Television reviews – Page 23

“The Tunnel” — Turf War or Building Bridges?

Written by diana on August 7, 2016. Posted in Television reviews. 5 Comments on “The Tunnel” — Turf War or Building Bridges?

The Tunnel This British-French bilingual thriller is a PBS television series, adapted from the 2011 Danish/Swedish crime series “The Bridge” [also remade as a 2013 American Fox series with a Mexican/American police team]. Hans Rosenfeldt, the original creator, develops this British-French version, renamed “The Tunnel”, as well. “The Tunnel” stars Stephen Dillane (of “Game of Thrones” fame) as British policeman Karl Roebuck and Clémence Poésy (from “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”) as French policewoman Elise Wassermann. The mismatched detectives must work together to find...

“The Family”—A Plot of the Broken-Hearted

Written by diana on July 3, 2016. Posted in Television reviews. 3 Comments on “The Family”—A Plot of the Broken-Hearted

Guest blogger: Emily Lewis, founder of MrsMommyBookNerdsBookReviews.com, a fantastic blog reviewing novels focusing on the themes of family and parenting, as well as children’s books. Go check it out! The Family The ABC drama– THE FAMILY— is a psychological thriller that showcases a family trying to recover from a tragedy that occurred a decade before. The politician’s young son disappears when she is campaigning near their home and presumed dead. None of the family members have recovered from the loss and all are fighting their own demons. This television...

“Bates Motel”, Seasons 1-3—Mother-Son Obsession

Written by diana on June 13, 2016. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment on “Bates Motel”, Seasons 1-3—Mother-Son Obsession

Norman Bates The ongoing television series, A&E’s “Bates Motel” is a prequel to “Psycho”, the classic Alfred Hitchcock movie (1960). In “Bates Motel” we see the backstory of Norman Bates and the unfolding of his relationship with his mother, Norma, and half brother during his adolescence. The first season received critical praise, especially for Vera Farmiga who plays the mother, Norma Bates, who was nominated for a 2013 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. The series continues to be A&E’s number one drama series of all time among adults in the...

The Good Wife—The Finale: A Good End?

Written by diana on May 17, 2016. Posted in Television reviews. 3 Comments on The Good Wife—The Finale: A Good End?

The Good Wife finale The Good Wife ended its seventh addicting season on Mother’s Day as a paean to Alicia Florrick , the award-winning Julianna Margulies, and the journey Florrick has taken over the course of seven long years. (See my earlier May 12, 2012 review of this series. ) She realizes her rebirth—from the ignominy of being an adulterous governor’s wife, the lawyer who gave up her career to raise her two children to adolescence, to the brilliant lawyer who becomes a powerhouse both in the courtroom and in the political arena her husband thought was his territory alone. [Spoiler...

“Confirmation”—The Sexual Harassment of Anita Hill

Written by diana on April 24, 2016. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 3 Comments on “Confirmation”—The Sexual Harassment of Anita Hill

Almost twenty-five years ago, Anita Hill testified in front of an all-white male congressional hearing presided over by Senator Joe Biden, accusing Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, a legal concept that did not, as yet, resonate with the American public. In “Confirmation”, an HBO mini-series, we see the reliving of the riveting testimony: Anita Hill’s accusations and Clarence Thomas’s defense with almost exact wording from the hearing transcripts. At times the hearing seems to deal with race – particularly after Thomas’s “high tech lynching” comment,...

Jackie Robinson Day—April 15

Written by diana on April 15, 2016. Posted in Television reviews. 2 Comments on Jackie Robinson Day—April 15

In the two-part Ken Burns’ documentary, “Jackie Robinson”, broadcast this past week on PBS television, we are immediately hooked by the legendary baseball player’s opening statement: “If I had a room jammed with trophies, awards and citations, and a child of mine came into that room and asked what I had done in defense of black people and decent whites fighting for freedom, and I had to tell that child that I had kept quiet, that I had been timid, I would have to mark myself a total failure at the whole business of living.” In raw archival footage and interviews we see Jackie...