Peg review
Posted : 2 years ago on 11 November 2022 06:18 (A review of Peg)Shhhh,...listen closely,....those vocals in the background? None other than [Link removed - login to see] of the later Doobie Bros and his own solo career.
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Grantchester review
Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 23 August 2022 01:58 (A review of Grantchester)This is a show that ticks off so many positive boxes for me:
British crime drama, by Brits for a British audience, well-acted chemistry, one crime per episode with an overarching storyline, the unlikely pairing of the sacred and the secular (in this case, two damaged souls trying to make the world better from their own venues) and more.
It's also based in the 50s, when the Brits were still recovering from the ravages of WWII but showing the inklings of Britain with the Beatles, Carnaby Street and the free-wheeling 60s that made London the societal rival to New York City.
And this is where I take issue with shows like this: a 50s show that's written and produced in the 21st Century, with a 21st Century mindset.
And it all centers around the character of Leonard Finch, a/k/a "Gay Leonard." Leonard originally was the "naรฏve" (read "closeted") curate of the local Anglican parish. Over time, his homosexuality became a broader part of his character, including his hush-hush boyfriend. Mind you, I don't have a problem with the LGBTQ society but remember: this was 50's England and LGBTQ may well have been some secret British ministry, but not the acronym for a section of their society. That is, prior to 1967, [Link removed - login to see] in Britain (it wasn't decriminalized in Scotland until 1980).
As a sworn officer of the law, Detective Inspector Geordie Keating should have been duty-bound to arrest Leonard and his boyfriend! And either Vicars Sidney Chambers or Will Davenport, as part of their Anglican duties, should have reported Leonard and had him drummed out of the C of E for his "sins." Now (spoiler alert!) Leonard, as the victim of another act of crime, is ultimately tried and found guilty of being gay. He did time in jail and was defrocked by the Anglican hierarchy. But, by the end of Series 7, he and his boyfriend were still an active couple. The wokeism of the 21st Century,...sigh!
British crime drama, by Brits for a British audience, well-acted chemistry, one crime per episode with an overarching storyline, the unlikely pairing of the sacred and the secular (in this case, two damaged souls trying to make the world better from their own venues) and more.
It's also based in the 50s, when the Brits were still recovering from the ravages of WWII but showing the inklings of Britain with the Beatles, Carnaby Street and the free-wheeling 60s that made London the societal rival to New York City.
And this is where I take issue with shows like this: a 50s show that's written and produced in the 21st Century, with a 21st Century mindset.
And it all centers around the character of Leonard Finch, a/k/a "Gay Leonard." Leonard originally was the "naรฏve" (read "closeted") curate of the local Anglican parish. Over time, his homosexuality became a broader part of his character, including his hush-hush boyfriend. Mind you, I don't have a problem with the LGBTQ society but remember: this was 50's England and LGBTQ may well have been some secret British ministry, but not the acronym for a section of their society. That is, prior to 1967, [Link removed - login to see] in Britain (it wasn't decriminalized in Scotland until 1980).
As a sworn officer of the law, Detective Inspector Geordie Keating should have been duty-bound to arrest Leonard and his boyfriend! And either Vicars Sidney Chambers or Will Davenport, as part of their Anglican duties, should have reported Leonard and had him drummed out of the C of E for his "sins." Now (spoiler alert!) Leonard, as the victim of another act of crime, is ultimately tried and found guilty of being gay. He did time in jail and was defrocked by the Anglican hierarchy. But, by the end of Series 7, he and his boyfriend were still an active couple. The wokeism of the 21st Century,...sigh!
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Search for a Whisper review
Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 18 July 2022 08:16 (A review of Search for a Whisper)Have you ever had a feeling of deja vu? Watch this episode,...does it seem like you recognize the plot? You should! It's a near line-by-line remake of the Season 1 episode [Link removed - login to see] the only real difference is the Season 1 episode takes place during Mannix's days as an employee of the Intertect Agency. Boy, I have half a mind to add this to my [Link removed - login to see] list!
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Duel review
Posted : 2 years, 4 months ago on 4 July 2022 02:52 (A review of Duel)In any setting, the vast southern California desert alone could pass as a malevolent force. Placed into the hands of an up-and-coming young director named Steven Spielberg, that force morphs into an aging fuel tanker driven by a man Spielberg described as [Link removed - login to see] The movie itself, based on a short story, was the product of a network mandate to churn out weekly movies that basically served as time filler during the broadcasted sport off-seasons and handed over to Spielberg almost as a practice exercise for what excellence would come from him in the future. Dennis Weaver, a seasoned everyman actor, made the exercise all that much easier. Quaint and somewhat dated after 50 years (Santa Clarita has basically grown out into the northernmost portions of LA's San Fernando Valley), it's still a great little watch.
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Men in Black review
Posted : 2 years, 4 months ago on 20 June 2022 12:13 (A review of Men in Black) Only Stooge film to receive an Oscar nomination. And it's easy to see why! "Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard!" is the war cry that starts the medical mayhem! An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but what if that apple has its skin on the inside? And what saves those poor miners? Radium,...because why not? Just sit back and enjoy!
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Chick-Fil-A review
Posted : 2 years, 7 months ago on 10 April 2022 11:48 (A review of Chick-Fil-A)I know CFA takes a lot of heat for the opinions of it's owner, but in all the years I've patronized them, I've never had a bad meal and the high school kids they hire aren't there working dead-end "McJobs;" the managers actually encourage them to move on and continue their education.
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The King's Man review
Posted : 2 years, 7 months ago on 2 April 2022 03:11 (A review of The King's Man)A prequel that's more like Nyquil! Usually in franchises, there are two paths: good original, better second act, and out-of-steam denouement or great original and rapid slide into banality. Guess where this one falls? If the original were a serious movie, instead of a tongue-in-cheek wink towards the James Bond franchise, I would understand the dour tone of this episode. And without giving away the ending, it looks like there's more to come. Maybe this reboot will go the first route? One can only hope,...
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A Knight's Tale review
Posted : 2 years, 7 months ago on 24 March 2022 06:53 (A review of A Knight's Tale)A giddily anachronistic, feel-good movie! Like going to your local Renaissance Faire and seeing up-and-coming actors who, absent the tragic loss of Heath Ledger, went on to acting fame and fortune.
The post-tournament dinner and dance scene, turning from minstrels to David Bowie is hysterical!
The post-tournament dinner and dance scene, turning from minstrels to David Bowie is hysterical!
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The Mike Douglas Show review
Posted : 2 years, 8 months ago on 1 March 2022 04:28 (A review of The Mike Douglas Show)I remember this show from my childhood because it originated in Philadelphia on KYW TV (then the home of the show's production company, Westinghouse Broadcasting). If you can imagine The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, broadcast in the late afternoon, and with a rotating series of celebrities in the Ed McMahon role, you had Mike Douglas. Sadly, in the show's later years, the production moved away to Los Angeles and ultimately faded into obscurity.
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Butterfly review
Posted : 2 years, 8 months ago on 23 February 2022 06:35 (A review of Butterfly)This episode, still one of my favorites, had so many things going on behind the scenes.
First, it was critically considered one of the best of a bad 5th season (and beyond). At this point, the mortal wounds from the departures of Barbara Bain and Martin Landau were starting to take their toll. The IMF missions were pivoting away from escapades in faux Eastern European countries mimicking the real Cold War and, instead, frequently targeting "The Syndicate" (read WASPy Mafia) in the US.
Leonard Nimoy's role of Paris - magician, sleight-of-hand expert and master of disguise - did a passable effort to replace Landau's Rollin Hand, but the revolving group of co-stars (it was always alluded that the IMF contained a broader group of operatives beyond the show's regulars), including Lesley Ann Warren and Sam Elliott, never provided the same team chemistry as Bain and Landau.
Now, about the episode: this was Japan in 1970. As we are 50-plus years removed from the episode, it's hard to imagine 1970 Japan was 25 years removed from unleashing a global conflict that ended in the only war-time use of nuclear weapons and 6 years from their global reemergence in the 1964 Summer Olympics. American business was actively engaged in trade with this new, peaceful Japanese economy. But for some Japanese, bitter war memories are behind a push to discredit America and return Japan to an isolationist society.
The mission? The IMF force must exonerate an American businessman framed for the murder of his wife, a relative of an influential Japanese isolationist. And this is where the 5th season's issues become obvious. Production costs limited the Japan settings to filming in the Japanese Gardens park in Los Angeles. While the supporting cast was populated with respected Japanese-American actors such as James Shigeta, Khigh Dhiegh's role as bad guy Toshio Masaki was just a revisited version of his role as recurring Hawaii Five-O villain Wo Fat. Critics assailed Nimoy's Paris as a kabuki performer. Nimoy's features were too European to ever pass as an Oriental native. Even worse, Dhiegh ([Link removed - login to see]
First, it was critically considered one of the best of a bad 5th season (and beyond). At this point, the mortal wounds from the departures of Barbara Bain and Martin Landau were starting to take their toll. The IMF missions were pivoting away from escapades in faux Eastern European countries mimicking the real Cold War and, instead, frequently targeting "The Syndicate" (read WASPy Mafia) in the US.
Leonard Nimoy's role of Paris - magician, sleight-of-hand expert and master of disguise - did a passable effort to replace Landau's Rollin Hand, but the revolving group of co-stars (it was always alluded that the IMF contained a broader group of operatives beyond the show's regulars), including Lesley Ann Warren and Sam Elliott, never provided the same team chemistry as Bain and Landau.
Now, about the episode: this was Japan in 1970. As we are 50-plus years removed from the episode, it's hard to imagine 1970 Japan was 25 years removed from unleashing a global conflict that ended in the only war-time use of nuclear weapons and 6 years from their global reemergence in the 1964 Summer Olympics. American business was actively engaged in trade with this new, peaceful Japanese economy. But for some Japanese, bitter war memories are behind a push to discredit America and return Japan to an isolationist society.
The mission? The IMF force must exonerate an American businessman framed for the murder of his wife, a relative of an influential Japanese isolationist. And this is where the 5th season's issues become obvious. Production costs limited the Japan settings to filming in the Japanese Gardens park in Los Angeles. While the supporting cast was populated with respected Japanese-American actors such as James Shigeta, Khigh Dhiegh's role as bad guy Toshio Masaki was just a revisited version of his role as recurring Hawaii Five-O villain Wo Fat. Critics assailed Nimoy's Paris as a kabuki performer. Nimoy's features were too European to ever pass as an Oriental native. Even worse, Dhiegh ([Link removed - login to see]
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