[Yes, this is another looonnnggg post! You’ve been warned… — KMAB] | |
Background: | |
Today’s review(s) are for a TV series and movie based on a science-fiction / western style premise. The show is titled: “Firefly” (2002). The movie is titled: “Serenity” (2005). Both star: Nathan Fillion as Captain Malcolm ‘Mal’ Reynolds, Gina Torres as Zoë Washburne (second in command / wife), Alan Tudyk as Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburne (ship’s pilot / husband), Morena Baccarin as Inara Serra (a liscensed “companion”), Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb (soldier / weapons expert), Jewel Staite as Kaylee Frye (ship’s engineer / mechanic), Sean Maher as Dr. Simon Tam (ship’s doctor / brother), Summer Glau as River Tam (telepath / enhanced warrior / sister), Ron Glass as Shepherd Derrial Book (ship’s preacher / retired government agent), with Chiwetel Ejiofor (a government “operative”) and David Krumholtz (a futuristic hacker) appearing in the movie (but not in the series). | |
The basic story-line for both the series and the movie is the same: Earth has become uninhabitable, so humanity has colonized a new solar system (in the TV series it’s continuously referred to as a new galaxy). The setting is roughly 500 years in the future. The planets and moons in the new system have been “Terra-formed” so they support human life. The planets / moons nearest the sun (the closest together) form an “Alliance” government. The outer planets revolted and the war ended with the rebels losing. ‘Mal’ Reynolds was a sergeant in the rebel army and after the war he purchases a spaceship so he is “mostly” beyond the reach of any government. The ship / crew take any job they can to stay afloat in space. The ship is an unarmed transport vessel: “Firefly” class. (It looks vaguely like an Earth firefly bug who’s rear-end glows.) The crew is armed with small caliber personal firearms (and some small explosives). | |
The series runs 14 episodes with the pilot being the longest at roughly 90 minutes and the remaining “hourly” episodes running about 42-45 minutes. | |
I remember watching a couple of episodes during the original run (back in 2005-6), but I never caught them all before it was cancelled and pulled from broadcast. A work friend picked up the DVD’s when they came out and as he knew I was a “Trekkie”, he loaned them to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the series and he said they also had a movie – which he loaned me, too. I made a mental note to pick up both and I have. (Side note: the series DVD’s come with “extras” which your streaming service may or may not include with the series purchase.) | |
Anyway, I just finished watching both (again). | |
“Firefly” — TV series review | |
If you’ve ever spent ANY time watching American western TV series from the 50s / 60s, the formula is pretty standard. Weekly episode of the crew doing their transporting of goods around space with occasional petty larceny thrown in. Like all of the better series, there is an on-going / over-arching story-line to allow for the personal growth of each of the characters. There is also a surprising amount of well written dialog and humor in the series (and the movie). | |
The TV series was never a broadcast hit (and as I recall was re-slotted for live sporting events, which almost always hurts a new show’s numbers). The series was cancelled but has achieved a cult following over the last 20 years. There was initial talk of restarting the series, but it was reformatted into a movie instead. | |
Final recommendation: very highly recommended!! I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this series (and movie) several times over the years. Come for the action and special effects and get hooked on the characters and story arcs. One caution: There are multiple instances of drinking, swearing and the occasional sex scene (although you never “really” see anything but sweaty arms and backs). | |
“Serenity” — movie review | |
This is a follow-up to the TV series and takes up shortly after the last episode. The “preacher” and the “companion” have left the ship and the government / Alliance is still trying to recover River Tam. Chiwetel Ejiofor is the government “operative” sent to bring her back. He is “licenced-to-kill” and he does – repeatedly – to achieve the objective. | |
River Tam knows something the Alliance wants kept secret and they are willing to do most anything to get her back / silence her. The movie is a long series of chases and fights. | |
Now, both the movie and the TV series are simple entertainment… They are “Sci-Fi’d” westerns with enough action to keep you entertained and enough plot / character dialog – development to keep you interested. That’s it… Don’t expect anything to make sense (scientifically). Just get your popcorn and get ready to be entertained (not educated). | |
By the way, the movie doesn’t explain it very well (the series does), so I will: “Serenity” is the name of the ship – a Firefly-class transport vessel. The name comes from the famous final battle in the revolt which both ‘Mal’ and Zoë fought in: “the Battle of Serenity Valley“. | |
Another point: in both the series and the movie, it sounds like the cast are speaking some form of Chinese. They are not. Some of the individual words are, but much of it is made up to get around the (rating agencies) censorship of cursing / cussing in broadcast TV. | |
Final recommendation: (Again) Very Highly recommended! The movie can stand on it’s own, but you’ll enjoy it more if you watch the full TV series first. A last note: the movie was not a BOMB! It did make back its production cost – but just barely. The fan base for both versions continues to grow (slowly), and there is “some” talk of Disney doing a re-boot for their streaming service. Disney bought out FOX movies and now has rights to the IP (“intellectual property”). Obviously, the original cast are all too old to reappear in their roles (20 years flies by!) | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Facing Life |
70’s Sunshine Sound | |
2020 | #IncompetentTrump And His Pandemic Briefings |
#IncompetentTrump | |
2019 | I Hope So |
2018 | Painted Into |
2017 | Prayers, Miracles And Lottery Tickets |
Roman View | |
2016 | Dignity And Grace |
2015 | Is It Warm Enough For You |
2014 | What The Right STILL Wants |
2013 | Embrace Serendipity |
2012 | Your Order, Please |
2011 | Well Enough Anyway |
Archive for the ‘Series (TV or Streaming) Review’ Category
Grr-Argghh
Posted in Movie Review, Movies, Reviews, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, TV Series, tagged Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk, Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Krumholtz, Dr. Simon Tam, Firefly - TV series review, Gina Torres, Highly Recommended Movie, Highly Recommended TV Series, Hoban 'Wash' Washburne, Inara Serra, Jayne Cobb, Jewel Staite, Kaylee Frye, Morena Baccarin, Movie Review, Nathan Fillion, River Tam, Ron Glass, Sean Maher, Serenity - movie review, Shepherd Derrial Book, Summer Glau, Zoë Washburne on May 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Big And Bad (In A Good Way)
Posted in Reviews, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, TV Series, tagged Alan Ritchson, Amazon Prime Series, Die Hard movie series, Jack Reacher, JAG/NCIS, James Dover Grant CBE, John Wick movie series, Lee Child, Reacher - streaming series, Reviews, Streaming Series Review, Tom Cruise, United States Military Academy at West Point, Very Good to Strong Recommendation on February 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“Reacher” — streaming (TV) series: Season 1 (2022) | |
This review is for the recently released Amazon Prime video / movie / TV series titled: “Reacher“. The series is based on the book series by the same name written by Lee Child (James Dover Grant CBE). The book series first started getting released in the late 1990’s and comes out about one volume per year – so, yes, there are now about twenty-plus books in the series. I’ve read the first four and then skipped ahead for one of the books which explained some of the character’s background. I’ve also seen both of the Tom Cruise movies in which Tom plays the lead. I’ve done a review of the first (here), but never got around to reviewing the second (which I’ll probably need to re-watch before finally reviewing). | |
Anyway, the main character – Jack Reacher – is played by actor Alan Ritchson. This is the first role I’ve seen Ritchson in. Reacher is a retired Army officer who served in a “special investigations” unit. Some sort of super JAG / NCIS. They only worked cases no one else could handle – blah, blah, blah. Reacher comes from a military family, graduated from West Point (as did his older brother), and served with distinction during his career. Reacher retired as a major; a rank he regained after being busted back down to captain. The series history differs from the books as over twenty years has passed since the first novel, so they’ve “re-booted” his life to make him younger for the series. It’s also possible the character got an early-out / medical discharge as he doesn’t seem old enough to have graduated from the Military Academy and served a full twenty years of service for a “normal” retirement. In real life, Ritchson is 37 years old, (although he looks younger to me) so I guess it’s possible. Reacher is an expert with multiple firearms, hand to hand combat and has a photographic memory. He is also given to sarcasm. | |
Reacher has no “social-media presence”, no driver’s license, no phone, no permanent address, no ID and no bags. He has a passport, a couple of hundred dollars in cash and the clothes on his back. He buys used clothes when he needs to change and tosses what he’s done with. Reacher likes old-fashioned blues, so he decides to visit the home town of a famous blues musician (which his brother mentioned). The night before he arrives in the town, the murders start… Reacher is the only stranger in town and he walked into town on the same road near where the body was found. He is arrested and off we go… | |
The series is a thriller / crime / action series loosely based on a bigger than life (6ft 5in) paladin who roams around the country with no ties, just trying to mind his own business and bring a form of “rough” justice to the world when he feels it’s needed. | |
So: is the series any good? Is it true to the books? Is it better than the (two) movies? Is the acting / dialogue any good? Yes, pretty close, so-so and yes. The season-series is broken down into eight episodes of roughly 50 minutes each, so you’re investing almost 6-7 hours which gives a lot more time to tell the story (book). The fights are pretty well shot (choreography wise). Given the lead character’s physical size, most of the fights involve multiple attackers / combatants – again, true to the book. I found the series marginally better than the two Cruise movies. I didn’t think the acting was much better, but I found the inter-personal dialogue to be better – particularly the lead’s sarcasm. | |
The books are good to very good. Cruise’s two movies were entertaining action movies, but nothing to write home about. Ritchson simply makes a better Reacher than Cruise does physically (not in acting, though). Cruise is (maybe) 5ft 7in; Ritchson is (maybe) 6ft 2in in real life. Reacher claims to be 6ft 4in in the series. He’s supposed to be 6ft 5in in the books. In a funny (strange) way, although height was the biggest complaint about casting Cruise in the movies, it doesn’t seem to be a factor for Ritchson. The problem remains: a “BIG” lead requires more than a shorter cast and the sets just don’t deliver / convey the size of the lead character. | |
Final recommendation: very good to strong recommendation. If you are a fan of the books, you will almost certainly enjoy this series more than Cruise’s two movies. If you are a fan of action / crime-thriller / vigilante genre (again), you will almost certainly enjoy this series. Note: There is some profanity and some brief nudity in a few of the episodes. There is quite a bit of violence / bloody injuries across all of the episodes, but I’d put it closer to “Die Hard” style than to “John Wick” style. The series is NOT appropriate for young teens or pre-teens (IMHO). | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Suggestions… |
Dichotomy | |
2020 | Until November… Then Vote |
2019 | Start With Health And Friends |
Iterum Vale Tres* | |
2018 | Tweets From The Disrupter-In-Chief |
2017 | Do We Still Listen To Her Silent Lips? |
Not Now, Not Ever | |
2016 | Why Do You Write/Blog? |
2015 | Can Your Repeat The Question, Please? |
2014 | On Faith |
2013 | My Name Is Charles Stein |
2012 | Faiths And Sorcery |
Made And Kept Free | |
2011 | Multi-Source Learning |
In The Morning Hour
Posted in Included Video, Quotes, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, Song Lyrics And Videos By Others, Videos, tagged Favorite Lines, Included Video, John Denver, Quotes, Take Me Home Country Roads -- music video, YouTube on December 5, 2021| 1 Comment »
Take Me Home, Country Roads |
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Favorite Line(s): | |
I hear her voice in the mornin’ hour, she calls me | |
The radio reminds me of my home far away | |
Drivin’ down the road, I get a feelin’ | |
That I should’ve been home yesterday, yesterday | |
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On This Day In: | |
2020 | Seeking Wisdom |
Relying On The Old Man | |
2019 | More Proof #45 Is Incompetent? |
2018 | Every Time I Think I’m Falling |
2017 | Still Testing The Hypothesis |
2016 | Excessive Weakness In January |
2015 | That Burns |
2014 | Hey, I Resemble That Remark… (4!) |
2013 | Sit, Put, Until… |
2012 | Lessons For My Son |
2011 | Reaching The Right Audience |
2010 | Christmas Trees and Profession of Faith |
Where Did You Go In Texas?
Posted in Included Video, Quotes, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, Song Lyrics And Videos By Others, Videos, tagged Favorite Lines, Included Video, La Grange -- music video, Quotes, Texas, YouTube, ZZ Top on October 26, 2021| Leave a Comment »
La Grange |
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Favorite Line(s): | |
Rumour spreadin’ ’round |
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In that Texas town | |
About that shack outside La Grange | |
And you know what I’m talkin’ about | |
Just let me know | |
If you wanna go | |
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On This Day In: | |
2020 | Reminds Me Of #LyingDonald |
It’s All Been Rehearsed | |
2019 | The Earth’s Breath |
Family Visit | |
2018 | Forests, Shorelines And Mountain Paths |
2017 | Reach Down |
2016 | And Women When You Are 59 |
2015 | Intersections, Explorations And Relationships |
2014 | [!(±*=)/≠], [!<] |
Orange October (XI) – Giants Win Game 5 (5 To 0)!!! | |
2013 | Hard To Deserve |
2012 | Cloudy Between Games |
Admiration, n. | |
2011 | One, Two, Three – Blink |
Sometimes It Only Takes A Smile…
Posted in Included Video, Philosophy, Quotes, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, Song Lyrics And Videos By Others, Videos, tagged Favorite Lines, Included Video, Quotes, Silly Love Songs -- music video, Sir Paul McCartney, Wings, YouTube on August 19, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Silly Love Songs |
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Favorite Line(s): | |
Love doesn’t come in a minute | |
Sometimes it doesn’t come at all | |
I only know that when I’m in it |
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It isn’t silly, | |
Love isn’t silly, | |
Love isn’t silly at all | |
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On This Day In: | |
2020 | Come Laugh With Me |
Make Life Be Life To Me | |
2019 | For Your Consideration… |
2018 | Brown’s Rules |
Day 23: Fasting Visualized | |
2017 | Still Trying To Make It |
2016 | One Lucky Man |
2015 | Food Change ==> Health Change |
2014 | 10 Commandments Of Logical Arguments (Fallacies) |
2013 | Sociology Of The Future |
2012 | 1010 |
There In The Sunshine | |
2011 | Not Enough Time |
Three Swedish Girls
Posted in Movie Review, Movies, Reviews, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, tagged Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: Extended Edition, Jason Bourne, Kenneth Branagh, Lisbeth Salander, Michael Nyqvist, Mikael Blomkvist, Noomi Rapace, Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest -- movie review, The Girl Who Played with Fire -- movie review, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- movie review, Very Highly Recommended Movie, Vudu, Wallander on September 20, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Today’s review(s) are for the extended / sub-titled version of “The Millenium Series“. “Millenium” is a six-part television series made in Sweden based on the novels written by Stieg Larsson. The six parts were combined into three “movies”, each movie consisting of two parts from the series with each part running about 90 minutes for a total of about nine(9) hours. The English version was released under the name: “Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: Extended Edition”. I watched the sub-titled version, not the one with the dubbed English. | |
The three “movies” have the corresponding names to the first three novels in the book series. I understand the book series was originally intended to run to ten books, but the author (Larsson) died unexpectedly. The “movie” titles are: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo“; “The Girl Who Played with Fire“; and, “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest“. | |
The two main characters in all three of the movies are Lisbeth Salander – played by Noomi Rapace, and Mikael Blomkvist – played by Michael Nyqvist. Salander is a twenty-something Goth hacker who works as a “researcher” for a Swedish security firm. Basically, she’s a private-eye with computer skills. Blomkvist is “famous” journalist and part owner of a do-gooder “investigative” magazine called “Millennium”. | |
The first movie (“Dragon Tatto“) has Blomkvist setup to take the fall for a false libel charge. In between his conviction and his lockup he is hired by a wealthy Swedish capitalist who wants Blomkvist to investigate the disappearance of his niece several decades ago. He is getting old and just wants to know what happened to her before he dies. | |
Anyway, Blomkvist enlists Salander’s help and they solve the mystery and Salander saves Blomkvist’s life in the process. Closing the quality circle, they also prove the libel charge was a setup and the rich guy commits suicide to avoid going to prison himself. | |
The second movie (“Played with Fire“), has Millennium investigating sex trade in Sweden for the publication of an expose implicating some government (and police) officials. The reporter and his girl friend are murdered, as is Lisbeth’s “guardian” and Lisbeth is implicated in the deaths of all three. | |
This time, Blomkvist comes to Lisbeth’s rescue gathering evidence she is innocent. Basically, some of the men involved in the sex trade are also involved with (and being protected by) the government officials. The main “bad-guy” turns out to be a Russian spy who flipped to get Swedish government protection. In turn, the government looked-the-other-way for over three decades of criminal behavior (drugs, sex trafficking, and gun running). The bad-guy also turns out to be Lisbeth’s father. In the end, both Lisbeth and her dad are captured by the police. | |
The third movie (“Hornets’ Nest“), has Lisbeth on trial for the attempted murder of her father and the possible murder of the other three (the journalist, girl friend, and guardian) from the second movie. The “government” agents seek to kill Lisbeth and her father to silence them both. They succeed in killing the dad, but not Lisbeth. | |
Ultimately, Blomkvist convinces some of the police and another secret group in the Swedish “Constitutional Protection Division” of Lisbeth’s innocence and together they gather the evidence to arrest all the baddies. There is also another issue which gets wrapped up at the end of the movie. | |
Final recommendation: High to Very highly recommended with the qualification that all three are rated “R” and there are extremely violent and sexual (nudity) scenes in the first and second movie. This is not a movie series for prudes or for anyone squeamish about nudity, rape, abuse of authority or violence (depicted) against women. The “redeeming” factor, if you need that kind of thing, is that all of the bad guys get theirs in the end. Although some are only shown arrested and disgraced, most have “untimely” deaths. | |
One cultural note: this is my first exposure to a Swedish production (TV or movie) and, other than the fact that I do not care for sub-titles, I found it a very entertaining production which reminded me of the first Jason Bourne movie in how the movie “looked” – not quite TV, not quite movie; just a funky realism look. The “only” other “Swedish” thing I remember seeing has been the “Wallander” police series. That series was shot in Sweden, but was actually a BBC production and started Kenneth Branagh in the title role – so I don’t think that counts as “Swedish”. | |
I have had this version for several weeks and just never got around to watching it. I then got an offer from Vudu to buy the “English Dubbed” version for $10. I didn’t even know the version I had wasn’t already dubbed. I watched the first movie (parts 1 and 2 of the 6-part series) and decided to pick up the dubbed version as well. I don’t speak Swedish, but I noticed what appeared to be discrepancies between what the actors were saying and what I was reading – at least some of the words sounded a LOT like other English words to me. Since I’ve invested the extra money, I’ll watch the dubbed versions, but I’ve no idea when (or if) I’ll get around to reviewing them. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Four Loves |
Favorite Westerns | |
2017 | Faith In Science |
2016 | What The World Calls |
2015 | Say What? |
2014 | Start Today |
2013 | Fly!! |
2012 | Greater Love |
2011 | Before |
Basic Training (In Films)
Posted in Movie Review, Movies, Philosophy, Reviews, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, tagged ABC Movie of the Week, Basic Training, Black-and-White Movie, Boot Camp, Darren McGavin, Don Dubbins, Drill Instructor, Earl Holliman, Fort Ord, Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Drake, Jackie Loughery, Jan-Michael Vincent, Lin McCarthy, Marine Corps, Master Sergeant Frank DePayster, Moderate To Strong Movie Recommendation, Monica Lewis, Paris Island, Private Adrian, Sergeant Jim Moore, Strong To Highly Recommended Movie, The D.I. -- movie review, Tribes -- movie review, U.S. Army, Vietnam, YouTube.com on August 23, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Caution: this is a relatively long post reviewing two movies… You’ve been warned. | |
Today’s reviews are re-watches from my childhood: “Tribes” (1970) and “The D.I.” (1957). Both are movies about being in Marine Corps Boot Camp. “The D.I.” was released when I was two years old, so I obviously never saw it on original release, but I remember seeing it in my early teens. “Tribes” I saw on its original TV broadcast. I recently discovered / watched both movies on YouTube. | |
“The D.I.” — movie review | |
If you’ve ever wondered what “Dragnet” would look like if it were turned into Marine Corps Boot Camp, this is the movie for you. The movie stars Jack Webb (who also produced and directed the film) as Sergeant Jim Moore who is a Drill Instructor (“D.I.”) at Paris Island. His job is to turn civilians into Marines and he has a problem in the person of Private Owens (played by Don Dubbins). Whenever Owens feels he’s under pressure, he quits / gives up. The company Captain (Lin McCarthy) feels Moore is getting soft and orders Moore to bring Owens around or get rid of him. | |
There are (of course) side issues: one – Moore is falling for a shop clerk (Jackie Loughery) named “Annie”, which is wrecking his “tough-guy” Marine self-image; and, two – Owens’ mother (Monica Lewis) appeals to Moore that she coddled Owens and she lost her husband (in WWII) and her two older sons (in Korea). She wants Moore to make her son into a Marine or he won’t be able to live with himself. | |
This movie is shot in black and white and it is fairly dark. I guess as a nod to realism, the movie has a scene with Moore and Annie which (shockingly) edges very close to date rape. It doesn’t happen, but I was surprised it was even implied in a movie from that period. Incidentally, in real life, Loughery married Webb the following year (1958). Despite this being a “Webb” movie (“Just the facts, Ma’am…”), from the 50’s, it is also a happily ever after ending movie – for the Private / mom and the Sergeant / clerk. Who woulda guessed? | |
Final recommendation: moderate to strong. Viewed as a “Webb” production, this is a classic. As a period piece, I would say it’s still pretty much a classic. This movie was my first introduction to the concept of “Basic Training / Boot Camp”, and I remember it had a fairly strong effect on my impressionable mind. Don’t get me wrong, this movie is not a cinematic “classic” and it’s really only a fair movie, but, in watching it, it reminded me of the simpler times of my childhood when things did seem more “black-and-white”. | |
“Tribes” — movie review | |
“Tribes” is not strictly speaking a “real” movie. Back in the 1970’s, one of the main TV networks (ABC) used to run what it called the: “ABC Movie of the Week“. Some of the ninety minute movies were pretty good and some even became TV series in their own right. | |
“Tribes” is a movie about a free-spirited (that’s “hippie”) individual who joins the Marine Corps and who has to go to (and survive) Boot Camp. It stars Jan-Michael Vincent as the free-spirited Private Adrian, Darren McGavin as Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Drake, and Earl Holliman as Chief Drill Instructor (and Drake’s boss) Master Sergeant Frank DePayster. | |
The movie always seemed to me to be a message about the changing times of the 1960’s / 1970’s in America. You’ve got two straight-arrow Marine lifers, but one has a streak of decency and the other does not. Ultimately, the leadership abilities of the young recruit pushes not only his platoon to excel, but also to win over the D.I. nominally there to break his individuality and “turn him into” a Marine who will follow orders. | |
Final recommendation: strong to highly recommended. I was very surprised how much of this movie I could recall after nearly 50 years from my first (and only) viewing. LoL – this movie also introduced me to meditation / alternative states of consciousness and boxers vs briefs. | |
I am very biased towards this movie as it had a personal effect on me when I was in Basic Training for the Army four years later. When I was learning to fire the M16, I asked my Drill Sergeant why we used “human” silhouettes instead of “bulls-eye” targets, he replied, “because we want you to learn to shoot at people.” He went on to explain Fort Ord (where I had my Basic Training) had the highest casualty and injury statistics of any of the training facilities which sent soldiers to Vietnam. It was determined this was because “West Coast” city boys didn’t shoot at other humans instinctively. Using silhouettes, trained them to shoot as a reaction instead of pausing to take aim. Fortunately, I never had to put this to the test… | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Being President Doesn’t Make You Presidential |
Day 27: 4 Weeks / 55lbs | |
2017 | I’m Seeing It, Too |
2016 | Personal Decisions |
2015 | Verbal Fluency |
2014 | Familiar |
2013 | Unbending |
2012 | Simple Sayings |
2011 | Wupped Again? |
2010 | 3 and 1… |
Musical Notes… | |
Doubt Tries… | |
Northwest Passages – Evening Two | |
The Beierly’s Web Site | |
Another P&P Review
Posted in Reviews, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, tagged #tlbd, Allison Paige, Ashley Clements, Bing Lee, Caroline Bingley, Caroline Lee, Charles Bingley, Charlotte Lu, Charlotte Lucas, Christopher Sean, Col. Fitzwilliam, Craig Frank, Daniel Vincent Gordh, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennet, Fitz Williams, Fitzwilliam Darcy, George Wickham, Georgiana "Gigi" Darcy, Georgiana Darcy, Jane Austen, Jane Bennet, Jessica Jade Andres, Julia Cho, Laura Spencer, Lydia Britney Bennet, Mary Kate Wiles, Maxwell Glick, Pride And Prejudice, Ricky Collins, The Dark Knight Rises, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries -- series review, vlogs, Wes Aderhold, William Collins, William Darcy, YouTube.com on March 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »
“The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” (2012 – 2013) — YouTube series review | |
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single viewer in possession of a good internet connection, must be in want of a new adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. | |
At any rate, as an addict to P&P, I certainly am, “in want” that is… | |
For about the last year or so, I have fallen into the well which is YouTube. I am beginning to fear it (my addictions to YouTube and P&P) is like the prison exit in the third episode of the “Batman Trilogy: The Dark Knight Rises” – you can climb and climb, but eventually you slip and fall back in. | |
Periodically, YouTube feeds me a morsel of P&P as a temptation to restart my viewing addiction. And, once again, it succeeded. Over the weekend, I re-watched the 1995 BBC version of P&P starring Colin Firth. I have already reviewed this version, but not individually, so I’ll have to add that to my list of things to do (sometime). Anyway, after coming back to YouTube, they were prompting me to go see a clip from another version (2003 – P&P: A Latter-Day Comedy) which I have not seen nor was I aware of. …And, then there was a link to “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KisuGP2lcPs). Huh? “What’s that?”, I ask. | |
My interest piqued, I clicked, and so began another marathon session of P&P. The series is presented in 100 (yes, one-hundred) vlogs episodes, each running between a few minutes and 8-ish minutes. (There are also a number of side vlogs, which I have not yet viewed.) The series is meant to be a multi-media / channel creation with the characters (and actors) also having social media presence on other sites: FaceBook, Twitter, etc., which serves as an adaptation of the classic romantic novel: “Pride And Prejudice“, written by Jane Austen. | |
The series stars Ashley Clements as Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet; Julia Cho as Charlotte Lu (Charlotte Lucas in the book) is Lizzie’s best friend and often the director / editor of her vlog; Laura Spencer as Jane Bennet, the eldest of the Bennet daughters; Mary Kate Wiles as Lydia Britney Bennet, the youngest Bennet child (the flirtly one); Christopher Sean as Bing Lee (Charles Bingley in the book) is a young, wealthy (eligible) Asian-American medical student who has moved into The Netherfield House in the same neighborhood as the Bennets; Jessica Jade Andres as Caroline Lee (Caroline Bingley in the book) is Bing Lee’s sister; Maxwell Glick as Ricky Collins (William Collins in the book) is a former classmate of Lizzie and Charlotte’s, who asks that he be addressed only as Mr. Collins; Daniel Vincent Gordh as William Darcy (Fitzwilliam Darcy in the book); Wes Aderhold as George Wickham (the cad in the book and adaptations); Craig Frank as Fitz Williams (Col. Fitzwilliam in the book) is Darcy’s friend and colleague; and, Allison Paige as Georgiana “Gigi” Darcy (Georgiana Darcy in the book). | |
Obviously, as a vlog / diary, this version is set in modern times and therefore has many alterations in the details of the story to make it conform to the “PC” standards of our time. However, never fear, the basic romance / love story is the same: boy and girl meet, boy and girl seem to dislike each other. After much travail, love wins out… Happily ever after. Blah, blah, blah… Whatever, right? | |
Yes. Pretty much. But does it work and is it entertaining? That would be a YES and a certainly! I thoroughly enjoyed the series and plan to revisit the channel to catch the side lines and other bits which I skipped in order to race through the main story. It turns out there is a “real” company called Pemberley Digital (http://www.pemberleydigital.com) which exists to adapt classic works into new media format(s). Who knew? (By the way, Pemberley is the name of the estate Darcy lives at in the P&P book.) | |
Final recommendation: very highly recommended!! Even with the “modernization”, the series follows quite closely to the original book and the three sisters are actually outstanding actors in their respective roles – with special kudos to Ashley Clements who is outstanding throughout the series and Mary Kate Wiles who really hit it out of the park in the last few episodes. If you are a P&P fan, you will definitely want to check this out on YouTube. It is also available on DVD’s, but I’m not sure what extra value you get for your $60. There must be some great bloopers and behind the scene gags for that price. | |
LoL, now I want to go find some of the other P&P adaptations which I was not even aware of until I started researching this post. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Does Fatalism Equal Mental Health? |
2017 | Choice |
2016 | Growing Worlds |
2015 | Change The Tide |
Martyr, n. | |
2014 | You, Too! |
2013 | Bitter Stand |
2012 | Lost For Words |
2011 | On Market Reactions… |
Iterum Vale Tres*
Posted in 2019 Book Review, Book Review, Education, Movie Review, Movies, Reviews, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, tagged 2019 Book Review, Amazon, Arthur Chipping, BBC, Brookfield School, Doc Martin, Goodbye Mr. Chips (1984) -- movie review, Goodbye Mr. Chips (2002) -- movie review, Goodbye Mr. Chips -- book review, ITV, James Hilton, Jill Meager, Katherine Bridges, Katherine Chipping, Latin, Martin Clunes, Masterpiece Theater, Max Staefel, Moderate To Strong TV Movie Recommendation, Mr. Chips, PBS, Roy Marsden, Strong To Highly recommended series / movies, Very Highly Recommended Book, Victoria Hamilton, YouTube on February 11, 2019| Leave a Comment »
“Goodbye, Mr. Chips” (1934©) — book review | |
Like a dog with a fresh bone, sometimes I find it hard to let go… | |
Over this last weekend, I indulged my OCD and read the short novel “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” (1934©), written by James Hilton. Amazon says the paperback is seventy pages, but there are eighteen chapters and most seem less than a full page long. I read the novella in under two hours. The book is in public domain, so you can download it and read it for free. | |
The book has a number of adaptations, including movies made in 1939 (a drama) and 1969 (a musical – review here), a TV series from 1984 (BBC) and a TV movie from 2002 (ITV). More on these later… (OCD remember). | |
The author, James Hilton was the son of a school headmaster and he attended a public boarding school. Note: a “public” school in England is a “private” school in the U.S. Hilton is said to have based the work on both his father and a master (“teacher / instructor”) at his own school (although it is believed to be mostly based on the teacher at the school he attended). | |
The main character of the novel and movies, Mr. Chipping, spends the majority of his life (50-plus years) teaching Latin (and Greek) at a single school (Brookfield School) and the book is a reminiscence of his time there. There are two notable occurrences: one is the meeting of a best-friend Herr (Max) Staefel, the school’s German language teacher and the second is a chance meeting with a young lady who ultimately becomes his wife. The “shock” of the wedding is not just the marriage of a “confirmed” bachelor, but that the bride is considerably younger than the groom (on the order of 23 years) AND she is as attractive as he is staid. The book is unclear how long they are wed (roughly one year to eighteen months) as she passes away in childbirth (on 1 April – “April Fool’s Day”). Chipping stays long enough at the school that he instructs four generations of one family and, on his deathbed, only his housemaid is aware that he was ever married (over thirty years before the death scene). This results in the famous lines that it was a shame he never had any sons of his own who might have attended the school. Chipping’s dying response is that indeed he did, thousands of them – and all boys. | |
Final recommendation: very highly recommended! I would recommend reading this very short book before viewing any of the four adaptations, but I have seen all of them (three of them in the last week) and you won’t be put off by reversing my call. | |
“Goodbye, Mr. Chips” (1984) — TV series review | |
This version of the novella was on the BBC in six half-hour episodes (roughly three hours run time) and starred Roy Marsden as Chipping and Jill Meager as his wife. I am fairly certain this is the first version I saw of the adaptations as I have a distinct memory of the cricket scene which appears in the this version. I believe I saw this version on PBS, and probably first viewed it with my new (British) wife in 1985, the summer after we married. The series is available on YouTube, which is where I watched it this weekend. | |
Final recommendation: strong to highly recommended. As stated above, this was my first exposure to the “Chips” story, so it has a special place in my heart / memory. I will add this version is closer to the actual time frame depicted in the book and the first (1939) movie version. It also is much closer to being an anti-war movie than the book or other adaptations. Finally, in this version, Katherine (Bridges) Chipping is an unemployed governess living with her aunt in London, as opposed to the stage singer / dancer portrayed in the 1969 musical adaptation. | |
“Goodbye, Mr. Chips” (2002) — TV movie review | |
Staring Martin Clunes (of Doc Martin fame) as Mr. Chipping and Victoria Hamilton as Katherine (Bridges) Chipping. This version appeared on ITV and Masterpiece Theater as a two hour “TV movie”. I watched it on YouTube where it runs as six episodes of approximately 15 min. This version is not only an anti-war movie, it is also anti-bullying. It goes out of its way to critique the hazing of new students and bullying of the younger and smaller students by the bigger, older and / or wealthier students. | |
At first I found it difficult to get past the “Doc Martin” typecast I have for Clunes. I didn’t care for his aging (special effects / makeup work) as it looked like glued on rubber pieces. It was more than halfway through, before I could finally see the role and not the actor in the role. I have a feeling that was as much me as Clunes, though. Also, the YouTube version I was watching lacked the start of the movie, so I was left wondering if any other parts had been cut out / off. | |
Final recommendation: moderate to strong. If this (YouTube version) is the only version you can find, it is good enough for you grasp and enjoy the movie. Clunes ends up convincing as Chips and Hamilton is equal to the role of Katherine. She is not nearly as “young beauty” as Meager or as winning as Clark (in the 1969 musical), but, in her own way, I felt she owned the role – particularly in her telling of the tale of the “sun vs wind wager”. | |
So, all in all, my reading and three viewings of “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” have been very enjoyable. Each offered a slightly different aspect of what is considered a “classic” English tale and have hi-lighted (to me) what a true gem the story remains – even eighty years on (and counting). I look forward to watching the 1939 version as soon as I can find it and to re-watching the others when they eventually become generally available (instead of broken up on YouTube). | |
* The post title is my weak attempt at a Latin translation of: “Goodbye Again, Three Times“. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Tweets From The Disrupter-In-Chief |
2017 | Do We Still Listen To Her Silent Lips? |
Not Now, Not Ever | |
2016 | Why Do You Write/Blog? |
2015 | Can Your Repeat The Question, Please? |
2014 | On Faith |
2013 | My Name Is Charles Stein |
2012 | Faiths And Sorcery |
Made And Kept Free | |
2011 | Multi-Source Learning |
Dangerous Waistcoats
Posted in Reviews, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, TV Series, tagged Afghanistan, BBC, Binge TV Viewing, Bodyguard, Bodyguard -- BBC TV Series, Bodyguard -- TV series review, Bum, Commander Anne Sampson, Game of Thrones, Gina McKee, Highly Recommended Series / Movie, Highly Recommended TV Series, Home Secretary, Julia Montague, Keeley Hawes, Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, Mum, Netflix, Notting Hill, PCO, Richard Madden, Sergeant David Budd, Thames West, TV Series on January 19, 2019| Leave a Comment »
“Bodyguard” (2018) — TV series review (BBC and NetFlix) | |
This review is for the BBC series from last year which was made available world-wide (or at least here in the U.S.) via NetFlix. The series stars “Game of Thrones” actor (oldest Stark son) Richard Madden as Sergeant David Budd, an Afghanistan war veteran and Protection Command (PCO) bodyguard, Keeley Hawes as The Right Honorable Julia Montague, the Home Secretary, Conservative MP for Thames West (the “subject” person being protected), and, Gina McKee as Commander Anne Sampson, Head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command. Of course there was a raft of others, but I remembered (finally) McKee as the crippled wife / friend seen in “Notting Hill” (my review of that here). McKee didn’t get a mention in that review / post, so I’m kinda making up for it with a mention in this post. | |
Like most BBC series (a “series” on the BBC means one year of shows), this series is relatively short – only six episodes, but each is roughly an hour long. This means the series is suitable for a single day of binge viewing. Or, alternatively, you can easily break it up into two viewings – which is what I did. | |
Because the show is relatively current, I won’t get into a lot of detail as it will ruin the viewing for you. All I will say is that it is a tense, well acted police drama with a smattering of politics (police, domestic (U.K.) and international) thrown in, as well as some discreetly shown sexual content (male nudity) and action / violence lightly sprinkled in. The first twenty minutes throws you in the deep end (tension wise) and it’s a roller coaster from there to the end. | |
Final recommendation: highly to very highly recommended. If you’re dying to see Madden’s bum or hear him repeatedly calling his superior female officers (and PC subject) “Mum”, this is your ticket. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope there will be additional years (series) to follow. There has been no announcement as of this date (to my knowledge), but I understand the show was so popular the producers / writers have said if there is a second series, it will run through four. If this happens, I hope they don’t run the main topic of each year across the break(s). Please keep the story arc within each single season. Then if the BBC or NetFlix cancel the remaining years, we viewers won’t be left in the lurch with an incomplete arc. (Not that anyone ever listens to me…) | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | And 40+ Years Later? |
2017 | He Is Alone |
2016 | Compensation |
2015 | Charlie Redux |
2014 | The Crux |
2013 | Erosion And Rechannelling |
Alliance, n. | |
2012 | How Many Thought… (One I Know Of) |
Choices And Decisions | |
2011 | Speed Spoils |
Simply Intended | |
2010 | A Second 4 Hour Jog |
An Honest Binge
Posted in Reviews, Science and Learning, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, TV Series, tagged Body Language, Brendan Hines, Dr. Cal Lightman, Dr. Gillian Foster, Dr. Paul Ekman, Eli Loker, Emily Lightman, FBI Agent Ben Reynolds, Hayley McFarland, John Wayne, Julius Fast, Kelli Williams, Lie To Me* -- TV series review, Mekhi Phifer, Microexpressions, Monica Raymund, Reservoir Dogs, Ria Torres, StarTrek, StarWars, Strong Recommendation, Tim Roth, Vudu.com on July 14, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Today’s “binge” review is for the series “Lie to me*“, which aired between 2009 and 2010. I purchased two of the seasons (I haven’t seen Season 3 – from 2011) on VUDU while on sale for $5 each. Season one has 13 episodes and season two has 22, so I watched about 26 hours of the show over the last week (ish). Season three (13 episodes) is not currently available to purchase on VUDU, and even if it becomes available, I’ll still wait until it’s on sale for $5. (Cause I’m just cheap / thrifty that way.) Which means I may be waiting some time before I see / review the final season. I believe the series was cancelled for lack of audience. My brother referred this series over a year ago (he said it was terrific / must see), but when I told him I was watching it, he claimed to not remember it at all. Go figure… | |
The series is basically a crime drama / investigation / police procedural starring Tim Roth as Dr. Cal Lightman, Kelli Williams as Lightman’s partner, Dr. Gillian Foster, Brendan Hines as Eli Loker, a graduate student / employee of the Lightman Group (Lightman and Foster’s company), Monica Raymund as Ria Torres, another employee, Hayley McFarland, as Emily Lightman (the Dr.’s daughter) and Mekhi Phifer as FBI Agent Ben Reynolds, muscle assigned to work with the Group. | |
The company specializes in “reading” body language and micro-expressions to act as human lie detectors. The premise is Dr. Lightman is a “genius” at this and can tell if anyone is trying to lie. Hence, he gets lots of work from the government and various police forces. | |
The show is based on the actual scientific studies and work of Dr. Paul Ekman who serves as a consultant for the show and who actually performed these duties for real agencies, in the real world. I was completely unfamiliar with “micro-expressions” or the work of Dr. Ekman. I read “Body Language” by Julius Fast, way back in the early 1970’s when it was a best seller, so I have been “kind-of” familiar with the general concept of “reading” people for most of my adult life. Fast’s book was published in paperback in 1970, which is the version I read. Dr. Ekman has loads of books and has been publishing for over fifty years. You can find some of his videos on YouTube if you are interested in the topic. | |
Is the show any good? Does the “science” work? Yes and who knows for sure… I thoroughly enjoyed the series after I got over my initial doubts that ANY of the premise is actual science. If the show works (as entertainment), who really cares if the science is real or not (see StarTrek, StarWars or any of a million other series). It IS entertaining. Mostly because Roth owns this role. I’m not familiar with much of his other work, so I don’t know if he’s acting or doing a John Wayne (playing himself in every role, over and over again). I remember Roth from one of the Hulk movies and kind of remember him from “Reservoir Dogs“, but I haven’t seen that in ages, so, like I said, I’m not sure. The other actors are mostly ok to good in their roles, but to be honest, it’s all mostly attractive yuppie stuff, so I wouldn’t say I’d go out of my way to look for any of them in other roles. | |
Final recommendation: Strong, but with reservations. I did enjoy the series and found the premise interesting enough that I will look into the scientific basis if I happen to stumble on a used book on the topic of micro-expressions / lie detection / body language, but I doubt if I would ever really try to use any of the info I might glean from the book. Generally, I think I’m a bit too narcissistic to care about other people’s body language now that I’m retired. I’m not sure their “truth” is worth all that much effort on my part and I certainly would not devote enough time on it to become expert level. Like I said: interesting premise and entertaining series. I’m looking forward to viewing season three. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2017 | Give And Keep |
2016 | No Change Here |
2015 | Campbell’s Law |
2014 | Dignified Values |
2013 | Unappreciated Skill |
2012 | Living Courage |
2011 | What’s Happening To Us? |
2010 | Toothbrush, Carbon and Monoxide |
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair! | |
Punishing Red Binge
Posted in Series (TV or Streaming) Review, tagged Élodie Yung, Daredevil, Daredevil - Netflix TV series review, Daredevil Season 2 - Review, Elektra Natchios, Frank Castle, Jennifer Garner, Jon Bernthal, Netflix, The Punisher on March 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Daredevil: Season 2 — Netflix TV Series Review | |
This week I completed my mini-binge of “Daredevil: Season 2“. (For my review of Season 1, click here.) I say “mini-binge” because the season is only thirteen episodes (roughly the same number of hours) long. I promised myself I’d mini-binge the entire first season to get myself in the mood for Season 2, but in the end, I didn’t. I just jumped in. I must also admit I really enjoyed seeing DD in his own TV series. | |
Season 2 is a lot more of the same… Dark and very violent. Once again, this is not a series for children viewing. And I emphasize, very violent. | |
Having said that, is it any good? And, is it interesting? All the stuff which made year one a good-to-great show are back in Season 2: great martial arts choreography and very good character development. The down side? Sometimes the dialog felt more like monologues and kind of dragged. The season introduced two new characters: Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) aka “The Punisher” and Elektra Natchios (Élodie Yung). Both of which were pretty awesome. Of the two, Castle is more fun to watch and root for. Yung makes you almost completely forget the “other” Elektra (Jennifer Garner). Bernthal is powerful and Yung is almost campy. Both are deadly, but one is brutal while the other graceful. The contrast is truly Yin / Yang. And the over-arc story of each with the “no-kill” philosophy of Daredevil is equally stark. This contrast is what leads (ironically) to the dull-ish dialog. I guess “dull” isn’t the correct way to analyze the writing, but we had to listen to the same arguments in every single episode. Enough already. Daredevil, although a vigilante, is a hero. He saves lives and doesn’t kill. We get it! | |
Last season, DD got his uniform / costume. This season, DD gets his baton. We don’t know all of what it does, but it’s very cool so far! | |
So, final recommendation: very strong! This is an excellent adaptation of the comic book character into a TV series. I highly recommend you watch the whole of the first season before trying to dive into season two. It’ll make a lot more sense. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2015 | Bits In The Soup |
2014 | More Beef, Less Bull |
2013 | Where Are Your Mountains |
2012 | Spherical Knowledge Of Hamsters |
2011 | Taking Stock Over Time |
Green Binge
Posted in Movies, Series (TV or Streaming) Review, TV Series, tagged Arrow - series review, Batman - The Dark Knight movie series, D.C. Comics, Daredevil, Green Arrow, Marvel - Agents of SHIELD, Netflix, T.V. Series Review on August 22, 2015| 3 Comments »
A few weeks ago I finished binge-ing on the first two seasons of “Arrow” on Netflix. The series is an adaptation of the “Green Arrow” comic books series by D.C. Comics. First, a little background bias aka “full disclosure”: I am not really a D.C. person. When I was growing up, the comics were basically D.C., Marvel and everyone else. D.C. had (mostly) single issue stories which were generally run of the mill superhero fare. Marvel tended to tell individual stories, but within story arcs which could last six or more months. This made Marvel seem more like literature than “just” stories. Anyway, even within the D.C. universe, there were major and minor characters. Green Arrow was one of the most minor of characters. He was essentially a low budget Batman in a Robin Hood suit, shooting arrows (and little else). Bottom line: I started off with very low expectations I would like this series. | |
Because the comic book wasn’t one I followed, the T.V. series is a “new” story for me. When I say “new”, I mean only for the “Arrow” character as the storyline is basically lifted from Batman “The Dark Knight” movie series. This doesn’t make it bad, just not very original. Here goes: rich / spoiled, under-achieving college student is in a shipwreck and gets stranded on an island for five years where he learns a number of martial arts and survival techniques from various folks on the island. He returns to civilization and becomes a vigilante trying to clean-up the city his father loved. He starts off as a killer, indiscriminately disposing of bad guys, but at the end of the first season he resolves to try to avoid killing anyone while still bringing them to justice. All the while, there is an over-arching soap-opera going on about his love life and the love lives of the people around him. And, of course, all while trying to run the company which makes him a billionaire. | |
Does the series work? Surprisingly, yes! At first I found the soap-opera-ish-ness tiring, then I kind of got used to it, then it was boring, then I had kind of an acceptance of it as a means of bringing a humanizing facet into the show. I’m sure it (the humanizing) could be handled in a different way, but I guess the soap is there to keep the teen-and-tween audience tuning in. The action scenes are mostly pretty good. Not up to the level of Daredevil, but still pretty good. | |
All in all, pretty good entertainment for TV – certainly better than “Marvel – Agents of SHIELD“, but I digress. So, now I wait for season three to become available on Netflix and then season four, which I understand is still broadcasting. A final note: I’ve found this serial (as in one after another) binge-ing makes the series enjoyable in a way that going week to week would probably have never been for me. Once again, a big “yes” vote for “the binge.” | |
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On This Day In: | |
2014 | Overdone |
2013 | The Courage To Remake The World |
2012 | Minor Gifts |
2011 | I Love It When A Plan Comes Together… |
2010 | Eloquence |
Cleaning the Chalk Board | |