Television reviews – Page 24

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...

“Master of None”—But Loads of Fun

Written by diana on November 9, 2015. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment on “Master of None”—But Loads of Fun

Could there be any comedic boundaries left following Amy Schumer and Louie CK? The answer is yes! Master of None, in ten half-hour episodes (a Netflix original), we see an extraordinary depiction of New York life created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang (both from “Parks and Recreations”). , I’ve only seen two episodes so far (the series premiered on November 6), and I’m hooked. Dev (Ansari’s character) is a wannabe actor relegated to trying out for commercials. His friends are also grappling with jobs, love life, and trying not to be losers. In raw yet disarming dialogue, Master of None...

The House of Eliott –Fashion Haute Couture

Written by diana on September 30, 2015. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 2 Comments on The House of Eliott –Fashion Haute Couture

House of Eliott This BBC television series broadcast between 1991 and 1994 is a sleeper, dramatizing feminism immediately after the First World War. A consistent theme throughout “The House of Eliott” is the struggle of women in the 1920s to live fulfilling and independent lives. Created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, who had previously devised “Upstairs, Downstairs,” this is a period drama focused on the same era as “Downton Abbey”. Two sisters, Evangeline and Beatrice Eliott establish a fashion house designing haute couture after they are forced to be on their own...

Orange is the New Black (OITNB) –Keeps on Going Strong

Written by diana on July 7, 2015. Posted in Television reviews. 2 Comments on Orange is the New Black (OITNB) –Keeps on Going Strong

Feminism, sexual perversion, peccadilloes, assault, and experimentation run strong in Season Three (2015). [See my reviews, “Orange is the New Black—Life Behind Bars”, August 7, 2013 and “The Backstory Behind Orange is the New Black”, August 15, 2013.] Nothing like this has been portrayed on television, without a suggestive body shot, excruciating violence, or even the victim’s voice. OITNB scenes of how women can become more compassionate through sex with each other are so powerful, indeed so extraordinary and original, that the sexual scene is secondary to the emotional intimacy....

“Wayward Pines”—Stray at Your Own Risk

Written by diana on June 19, 2015. Posted in Television reviews. No Comments on “Wayward Pines”—Stray at Your Own Risk

Wayward Pines Based on the Wayward Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, (creator of The Sixth Sense,–“I see dead people”), “Wayward Pines” is an intense thriller and dystopia, which premiered on Fox-TV in mid-May. This series is “The Prisoner” meets “The Walking Dead” with a bit of “Twin Peaks” and “Hunger Games” thrown in. Definitely not for the faint-of-heart. The first episode opens with a hook: FBI agent, Ethan Burke (played magnificently by Matt Dillon) has had a car accident in Wayward Pines, Idaho, on assignment in search of two fellow FBI agents,...

“Empire” –It’s All About Cookie

Written by diana on June 9, 2015. Posted in Television reviews. 2 Comments on “Empire” –It’s All About Cookie

Cookie and Lucious “Empire”, part family saga, part “Glee”, and part soap opera, is an entertaining new television series on Fox with something for everyone! Created by Lee Daniels (of “Precious” and “The Butler” fame), “Empire” gives both Terrence Howard as Lucious Lyons and Taraji P. Henson as Cookie, his ex-wife, the platform to demonstrate their considerable acting and singing skills. The drama focues on hip-hop music mogul, Lucious Lyons, an underworld lowlife criminal whose wife took the seventeen-year prison sentence he should have had as partners in crime. Empire Entertainment,...