enjoyed the tribbles episode and behind-the-scenes feature, not only because I’m a long-time Star Trek fan, but also because I’ve interviewed David Gerrold before.

This DVD would make a great gift for any Star Trek fan. I hope they come out with more of them next season.

MORE INFORMATION:

BOLDLY GO INTO THE EXPANDING STAR TREK UNIVERSE AS 
STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS TAKES FLIGHT 
ON BLU-RAY™ AND DVD ON JUNE 2

Together for the First Time, New Collection Features Nine of the CBS All Access Original Short Stories, Including Two Animated Shorts, and
More Than 50 Minutes of Exclusive Special Features 

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (March 16, 2020) – Dive deeper into key themes and characters that fit into Star Trek: Discoveryand the expanding Star Trek universe with the forthcoming STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS collection. Arriving on Blu-ray and DVD on June 2, the new release offers fans nine of the Star Trek stand-alone short stories in one collection for the first time ever.

The collection of shorts includes three U.S.S. Enterprise-focused shorts featuring Star Trek: Discovery: Season Two favorites Anson Mount (“Captain Christopher Pike”), Ethan Peck(“Spock”) and Rebecca Romijn (“Number One”); all four of the original shorts, starring Rainn Wilson (“Harry Mudd”), Mary Wiseman (“Ensign Sylvia Tilly”), Doug Jones (“Commander Saru”) and Aldis Hodge (“Craft”); and two animated shorts from the Star Trek universe with animation unlike any done before for the Star Trek franchise.

Fans can discover never-before-seen bonus content, including:

●      COMING OF AGE – Tied to the “Runaway” short, the first installment of the new Short Trek format was written by executive producers Jenny Lumet and Alex Kurtzman about Tilly finding a stowaway with whom she can relate. In this behind-the-scenes interview, Kurtzman, Director Maja Vrvilo and star Mary Wiseman talk about the use of the short to give the audience further insight into Tilly’s character. 

●      SHALL WE DANCE – Writer Michael Chabon and Director Olatunde Osunsanmi discuss the challenges of creating a compelling story with only one on-screen character in the familiar setting of the U.S.S Discovery for the “Calypso” short.

●      FIRST CONTACT: KAMINAR – A deep dive into “The Brightest Star” short and creating Saru’s backstory with the Star Trek actors and writers.

●      COVERED IN MUDD – Tied to “The Escape Artist” short, an interview with star Rainn Wilson about directing the Harry Mudd short and his experience on both sides of the camera.

●      ENSIGN SPOCK’S FIRST DAY – Writer Michael Chabon talks about writing for Ensign Spock and finding hidden talents in relation to the “Q&A” short.

●      HERE COMES TRIBBLE – Fans will dive into “The Trouble with Edward” short as prop master Mario Moreira discusses bringing back the beloved Tribble for the shorts.

●      SCORE! – A behind-the-curtain discussion with Oscar® and Grammy® Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino about taking the reins on “Ephraim and Dot,” and directing and composing for Star Trek: Short Treks.

●      BEDTIME STORIES – Writer Brandon Schultz, director Olatunde Osunsanmi and actor Kenric Green (“Mike Burnham”) discuss the development of “The Girl Who Made the Stars,” the animated Short Trek about a bedtime story.

●      THE MAKING OF “SHORT TREKS” – An in-depth discussion with executive producer Alex Kurtzman and more about how and why the new concept Short Treks were made.

●      TWO AUDIO COMMENTARIES – Featuring Executive Producers Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet providing commentary for the “Runaway” short, and star Anson Mount providing commentary for the “Ask Not” short

The first two seasons of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY are now available to stream on CBS All Access and are distributed concurrently by CBS Studios International on Netflix in 188 countries and in Canada on Bell Media’s Space channel and OTT service CraveTV.  The first two seasons are also available on Blu-ray and DVD.  The series is produced by CBS Television Studios, Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. 

Blu-ray & DVD Shorts:

●      “Runaway”

●      “Calypso”

●      “The Brightest Star”

●      “The Escape Artist”

●      “Q&A”

●      “The Trouble with Edward”

●      “Ask Not”

●      “Ephraim & Dot”

●      “The Girl Who Made the Stars”

STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS Blu-ray and DVD are presented in widescreen (16×9) format with English SDH subtitles. The DVD will offer English 5.1 Surround Audio and the Blu-ray will present English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.

CBS Home Entertainment manages the worldwide DVD and Blu-ray businesses for the CBS Corporation across all lines of content including current hits and classic series from the vast CBS library, as well as new releases from Showtime Networks. CBS Home Entertainment products are released on the CBS DVD and CBS Blu-ray labels.

Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment.  PPC is a unit of ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands.  The PHE division oversees PPC’s home entertainment and transactional digital distribution activities worldwide. The division is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment content on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television, Paramount Players, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and CBS and applicable licensing and servicing of certain DreamWorks Animation titles.  PHE additionally manages global licensing of studio content and transactional distribution across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices and emerging technologies.

Watch on Amazon Prime Video! Season One  Season Two

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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.


Star Trek: Short Treks on Blu-ray

Blog: Welcome Back!

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Blog Post #211




Cartoon of girl writing blogI have to apologize once more for not writing in this blog. My last year of taking classes just really made me too busy for anything else. Oh, I wrote a million blogs in my head, but when it came to actually writing them here….that was the problem. I will try to do better now that I’m working full time on the site again!

I hope you’re all doing well in this weird time.  In some ways, it’s a very good time for television because more people are probably watching than ever before (even if they’re watching on their computers, phones or tablets, and not on “traditional” TV). I’ve never seen so many people asking what they should watch, or talking about TV, on social media.  Of course, there are more people on social media, too, than before, I’m sure. Or I should say, there are fewer lurkers. I know people that never posted much at all before, and now they’re posting often.  A lot of people just have more time on their hands because they’re not working, they’re not traveling, or they’re not going out with friends… or anywhere else.  The big winners for this odd period in our lives are Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, for sure.  Probably  Pornhub, too. 😉Emergence's Jo and Piper

The bad side of this for TV is that new shows are not getting made.  The sports channels are doing the worst because there are no new major sporting events to show (that will change soon, now that baseball is returning).  The other networks are suffering from not being able to film new shows. Fortunately, they all had many shows already filmed, but we don’t know what’s going to happen in the Fall yet. No one does. I read an article that said that, since there was no pilot season, the networks were just buying scripts. That is amazing!!  It will be interesting to see what comes out of that.  There won’t be as many new shows coming this Fall, though. It’s a shame, then, that they had to cancel “Emergence,” which I loved!! 😡

The soap operas are now going to be filming new episodes.  “Bold and Beautiful” on CBS started filming last week.  “General Hospital” on ABC and “Young and The Restless” on CBS are planning to start in July.  They have to prepare how they’re doing to do it safely as well as negotiate with the unions.  I think the primetime shows are watching to see how the soaps do it before they start themselves. I read that B&B will be using some blow-up dolls? I don’t know how I feel about that…

I just finished watching the Daytime Emmys, which were “virtual,” but at least they were finally back on TV. They’d been online-only for the past 5 years, which made most soap fans angry. I mean, really….we watch your shows, but you can’t be bothered to spend 2 hours for ONE night a year, thanking the soaps and their fans??  Anyway…It was a weird ceremony.  From what I  gather, each of the nominees was asked to send in a video, in case they won, with their acceptance sMaurice Benard and Jacqueline MacInnes Wood at Daytime Emmyspeech.  I feel bad for the  actors that had to pretend they won, and then they didn’t win. Yikes.  Many of the actors this year mentioned the “Black Lives Matter” campaign or alluded to it in their speeches. What bothered me, though, was the lack of applause. I could ALMOST believe that the ceremony was real, except for that.  Canned applause would have been better, I think. Next year, if it must be virtual, how about renting out a giant theater, inviting the public, making everyone sit apart, with masks, and then just show them the virtual show, and record their applause? That would be more authentic, at least.

By the way, why the heck were last year’s Emmy winners Maurice Benard (Sonny, GH) and Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy, B&B) sitting next to each other on camera??? They weren’t wearing masks, either.  That was so bizarre and, frankly, a little irresponsible, I think. I mean, it’s fine if the two of them want to risk their health (and the health of their families), but it doesn’t show a very good example to the rest of the world.Al Freeman, Jr. at Daytime Emmys 1979

I enjoyed their “Most Memorable Moments” from past  Daytime Emmy Telecasts. However, it would have been nice to see more from the 20th century. They only showed a few from before 2000. Also, I would have preferred to see more clips from the actual shows nominated, than clips from past awards shows. I think that was the worst part of the show.  Now, having said all that, I liked most of the wins. I was glad that Tamara Braun (who won for her work as Kim on GH), Heather Tom (Katie on B&B), Bryton James (Devon, Y&R) and Olivia Rose Keegan (Claire, Days) won.  However, I thought that Jon Lindstrom (Kevin, GH) should have won for Best Actor. Also, I was horrified that B&B won for best writing for that awful Beth baby switch storyline. It was horribly contrived and went on for 7 months.  Good idea, very poorly executed.  The other stories nominated were ALL better.

As usual, I’m trying to juggle everything, including my TV watching. I have too many shows on my DVR, so I’m always trying to watch stuff there. Then I get DVD’s to review, and I also have been trying to binge-watch a few shows that I really like, that I had fallen behind on. On my DVR recently I’m watching “Stargirl” on The CBlindspot's Rich, Patterson, Kurt and JaneW, which I like, as well As “The 100,” “In the Dark,” and “Burden of  Truth,” all on The CW. Also, I’ve been watching “Blindspot” on NBC and “Grantchester” on PBS. Lastly, I still watch “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” on TBS; and “Real Time with Bill Maher” and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” both on HBO.  Besides all that, I try to keep up on “Days of Our Lives.” It’s been nice not to have to watch the other soaps, but I am keeping the ones that are older ones. I save those to DVD.

Speaking of “Blindspot,” I’m still so mad that they killed off Edgar. I loved his relationship with Zapata.  He was the only black character left on the show! And now almost everyone left is white. How short-sighted of the showrunner, particularly in this day and age. What were they thinking??actors from Quiz

In my binge-watching, after catching up with all the other CW superhero shows, I watched the rest of “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Picard” and “The Mandalorian.”  I also watched a great miniseries from AMC called “Quiz.” It’s only three parts and worth watching (based on a real story).  I tried to watch “Homecoming” on Amazon (starring Julia Roberts) yesterday because everyone said it was so good.  It was very boring, so I don’t think I’ll keep watching. It was an interesting drama but just way too slow.

What did you think of the Daytime Emmys? What are you watching now? Let us know in the comments!

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Bryton James and Tamara Braun

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Neil, Malcolm and Dru

 

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The 4 actors who've played Adam

Blog: It’s May Already!!??!!

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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 Beautifuldescriptions 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 Emmysboat 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 Emmysthat 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 Arrowseason 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 Supergirlyet! 😆

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 CWcanceled. 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 Netflixheartbreaking 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!

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B&B Article 5/6/19

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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

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B&B Article 4/2/19

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Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Jacob Young and Karla Mosley attend a photocall for the "The Bold and the Beautiful" TV series on June 15, 2015 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) Steffy, Rick and Maya

Our Opinions

B&B Needs To Be Fixed! By Suzanne

The show has had a long history of wonderful romantic couples and triangles. They’re at their best when they do sweeping romantic stories, location shoots and fashion shows, or when they do highly unusual, surprising stories that work well, such as Maya’s transgender story or the feud between Bill and Ridge.

Lately, the show has been in a real rut, and everything they write that’s new seems to be either horrible or boring. The actress who played Maya was on maternity leave, but she and Jacob Young (who played her husband, Rick) hadn’t been seen a long while before that. Once they married them off and they had a kid, the writers lost interest (which happens far too damn much – married couples don’t have to be boring!). They made such awesome choices to bring in her sister, Nicole, and her parents, but now Nicole, Zende, and Sasha are gone, and her parents are rarely seen. We never hear about anything having to do with the transgender story, and Jacob Young is gone. This is a huge mistake on their part. Young was an Emmy winner and has a huge fan following. He has great chemistry with everyone. I really miss his interaction with Ridge and Brooke. I would have loved to have seen his reactions to some of the stories that have transpired. I was hugely disappointed when we never got to see him yell at Ridge for his short romance with Quinn, or his machinations with the judge in Katie’s custody hearing.

B&B takes place in Los Angeles, in the fashion business, yet it’s rarely had any non-white characters, or any LGBTQ characters. They had addressed both issues with Maya and her family. Now they’re back to having no other LGBTQ characters (and since Maya is played by a woman, her transgender identity doesn’t even come up), and few African American characters.

One way that the show is very clumsy is when they bring in a bunch of teen or other young characters in the summer, which hardly ever work and are quickly written out again. They did that again this year with Emma, Xander and Zoe. First, the story focused on Emma, who was brought in as Justin’s niece. The character was very boring. They tried to force a romance with her and Xander, which also fell flat. They rarely used Justin with her at all, so having that connection made little sense. Bringing in Zoe gave the story a little more life, and eventually, they wrote out Emma. However, the Zoe-Xander romance, and their previous breakup, makes little sense. She was bad, but now she’s good….what??? And having her cat die seemed like it could lead to something interesting (maybe Emma was really a stalker and killed her cat?), but it didn’t. It was pointless.

Then they brought in Reese as Zoe’s father. Now, he has more charisma than all of those kids combined. He is funny and also can handle the drama. He had great chemistry with Taylor and seemed poised to maybe be too-good-to-be-true crazy town guy with her. However, they completely ruined his character by having him switch the babies and tell Hope that hers was dead. No soap fan is going to pull for him after that. Again, they quickly wrote him out. Perhaps he’ll return someday, but I doubt they will ever be able to redeem him after that. It was nice to see Taylor with a new man. They should revisit that soon. Say, how about pairing her with Justin? It would have been great to see her with the new Thorne (Ingo Rademacher), but now he’s gone, too.

Now we’re left with the big secret of Hope’s baby being alive, and more people know it every day. They brought in Flo, who is beautiful but really, really boring. She seems to have zero personality. She even makes Hope seem a little less vanilla. I don’t see any chemistry between her and anyone else. She’s a fine actress, but the writing is not supporting her.

The show seems stuck. Will they put Katie and Bill back together (and does anyone really care)? Will Hope leave Liam for Thomas? (I kind of hope so) It’s a shame they killed off Caroline because I loved her. She really was great, and her exit made no sense. We’ve seen a lot of Thomases over the years, but the new one seems the most bland. He’s an OK actor, but he’s not nearly as handsome as the last two. This is a soap, OK? Mostly women watch it. We want to see handsome men, and women we can relate to (or that can act really well). We don’t really care if the men can act, as long as they look pretty. They seem to forget this. Flo better not get in the way of Wyatt and Sally (bringing Sally back was one of the few things they got right lately). They should show Eric and Quinn a whole lot more. More Donna and Katie, more Pam and Charlie. If they bring in any more new characters, they should make sure they’re interesting, and introduce them very slowly. I want to see more LGBTQ characters, and more actors of color. It’s L.A., a very multi-cultural town… Bring in some Asians and Latinos. Get with the 21st century!

Hope and Brooke

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Charlie and Pam at Thanksgiving

Here you’ll find all of our Opinion Articles as well as Q&A Interviews.

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B&B Needs to be Fixed! 4/2/19

My Letter to the PTB 5/6/19

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